Speeches by Waugh.

“If you include it in the “State of the Game” report, that is one way of doing it. It does not mean that you fully include it in the Bill but it is one way of making sure that you raise the subject.”

“Finally, can I ask you about women’s football? We all talk about the football pyramid with the premiership sitting at the top, but there is a real risk that this Bill becomes the football pyramid of geezers, because there is no mention of women’s football in it at all. Wouldn’t it make sense to include the women’s game…”

“Great. Research in 2023 stated that although 44% of Premier League and 34% of English Football League players were black, just 4% of managers are black. That is a massive gap. Dwight Yorke has said, “We want just fairness. I sometimes feel we have to do three or four times more before we get an opportunity”. Now, when …”

“You mentioned rightly that it was cross-party, but it was also fan led. However, while the Bill requires the football regulator to consult with clubs, with officers, with owners and with people who organise competitions, it has no requirement to consult with fans or players. Would you consider looking at giving fans a …”

“I declare my interest as a member of the National Union of Journalists and a member of the Dale Supporters Trust. I will get that out there first. Many staff at The Guardian and The Observer were very angry last week when the Board of the Scott Trust and the Guardian Media Group agreed in principle the sale of The Obse…”

“I take that completely, but can we talk about the principle? When considering the potential sale of any newspaper, what factors do you take into account when you are assessing the public interest?”

“Can I ask you about the Football Governance Bill? The Permanent Secretary quite rightly said that we want to get on with the Bill. Do you have a message for those Conservative peers who are filibustering the Bill right now?”

“Yes, but also transparency—the principle of transparency. Does the public deserve to know who are the financial backers of any proposed takeover of a national newspaper?”

“I join the Foreign Secretary, the shadow Foreign Secretary and everyone across this House in welcoming the demise of Assad’s brutal regime. Unlike my predecessor in Rochdale, Mr George Galloway, who tweeted his support for Assad this weekend, much to the disdain of many in my constituency, I do not mourn Assad’s demise…”

“T6. My constituent Alison Duxbury is unable to finalise her divorce because of the delays to assessments in the teachers’ pension scheme, which her husband is part of. Alison is not alone; many others are suffering serious stress and unacceptable delays. Will the Minister meet me to unlock this bureaucratic logjam?”

“Does the shadow Minister not welcome the fact that the Bill increases the capacity from 100 to 200? His Government previously set the limit at 100—the figure that he is so concerned about.”

“This week, Gordon Brown and the US ambassador to the UK jointly launched a new £6 million investment by Comic Relief and Amazon UK in the Multibank project, which is a fantastic initiative that donates surplus stock from companies to families in real need—everything from basics like baby clothes and bedding to househol…”

“I welcome today’s statement, which is a real plan for change and hope. It is clear that the Conservatives do not like us talking about their record, but it had a real-world impact in constituencies such as mine, particularly when it came to bobbies on the beat. For 14 years, the Conservatives stripped us of bobbies on …”

“The right hon. Member refers to broken manifesto pledges. The Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto said they would not raise national insurance, yet three years later he and all his colleagues voted to raise national insurance—not just on employees, but on employers. Can he help us with that process of logic?”

“The hon. Gentleman refers to the history of the Tory party on national insurance. Can he tell us why he and his party voted for the health and social care levy, which put up national insurance for employees not so long ago?”

“I am, indeed, coming to exactly that point, because this is set in the context of what the Tories left behind. The clear trajectory of their last Budget was to squeeze day-to-day public spending to just 1% above inflation every year until 2029. That carried dire implications for every unprotected Department—up to £20 b…”

“The Heath Secretary said that he will address that in due course, and I am sure that he will before April, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (James Murray) set out. The hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) may want to answer the question I put to the Conservative Front Bench. If they are so oppo…”

“If he would like to explain why he voted for it, yes.”

“In the process, you left us with a massive structural deficit.”

“Forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker. Labour is the party taking tough decisions today and refusing to duck the issues that the Conservatives were so timid to grasp, from planning reform to energy security, from welfare reform to removing tax breaks for the richest. In the past four weeks, the Conservatives have made £6.7 …”