Speeches by Waugh.

“On that point, will the right hon. Lady give way?”

“This is a Budget that cuts the cost of living for families in Rochdale, boosts apprenticeships, and helps the NHS and our public services—public services that were brought to their knees by 14 years of not just Tory cuts, but coalition cuts. This is a Budget that balances the books, with fairness at its heart, and it i…”

“That is exactly what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions set out at the Dispatch Box earlier, talking about the positive case for this move on child poverty. In Rochdale, we feel child poverty more keenly than anywhere. The statistics for my constituency after 14 years of Tory cuts are sho…”

“From one Lancastrian to another, happy Lancashire day to you, Mr Speaker. Last week, Owen Charnley from Rochdale completed a solo charity walk of more than 4,200 miles from Azerbaijan to his home in Ogden. Owen braved torrential rain, searing heat and several attacks by stray dogs on his trip through 17 countries. He w…”

“The hon. Lady refers to the threshold freeze. Why did she vote for seven years of frozen thresholds?”

“What would happen if the hon. Gentleman had three or four children, and he were to fall ill or had to care for a sick child? Would he want those children to suffer from that plight?”

“I have a lot of respect for the hon. Lady’s record in government and as the Chair of the Treasury Committee. She talks about tax rises. Does she accept that the bulk of the tax rises this Parliament—covering four of the five years—are Tory tax rises through the threshold freeze that she and her colleagues voted for?”

“Will my right hon. Friend give way?”

“Will the right hon. Member give way?”

“Last week in Rochdale, I joined our proud Ukrainian community to mark the Holodomor, which was Stalin’s forced famine of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s. There is a modern-day Holodomor going on in Ukraine through the drone strikes and air strikes by Putin’s regime. Does the Prime Minister share my absolute disgust…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman. Yes, this is a grassroots, people-led campaign, as the petition shows. There has been progress in November: expanded food rations; a catch-up immunisation campaign that vaccinated 13,000 children; the distribution of high-performance tents to learning spaces, at least in Khan Yunis; bread pr…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. There must be accountability for Israel’s actions—for its sins of omission as much as those of commission. Is the UK pushing for education to be a key part of the peace plan? As Members have said, it has been singularly missing so far. Nearly 200,000 people signed the e-petition that brough…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell), and others, for setting out the context of the modern-day moral outrage that is the plight of the people of Gaza. Gaza may have disappeared from the headlines and TV screens, but the suf…”

“I warmly welcome the tough action taken by this Government to cut the backlog in driving tests, but one thing that will help drivers more than anything, and help pedestrians too, is a crackdown on drug drivers such as Leon Clarke, who crashed his car and killed his eight-year-old son while driving under the influence o…”

“Apologies for jumping the gun earlier, Mr Speaker. We need to crack down on drug drivers. Leon Clarke from Rochdale crashed his car and killed his eight-year-old son while driving under the influence of cocaine. Does the Minister agree that we need to change the law on roadside drug tests to stamp out this rising menac…”

“Last week saw a big day for Rochdale and for Greater Manchester, as building works began on a world-leading research centre—the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre in Kingsway Business Park, which is backed by £15 million of this Government’s money. Does the Leader of the House agree that that proves the Gov…”

“I welcome the leading role that the UK has played at the United Nations, both in trying to corral international action on the slaughter and sexual violence in Sudan, and on the international leadership we have shown in recognising the state of Palestine—an historic recognition, as the Foreign Secretary has acknowledged…”

“Minky Homecare’s ironing board factory in Shawclough, in Rochdale, is the only one of its kind in the whole country. It provides high-quality British-made products and lots of vital local jobs. Does the Leader of the House agree with me that making, selling and buying British products is this Government’s priority, as …”

“My hon. Friend references Scotland. I was at COP26 in Glasgow the last time we had a Conservative Prime Minister who showed real climate leadership on the global stage, yet we have now seen the sad spectacle—and we will see more of it later today—of a party that had a distinguished tradition of environmental protection…”

“As a former journalist and former member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, I know more than most some of the failings of the BBC, but I also recognise some of its great strengths, not least in combating misinformation online. I know many of its journalists personally and many, many of them take ultra seriously…”