Speeches by Bedford.

“It is not populist to want safe and secure communities, but we are going round in circles. The only way we are going to solve this crisis is by withdrawing from outdated refugee conventions, rescinding the insidious ECHR from our laws, and using British military assets to prevent incursion into British waters. Will the…”

“The best way to reduce poverty is for people to be in work, but as a result of this Government’s damaging economic policies, we have seen youth unemployment rise by 6% since the general election. What representations will the Secretary of State make to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget to ensure that more damage is no…”

“The social contract is fraying, as I said. When my constituent Nick, who works hard for the money he earns and pays into system, walks through his town centre, he asks himself, “What is the point? Why am I working harder than ever when the system rewards those that often don’t?” These amendments matter. They are not un…”

“I rise primarily to speak to the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately). However, I would like to begin by addressing the amendments brought forward by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. We were first presented with the Universal Credit and Personal Independ…”

“I have a lot of respect for the hon. Lady, but I am not going to withdraw the comment I made, because there are people in that situation—”

“The hon. Member makes an important point. That goes back to financial education and ensuring that people truly understand their pensions and savings. Increasing savings is important, but we need to ensure that it is driven by individuals who understand and can shape their own financial futures. Other countries have loo…”

“My right hon. Friend makes a compelling case. As I said in my speech, this goes back to financial education and ensuring that we all understand the implications of pensions adequacy. My concern about adequacy does not mean that the Bill does not have its merits. The continuation of Conservative policy, the small pots c…”

“Cross-party working is essential to ensuring that there is public confidence in a system we will all need to use in our twilight years. That is why Conservative Members are ready to work constructively to improve this legislation and, where necessary, to provide a “critical friend” approach and challenge the Government…”

“So there we have it: a Prime Minister not in control, a Work and Pensions Secretary with her hands tied behind her back, and a Chancellor now scrambling to find ways to balance the books after months of reckless spending. This shoddy attempt at welfare reform has revealed something that the nation has learned over the …”

“I am not giving away. The Chancellor has also blown billions of pounds on GB Energy—a project so vague that no one seems to know what it does—while handing out inflation-busting pay rises to appease the unions. Now she cannot even claw back £5 billion of savings to keep market confidence as the country’s debt spirals o…”

“T3. On Friday I had the privilege of visiting LOROS, Leicestershire’s much-respected palliative care charity. At full capacity it could offer 31 beds to local residents, but sadly, because of the measures that the Chancellor has introduced, such as the national insurance hike, it now operates only 18 beds. May I ask th…”

“I am not giving away; I am going to make progress. The hon. Member can repay the favour sometime. Thirdly, we needed a guarantee that taxes would not rise again in the upcoming Budget. But let us be honest: the Chancellor has only one move left—she will raid the pockets of hard-working families, which is something Labo…”

“Thank you very much. On to questions for today. Over the last number of years, particularly in recent years, there has been an increase in working age health-related benefits. That has increased quite substantially while working age non-health-related benefits have dropped off. There is a suggestion that you touched on…”

“I am conscious of time and there is one more member who wants to get in. I have two quick questions. You mentioned about conditionality. Do you envisage the uptake of employment support ever being a condition of a disabled claimant’s benefit? That is the first question. The second question follows on from Danny Kruger’…”

“Minister, I want to touch on the elephant in the room. You have got your Second Reading of the welfare Bill due to come before Parliament on Tuesday. Is it still your intention to bring that Bill forward for Second Reading on Tuesday?”

“I think colleagues have some questions later on getting people into the right jobs. Going back to health, particularly mental health, over recent years we had the pandemic and we have had a lot of upheaval in the country, and there has been a marked increase in those with mental health problems claiming these types of …”

“I may come back later on the issue of getting people back into work. Thank you.”

“I thank the Minister for his speech. I ask him to take back to the Treasury the various arguments that have been put forward today, particularly about the benefits for the broader economy and for our local communities that could be achieved by reviewing the VAT registration threshold. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Du…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of the VAT registration threshold on SMEs. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. It was Napoleon Bonaparte who once said that “England is a nation of shopkeepers”. As is often the case with Napoleon, he was wrong. England, and indeed the …”

“I absolutely agree. Over the last year, particularly in the Budget and recent announcements, we have seen measures that stifle the growth of SMEs and small businesses. I thank my hon. Friend for raising that today because I am passionate about supporting them, not only so that the economy can grow, but so that we can c…”