Speeches by Holden.

“I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. Does he acknowledge, though, that under the previous Labour Government we saw none of the massive capital investment that we are seeing now with the Thames tideway tunnel, which was started under the Conservative Government in 2016? It will be completed next year and is on…”

“On a fairly small technical point, the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) made the point that 12.5% of Conservative Members are here. Perhaps he should look at the statistics, because only 11% of Labour Members are here. I know that the last Labour Government were not interested in monitoring the outflow…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.”

“Before the last general election, the Labour party suggested that removal of the winter fuel payment would mean an extra 4,000 pensioners a year dying, freezing in poverty. How many will die under the Government’s policy this year?”

“16. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of means- testing the winter fuel payment on levels of pensioner poverty.”

“8. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve transport connectivity between Wales and the rest of the UK.”

“The lower Thames crossing is a vital link between our channel ports and Holyhead port. I know Labour is against new road building in Wales, but a north Wales corridor connecting our ports would be a vital piece of transport infrastructure for our whole country. Will the Minister lobby the Welsh Government on that, for …”

“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prohibit the marriage of first cousins; and for connected purposes. Members across the House may wonder why first-cousin marriage is not already illegal. In fact, many in this House and in the country may already believe that it is. That is understandable, becaus…”

“I am delighted to meet the Minister across the Dispatch Box. I have also been meeting many SMEs in the aftermath of the Budget. The impact of the Government’s decision to raise national insurance on many indirect providers of public services, such as GPs and hospices, appears not to have been fully factored into the Go…”

“Hear, hear!”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered support for and identification of the children of prisoners. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I am delighted to have secured this Westminster Hall debate. First, I want to thank the Government for their manifesto commitment, which states: “The c…”

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

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“The hon. Lady is talking about the direct impact on farmers, but in her opening comments she mentioned the broader agricultural, business and food sectors across the UK economy. Does she share my concern that, whether it is the tractor manufacturers or those who work in the farm shops in my constituency, the knock-on c…”

“I thank the Minister for recognising the work of charities across the country, and I thank Members of both Houses for pushing the issue. Does she also welcome the work of BBC Radio 4’s “Woman’s Hour” a couple of weeks ago? It devoted an entire week to the subject, and had the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richard…”

“I cannot agree more with the hon. Member. He raises an important point—yes, in many circumstances, help for families and children of prisoners can help the prisoners—but he is also right to say that that would be a side benefit. As a country, we should be concentrating on helping the children of prisoners wherever poss…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point. He touches on the important point behind a lot of this. When parents are imprisoned, caring responsibilities are often the last thing that the state or anybody else thinks about. We are at the crux of what I am trying to get to today. I would like to thank Sarah Burrows…”

“I welcome the Government’s commitments, in response to my written parliamentary questions, to a consultation on ending fleecehold. However, my constituents in Markhams Close and across Basildon and Billericay just want to know when that will take place.”

“I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. What she is saying is absolutely right. Does she agree that changes in law made in this place can help lead to broader cultural change in society? We need to be at the forefront of these changes. Sometimes it can be quite difficult, but we must pick up that challeng…”

“In his statement, the Secretary of State mentioned the job losses at Ford in Dunton in my constituency, and I thank the Minister for Industry for speaking to me on the phone earlier this week about that. I welcome the fast track of the review that the Secretary of State is putting forward. I agree with my right hon. Fr…”