Speeches by Savage.

“My hon. Friend has my gratitude. Does he agree that although the Government have committed to growth, increasing national insurance contributions to the extent that small businesses—the lifeblood of our economy—are having to lay off staff is an odd way to go about it?”

“The climate and nature crises are now recognised as inextricably interlinked—we cannot resolve the climate crisis without addressing the nature crisis—but that is not recognised in current legislation. Will the Minister meet me to discuss my Climate and Nature Bill and its potential to achieve the Government’s stated g…”

“11. Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on nature-based solutions to help tackle climate change.”

“I thank the petitioners, especially Sandra, for their courage in bringing the petitions forward and for their commitment to peace. It was an honour to bring the petitions to Westminster Hall. I hope that we have done justice to the gravity of the issue and the seriousness of the dire situation facing all who are caught…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petitions 653509 and 652949 relating to Israel and Palestine. It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris, and to introduce these two e-petitions on behalf of the Petitions Committee. I want to open this debate by expressing the grief and horror that many…”

“I will come to that point shortly. The conflict has expanded beyond Gaza’s borders. I am sure that we all welcomed the recent ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, which faced a humanitarian crisis of its own. But it is not just in Lebanon; across the whole middle east, from Iran to Yemen, and of course most recently in Syri…”

“I shall come to that shortly. The UK bears a unique historical responsibility in this matter, stemming from the Balfour declaration of 1917. The declaration spoke of creating a national homeland for Jews in Palestine, but it was silent on Palestinian political rights, setting the stage for decades of conflict. It paved…”

“I thank the hon. Member for her intervention, and I agree. Given that the Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary have both committed in principle to Palestinian statehood, and given that the majority of the international community has already recognised the statehood of Palestine, we might validly ask what the Govern…”

“Indeed. I am conscious that I have less than four minutes left, so I will keep it moving. The second petition, which received 107,316 signatures, demands the revocation of arms export licences to Israel. Under international and domestic law, the UK is required to prevent the transfer of military equipment and technolog…”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. In September 2024, the new Foreign Secretary announced the suspension of around 30 export licences to Israel, including components for military aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as items that facilitate ground targeting. A constituent wrote to me to say that although …”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention and likewise look forward to the Minister’s statement on the matter. One of the petitions states: “Palestinian children have been made orphans, people have been crushed by buildings in airstrikes, and there have been many other tragedies. Arms that have been partly manu…”

“I wholeheartedly agree. As we debate these petitions, we must consider how the UK can best contribute to lasting peace in the region, what role we should play in supporting Palestinian statehood and ensuring Israel’s security, and how we can align our arms export policies with our commitment to international law and hu…”

“I thank the hon. Member for her intervention, but I will make some progress now, as I am aware that I am on a time limit, with the clock ticking. The Prime Minister has also expressed support for Palestinian statehood as a contribution to the peace process, describing it as an “undeniable right” of Palestinians. The Go…”

“I know that difficult decisions have had to be made, but I have been talking to small business owners. I am particularly thinking of the owner of a chain of convenience stores in Lechlade, and the difficult decision he is having to make of which of his part-time workers he is going to lay off in the run-up to Christmas…”

“My apologies—I thought I had five minutes.”

“May I finish with a question? Will the Secretary of State commit to including natural flood defences as a central part of the £5.2 billion flood defence spending to ensure that communities like those in the South Cotswolds are better protected from the worsening impacts of climate change while addressing biodiversity l…”

“COP29 concluded with a deal that, while welcome, leaves much to be desired. I must stress that we need bolder, more decisive action if we are to face the greatest challenge of our time: the climate crisis. I know that the right hon. Gentleman’s heart is in the right place and has been for many years. We first met in th…”

“The gravity of this situation was brought home to me by a letter that I received recently from a South Cotswolds constituent, a farmer near Sherston whose experience vividly illustrates the challenge our agricultural sector faces. He manages a 200-acre farm, a combination of owned and rented primarily arable land, with…”

“The Budget is subtitled “Fixing the foundations” but I was saddened that it contained no mention of the most important foundation of everything in Britain: our natural world. Does she agree that more resources need to be dedicated to the restoration of nature and to supporting our farmers, both of which are crucial to …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. Clean water is a fundamental human right, so the exploitation by our water companies at the expense of the British taxpayer is deeply offensive to me and to my South Cotswolds constituents. It adds insult to injury that the same companies now expect taxpa…”