Speeches by Savage.

“T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.”

“I remind the House that RAF Fairford is in my constituency, so it is with grave concern that I note the news of two missiles being aimed at Diego Garcia. The Prime Minister previously pledged that we will not be drawn into the wider war, yet we have already shifted from the defensive to the offensive use of air bases o…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) for securing this debate, and for her inspiring opening speech. At a time when the Government seem to have no money and rural areas often feel overlooked, social enterprises and community-owned assets are more important than ever. I will relate that to the rural…”

“Potholes are dangerous, they are expensive to fix, and they are everywhere. In the South Cotswolds, we know that rural areas are different. Rural roads are narrower, darker, faster and less forgiving, yet they risk being de-prioritised compared with urban areas. That cannot be right or fair. Chronic underfunding has le…”

“At the start of the debate, I suggested that we might make up for lack of quantity with quality, and I think we have delivered on that promise. I thank colleagues from across the Chamber for their most thoughtful, fascinating and wide-ranging contributions to the debate. I especially thank my hon. Friend the Member for…”

“Yes—but I believe that this Chamber will be available until at least 7.30 pm, so perhaps we could have an impromptu seminar. I trust that Mr McIlhinney and the other signatories to the petition will feel that we have done justice to their concerns and will appreciate the calibre of the debate, even if the constituencie…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent and valid point. My main job today, on behalf of the Petitions Committee, is to present both sides of the argument, but the point about data on voting intentions, which we work so hard to glean on doorsteps, is a key factor in the debate. Others raise concerns that a requirement fo…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point. What we are talking about is the principle of the matter rather than specific defections from any one party to another. This constitutional question has also been considered by Parliament previously. In 2011, a private Member’s Bill proposed that MPs who changed their p…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 737660 relating to automatic by-elections following Member defections. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Roger. I thank those who have shown up for this debate; we may not have a large quantity here, but I am sure that we will have quality. My …”

“Clearly, the work of DEFRA touches on many other Departments, arguably all of them with environment and food. Last week, the Permanent Secretary told the EFRA Committee that DEFRA speaks often to lots of other Government Departments. However, talking with them is not necessarily the same as actual impact or influence. …”

“This is a question for Sally Nex, please. In your introductory remarks, you outlined the many benefits of healthy peatlands. Thank you for that. Given those valuable functions that they can serve in terms of climate change mitigation, nature recovery and net zero targets, do you think that they are suitably highly prio…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) for introducing the debate and doing such a great job of painting a picture of the bigger systemic issues—as I do not have very long, I will not repeat those, but will focus instead on two specific is…”

“We are told that access to green and blue space improves mental health and could save the NHS more than £2 billion annually. We are told that urban nature provides around £823 million a year in air pollution removal benefits. We are told that England’s natural capital is valued at around £1.3 trillion, and we are told …”

“I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for leading this important debate. The small charity sector plays a crucial role in supporting communities in my constituency and across the whole country. Some 86% of the small charities working in the south-west have an income of u…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for bringing forward this important debate on a subject that is dear to my heart. Community cohesion is not just a nice to have; it is the foundation of our democratic infrastructure. When people feel connected…”

“The Bill makes important improvements to how our elections are run, but updating the machinery of elections is not the same as renewing our democracy, and we desperately need democratic renewal if we are to restore faith in the system. The greatest weakness in our system is not administrative; it is structural. It is t…”

“RAF Fairford is in my constituency. The Government have now authorised the US air force to use RAF Fairford for defensive operations. Residents have been contacting me today, understandably concerned for their safety, especially given the recent events at RAF Akrotiri. Given that the Prime Minister has pledged to prior…”

“Just a couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a constituent who graduated in 2021 and has already accrued more than £6,000 of interest on her initial debt of £41,000. I was one of the lucky ones: as the first in my low-income family to go to university, I had tuition and maintenance paid. That was a great opportunity …”

“I believe we need to challenge the automatic right for developers to connect to the sewerage network. In fact, they must be encouraged to work with public utilities to ensure that capacity is there before they put spades in the ground. I realise I am slightly digressing from the key issue of transport, which I will com…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) for her very insightful opening speech. If the number of homes in an area is doubled but the roads, buses, rail capacity, flood protection and sewerage are not doubled, somet…”