Speeches by Edwards.

“Q13. Prime Minister, I need your help. Today, alongside leading trade bodies, including UKHospitality, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Startup Coalition, I am launching the TNT charter—trust and transparency in business energy—to blow up the status quo and support SME access to fair contracts, clearer pricin…”

“I am interested in the resources of the CMA. It has had a voluntary exit scheme due to a bit of an issue with the finances, but with the focus on making sure that consumers are protected, that there is business growth, and that there is a new strategy that will go forwards, do you think that you are resourced enough? I…”

“If I could just pick up on part of the strategy that you have, which is running from this year to 2029. Part of that is about promoting competition and spurring innovation, but it is also about levelling the playing field for businesses of all shapes and sizes to innovate and grow. In your mind, what do you think are t…”

“Do you think that “pro-business” can be a euphemism for deregulation? Do you subscribe to that concept?”

“We are quite interested in this, and the Government have given a useful and helpful prescription that the growth agenda is key and paramount. Therefore, regulators including the CMA are being encouraged to look at how they refocus. You have a strategy, but what we want to understand is how you think the CMA is going to…”

“T5. My constituents are forced to travel to Burton, Derby and Sutton Coldfield for their NHS treatment, which cannot be provided at the local community diagnostic centre. Some travel up to 30 miles for chemotherapy, with little or no public transport. What is the Minister doing to deliver healthcare investment locally …”

“One final question from me. It goes back to the question I asked before: when thinking about the pro-business agenda and what is impacting businesses, do you have thoughts on where those potential market investigations might be, and, in some of the most prominent areas where we know there is failure, can you share any …”

“In a five-year term, that would not give you very many, if that speed of things was going to give the public a better indicator of where you were focusing and were seeing some of the remedies. You are one of the regulators who has very strong powers to be able to make that change.”

“In June, we heard evidence from Emma and Hayley of the CMA. One thing they mentioned was that they thought they could do approximately three to four market investigations a year. Is that with this new artificial intelligence technology deployed to help to analyse huge amounts of data, or is that prior to that deploymen…”

“How does that feel in terms of tackling these beasts? Some of them are companies such as your former employer: extremely large companies with extremely complex operations. How is that going to work? How will you make sure that our constituents, the British public, get the best that they can out of the CMA?”

“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Similarly, in my constituency, I surveyed residents in a number of villages such as Edingale, Clifton Campville and Harlaston to ask how bad the situation was. Some 49% said that their mobile connectivity was so bad that they could not work from home or even run their busin…”

“South Staffordshire Water is forcing water meters on homes in my constituency, stating that it is “necessary for sustainability”, but residents were never properly informed, with some only discovering the meters after they were installed. My constituents and I find this unacceptable. Can we have a statement on the comm…”

“I met Ministers from the Department for Transport in May 2025 and from the Department for Education more recently, but the suggested changes are yet to be made. The issue was not mentioned in the Government’s road safety strategy. I have already raised that concern with the Minister, and I am raising it in the House to…”

“That is precisely my concern. It does not make sense at all given that failure means an inability to drive safely. We should surely apply the same standards or higher when children are involved. Under the current school system, a teacher over the age of 21 who holds only a standard category B car licence and has just t…”

“It is good to see so many hon. and right hon. Members present to take part in this important debate on school minibus safety. No family should ever have to question whether their child will return home safely from a school activity. For my constituents Liz and Steve Fitzgerald, that unthinkable fear became a devastatin…”

“T9. Residents in my constituency have faced years of disruption from High Speed 2, and the saga continues. Upcoming works on the A38 include an 11-day closure at the Swinfen interchange and a year-long closure of the northbound slip road at Streethay in neighbouring Lichfield. These measures will inevitably push traffi…”

“In my constituency, the beautiful grade II listed Chetwynd bridge on the A513 between Edingale and Alrewas has been restricted to cars and light vans since October 2023, so farmers face a 25-mile diversion. With severe flooding hitting Edingale multiple times a year, this vital route risks being cut off for emergency r…”

“Have you asked the Government to change any elements of their approach? You alluded to looking at and encouraging the deployment. Are there other aspects to those conversations or things that you have said to Government in terms of, “This is the kind of movement that we’d need, or this is what we’d like to see.”?”

“No, on AI and data regulation, but obviously it does include the future.”

“When you say near to here, are you talking about the European approach that some say is stifling innovation?”