Speeches by Olney.

“Mr Mills, the original estimate for how much it was going to cost to run the schemes was £139 billion, but we think the final cost was only £44 billion, and even the interim estimate was £69 billion. That is not just a big difference, but a really significant one in terms of the acceptability of the scheme. As I recall…”

“I think Lloyd has just asked my question. It was about when the evaluations will take place, but the permanent secretary has answered that.”

“I want to do a quick follow-up. Previously, Mr Mills, I was asking you about the forecast costs being much, much greater than they turned out to be. Subsequently, you have explained to Mr Betts why cost considerations meant that you were not able to save many more households from going into fuel poverty. I am intereste…”

“The situation we were in in September and October 2022 was pretty much unprecedented in terms of those future estimates. I suppose you are saying that it was sort of impossible to predict.”

“You announced in December a change in the way that Ofgem is going to operate, Mr Pocklington. We are promised “stronger protections and improved customer service”. Can you expand a little on what differences consumers can expect to see?”

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. I welcome much of the statement’s content—that the Government are serious in their commitment to resetting our broken relationship with the European Union—but what the Liberal Democrats want is action. The European Union is our closest neighbour and largest tradi…”

“The hon. Gentleman is precisely right. Having had conversations with local police teams, what I find frequently is that there is a large turnover of police officers in neighbourhood policing, which really affects the ability of police officers to develop a relationship with their local communities. That lack of experie…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. When I speak to my local police officers—the officers patrolling the streets of my constituency—I find very often that they actually live quite some distance from the communities they serve. That is obviously a direct result of the cost of living in London, but it creates a real prob…”

“I welcome the Government’s increased funding for the Metropolitan police, but this commitment does not go anywhere near far enough to deliver what is required for safe policing on the streets of London. The Labour party was elected into office on the mandate to restore community policing, which was gutted by the last C…”

“A constituent came to see me last week who had not eaten for four days. Her state pension had increased in line with the triple lock but this took her over the threshold for pension credit, which then took away her entitlement to a range of other benefits including the winter fuel allowance. What are the Government doi…”

“Where are all the Conservative representatives?”

“Q Dr Price, I am really glad that we are able to have the Royal College of Psychiatrists in front of us today; thank you for making the time. I want to ask you about paragraph 11 of your written evidence, which states that it is the royal college’s view that the Mental Capacity Act “is not sufficient for the purposes o…”

“Q The Chair has given me permission to ask a very quick follow-up, Pat, since you mentioned that. I am really sorry to ask this, but do you think that if it had been administered by a doctor, she would have chosen to live for a little longer? Pat Malone: I cannot speak for her, but there were many, many problems. Bizar…”

“Your Back Benchers could have spoken in this debate. There are many urgent and pressing challenges facing the UK today, but it is essential that the vast majority of its citizens actively support the mechanisms by which decisions are made to address them. Increasing levels of disengagement threaten our ability to respo…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) and all members of the all-party parliamentary group for fair elections for securing this important debate. It has been an exciting few months for the cause of fair votes in Parliament, and I am…”

“Q Thank you all for coming today and for sharing these really personal recollections. I have one question, but to both Liz and Julie, if that is okay. According to the notes that I have here—apologies if I have got this wrong—in both your brother’s situation and your husband’s situation, it was administered by the doct…”

“There was no Back-Bench speech from any Member of your party, and you will have your opportunity in a minute.”

“I will not give way.”

“It is no surprise that we are seeing record levels of disillusionment with the political process, with citizens becoming increasingly disengaged. This is reflected in the fact that turnout at the 2024 general election was the second lowest since 1918, at just under 60%. More than 40% of registered voters in the UK thou…”

“People across the country are fed up with first past the post. The 2024 election was the most disproportionate in history, with the Government winning two thirds of the seats on one third of the vote—the second biggest majority of seats for any Government since the second world war on the lowest share of the vote ever …”