Speeches by Hoare.

“Maybe you could write to us on that.”

“My heart always sinks when I hear, “Rest quietly. We have a strategy.” Ministers of all colours say this, as if the ownership of the strategy is the answer to the problem or the question. We know that it is not. It is not so much co-ordinating the strategy, but co-ordinating the message, the overtures and the meetings,…”

“Should it be?”

“During this inquiry, we heard that the relationship between different departments of the Department for Business and Trade and the Welsh Government can be inconsistent, and with other Government Departments back to Cardiff. What is your role, if any, and if not yours, whose is it to better co-ordinate to get as much un…”

“Is that a regular programme to make sure that the Welsh Government are carrying out the strategy?”

“When was the last time you had a conversation with the First Minister?”

“Maybe not in this light. Touché, Minister—damn, my secret is out! It all went very well, you will be delighted to hear, and it was long-term rather than just transactional—with my surname, I have to be careful about that. Do you see part of your role as being the Minister of HMG? I do not mean that in an actual sense. …”

“On the point about granular knowledge, when the Committee undertook a trip to the States as part of this inquiry, we were very struck by the importance of having a mayor—a pinnacle, local point of contact—and, in relation to the semiconductor sector, our attention was drawn to the fact that a much faster and more knowl…”

“Minister, you are new to post from a heritage of business rather than politics, so I wanted to ask you a first-base type of question. We know that the world is a highly competitive place for investment, and that lots of emerging countries are looking for inward investment and so on. We have city mayors, the Senedd, the…”

“The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is right to say that the other place must modernise its disciplinary procedures, but that kicks the Mandelson can down the road. This is not the first time this modern-day Icarus has flown a little too close to the sun, usually over money; we all remember the Geoffrey Robinson m…”

“And the Hinduja passport, yes. Where I disagree with the Minister is in conflating the updating of the disciplinary procedures of the other place and the bringing forward of legislation—which is allowed—to remove Mandelson’s peerage. I am absolutely certain that, were the Government to bring forward a Bill, which need …”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—never has a point of order been greeted with such joy from the Chair—you have rightly pointed out, as has Mr Speaker, the Lords amendments that engage Commons financial privilege. We guard that privilege jealously and exercise it with caution. How is the House supposed to exerc…”

“When I and other colleagues intervened on the Minister, we seemed to get a rather la-la land answer about the Government’s response to what the President of the United States has said. In terms, the Minister said, “I’ll go and have a word with him and put him straight.” Well, good luck with that! The Government, having…”

“Throughout the passage of this Bill, the Minister has prayed in aid the support of the United States of America and the wider Five Eyes community. This morning the President of the United States dropped what could be described as a depth charge on that and made very clear what he thinks. What are the House and the Gove…”

“The Secretary of State has demonstrated her commitment and interest in this issue at the Dispatch Box this afternoon, and we thank her for that. However, with the greatest respect, if social media had just arrived in our sitting rooms two weeks ago, a consultation might be necessary, but the canon of evidence about the…”

“The Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister, NATO, the Danes and others have been commended for responding to this situation through the usual channels and the usual means. That would be fine if we had an occupant of the White House who understood and respected all that, but he laughs now not just behind his hand but bla…”

“The Government’s interim dental measures will of course be welcomed by residents in North Dorset, but they know, as I do, that we in this place have been discussing the inadequacy of the dental contract for years. What they and I cannot understand is why it will take until the end of this Parliament, as the Minister to…”

“Leonardo is an important company for Somerset, Dorset and the wider south-west. The Minister will know that corporate decisions are competitive, and his Department plays a key part in shaping what those decisions will be. The defence investment plan is now long overdue. I appreciate that he probably cannot give us a sp…”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but the Leader of the Opposition responded to the Budget and opposed it. The Liberal Democrat spokesman would have spoken later down the list, so I beg to differ from the hon. Gentleman. The Conservative party was the first party to oppose this proposal, not the Liberal Democrats.”

“My hon. Friend is making a serious point. Given the huge discrepancy in the robustness of the figures from the Treasury and wider Government, the challenges they have faced from industry bodies and experts, and the sensitivity of the issue and importance of the agricultural sector, does my hon. Friend agree that while …”