Speeches by McDonagh.

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“Thank you. Our application is for a debate on survival rates relating to brain cancer. Brain cancer is the largest killer of children and people under 40 in the UK, and has seen some of the worst improvement rates over the last 30 years. The specific brain tumour type that I am particularly interested in, glioblastoma,…”

“Thank you for your time.”

“If possible.”

“I think the debate in May helped us considerably raise the profile of the issue. Other things we have managed to do in the Chamber since then have also kept the pressure on the Government. There is also the proximity of the cancer plan, which, as Charlie says, is going to be out in early February. About 45% of people d…”

“I welcome this Budget and the difference that it will make to families who have endured the cost of living crisis for far too long. I welcome the £150 cut to energy bills from April—a lifeline for households that have stretched every pound as far as it will go. I welcome the freeze on rail fares, because for many famil…”

“I will just say that, as somebody who benefited from the neurological department at St George’s hospital, which was a PFI, I am very grateful that he did.”

“That goes against everything you spent the last two hours talking about.”

“When Lloyds closes in January, Mitcham will lose its last remaining bank, yet Link has refused a banking hub, claiming that the nearest branch in Tooting is just 14 minutes away. That figure comes from bus timetables, not real journeys by residents, many of whom have recorded it taking 20 minutes or longer. The whole d…”

“A fourth patient has entered the glioblastoma drug trial set up in memory of my late sister. Today, we are joined by Ben Trotman, a patient of a similar trial in 2022 that was funded by the Jon Moulton foundation. Since then, Ben has married Emily, and in March they welcomed beautiful baby Mabel. When will the National…”

“Sometimes people do not realise it is coercion; it is just life.”

“Could you address the point about the Irish tax increase? Do you disagree with what Mr Kenny said: that the money going to the Treasury has doubled, with no downturn in participation?”

“Mr Kenny, what would you say to somebody who said that you had a Canutean view of these things, and that you were pushing away the future in a romanticism about the past? We perhaps both share a similar past of greyhound racing and horseracing as a great recreational activity for the whole family. When we were kids—you…”

“Would you like to come to Mitcham town centre with me?”

“Oh God, yes. I think they have a dreadful time. I am not criticising them in any way.”

“Right. We will take you on a tour.”

“I think we are involved in a giant game of whack-a-mole in the run-up to the Budget, where everybody whacks the tax increase that they could get in order to whack it on to somebody else. Ms Hurst, you said that we all know if you tax more, you get less. Now, I don’t know that; I think it depends on the tax and how you …”

“Betting shops were somewhere that everybody would go—men and women. As I left my office this morning, I got into a conversation about it, which is why I was late. Dee in my office said, “I used to love going to the betting shop to put a bet on a horse for the Grand National, or on high days and holidays. Betting shops …”

“In the Secretary of State’s list of what has happened since his last oral questions, he failed to mention the appointment of our hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) as a Minister. He is particularly looking at life sciences. Without life sciences and drug trials, we will not see an improvement in o…”

“If you are about to die.”