Speeches by Darling.

“I am trying to understand.”

“Values and principles—”

“Thank you. Talking about those values, 87,000 people have a liability under Carer’s Allowance. The Minister chose that they are only going to write off 26,000 of those. What values came into play around that decision on what is going to happen to the around 60,000 people who are left out in the cold? What were the key …”

“You have given me a lot of blancmange that I am finding difficult to nail to the ceiling. What clear evidence of management change is there? I am concerned you are not able to give me any.”

“I am just worried that you are in the weeds straight away. What I want to understand is what strategic management you, as the top dog, are driving on that agenda. How are you driving that culture change? It just feels like it is more of the same from one of the most challenged Government Departments. What culture chang…”

“You are not saying what they are doing different to before. What management changes are they doing that you are confident that it is not just going to be the same old, same old and a potential Charge of the Light Brigade?”

“Trump and Putin both respect strength; neither of them respects international law. In the light of that, I welcome the work undertaken by the Prime Minister and leaders from Canada and Europe on the coalition of the willing. The Secretary of State has outlined what we are doing to strengthen our capabilities and those …”

“The hon. Member is making very good points. My guide dog Jennie is not bothered by fireworks—she seems to enjoy them—but Pepsi, my wife’s guide dog, is terrified of them. That is not only awful for the dog, but it means that at firework time, my wife cannot go out and socialise or conduct her business as a local counci…”

“I will happily give way to my Devon colleague.”

“I will focus on Liberal Democrat new clause 9, which would require an assessment of the cumulative impact of the proposals on the hospitality industry. One must bear in mind that, after a medley of challenges, our hospitality industry fears the future—it is in crisis mode—so it is not prepared to invest or take a chanc…”

“My hon. Friend is spot on. We need the Government to wake up, smell the coffee and recognise the challenges that our hospitality industry faces. Some national chains, such as Wetherspoons, use their buying power to drive down the cost of a pint—many customers reflect on prices when they cross the threshold of a venue. …”

“I do not know those venues, but I suspect some of them may well be on the high street. We, as Liberal Democrats, know that our constituents see our high streets as the beating heart of our communities. By backing our hospitality industry, we are backing our high streets. Anthony from Otto in Torquay shared with me how …”

“Can the Minister explain why there are £300 million-worth of cuts in Devon this year to our NHS—to hospital trusts, our partnership trust that looks after mental health and our integrated care board?”

“The issue that we face in Torbay is a significant shrinkage in the number of available commercial routes, whether for bus pass users or other bus users. Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that we need sustained investment in bus services to drive a better service for all our communities?”

“With Donald Trump taking a leaf out of the Putin playbook and becoming an international gangster in the Americas, what assurance can the Secretary of State give the Chamber that the coalition of the willing to protect Ukraine will become the coalition of the capable to defend Ukraine?”

“What we see here is the tune remaining the same from the Budget, but perhaps the words changing a little. We see short-term gain for the taxman and long-term pain for the taxpayer, and particularly for those who wish to save for their pensions. The Minister was right to highlight how we need to be driving more people t…”

“I am sure that the Minister will join me in congratulating Anna Coles, the director of adult and community services at Torbay council, and her team on achieving a “good” rating from the Care Quality Commission this week. The fly in the ointment is that despite Torbay being the most deprived local authority in south-wes…”

“The news about the reinstatement of the Erasmus scheme is brilliant for our young people. I have heard from language schools in Torbay, particularly International House Torquay, who have taken advantage of the group travel scheme for German students to be able to use just their ID cards to study languages in England. W…”

“I have electronics and photonics industries in my own constituency, and a lot of their workers are people in their late 50s, 60s and even 70s because they have the knowledge. Patrick, you have started to enter the area of my supplementary question, so I wonder if you could build on this conversation. In the light of th…”

“Are there any international comparisons? Ben was mentioning Sweden, but are there any international examples you could point to as proof of where this works particularly well?”