Speeches by Vaughan.

“I am not aware that following the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland there has been a strong current to re-criminalise it, which might be expected had a situation such as the right hon. Gentleman referred to actually occurred. It is not my understanding that that has happened. For each of the two offence…”

“I again thank the petitioner, Gemma Clark, for starting this petition. As others have said, it is being debated at a crucial time given the proposed new clauses to the Crime and Policing Bill, which we have debated today to a degree. What is clear is that abortion investigations and prosecutions are on the rise, althou…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 700014 relating to decriminalising abortion. It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. The petition creator is Gemma Clark, and this is what it says: “I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregn…”

“I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, and thank her for her work on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which engages that principle of autonomy. I find it hard to read about the cases I just mentioned and not feel that the time has come to abandon the practice of criminalising and imprisoning women for choic…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. As our hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow and I have said, these are human rights issues, and courts have highlighted incompatibilities where that has been the case. It is important that those principles guide our approach. I am in favour of the regulation of abortion, but I am also in …”

“I am not aware of that statistic. It may be that I can look into it and say more about it in closing.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, which is noted.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that statistic, which I was not aware of. Criminalisation involves traumatisation from the moment of investigation to charge, arrest and all the way through the system. The time has come to abandon these outdated practices. I struggle to see how it can be a good use of the scarce resources in…”

“As I will come on to say, there is an issue about each area taking its fair share of developments. It is absolutely key that we support the Government’s clean energy mission and take our fair share, but we need to make sure that it is a fair share.”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. As a final point, there are real concerns about how ethical solar panel supply chains are. It is so important that we have robust mechanisms to ensure—”

“As I said, the whole country needs to play its part in supporting the clean energy mission, but there needs to be a fair-share principle. If all the areas of the country with similar features to my constituency played their part, there would be less of an impact in particular areas. It is an entirely fair balance to st…”

“I will not take any further interventions at this stage. [Interruption.] Members will hear what I come on to say. We have a decommissioned nuclear power station in Folkestone and Hythe, and I strongly believe that it should be brought back for energy generation. The site has the right location, with proximity to the gr…”

“I am pleased to follow the right hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay), as he will find out shortly. I strongly support this Government’s clean energy mission, and I want this country to be a clean energy superpower. I want to see more wind, tidal, hydroelectric power and, as I will say later, nucle…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for securing this timely debate. Public libraries are critical community centres that educate and enlighten. They are used disproportionately by people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgro…”

“I, too, thank the Minister for all his work on this issue. Given the UK’s commitment to a two-state solution, and given our obligations under international law, can he explain how the Government justify engaging in trade negotiations with Israel while the UN is warning us about genocide in Gaza, and does he agree that …”

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and to the support provided to my office by the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy Project. I also chair the all-party parliamentary group on refugees. I thank the Ministers and members of the Public Bill Committee for their work on this B…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) for securing this important debate. I totally agree that the welfare system needs reform. There is something seriously wrong when a person who cannot work at one point in time is written off work forever and not supported to re-en…”

“T4. Folkestone and Hythe has a long history as a thriving tourist destination, but in recent years, with Brexit and rising costs, things are getting harder for businesses in our coastal communities. What steps is the Department taking to support the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry in Kent?”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for leading this debate, and for her masterful analysis of this issue. I also thank the petitioner who raised this critical issue and the 235,000 people who sig…”

“Following the Tory Brexit deal, we have seen lorries backing up from Dover, through my constituency and deep into Kent now that we have customs and immigration checks. Does my hon. Friend agree that a deal to eliminate barriers on food and drink being exported to the EU would help to reduce friction at Dover and throug…”