Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Ceidwadwyr MP ar gyfer Grantham and Bourne
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. Thank you very much for keeping us all in order. Let me first congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) on securing the debate. I am pleased that he clarified that it is not a debate on Tinder. To clarify, I did know that it was a debate about tin and not Tinder, but it is clear that he is a perfect match for...
I thank Members from across the House for their contributions today, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) on securing this debate on trade—granted, of course, by the Backbench Business Committee. Before I turn to the specifics of what we are debating today, it is important to be clear from the outset that Conservative Members, like all Members who have...
I am very grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention. I will address the point that she raises later in my speech, but our shared aim across this House, which is peace in the region, cannot be achieved without Britain maintaining an enduring relationship with Israel and with our allies in the region. It is through engagement that we will be able to achieve the resolution we all want....
The hon. Lady is wrong to suggest that we are saying we should do nothing. If Members remember, it was a Conservative Foreign Secretary in 2024 who imposed sanctions on the settlements. The House has heard me say from this Dispatch Box that the expansion of settlements is wrong. She is being unfair. What I am talking about is a point of execution. We have to engage with our allies—Israel is...
We can be critical of our allies and we can be critical friends—of course we can—but what I am saying is that disengagement is not a solution to achieving what the House wants, which is peace in the middle east.
I will make a little progress in the interests of time, because I know that Members will want to hear from the Minister. It is the official Opposition’s view that a proposed ban on the trade of Israeli settlement goods and services will bring about the same result as I have been talking about and will prove counterproductive and ineffective. Secondly, aside from the ineffectiveness of the...
Not right now, and I have already taken an intervention from the hon. Lady. Finally, and more broadly, we worry that the campaigners ultimately want this ban to become a gateway to a wider ban on trade with Israel. If that is the case, they simply do not accept the importance of the relationship that we have with Israel. On trade and the economy, Israel is a technology and health superpower,...
I beg to move, That this House regrets the combination of the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions, the impact of the Employment Rights Act 2025, and the regulations that make it more difficult for young people to get their first job; further regrets the destructive impact that the Government’s policies have had on entry-level, flexible and seasonal work in particular; also...
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 6104, if he will provide an aggregate estimate, or estimated range, of the total cost of relocating the units and training functions based at Prince William of Gloucester Barracks.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5721, what assessment Joint Military Command Centre has made of the resilience capability that will be lost when Prince William of Gloucester Barracks is no longer available; and which location will assume its role in contingency plans for resilience operations.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5729, where the new bespoke non-infantry basic training centre will be located; what the timeline is for its opening and expansion; what its expected capacity will be; and how it will deliver efficiencies.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5729, where infantry reserve basic training currently provided at Army Training Regiment Grantham will take place following the planned closure of Prince William of Gloucester Barracks.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5724, whether the decision that Prince William of Gloucester Barracks is surplus to military requirement has been reviewed by Ministers since 2016.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5729, whether the Value for Money assessment assessed the net cost of disposing of Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, including the cost of replacing its training and logistics functions, or solely the cost of the new training centre at Alexander Barracks, Pirbright.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 6104, what the evidential basis is for determining that disposal of the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks delivers best value for the taxpayer.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 5729, if he will publish the Value for Money assessment.
