Wendy Chamberlain
MP for North East Fife · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“Weakening an internationally recognised definition risks damaging consumer confidence and diluting brand value at a time when the Scotch whisky industry is not in the rude health that the Government mistakenly think it is.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) on securing the debate. Like everyone here, I have constituents who, after years of dedicated public service in our armed forces, prisons and vital public services, are now struggling to make ends meet because of failures by Capita.”
“I declare an interest as chair of the Scotch whisky all-party parliamentary group, and I also hold a Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers general certificate in distilling.”
“Under that definition, English single malt whisky requires only distillation at a single distillery, rather than for all the stages of production to take place at a single site. The term “single malt whisky” carries a long-established reputation and meaning for consumers.”
“As if that were not already enough, she cannot access his civil service pension. She spoke with Capita last week and was told that her case was “progressing”—exactly the same update as she had a month earlier.”
“Why did the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury tell the House in March last year that DEFRA would not be watering down the definition of single malt whisky? Because I can assure you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that that is exactly what the Government are doing now.”
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Every one of 602 lines we hold for Wendy Chamberlain, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 13.
“I did not serve in this Parliament at the same time as Jo Cox, but I have served here at the same time as my friend, the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater). I recognise on my behalf, and that of a number of MPs who she and I engage with cross-party, that she really embodies the legacy of her sister—that, cross-party, there is more that unites than divides us—and it is an honour to be here today.”
“My party wants to see in the Bill a bidding framework to allow the Government to bring even more world-class competitions to the UK. I think we are all in agreement about their value—not only in bringing people in to see high-class sport, but their economic benefit, which has been well utilised and articulated by these Commonwealth games. We also want to see in the Bill an accommodation and infrastructure strategy. I would hate to think that concerns about George Square and other parts of the city might detract from what will be an incredible event, but it is important that when we bring these events to our cities and communities, we ensure that people can go about their day-to-day lives as well. I hope that the Government will give that consideration, either in the other place or in the Commons.”
“I look forward to the emails I am going to receive from constituents about that controversial view. I will conclude by talking about volunteering and looking forward to some legislation that is passing through Parliament. My mum is a proud Glaswegian and, like the hon. Member for Glasgow West, volunteered during the Commonwealth games in 2014. We should not underestimate the value of volunteering, not just in what it brings to the event, but in the relationships, friendships and community that it builds afterwards. My mum certainly still meets some of the people she worked with during that time. My husband also worked in spectator safety, so as a family we felt a real sense of pride about 2014 from our place on the east coast. The Sporting Events Bill was recently introduced in the other place.”
“Member for Strangford about the sports that will be included. I am going to say something very controversial for somebody who represents St Andrews, but I have my doubts about golf being in the Olympics, in the same way as I do about tennis. If winning a gold medal at the Olympics is not the pinnacle of the sport— I would argue that for both of those sports, it is not; that is winning a grand slam or the Open—I question whether it should be in the Olympic repertoire. We have to think from the athletes’ perspective about what is seen as the pinnacle of their sport. There is no doubt that for some athletes whose sports potentially will not be represented at these games, participation in the Commonwealth games would be the pinnacle of their sport.”
“I should declare an interest in that I sit on the Links Trust, which runs the Old Course and all the golf courses in St Andrews. Recent research by the trust demonstrated £300 million-worth of economic impact that those courses in St Andrews bring to Scotland, but as we look to hosting the Open next year, we know that connectivity and getting people to our beautiful part of Scotland comes at a cost. The reimagining of the Commonwealth games is to be welcomed, not just because it will enable them to be delivered within the time available, but because—I was very encouraged to read this in the evidence given to the Scottish Affairs Committee—it looks like it is encouraging other countries to re-engage with hosting the games in the future, which is very important. However, I share the concerns of the hon.”
“We welcome the funding from Commonwealth Sport and from commercial funders and partnerships, the contingency funding that the UK Government have offered in relation to security, and the £150,000 that the Scottish Government are putting forward for Scotland House. The hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) talked about connectivity and economic value. I understand that the £150 million of economic value that it is estimated will be delivered by these Commonwealth Games is the same amount as the money that is being put into them. If that is not a return on investment, I do not know what is. That connectivity, and bringing people together, is really important. It is important for sporting events to demonstrate that economic impact.”
“To quote the late, great Stanley Baxter in “Parliamo Glasgow”, I am sure they’re going to have a helluva time. Thinking about funding, there is no doubt that what we are seeing, and the fact that Glasgow has been able to step in, is a result of the down payment in 2014 and the investment that was made then. The hon. Member for Glasgow East mentioned Tollcross, where I have spent a lot of time; I had a sister who swam competitively at junior level for Scotland, so I spent a lot of time in swimming pools. Those community assets, and the power of a venue such as Tollcross to bring international swimming to Scotland, must not be underestimated.”
“Cumbernauld!” We are going to be seeing 10 days of games, with 215 medals and 3,000 athletes from 74 countries. As the Member for North East Fife, it would be remiss of me not to mention Finlay Allan of Cupar, who is participating for Scotland in the judo. I wish him very well. I associate myself with the remarks of the hon. Members for Glasgow East (John Grady) and for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) in relation to the fact that we are going to be bringing together in Glasgow young people from 74 countries. At a time when it feels that we are becoming more insular, both globally and community-wise, such events bring young people—specifically, those younger than me—together. The power of that must not be underestimated. I certainly remember the emotion of watching 2012, 2022 in Birmingham and 2014 in Glasgow.”
“Sport does that in a very powerful way across ages and generations. I read the evidence given to the Scottish Affairs Committee—I congratulate the Committee’s Chair, the hon. Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson), on securing this debate. It was interesting to read Billy Garrett from Glasgow Life reporting that, when Victoria stepped back from supporting the games, Glasgow was quickly thought of as somewhere that could be asked to step up, and indeed it was already thinking of doing so. That demonstrates the high regard in which Glasgow 2014 and its delivery was held, but I think it says something about Glasgow as well. “People Make Glasgow” is the best strapline for a city I have ever heard—closely followed by “Glasgow’s miles better”, but maybe not quite as iconic as “What’s it called?”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, and to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats today. As the Chief Whip of my party, I seldom get the opportunity to do so, but when the opportunity arose to talk about the Commonwealth games coming to Glasgow, I was keen to participate. I assure Members—just in case there is a pile-on—that I may be an adopted east coaster, but my roots are in the west. I have cared about sport all my life. I was the first female director of the Camanachd Association, the governing body for shinty, for two years between 2017 and 2019. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) talked about shooting; I think it is unlikely that we will see shinty in any international context any time soon, but it is important for bringing communities together.”
“Alongside the hon. Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson), I was present at the meeting with the Prime Minister last week. I welcome the Minister to her place and thank her for her time at the meeting. We have heard consistently from survivors that they were trafficked in many locations by many different people. Given that that partly fits the category of organised crime, what consideration has the Minister given to getting the National Crime Agency involved with this investigation, which would help build survivors’ confidence and trust in the ongoing investigation?”
“Liberal Democrats enshrined the 0.7% international development target in law while in Government, thanks in large part to the dedication of the now Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, Lord Purvis. That law has still not been repealed, despite successive Governments flouting it. Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Secretary to come before the House to update us on the Government’s compliance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015?”
“Already, more than 60 people have died as a result of the ongoing outbreak, and the head of the World Health Organisation said yesterday that it could have begun as early as January. I fear that drastic cuts to international aid have undermined the international community’s preparedness to identify and respond urgently to such outbreaks. Under the Conservative Government, aid was slashed from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%; under Labour, it is down to its lowest levels as a proportion of GNI since 1999. We are responding to the Ebola crisis with one hand tied behind our back. International development is “important for Britain’s strength abroad”— not my words, but Tony Blair’s, in his much-commented-on essay last week. I believe it is important to our national security, too.”
“I start by echoing the comments made by both the shadow Leader of the House and the Leader of the House in relation to the murder of Henry Nowak and the comments made by his family. As a former police officer, I would say to those seeking to protest, or indeed encouraging those to protest, that protests involve policing and they take away the very police officers who operate in our communities, trying to tackle the scourge of knife crime. It is important that we remember that. I also echo the comments in relation to the service personnel who have tragically died in recent days, the death of Sir Alex Younger, and the former parliamentarians who we all recognise and remember. This week, I draw the attention of the House to the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.”
“My constituent was inadvertently misled—I like to think it was inadvertent—about where and when voicemails could be left, and there was a general refusal to engage with my office, despite requests to do so because my constituent, in addition to having learning difficulties and being a carer for his family, was also going through cancer treatment. Those are all underlying issues within the Department for Work and Pensions and do not specifically relate to Social Security Scotland, but we see similar confusion with almost every case that comes through our office, and we need it to be sorted.”
“I want to pause at this point and reflect on how long it has taken for us to know what is causing the confusing and distressing deductions from my constituents’ payments. My fantastic caseworker Neve has spent literally months trying to unravel payments and deductions, while being told different things by different DWP and Social Security Scotland caseworkers. I have met the Minister for Social Security and Disability in relation to one of those cases, and he is aware from previous correspondence of the myriad communication problems that we had in one particular case, with DWP officers calling my constituent and causing considerable distress.”
“The issue I want the Minister to address is the fact that Department for Work and Pensions systems are continually failing to understand and correctly account for Scottish carers who have an underlying entitlement to the Scottish carer support payment, but who do not receive the payment itself because of income—for example their state pension or part-time work. I am currently supporting two constituents who see continual wrongful deductions. One has passed state pension age, and the other receives employment and support allowance. They do not receive any payments for the carer support payment from Social Security Scotland, but the DWP continues to make those deductions from their universal credit—I hope colleagues are keeping up.”
“In addition to all your work in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker, and so much behind the scenes, you are also a constituency MP. Like me, like the Minister, and like the other Members here this evening, you will be written to by your constituents, and I am sure that you and your team will know how incredibly frustrating it is when we cannot get Government systems right. That is why we are here this evening, and I hope the Minister will provide some constructive responses about departmental improvements.”
“Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, how will the Department ensure that that happens on a UK-wide basis? What is the current understanding of the underlying error? What steps are being taken to fix it? What will the timescale be for that? Crucially, what steps are being taken to identify carers who are being underpaid or wrongly advised to drop their entitlement, and to offer proper support while those errors are rectified?”
“My constituents spotted the problem, came to my office and after months of back and forth we have understood it, but there are more than 30,000 carers across Scotland who have this underlying entitlement and could be missing out on universal credit as a result. It has been a battle to get to where we are today, and I would not be surprised if many carers in Scotland gave up their underlying entitlement to this payment if they were told by the DWP that that was the best thing to do—but there are consequences to that decision. I therefore hope the Minister can use his time to set out what the Department is doing to ensure that its staff properly know about and understand Scottish benefits. What engagement is the Minister’s Department having with the Scottish Government to ensure that we can get working together? As the hon.”
“I cannot stress enough the fear of relying on the DWP, spending the money and then being told that it has to be repaid—I am sure that we all, as constituency MPs, recognise that. As it turns out, the DWP had got it wrong again. Despite everything it had been told, despite the months of investigating the claim, it thought that my constituent had never received carer support payment, which he had until December, and had repaid him for the whole period of the deduction. Now a further investigation has to be carried out, and then my constituent will have to pay back more than two thirds of what he has just been paid, so he needs to keep that money until then. I am sorry, but I find that unacceptable. What on earth is going on?”
“They are not alone, and fundamentally this is not their fault. I will make a final addition to my remarks before I come to a conclusion. I had mainly prepared for this debate when we received an update this morning on one of the cases. My constituent had received a letter saying that he would be receiving a back payment of the best part of £3,000. He was confused—we were confused. My office had spelled out as clearly as it could to the DWP that he just needed his universal credit paid back for the period of December 2025 to February 2026, in which carer support payment had been incorrectly deducted. Being given a confusing payment of too much money can be just as distressing as receiving too little.”
“Carers Week is next week, and I do not think that that is the message that we want to be sending from this place, or indeed from the DWP. That may all sound a bit dry and complicated, but benefit applications, overlapping payments and underlying entitlements have a real human impact on the lives of our constituents. Having their universal credit payment reduced to nil when they have food to buy and bills to pay is very difficult. There is no buffer to help them out while they battle with the DWP to find out why. I have seen constituents relying on credit cards for basics, or going without, to the detriment of their own health. The stress and distress that this situation causes are immense. The DWP’s computer error is the reason one constituent has been suicidal, and it is causing extreme anxiety to another.”
“We need a system that does not make these systemic errors in the first place, and I would argue that that is very squarely for the Department, not claimants, to sort out. Just finally last week, the specialist DWP complaints team has either worked out, or come clean with us and owned up to, the systemic error impacting many Scottish carers. It wants to find a fix, but it does not have a timescale in which that will be achieved. Until then, it will be up to a claimant to realise that there is a problem and ask the DWP to correct the deduction each month. Let me repeat that: the DWP wants the claimant to ask the DWP to correct the deduction each month. We all know that unpaid carers are among the most overstretched groups in our society, yet the DWP is telling them to take on the burden of correcting its failures every single month.”
“However, from the DWP side I have been varyingly told that its system shows a claimant in receipt of a payment of carer support payment, despite them never having received it, and that it is DWP policy to deduct carer support payment as standard unless explicitly told otherwise by Social Security Scotland. Worryingly, while acknowledging an issue in March, the Minister for Social Security and Disability told us in writing that wrongful deductions “may cause confusion to customers and that they are exploring ways to make the process clearer”. My view is that yes, DWP mistakes can be confusing, especially given the communication issues that I have already outlined; but that statement misses the point by stating the problem is the claimant’s understanding.”
“It fails to demonstrate any understanding of how many benefits work, and frankly demonstrates a willingness to let people be worse off because the DWP’s own rules are complicated to apply. Secondly, DWP systems need to be set up to process correctly the information being provided to them by Social Security Scotland. I will not claim that Social Security Scotland is perfect by any stretch, and it is not within the purview of this place, but I would like to see more joined-up working from all sides. However, I have been assured, as much as I can be, by Social Security Scotland that its computer system is communicating properly with the DWP, and I have no reason to believe otherwise.”
“Carer support payment can also be awarded as an underlying entitlement that acts as a gateway for additional support. That should be a familiar concept. We see it with the DWP carer’s allowance, but also with other support such as child benefit. Parents are encouraged to apply for child benefit even if they are not eligible for the payment, because it is a gateway to the non-working parent getting national insurance credits. Madam Deputy Speaker, you can imagine how frustrating it is when DWP case handlers give advice, as they have done to us, that the issue with deductions would be resolved by asking Social Security Scotland to remove the underlying entitlement.”
“There are two key issues with the carer support payment that the DWP needs to help address. First, DWP staff need to be trained in what that payment is, how it works, and why keeping the underlying entitlement to it is important. That includes early stage call handlers, in addition to the specialist teams to whom difficult cases are allocated. I hope that the Minister, and the Minister for Social Security and Disability, are fully across this, but let me put on the record that the carer support payment is the benefit that replaced carer’s allowance in Scotland—we know there have been major issues with carer’s allowance in other parts of the UK. Like carer’s allowance, earnings over a certain level remove someone’s eligibility to the payments.”
“I agree with the hon. Member, and it is important to remember that on many occasions we are talking about our most vulnerable constituents. No doubt there is an onus on us as MPs, and indeed on the Government in Westminster, but Administrations in other parts of the UK also have a responsibility to ensure that they are working as constructively as possible. I understand that the Department has recently recruited more complaints handlers, which I hope will go some way to improving things. I have a case that we raised in March, and we were told this week that it has not yet been assigned to anyone. I am deeply concerned about the state of the DWP, and by extension the welfare of the vulnerable constituents who the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) just referred to.”
“I want to put on record that the Minister for Social Security and Disability has been very keen to work with me to understand the problems we have, and I have been very grateful for the support. We are looking at the fact that the issues are still happening, and I am grateful to the Minister for taking an interest in that.”
“I thank the Minister for giving way again. Does he agree that the problem we have identified—and potentially the scale of the problem, given the number of unpaid carers receiving an entitlement to this allowance—should be looked at by that working group?”
“Building our military capability is vital in this world of increasing instability, where Putin continues to wage war in Europe—as we have heard—and Trump rips up the alliances that once kept us safe. Investment in deterrence is far better than fighting a war unprepared. Getting UK businesses access to the Security Action for Europe programme is vital, so will the Secretary of State confirm whether talks have restarted with the EU in that regard, and if so, what progress has been made?”
“Hospitality businesses in North East Fife support the Lib Dem call for a VAT cut for hospitality, but the Government do not seem to be moving on it. Will the Minister consult with businesses on a lower national insurance contribution band for part-time workers? Part-time opportunities are so important to hospitality and for getting younger people into work.”
“The Government have repeatedly pointed to the fuel finder website as the best way to keep prices low through competition. Yet in my constituency costs have gone up so much that there is basically no variation between the pumps. Those high prices are crippling for everyone, but particularly for local businesses such as the fish merchants from the East Neuk, who go far and beyond North East Fife to deliver to customers directly. Driving is not avoidable for a constituency such as mine. Obviously, the Government are not looking at the Lib Dem proposals, but why do they not offer meaningful support beyond red diesel in rural constituencies? What about EV charging, for example? Often, in constituencies such as mine, people have to charge away from home because they need their car to get about the constituency.”
“Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), has made his pro-EU stall abundantly clear, whereas Labour’s candidate in Makerfield seems a little more unsure, despite his previous representations. The Prime Minister’s trade deal with North Korea is impressive—I trust that he misspoke yesterday. We Liberal Democrats think that a UK-EU customs union is the single best way to start fixing the profound damage done to the British economy since Brexit, so I was disappointed that Labour MPs joined forces with Reform and the Conservatives yesterday to vote down our plans for a customs union. Those red lines are deeply damaging to our economy. Will the Leader of the House impress on the Prime Minister that, whatever his potential leadership rivals think, the Government’s EU reset Bill must include steps to negotiate such a customs union?”
“The Prime Minister may well still be in post, but there is no doubt that his fading authority is doing the country no favours. We have seen how the bond markets have reacted to the uncertainty and chaos. I fear that this Government are becoming a little like HS2: they are moving more slowly and making things more expensive for people in this country. While the Government lay out their vision, we on the Liberal Democrat Benches believe that a crucial piece of the economic puzzle is still missing. We will continue to make the case for closer ties with our closest allies and trading partners in the European Union, but the Labour party cannot quite make up its mind about that policy. I note that the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the right hon.”
“My hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean), who is usually here for business questions, is probably very glad not to be here, given Arsenal’s success. It has been very good to see teams succeed in English football who have not succeeded for some time, but it was a different case in Scotland at the weekend. I congratulate Celtic on winning the league again, but as the wife and mother of Heart of Midlothian supporters, it has been a very difficult week. I congratulate the club on its amazing season. I thank the Leader of the House for providing us with the certainty of the business for the next sitting week—it seems to be the only certainty that we have. Who knows where we will be after that?”
“My constituent Antonis Vradis is a much-valued and loved professor at the University of St Andrews. He is one of a number of British citizens who have been detained by the Israeli authorities in international waters and taken to Israel for processing. I have been in touch with his family, friends, colleagues and students in recent days, who are all deeply concerned about how he will be treated and when he will be released. The video that Members have already referred to seems to confirm their worst fears. Although I am pleased to see reports of those from the Israeli embassy being summoned to meet the FCDO, and I am grateful for confirmation from the Minister on the expected processing and release, were the actual calls of the Sumud flotilla raised in the meeting with the Israeli chargé d’affaires?”
“Can he tell the House whether officials or Ministers were aware at the time of Andrew’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein, which had already been established when the appointment was made? Was this connection monitored? Finally, can the Minister confirm, given their absence from this release, that there are no documents pertaining to communications with Peter Mandelson about the appointment?”
“Why did that not lead to any scrutiny or vetting, not just at the start but at any stage during Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s tenure as an envoy? The guardrails were not in place. The appointment came into effect more than a year after Ministers said that they were happy for it to happen, and the files also show that the then Prime Minister had been aware from the start and did nothing. There was time for the warning signs to be taken seriously. Why were no questions asked at all in that period? In his written statement to the House today, the Minister excused the lack of vetting and oversight because Andrew was a royal replacing a royal. Does he agree that safeguards must be put in place for any future such appointments?”
“The Minister has not previously come to the Dispatch Box at all; I note the difference from the response to the Humble Address, in the name of the official Opposition, relating to Peter Mandelson. The files that we have seen show that there was no vetting by the Government and that, even then, no questions appear to have been asked. The lack of documentation provided is itself concerning, as is the time taken to get this far. The Minister has said that he is not sure whether there are more documents. When will he be sure, and when will he release any remaining documents? The documents we do have clearly show concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest. It started with golf, but we all know what came next.”
“The Minister has so far given us two reasons why the statement he has just given at the Dispatch Box is different from the one that was sent, embargoed, an hour ago. If it is the same as the written statement, why was it sent out as embargoed? I should also say, dare I say it, that transparency should not be trumped by time limits in relation to the business of this House. It has been three months since the House passed the Liberal Democrat Humble Address to release the files showing how and why Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed as a UK special representative for trade and investment, and until today the Government have published only one written statement, which told us very little.”
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with the banking industry to deliver a cash or banking hub for Cupar. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003199]”
“And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of residents of the constituency of North East Fife, Declares that everyone should be able to access cash and banking advice when they need it; further declares that this should not be restricted by poor mobile or broadband connectivity, not having easy access to a phone, or preferring to do transactions face to face; further declares that although almost 14,000 people live in the area surrounding Cupar and the town serves many more in the surrounding villages, Cupar is served by just one building society following the closure of multiple local bank branches; further declares that it is not feasible for many people to travel outwith Cupar to neighbouring towns such as St Andrews in light of cuts to bus routes; and further declares that a cash hub would allow consumers and businesses to access and bank cash safely and a banking hub would provide vital face to face services and advice for the community.”
“A recent petition in Cupar calling for face-to-face banking services has now been signed by 585 local residents—a sign that there is a real strength of feeling in Cupar about its banking services. The petition “Declares that everyone should be able to access cash and banking advice when they need it…that this should not be restricted by poor mobile or broadband connectivity” or by “not having easy access to a phone, or preferring to do transactions face to face; further declares that although…14,000 people live in the area surrounding Cupar and the town serves many more” in the villages around it, “Cupar is served by just one building society following the closure of multiple local bank branches…The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with the banking industry to deliver a cash or banking hub for Cupar.”
“Perhaps some of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet colleagues might want to come along and make contributions. After last week’s results, one of the solutions that should be discussed in that debate is the need to move to a system of proportional representation for general elections, as well as for local government elections in England. That need has never been greater. We Liberal Democrats will always support calls for making every vote count, and that is despite results in Richmond upon Thames and some of the Scottish constituencies—including my own, I have to say—that would make Kim Jong Un blush. Will the Leader of the House speak to the Prime Minister and try to persuade him that if he wants to leave some form of legacy that he can be proud of, he should make time for a Bill on fair votes?”
“I heard us described in recent days as, “Italy without the cuisine.” When we look at the content of the King’s Speech, we see the reason why this Prime Minister has run out of road, despite having such a large majority: there is no real change offered by this Government’s policy agenda, just a tinkering around the edges. There is an EU reset Bill that offers no reset and no attempt to boost growth by moving beyond the Government’s red lines. There are no measures to boost national security by introducing a programme of defence bonds, and there is nothing to fix the crisis in social care that plagues so many of our constituents. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in Government time on how to stop this continued chaos of successive Conservative and Labour Governments?”
“May I start by associating myself with the remarks of the Leader of the House in relation to Brighton and the elections? It is not easy to stand for elected office, particularly if you are not successful, and it does take a toll, so I thank him for those remarks. I also thank the Leader of the House for providing us with the first set of business for the new Session, but I have to note that at the beginning of the previous Session the new Government made a virtue of the fact that they would be putting an end to the incessant chaos of the Conservatives, yet we find ourselves again with a Prime Minister who appears to have lost all authority. We all know that changing Prime Minister over and over again is deeply damaging for our economy and our place on the world stage.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend about sustainability. We are in a cost of living crisis, but also a cost of producing food crisis. It took the Government seven weeks to respond to my written question about fertiliser costs. Does he agree that the Government need to be much more on the front foot on these issues?”
“The Minister talks about profitability, but there is no doubt that the Government’s failed family farm tax has had a huge impact. She also talks about building resilience for the future with schemes, but does she accept that we need next generation schemes to attract young people into the industry, because from a family perspective many of them are leaving?”