"I can assure my hon. Friend that, as an ethnic Yorkshireman, Lancashire is rarely out of my thoughts. That is also true of the enterprise zone, and I look forward to visiting it very soon and seeing him there.
"In common with the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes), I too drive a London taxi, and no reasonable offer will be refused.
This is the coalition Government’s fourth Budget—a Budget determined to stay the course and fill the sink-hole of debt left to us by …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes a very reasonable point. My own Department in central Government has reduced its running costs by 41% in real terms, so we have led by example.
The Government have set about turning things around. This is a complex area, and the solution requires action on multiple …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"I think that only the Labour party would confuse taxation with entitlement to benefit. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, since coming to office we have made great play of the need to release a number of unoccupied houses, and thus far we have made quite a push towards that. …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"No. The right hon. Gentleman has had his chance to intervene, and his intervention was not very good.
Let me deal first with our reforms of the planning system. Labour’s top-down, centralist approach built nothing but resentment. Its regional strategies added a layer of red tape that paralysed planning. By …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"I will certainly have a look at the particular circumstances to which the hon. Lady refers. I have been pleased to see the growth in neighbourhood plans, which are analogous to what she is suggesting. Indeed, I visited a village in my constituency that is looking forward to introducing them. …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"This is the second time the hon. Gentleman has asked whether I am willing to see him. I am; indeed, only this morning I sent out, at my own expense, for some high-quality tea and better biscuits for him. We are looking forward to seeing him.
"The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point, and if that were a way in which Mrs Pickles and I could obtain a second home in Frinton, it would indeed be a scandal, but that is certainly not the Government’s intention. However, in our endeavours to ensure that I do not …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point. However, housing prices are at a more reasonable level now, we will be increasing supply and of course there will be a check on the scheme, through the Bank of England, to see that it is renewed every three years. So the worries …..." Lord Pickles - View Speech