"T8. An audit conducted by Open Democracy found that think-tanks such as the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange—favourites of the Tory party—had raised more than £14 million from mystery donors in the past two years. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with the …..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"5. Whether the Committee has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the commission’s oversight of political finance regulation and electoral law in the UK. ..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Lady for that answer. With the ongoing mystery funding of think tanks, the reluctance to regulate online campaigning and the introduction of voter ID, nobody trusts this Tory Government on regulating elections and the franchise. However, I wonder what the commission’s view is of the UK …..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"11. What recent discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the Nationality and Borders Bill proposals to intercept small boats and return asylum seekers to France. ..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"The Home Office proposals are immoral, dangerous and, as we have just heard, illegal, because they break international law. This Government want to force others to do their bidding by breaking international law on their behalf. Any QC and Attorney General worth their salt would be telling the Home Secretary …..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"It is now three months since the national security leak that confirmed that the Government were split over allowing any Huawei involvement in the 5G network, yet it is clear that the Government are still prevaricating, while the US and Australia have been quite vocal about their concerns about the …..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"I have 4,200 elderly constituents who will lose out because of this. Any of them who are watching the answers from the Dispatch Box today will be reminded, as I am, of a line from a Billy Connolly joke, which is that “a big boy did it and ran away”. …..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"T3. Scotland’s land mass is two thirds the size of England’s, and Scotland clearly has many more islands. What needs analysis was carried out that resulted in Scotland’s receiving a fifth of England’s broadband budget?..." Alan Brown - View Speech
"Anyone who cares about the legal aid system will be aware that there are challenges. The Scottish Government have undertaken a review of legal aid to make the system simpler, more flexible and more cost-effective. Will the Attorney General discuss with the Justice Secretary undertaking a similar review and following …..." Alan Brown - View Speech