"Given that this is just one example of hapless contingency planning that we are aware of, and that there may be all sorts of other haphazard things going on, should not the Secretary of State commit to more transparency about contingency planning more broadly? He knows that the Operation Yellowhammer …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"If this contract fails, our country will have even greater problems with the continuity of trade, so it will be the public who pay the price—it will not be just the central contractor that loses money.
I seek a bit of accountability from the Secretary of State. The front page …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"I apologise for missing the beginning of the Minister’s remarks but he should answer my hon. Friend’s question: is it the Government’s objective to be part of the Community licence scheme or not?..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"The Secretary of State might be putting a gloss on what is potentially a catastrophic situation. I give him the opportunity, from the Dispatch Box, to give a categorical guarantee that, after exit day, the licences of 318,000 HGV drivers will still be valid to deliver goods across the European …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"I am sorry to interrupt the Secretary of State, but this is quite important. He acknowledges that I asked a straight question about the guarantee. Is it not the case that, even in that worst-case situation, some sort of bilateral agreement with other EU countries would be required and there …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"My hon. Friend will have noticed that the Secretary of State—in all his finger-crossing hopes for something to crop up before Brexit day—did not actually update the House on the progress that he might be making towards a comprehensive land transport agreement, which is what the Freight Transport Association is …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for securing this vital debate. She points out, correctly, that inter-city connectivity between these crucial areas of growth is so poor that without electrification we cannot legitimately look for a midlands engine, which is, after all, the Government’s supposed priority for the …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"I commend the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) for raising important points about taking care during infrastructure construction, but my constituents use the tram, they love it and they would like it to extend eventually to the east side of the city...." Chris Leslie - View Speech
"What a pathetic way to make decisions about infrastructure in our country! Is the Secretary of State not a little bit shamefaced over what is an excruciatingly painful example of political procrastination, although it is obviously in the national interest for him to get on with it at Heathrow? On …..." Chris Leslie - View Speech