"As ever, I am indebted to the Speaker for allowing me this opportunity to raise an issue the like of which, in all my years as a Member and in the 20 years before that when I was a member of Lewisham borough council, I have never come across before. …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I was going to come to that. The issue has been resolved in the short term, but its impact persists and it has exposed a severe flaw in the system by which the Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency, …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"I applaud the Minister’s effort and his enthusiasm. When does he imagine that a Minister with responsibility for this area, from whichever party, will be from an engineering background?..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"The Minister mentioned the enormous concern across the creative sector about the clause and, more particularly, its purpose when it was first introduced. His reference to the fact that all it does is endorse existing law will have confused many people, as they will have wondered why, if that was …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"To reinforce that point, the wooliness of the Minister’s response, if it is left like that this evening, will have created an awful lot of work for his colleagues at the other end of the building. There are people down there who know better than most Members of this House …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"On that point, why does the Minister not do what was suggested by the hon. Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale) and simply put in a tightened disciplinary regime and nothing else? Why is that so difficult for the Government to accept, if that is the sole purpose of the clause?..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"Before the hon. Gentleman moves away from payday loans, does he not agree that anybody who finds themselves even contemplating taking one out—I accept his point that there are different ways of calculating the best way out of a situation—needs to address their whole financial position? It tends to be …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"Before the hon. Gentleman moves away from the point about illegal downloading, has he seen today’s BBC report showing that the problem not only persists but continues to grow year on year? Does he agree that regardless of all the sophisticated arguments that can be advanced, it is nothing short …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"On that aspect, the report uses the precise expression “a highly respected figure” in the industry. I am not sure that that takes us much further forward in defining how respected they are and by whom...." Jim Dowd - View Speech
"I believe that this is the first time I have served under your sagacious direction, Mr Chope, and I am delighted to do so. I was also delighted to support the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) in his application for the debate, and I am pleased …..." Jim Dowd - View Speech