Speaker’s Statement

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Monday 18th March 2019

(5 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am sorry if this disappoints the hon. Gentleman, but it is context-specific, and it is a judgment for the Chair. The Chair seeks to make a judgment on the basis of what will be in the interests of the House. I do not think that I can say fairer than that, or say anything different. I hope that that is useful to colleagues.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Will you clarify a point? Is it the case that you have not ruled out a third meaningful vote, and it is just a matter of that vote’s being conditional on other matters applying, in the motion as well as in the substance?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I think that I explained the position to the right hon. Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale). It depends on the specific terms of what is proposed. Forgive me—I do not mean this discourteously in any way—but I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman was here throughout our exchanges. Maybe he was; I do not know. What I was seeking to convey, however, was that a new proposition could be put, but the convention would militate against the same, or substantially the same, proposition being put. So I am not closing the door, and, indeed, I specifically said towards the end of my statement that this ruling should not be regarded as my last word on the subject. It is simply meant to indicate the test that the Government must meet for me to rule that a third meaningful vote can legitimately be held during the current parliamentary Session. I do not see that I can expand on that, nor should I be required today to do so.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption.] I think that the Speaker decides. Would your advice to those who are, perhaps, becoming exercised about this be, “Don’t panic”?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am always inclined to say, “Don’t panic.” I am not in the business of panicking myself. I think I can safely say that I have never lost a wink of sleep over any work-related matter. There is no merit or purpose in doing so. I think that we should approach these matters with calm, deploy reason, and seek to make sensible judgments, not just in our own interests and the interests of the House, but in the interests of the people whom we are sent here to represent. I have always done that, and I am sure that that is what colleagues think it is right to do, including, most certainly, the hon. Gentleman.

I am most grateful to colleagues for the interest that they have shown and the inquiries that they have put, and I thank them for their involvement.

Article 50 Extension Procedure

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Monday 18th March 2019

(5 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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What an unenviable choice between two very fine Members of Parliament! C comes before p in the alphabet; on that basis alone, I call Mr Alex Chalk.

Points of Order

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 18th July 2018

(5 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Well, maybe I erred on the side of generosity. I will treat of the point in more detail, because it is of importance to the House, but let me say two things to the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake).

The right hon. Gentleman, the former Foreign Secretary, was absolutely in order to request that he be allowed to make a personal statement, and utterly in order also in its delivery. Secondly—forgive me, colleagues, but it is important for the authority of the House that this point be made—I, too, was absolutely right to allow him to make that personal statement, and it would have been quite wrong for me to seek to stand in his way.

Good order has applied but, in so far as the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington is interested not in point scoring, as I am sure he is not, but in asking a genuine question of the Chair, let me say to him on the point of procedure that it is the long-standing practice of the House that Members may make a personal statement with the leave of the Speaker. It is not especially common in recent times for such requests to be made, but when they are made, it is right that they should be acceded to by the Chair.

Moreover, I note that the former Foreign Secretary, former Leader of the House and former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Sir Geoffrey Howe, resigned on 1 November 1990—I remember it well—and delivered a personal statement on 13 November 1990, so nothing disorderly, nothing irregular and, in procedural terms, nothing objectionable has occurred. I thank the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, and it was perfectly legitimate for him to raise the point of order, but I think it right that I leave it there.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker.

--- Later in debate ---
John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I will be generous to the hon. Gentleman, because to stray would be to misbehave, and I do not think he would misbehave. I cannot believe he would.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Mr Speaker, you are always generous. You will know there are very clear rules in this House on the issue of sub judice. I seek your guidance on whether that applies to British citizens abroad who are currently going through what I think is a bogus judicial system in Iran. I mention that because the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) suggested the former Foreign Secretary had endangered the life of a British citizen, and you will know that the family of that person are rightly very worried about her fate. It is not the right hon. Gentleman’s place to make party political capital when somebody is facing a bogus judicial system in Iran.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order, and I respect the sincerity with which he speaks and the extensive interest he takes in international affairs. What I would say to him, in all seriousness, is that the responsibility of the Chair for oversight of the sub judice rule applies in the context of cases in the British courts. I am satisfied that nothing disorderly or threatening to a British judicial process has transpired.

In so far as the hon. Gentleman wanted to make a wider point, I think he knows that he has succeeded in doing so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 27th June 2018

(5 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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That is an extreme case of shoehorning in a particular concern, but it suffers from the disadvantage of bearing absolutely no relation to the question on the Order Paper. The hon. Gentleman has made his point in his own inimitable and mildly eccentric way, and we are grateful to him for doing so. Let us have a question that is in order.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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On a serious point, many of my constituents were affected by the collapse of Carillion. How confident is the Minister that the big four accountancy firms have learnt their lessons for the future?

Scheduling of Parliamentary Business

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Monday 17th July 2017

(6 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I hope this is a point of order rather than a point of advertisement.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Not to correct the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart), but may I confess that it was not the Whips chuntering? It was my good self, Sir.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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That is both candid of the hon. Gentleman and, arguably, a first.

Macur Review

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 17th March 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. These are extremely sensitive matters, so I say this with care, but it would be appreciated if colleagues could be economical in their questions and answers, simply because the Budget debate is heavily subscribed. We will now have an exemplary lesson from Mr Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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What happened in north Wales is nothing short of a national scandal for Wales, but will the Secretary of State put on the record his thanks to all those who work day in, day out in childcare, orphanages and other facilities, both in Wales and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and do so professionally and with care?

I am glad that the Government, the police and the National Crime Agency are taking action. What recent discussions has the Secretary of State had with the NCA about Operation Pallial to ensure that we get more people in court and prosecuted for these heinous crimes?

Investigatory Powers Bill

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Tuesday 15th March 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andy Burnham Portrait Andy Burnham
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It happened close to the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, so I will give way.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Just before the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) intervenes, I advise the House that, although everything is being done perfectly properly, and the Home Secretary and the right hon. Gentleman have been generous in giving way, 48 Back Benchers wish to contribute. Those who have or seek the Floor might wish to take account of that point. I call Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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I will be brief, Mr Speaker.

The shadow Home Secretary is quite right to point out that abuses, where they have taken place, are absolutely wrong, but does he also recognise that the Bill contains a new offence of misusing communications data, which is something he should welcome?

Anderson Report

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 11th June 2015

(8 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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For a pithy inquiry from the Government Back Benches, I think it wise now to look to a non-lawyer. I call Mr Mark Pritchard. [Laughter.]

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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Good luck on both fronts, Mr Speaker, but thank you.

Is it not the case that the greatest civil liberty of all is the right to life? The Home Secretary is absolutely right that to call extra investigatory and surveillance powers for the intelligence services, with the right to legal oversights, a snooper’s a misnomer. Would the measure not be better termed a security charter?

Procedure of the House

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 26th March 2015

(9 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance. Given that many Members are standing and time is limited, will you be issuing guidance on time limits for speakers?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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There is not a time limit and it is not that common to have a time limit on procedural matters. I would urge colleagues to have regard to each others’ interests, but there is no fixed time limit. That is the short answer to the hon. Gentleman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 26th February 2015

(9 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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Of course a Shropshire film festival would be very welcome indeed. Is the Secretary of State aware of a recent decision by Gapictures, which was due to film “Dracula” on location in Shropshire, to switch to another European country? Given that Shropshire has been home to many famous films, including, more recently “Atonement”, will the Secretary of State look at new ways in which the United Kingdom can keep those production companies that want to film in locations such as Shropshire, rather than have them switch to other European countries?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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We assume the hon. Gentleman is not auditioning for the lead role in the said film.

Business of the House

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 12th February 2015

(9 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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There can never be too many debates on Burma in this House.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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The number of injuries and fatalities in the agriculture and farming sector is still too high: there were 27 deaths last year, including in Shropshire. May we have a debate on how the National Farmers Union, the Health and Safety Executive and the industry as a whole, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, can work better together to ensure a reduction in fatalities and injuries?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Monday 13th October 2014

(9 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. We are all now better informed but at somewhat of a cost. I am keen to accommodate the interests of Back Benchers, and I know the Home Secretary will be profoundly sympathetic to that interest.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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When the terms of reference are published, could they be as wide as possible? Also, the Home Secretary will know that I have pushed for some time to try to increase the tariffs for those who abuse children and are involved in paedophilia.

Police Reform

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Tuesday 22nd July 2014

(9 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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I am wowed by the Home Secretary’s statement. The potential is huge for real police reform over the coming months and years. It is good news for honest police officers and for the public. Will my right hon. Friend consider allowing complainants and defendants to record interviews or statements given in police stations so that they can take away their own record of their dialogue with the police, not just rely on the police record?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I think the hon. Gentleman has established a first. The Clerk Assistant tells me he has never seen the word “wowed” appear in Hansard in that context. It is good to know what the hon. Gentleman looks and sounds like when he is wowed.

European Council

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Monday 10th March 2014

(10 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) has perambulated across the Bench from its middle to its end. Some people might think it is almost as difficult for me to keep an eye on him as it is for the Government Whips. I call Mr Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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I have a Panel of Chairs meeting to attend—I am grateful for being appointed to the panel.

Instead of listening to the criticism of some Opposition Back Benchers, the Prime Minister should be commended not only for his statement but for his leadership on this issue in Europe along with the Foreign Secretary. On the issue of European unity, is it not the case that while Germany, Hungary and the energy axis aligned with Russia might agree on phase 1 on the European strategy, phases 2 and 3 may be more challenging?

Badger Cull

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 5th June 2013

(10 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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I hope the whole House would agree that in an ideal world we would want healthy badgers, a healthy countryside and healthy cattle. The hon. Lady and I have got on very well over many years on animal welfare issues, but I have to say that there is a sense of political opportunism in the Labour party’s position. If the previous Government had invested more in trying to find a vaccine, the difficult decision that is having to be taken in the House, and, more importantly, by those outside the House, would not need to be taken. Vaccination should have been the route, but it should have been undertaken years ago.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is hoping to catch the eye of the Chair later in the debate to make his speech or whether he feels that he has just delivered it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 21st November 2012

(11 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Far too many noisy private conversations are taking place—mainly on the Opposition Benches at the moment. Let us hear from Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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6. What recent assessment he has made of the benefits to Scotland of the UK’s membership of NATO; and if he will make a statement.

Badger Cull

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Thursday 25th October 2012

(11 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The hon. Lady has made her point with force and alacrity and, as she will know, it is on the record of the House. As she will also know, that is not a matter for the Chair; it is not a point of order although it will have been heard by the Minister on the Treasury Bench.

I call Mr Mark Pritchard on a point of order—I hope it is a point of order.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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I am sure you will guide me if it is not, Mr Speaker. For clarity, is it still the case, as has been the tradition over centuries in this place, that a vote carried in the House of Commons is binding on the Government?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The answer to that, in short, is no. Only legislation binds. The hon. Gentleman will have heard the response, as will other hon. Members. The House has voted and offered its view. I will leave it there. That is as pithy an encapsulation as I can offer to the hon. Gentleman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 7th March 2012

(12 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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Following—[Interruption.]

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Let us hear from Mr Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Following last week’s statement on the use of wild animals in circuses, can the Prime Minister inform the House whether a ban will be introduced in this Parliament and before the next general election?

Points of Order

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 18th January 2012

(12 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Is it on the same matter? Gosh, a vintage quartet indeed, and a very high quality vintage.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. You have seen the grey hairs as well—on my head, of course. I seek your guidance on whether this Parliament and this House of Commons would be better with more or less humour.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am always in favour of humour, but just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, humour is a matter of subjective judgment. Sometimes people are funny, sometimes they think they are funny, sometimes they think they are funny deliberately when they are not, sometimes they do not realise they are funny when they are. There are all sorts of different permutations. It would be unwise for me to offer a view as to the category into which the matter of current discussion happens to fall, but I have never had any doubt about the hon. Gentleman’s well-developed and furnished sense of humour.

I agree with the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) that septuagenarians should not become a persecuted minority. The hon. Gentleman is sometimes in a minority, and a principled minority, on a range of matters, and has been throughout his long parliamentary career. All I would say is that I do not think that the hon. Gentleman himself is persecuted, certainly not by me, and anybody trying to persecute the hon. Gentleman should frankly give up the unequal struggle, because that person will not get anywhere with the hon. Gentleman.

With regard to the point of order from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe), I think that I am right in saying that “Erskine May” no longer contains the prohibition to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I think that, certainly at one time or another, there has been a prohibition on, or presumption against, reference to an existing animal.

With regard to the point of order of the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn), it is very difficult for me to interpret the mindset of another hon. or right hon. Member, be that a newly arrived Member, or a very senior Member, or the most senior Member of the Government. Sometimes an observation might be made with reference to perhaps a past attitude, style or conduct, and I do not think that I want to get into the issue of what was said today. I might want to reflect on it. All I would say is that I share the hon. Gentleman’s absolute disapproval of sexism, racism, ageism and other forms of discrimination. The hon. Gentleman’s track record on that matter speaks for itself over a very long period.

Health and Social Care (Re-committed) Bill

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 7th September 2011

(12 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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Soubry, zip it! [Interruption.] Sorry, Mr Speaker.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The hon. Gentleman should withdraw that remark.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard
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I withdraw it, Mr Speaker.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Let us try to maintain proceedings on an even keel. The hon. Gentleman has said that he is sorry, and that is fine.

Middle East and North Africa

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Tuesday 7th June 2011

(12 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. There is intense interest, which is reflected in the number of Members who are seeking to catch my eye. I want to accommodate colleagues because these are very important matters, but there is now a premium on economy, a legendary example of which I know will now be provided by Mr Mark Pritchard.

Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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Thank you for your generosity, Mr Speaker. No pressure!

Does the Foreign Secretary agree that the recent violence on the Israeli-Syrian border may well be a cynical strategy on the part of the Syrian regime to try to distract the eyes of the international community from the regime’s own brutality against, and murder of, its own people within its own borders?

Sex Offenders Register

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 16th February 2011

(13 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement, but how confident is she that the increasingly robust Supreme Court, and the European Courts with their extraterritorial reach, will not overrule her very firm and welcome announcement today? Is it not time to introduce a Bill of Rights very early indeed, rather than having a commission which may report sometime in the future—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call the Home Secretary.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Pritchard and John Bercow
Wednesday 12th January 2011

(13 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Pritchard Portrait Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
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The Secretary of State will know that a significant part of the existing aid budget goes to the Government of Tanzania. Does he share my concern about the recent actions of that Government and President Kikwete, who have arrested Opposition leaders who currently reside in prison? Will he call for their early release?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. It is not entirely clear what that has got to do with the UN 0.7% target for official development assistance, but if the Secretary of State can find a way briefly to demonstrate that, I shall be happy to listen.