"The hon. Gentleman said that he was not here when the previous Government were in office and indeed he was not, but does he recall standing for election when the Liberal Democrats had a poster talking about the “VAT bombshell”? Does he actually remember that?..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"The banks keep telling us that they are lending more to small business, but the reality on the ground seems to be very different. In particular, what are this Government doing about the excessive level of charges, which means that even when loans are available they are often not taken …..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"I recently met a landlord who has managed to turn around a failing pub and increase the turnover. His reward is for all the extra money to be taken away in increased rent. That destroys the incentive for people to work hard and bring these pubs back...." Mark Tami - View Speech
"Does the hon. Gentleman accept that many who have tried with the normal banks, regardless of whether they were wearing a suit, were turned away or found it very difficult, and that is why they have ended up with payday loan companies?..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"Is the hon. Lady concerned not only about payday loan companies, but about companies such as BrightHouse that offer access to high-value products? The costs are extraordinary by the time people finish paying for those products. To all intents and purposes, it is the same sort of arrangement. People are …..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"Conservative Members are very keen on calling for us to apologise for things. Does my hon. Friend think that it is time for them to apologise for such comments?..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"I welcome you to the Chair, Mr Caton. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship.
I am pleased to have secured this debate on an important issue. I will mainly concentrate on north-east Wales, particularly its economic importance, the history of the area and why the transport links …..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"I think there is, and I will talk about why we need a dedicated station. It is important that we make it easy for people to move about, because there is a lot of anecdotal evidence showing that some people are not taking up jobs that are perhaps not well …..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend. I agree there are lots of small changes that could be made. Someone came to see me who was blind. He said that few announcements are made on trains, so he feels unsure whether he is getting off at the right station. There are small …..." Mark Tami - View Speech
"I would say that I thanked the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, but that would not be true, would it? He has made his point, but I was talking about joined-up government, which would make sense. The hon. Gentleman might realise that there is no Hadrian’s wall at the border; …..." Mark Tami - View Speech