"I certainly agree that the fixed-term appointment is a huge step towards independent stability. As I was trying to explain, what concerns me is that if the vacancy arose after a change of Government, the new governing party could seek to ensure that the new Governor was much more in …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I do not think that any appointment is without politics, but I fear that a Select Committee is much more likely to adopt a political method. We have recently seen Select Committee investigations involving minority reports, and the pursuing of party political agendas in …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I did vote for a parliamentary inquiry, and I do not disagree with some of the points that the hon. Gentleman has made. However, I believe that a Select Committee’s role is to investigate. There is a huge difference between investigating issues and appointing executives with Executive powers who can …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I join the chorus of people congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) on securing this debate.
I have to confess that I am a former banker—[Interruption.] At Barclays bank. I am not sure whether becoming a politician was a move up or down; …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"Sadly, I am none the wiser. I have three constituency cases in front of me on this very issue. Two of them include a letter from the FSA which clearly states that this is a matter for the courts to decide and is not part of its remits under the …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I agree with my hon. Friend. May I point out that it is not Israel that has threatened to wipe its neighbour off the face of the earth? Is that not the key point?..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way and I pay tribute to his chairmanship of the Scottish Affairs Committee. Does he also recall the evidence we got from the editor and the business editor of The Scotsman? The issue was not the cannibalisation of corporation tax …..." Mike Freer - View Speech
"Does my hon. Friend accept that allocating funds simply on geography, particularly defence spending, is a misdirection? Defence spending must be based on the strategic needs of the armed forces, not on a geographic spread. Does he agree that that line of argument is completely false in the context of …..." Mike Freer - View Speech