Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 17th January 2024

(2 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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Q5. HS2 promised to transform intercity travel and my seat, where Old Oak Common will one day be. However, after Leeds and Manchester were ditched, the London end of HS2 is now in doubt. Can the Prime Minister commit today to ensuring that it at least reaches Euston, or is he intent on stopping all transport forms, except perhaps private jets?

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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The Leader of the Opposition may have something to say about forms of transportation, and perhaps about HS2 as well—I still have not heard his position on the subject. Old Oak Common is destined to be one of the foremost stations in the country because of the extra connectivity it will have across London and as the initial terminus for HS2 trains. As we said at the announcement, we are working with the private sector, as we have in other developments in London, to raise private money, save the taxpayer money and deliver the connection to Euston as planned.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 25th October 2023

(5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stuart Andrew Portrait The Minister for Equalities (Stuart Andrew)
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Faith is a vital part of people’s identities and of their communities. We fully support the invaluable work being done by people around the country who are inspired by their faith. My hon. Friend is a great advocate for the work that goes on in his own constituency. I certainly encourage people to attend that event, and I will do everything I can to pop in myself.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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T5. A year ago, the Public Order Bill was passed in this House, and with it my new clause, which was overwhelmingly supported in a free vote by MPs on both sides of the House, to stop women being deterred from using and entering the doors of abortion clinics by protests outside. A year on, intimidation is worse than ever, because the legislation is not being enacted. Will the Minister look into why that is and fix this now?

Maria Caulfield Portrait The Minister for Women (Maria Caulfield)
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If the hon. Lady has a specific example of where that is happening, I will be happy to look at it if she raises it with me.

NATO Summit

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Thursday 13th July 2023

(8 months, 2 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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Labour founded NATO, so of course we welcome the Prime Minister’s work in that. What are his thoughts on, and did the summit discuss, the possibility of establishing a special tribunal to bring those responsible for the Russian Federation’s illegal war to account for war crimes and crimes against humanity? That was part of the memorandum of understanding at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, another security alliance that we are part of—I was there the other week. It was proposed very movingly by the Ukrainians, who are full members of that alliance. I wonder what the Prime Minister’s thoughts are on that.

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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It is right that we hold Russia and those responsible to account for their war crimes in Ukraine. That is why we led a state-party referral to the International Criminal Court and provided about £1 million of funding to the Court. It is also why we have joined a core group of countries to explore options to ensure criminal accountability for the crime of aggression committed in and against Ukraine, including through a special tribunal. And at the Council of Europe meeting that I was at, we became a founding member of the international register of damage caused by the aggression of Russia against Ukraine. We will continue to do everything we can to hold those responsible for crimes to account.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 26th April 2023

(11 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sarah Dines Portrait Miss Dines
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The Government are looking carefully and speaking to stakeholders about spiking. There are adequate criminal offences for this sort of behaviour, and we have had some quite high-profile convictions. However, the hon. Lady is right to highlight the issue. The Government will review it. Specific funding has been given, and there is better testing. Evidence is important, but we need to get women and girls, and men and boys, to come forward when they have been spiked. Spiking also affects older people; I read a case the other day of someone in their 40s who was spiked. It is essential that we work in this area.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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2. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the implications of the findings of the independent review by Baroness Casey into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service for people with protected characteristics.

Sarah Dines Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Miss Sarah Dines)
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The Casey review made for sobering reading about deeply disturbing allegations of racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Met. The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister have been clear that urgent improvements must be delivered. I have confidence that the Met Commissioner is leading in this area. I have also met Dame Lynne Owens, who is doing great work. We want to see improvement and we must have it.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Huq
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With the Police Federation now accepting that there is institutional racism, plus the vile sexism detailed by Casey and the damning fire brigade reports, will the Government order an urgent inquiry into cultures among uniformed officers, to keep workplaces and the public safe?

Sarah Dines Portrait Miss Dines
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Workplaces and the public must be safe, but I have confidence that work is going on, across the whole country but particularly in the Met, to ensure that racism is not accepted. Unfortunately, the Mayor has taken his eye off the ball; under him, crime, including issues of racism, rose by 10%. The Labour party is weak on crime and it is this Government who are holding the Met to account.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 25th January 2023

(1 year, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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I have made it clear that the UK and our allies must accelerate our efforts to ensure that Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace. Last year the United Kingdom provided £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest package of support of any European nation, and we will at least match that again this year. As my right hon. Friend knows, last week I announced that we would gift many battle tanks as part of the next major package of UK support to Ukraine, and I am pleased that our friends and allies are preparing to follow our lead.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Ind)
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Q3. Mr Speaker, London has it all: prime property, shopping, schools, and even the perfect time zone for money laundering. While there has been movement with Russian oligarchs, it is not just them, and we know that there are relatives of regimes that Members across the House condemn that are running bogus Islamic centres as fronts to stash their dirty cash, among other things. When will the National Crime Agency be adequately financed, so that we can be a world leader in anti-corruption, as we promised in 2016? Or is there a lack of political will to upset the apple cart?

Rishi Sunak Portrait The Prime Minister
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The hon. Lady should know that we are currently in the process of legislating the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which puts in place many more measures to allow us to tackle some of the issues she raises. It also introduces the economic crime levy, which will provide considerably more funding to tackle economic crime in the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 16th November 2022

(1 year, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Ind)
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Q8. Does the Deputy Prime Minister’s comeback, on which I congratulate him, and the new direction of tomorrow, signal that the ban on no-fault evictions from the Conservative manifesto is back on after there was zilch from the previous Prime Minister? If so, will he get it on the statute book, using emergency powers if necessary, so that no family gets left, on a whim, out in the cold this winter?

Dominic Raab Portrait The Deputy Prime Minister
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My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is looking at all such matters. He will have heard what the hon. Lady has said and, although I will not prejudice what further measures he is going to bring forward, I will ask him to write to her to address her specific proposals.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Saturday 10th September 2022

(1 year, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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I never met Her late Majesty the Queen but I have been in her garden. She was a unifying presence for all of us, and her loss after a remarkable, iconic 96-year life leaves a huge hole. Recent years have seen her starring with Paddington Bear and James Bond, demonstrating her sense of fun alongside her sense of duty.

For me, memories of that remarkable reign start with the silver jubilee in 1977. I remember my five-year-old mind being blown by the fact that I was sitting eating cake in the middle of Pitshanger Lane, a busy thoroughfare in Ealing. It was transformed for my first-ever street party; I went to dozens more as MP for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The Queen was a constant comforting presence, from her early days, as Princess Elizabeth, telling evacuated wartime kids not to worry, right up—by that time, she had mastered Zoom—to her covid reassurance, giving the same message to a worried nation. Her remarkable reign spanned 15 Prime Ministers, from Churchill when she was just 25 years old to her 15th this week, when she was obviously the older and wiser one, with the current PM half her age. She was Head of State to 15 other nations. She oversaw the transition from empire to Commonwealth.

However, for locals my age, it will always be 1985 that we remember, when the Queen opened Ealing Broadway shopping centre. It felt that half the school had bunked off for it—except square old me. Many classmates who pulled a sickie got rumbled when the teacher saw them on the evening news, but she could not get too cross. This year, I actually requested that my sixth-former son be let off lessons for the Queen’s garden party. The teacher allowed it, making his absence part of their lesson on constitutional monarchy—which, of course, the Queen personified superlatively. Her seemingly limitless work ethic and workload continued until two days before her death—but the signs were there, with her non-attendance at the last garden party and at the Queen’s Speech, both delegated to the now King.

Even sceptics who came into her orbit became converts. Kieron Gavan, mayor of Ealing in 2002, when the Queen came to Gunnersbury Park for the golden jubilee, said:

“I asked if she was ever tempted to take the head off while knighting with her sword someone she didn’t like. She replied that it’d be totally inappropriate. But she might nick the neck a tiny bit if they’re particularly irritating.”

He told me that she was charming, witty, smiley and utterly delightful company. Kieron said:

“I’m a republican but became a huge fan, if she had stood for election I’d have voted for her.”

We will never see her like again. She trained as a mechanic in the war, had children from the 40s to 60s who kept the line going, presided over United Nations and Commonwealth summits and was genuinely beloved. The words “end of the era” cannot sum up 70 years, but as the Elizabethan era ends, another begins. It will take some time to get used to, and there will be new stamps and coins in time. May she rest in eternal peace. God save the King.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 20th July 2022

(1 year, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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I thank my hon. Friend for her kind comments. I will make sure that the issue of these lanterns is raised with the appropriate Department domestically.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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T8. The President showed great leadership at COP26, which we all respect him for. Will he do the same again and cut back on a project that is polluting the lungs of both his and my constituents? Will he please revisit the issue of the biggest CO2 emitter in the whole of Europe and think again about the new runway at Heathrow?

Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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As the hon. Lady knows, my role as COP President is to corral the international community. She has raised a question, and I am sure the Department for Transport will respond.

Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Monday 18th July 2022

(1 year, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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I have no confidence in this Government. The public have no confidence in this Government, and nor do Government Members, 59 of whom put in their own letters to say they had no confidence in this Government. They need to vote with us accordingly tonight.

All political careers end in failure; that is a truism. Unlike past demises, however, this one is based not on policy, but on probity. The degradation and debasement of standards should be about not left and right, but right and wrong. This Government have got all the big calls wrong: we have the highest inflation in 40 years and the biggest tax take in 70, while these leadership contenders who have spent years defending the indefensible now out-vie each other to disown the past 12 years.

The moral is that not every fairy tale has a happy ending. This was not just about ambush by cake; it was about a pattern of behaviour that resulted in the first ever lawbreaker Prime Minister. One misjudgment alone might have been ride-outable, but the cumulative effect of partygate, Paterson, the redecoration of the No. 10 flat, the promotion of an alleged drunken groper to a post that included reporting MPs’ misconduct and the Prime Minister’s saying he had had a memory lapse about that individual’s previous history just proved to be one implausibility too far.

As we have seen today, the PM who as a child wanted to be world king has become King Canute, still defiant and partying to the end, characteristically skipping Cobra meetings—if not quite fiddling while Rome burns, then partying while the country roasts. It brings to mind those suitcases being wheeled down Whitehall on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. Meanwhile, our fellow citizens face huge challenges: climate change-induced heatwave, looming strikes, inflation, cost of living crisis, energy crisis, record NHS backlog, passports backlog, Home Office backlog, courts backlog—backlog Britain.

If we are trying to define exactly what Johnsonism is, we would have in there the idea that the rules do not apply to those at the top, self-advancement, Government by slogan and, as Dominic Cummings put it, a “shopping trolley” modus operandi. Remember the pro-EU and anti-EU columns, or the one-time fan of an amnesty for illegal immigrants who now wants to ship off asylum seekers to Rwanda? Multiple signs were already there: those costly London Mayoralty vanity projects, the Jennifer Arcuri improprieties, which are still unresolved, with new people appearing out of the woodwork making similar claims, and even indifference to groping and grabbing. It was all part of a pattern. I was in the now PM’s presence in Acton in 2015—there is footage of it out there—and I was grabbed from behind by one of his aides for wanting to speak to him.

If we consider Imran Ahmad Khan, Neil Parish, Charlie Elphicke and Andrew Griffiths, it does not feel as though sexual misconduct is being stamped on, or out. When an entire Government are rotten to their core, all politicians become tainted and tarnished. It is time to call time on the lot. The first step is today’s vote, but the country is crying out for change. There is a democratic deficit if those of us who are not among the small number of Tory party members have no say in our next PM. We need a general election as soon as possible, to have a say on the next, unelected Prime Minister who emerges from that process, and refresh all 650 of us.

None Portrait Several hon. Members rose—
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Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts
Wednesday 13th July 2022

(1 year, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Leo Docherty Portrait Leo Docherty
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When the hon. Member sees the formal response to the report, he will have no doubt that we are taking note of these recommendations in absolute earnest. The feedback that I get from young women serving in all roles right across defence is that women should really look forward to service life. There are terrific role models that they can be very proud of.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
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8. Whether her Department has undertaken an equalities assessment of the exclusion of transgender conversion therapy in the Government’s forthcoming legislative proposals on conversion therapy.

Amanda Solloway Portrait The Minister for Equalities (Amanda Solloway)
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As we prepare legislation to ban conversion practices, we continue to assess equality impacts in relation to all protected characteristics, including gender reassignment. We intend to introduce a ban that protects everyone who attempts to change their sexual orientation. There are different considerations for transgender conversion practices and the Government remain committed to exploring them.

Rupa Huq Portrait Dr Huq
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There is a respectful debate to be had on single-sex spaces and on trans people in sport, but the Government’s failure on their promise of a full ban on conversion therapy, which caused one equalities Minister to resign last week, is not it. Eight royal colleges and the British Medical Association want this. When will the Government act?

Amanda Solloway Portrait Amanda Solloway
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We want to ensure that everyone is protected from the extensive harm that conversion practices cause. It is not unreasonable to take some extra time to avoid an unintended consequence and to build a consensus, so that, together, we can make our legislation as inclusive as possible.