Andrew Murrison MP: speeches 2024

75 published records · newest first.

Speeches

18 Dec 2024 · British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty · Hansard source
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Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. The Minister says that views across the Chagossian community are mixed. In my experience, Mr Speaker, when politicians say that, they are simply choosing the views that they want to hear. Will the Minister take the opportunity that has been given by the incoming Mauritian Government to take a breathing space in which he can consult formally and in a structured way with the Chagossians to find out what they want?
16 Dec 2024 · United Front Work Department · Hansard source
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The Government recently put on hold the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, passed last year. Does he feel that that has helped or hindered the work of United Front in our universities, particularly our elite institutions?
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is important to set the facts right? It is important to reflect on the fact that, during our 14 years in government—despite the 2008–09 financial crisis, despite the pandemic and despite the energy crisis—more than 1 million jobs were created, and 4 million people were in employment who were not in employment when we took office.
4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source
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I must begin by drawing attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I rise to support the land-based and agrifood sector in my constituency, a sector that stands bewildered at what this Government are doing to it—a Government who it thought had its back, and that were going for growth. A farmer constituent wrote to me shortly after the Budget, saying: “All these changes have meant that our already tight margins are non-existent. The next few months are going to be spent calculating if it would be better to just sell up and no longer farm.” That is hardly surprising, given that the average salary of a farmer in this country is a little over £22,000, although farmers are described by many as being multimillionaires. My constituents’ disappointment is heightened by the Government’s assurances before the election, and the specific promise that they made on APR and BPR. I think that, if I may say so without damning his career too much—I see that he is no longer in the Chamber—the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) did us a service by reminding us of that promise. However, we should not be surprised. My hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) and the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) have already drawn attention to John McTernan, who very helpfully allowed the mask to slip when, referring to farmers, he said that we should “do to them what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners.” He went on to say that farming was “an industry we can do without… we don’t need small farmers.” I hope that when the Minister winds up the debate, he will do us a service by distancing himself completely from those sentiments. The Government’s estimate of in-scope farmers is either incompetent or tricksy and duplicitous. Setting aside Ministers’ apparent confusion over what constitutes an acre and what constitutes a hectare, we are of course indebted to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, which says that 75,000 farms over a single generation will be affected—five times the Government’s estimate. I think the Minister should reflect on that, because there is no shame in admitting that the Government and their officials have got this wrong. There is time to fix it, and there is time to look at such independent sources, to compare and contrast their data with the data that the Government’s officials have produced, and to tack accordingly. Were the Minister to do so—I appreciate the Treasury pressures that he is under—his stock among the farming community would rise substantially in these early few months of his tenure. I have a helpful suggestion: the Government have picked the wrong target. I think that many Members of this House would be perfectly happy for this Government or any Government to target those who have, over years, used land to avoid inheritance tax, particularly institutional investors, hedge fund managers and oversea investors, who have artificially put up the price of land in this country, which forces new entrants out of the market and distorts it. That is a perfectly legitimate thing for any Government to do, but what this Government are doing is picking on small and medium-sized farms, many of which have been in families for generations. The Government are doing the productive sector of our land economy in this country a massive disservice and, frankly, are acting in a way that is unfair and unworthy. I implore the Minister, who I know is a good man, to think again. He should talk to the Treasury, and turn his fire on individuals and institutions using land to avoid tax, which forces up land prices. Hands off our family farms!
4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source
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It is important to get the facts right and to get the right number of farms in frame. The Minister must know that the CAAV has said that the Government estimate is down by a factor of five. According to its impartial independent review, 75,000 farms will be in frame for this tax, not the figure the Minister is relying on.
2 Dec 2024 · Migration and Border Security · Hansard source
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Given the promises made at the general election, the opening of more asylum hotels is deeply regrettable. As the Home Secretary seeks alternative accommodation to be able to close down those hotels, will she assure the House that she will not overdo her requests of other Government Departments, in particular the Ministry of Defence, which historically has been very helpful in finding surplus accommodation to house migrants? I hope that she agrees that enough is enough, and that she will not disadvantage service families in their accommodation needs.
2 Dec 2024 · Chagos Islands: UK-US Defence Relationship · Hansard source
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The Minister says that the outgoing Biden Administration in the US are keen on the deal, which may or may not be the case, but the British public plainly are not—for good reason—and they see the payment of a dowry to Mauritius as rubbing salt into the wound. If he is not prepared to comment on the quantum that he has in mind, will he at least explain the structure of the costings he is applying to come to the figure that he wishes to give Mauritius for taking on these islands?
2 Dec 2024 · North-West Syria · Hansard source
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Assad and his family have reportedly gone to Moscow, which is probably significant. Let us hope that he stays there; they deserve each other. However, HTS is very much worse. As HTS takes territory, people will be on the move in very large numbers. Historically, the United Nations has managed the situation in northern Syria and triaged those who are claiming asylum. This country has been generous in taking refugees, particularly from the most disadvantaged groups: old people, women and children. What discussion has the Minister had with the United Nations and will that process continue, because I feel sure that the British people will want to continue to be generous?
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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On that point, will the Minister give way?
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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Earlier this week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in her conversation with the Confederation of British Industry, which did not go terribly well, that her tax-raising days are over. Yet significantly, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury failed to reiterate that assertion. Does he believe her?
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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The then Leader of the Opposition, and now Prime Minister, rightly said that his Administration would go for growth. He made it his No. 1 priority, and he inherited the fastest-growing economy in the G7. [ Interruption. ] The Minister shakes his head, but this is a fact. Can he say what has happened to growth since 4 July?
27 Nov 2024 · Respect Orders and Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source
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I certainly support the Minister’s intent in bringing this forward, but I am still struggling to understand what the material difference is between these respect orders and antisocial behaviour orders. If it is the case that they are materially different, will the Minister say in what respects they are, and will she say to what extent that will be based on perception by a complainant? We have recently had considerable controversy around perception of an allegation and its effects in non-crime hate incidents, which has caused all manner of problems and bogged the police down in a whole load of controversy. I am sure the Minister would want to avoid that with this particular measure.
27 Nov 2024 · Supporting Innovation · Hansard source
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Has the Minister yet studied the national semiconductor strategy for Ireland published by the Irish Government? If so, can she say how Northern Ireland will be able to exploit that strategy, and how the whole of the United Kingdom will be able to compete with Ireland, which has plainly identified this as an important growth sector?
26 Nov 2024 · COP29 · Hansard source
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Where is the leadership, and what example does it set, in flying 470 officials and delegates—more than any other western European country—halfway across the world to a climate change jamboree? Can the Secretary of State say what the cost has been in terms of carbon and cash?
26 Nov 2024 · Middle East: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source
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When the Foreign Secretary was in Baku recently for COP29, did he discuss with his interlocutors across the region the extent to which the global finance goals would impact on humanitarian assistance in the middle east?
20 Nov 2024 · Defence Programmes Developments · Hansard source
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I appreciate the constraints on the Defence Secretary, but this statement makes a mockery of the SDR process. It also removes significant lines of contingent capability. He says that these will not be the last difficult decisions that he will have to make and that he is working in lockstep with the SDR, so is he, and is it, rolling the pitch for the removal or mothballing of the carriers, as has been rumoured? Does he understand what that means for the future of the Royal Navy as a globally deployable blue-water navy? Given his comments on Albion and Bulwark, is he also rolling the pitch for the future of the Royal Marines, since the two are intertwined and will be for the next 10 years before a replacement can be provided?
20 Nov 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source
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Q5. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have banned the construction of new waste incinerators because of health and pollution concerns. The previous Government paused them and committed to banning them. Why are this Government busy approving them?
19 Nov 2024 · Ukraine: 1,000 Days · Hansard source
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Despite the Foreign Secretary’s congratulatory assessment, the fact remains that Russia is running rings around western sanctions and that it is using black and grey fleets to threaten the global maritime order. I have heard nothing from the Foreign Secretary about what he intends to do about that. Can he enlighten us?
18 Nov 2024 · Armed Forces Commissioner Bill · Hansard source
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Does my hon. Friend agree that it is just not fair on the small businesses that are independent schools, such as Warminster School in my constituency, which traditionally have taken a significant number of service pupils, to have that level of uncertainty about what the school roll will look like in January?
18 Nov 2024 · Armed Forces Commissioner Bill · Hansard source
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I am listening carefully to what the hon. Gentleman has to say. May I tempt him to agree with me that the Armed Forces Commissioner should have his or her powers extended to veterans, on the grounds that a lot of the themes that he or she would look at would be hybrid matters that affected both the veterans community and those currently serving? At the risk of being accused of being a one-trick pony, may I suggest that the Camp Lejeune case exemplifies that point?
18 Nov 2024 · Armed Forces Commissioner Bill · Hansard source
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Of course, the other group excluded from that provision is veterans—I speak as a veteran. Why is the Secretary of State not concerned about them? Should they not come under the auspices of this new official too? An example might be those who were exposed to potential contaminants at Camp Lejeune in the US. That is a thematic investigation that the new commissioner might undertake.
18 Nov 2024 · Financial Services: Mansion House Speech · Hansard source
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Investing in small pension funds is boring, because it is risk-averse, safe for beneficiaries and principally concentrated in this country. While investment in UK start-ups and tech through venture capital and other vehicles is to be warmly welcomed, if it happens, there is nevertheless a very real risk that funds will simply be invested overseas, and the Canada experience suggests that that may very well be the case. What assessment has the Treasury made of the extent to which the small pension funds that the Minister envisaged being amalgamated will simply have their capital and investments lodged overseas in the tech and start-up companies of other countries and deprive our own of the same?
13 Nov 2024 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source
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Alexander Downer, a former Australian Foreign Minister, a former high commissioner to this country, a former United Nations special adviser on Cyprus and a good friend of this country, says that the surrender of the Chagos Islands is “symptomatic of a country that no longer has geopolitical perspective.” What is the Minister’s response to Mr Downer’s remarks, and does he agree with his comment that the last Labour Government were prepared to capitulate on the two Cypriot sovereign base areas, Dhekelia and Akrotiri? Who would have thought it? Is not the Chagos surrender just same old Labour—strong on post-colonial guilt and weak on safety, security and stability?
12 Nov 2024 · National Grid: Energy Mix · Hansard source
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Offshore wind has been a real positive for our energy security and grid independence, but unfortunately not when the wind does not blow. Given the election of a President who tells us he is going to “drill, baby, drill,” what revision does the Minister anticipate to his timetable towards net zero?
12 Nov 2024 · National Grid: Energy Mix · Hansard source
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8. Whether he has had recent discussions with National Grid on diversifying the energy mix of its network.

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