Christopher Chope MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  That is another very good point. I am sure that it has been picked up by Members on the Treasury Bench, and they will respond accordingly. In a sense, we have to thank our mercies that Mandelson has finally been exposed—and not just that exposure outside George Osborne’s house.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Judgment, discretion and the way that we behave are fundamental; they are part of our character, and we know that character is set quite early in life. Certainly, we can see that Mandelson’s character has not changed in all the time he has been involved in public life and so-called public service. It is only because of what has been revealed in the United States that we are now in a position to know that Mandelson—he is no longer Lord Mandelson or the right hon. Lord Mandelson—

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I am not going to suggest that we do not vote in support of our own motion. We know from the course of this debate that a lot more questions are being raised. In due course, with the forensic leadership shown by the Leader of the Opposition, I think we will be able to get to the bottom of these issues and get the answers we deserve. In the meantime, it is frustrating for people. I will finish with this final note. I did not go to Oxford, but we should show solidarity with the people of Oxford University, who had the wisdom not to elect Mandelson as their chancellor.

• 2 Feb 2026 · US Department of Justice Release of Files · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister think that the deep involvement of Mandelson with Epstein shows that Epstein’s victims were not only women and girls but may have included young men?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums · Hansard source

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  May I share with my hon. Friend a cautionary tale? Often, reorganisation is promoted as delivering better value for money, but since Christchurch was absorbed into the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area, the consequence has been less efficiency and higher costs, to the extent that BCP council is now applying for a 7.5% increase in council tax this year, without a referendum. The history of the Christchurch council area is that in a local referendum with a 60% turnout, 84% of people were against joining up with Bournemouth and Poole—and they were right. The trouble was that the Government then refused to listen to the views of the local people.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady agree that there are practical consequences flowing from the failure of the— [ Interruption. ]

• 15 Jan 2026 · Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady accept that there are practical consequences flowing from the intolerable delay in the Government making an announcement about the scheme? For example, repairs are under way at All Saints church in Mudeford and at Christchurch priory, and the consequence of the Government not doing anything about this scheme will be hundreds of thousands of pounds of extra costs for those churches.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Offshore Wind · Hansard source

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  How are the figures that the Secretary of State has announced today compatible with the Climate Change Committee’s seventh carbon budget last year, which said that the cost of offshore wind at 2023 prices would be £37.80 per megawatt-hour in 2035? He has just announced £90.91 per megawatt-hour, so how can that be a bargain basement price? Is this not a rip-off of the consumer, who will now face extortionate energy prices for at least 20 further years?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  Order. Back Benchers’ speeches must end by 10.30 am so that we can move on to the wind-ups.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  Order. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesman.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  I call Llinos Medi.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  I call Phil Brickell, who has one minute.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend write to the Procedure Committee with his file on this case? The Procedure Committee is at the moment inquiring into the quality of answers to written questions, and is very concerned about the lack of quality. I am also concerned about receiving answers, in my case from the Treasury recently, that suggest there was an attempt to deliberately mislead, which has been exposed only as a result of supplementary answers.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee). I thank him for his support for the campaign against the family farm tax, and for his courage in speaking out in favour of abolishing that impost on our farming communities. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the worst Budget that I have witnessed as a Member of this House, but it generated the best response I have ever heard from the Leader of the Opposition. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch) on the way that she dealt with it, and I start by referring to her excellent speech. She said: “the Chancellor has, by her own admission, broken her manifesto promise on income tax. In the last Budget, she said: “I am keeping every single promise on tax that I made in our manifesto, so there will be no extension of the freeze in income tax…thresholds”. She also said that “extending the threshold freeze would hurt working people. It would take more money out of their payslips.” —[ Official Report , 26 November 2025; Vol. 776, c. 403.] Yesterday, the Chancellor had the gall to say, in the conclusion of her speech, that she was “keeping every single one of our manifesto commitments” —[ Official Report , 26 November 2025; Vol. 776, c. 399.] It is hardly surprising that disillusionment with politics and the political system in our country is running so high, when there is that sort of betrayal of not just a manifesto commitment, but even what was said last year. I happened to be, I think, the only Conservative MP at the CBI dinner last year, and I heard the Chancellor say to Rupert Soames, president of the CBI, that she was not coming back for more, that there was a clean slate, and that the Government would not increase taxes. She seems to have disregarded what she said a year ago to the CBI. Was she seduced by Rupert Soames? I do not know. Did she mean what she said, or did she not? It is hardly surprising that people do not trust this Government any longer. Those who had the misfortune—I do not know whether you ever did, Madam Deputy Speaker—to travel on Belgium’s national airline Sabena developed the acronym “such a bad experience, never again”, and that is exactly the view of those who voted Labour for the first time at the last general election. They are saying, “never again”, because they witness the arrogance, the incompetence, and the downright deceit of this Labour Government. It is worth putting on record the extent to which taxes are now increasing. Table A.5 in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s “Economic and fiscal outlook” sets that out. I put this in the context of what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said on the “Today” programme this morning. When asked whether she would rule out further tax increases in this Parliament, she declined to answer, and in essence said that she would not, but let us remind ourselves of the tax increases already in the Budget. In 2024-25, income tax was £305.9 billion. It is going up to £410.9 billion by 2029-30, which is an increase of £105 billion, or over one third. National insurance is going up from £171.4 billion to £239.2 billion, an increase of 40% over five years. Business rates are rising from £32.1 billion to £41.9 billion, an increase of 30% over five years. Council tax is rising from £47.4 billion to £63.3 billion over five years, an increase of at least one third. Inheritance tax is rising from £8.3 billion to £13.5 billion, an increase of 60% over five years. It is hardly surprising that people are feeling poorer and betrayed. Very few people will experience increases in their household income of anything like those proportions in the next five years. That is why this Budget is such a disaster and a betrayal of the national interest. There is also an unhealthy development in the Budget that I hope you, Madam Deputy Speaker, can discuss with Mr Speaker. Many constituencies were mentioned, and Labour Members were identified as having contributed to the Chancellor’s decisions. It struck me that people are now being bought off by the Chancellor in return for their support, and that is an extremely unhealthy development. It is basically what we have seen happening in the United States, and we do not like it at all.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Right to Trial by Jury · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister accept that failed asylum seekers are exploiting these delays in the Crown courts? Will she therefore consider restricting the right to jury trial, so that only British citizens can enjoy it?

• 25 Nov 2025 · COP30 · Hansard source

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  Is it not a cruel confidence trick to suggest that 1.5°C is still achievable, when it manifestly is not? Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency confirmed 2.9°C by 2100 as its central scenario and that a 2.5°C increase by 2050 was totally unrealistic and unachievable. Would the Government not be better off spending our taxpayers’ money on adapting to the realities—increasing resilience and ensuring we improve our flood defences and so on—and preparing for the inevitable, instead of continuing to punish the British people?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Typhoon Fighter Sovereign Capability · Hansard source

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  Order. Unfortunately, we have reached 11 o’clock, and although the next debate has been withdrawn, I do not have the discretion to extend this debate. That is something that we might consider on the Modernisation Committee, so that we have a bit more flexibility than we had today. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

• 12 Nov 2025 · Typhoon Fighter Sovereign Capability · Hansard source

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  Order. The hon. Gentleman arrived late. He has made an intervention already and is now making a very long intervention. He should have some regard for other Members who have been here throughout the debate.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Typhoon Fighter Sovereign Capability · Hansard source

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  I call Luke Akehurst, who I am afraid has been left with only a couple of minutes.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  I agree absolutely. If someone has suffered serious adverse effects from a covid-19 vaccine, it is not much consolation to them, their loved ones or those whose confidence we are trying to build to be told that because they are only 30% disabled they are not entitled to a penny. Someone who is 59% disabled is not entitled to anything, even if that disability was caused by the vaccine. To put all this in context, the VDPS was set up in 1979 to boost confidence for those receiving vaccines. Between 1979 and 31 March 2025, the total number of non-covid vaccine claims was 958. As of 31 March, 331 were still live, 88 of which had been waiting more than 12 months, and only nine had been successful. That is hardly a confidence-building measure, but as I mentioned, as of the end of June, there were more than 22,000—more than 22 times as many—claims for damage caused by covid-19 vaccines. It is hardly surprising that there has been a decline in vaccine confidence. That is why, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) said, we need some urgency. When I ask questions about this, I keep getting fobbed off with unsatisfactory answers. Mostly recently, on 7 July, a Minister wrote in answer to my question: “I am not in a position to comment on timelines for the consideration of options for reform or recommendations for change.” Are those options not being considered now? When are they going to be brought forward? The answer continued: “Ministers continue to consider options covering both potential reforms…and the situation of those who have suffered harm.” But they will not tell us the timescale. What are we to do? What are the punters meant to do about this? We are still waiting for the report from the inquiry, in particular on module 4, but the evidence given to the inquiry was compelling. In conclusion, I will quote briefly from the evidence that was given in the introductory statements before Baroness Heather Hallett: “During the early months of the vaccine rollout, those who experienced adverse reactions found it nearly impossible to access information about vaccine injuries in the mainstream media. This lack of coverage contributed to feelings of fear, isolation, and a heightened likelihood of being disbelieved. Adverse reactions to the Covid-19 vaccines were largely absent from mainstream media discussions. When they were eventually covered, the stories were often framed with an emphasis on the rarity of such reactions, the safety of the vaccine, and the millions of lives it had saved. Members of the Covid Vaccine Adverse Reaction and Bereaved Groups who participated in interviews with mainstream media often had to agree to censor themselves, or had their words altered during editing.” We now know that they were right. Their concerns that these injuries and bereavements had been caused by the vaccines were correct, although the Government at the time were in denial. That has added to the trauma of the victims and their families. I hope that the Government, which I always hope will be sympathetic to those in need and in plight, will now wake up and put a proverbial under the UK Government authorities that are trying to forestall any action. One can see the way in which the previous Government’s Ministers were disregarded on this issue and how the NHS carries on doing its own thing and being in denial. I hope that the Minister can tell us the timescales for this, exactly what is being discussed and what is not, and when we will be able to report something positive to those of our constituents who continue to suffer.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for people harmed following covid-19 vaccinations. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. This is a hot topic. The Secretary of State told my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) in June that it was on still on the boil. We hope today to find out a bit more about what the Government will do in response to the representations that have been made. I have been campaigning on this issue since the summer of 2021, when it first became apparent that some people had suffered serious adverse reactions—in a few cases fatal ones—as a result of having taken vaccines against covid-19. That summer, over four years ago, I presented a petition calling from reform of the vaccine damage payment scheme, to “maintain vaccine confidence and provide urgent support for those injured/bereaved through covid-19 vaccinations”. The complacent Government at the time responded: “Once more is known about the possible link between the vaccine and potential side effects, it will be considered whether a wider review of the VDPS is needed”. Is it not regrettable that four years on we are in exactly the same position? The new Government’s line is, “We are not sure whether we’re going to review the VDPS and, if we do, how we’re going to review it and in what respects.” What has happened since the summer of 2021? On 10 September 2021, in speaking to my Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Bill, I expressed my concerns about the victims of these vaccines. At that stage, there had been only 154 applications under the vaccine damage payment scheme. Four years later, as of June 2025, the number of claims had risen to 21,444. This is a big and serious issue, yet the Government continue to be in denial about the validity of causal links between covid vaccines and injury or death. Now, in the face of evidence, the Government have had to change their tune, not least because, as of May 2025, 224 awards of £120,000 had been paid in respect of people who had been proved to have suffered death or serious injury as a result of having the vaccines. It is no longer open to the Government to deny that causality, but it seems that they are still intent on playing hard to get for those people who are still seeking compensation or redress for what they have suffered. This fits closely with the whole issue of vaccine confidence. We have heard recently about the declining take-up of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines and other childhood vaccines; our levels of take-up are now well below those recommended by the World Health Organisation. The vaccine damage payment scheme was introduced to give confidence to people who did the right thing in public health terms: they got themselves vaccinated, and they knew that if something went wrong, the Government would come in and support them. That now is not happening, or at least it is not happening in sufficiently large quantities. As a result, the word on the street is that if someone takes a vaccine—if they take that risk for the sake of public health—and something goes wrong, they will probably have to pay the consequences themselves, and the Government will not help. It is now universally accepted that covid-19 vaccines were not absolutely “safe and effective”, as was claimed at the time. For a few people, the vaccines have been a disaster. The charity UKCVFamily continues to campaign fearlessly for those victims; later this month, it will host in London a two-day seminar with leading lawyers and medical practitioners to consider some of these issues. In January, UKCV and others gave evidence on module 4 of the covid-19 inquiry, arguing for reform of the vaccine damage payment scheme. The hope at the time was that there would be an interim ruling or report, before this point, basically asking the Government to get to grips with reviewing the scheme because of the injustice that was being caused. So far, nothing seems to have happened about producing an interim report in relation to module 4. The recognition that the reluctance of Government to face up to the facts about covid-19 vaccines is widespread globally led to the publication of “Canary In a Covid World”, a collection of essays from 34 contributors across different countries. I was privileged to be one of them. Another contributor and co-author was Dr Peter McCullough, whose latest book, “Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality”, was published in July and for a time was in the New York Times bestseller list. The importance of this issue for tens of thousands of people cannot be overstated, yet the Government continue to vacillate.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend. I hope that the Minister listened to her and will have direct answers to the questions that she raised. Having spent so much time badgering my right hon. Friend, when she was a Minister in the Cabinet Office, to get something done on this issue, I perhaps need to take the opportunity to say this. I think in the end I reached the conclusion that she had been badly let down by the officials in her Department. It was unfinished business at the time of the general election, and if the current Secretary of State is in discussion with the Cabinet Office, then another 15 months have gone by. Having regard to the work that was done before, I would hope that we are getting close to having answers.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  Obviously, the Minister has a brief that has been given to her by officials on behalf of the Minister with responsibility for public health, the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), who is not able to be here. Can this Minister give me some assurance that I, together with my colleagues who have participated in this debate, will be able to meet the relevant Minister, so that we can go over some of this stuff? I realise that this Minister does not have the discretion to be able to respond to this debate, but the public health Minister would have that discretion, so can she guarantee that we can fix up a meeting, please?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  The Minister says she cannot give us an exact timeline. Could she give us an approximate time? Is this going to be finished before the end of this year, for example? That is not an exact timeline, but it would be an indicative timeline. And when she talks about various options, can she not explain which of those options are being considered or which ones are not being considered? For example, is increasing the £120,000 payout being considered? Is reducing the disability threshold from 60% being considered? Is disapplying the three-year limitation period for the bringing of civil claims being considered? Please can we have a yes or no to those things? We are not asking for the decisions on those, but we are asking whether they are being considered or not.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Covid-19 Vaccination Harm · Hansard source

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  My right hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. I have before me the answer that he received from the Secretary of State when he raised the matter at Health questions on 17 June: “I reassure the right hon. and learned Gentleman, the constituents of his I have met and other campaigners that I am having discussions with the Cabinet Office about how we deal with that and other issues that have been raised this morning…He knows the complexities involved, and I have been grateful for his advice as a former Attorney General. I do not have specific progress to report now, but I reassure him and campaigners that this issue has not gone off the boil and we are working to find a resolution.” —[ Official Report , 17 June 2025; Vol. 769, c. 159.] That was almost three months ago, so what has happened in the interim? I hope that the Minister, whom I am pleased to see in her place, will be able to deliver a response to the questions as to what review is being carried out, which aspects of the scheme are being reviewed, when evidence will be invited, if that is to happen, and what the timescale is for all this, because at the moment people are in the dark, as my right hon. and learned Friend said.