Gregory Campbell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Mar 2025 · Israeli-Palestinian Peace: International Fund · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. I just have a word of caution for him on the comparison between the middle east and Northern Ireland. Yes, the International Fund for Ireland made a difference, but the scale of the schism in the middle east caused by 7 October and the scale of the rebuild that will be required in Gaza are such that a fund many times greater than the IFI will be needed to make any meaningful difference in the middle east.

• 11 Mar 2025 · European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism · Hansard source

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  What concerns many people in Northern Ireland is that often, when things happen in Northern Ireland that are of a particular disposition, the Republic of Ireland’s Government will weigh in heavily to press our Government to do certain things. However, it seems that on many occasions when things happen on which our Government should make representations to the Republic’s Government, they fail adequately to do so.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Economic Growth: New Transport Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  Economic growth through infrastructure development could be helped in Scotland and Northern Ireland with more money going to Cairnryan port and the road infrastructure to it. Allied to that, any help that the Department, the Minister and the Chancellor could give in resolving EU-related trading issues would considerably help Northern Ireland business as well as Scottish business.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Plan for Neighbourhoods · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s statement. It is indeed very welcome in Northern Ireland, where it affects Coleraine and Londonderry in my patch. The 10-year period is particularly welcome as it allows for planning and for proposals to be put in place. Can he assure us that, towards the end of this Parliament, we will review the plan to see if it is possible to develop it and to become very focused on trying to get benefit for our constituents?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Market Towns: Cultural Heritage · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. On the issue of pride in local market towns, in my area there is a small market town called Limavady. Over 100 years ago, a family called Massey emigrated from there to New Zealand, and their son became the Prime Minister of New Zealand before, during and after the first world war, playing a key role in the Commonwealth’s response to that war. In a few weeks’ time we mark the centenary of his death. Such things need to be marked in small market towns so that they are not forgotten, and people can take pride in what their forebears achieved in the past.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State has outlined that on a number of occasions, both he and the Under-Secretary have responded to issues that the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) has raised. He will be aware that I wrote to him about a month ago about the problems with horticultural industry trade between Scotland and Northern Ireland, but I have yet to get a response.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State is being very generous with his time. He just said most goods are flowing freely. Does he not agree that he should amend that to say, “In certain sectors, most goods are flowing freely, but in certain other sectors, they most certainly are not”?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Movement of Horticultural Goods · Hansard source

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  5. Whether he has had recent discussions with horticultural suppliers in Great Britain on the supply of goods to consumers in Northern Ireland.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Movement of Horticultural Goods · Hansard source

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  The situation remains difficult. In fact, the Horticultural Trades Association said that it remains “impossible” for some retailers who are trying to order products from GB-based companies for consumers in Northern Ireland. Everyone can complain about that, but some of us are trying to do something about it. The Government are the people who can bring pressure to bear to resolve this problem for consumers in Northern Ireland, so what action is being taken to try to resolve it?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Many people will have become aware of the recent controversy regarding the BBC’s decision to broadcast on its iPlayer service the documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone”. It only withdraw it after public outcry. It featured the son of a Hamas deputy Minister, and there has been the further revelation in the past 24 hours that the cameraman on the film put up a celebratory tweet after the 7 October massacre. The Culture Secretary has already indicated publicly that she wants to speak to the director general of the BBC about this outrageous lack of due diligence, but has she indicated to the Speaker’s Office that she intends to make a statement to the House, to allow right hon. and hon. Members to seek further clarification and get answers for the wider public?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Conflict in Sudan · Hansard source

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  The Foreign Secretary indicated that he would engage in further discussions, along with the African Union. Given that there are about 9 million displaced people in one of the most significant, if not the most significant, humanitarian catastrophes that the world faces today, will he impress on the African Union and partners the need for urgent action to try to resolve this situation?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Scrutiny of European Statutory Instruments · Hansard source

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  On the lack of scrutiny, does the hon. and learned Member agree that as time goes on and the American Administration begin to look at what they may or may not do vis-à-vis trading arrangements with the EU, it is all the more important—it was important anyway—that we have close scrutiny, because of the deals that may come about between the American Administration, the UK and possibly the EU?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Hospices · Hansard source

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  The magnificent work done by those who work in hospices, including the four in Northern Ireland, needs to be reflected in the funding formula. Will the Minister undertake to discuss with ministerial colleagues the need for the Treasury to review that funding formula, particularly in relation to devolved settlements?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Clonoe Inquest · Hansard source

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  Compounding the problems that the coroner has created with his comments is the fact that in the past whenever innocent people were killed, the judiciary has commented that attention should be drawn to those behind the scenes who send young men out to carry out the killing. These young men were sent out to kill; they had murder in their minds. It is a pity that the coroner did not mention who was behind that—why are their names not being brought to public light? Does the Secretary of State agree that something like that might have helped a little to minimise the compounding problem created by the coroner’s comments at the time?

• 6 Feb 2025 · CPS Prosecutors · Hansard source

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  Given the backlog in Crown court appearances, and the increasing tide of knife crime as well as criminal activity against women and girls, what steps are the Department taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service is adequately provided for so that justice is seen to be done in the wider community?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  On the roll-out of banking hubs, does the hon. Gentleman agree that, although that is good, it needs to happen faster, particularly in smaller towns? Today seems to be high street retailing day—I have a debate this afternoon that concentrates on similar issues—so does he agree that the matter requires innovative, fresh thinking to try to help rural and small-town communities that do not have the services of large cities?

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I was just coming to the issue of bank branch closures and post office closures, which unfortunately have exacerbated the problem in recent years. We had a debate this morning where some Members mentioned the development of banking hubs, which has helped to a small degree, but they will take some time to roll out. We must remember that more than 2.5 million people are employed in the retail sector across the United Kingdom, so this is not a niche sector that some people are annoyed about but which does not affect a large number of people: this is a huge part of our economy, and it has to be the subject of innovative change and dynamic alignment.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I concur with what the hon. Gentleman said. I notice that this is turning into an intervention debate with a speech, but, given that I intervene very regularly—

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  The short answer to that is yes. I think some things are being done by devolved Government, but I was alluding to the rating of commercial premises in the run-up to Christmas. We need to reduce car parking charges and rates at that time because many businesses exist throughout the year only because of the turnover that they get between October and Christmas eve. Richard Walker, the managing director of Iceland—who I understand is a supporter of the Labour Government, so I hope this is not viewed as a criticism—said just this week: “The Treasury is right to look at levelling the playing field on tax, but it has parked its tractor in the wrong place going after hard-working British farmers. Let’s stop messing around and make online sales tax reform the priority. High streets and farmers are the bedrock of this great country, we need to get behind them.” I could not agree more. We need a fundamental reassessment of where our high streets will be not in 15 years’ time but in 15 months’ time.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for high street retailers. This subject has concentrated minds for a number of years, and we are all affected by the problems associated with high street retailing. In fact, Mary Portas said that the future of the high street will involve “less retail but better retail”— that was about three years ago. I am afraid that those who say there are difficulties or problems in the high street are mistaken, because unless towns across the United Kingdom are different from the towns I experience in Northern Ireland, high street retailing is in more than just difficulty. Unless there is dramatic, innovative intervention, the high street in the United Kingdom as we know it will die.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I look forward to hearing the Minister respond to that, as it sounds like a concept worth pursuing. I thank the Minister for being in his place Hopefully, he will be able to respond positively, to give us an indication of what the Government intend to do and to take a really radical look at our high streets in the next few years.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising that; I was just coming on to the business of independent shops. In Northern Ireland, independent retailers have an effective representational body. They are manfully and womanfully struggling to present their case in the face of huge multinationals that exist, particularly on the edge of town and out of town, where there have been a number of out-of-town developments, which tend to swamp town centres. They take advantage of what is, by and large, free car parking, and town centres are choking in some respects because of commuters and people having to pay for charging. We must be more innovative, particularly in the prime months—in the run-up to Christmas, for example—when we must try to convince various Government Ministers to introduce a charging structure that would benefit local independent retailers on the high street to ensure that some benefit is accrued to local people.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I suppose I asked for that.

• 5 Feb 2025 · High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. Those two or three options are starting to develop. Those that are in vogue at the moment are reasonably successful, and they need to be built on.