Mark Francois MP: speeches

Speeches

• 26 Jun 2025 · Floating Solar Panels · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) is not here, unusually, perhaps I can fill in for him. We have already heard from one of my Essex colleagues, my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson), about the controversy in Essex over a number of solar farm developments on land. Before the 2010 boundary changes, I had a very large reservoir in my constituency at West Hanningfield, which would be ideal for the technology my hon. and gallant Friend is suggesting. Does he not believe that many hundreds of other reservoirs across the country would be so suited?

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  indicated dissent .

• 20 Jun 2025 · Green-belt Development: Rayleigh and Wickford · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar is nodding his assent. We do accept there has to be some new house building in our county, but not on the scale that the Government propose in order to meet a random ideological target of 1.5 million homes, even at the risk of materially undermining the quality of life of people who live in Essex already. Finally, even if the Minister does not agree with me today, having known him for some time, I hope that he will at least respect that my concerns are genuine, and I hope that he will take at least some notice of the points that I have made this afternoon on behalf of the constituents who kindly re-elected me recently.

• 18 Jun 2025 · HS2 Reset · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. I too served on the Public Accounts Committee, so I know that while HS2 is by far the largest civil infrastructure programme in the United Kingdom, the second largest is the lower Thames crossing from Tilbury to Gravesend, for which about £10 billion is currently budgeted. If her tighter approach to HS2 produces savings, is there any way that some of them might be vired to pay for the lower Thames crossing? If not, exactly which private-sector companies will pay for it? So far, I am afraid the Government have been rather vague on that point.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  But, Mr Speaker—

• 16 Jun 2025 · Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady declared one interest, and I will quickly declare two. First, I am a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, which has campaigned passionately on this issue for many years. Secondly, my— indeed, our—great friend Sir David Amess felt very passionately about this, and the farrowing crates issue was very close to his heart. Twice over, if I dare put it like that, does she agree that this outdated practice must be banned?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  We genuinely get on. Come on, what is the answer?

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The most pernicious part of this deal is dynamic alignment, by which we become an automatic rule-taker from the European Union. Labour has been briefing journalists that we have an opt-out from that. I have read the document in detail, and we do not. Besides, the ECJ is the ultimate arbiter in a dispute, so the EU will always win. The British people voted peacefully and democratically to leave the European Union, so why has the Prime Minister surrendered that right and made us a rule-taker from the EU once again?

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  After they have been changed.

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  Of course it is European law—

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  Subject to the ECJ! [ Interruption. ]

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The Minister has referred to the Labour manifesto several times in a few minutes. Did it say anything at all about accepting dynamic alignment or becoming a rule taker—yes or no?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  In a moment. This is a yes or no question. Perhaps the Minister, at that time—because he would not answer my right hon. Friend’s question yesterday—will give us an honest answer to an honest question. In fact, if he wants to do it now I will give way to him. A stunning silence! Well, as he has not the guts to get up, I will give way to his Back Bencher.

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  I think it is fair to say that in the years I have been here generally most people have known what I believed in, but is the reason the hon. Gentleman is so incredibly angry this afternoon because, from his point of view, he lost not only one referendum, but two: on Scottish independence and then on the European Union?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  In a moment. To have left the EU but submit to becoming a passive rule taker would be entirely contrary to the spirit of the 2016 referendum. That is why, time and again today, no Minister will admit that the Government are going to do it next week.

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  It would be far better to do this via a process of mutual enforcement, of which my right hon. Friend has always been a staunch advocate. When the Minister sums up the debate, we will ask him if he will rule out, very clearly, any prospect of dynamic alignment at the summit next week.

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  People have made market choices, but under the common fisheries policy, we had the absurdity of so-called discards. Our fishermen had to throw fish, many of which were already dead, back into the sea in order to comply with the absurdities of the CFP. Hopefully, we will never return to that.

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  Yes!

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The whole House will have noted that the hon. Member clearly failed to rule out a second referendum, because he did not much like the result of the first one. May I ask him this directly? Like the Government, as is obvious from their evasion this afternoon, are the Liberal Democrats prepared to accept a process of dynamic alignment, whereby we effectively become a passive rule-taker from the European Union? Yes or no?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will well remember that during the referendum a booklet was circulated to every household in the United Kingdom, which famously said: “This is your decision. The Government will implement what you decide.” The people decided to leave, and some in this place spent three years trying to frustrate their decision. In that context, is he concerned that today the Minister blatantly refused three times to answer a straight question about whether the Government would concede dynamic alignment at the summit? Is that not the sort of duplicitous behaviour that made the public so angry in the first place?

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 13 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady pre-empts me. If she will give me a moment, I will get to fishing very shortly. The TCA—part 2, heading 5—contains transition arrangements relating to fishing. In essence, the TCA allowed for a period of over five years during which there would be temporary arrangements on access to UK waters by EU fishing fleets. After that, under international maritime arrangements, the United Kingdom would become solely responsible for its own territorial waters, out to 200 nautical miles in some places. As this transition period is now approaching its expiration in 2026, the EU is pushing very hard to maintain its access to our fishing waters and—it would seem—even to expand its access in certain cases, were we naive enough to give in. It would be a complete betrayal of our fishermen if the United Kingdom Labour Government were now to grant major concessions to the EU in what will become indisputably our own sovereign waters once again come 2026.