Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conduct of recent elections in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons she banned extremist marches and rallies in Walthamstow for 30 days in October 2012; and if she will make a statement.
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects local councils to begin reducing benefits to council home tenants who have spare bedrooms.
Denis MacShane: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Without indulging in some of stronger language and rhetoric of different colleagues, I say that this may be an important parliamentary moment, because the British people decided in May 2010 not to give any of us a majority. I think they wanted a different kind of Parliament to emerge, one that was a bit freer, a...
Denis MacShane: I will not give way. I am very happy with the Speaker’s reduction of the time limit. Last week, Labour MEPs voted against that budget and for a different priority that would focus on growth, on jobs and on what is needed. That is what I believe should be done, which is why I am happy to vote for the amendment tonight. I am not sure what will happen thereafter. This country will have to face...
Denis MacShane: rose —
Denis MacShane: I am deeply grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Whether this is a volte face or a volte farce I am not quite sure, but he is quite right to say that the tide is flowing; it is flowing to Labour and away from the Conservatives.
Denis MacShane: Does my hon. Friend share my hope that the EU—some time, and perhaps this century—will get the Nobel prize for economics?
Denis MacShane: My hon. Friend might be a bit young to recall that in 1984 Britain’s contribution to the then European Community was £654 million. Six years later it had risen fourfold to £2.54 billion. Does he remember which Prime Minister sprayed British taxpayers’ money all over Europe, or are we all now post-Thatcherite, because the Conservative party certainly is?
Denis MacShane: I welcome the Financial Secretary to his new job. Will he confirm the House of Commons Library figures showing that Her Majesty’s Government’s spending between 2010 and 2015 will increase by £100 billion?
Denis MacShane: I rise to oppose this sad and bad Bill. The Bill is sad because I find it uncomfortable to hear in the House remarks about fellow Europeans that cast them in a uniformly negative light. There are more British citizens living and working in other EU member states as a share of our population than there are EU member states’ citizens living here. The Bill is a message to the 700,000 to...
Denis MacShane: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Might it be possible to place in The House magazine an article, perhaps written by the Clerk, on the importance of using the third person singular, rather than “you”, in this House? This is not just fussy parliamentarianism, but a very important point that allows us to exchange the most bitter views without making them personal. We should not “you” it,...
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what instructions he is giving to councils who do not have enough smaller properties to offer council tenants who seek to move from council dwellings with spare bedrooms in order to maintain benefit eligibility.
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of human rights in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.
Denis MacShane: Might the hon. Lady accept my paying tribute to the late Peter Hardy, a great Rotherham MP, who introduced the first Badgers Act in 1973, which is why I am proud to stand here in his memory, and honour his dedication to the cause, by voting with her and other hon. Members on this important issue, so that we say no to badgercide?
Denis MacShane: May we have an early debate on the emergence of two-nation Britain, because, although the figures are good for London and the south, according to House of Commons figures given to me today, in Barnsley unemployment is up 6% on last year, in Bradford 9%, in Leeds 3% and in my own constituency 1%? We are now seeing an emerging disconnect between the north and the Tory and Liberal Democrat...
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to require the police to consult with elected representatives of local communities on the route of marches and location of rallies of organisations promoting race hate.
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries in Latin America he has visited since taking office.
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will estimate the economic effect on (a) shopkeepers in Rotherham, (b) Rotherham metropolitan borough council and (c) the wider Rotherham community as a result of the English Defence League march and rally in Rotherham on 13 October 2012; (2) what assessment he has made of the effect on community cohesion of...
Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of policing the English Defence League march and rally in Rotherham on 13 October 2012.