Part of Debate on the Address – in the House of Commons at 2:55 pm on 12 May 2021.
When I saw that I was number 7a on the call list, I thought perhaps I was the first reserve for my hon. Friend Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown; I did not realise that I had promotion rights too, so thank you for that, Madam Deputy Speaker.
One of the effects of the shock of the pandemic, along with other geopolitical changes, is that after 50 years of global trade liberalisation, the world is facing a long period of aggressive mercantilism, and we have to deal with that. The Government are to be congratulated on their ambitious agenda, including record increases in research spending, which has not been mentioned today, the employment drive, the freeport programme, the campaign for ambitious free trade agreements and the bold infrastructure plans. On the non-economic front, I also welcome the excellent proposals to guarantee free speech on campuses. However, I have serious concerns about several aspects of the Queen’s Speech.