Andrew MacKay: Can we have a guarantee that the arrangements for the spending review will be put in place very quickly? Obviously the people of this country will want to see detailed proposals from the Government ahead of the election.
Andrew MacKay: Why did the Prime Minister's notorious powers of persuasion fail to convince his European colleagues of the merits of Tony Blair's presidency?
Andrew MacKay: When my right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) quite reasonably asked the Leader of the House whether the Prime Minister would make a statement about the European summit on Monday, she replied, "That is usual". Would it not have been better to have said "Yes", or is the Prime Minister dithering again?
Andrew MacKay: Should there not be a debate next week on joined-up government following the Chancellor's statement that it is a very good time to sell state assets such as the Dartford crossing, the student loan book and the Tote, whereas the Prime Minister said yesterday that it was inappropriate to go ahead with the part-privatisation of Royal Mail because there was nobody to buy it? That is not joined-up...
Andrew MacKay: Returning to the vexed issue of the training of TA soldiers going to Iraq, surely the Leader of the House is mistaken to say that the Prime Minister covered the matter adequately yesterday. He did not, by his own admission. May we therefore have an absolute guarantee that the Secretary of State will clear up this very serious matter properly at the Dispatch Box during this afternoon's debate?
Andrew MacKay: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the appointment of a special adviser to the Speaker should be exactly the same as such appointments to Ministers? It is a very personal appointment and it should not go through other procedures. As someone who knows Mr. Tim Hames professionally, I can think of no better person for the appointment.
Andrew MacKay: Returning to the vexed problem of backsliding by certain of our NATO colleagues, which makes it difficult for those of us who strongly support the mission to persuade our sceptical constituents, what more is the Prime Minister going to do to name and shame those colleagues and make it clear to them that the NATO alliance will crack without their full participation?
Andrew MacKay: Following the earlier unsatisfactory exchange, will the Secretary of State now assure the House that the Government are taking the threat of swine flu to the British tourism industry this year seriously? Will he tell us what representations he has been making to the industry?
Andrew MacKay: Why does the Chancellor of the Exchequer think that the First Secretary told the nation that there would be no comprehensive spending review before the general election?
Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent reports he has received on decommissioning of weapons by Loyalist paramilitaries; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew MacKay: During the Minister's disappointing statement, should he not have apologised for the fact that the Government traduced the previous owners, BMW, whose headquarters are in my constituency, and which did the right thing by the work force by selling for nothing to the new owners? Should he not also apologise for the Government's failure to accept the bid from Alchemy, which was clearly seen by...
Andrew MacKay: Would the Leader of the House find it helpful to invite her Cabinet colleague the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to make a statement next week about her policy on equality, bearing in mind the speech that he gave to the Fabian Society yesterday?
Andrew MacKay: Mr. Speaker, do you think that the Secretary of State regrets addressing the nation this morning on the "Today" programme, because it has meant that very little was added in his statement and it went completely against your advice to Ministers?
Andrew MacKay: Will there be a review of Government spending before the general election—yes or no?
Andrew MacKay: I am sure that the Leader of the House will agree that the situation in Iran is dire, with the Government there having rigged the presidential election and a number of pro-democracy demonstrators being either killed or imprisoned. She will also be aware that independent informed commentators feel that our Government could have been more robust in the defence of democracy. To put matters...
Andrew MacKay: In the light of the clear statements of informed observers that the presidential election result in Iran was hopelessly flawed, was not the Prime Minister somewhat embarrassed by the lukewarm statement from the European Council, and did he try to amend it?
Andrew MacKay: What progress his Department has made in its preparations for an influenza pandemic.
Andrew MacKay: With the real possibility of a national and full-scale pandemic of this flu, is the Secretary of State worried that his own national influenza helpline is not yet up and running? In those circumstances, does he think that NHS Direct will be able to cope?
Andrew MacKay: May I suggest to my hon. Friend that it would be useful for the Electoral Commission to carry out a full investigation into, and produce a report on, the recent European elections? Most of us believe that the prospect of voting for a list puts people off voting, but that people do like to vote for an individual elected representative. As the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane)...
Andrew MacKay: May I gently put it to the Leader of the House that her excellent critique of the British National party was rather spoiled by the suggestion that the official Opposition opposed the Equality Bill? She knows full well that we put down a reasoned amendment and that, when it failed, we supported giving the Bill a Second Reading. Looking at the business for the next two weeks, may I assure her...
