Michelle Thomson: I made a speech in this place on 1 February 2016 on the FCA compensation scheme for interest rate hedging products. I argued then that that scheme was ill thought out and provided no effective redress for businesses that had been made insolvent. To be honest, I was almost tempted to re-read my previous speech because here we are again, although I would have included the new numbers. Whereas...
Michelle Thomson: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that compliment. Finally, I want to address the topic of culture. We need to recall that it is the underlying culture of institutions that has enabled this to happen. We know that we have come from a driven, bottom-line culture, but we must make our banking system—our whole financial system—work for us and for our society. I fear that we have lost sight of...
Michelle Thomson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to prevent cases of false self-employment in the construction industry.
Michelle Thomson: I aim to be fairly brief today. I commend and thank my hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (Dr Whiteford) for bringing the Bill forward. She spoke most eloquently. I want briefly to reference the speech I made last week and to give some thanks, first, to the Speaker’s Office and, you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for being very supportive of me, and to my friend and colleague, the hon....
Michelle Thomson: I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for that. But, of course, I made my position very clear: it was not about this individual here; it was about women more widely, and indeed men, who have also been affected by sexual or physical violence. I spent most of last weekend personally answering the literally hundreds of emails I got, and it was truly humbling, because people, for the first time,...
Michelle Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what safeguards his Department has put in place to prevent the immediate sale of assets by a new owner of the Green Investment Bank after its planned privatisation.
Michelle Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what safeguards his Department has put in place to protect the focus of the Green Investment Bank on green investment after the planned privatisation of that bank.
Michelle Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to maintain any control or stake in the new ownership structure of the Green Investment Bank after its planned privatisation.
Michelle Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to safeguard the Green Investment Bank's headquarters in Edinburgh and the jobs it supports after the planned privatisation of that bank.
Michelle Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph B.18 of the Civil Aviation Authority's Guidance on the application of the airspace change process document, published in March 2016, whether guidance will be issued to airports on their needing to conduct an impact assessment on livestock, animals and biodiversity.
Michelle Thomson: I beg to move, That this House has considered the sale of the Green Investment Bank. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Owen; I have not done so previously. I have sought the debate as an independent MP—independent as to party and mind—in the light of considerable concerns raised about the proposed sale of the Green Investment Bank. I must signal my thanks to Macquarie...
Michelle Thomson: I am happy to support my hon. Friend on that point. I also note the valuable work he is doing around Scottish limited partnerships. I hope he has great success in that. The limited liability partnerships used to date by the GIB may indeed be UK-domiciled and registered for tax purposes, but the point is—we cannot forget this—that if the underlying funds or owners are controlled offshore,...
Michelle Thomson: I am extremely happy to acknowledge that point, and I agree; I suspect the hon. Lady may have read the next section of my speech. She has absolutely hit the nail on the head. I was discussing what reinvestment would be made in the UK economy after any asset sales. How much influence fundamentally would the so-called golden share have if much of the activity is controlled outwith the UK? I am...
Michelle Thomson: I absolutely agree, and I sum up by asking: is this the right time for a sale to anybody in the light of Brexit, when the focus fundamentally must be on innovation and positioning ourselves to take advantage of key growth sectors?
Michelle Thomson: rose—
Michelle Thomson: I thank the Minister for his comments, but I need to press him on my specific comment about the risk appetite and the nature and type of projects. I fully accept and understand increased access to capital, but I made a specific point about the risk appetite that I hope the Minister will move on to.
Michelle Thomson: I can do that quickly, Mr Owen. I thank hon. Members for their contributions, including the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry) and the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), who always adds depth to our debates. I also thank the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) . I make particular reference to the hon. Member for East Lothian...
Michelle Thomson: Will my right hon. Friend help confirm my understanding that it was the Tories who wanted to safeguard British interests in the single market? Am I correct in recalling that in their manifesto?
Michelle Thomson: There has been a lot of Sturm und Drang around this debate over the past couple of days. I will try to reflect how I feel about it. I have a sense of disbelief and despair at the decision that is about to be made, and significant doubt in the abilities of those who seek to give voice to my constituents in going any way towards meeting their needs. Let us be clear: 71% of my constituents in...