Norman Baker: ...referendum, and we are not planning for independence. I personally think that the Scottish people will conclude, for the reasons that the hon. Lady set out, that independence will be yet another gamble as far as high-speed rail is concerned. Behind all the headline statistics, HS2 is about believing in something better than we have. The coalition Government passionately believes that the...
Norman Baker: ..., will sadly get worse. That is an unacceptable message to give to the constituents of the hon. Members for Hayes and Harlington and for Uxbridge, and those elsewhere. We cannot continue to gamble with people's health in the way we are just because the aviation industry wants to demonstrate that it has an economic benefit for the country. It undoubtedly does, but that cannot outweigh the...
Norman Baker: ...opposition has slowed things down on land, they will go for a big explosion offshore. That may not be the right policy. It may not be the right policy environmentally and the Government may take a gamble with the environment offshore because it is the quickest way of getting the renewable capacity up. If they do so there should at least be a holding block, rather than a veto. Something is...
Norman Baker: ...is indeed one scenario, and that is why we now try to talk of climate change, not global warming. What is clear is that we will see significant changes in our weather and climate, and we should not gamble with that—although it appears that we propose to do so. There are statistics that support both sides of the debate, but I was struck by the report that more than half of the world's...
Norman Baker: ...of the offloading of the proceeds of crime. The proceeds of crime in Ireland tend to be lap dancing clubs, racehorses and other property of that kind. People are involved in activities such as gambling, and someone who has a criminal lifestyle-or, to suggest an alternative phrase to the Minister, someone who has a history of recurrent criminal behaviour-and who has received proceeds of...
Norman Baker: ...animal species that were introduced into our country and which have changed the balance of the countryside significantly, such as the rabbit, the grey squirrel and the mink. Do we want to take huge gambles with new and unpredictable crop varieties which, once released into the environment, cannot be recalled?