Results 1241–1260 of 2000 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Graham Stringer

Light Rail (30 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: My hon. Friend makes a profound and important point, which the Transport Committee has made to Ministers a number of times. Local transport plans have four objectives, and not one of them is regeneration. It clearly should be, because the people who run our great cities say that regeneration is their top priority, and transport should be fitted into that. My next point is about an interesting...

Orders of the Day — Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill ( 7 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: My contribution will be short. When Albert Einstein wrote the general theory of relativity it was said that only three people in the world, including him, could understand it. Similar things were said when Isaac Newton wrote the "Principia". No such lavish claims have ever been made about the number of people who understand local government finance, although I suspect that over the years it...

Orders of the Day — Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill ( 7 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: The hon. Gentleman may completely understand local government finance, and I shall give way to him in a second. Local government finance has become so complicated and difficult that I do not believe that even the gurus in the ODPM completely understand it. Now is the time, with the review of form and function, when the system could be simplified, and I shall deal with those points in a minute.

Orders of the Day — Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill ( 7 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: The hon. Gentleman makes his point aggressively, but when the council tax was set up by a Conservative Government after the failure of the poll tax, a large gearing effect was inherent in its structure because most of the money for local government came from central Government. The hon. Gentleman should not be quite so aggressive about a point that relates to the consequence of the...

Orders of the Day — Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill ( 7 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: Thank you for that guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker. I shall try, with your guidance in mind, to answer the question by relating it to the revaluation and the Lyons review of local government functions and finance. The reason for the delay is that if we want to comply with those principles—I share some of my hon. Friend's fears—the council tax, which was set up in response to the crisis of...

Orders of the Day — Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Bill ( 7 Nov 2005)

Graham Stringer: I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman was in his place previously, but if he had listened to what my right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich said in reply to a similar point, he would have heard him explain that the decision on council tax was taken on a different basis in Wales to raise extra money. That is not the Government's position. There is a difference, and we are...

Oral Answers to Questions — Transport: Rail Network (11 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: A journey by train from Doncaster to London takes about the same time as the journey from Doncaster to Manchester. Unfortunately, that speed is typical of many northern railway lines, where the trains find it difficult to achieve 19th century timetables. That is damaging the northern economy. When can we look forward to an improvement to this unsatisfactory situation?

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: The hon. Gentleman brings me nicely to my next point about whether the argument made by the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton that there is real concern about absolute noise has a foundation. The hon. Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie) has repeated that point, but I think that the concern about noise and the aviation industry is getting less, as demonstrated by most of the real assessments...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I have given way several times, and I want to make progress. Most of my experience of balancing the economic and environmental interests of the community has come from being responsible for Manchester airport, primarily during the planning process and the decisions on the second runway there. Because we were concerned to talk to the local community and to find out whether there was support...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I do not think that the effect of noise can be assessed simply by a meter measuring decibels, but that is an indication of the level of the problem in Great Glen. That is the point that I was trying to make. I urge hon. Members to see through the argument that the problem is increasing as we have not heard any evidence today to suggest that it is. The Conservatives take the extraordinary...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I had not intended to speak on the Bill once I saw that the amendments dealing with support for stranded air travellers had not been pursued, but the representations that I have heard from Opposition Members and one or two contributions from Labour Members bear no relationship whatever to the debates and discussions that we had in Committee. From the comments that have been made today, I...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I recognise that that Committee has produced those reports. I have made comments in the Chamber about them, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington suggests in talking about predict and provide, they are in error in their analysis of the aviation industry's history. I shall finish talking about my hon. Friend's contribution by agreeing with him that promises have been made...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: It has been a mistake to believe that we could stay at the forefront of the aviation industry and say that Heathrow did not need a third runway. I have always been very clear about that. I agreed with my hon. Friend's analysis previously. My understanding of BAA's position is that it has left it up to the Government to say where the extra runways should go. I am getting off the point—I...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I do not agree with my hon. Friend on that point. Moving away from Heathrow would represent an incredible cost to the country; it simply will not happen.

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I really must move on, because I want to talk about amendment No. 1 and new clause 4. I listened very carefully to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan) and the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), and I was astonished because they both have a reputation for supporting free markets and deregulation, but they were arguing in new clause 4 for the creation of an extra...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I do not think that we should continue along the path of the Clean Air Act 1956, but I understand that that was taken through the House as a private Member's Bill by a Conservative Member, not by a Conservative Government. My point is very simply that the Conservative party is asking for extra regulation when the problem is decreasing, not increasing, unlike in the 1950s and 1960s, when the...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill: New Clause 4 — Commercial Flights Officer (10 Oct 2005)

Graham Stringer: I have given way a lot, but I will give way to the hon. Gentleman. I must then try to make some progress.

Oral Answers to Questions — Transport: Transport Innovation Fund (28 Jun 2005)

Graham Stringer: Any increase in funds from the transport innovation fund would be very welcome, but the Greater Manchester and the Tyne and Wear passenger transport executives are worried that there could be a compensatory cut in revenue funding when the national concessionary fare scheme is implemented. Can my right hon. Friend assure me and the House that, in implementing the national concessionary fare...

Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation Bill (27 Jun 2005)

Graham Stringer: In these debates, I always feel that that I am declaring interests that I do not really have. I was a board member of Manchester Airport plc for 13 years. I chaired the board on three occasions, once for a whole year, and represented the majority shareholder, Manchester city council. However, I have never been to Nottingham East Midlands airport and, when I was on the Manchester Airport...


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