Business of the House
Debate between Lord Grayling and Jonathan Ashworth(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
The hundreds of constituents who have been in touch in recent days opposing this change to the Hunting Act will welcome what the Government have done, but will consider the way they have gone about it to be utterly chaotic. If this was designated a free vote by the Whips Office, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) said, why have the Government pulled the vote?
Chris Grayling
The hon. Gentleman has had lots of representations from his constituents, but the Government will take the decisions we think are in the best interests of the country and what we are trying to achieve, and that is what we are doing.
Business of the House
Debate between Lord Grayling and Jonathan Ashworth(9 years, 6 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
I absolutely echo and endorse my hon. Friend’s comments about the situation in the middle east. These matters will of course be debated on Monday, but we will undoubtedly return to them in this House in the near future. I note my hon. Friend’s comments about Tony Blair. I think we should put on record our thanks to Tony Blair for the work he has done. I saw an interesting statistic the other day. The Labour party has had eight leaders in the past 40 years. Only one of them has won a general election, and he is the only one they never talk about.
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
Has the Leader of the House had time yet to study yesterday’s figures from the Office for National Statistics, which show that the city with the lowest disposable income per person is now Leicester? He may also be aware that over the last four years child poverty increased in Leicester. Will he therefore ensure that when the Chancellor comes to the House and outlines his £12 billion of social security cuts, he will also lay before the House estimates for what impact the cuts will have on child poverty over the next four years?
Chris Grayling
Where the hon. Gentleman and I disagree is that I do not think the solution to Leicester’s problems is providing Leicester with more welfare. I think the solution to Leicester’s problems is creating jobs, supporting business, encouraging the development of new skills and creating a better environment for young people in Leicester to grow up in. That is what this Government will seek to achieve.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Grayling and Jonathan Ashworth(10 years, 6 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
You are quite right, Mr Speaker, that these issues are not sub judice. Of course, it is hardly surprising that the hon. Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley) is a keen advocate for the city he represents, but I shall not pass further comment on this matter before the court judgment is reached.
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
I am the hon. Member for Leicester, and I am a keen advocate for my city. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the dig for Richard III was well advertised, and the relevant licence granted by the Ministry of Justice was very specific that, should Richard be found, his remains should be buried in Leicester?
Chris Grayling
We are hearing the divisions in the House about an important strategic issue. I fear that I shall stick with my position that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further until the court case has reported.
Jarrow Crusade (75th Anniversary)
Debate between Lord Grayling and Jonathan Ashworth(13 years ago)
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Chris Grayling
Having looked at the list of investments that are being made today, I cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is a matter of great pleasure to hon. Members such as me and my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) to see the north-east receiving such a large proportion of the fund. That is right and proper, because what I want to see above all else is jobs being created and unemployment coming down in the north-east. That is a goal that we all share.
Chris Grayling
I will just make a bit of progress and then I will give way.
The hon. Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris) asked me about the economic strategy and he made a fair point. In my view, we have to focus on jobs, growth and high-quality back-to-work support for the unemployed. I appreciate that this is a point of difference between us, but it is my view that a central part of rebuilding economic prosperity in this country is dealing with the deficit that Labour Members left behind. The reason why I say that is straightforward: if we were not dealing with the deficit and if we were not seen to be bringing our public finances under control—