Autumn Statement

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Louise Ellman

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and we have embarked on the right course of action to protect our economy for the future and to ensure that it can take full advantage of the opportunities that will be available to it.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the reference to the northern powerhouse and Transport for the North—with details to follow—but will the Chancellor tell us whether there is any more funding, so that we can invest in better transport across the north?

[Mr Hammond]

I welcome the question from a former Transport Committee Chairman—[Hon. Members: “She still is!”] All right. I welcome the question even more. If I remember rightly, she was the Chairman when I was a member of the Select Committee, so she probably gets the prize for longevity.

I have deliberately chosen not to read out great, long lists of specific projects and allocations of funding, but rather to create a framework, and what I said in the statement—I will repeat it now—is that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will make a series of announcements about the detailed allocations over the coming weeks.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Louise Ellman

Tuesday 24th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman is right. Iran is a significant player in the politics of Iraq, although generally not in a way that is helpful, and it is a significant backer of the Assad regime in Syria, with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ground forces taking part in action in defence of the regime. Iran is also a member of the International Syria Support Group, and as such it is incumbent on it, as well as on Russia, to apply pressure on Assad to deliver on the commitments made in the Vienna forum..

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What assessment he has made of the effect of the recent activities of Hamas in Gaza on the middle east peace process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Louise Ellman

Tuesday 12th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. What representations has the Foreign Secretary made about the Baha’i, who continue to be persecuted in Iran?

[Mr Philip Hammond]

In our meetings—including meetings held during my visit to Iran last August, and my subsequent meetings with Foreign Minister Zarif, whom I see fairly often because he is involved in the International Syria Support Group—we regularly raise the issue of the persecution of minorities in Iran, which is one of many human rights concerns that we have about that country.

Iran: Nuclear Deal

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Louise Ellman

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Yes, I agree with my right hon. Friend. Contacts with Iran will now be critical, opening the country up through trade and investment, travel, people-to-people contacts and Iranian students travelling abroad. One thing the US will do as part of this deal is to end the pre-notification required for certain categories of Iranian students seeking to study in the US. The more Iranians travel abroad and the more foreigners travel to Iran, the better we will understand each other and the greater the chances of making this stick.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Iran currently supports the terrorist organisation Hamas in promoting terrorism in Gaza and elsewhere. What impact will the agreement have on this situation?