His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to be able to pay tribute to His Royal Highness The Prince Philip. I do so having heard 114 other speeches today that have referred to the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, which I did not do, or to having met him, which I did not do, so rather than use a personal anecdote, I thought I would tell the House about the special link and bond between the Duke of Edinburgh and Dartmouth town and the Britannia Royal Naval College.

Of course, it was there that, in 1939, Prince Philip met the then Princess Elizabeth, and a lifetime of happiness and 73 years of marriage speak for themselves, but it was also at that college and in that town that he was prepared for a life of service within the military. We have already heard from many about his time there, but he received a mention in dispatches. At the age of 21, he was made the youngest first lieutenant in the Navy. His career, despite the horrors of war, was marked by continued success and promotion—not because of who he was, but because of the recognition of his talent and his ability.

In the post-war years, Prince Philip continued to visit Dartmouth and to play an active role in the Britannia Royal Medical Colleges, taking the salute at the passing-out parades. These visits were not just fêted, but appreciated by the cadets and the town folk alike. So it is particularly relevant that, today, the First Sea Lord is in Dartmouth and, along with the captain of the college and the cadets, will be marking that special link between His Royal Highness and Dartmouth and the naval college. He leaves an indelible mark on south Devon that will be commemorated today, and I am sure celebrated in future years.

Prince Philip’s was a life marked not just by his own achievements, but by the impact he had on so many others. Throughout his life, he exhibited the qualities of loyalty, duty and service that are together so unique and rare to be found in one person. All I can say is that the people of Dartmouth, Totnes, Kingsbridge, Brixham, Paignton, Salcombe and south Devon send our deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family, and we express our thanks for the remarkable life and service of this extraordinary man.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

It is always a pleasure to follow my friend, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who spoke such sense. I can only hope that others who sit on the Opposition Benches will follow his lead.

Of course I welcome this Budget, and I welcome the way in which the Treasury has engaged with businesses and with Members on both sides of the House to hear what needs to be done at a time of great national need. The Chancellor, as other Members have said, has acted responsibly to ensure that our fiscal and financial firepower is able to adapt and be resilient in future years, but he has also been responsible, ensuring that, when we see the road map unveiled and businesses are able to unlock at the end of June, they can do so with the certainty that the Government are there to support them.

The move to extend the 5% VAT cut, on which I am sure I have annoyed the Treasury on a number of occasions, is a welcome step. More importantly, the improvement of a sliding mechanism to 12.5%, providing that certainty for businesses, is also very welcome. In seats such as mine, where tourism and hospitality are so integral to our local economy, it will make all the difference for those businesses that have faced over 200 days without customers or service. It will make the difference, and the same can be said for the provision on business rates.

One overlooked group has been young people. I know that the Chancellor has bonded with young people recently by saying that he is a Coca-Cola addict. Well, this Budget goes further. It also makes the point that, to ensure we have productivity and growth in future years, we are able to provide the opportunity for young people to find the jobs they need, get the training they want and get the support that they need in the economy not just in London, but across the entire United Kingdom. It is particularly welcome to hear about work coaches, the kickstart scheme, the life skills guarantee, and encouraging and incentivising further apprenticeship schemes. That is extremely welcome, but I hope we can go further. Since organisations such as the National Union of Students seem incapable of doing so, we must stand up for university students who have over-paid for essential Zoom lessons over the last 13 months.

Lastly, it is particularly welcome to see a free port being designated in Plymouth and south Devon, not just for Plymouth itself but for the surrounding area. For those hydrographic and oceanographic companies that manufacture in my patch, and for those companies that can export the very best produce of south Devon, this will make a huge difference. It is an example of levelling up across the whole country and our commitment to providing opportunity in every region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I hope that the Opposition will recognise that this is a Budget that is fiscally pro-business and will deliver for generations to come.

Covid-19: Road Map

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Monday 22nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am acutely conscious of the businesses that have fallen through the cracks, as it were—wholesalers, for instance, that have found it difficult to qualify under one scheme or another—and we are doing absolutely everything we can to make sure that we give the support that people want. There is extra discretionary funding available for councils to support such businesses, and the hon. Member will be hearing more, certainty from the Chancellor next week.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement. Millions of young people have had their lives put on hold over the past 13 months and they have been the least likely to suffer severely from this virus, so I wonder whether the Prime Minister can look ahead and inform me and the House what we can do to help those university students who are going to enter the job market for the first time and those leaving school. Right now they look ahead and they look, post lockdown, into a world that is very uncertain, and their future must be safeguarded, so what can we do?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a vital point, and that is why we have the £2 billion kickstart fund in addition to many other schemes to help young people into work and to help them with what could be a very difficult transition, but the best thing possible is to get the economy open and firing again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to help ensure goods can continue to flow freely between the UK and the EU.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure frictionless exports to the EU.

[Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to help ensure goods can continue to flow freely between the UK and the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that in order to ensure that we have a seamless flow of trade, each individual element in that chain needs to be working as effectively as possible, so we are working with courier companies to ensure that we can smooth any difficulties, HMRC is looking at easements and facilitations, and of course we are talking to our EU friends and neighbours to ensure that there is a consistent approach.

[Anthony Mangnall]

Under the terms of the EU-UK trade deal, there is a requirement to set up a sanitary and phytosanitary trade committee as well as a committee on fishing. When will those committees be set up? If the EU does not adhere to the rules and the agreements that were made, will we restrict the licence given to any European fishing vessels in our waters?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is a formidable advocate for the seafood sector; one of the largest fishing ports in England is in his constituency. He is absolutely right to say that there are means and mechanisms by which we and the EU can work together to smooth the export of high-quality seafood. There have been difficulties and challenges, but we are overcoming them and it is also important that we reserve our own rights when it comes to ensuring that the EU lives up to its side of the bargain.

Armed Forces Bill

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Monday 8th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Anderson]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. In the next two minutes, the House will be able to hear what I went through and how the armed forces covenant would have helped me.

The SAS said to my regiment, “Give him to us. We’ll rehabilitate him.” I spent 10 months being rehabilitated by the SAS. I then returned to my unit, the Royal Green Jackets, and went straight on to the streets of the troubles in Northern Ireland. My foot was still part-paralysed, full of shrapnel and did not function, but I could walk, run and carry out the duties of an infantry soldier—very painfully, but I could do it.

What was getting worse was my head; as my physical aspects were recovering, my mental health was really impacted. In the evenings, I used to relive the time that I got shot and would wake up screaming, covered in sweat. It was hard, but I realised that alcohol subdued the pain and I could escape it for a short period of time. Violence was also a way of releasing the anger that I had inside me. I was on a slippery slope. I enjoyed and often excelled on different operational tours. I was fearless, because I did not care if I died. By that time, I did not enjoy life and I found ways to get through each day. When back in camp, I was always in trouble because I was always drinking and fighting. Despite all this going on and everybody telling me I had a problem, nobody gave me any support or help.

I needed to change. I was now married with a child, so I left the Army, and continued to work in security and defence in different conflict zones around the world. My foot got worse, and the shrapnel started working its way out, so I went to the MOD and said, “Can you help me?” It told me, “You are not our problem any more.” In the end, I raised the money myself to pay for private treatment to have an operation, or I would have had to walk with a walking stick for the rest of my life. If the Army took this approach to my foot, there was no way it was interested in my mental health. I did not even know where to look. I could not show love to my wife or my children. It was not only my foot that did not feel anything; for everything, I was in a darkest pit, more than most people can imagine.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is speaking incredibly movingly about his experience in the Army and as a veteran. Does he not agree that there must be care for those in service, but also as veterans, for as long as it is necessary to help those who have served their country?

[Stuart Anderson]

I thank my hon. Friend. I really appreciate everything that is being done, but we have to keep doing more and more, and that is why I am really championing this.

From that pit, my marriage broke down. We separated, and life for me was hell on earth. How did I ever get to this stage? This battle went on in my mind, and for 15 years I fought that battle. I would spend the evening drinking a litre of vodka, in a garage with the light off, trying to get rid of the pain. This was night after night, and in the end I realised, of the country I had fought for, that I had been abandoned by that country and by the people who sent me to those conflicts. I knew how to fight and I was good at it, but I was tired. There was nothing left in me. I went at that stage to take my life, but I could not do it, because I did not want my children to grow up, as I did, without a father. I had to face the reality that I had to live, and I hated the idea of it.

It was in this pit of despair, after many years of fighting that battle, that I found faith in God, and for the first time I had some hope. My wife and I started again, renewed our vows and sought help. For many years, we walked through a recovery of and reconciliation with what was a horrible life. I learned to love my wife, I love my children, and every day I made progress. I thank everybody who stood alongside me during this process. My life could have ended many times. Now I live life to the full, and I really appreciate it.

I want to use that experience to help the people who are going through what I did. When I delivered something similar in my maiden speech, somebody stopped committing suicide in the middle of the night because they had seen what I had said on Facebook, and we need to reach these people. I would never want anybody to go through what we did. We have truly been on a journey from death to life, but it is from this experience that I know this Bill will make changes to people’s lives. Some will say it does not go far enough and some will say it goes too far, but it is a massive positive step, and I also welcome the campaign the Minister has had to bring this Bill to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to be able to speak on this Bill, and I would like to start by congratulating the Minister for Defence People and Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer). He has been assiduous in helping my constituents—veterans and those who are currently serving—with mental health issues and with housing issues, and I thank him for everything that he has done. Today should be a moment for us all to reflect on the hard work that he has put in to the Bill, and into the armed forces covenant to get it where it is. He should rightly be proud.

I am proud to have in my constituency the Britannia Royal Naval College, and I cannot talk enough about it. Last year, I was proud to attend the passing-out parade as ratings and officers were, for the first time ever, able to graduate as they went off into the Royal Navy. I thought then, as I think now, about the future that they will have in the armed forces and what they will have when they retire, become veterans and serve in other occupations, and about what we must do to support those who so bravely put their lives on the line to protect our borders and to push our interests overseas. I hope that today is an opportunity for us to reflect on the fact that we are matching action with words, that we are delivering on our promise to our armed forces and that this will be the start of the many promising steps that we can deliver to those who serve our country.

This is a historic moment, as the Minister has already said, and I welcome the fact that the Bill updates the Armed Forces Act 2006 and that it provides an update to the service justice system, ensuring a fair and effective route to justice. However, I would specifically like to pay attention to the armed forces covenant, which, as I have already said, has been championed so well by the Minister. It is covered in clause 8. We are doing this not just because we have a duty to those servicemen and not just because a focus group tells us to be patriotic, but because this is the right thing for us to do. I come from a military family. My uncle served in the Welsh Guards, and my father was a Green Jacket for his entire career, so I understand what it is like to be in a military family: the requirement to move at the last minute, the onerous stresses of the job that go with it, and the impact that they can place on a family. As such, the fact that this Bill focuses and delivers on the defence transition services that help people move from the military into the private sector, provides flexibility for reservists, and recognises the need to support our veterans and servicemen through education, healthcare and employment are all steps that we should rightly be proud of.

However, we must also recognise that this is a job that will never be finished. It will always require this House, and Members from across this House, to work together to find ways in which we can improve housing and address the mental health issues that are so likely to arise from conflict and crises. These are all welcome steps, but what we must learn for now is that we must improve access to mental health care. With a rural constituency, I know how hard it often is for veterans to access mental health services, so it is particularly welcome to see that the Government’s HeadFIT scheme, launched in April last year, has had such a positive impact, and that 800 GP practices are now recognised as veteran-friendly. I hope that is something we are going to see delivered again and again and improved upon, and that the Minister will come back to the House to provide an update on the progress of these steps.

This is not just about our determination to create the best armed forces in the world; it is about providing support that lasts from when a person joins the service, through their service, and during their careers afterwards. We have that duty. I welcome the steps that the Minister has taken through this Bill, and I welcome this Bill overall.

Covid-19

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to draw attention to the potentially vital role of community pharmacies, of which there are about 12,000 in this country, as I am sure she knows. In my experience, they are great places: they are hygienic and the staff are knowledgeable and professional. I think we have already signed up hundreds to the campaign, and I assure her that there will be many more to follow.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

It is exceptionally welcome that the UK has consistently tested more people than any other country in the world. This House owes a debt of gratitude to Kate Bingham and her team for procuring the vaccine in such large amounts and such diversified quantities—something the EU vaccination scheme never managed to achieve. Will the Prime Minister reassure me and other south-west Members that we will see the vaccine rolled out and that the lockdown will not be extended any longer than is necessary?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. I thank my hon. Friend for his words about the vaccine taskforce. It was, as I say, satirised by the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer), which I think was a mistake. We will do everything we can to roll out the vaccine to my hon. Friend’s constituency and all constituencies across the country.

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Absolutely not.

What the Bill does is take back control of the spectacular marine wealth of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[The Prime Minister]

In a moment.

At the heart of the Bill is, as we have discussed in this Chamber many times, Mr Speaker, one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world: a comprehensive Canada-style deal worth over £660 billion, which, if anything, should allow companies to do even more business with our European friends, safeguarding millions of jobs and livelihoods in our UK and across the continent. In less than 48 hours we will leave the EU single market and the customs union as we promised. British exporters will not face a sudden thicket of trade barriers, but rather, for the first time in the history of EU agreements, zero tariffs and zero quotas. Just as we have avoided trade barriers—

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I have answered the point from Opposition Members quite a lot. I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall).

[Anthony Mangnall]

The Prime Minister will know that Brixham, the most valuable fishing port in England, wants to see our waters regained, with access and control, and a rebuilding of the fishing industry in the UK. This deal delivers that. Can he assure my fishermen and fishermen around the country that that is what this Government are delivering on?

[The Prime Minister]

That is absolutely right, and the voice of Brixham should be heard up and down the country because that point is entirely correct and might be registered with advantage by the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford).

I have always recognised that this was going to be a difficult period for our European friends and partners, because they have been fishing in these waters for decades, if not centuries. At first, as the House will know, they sought an adjustment period of 14 years, but our negotiators whittled that down to five and a half years, during which the UK’s share—[Interruption.] In that five and a half years, the UK’s share of our fish in our waters will rise from over half today, to around two-thirds. Of course we would like to have done that more quickly, but it is also true that once the adjustment period comes to an end there will be no limit, other than limits that are placed by the needs of science and conservation, on our ability to make use of our marine wealth.

Fifteen per cent. of the EU’s historic catch from our waters will be returned to this country next year alone. To prepare our fishing communities for that moment, we will invest £100 million in a programme to modernise their fleets and the fish processing industry—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) should listen to this, because we will be restoring a great British industry to the eminence that it deserves, levelling up communities across the UK, particularly and including Scotland where, in my view, those interests have been neglected for too long.

I find it extraordinary that on the eve of this great opportunity, the declared position of the Scottish National national/nationalist party—with a small “n”—is to hand control of the very waters we have just reclaimed straight back to the EU. That is its policy. It plans to ensnare Scotland’s fishing fleet in the dragnets of the common fisheries policy all over again. In the meantime, guess what SNP Members will do today, Mr Speaker. They are going to vote today for a no-deal Brexit! [Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Glasgow East will tell me that he is going to vote for the deal.

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We hope that nobody has been excluded. There is a massive package of support—and Barnett consequentials for Scotland running to many billions—with £13.5 billion for the self-employed alone.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

I know that the whole House will want to join me in sending our condolences and thoughts to the two crew members of the Joanna C, which sank at sea this weekend.

With regards to today’s announcement, will the Prime Minister make the desire to get the R level to 1 a time-specific objective, or a permanent one?

[The Prime Minister]

I very much echo my hon. Friend’s tribute to the sailors lost at sea. My hon. Friend is right to focus on the R. We want to get it down and keep it down, if possible for good.

Covid-19 Update

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, Mr Speaker.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

I do not mind saying that my constituents believe in the Prime Minister’s leadership and have felt reassured by the measures this Government have put in place to protect them. However, given that there is an economic impact from this lockdown and that will have an impact on livelihoods, what can the Prime Minister do to reassure my constituents, who have striven so hard since the relaxation of the lockdown on 4 July, that there is a brighter future and there will not be mission creep in terms of a lockdown beyond 2 December?

[The Prime Minister]

I cannot say often enough that this is a time-limited lockdown and it ends on 2 December unless this House decides to extend measures of one kind or another. Any further measures will be a matter for this House, and it is fully my intention that the lockdown should end on 2 December.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anthony Mangnall Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are going to have to speed up, seriously. You are very good, but you’re too detailed.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative that was set up in 2012. Does she agree that the initiative needs to be relaunched and shown new leadership in a forthcoming conference later this year?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The short answer is yes.