Energy Prices

Debate between Charlie Elphicke and Robert Halfon

Wednesday 14th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

rose—

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

rose—

Energy Company Charges

Debate between Charlie Elphicke and Robert Halfon

Tuesday 4th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon]

I want more money to go to the poorest pensioners, including the winter fuel allowance. I do not believe that millionaires or people with earnings of more than £100,000 should get winter fuel payments, and I would rather they went to the poorest.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his speech. Does he agree that when people are in credit, interest should be paid at a proper rate? Does he believe that the reason why balances creep up is that bill models are too opaque, and that a filling station-type model might be better?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I am sure the Minister has heard his remarks.

Charging for Access to Parliament

Debate between Charlie Elphicke and Robert Halfon

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon]

As so often, my hon. Friend speaks for the common man. He is absolutely right. He will see from some of my later remarks that I completely agree with him.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

My hon. Friend—our mutual hon. Friend—the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) has the unenviable task of having to balance the budget for the Administration Committee. Is it not better to treat the Houses of Parliament in the same way as museums, with free access as a principle, rather than balancing it off the back of the Administration Committee?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend, as always, makes a very good point. I will talk about those issues later.

The history books tell us that the bells of the Great Clock of Westminster rang across London for the first time on 31 May 1859, and Parliament had a special sitting to decide on a suitable name for the great hour bell. Many suggestions were made during the course of the debate. It is alleged that the Chief Lord of the Woods and Forests, Sir Benjamin Hall—a large and ponderous man known affectionately in the House as Big Ben—rose and gave an impressively long speech on the subject. A wag in the Chamber shouted out, “Why not call him Big Ben and have done with it?” The House erupted in laughter, and Big Ben had been named. There are many other stories about why Big Ben is called Big Ben, but I use that as an illustration of its importance: when the bell was brought to Parliament, there was a parliamentary debate to show how central it is to our parliamentary democracy.