Replacement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Debate between Christian Matheson and Penny Mordaunt(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
The Prime Minister throwing her Chancellor under the bus in order to save her skin is not a tough decision. Tough decisions are made by people who then show true leadership by asking others to come with them and by inspiring them. This Prime Minister has done none of that. Why should we follow her when she has shown no leadership whatsoever, but has hidden away?
Penny Mordaunt
I think if we spoke to any member of the Ukrainian Parliament, they would tell us that our Prime Minister has shown leadership.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Christian Matheson and Penny Mordaunt(2 years, 5 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
States such as California and Texas are super-economies: if they were nations, they would be the seventh and eighth largest economies in the world. We hope that Texas will be in the first eight deals that we sign. In addition to the potential for their economies and ours, this is also about bringing together smart people, money and ideas to solve problems that we are all grappling with. Texas in particular is doing a huge amount on fintech blockchain; the synergy between what it is doing and the innovation in the City of London could be really special.
Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
Small businesses in my constituency wanting to export to the European Union tell me that they have to fill in customs declarations of up to 70 pages. Why are the Government putting such barriers in the way of small business exports?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Christian Matheson and Penny Mordaunt(4 years, 7 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I thank the hon. Gentleman and all colleagues who have put forward ideas and solutions, and shared good practice in the early weeks of this crisis. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s request will have been heard by our joint Minister, the Minister for Defence People and Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer). Of course, Defence has stepped up in every case where it has been asked to do so, and I am sure that it will support testing wherever it is taking place, as well as the pilots.
Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
The Paymaster General (Penny Mordaunt) [V]
Both the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Health Secretary attend a daily meeting with the Prime Minister. Testing and tracing are a part of the issues that are considered in detail at that meeting.
Christian Matheson [V]
It is clear that testing, tracing and tracking will be an essential part of our battle against coronavirus, and tech and IT will be required to support that. There have been concerns in the past few days about the allocation of these contracts, and perhaps about a bit of cronyism in Downing Street. What safeguards will the Minister put in place to ensure that applications, and the data that those applications use, will be safeguarded and used solely for the purpose of defeating coronavirus?
Penny Mordaunt
Clearly there are very strict protocols that surround any kind of procurement or pilot that might take place across any Government Department. Those protocols have given us confidence in the past, and there is no reason why they should not in the future. If the hon. Gentleman has concerns, he should raise them with the relevant Minister and certainly with the Cabinet Office, but those protocols are strong and have stood us in good stead; we have transparency around these issues.