Northern Ireland Protocol

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What is absolutely clear is that those hon. Members seeking to undermine the Government’s negotiating position have not emerged from the trenches they dug themselves in the last Parliament, have they?

[Elizabeth Truss]

What I think we have heard today is that Members on both sides of the House agree that there is a real problem with the way the Northern Ireland protocol is operating, and that needs to be solved. I hear people saying that they want to get an agreed solution with the EU. I hope that the EU will change its negotiating mandates so that we are able to achieve that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Thursday 25th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree with the hon. Lady that the atrocities committed by China in Xinjiang are abhorrent. The Government have taken firm action on supply chains and businesses doing business in that part of China, but expanding the role of the UK courts raises serious constitutional issues, and instead the issue needs to be addressed politically.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Are we using our position at the World Trade Organisation to counter reprehensible trading practices by China and others?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary was recently in Israel talking about our close relationship with that important ally.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Would the Secretary of State even dream of doing a trade deal without the support of the House?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right; I would always seek the support not only of the House but of people across the United Kingdom, because we want every single trade deal we sign to benefit our businesses, our consumers and our country. However, if some doubtful people on the Opposition Benches do not believe me, there is protection, because under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 system any trade deal can be blocked by this House. Of course, I would never consider putting forward a trade deal that would not command the support of the House, but there is always that protection for those doubting Thomases on the Opposition Benches.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Thursday 17th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

Well, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am going to be in Yorkshire next Friday, visiting and talking to exporting businesses such as Bettys of Harrogate and Burberry in Leeds. If he wants to extend an invitation to me to visit an exporting business in Huddersfield, he should get on with it.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend be a champion for opening markets to the world’s least developed countries?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Absolutely. One of the great benefits of trade is the prosperity it can bring to some of the poorest countries in the world. Part of our no-deal tariff schedule is about ensuring that those countries are supported, but we will have a huge opportunity to open up more trade once we leave the EU. At the Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting, we talked about just that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

If we are going to trade statistics, at the end of the last Labour Government, 20% of young people were unemployed and 1.4 million people were on welfare and left on the scrapheap. We have record employment and the lowest unemployment since the mid-1970s. The way we are going to solve the issue of poverty is to help people get on, help people get into work and get our education levels up.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

10. What recent contingency plans he has made to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

ONS Decisions: Student Loans

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 18th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Given the provenance of this accounting rule, why did the ONS not get on to it earlier?

[Elizabeth Truss]

That is a matter for the ONS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 11th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We recognise that there is increasing demand for the NHS, which is precisely why we have allocated the additional funding, and the Health Secretary will shortly publish a 10-year plan with mental health as one strand of it.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Is it reasonable for me to expect to pass my assets and property to my heirs unencumbered and intact and at the same time to expect the taxpayer to pay for my social care?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We recognise that social care is an area where reform is needed, and my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will shortly publish a Green Paper to outline some of the options and to make sure we have a proper discussion as a country about the future of social care.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 17th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

What is unfair is the fact that, under the last Labour Government, youth unemployment went up to 20% and those young people were left on the scrapheap, whereas we have reduced youth unemployment by 40%. We have more young people in work earning the vital skills for their future.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

21. Despite this increase in the price of labour, why is unemployment continuing to fall, particularly youth unemployment?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend is right, and the reason is that we have taken the time to reduce the deficit to make it easier for employers to take on staff. We have reduced corporation tax, making it easier for companies to hire people. That is why we have the lowest unemployment since 1975, and rising wages. It is a shame that Members on the Opposition Benches cannot acknowledge that massive achievement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 27th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Lots of councils have done things better and more efficiently, and have led the way across government. We have given more powers to local Mayors, and we are giving Mayors across the country £4.8 billion of new investment over the next 30 years.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What priority does my right hon. Friend attach to local authorities building new housing?

[Elizabeth Truss]

It is vital that we see more housing built across the country, and that is why in the Budget we committed to 300,000 homes a year being built over the next decade.

Exiting the EU: Costs

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Wednesday 29th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that considerable work is taking place across Government, but it would be wrong to cut across our negotiators in the deal they are seeking to strike. It is in our country’s interests to reach the point where we are talking about our long-term economic relationship with the European Union.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend should not pay more than we owe, but she should be confident that, whatever that is, it is a bargain against the cost of staying in.

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend makes a good point. Were we to stay in, the costs would be considerably higher than any amount we are talking about as part of our negotiations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We have put in extra measures—particularly the law on coercive behaviour, which has been very important. What I am determined to do is make sure our courts system treats vulnerable witnesses and victims as well as possible to encourage more people to come forward.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

T3. Can smuggling into prisons by drones be stopped?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Desmond Swayne

Tuesday 6th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I, too, welcome the hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch Box. It is great to have somebody who is also from Leeds facing me, although I learned the error of my ways after growing up in a left-wing household in that great city.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Shocking!

[Elizabeth Truss]

All I can say is that I believe that everyone is capable of reform, even those on the Opposition Benches. I have not yet given up hope on the shadow Secretary of State for Justice.

The whole purpose of the Bill of Rights is to enhance human rights in this country. We have led the world in human rights since Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights that was published in Wales in 1689, and we will continue to do so.