"The Chancellor is going around lauding an apparent cut to business rates, but it was his Government who reduced business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure from 75% to 40%. If he goes out there and speaks to the owner of any average pub, they will tell him that …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. Thank you very much for keeping us all in order.
Let me first congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) on securing the debate. I am pleased that he clarified that it is not a …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"I was going to say it is a great pleasure to be on this Committee, but it is an even greater pleasure after that wonderful remark. I am very grateful, and it is a great pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. It is also a great pleasure …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"Not right now, and I have already taken an intervention from the hon. Lady.
Finally, and more broadly, we worry that the campaigners ultimately want this ban to become a gateway to a wider ban on trade with Israel. If that is the case, they simply do not accept the …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"I thank Members from across the House for their contributions today, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) on securing this debate on trade—granted, of course, by the Backbench Business Committee.
Before I turn to the specifics of what we are debating today, it is important …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"I am very grateful for the hon. Lady’s intervention. I will address the point that she raises later in my speech, but our shared aim across this House, which is peace in the region, cannot be achieved without Britain maintaining an enduring relationship with Israel and with our allies in …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is wrong to suggest that we are saying we should do nothing. If Members remember, it was a Conservative Foreign Secretary in 2024 who imposed sanctions on the settlements. The House has heard me say from this Dispatch Box that the expansion of settlements is wrong. She …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"We can be critical of our allies and we can be critical friends—of course we can—but what I am saying is that disengagement is not a solution to achieving what the House wants, which is peace in the middle east...." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"I will make a little progress in the interests of time, because I know that Members will want to hear from the Minister. It is the official Opposition’s view that a proposed ban on the trade of Israeli settlement goods and services will bring about the same result as I …..." Gareth Davies - View Speech
"It is a great pleasure to serve on this Committee and, as always, to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. It is also a pleasure to see the Minister in her place. I thank her for the explanation that she offered of the Government’s intentions with the draft order.