Syria and the Use of Chemical Weapons

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Thursday 29th August 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

No fewer than 99 right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye, meaning that necessarily large numbers of colleagues will be disappointed. As always, the Chair will do its best to accommodate the level of interest, but it will not be assisted by Members coming up to it to ask whether and, if so, when they will be called. I ask Members please not to do so: calmness and patience are required.

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister—or, at least, a spokesperson—told the media yesterday morning that a UN resolution was to be circulated in the afternoon. I believe that it was, but when I asked the Library for the text neither it nor the Foreign Office was available to provide it. Will you, Mr Speaker, look into that?

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Lady is an immensely experienced Member—she is now into her 26th year; she started extremely young—and she knows that that is not a matter for the Chair. She has candidly aired her concern, and the Prime Minister and other Members on the Treasury Bench will have heard what she had to say.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

No. What Sir Bruce Keogh did—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Just before the Secretary of State replies, I ought to say to the right hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Dame Joan Ruddock) that she is perhaps suggesting that the Secretary of State may have inadvertently, rather than deliberately, misled the House. Could she just confirm that? A nod of the head would suffice.

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

I am happy to do that, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

That is the right hon. Lady’s suggestion, and it is for the Secretary of State to respond as he thinks fit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dame Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Lewisham, Deptford is some considerable distance from the north of England, to which nevertheless the observations of the right hon. Lady will certainly relate.

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

I hope to be in order, Mr Speaker, by pointing out that despite what my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) said about the north of England, Lewisham has the fourth highest rate of repossessions in England. There are 17,000 homeless people on our housing waiting list. What advice would the Minister give to those of my constituents given the misery that they are facing through losing their homes—their most precious possession?

[Mr Speaker]

I am a tolerant and obliging fellow and I wanted to hear the evidence, but there is nothing to which the Minister should respond on the Floor of the House, because the question relates to the north of England and he did not expand it. However, the right hon. Lady’s observations are on the record.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

Rachel, my constituent, purchased her family’s Olympic tickets last year. Subsequently, she found herself pregnant, and expects to have a few-week-old baby at the time of her events. When she contacted LOCOG, she was told to purchase an extra seat for the baby, but that the seat could not be guaranteed to be next to the parents. Given that airlines allow babes in arms at 35,000 ft, surely it is possible in a stadium. Will the Minister intervene? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We all want to hear this answer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Tuesday 21st February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dame Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Has the Minister seen an article today by the respected journalist Polly Toynbee—[Laughter.] Respected by the Prime Minister—[Hon. Members: “Stop laughing.”] I am not laughing at all—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I want to hear the views of Polly Toynbee, as enunciated by Dame Joan.

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

On a very serious issue, a waiting list clerk of 17 years has just resigned because she was asked to adopt a range of devious methods to make sure that people coming up to the 18-week target for treatment were taken off lists. Does the Minister understand that patients will not always know whether they have had proper treatment, and that it will be far too late to refer them to an ombudsman at some later date?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Although I accept that the same sun shines on all three places, Huddersfield and Lewisham, Deptford are rather a long way away from Stoke-on-Trent, to which this question is confined.

Local Government Funding

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Monday 6th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Joan Ruddock]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think you will know that I have been in the House long enough to take the rough and tumble of parliamentary debates, but earlier today, in response to my intervention, the Secretary of State made a remark about an hon. Lady’s “champagne lifestyle”, which appeared to be directed at me. I found that really offensive and rude. Will you advise me, Mr Speaker, on whether I could expect that remark to be withdrawn?

[Mr Speaker]

Let me say three things to the right hon. Lady. First, good temper and moderation in the use of parliamentary language are always to be encouraged. That principle is set out clearly and explicitly in “Erskine May”, which is our guide. Secondly, I had the privilege of serving on the International Development Committee with the right hon. Lady and travelled to a number of places around the world with her and other colleagues, and I cannot recall her consuming champagne at any stage. Thirdly, let me simply say that my distinct recollection is that the right hon. Lady is a modest person, with very little to be modest about. I hope that that is helpful to her and to the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joan Ruddock and John Bercow

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the Secretary of State.

[Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

9. Whether his Department’s value for money evaluation of the proposed Surrey Canal Road station on the East London line extension has been completed.