UK-EU Summit

Debate between Julia Lopez and Caroline Nokes
Tuesday 13th May 2025

(4 days, 18 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Caroline Nokes Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker
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Order. May I respectfully suggest to the hon. Lady that she needs to be very careful in the language that she chooses to use about the Prime Minister?

Julia Lopez Portrait Julia Lopez
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I was deliberately careful to adhere to the rules of the House, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I hope my intent was clear.

Let me be clear. I do not think that the Prime Minister is a straight dealer. He says what suits him, poses as a man of decency and hopes—

Caroline Nokes Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker
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Order. I suggest the hon. Lady withdraw her comment, in which she has accused the Prime Minister of not being straight.

Julia Lopez Portrait Julia Lopez
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If that is outside the boundaries of what is acceptable, I will withdraw the comment.

My second lesson is that when Labour negotiates, Britain loses. We have already seen it in this Parliament, from the Chagos islands to the backroom deals with the unions. It is ideological naivety dressed up as serious and sober diplomacy. Labour thinks that signing a deal is the same as securing a good one. It is not, and all that will become clear.

Let us remind ourselves that Brexit was never a rejection of Europe and its people. It was a demand for democratic control over our laws, our borders, our trade and our future.

Employer National Insurance Contributions

Debate between Julia Lopez and Caroline Nokes
Wednesday 4th December 2024

(5 months, 1 week ago)

Commons Chamber
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Julia Lopez Portrait Julia Lopez
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No, I am afraid there is simply not enough time.

Finally, I want to mention a small private school in my constituency. Its pupils are some of the most vulnerable and deprived in our capital, as it is an alternative provision school. First, the Labour Government hit it with VAT. Now they are going to hit it with NICs and wage increases. Either it absorbs that cost or it passes it on to the local council. Those are four businesses from Harold Hill to Hornchurch providing critical services to my constituents, employing young people and giving working families opportunities. Now they are going to be hit by tens of thousands in extra costs, and that is before I even talk about the GPs, the pharmacists, the dentists, the charities, the shops, the restaurants and the pubs. It is for them that I am going to wholeheartedly—

Caroline Nokes Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
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Order. That brings us to the Front-Bench contributions.