Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karl Turner and Nick Clegg

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

5. What his plans are for constitutional and political reform for the remainder of the present Parliament.

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

The Government continue to work on political and constitutional reform, particularly devolving more powers from Whitehall to our cities and regions. Work also continues on the implementation of individual electoral registration and developing proposals on recall and lobbying reform.

[Karl Turner]

Will there be a Bill to regulate the lobby industry in the Queen’s Speech?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman may know, we are still reflecting on exactly how to proceed on lobbying, but we will do so. I cannot give him a precise date for when we will come forward with our proposals after the consultation, which provided a lot of feedback, but we will do so in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karl Turner and Nick Clegg

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I will not be a candidate, however much the hon. Gentleman might hope otherwise.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

Q8. The Deputy Prime Minister’s predecessor and mine is Labour’s excellent candidate in the police and crime commissioner elections in Humberside, but the Tory candidate describes the role as the “job from hell”. Does he agree with his Tory colleague, or does he think that he has it harder?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I will not try to compare notes with my predecessor on the police and crime commissioner elections. I hope that everyone will turn out to vote, but the fact that so many has-been Labour politicians and recycled ex-Labour Ministers are standing might put quite a lot of people off. None the less, I hope that people will participate in these important elections.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karl Turner and Nick Clegg

Tuesday 16th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

We will make the impending announcement on the third round of the regional growth fund in the coming days. Although there have been criticisms about the pace of the disbursement of the money under rounds 1 and 2, my hon. Friend will be delighted to know that 60% of the projects from the total envelope of £2.5 billion are up and running, creating thousands upon thousands of jobs directly and tens of thousands of jobs indirectly, and enhancing private sector as well as public sector investment in our economy.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

T11. Does the Deputy Prime Minister believe that abusing police officers at the gates of Downing street and calling them “f***ing plebs” would constitute serious wrongdoing for the purposes of recall? What representations has he made to the Prime Minister on this issue?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend the Chief Whip has made it clear that he acknowledges that what he did was wrong, he has apologised to the police officer in question, and the police officer has accepted his apology.

[Karl Turner]

Will he apologise?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I know a thing or two about apologies, musical and otherwise, and I think that when someone is big enough to say that they made—[Interruption.]

Political and Constitutional Reform

Debate between Karl Turner and Nick Clegg

Monday 5th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As I said, we have inherited the deep flaws in the register from the previous Government. It is incumbent on all of us, and on local authorities that administer the process, to encourage people to register in the first place. Clearly, with the prospect of the boundary review being conducted on the new electoral register, local authorities and every Member of the House have an added incentive to innovate locally, door to door, to get more people to register in the first place.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

On the issue of recall, does the Deputy Prime Minister consider himself in danger of recall, given the serious wrongdoing he has inflicted on the people of Sheffield, Hallam?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Thanks for the relevant question.

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the loan pledged by the last Government to Sheffield Forgemasters—an outstanding company about which I suspect I know a great deal more than he does—was announced for political purposes, just before the general election, to allow the then Prime Minister to make a late-night photo-opportunity visit to Sheffield Forgemasters two days before the election, and the Government made that announcement in the full knowledge that they did not have the money to make the promise in the first place. What was cynical—deeply cynical—was for a Government to raise the hopes of people in Sheffield by making promises which they knew they could not afford.