Business of the House

Kris Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I think that that would carry more weight if the hon. Gentleman explained to the House how the deficit that he left us might be addressed. Despite the horrendous deficit that we inherited, there are 10,000 more university places than there were last year and that is a tribute to our commitment to higher education.

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

Following the damaging comments and testimony of the former head of British intelligence about the Iraq war and the activities of the former Prime Minister, can we have an urgent debate on the representation of, and the confidence of the House in, the present middle east peace envoy?

[Sir George Young]

If my hon. Friend is referring to the Chilcot inquiry, I think it would make sense to await the outcome of that before the House holds a debate on the issue that he has outlined.

Business of the House

Kris Hopkins Excerpts

Thursday 1st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

I do not think that a debate would be worth while, because the OBR is independent of Government.

[Kris Hopkins (Keighley) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the use of postal votes in our electoral system? It has been proved to be open to corrupt practices, and it is compromising our democratic process.

[Mr Heath]

Concerns about the integrity of the postal vote process have been expressed for a long time. Postal votes form a useful part of our electoral arrangements, but nevertheless we must make sure that our electoral system has the highest possible integrity. The Government are committed to introducing the individual registration of voters, and that will go a long way towards dealing with some of the potential abuses of the current system. I hope that legislation will be introduced in due course that will enable the hon. Gentleman to make his points very forcefully.