Farming and Inheritance Tax

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Simon Hoare

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

rose—

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I have a point of order—from the shadow Minister’s good friend, of course.

[Simon Hoare]

This point of order is spontaneous, unlike that intervention. [Interruption.] I am Mr Spontaneity.

Mr Speaker, you are entirely right that many right hon. and hon. Members read their speeches almost verbatim, but surely it is just rude and discourteous to the House for the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) to read a supposedly spontaneous intervention as if it had just come into her mind. She managed to find a typewriter and a printer in order to write down two pages of intervention.

[Mr Speaker]

As I expected, spontaneity did not make it a point of order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

We do not have much trade with the Chagos islands.

[Simon Hoare]

My right hon. Friend is right to highlight the devastating effect of this policy and to highlight the incredible rounding-up exercise on the Treasury account books of the contribution that it will make to NHS expenditure. With the Labour party having a serious foothold in rural constituencies for the first time since 1945, does she not find this rather inept politics, which is perhaps not surprising from such a London-centric Front Bench? The policy shows a wilful ignorance of rural life and a deliberate attempt not to understand the pressures and is, in essence, selling those rural Labour MPs down the river.

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point. There is some interesting polling coming out today, which I will deal with. Of course, Mr Speaker, I very much accept your point about trade, but we are genuinely concerned about the national security implications of the Chagos islands deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Simon Hoare

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We still have other questions.

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

The Anglo-Irish agreement is absolutely vital, and the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach is to be welcomed. Prime Ministers’ diaries become very full; will the Secretary of State use his good offices to ensure that that dialogue between Taoiseach and Prime Minister continues to build on that relationship to see it flourish still further?

[Hilary Benn]

I can indeed give that assurance. My right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister has agreed there will be an annual summit.