Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Afzal Khan

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from the effects of the monsoon season.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What steps her Department is taking to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from the effects of the monsoon season.

Private Members’ Bills: Money Resolutions

Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Afzal Khan

Monday 21st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan]

Let me make some progress and then I will be happy to give way. Too weak to defeat my Bill on a vote, the Government are hiding behind a procedure that they know is wrong. The convention is also that money resolutions are brought forward in the order that Bills pass Second Reading. Members will have seen on today’s Order Paper that the Government have tabled a money resolution for a health and social care Bill. It is the second Bill the Government have leapfrogged over mine. The Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Bill was given a money resolution at the beginning of May, even though its promoter came out 13th in the ballot, whereas I came out third.

The only logic to when the Government are bringing forward a money resolution is: what will help them avoid challenge? We know many on the Government side are willing to vote against them on my Bill, both for principled reasons and because reducing the number of MPs will mean that some Conservatives will lose their seats—turkeys do not vote for Christmas. Based on the 2017 general election results, 34 Conservative MPs are set to have their seats abolished or to lose to Labour at the next election, with the list including six Cabinet Ministers and six other Ministers. The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), who is in charge of my Bill for the Government, is set to lose her seat to Labour if the current boundary proposals go ahead. The Government’s motives are clear: this is not about principles, but about electoral maths. This is not just happening with my Bill; money resolutions are part of a pattern of this weak Government abusing Parliament to avoid scrutiny and challenge.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the public will see that a money resolution delayed is actually democracy denied to this Chamber?

[Afzal Khan]

Last week, the Government made a statement on an Opposition day to crowd out debates on Grenfell and Brexit later in the day. The Government denied the Opposition prior sight of that statement, which ended up being a damning indictment of transport policy. The week before, the Chair of the Select Committee on Home Affairs called out a Minister and officials for being “slippery” and for “playing games” with the Committee on the incredibly serious topic of Windrush. Looking back, some could say that the Government’s evidence to the Procedure Committee now looks slippery. Of course, we also have the ongoing scandal of the Government first refusing to vote and then refusing to act on Opposition day motions. In Grenfell, Brexit and Windrush, we are talking about the defining issues of our day, yet even on those, this weak Government are comfortable abusing parliamentary procedure to avoid scrutiny and challenge.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Afzal Khan

Thursday 19th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What steps he is taking to reduce harmful emissions from road transport.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to reduce harmful emissions from road transport.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jesse Norman)]

The Government’s plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide concentrations, which was published in July, sets out a number of steps backed with £3 billion of investment in air quality and cleaner transport. These include the tough new real-world emissions tests for new models of diesel and petrol cars.