Nigel Evans
Main Page: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)Opportunities for the Next Generation
Nigel Evans Excerpts(13 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Several hon. Members
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. Will hon. Members take their seats? A number of Members want to participate in the debate, but we have not imposed a time limit for speeches. However, if they speak for considerably longer than six minutes, many other Members will simply not be able to take part, so they should bear that in mind when they make their contributions.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. If everybody takes 14 minutes, it means that well under half the people present are going to participate, so I implore hon. Members to take note of the six-minute guidance.
Lyn Brown
Does my hon. Friend agree that the biggest problem with this Government is that they take an awful lot with one hand, and give back a few pebbles with the other hand, to the people we represent? The biggest problem young people have had to face in trying to fulfil their aspirations in my constituency is the removal of their education maintenance allowance, which is not being replaced by anything of equal value. The replacement is certainly not going to provide for as many people in my constituency as EMA did. Although Conservative Members can talk about their grandiose schemes, they are not replacing what they have taken away—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. Will the hon. Lady face the Chair so that the microphones can pick up her words?
Chris Evans
That is the point I was trying to make. We in Wales have realised the importance of EMA, which is why we have kept it. Why have we been able to keep it? Because we have a Labour Government.
To pay off the deficit—yes, we do need enterprise and we do not want inertia, but there is a problem with the Government’s belief that people can somehow go into a shop, see some sort of product on the shelves, drink it and then all of a sudden become entrepreneurs. What we need is a fundamental overhaul of how we look at our education system. We need to make work part of our education from day to day; we need to talk about self-image and communication skills, and above all, we need to talk to people about entrepreneurship. That is the only way forward for us.
To return to the motion, I do believe we need an economic stimulus, and that could come about through a VAT cut—but we also need to look at fundamental problems in our society and try to address them.
I have kept my points short, Mr Deputy Speaker, and have spoken for only six minutes. I hope that you will remember that in future when I want to speak again.
Mr Deputy Speaker
Order. To make sure that everyone follows the hon. Gentleman’s excellent example, I am now going to introduce a six-minute limit so that all Back Benchers are protected.
