Honda in Swindon

Debate between Richard Drax and Greg Clark

Tuesday 19th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman ought to come to talk to me about the automotive sector deal, which has brought investment into research and development from across the industry. He talks about aerospace; there is a sector deal with the aerospace sector that, again, is about positioning Britain at the leading edge of new aerospace technology. These commitments are being made by industry as well as by Government, and I would be very happy to see him to talk him through what we are doing with the industry.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

My sympathy extends to all those who are going to lose their jobs. I remind the Secretary of State that we are leaving the EU and that we must be able to strike our own trade deals around the world if we are to flourish as a country, as I believe we would, so any deal that we sign with the EU that prevents us from doing that is not acceptable.

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It has been a clear part of our mandate to negotiate in a way that allows us to strike free trade agreements. That is provided for in the agreement that is on the table, but I think the wrong thing to do in furtherance of that would be to lose our ability to trade without tariffs and frictions with, as we might say, our existing customers.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Richard Drax and Greg Clark

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

May I thank my right hon. Friend for the courteous way in which he has dealt with me and Dorset colleagues—it really has been exemplary—and for the £4 million or more for Dorset County Council? Will he confirm—I did not quite hear this, and local leaders are watching the debate—whether the tariff adjustment will stay or go? In 2019-20, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, for example, will end up paying the Government £500,000 but taking only £123,000 in council tax. I do not think that is fair, and I very much hope that the review will take such things into account.

[Greg Clark]

Indeed. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind words. Not only Dorset County Council but the districts he represents will find the transitional relief and the rural grant important. I have said that we will remove what has been called the negative grant entirely for 2017, 2018 and 2019. By the time we get to the end year of the settlement, 100% business rate retention will come in anyway, so the figures will be influenced by that. My hon. Friend can therefore look forward with confidence to the review, to which his council and, I dare say, he himself will want to contribute.

Recall of MPs Bill

Debate between Richard Drax and Greg Clark

Tuesday 21st October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Clearly, like most legislation, the Bill will not apply retrospectively, but if the Standards Committee was to recommend that an MP be suspended for 21 or more sitting days due to precisely such a breach of the code, that Member would be liable for recall.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I have been here long enough to know that Bills are all too often a huge sledgehammer to crack a nut. If the Bill goes through, I fear that it will be added to in time, as I know that many MPs and members of the public want to take things a lot further. That is why many Members are voicing their fears, which I share, that an MP’s position could be severely destabilised. I recommend caution and that we leave things as they are.

[Greg Clark]

I hope that hon. Members on both sides of the House will concede that we are proceeding with caution. We recognise that this is a novel constitutional step, and our traditions are that we exercise caution in such circumstances. The Prime Minister made it clear during last week’s Question Time that we regard the provisions as a minimum, and the various arguments that have been deployed today can be properly considered in Committee and on Report. Of course, whatever the House and the other place decide, it will be open to future Parliaments—one will begin next year—to consider whether to take things further still. That is the spirit in which we are proceeding.

National Planning Policy Framework

Debate between Richard Drax and Greg Clark

Tuesday 27th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Lady has not even read the revised framework. That was never true, and she will see when she reads it that it is absolutely untrue now. If she wants to come and talk to me about it, I am very happy to see her.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that however much power we put into the hands of local people, unsustainable immigration will continue to put pressure on our small island that simply cannot be met?

[Greg Clark]

There are a number of causes of the requirement for new housing. Immigration contributes to it, and so does the happy fact that we are living longer than we used to. Of course, Government policy is addressing immigration to get it to manageable levels, but I gently suggest to my hon. Friend that it is beyond the planning system to do much about that.