Business of the House

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

May I remind Members to speed up, so that we can get everyone in?

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

I declare my interest as vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary media group and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on freedom of speech.

Last month I found myself in somewhat rare agreement with the Chancellor when she challenged Britain�s regulators to create a regulatory environment that unlocks innovation and investment. Our media is one the sectors in which we have seen really good growth over the past few years, with huge diversification right across the sector, but there is a concern about the attitude of regulators, which might undermine that growth potential.

I think specifically of cases highlighted recently in an opinion piece by my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin), in which Ofcom fined GB News 10 times more for doing a question time event with the Conservative party leader than it fined another channel for broadcasting antisemitic tropes. I worry that that attitude towards policing the media, which seems to focus more on politics than prejudice, may act as a barrier to others coming into the sector. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate on the media sector, the role of regulation and freedom in our sector?

[Mr Speaker]

That is a bad example of a short question. [Laughter.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, is required as a Chinese company to have an in-house Chinese Communist party committee. We all know that attacks from China on our national infrastructure as well as on our cyber-networks are becoming increasingly common, and it is clear that elements of the Chinese Government are behind them. Yet, astonishingly, the Government are still failing to fully declare ministerial meetings with TikTok representatives. Will the Minister ensure that meetings with TikTok executives are declared by Government Ministers alongside other senior media executive registrations, given TikTok�s huge presence in the media space, the massive public influence it has and the known cyber-risks posed by this Chinese platform?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 5th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

I am delighted to meet the Minister across the Dispatch Box. I have also been meeting many SMEs in the aftermath of the Budget. The impact of the Government’s decision to raise national insurance on many indirect providers of public services, such as GPs and hospices, appears not to have been fully factored into the Government’s workings at the time of the Budget. Now that the Government have had over a month to do the figures, what will be the impact of the national insurance job tax on the cost of public procurement, to the nearest, say, £1 billion?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is the first topical question.

[Mr Holden]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Higher Education Reform

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Before I call the Secretary of State for Education to make a statement, I note that reports about the possible increase in higher education tuition fees started appearing in the media earlier this afternoon.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

What a surprise—very leaky.

[Mr Speaker]

Mr Holden, you don’t help yourself, do you?

The Secretary of State is here to make a statement, so hon. Members will have the opportunity to question her. If the premature media reporting is due to an unauthorised leak, that is a great discourtesy to this House. I hope the Secretary of State will be able to identify the guilty party, take appropriate actions and brief me accordingly. I hope the Secretary of State will announce a leak inquiry, we will get all the details of how this information could have got out and the House will be informed as that goes forward.

Reporting Ministerial Gifts and Hospitality

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Thank you to Opposition Members for their support for those on the Government Front Bench today. [Hon. Members: “We’re the Government now.”] The Government have been totally tone deaf in their response to the situation, which was revealed not as a result of the Government’s transparency—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not need any help from Labour Members. Hand signals do not impress me in the slightest.

[Mr Holden]

The situation was revealed not because of the Government’s transparency but through our popular press. The amounts of money declared in the register seem to be at odds with true market value, particularly for the short-term lease of flats. Will the Minister provide clarity on how we can ensure that the true figures are represented in the register?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Holden and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

The previous Government introduced the “get around for £2” bus fare, which was committed to for five years in the Conservative manifesto. Given that—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Face this way, please. Questions should be asked through me, not addressed directly to the Minister.

[Mr Holden]

Of course, Mr Speaker. Will the Government commit to extending the fare until at least the end of this financial year? It is so important for rural bus users and for lower-paid workers accessing employment right across the country.