I think that my hon. Friend knows that I fully support what she is saying, having brought up a very large family when the hours here were pretty terrible. Before she finishes, will she address the challenge we face in wanting to make this place more attractive and somewhere that...

I think that my hon. Friend knows that I fully support what she is saying, having brought up a very large family when the hours here were pretty terrible. Before she finishes, will she address the challenge we face in wanting to make this place more attractive and somewhere that...

The right hon. Lady is making an excellent point, as did the previous speaker, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham West and Penge (Ellie Reeves), but both are MPs quite close to London. The Speaker once came to Huddersfield and spent a lovely day with me. When he got...

The right hon. Lady is making an excellent point, as did the previous speaker, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham West and Penge (Ellie Reeves), but both are MPs quite close to London. The Speaker once came to Huddersfield and spent a lovely day with me. When he got...

It is fundamental, though, is it not? The reason why we start at 2.30 pm on a Monday is because people have to get here from Scotland and the north of England, flying, using rail and so on, and these days we finish early on a Thursday because people have...

It is fundamental, though, is it not? The reason why we start at 2.30 pm on a Monday is because people have to get here from Scotland and the north of England, flying, using rail and so on, and these days we finish early on a Thursday because people have...

I thank the right hon. Lady for giving way again; she is being very kind. She has paid a lot of tributes, but I hope she does not mind me saying that she has missed one. Having been in this place a long time, I know that it became civilised...

I thank the right hon. Lady for giving way again; she is being very kind. She has paid a lot of tributes, but I hope she does not mind me saying that she has missed one. Having been in this place a long time, I know that it became civilised...

My hon. Friend, because of his family history, knows about this subject better than almost anybody I know. I was a friend of his father and I am still a friend of his mother, who had adjoining constituencies to mine. He will know, because he has that dual perspective, how...

My hon. Friend, because of his family history, knows about this subject better than almost anybody I know. I was a friend of his father and I am still a friend of his mother, who had adjoining constituencies to mine. He will know, because he has that dual perspective, how...

May I ask the Deputy Leader of the House to take time this week to read the article that I published in The House magazine this week about how we treat the people who work in this Parliament of ours? Most of our constituents and certainly mine in Huddersfield believe...

May I ask the Deputy Leader of the House to take time this week to read the article that I published in The House magazine this week about how we treat the people who work in this Parliament of ours? Most of our constituents and certainly mine in Huddersfield believe...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley), who is a personal friend. We have campaigned together on many things over the years.

I am saddened by the issue I have to raise this afternoon. As a Member with reasonably long service, I...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley), who is a personal friend. We have campaigned together on many things over the years.

I am saddened by the issue I have to raise this afternoon. As a Member with reasonably long service, I...

I have been in the House for somewhat longer than the hon. Gentleman. Does he agree that the problem has been the cowardice of successive Prime Ministers in failing to take the recommendation of an independent body, face it up with the public and in this place, and give the...

I have been in the House for somewhat longer than the hon. Gentleman. Does he agree that the problem has been the cowardice of successive Prime Ministers in failing to take the recommendation of an independent body, face it up with the public and in this place, and give the...

It was a very good joke.

It was a very good joke.

I have been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman's speech, and when he started I thought that I would be on his side. However, he is making me angry, because he has said not one good thing about the work—the hard work—of parliamentarians on both sides of the House, in...

I have been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman's speech, and when he started I thought that I would be on his side. However, he is making me angry, because he has said not one good thing about the work—the hard work—of parliamentarians on both sides of the House, in...

There is always a certain reluctance to talk about these matters, and I do not think that I have spoken in the House about Members' pay and allowances before. It is worth looking back at the history. My hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) was right in...

There is always a certain reluctance to talk about these matters, and I do not think that I have spoken in the House about Members' pay and allowances before. It is worth looking back at the history. My hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) was right in...

My hon. Friend anticipates what I was to say next, which is the only other point I want to make. When I came into the House, we had a system that I thought worked very badly. I saw people from my part of the world, 200 miles from this House,...

My hon. Friend anticipates what I was to say next, which is the only other point I want to make. When I came into the House, we had a system that I thought worked very badly. I saw people from my part of the world, 200 miles from this House,...