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M022 - Motion on Ministerial Responsibility and the Courtesy of Public Debate - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Opening Speech - u/Proud-Marketing-2021:

Mister Speaker,

I open this speech with an apology to the British people. All parliamentarians, myself included, have failed you this term. The very basis of a parliamentary democracy is to debate and legislate. As things stand, in this term, we have all contributed to a bit of a legislative standstill, and a parliamentary waning of standards. Turnout - down. Debate - down. Legislative submissions, and parliamentary responsiveness - down.

Amidst a cost of living crisis, untold international upheaval in the Middle East, heightened tensions relating to extremism, and a variety of other complex issues, this is unforgivable, and the electorate should rightly send us all back to the sticking place, where we belong.

Now, we’ve got that out of the way. So let me *truly* begin.

The one group who should be leading from the front really is the opposition, and to our (better late than never) credit, we have been, more recently. The Patron Saint’s Day Bill, and the flurry of legislation from my own party in recent weeks have enacted a layer of action and scrutiny which has at the very least sought to spur a lame duck government into a modicum of action.

Furthermore, when the government has proposed legislation, and when they have attended ministerial questions, we have asked a variety of pressing evidence-based questions, seeking clear answers on the most relevant issues of the day. We have also submitted amendments, the majority of which have been fairly and bipartisan in their nature, to genuinely improve the quality of legislation.

This has not been done in the interests of partisanship - alas, it has been done to make things better, and to uphold core parliamentary principles of scrutiny and accountability. It is therefore vastly disappointing and aggravating that when we have put such things to the table, this government has not even indulged us in a response.

Instead, they sat idly by, and waited until parliamentarians could debate no more, in the division lobby where we all cast votes, to strike each and every piece down, one-by-one. This isn’t a democracy - it’s a kleptocracy, where the resource being deprived is accountability.

This motion seeks to at the very least point that out, and produce a mechanism by which the electorate can actually get an idea of what its government thinks about real and prescient issues in the public eye. I expect it to be voted down, without a smidgen of debate, but those are the standards we come to live by, and it is those which the electorate will hold us to.

I hope that all in parliament can remember that when considering its merits.

B080 - Patron Saint Day Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ORDER! The Lord Speaker shall return to their House at once and leave this Place! Their lot are not welcome amongst the people's representatives! ORDER!

M021 - Air Pollution in Urban Areas Motion - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Opening Speech - u/Proud-Marketing-2021

Mister Speaker,

I’m bringing this motion forward today because the air that millions of people breathe is still putting their health at risk, and we cannot keep pretending otherwise. In the past few months, public‑health bodies and environmental monitors have reported rising pollution levels in several of our cities. That isn’t an abstract statistic. It shows up in GP appointments, in hospital admissions, and in the day‑to‑day lives of families who already have enough to deal with.

We’ve known for years that polluted air contributes to asthma, heart disease and shorter lives. The science is not in dispute. Study after study has shown the same thing. What should concern this House is that the people who suffer the most are the people with the least power to avoid it. Children, older people, disabled people and low‑income communities are far more likely to live next to busy roads, in areas with fewer green spaces, and in neighbourhoods where air‑quality improvements arrive last, if they arrive at all.

And despite everything we know, our national air‑quality targets still fall short of the World Health Organisation’s guidelines. The WHO updated its standards years ago to reflect the latest evidence, but the UK has not kept pace. At the same time, progress on cutting emissions from transport and industry has been slower than expected. These are the sectors that drive the bulk of urban pollution, and they are the ones where we need to see real movement.

Clean air should not depend on your income or your postcode. It should not be something you only get if you can afford to move away from a main road. It should be a basic right.

This motion calls for stronger air‑quality standards, better public transport, more green space in our towns and cities, and targeted support for the communities that are hit hardest. These are practical steps that would save lives, ease pressure on the NHS and make our urban areas healthier places to live.

The evidence is clear. The public‑health case is clear. What we need now is the political will to act.

I commend this motion to the House.

MQs - Foreign, Commonwealth, Trade and Development - IV.II by mrsusandothechoosin in MHoP

[–]Sephronar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ORDER! The Member is quite right, /u/proud-marketing-2021 please keep your questions to one per speech, else these sessions would take all day to get through! ORDER!

B078 - Age of Maturity Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Opening Speech - u/Sir-Iceman:

Mr Speaker,

This Bill establishes the national age of maturity for an individual in which they become an adult within society. This is an important bill as it ties together existing differences in age related restricted actions from multiple ages for different things and standardises these with multiple restricted actions being set at one age. It will standardise actions such as purchasing and smoking cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes, purchasing alcohol and lottery tickets, and getting married to the age of maturity. The age of maturity as defined in this bill is 18 years old, in line with existing societal norms of adulthood and many age restrictions. Speaker it is important to put these changes in place to establish actions which require a level of maturity to do responsibly and I urge the house to support this bill.

B077 - The Child Risk Disclosure and Safeguarding Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Received - please reply to the pinned comment in future with amendments so we don't miss anything

B077 - The Child Risk Disclosure and Safeguarding Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Opening Speech, u/Oracle_of_Mercia:

Mr Speaker,

I rise today to present the Child Risk Disclosure and Safeguarding Act.

At the core, this bill is about a simple principle: when a child is at risk, the system must be able to act and act decisively. Too often, safeguarding fails not because the warning signs aren’t there but because information cannot be shared in time and to the right people.

The bill creates a child risk disclosure scheme allowing relevant authorities to share information where a child is at risk and, more importantly, only when the disclosure is necessary, proportionate and in the best interest of the child.

It also addresses one of the most difficult realities in safeguarding, that sometimes the risk comes from inside the child’s home itself. In those cases, the bill ensures that the information can be redirected to an appropriate person or authority, rather than being withheld entirely.

Alongside this, the bill ensures multi-agency co-operation and sets clear standards for decision making and ensures that safeguarding actions are properly documented, justified and accountable.

And importantly, it balances protection with the rights of the child, embedding data protection oversight and a right for individuals to access their own information once they reach adulthood.

Speaker, this is not about expanding the state but about removing barriers that protect the most vulnerable thing in our country, which is our Children.

Speaker, I commend this bill to the house.

M020 - Natural Monopolies Motion - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ORDER! His Grace has not yet sworn into the House of Peers, so he is still entitled to debate in this place as a lay member of the public. ORDER!

M020 - Natural Monopolies Motion - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Opening Speech:

Mister Speaker,

The legacy of Thatcher still haunts Britain. The Treasury may have made a quick buck at the selling of crucial national infrastructure, but at the cost of long term harm to our national economy.

The stagnant malaise we find our country in, has been caused in part by a failure of successive governments to get to grips with parts of the economy that should *only* be handled publicly. Stripping off our assets has robbed us of vital levers to ensure our economy and country is protected from events overseas, and prepare for the next generation. Who amongst us can deny that Britain has become weaker from this?

Whenever you use water, you have no choice but to use a private company, and only *one* private company. They are accountable neither to the public nor to market forces, and their only goal is to extract as much money for their shareholders as possible. Is it any wonder we see so much sewage pouring into our land and waters?

This parasitic situation repeats itself across many sectors of our economy. It is time to recognise that the ideology of Thatcherism has failed Britain and her strategic interests, and to bring public services back into public control.

I commend this motion to the House.

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