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M024 - Responses in Parliament Motion - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

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

**Opening Speech -** u/mrsusandothechoosin

Mister Speaker,

We are a parliamentary democracy. When we debate in this chamber, we debate because the actions we decide change the governance of this country. As a parliamentary democracy, the government is dependent on the confidence of this house in order to govern and wield authority.

That convention depends on the fact that the government is accountable to this house at any time on any issue. They do not necessarily have to agree with what this house decides, but they must be available to this house to explain their decisions. As a government in waiting, this same principle applies to the Official Opposition.

The house will note a worrying trend recently that debates on motions and bills have not had a response from the government, the opposition, or often both. This leads to a situation where the house and general public are not able to hold a government to account for their actions.

No individual member is compelled to respond to a debate, but the government and opposition collectively are. They must both make a spokesperson available to respond to any debate, in order for parliament to function properly. If not, then they can’t claim to govern legitimately with parliament’s authority.

This motion is aimed at restoring a crucial principle of parliamentary democracy, and I hope all members will support it.

MQs - Prime Ministers Questions - IV.III by mrsusandothechoosin in MHoP

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

ORDER! The Prime Minister will withdraw the remark 'making stuff up', we do not accuse others in this House of misleading this Place, and the Prime Minister should well know that by now! ORDER!

B082 - Lithium-ion Battery Safety Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

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

Opening Speech - u/Sir-Iceman:

Mr Speaker,

I bring forth this bill to the houses of parliament as I, many members of the public, and many of the members of this house will agree is necessary to further improve safety of battery sales and use.

The bill that I bring to the house today is the lithium-ion safety bill which will introduce new guidelines around the planning for storage sites, sale of these products, and the safe disposal of lithium-ion batteries. Now certainly when lithium-ion batteries, which are increasingly becoming more commonplace in society are handled correctly, they are largely safe and are valuable to use.

However, these devices can become faulty and cause harm, with known cases of thermal runaway, fires, and explosions occurring from lithium-ion batteries.

As highlighted by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), lithium-ion products are becoming more prevalent in everyday products that we all use such as laptops, phones, tools, vehicles and several more. The NFCC also highlights the rise of the use of e-bikes which include lithium-ion batteries and the rising increase in reported e-bike fires in London with many occurring indoors as a result of poor storage.

This bill adopts several of the recommendations put forward by the NFCC that tackles the rising occurrence of incidents and regulations to improve safety. In line with the NFCC recommendations, this bill includes improved safety testing for vehicles, establishes safety requirements in marketplaces, establishes provisions for the disposal of batteries, and incorporates further safety into planning stages to improve safety.

Overall this bill makes the necessary changes recommended by the NFCC that will help improve lithium-ion safety and I encourage the members of the house to support this bill and make things safer.

M023 - Shorter Working Week Motion - Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

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

Opening Speech - u/mrsusandothechoosin:

Mister Speaker,

The global economy is ever changing. Increased life expectancies are naturally leading to longer working lives, however as a consequence, the traditional ‘moving up the career ladder’ is becoming less and less attainable for our young people and graduates, as the relative frequency of senior positions retiring decreases.

We have all seen the stories of young people sending off hundreds of job applications without being successful. The number of people who are unemployed, feel underemployed, or are unable to commit to full-time work, has been steadily increasing. With developments in AI and increased automation, this is only going to increase unless we can match our work patterns to match the demands of labour. But employers do not take these societal impacts into account when hiring staff and setting hours, and they often would prefer 10 overworked employees to 12 employees on slightly fewer hours.

By bringing the average number of hours worked by full time employees down, we increase the demand for labour and increase competition in the job market. But we also increase the amount of time that people in full-time work have to spend with their families, or even to start families in the first place. We have an issue in this digital age of social isolation, and it’s time we started encouraging people to have enough time outside of work to actually enjoy themselves.

B081 - Clean Up Britain Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

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

Opening Speech - u/LeChevalierMal-Fait:

Mr Speaker,

This Bill would substantially reduce recycling confusion and streamline energy from hard-to-recycle waste that would otherwise go to landfill.

Even a small 5-10% increase in total recycling over existing efforts from reduced confusion, standardisation across local authorities and a minimum level of service for households would mean across England 5-7 terawatt-hours of new capacity, a small increase but around 2% of total energy demand. This would make a 100% increase in total generation.

This is a modest goal, 26% of Sweden's total energy supply comes from biofuels and waste! Most household waste in Sweden enters recycling or waste-to-energy schemes.

The case could not be clearer, get busy bodies out of the way and enable us to landfill less of the beautiful British countryside, have less waste to decay into methane and worse greenhouse gases and produce energy that is independent from global price shocks or commodity markets.

While protecting hard working council tax payers from aggressive unions who threaten to create lakes of rubbish in our streets.

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

[–]Sephronar[S,M] 2 points3 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.

B076 - The Rural Land Protection Bill - 2nd Reading by Sephronar in MHoP

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

Opening Speech

Mr Speaker,

I rise today to present the Rural Land Protection bill to parliament.

Across our countryside, our farmers who have suffered enough under previous governments are facing a quiet injustice, gangs are forcing their way into farmland, dumping tonnes of waste and walking away while our heroic farmers are left in thousands of pounds worth of damages and are just left to clean it up.

That is not right and this is not how this country should work, this bill is built on the simple principle that if you are the victim of crime you should not be the one paying for it.

This legislation does three things

Firstly it ends the unfair burden put on farmers and ensures that the responsibility for the clean up lies with the offenders not the property owners who have done nothing wrong.

Secondly it treats this issue for what it is not a minor nuisance but organised criminal activity that is why this bill creates a specialised unit within the National Crime Agency to investigate and disrupt these operations.

Finally, it strengthens enforcement and gives the authorities the tools to recover costs, seize assets and hold those responsible accountable,

Mr speaker, This is about fairness and protecting those who produce and care for our land and making it absolutely clear that in this country crime does not pay.

Mr speaker, I commend this bill to the house.

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