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Opposition day on Monday, 1 March 2010, in the House of Commons, led by Liam Fox. The answering member was Bob Ainsworth.

Defence

Defence. Fourth opposition day debate (part one). Main question negatived on division (208 to 277). Amendment agreed on question.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
506 c663-720 
Session
2009-10
Department
Ministry of Defence
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Speaker | 506 c683 (Link to this contribution) Order. I remind right hon. and hon. Members that Mr. Speaker has imposed a 15-minute limit on Back-B...
Liam Fox | 506 c663-4 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House expresses its continued support for HM armed forces personnel and the...
Show all contributions (146)
Ian Davidson | 506 c664 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Speaker | 506 c663 (Link to this contribution) I advise the House that I have selected the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister.
Liam Fox | 506 c665 (Link to this contribution) That is a statement of the obvious. I will come in a moment to the economic backdrop against which f...
Ian Davidson | 506 c665 (Link to this contribution) May I go back to the point that the hon. Gentleman was making when I sought to intervene on him? He ...
Liam Fox | 506 c664 (Link to this contribution) I will in a moment. The Government's failure fully to fund their SDR is only one item in a long lit...
Doug Henderson | 506 c664 (Link to this contribution) I understand that Opposition parties have to try to point out shortcomings, but does the hon. Gentle...
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 506 c665 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will recall that the mandate to go into Iraq was secured in this House. Prior to ...
Liam Fox | 506 c665 (Link to this contribution) It would be the act of any sensible incoming Government to look at the unavoidable costs in any proj...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) Extensive work is being done on mental health issues, some of which will not come to light for many ...
John Baron | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) All the studies show that veterans are at an increased risk of suicide. What are the Government doin...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) Let me complete the list. Basic pay has gone up in line with the recommendations of the independent...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c676 (Link to this contribution) Opposition Members will have all afternoon to answer. Will they take this opportunity to set the rec...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c675-6 (Link to this contribution) No. To prepare our forces for the future, I have announced a formal strategic defence review and de...
Julian Lewis | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Andrew Pelling | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Alison Seabeck | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend share my puzzlement about the position of the Conservatives? The document ...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c675 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Conservatives accuse us of not honouring the military covena...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) I shall have to give way to the right hon. Gentleman.
John Baron | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) Let me complete the list, which is quite extensive. We have established for the first time, in cont...
Alison Seabeck | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful. I think I must be having a bit of difficulty, because I heard my hon. Friend the...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman will also have heard the hon. Member for Woodspring say that he had provide...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c674 (Link to this contribution) I shall not give way because I would like to make some progress. I shall try to give way a little la...
Willie Rennie | 506 c678-9 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a valuable contribution, but I am afraid the response is rather piecemeal a...
Willie Rennie | 506 c679-80 (Link to this contribution) We underestimate the contribution that the ministry makes to general health care in the military and...
Mark Pritchard | 506 c679 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman mentions miracles, and he will know that the chaplaincy of all three armed servic...
Willie Rennie | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) We have made considerable progress with the Eurofighter contract, but we are referring to tranche 3,...
Willie Rennie | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is paying attention. The Government committed back in 1998 to construct the aircr...
Angus Robertson | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) For the purposes of clarity, may I take the hon. Gentleman back to his comments on the Eurofighter, ...
Liam Fox | 506 c676 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the House. I have ...
Willie Rennie | 506 c676-8 (Link to this contribution) I share in the tributes made on both sides of the House to those who have fallen during the past wee...
Speaker | 506 c676 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his courtesy. He did indeed write to me explaining...
Brian Jenkins | 506 c678 (Link to this contribution) Did the hon. Gentleman take the opportunity, when he was doing his research, to see where the money ...
Willie Rennie | 506 c678 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman probably knows the answer to that question.
Linda Gilroy | 506 c678 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that Annington Homes should put some money back into homes for the mil...
Willie Rennie | 506 c678 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady makes a sensible point. If the company had a conscience about these matters, it would ...
Andrew Pelling | 506 c678 (Link to this contribution) May I offer an example of a positive response from the NHS? In my local area, it has been very willi...
Willie Rennie | 506 c683 (Link to this contribution) Wait, because the Conservative spokesman, the hon. Member for Woodspring, has said:""The only thing ...
Julian Lewis | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Willie Rennie | 506 c683 (Link to this contribution) Not yet; the hon. Gentleman will get his chance. The Defence Secretary recently said:""But we have ...
Willie Rennie | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) I had not mentioned that, because I did not want to steal my right hon. and learned Friend's thunder...
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend has not forgotten the important issue of continuous at-sea deterrence ...
Willie Rennie | 506 c683 (Link to this contribution) That is the cold war mentality—it has never moved on. There is always an idea that because we cannot...
Julian Lewis | 506 c683 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman understand the meaning of the phrase "general and complete disarmament", whi...
Willie Rennie | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) I am relieved to hear what my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) said, because I h...
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c681 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman seems to be proposing an alternative nuclear deterrent to Trident—what is it? Is ...
Willie Rennie | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman was a wee bit slow to intervene.
Ian Davidson | 506 c680 (Link to this contribution) I thought that the hon. Gentleman was going to say more about the aircraft carriers. Does he agree w...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) I think I remember correctly that the hon. Gentleman served on the Select Committee on Defence when ...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c692-3 (Link to this contribution) I was surprised by that, and by the whole nature of the contribution made by the hon. Member for Woo...
Ann Winterton | 506 c693-5 (Link to this contribution) May I begin by paying tribute to all our serving armed forces and their families? We remember, in pa...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c691-2 (Link to this contribution) First, may I share in the expressions of support for our armed services and of regret for the loss o...
Alison Seabeck | 506 c692 (Link to this contribution) Was my hon. Friend surprised that the Opposition Front-Bench spokesperson, who aspires to be in gove...
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c696-9 (Link to this contribution) Like my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton), I pay tribute to the armed forces and ...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 506 c699 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend as concerned as I am to hear that the advanced research and assessment group is ab...
Lord Davies of Stamford | 506 c695 (Link to this contribution) I meant no discourtesy to the hon. Lady, but I have heard her making similar comments before, and I ...
Ann Winterton | 506 c695-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those comments. In this House, it is necessary to make one's...
Doug Henderson | 506 c684-5 (Link to this contribution) May I start by paying tribute to the great sacrifice that has been made by our troops when they have...
Laurence Robertson | 506 c685 (Link to this contribution) Our position is crystal clear and I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman does not know it. It is a s...
Doug Henderson | 506 c685-6 (Link to this contribution) If that is an absolute guarantee, I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman was able to give it, and I ho...
Doug Henderson | 506 c686-7 (Link to this contribution) Yes, we are second. We therefore spend a significant amount already, but is public opinion going to ...
Robert Key | 506 c687-90 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson). His...
Robert Key | 506 c690-1 (Link to this contribution) Of course I welcome that hugely. I also welcome the RBL's support for people who are leaving the for...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c690 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman to an extent about the perception of the Royal British Legion, but d...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c670 (Link to this contribution) I was about to come on to the Government's record. It is a record of which the Government can be pro...
Liam Fox | 506 c667-8 (Link to this contribution) No, I do not have those figures, but I look forward to being enlightened about them when the hon. La...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c667 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House what the cumulative efficiency savings have been in each of t...
Liam Fox | 506 c667 (Link to this contribution) I will give way in a few moments. A further £6.6 billion was wasted on account of lost equipment, i...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c667 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Liam Fox | 506 c669 (Link to this contribution) Any strategic defence review has to be fully funded. Therefore, any SDR that a future Government wou...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c669 (Link to this contribution) I will give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment. I challenge the Conservatives to say what they wo...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c668-9 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from "2001" to end and add:""pays tribute to their sacrific...
Liam Fox | 506 c666-7 (Link to this contribution) I simply do not accept that point. Sensible contingency planning ought to have been taking place. It...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c670 (Link to this contribution) That is not the case, and the hon. Gentleman is aware of his sleight of hand here. We are talking ab...
Julian Lewis | 506 c670 (Link to this contribution) It is very kind of the right hon. Gentleman to give way, but when I try to intervene it is because I...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c670-1 (Link to this contribution) May I say to the hon. Gentleman that, much to his annoyance, defence is a UK-wide activity? He would...
Angus Robertson | 506 c670 (Link to this contribution) Given what the Secretary of State has just said, can he explain why, according to the Ministry of De...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c671 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way in just a moment. The individual soldier in Afghanistan is better equipped than eve...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c670 (Link to this contribution) I will give way to the hon. Gentleman if he is going to stand up now and tell us whether the defence...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend. That is why I tried to elicit an answer to the question of the carriers...
Jim Sheridan | 506 c672-3 (Link to this contribution) May I take my right hon. Friend back to the question of commitment and remind him that the tooth fai...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) We have, from time to time, problems with the air bridge. There is no doubt about that. We do everyt...
Mark Pritchard | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way. He is a reasonable man. Does he agree with m...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard). Perhaps he can enlighten us on ...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) I ask the hon. Gentleman to look at the record, because I was sitting in the House at the time when ...
Peter Tapsell | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) I am intervening on the Afghanistan point that the Secretary of State has just made. Given the enorm...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c672 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Sir Peter Tapsell), as perhaps he can ...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c671-2 (Link to this contribution) I will give way in a moment. Looking forward, we have taken steps to maintain the armed forces at th...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c671 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the hon. Gentleman would like to hear the list. We have brought into service more than 1...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) I would like to make some progress, if I can—
Andrew Pelling | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry to disrupt the dialogue, which should obviously be encouraged—the Secretary of State is t...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) If that was clarity, it was about as clear as mud. We waited a long time, but clarity came there non...
Julian Lewis | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman means the ceremonies at Wootton Bassett, I have to say to him that I find myse...
Bob Ainsworth | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) Aha! It has taken a while, but now there will be a response on the Conservative party's position on ...
Liam Fox | 506 c673 (Link to this contribution) Patience is its own reward. We have always made very clear our arguments about seaborne air power pr...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 506 c700-1 (Link to this contribution) Thank you for calling me, Madam Deputy Speaker. The debate so far has contained some grand themes, n...
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c699-700 (Link to this contribution) I am extremely concerned. I shall come to that in my closing remarks. If we do not have the courage...
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c702 (Link to this contribution) I just wanted to place on the public record the fact that as shadow Secretary of State for Defence i...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 506 c702 (Link to this contribution) Indeed so. It seems to me a bit unfortunate that the informed views of Boscombe Down should be dismi...
Robert Key | 506 c701 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend's persistence on this matter is exemplary. Does he recall that ZD 756, the Chin...
Ian Davidson | 506 c703 (Link to this contribution) That was my next point, because I want to consider the Government's position. Unlike the Opposition...
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom | 506 c702 (Link to this contribution) Yes, my hon. Friend did make that suggestion. I do not know the answer to his question. I do not kno...
Lord Davies of Stamford | 506 c703 (Link to this contribution) Let me make the Government's position absolutely clear. We are contractually, morally and politicall...
Mark Pritchard | 506 c704-5 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson) may not have given an enthusiastic speech, bu...
Ian Davidson | 506 c703-4 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister—that was very clear. Even the Liberals would agree that it was clear, because w...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c705 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the key to drawdown is a transition to Afghan responsibility, whi...
Nicholas Winterton | 506 c706 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is ranging far and wide, and I commend what he is saying and find no reason to disagr...
Mark Pritchard | 506 c705-6 (Link to this contribution) I completely agree with the hon. Lady. We all want to see in Afghanistan a stable, democratic Govern...
Mark Pritchard | 506 c706-8 (Link to this contribution) As always, my hon. Friend makes an excellent intervention. I commend his work over many years as cha...
Bill Rammell | 506 c715-6 (Link to this contribution) We have made our commitment to the carriers abundantly clear, most particularly through the signing ...
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c715 (Link to this contribution) Will the carriers will be included in a Labour defence review?
Bill Rammell | 506 c712-3 (Link to this contribution) That is the truth. If the Opposition are committed to the same expenditure level, they could set out...
Gerald Howarth | 506 c713 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, but the Government's position has now been clarified: they expect the carriers to be par...
Bill Rammell | 506 c713 (Link to this contribution) I wholeheartedly agree. There have been some frankly quite disgraceful attacks on the role and work ...
Ian Davidson | 506 c714 (Link to this contribution) Surely my hon. Friend was wrong when he said that there was very little difference between the two s...
Bill Rammell | 506 c713 (Link to this contribution) I have made the Government's position on the carriers very clear, but what the hon. Gentleman outlin...
Bill Rammell | 506 c714 (Link to this contribution) I agree very much with my hon. Friend, who is an incredibly strong campaigner for his constituents a...
Bill Rammell | 506 c714-5 (Link to this contribution) I will make some progress, then I will give way. The shadow Secretary of State also referred to the...
Gerald Howarth | 506 c709 (Link to this contribution) We will have a defence review and all those things will be looked at. The question of force structur...
Angus Robertson | 506 c709 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is ruling out defence cuts under the Conservatives. Will he take this opportunity...
Gerald Howarth | 506 c708-9 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Glasgow, South-West (Mr. Davidson) suggested that this had been a lacklustre deb...
Bill Rammell | 506 c712 (Link to this contribution) In large part, we have had a good and constructive debate, and despite the political hyperbole, ther...
Gerald Howarth | 506 c711-2 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will know that we are going to have a defence review, and I will talk about that ...
Doug Henderson | 506 c710 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman and I have talked about these issues outside the House for many years, and we did...
Gerald Howarth | 506 c710 (Link to this contribution) I will not at the moment, but I will try to do so later, time permitting. Manpower shortages across...
Doug Henderson | 506 c710 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Gerald Howarth | 506 c709-10 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid I will not give way to the Under-Secretary: he has not been here for the whole debate. ...
Julian Lewis | 506 c680-1 (Link to this contribution) I can help out the hon. Gentleman, because last Thursday I, like the Secretary of State for Defence,...
Willie Rennie | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) These are excellent questions, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will pose them to my right hon....
Bernard Jenkin | 506 c703 (Link to this contribution) Why was the Secretary of State not prepared to give the assurance that the hon. Gentleman has been s...
Willie Rennie | 506 c681 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman—that was very helpful. The cost of the three Astute class submarines has...
Willie Rennie | 506 c682 (Link to this contribution) I have answered the second question, and the hon. Lady knows the answer to the first—we have been ov...
Ian Davidson | 506 c702-3 (Link to this contribution) Defence is one of the most important areas of politics, and it ought to be debated fiercely, so I am...
Linda Gilroy | 506 c713 (Link to this contribution) I might have missed this while I was out of the Chamber, but does my hon. Friend agree that on neith...
Subjects
Armed forces Cost effectiveness Defence Capital investment Defence equipment Housing Health services Finance Expenditure Iraq Helicopters Pay Procurement Navy Mental health services Military aircraft Afghanistan Aircraft carriers Trident
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
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