Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and thank you also for your kind and carefully chosen words to me at different times through

this Parliament; they have been much appreciated. The contributions in this Chamber over the past day or so have given me cause to reflect that each of us...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and thank you also for your kind and carefully chosen words to me at different times through

this Parliament; they have been much appreciated. The contributions in this Chamber over the past day or so have given me cause to reflect that each of us...

Will the Minister give way?

Will the Minister give way?

I note from the Health and Social Care Committee’s “Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide” report that:

“Wherever the boundaries are set, evidence from other jurisdictions shows that the boundaries are eroded and criteria expanded, with concomitant escalation in numbers, most markedly seen in Canada.”

Does my hon. Friend agree that that is the concern...

I note from the Health and Social Care Committee’s “Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide” report that:

“Wherever the boundaries are set, evidence from other jurisdictions shows that the boundaries are eroded and criteria expanded, with concomitant escalation in numbers, most markedly seen in Canada.”

Does my hon. Friend agree that that is the concern...

First, I give my thanks to the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for introducing the debate on behalf of those who signed the petition. It is really important that we represent the people who write to us, and like many colleagues here, I have had lots of emails and...

First, I give my thanks to the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for introducing the debate on behalf of those who signed the petition. It is really important that we represent the people who write to us, and like many colleagues here, I have had lots of emails and...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that. It stands as it is, and I refer every interested reader to the context of the quote.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that. It stands as it is, and I refer every interested reader to the context of the quote.

I will give way to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) and then to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).

I will give way to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) and then to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).

I thank the hon. Member for putting that on the record.

I thank the hon. Member for putting that on the record.

That speaks to my concern about normalisation. If we introduce legislation that says, “It is acceptable to end life for a wider range of conditions”—the evidence before us in Scotland is that that interpretation is correct—we risk normalising suicide as a prescription.

That speaks to my concern about normalisation. If we introduce legislation that says, “It is acceptable to end life for a wider range of conditions”—the evidence before us in Scotland is that that interpretation is correct—we risk normalising suicide as a prescription.

I thank my right hon. Friend for her intervention. I will conclude with this: we must never get to a point where assisted dying is seen as a prescription. We must never get to a point where we see death as a treatment.

I thank my right hon. Friend for her intervention. I will conclude with this: we must never get to a point where assisted dying is seen as a prescription. We must never get to a point where we see death as a treatment.

I add my own tribute to the late Lord Field. He took the time to talk to me when I was a Conservative councillor about a concern we shared for the weakest and most vulnerable in society, which reaches across the aisles of the House.

There is no doubt that the...

I add my own tribute to the late Lord Field. He took the time to talk to me when I was a Conservative councillor about a concern we shared for the weakest and most vulnerable in society, which reaches across the aisles of the House.

There is no doubt that the...

The Secretary of State said something very important about looking at precedents for regulation in other areas. Certainly, one reason why I am in the Chamber today is my love of the game; although I recognise that there are financial matters that need regulation, that is not the whole of...

The Secretary of State said something very important about looking at precedents for regulation in other areas. Certainly, one reason why I am in the Chamber today is my love of the game; although I recognise that there are financial matters that need regulation, that is not the whole of...

May I add to the many thanks already offered to the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Dame Tracey Crouch) for the considerable work that has gone into this issue? Many others have rightly been mentioned, but time does not allow me to say anything...

May I add to the many thanks already offered to the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Dame Tracey Crouch) for the considerable work that has gone into this issue? Many others have rightly been mentioned, but time does not allow me to say anything...

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of (a) headteachers and (b) deputy headteachers at UNWRA schools in Gaza that are members of terror organisations; and whether he has had recent discussions with international counterparts on...

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of (a) headteachers and (b) deputy headteachers at UNWRA schools in Gaza that are members of terror organisations; and whether he has had recent discussions with international counterparts on...

I welcome this statement. The Cass report highlights the area of prescribing untested and irreversible drugs as puberty blockers to young people, but in Wales the pathway for young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria includes referral to gender services in England. The Cass report also warns against teachers being forced...

I welcome this statement. The Cass report highlights the area of prescribing untested and irreversible drugs as puberty blockers to young people, but in Wales the pathway for young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria includes referral to gender services in England. The Cass report also warns against teachers being forced...

I am struck by my hon. Friend’s reflection on a Christian way of life. In the UK, we are very fortunate to have giants in our history—people such as Josiah Wedgwood, Lord Shaftesbury and William Wilberforce—who improved the lives of thousands, millions potentially, of the poor, the oppressed and the...

I am struck by my hon. Friend’s reflection on a Christian way of life. In the UK, we are very fortunate to have giants in our history—people such as Josiah Wedgwood, Lord Shaftesbury and William Wilberforce—who improved the lives of thousands, millions potentially, of the poor, the oppressed and the...

It strikes that my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) are describing something bigger and more enduring than much of what we concern ourselves with as politicians. Does my right hon. Friend agree that a dislocation from those eternal and enduring beliefs...

It strikes that my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) are describing something bigger and more enduring than much of what we concern ourselves with as politicians. Does my right hon. Friend agree that a dislocation from those eternal and enduring beliefs...

I was struck by the fact that my hon. Friend described Christianity as a source and not an addition, a bolt-on or a replaceable extra in the culture and heritage of our country.

I was struck by the fact that my hon. Friend described Christianity as a source and not an addition, a bolt-on or a replaceable extra in the culture and heritage of our country.

My hon. Friend is being very generous and I thank him for giving way a second time. Again, it seems to me that, in rightly paying tribute to the institutions and individuals in his own constituency—something that every other Member present could doubtless do— he is showing again how much...

My hon. Friend is being very generous and I thank him for giving way a second time. Again, it seems to me that, in rightly paying tribute to the institutions and individuals in his own constituency—something that every other Member present could doubtless do— he is showing again how much...

I must confess that I have not spoken in many Budget-related debates in the House, partly because I am well aware of the expertise of many other Members. It is a matter of some interest and pleasure for me to listen to the likes of my right hon. Friends the...

I must confess that I have not spoken in many Budget-related debates in the House, partly because I am well aware of the expertise of many other Members. It is a matter of some interest and pleasure for me to listen to the likes of my right hon. Friends the...

My hon. Friend makes a good point, in that, first, culture does eat strategy. We can strip away all the words about this but his point about cutting our cloth and living within our means describes exactly what we have seen happening. I have tried to set out, albeit perhaps...

My hon. Friend makes a good point, in that, first, culture does eat strategy. We can strip away all the words about this but his point about cutting our cloth and living within our means describes exactly what we have seen happening. I have tried to set out, albeit perhaps...