Yesterday saw Wells MP David Heathcoat Amory introduced a debate in Westminster Hall, on the subject of nuclear energy. Herewith some extracts from his speech: "Due to a combination of short-sightedness and wishful thinking, this country faces a looming energy gap between future demand and supply, because we have been decommissioning our nuclear power stations […]
Yesterday saw Foreign Office questions. Shadow Deputy Secretary of State for Wales David Jones and former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind both asked about Iran's nuclear ambitions: "The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (David Miliband): The International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest report of 19 February shows that Iran continues to refuse to […]
Home Office questions came around yesterday. The most interesting questions were about the holding of DNA samples. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith outlined the Government's position: "The national DNA database plays a key role in catching criminals, including many years after they might think that they have got away with their crime, eliminating the innocent from […]
The Department for Innovation, Skills and Universities was up for questions yesterday. Shadow Secretary of State David Willetts asked about the role of about further education in the recession: "I want to ask the Secretary of State about something that I hope he will agree is very important in ensuring that people have training and […]
Wells MP David Heathcoat-Amory asked a challenging question of the Foreign Secretary yesterday: "Is the Secretary of State aware that when North Koreans try to leave that dictatorship, they often cross into China, where they are rounded up and sent back to North Korea in defiance of all China’s obligations as a signatory to the […]
David Heathcoat-Amory is an amateur astronomer, which may explain the following written question: "Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department is spending on astronomy and space research in 2008-09. [237532] Mr. Lammy: The Science and Technology Facilities Council, which is responsible for astronomy and space […]
There are still some hardy Conservative critics of conventional climate change wisdom in the House of Commons. On Wednesday Mr Lilley introduced a debate on the Stern Review in Westminster Hall. (Lord Stern’s main conclusion was that one per cent of global GDP per year is needed to combat climate change. He has since revised […]
David Heathcoat-Amory: What estimate he has made of the number of British-trained doctors looking for permanent placements; and if he will make a statement. Alan Johnson: The estimated number of junior doctors who will complete their specialist training in England in 2007, and who are therefore likely to be looking for permanent posts, is 5,400. […]
David Heathcoat-Amory, MP for Wells, worries about the resurrection of the European Union’s constitution. The American Constitution is 15 pages long and every American can recite parts of it. The European Constitution is 511 pages long; unread, unreadable and rejected by the voters of France and Holland. This should have been the end of the […]
In “Hard Bargains or Weak Compromises”, Dr Lee Rotherham and I probe whether association rather than membership would be best for Britain.