http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speecharchive.php Recent Speeches from Jo Swinson en-GB Jo Swinson http://www.joswinson.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2008 Jo Swinson 2008-08-30T16:00+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000033/biofuels__westminster_hall_debate.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Amess. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on introducing the debate, and it is good to see many members of the Committee here. It is also good to have the input of hon. Members who are not on the Committee. I always think that it is useful for Select Committee reports to have a wider airing in such Westminster Hall debates and for us to have contributions not only from those who have sat through all the evidence sessions. 2008-06-05T15:17+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000032/israel__westminster_hall_debate.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies) on securing the debate. He spoke authoritatively and gave us a good base of Israel's history. 2008-05-20T10:28+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000031/burma_cyclone_nargis__business_of_the_house.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): We are all shocked by the horrific scenes of destruction in Burma caused by cyclone Nargis-the massive loss of life, the homes swept away and the tide of chaos left in its wake. I very much welcome the Secretary of State coming to the House to give his statement and I thank him for prior sight of it. 2008-05-08T12:17+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000030/ukraine__westminster_hall_debate.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): I congratulate the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on securing the debate, and I pay tribute to his hard work as the chairman of the British Ukrainian Society. In his speech he set out very clearly the bilateral relations between our country and Ukraine and an overview of that intriguing country's history and current situation. Positively, he also pointed out the very good work being done to strengthen links between our countries, and in particular by the hon. Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan) and the all-party group on Ukraine that he chairs. It is particularly good to hear that a delegation of MPs will visit Ukraine later in the year. 2008-04-30T15:28+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000029/supermarkets__topical_debate.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): The topic of supermarkets is huge, and I am sure that many issues will be covered in a wide-ranging debate. I intend to focus my remarks on packaging, on which I have been campaigning for some time. Early-day motion 188 stands in my name, and I brought to the Liberal Democrat conference a comprehensive policy on reducing excessive packaging, which was passed. I also introduced a ten-minute Bill on the matter in the previous parliamentary Session. I was due to meet the Minister today to follow up on that Bill and discuss it further, but obviously that has been delayed owing to this debate. I welcome being able to discuss the issue here and then go into more detail in a few weeks' time. 2008-04-24T13:35+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000028/the_united_kingdom_and_the_commonwealth.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley), who has done excellent and serious work as the chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. His speech was very well made. I hope that he did not mind my intervention too much; as the only Scot in the Chamber at the time, I felt a duty to make the point that I made. 2008-03-20T13:38+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000027/international_womens_day.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd). I particularly enjoyed her remarks about the American elections, which I have also been following with much interest. My overriding concern is that either Obama or Clinton should be in the White House next time; I shall be pleased to see the back of its current occupant. However, I confess that, faced with the choice between the two Democrat candidates, I would be a Hillary supporter. I share the right hon. Lady's abhorrence of ageism, but as the youngest Member of the House, I should point out that the issue works both ways. 2008-03-06T14:50+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000026/european_union_bill.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): It is a particular pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley), who has distinguished ministerial experience of these issues; I welcome the benefit that his contribution brought to the debate. 2008-02-27T14:30+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000025/european_union_bill.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): I am delighted to follow the right hon. Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt), who has been a frequent attender of these debates. She outlined well the bigger picture of what we are discussing and the successes of the European Union in the past 60 years or so. 2008-02-26T18:28+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000021/westminster_hall_debate__global_security_middle_east.html I congratulate the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the hon. Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes), and all its members on the authoritative and wide-ranging report that we are debating. We have heard from many esteemed hon. Members. The hon. Member for Ilford, South opened the debate very well with a summary, in as much as one can have a summary of the middle east. He took us on a rapid tour around the various countries involved and, crucially, provided an update on what has been happening since the report was published last July. It is obviously a part of the world where events move quickly. 2008-01-24T13:04+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000022/topical_debates_kenya.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat) 2008-01-17T13:13+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000023/westminster_hall_debate__pakistan_terrorism.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat) 2008-01-16T13:15+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000019/allergy_services.html Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat) 2007-11-29T00:00+00:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000018/10_minute_rule_bill_packaging_reduction.html I beg to move, 2007-10-23T00:00+01:00 http://www.joswinson.org.uk/speeches/000017/international_whaling.html I am pleased that I was able to secure this debate. It is particularly timely, as the International Whaling Commission is meeting in Anchorage right now. The Scientific Committee meeting has already started, and meetings will continue until the end of the month, with decision making happening between the 28th and the 31st. 2007-05-09T00:00+01:00