Parliament
As a Member of
Parliament I take part in debates in the House of Commons, table
questions and sign Early Day Motions.

From time to time I have been able to secure a debate
in the House of Commons on an issue of local or national
importance. These are known as "Adjournment
Debates". In an
adjournment debate, an MP has 15 minutes to raise an issue, and a
Government minister then has 15 minutes in which to respond.
Click here to
read my debates.

From 2009-10 I was the Liberal Democrat
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,
speaking on issues relating to pensions,
benefits, tax credits and the social security system,
as well as representing the party line in legislation such as the
Welfare Reform Bill and Child Poverty Bill.
I previously shadowed this department between 1999
and 2005. Click here to see a selection of my speeches.
"Early Day Motion", or EDM, is the term used to
describe notices of motions given by MPs that are not
generally expected to be debated. It is a
device to draw attention to an issue, and to elicit support for it by
inviting other MPs to add their signatures.
Click
here to see a list of
the EDMs I have supported.
Please note that EDMs are only signed by MPs
not serving in Government, and I have
been unable to sign any since being a
Minister.
Members
of Parliament not serving in the Government have the opportunity to ask
questions of Government Departments about topical issues relating to
their constituencies or their portfolios. I have not been able to put
forward questions since being made a Minister, but
click
here to read some of my questions from the end of the last
Parliament and the answers received.

I have sometimes had the opportunity to speak in
debates and ask questions to the Prime Minister and other Ministers on a
wide range of political issues in the House of Commons. You can
read these by clicking here.

In 2008 I shadowed the department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs and then the newly created department for Energy and Climate Change,
I spoke in the House of Commons on these areas, as well as representing the party during the
passage of legislation such as the Energy Bill and Climate Change Bill.
You can read my contributions here.
As Liberal Democrat spokesman on Health
between the summer of 2005 and
December 2006, I
spoke in the House of Commons on a range of issues
such as cancelled operations, waiting times and NHS
dentistry. I also
represented the Lib Dems in debates on related legislation
as it went through Parliament.
Click here to see a selection of my speeches.
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