12:28 The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)

The European Union is the last major subject that I want to tackle. The Government will be an active and activist player in the European Union. We will be very vigorous and positive in the promotion of this country’s national interests in the EU while working to make the European Union as a whole a success. All the countries of the EU face profound challenges that will require us to work together using the means and institutions of the European Union. Our efforts will be concentrated on Europe’s global competitiveness, on tacking climate change and on global poverty. The current economic difficulties pose questions for each nation, varying with the state of their public finances, but collectively we need to encourage growth and job creation, so we will press strongly for the expansion of the single market and the removal of obstacles to business. It is also in our interests and in the EU’s general interest for the nations of the EU to make greater use of their collective weight in the world. We share many interests and values, and taking common action to advance them is, where appropriate, greatly to our general benefit—Iran’s nuclear programme is an important instance of that.

As set out in the coalition agreement, we will push for the EU to demonstrate leadership in tackling international climate change, including by supporting an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% and by working towards an ambitious global climate deal that will limit emissions and explore the creation of new international sources of funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation. At the Cancun conference in November we will have the opportunity to establish a strong framework for global climate action.

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16:30 Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)

Later, I should like to touch on the importance of the Commonwealth, in which I am a great believer. First, however, I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, David Kidney. Mr Kidney represented Stafford for 13 years with a great degree of diligence. He is much loved in the constituency for his work there, but he is also widely respected for the work that he did in the House and nationally on sustainable energy, on improvements in care and on the teaching of citizenship, among many other things. I hope that I will, in some small way, be able to build on his achievements.

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17:33 John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)

Britain remains a great manufacturing nation, and we should be so proud of that. My constituents are intensely proud of the part they play in the great, high-skilled manufacturing sector in the area. They look to the future and see so much potential. Furness has so much to offer the world: from the low-carbon lighting industry, based around the Ulverston area, which can play a central role in tackling climate change in the years ahead and provide more jobs, to the creative industries and the young entrepreneurs coming to Furness because the technological advances that we have made mean that they no longer feel that they have to gather in the cities. Of course, however, the success of those industries and opportunities requires partnership with the Government, which is why it is essential that we guard against cuts to regional business support and restrictions on university opportunities and opportunities for young people, which could do so much damage to the future prosperity of my area and the whole country.

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17:41 Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)

I can speak on wider issues of science policy, such as the funding process for both applied and blue-skies research, and on the operation of the DNA database. I can also speak on how science should affect the broader reaches of policy: for instance, I can speak about making decisions on low-carbon energy sources, following the ideas of my scientific colleague Professor David MacKay, who is now chief scientific adviser at the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

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