Mike Weatherley MP

18th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM1262. Motion reads: "That this House notes the sad news that Baroness Thatcher died following a stroke; recognises that she changed not only the face of politics but the face of a nation, through her dedication, commitment, energy and determination, that she secured a successful future for this country that many at the time thought unthinkable and that her enduring legacy will be to leave a nation in a better state than she found it; and calls on the Government to commemorate Baroness Thatcher's colossal achievements by renaming one of the UK's international airports, Thatcher International Airport as an enduring testament to her contribution to the world."

18th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM1181. Motion reads: "That this House welcomes No Smoking Day on 13 March 2013; notes that almost a million people made an attempt to quit on No Smoking Day 2012; draws attention to the 2013 campaign in aid of No Smoking Day, which highlights how much money the average smoker could save by quitting for good; further notes that attention should continue to be drawn to the support that is available for smokers trying to quit, which is offered by GPs, We Quit, The British Heart Foundation and others; further notes that smoking remains the number one cause of premature avoidable death in the UK; and calls on the Government to introduce plain packaging for cigarette packets to help deter young people from taking up smoking. "

17th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM1087. Motion reads: "That this House welcomes the UK Government's leadership in international development and is proud of Britain's historic record; recognises the importance of the UK in keeping its promise to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on overseas aid from 2013; further welcomes the impact that UK aid has had on reducing and tackling the causes of poverty in the world's poorest places, reaching six million people with emergency food assistance since March 2011 and sending 5.3 million children to school; notes that in 2013 the UK will chair the G8 for the first time since Gleneagles in 2005 when important development commitments to Africa were made; further notes that in part thanks to those commitments there has been dramatic progress in sub-Saharan Africa with 423,000 fewer child deaths in 2011 than in 2005 and 21 million more children in school compared with 2005; supports the Prime Minister in putting international development issues high on the G8 agenda in June 2013 and leading global efforts to tackle hunger; and further recognises that effectively and efficiently reaching 0.7 per cent this year will save and change the lives of millions of people who are looking to lift themselves out of poverty in the world's poorest countries."

15th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has seconded EDM1265. Motion reads: "That this House welcomes the report from the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters' Club (BHASC), along with the Gay Football Supporters' Network (GFSN), that details evidence and a log of the level of homophobic chanting at both home and away matches; recognises the extent of the problem when Brighton fans have been subjected to homophobic abuse by at least 72 per cent of opponents they have faced this season; agrees with the report that, although chants range from what would be considered to be mild to much more offensive, if these words relating to a person's sexuality were replaced with words relating to someone's race or skin colour, appropriate action would be taken; further recognises the good work both the BHASC and the GFSN have done in highlighting this problem; and calls for the clubs, the football authorities, the police and relevant authorities to work with them to eradicate this abuse. "

15th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM1174. Motion reads: "That this House notes with great concern the continued detention in Evin prison, Tehran, of Farshid Fathi, an Iranian pastor arrested on 26 December 2010 on account of his Christian faith; further notes the Iranian regime's fallacious and deceptive attempts to suggest that Mr Fathi has committed crimes of a political nature; deplores the sentence handed down to him of six years in prison for his Christian beliefs; and asks that the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs publicly calls for the release of Mr Fathi so that he might be reunited with his wife and two young children, and with regard to this matter and all its citizens generally, for Iran to fulfill its obligations under its own constitution and international law by allowing freedom of religion for its citizens."

10th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM1167. Motion reads: "That this House joins the British Deaf Association, the Royal Association for Deaf People and Signature in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Government's official recognition of British Sign Language (BSL) on 18 March 2003; notes that BSL is used by many thousands of deaf people as their first or preferred language alongside English; further notes that BSL users still find it hard to access health, education and other services as well as employment due to a lack of public awareness and interpreters; further notes that some good work is being done by different Government departments to support BSL users but that this is piecemeal and not co-ordinated; urges the Government to renew its efforts in this direction in 2013; and calls on the Government to prepare a short, cross-departmental report which pulls together all that it is currently doing to support BSL users and to identify the barriers that still remain to BSL users' full participation in, and contribution to, British society."

10th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM825. Motion reads: "That this House notes that the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will take place in March 2013; recognises the near consensus in the scientific community that the warming in the Arctic is a genuine threat to polar bears, with the majority of studied populations declining; accepts that international commercial trade is the second greatest threat to polar bears, with hunting figures increasing in correlation with demand and prices for polar bear skins; regrets that polar bears are only listed in CITES Appendix II, leaving them unprotected against hunting for export; welcomes therefore the proposal from the US, supported by Russia, to uplist polar bears from Appendix II to Appendix I; and urges the Government fully to support this proposal, including by encouraging a positive common approach by all EU governments at CITES in Thailand in spring 2013."

10th April 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM193. Motion reads: "That this House opposes the removal of the ban on using stray cats and dogs in experiments in the transposition of European Union Directive 2010/63/EU; and supports the call by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection for a full debate on the floor of the House to examine this and other serious concerns before the transposition process is completed."

19th March 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM667. Motion reads: "That this House supports Christians in Colombia who are being attacked and injured by FARC Guerrillas, AUC and government forces; and urges the Government tocontact directly the Colombian government to ensure that Christians can continue to worship without fear of either reprisal or their life."

25th February 2013

Mike Weatherley has signed EDM951. Motion reads: "That this House calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals for the mandatory installation of CCTV in UK slaughterhouses; expresses concern that eight of the nine slaughterhouses secretly filmed by Animal Aid have breached the law, a failure rate of 89 per cent; believes that the introduction of compulsory CCTV in UK slaughterhouses will increase animal protection and allow those caught on film breaking the law to be prosecuted; furthermore, thanks the supermarkets for already insisting on CCTV in their slaughterhouse suppliers and welcomes the support of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses as a useful monitoring tool; notes that plant operators who operate CCTV are keen to demonstrate to FSA officials the high standard to which their operatives work; and further believes other UK slaughterhouses should follow this best practice to maintain the UK's position as a world leader on animal welfare standards."