Commons Leader rolls out Oasis puns to describe year since Labour's election
Her comments came in the last Business Questions before the parliamentary recess, which will begin next Tuesday.
The Manchester Central MP said: 'I couldn't let this opportunity pass without telling the House that Manchester is buzzing right now with its bucket hats, its music, and even parkas in this hot weather. As we've all come together to celebrate the Oasis reunion.
'When Oasis were last performing at Heaton Park it was under a Labour government, and the shadow leader (Jesse Norman) invited me to give the House a few more groaning puns, so if he'll forgive me.
'Some Might Say this Government has a Masterplan for change, of course, I know it's not been a great year for the party opposite since their biggest election defeat in history, but perhaps they need to Stop Crying Their Heart Out, Don't Look Back In Anger, and hope that Reform Fade Away.
'Talking of which, last year we have seen Reform come on the scene in the House of Commons, some of their MPs have had better attendances than others.
'The honourable member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), as usual, is probably on a beach Half A World Away.
'There's more, there's one last one. Let's hope this Labour Government Live Forever.'
An Oasis fan in Cardiff ahead of the first show in the band's long-awaited reunion tour earlier this month (PA)
Commons deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani responded and called the comments 'interesting'.
Ms Powell had been asked by Conservative shadow leader Mr Norman what the Government planned to do to protect veterans who had served in Northern Ireland from prosecution.
He said: 'Hundreds and thousands of men and women went to Northern Ireland, not of their own accord but under orders and in the chain of command, on the Queen's business, to combat the most serious terrorist organisation in the world at the time, and to protect human lives and human society.'
He said the decisions by Labour to abandon the Legacy Act had left veterans in their 70s and 80s 'exposed to legal harassment, anxiety and trauma'.
Ms Powell replied: 'This is a complex situation, and we need to resolve it. He might disagree with this, but the previous government's Legacy Act was found to be unlawful and unworkable and is now subject to further court action.
'That means currently that nobody is protected by it, and nor does it give people the justice that they want, because there would be so much legal uncertainty about the status of doing so.
'That is why our priority is finding a way forward that gives veterans, survivors and communities confidence in the process. We will take our time to do this.'
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Preparing for power The expected strapline for Reform's conference will be Next Steps as Farage seeks to embed in the minds of voters the idea that it is preparing for power. The party has sought to professionalise its operation, using an influx of money from new members to move to a bigger office in Millbank tower. The office comes equipped with a live studio space, which Farage can use to film ad hoc videos to respond to fast-moving events. The intention is to make Reform UK more agile and responsive. Reform saw Trump's visit to Scotland this week as proof of the tectonic shift in British politics. The highlight from Trump's extraordinary 70-minute press conference with a largely silent Starmer was when the president was asked what his advice to Farage and Starmer would be before the election. 'You know, politics is pretty simple,' Trump said. 'I assume there's a thing going on between you and Nigel, and it's OK. It's two parties. But generally speaking, the one who cuts taxes the most, the one who gives you the lowest energy prices, the best kind of energy, the one that keeps you out of wars … a few basics.' The headlines were, inevitably, about the fact that the president had offered Starmer unsolicited advice that he needed to cut taxes and stop the boats. But of arguably far greater significance was Trump's acceptance of the premise of the question: that the next election would be a battle between Starmer and Farage. Badenoch and the Tories were not even part of the conversation. The Tory leader did not have a meeting with Trump at his Turnberry golf course but is expected to meet him during his state visit. But the challenge for Badenoch is that Labour and Reform are both intent on squeezing the Tories out of the picture. Sticking to the script Labour is drawing up plans for its conference, and Reform is likely to feature heavily. Starmer will reprise his message on the need for growth at all costs — necessarily so, given the anaemic state of the economy and the scale of tax rises expected in the autumn budget. But Farage and Reform are likely to be a constant theme as Labour hones its attacks. Those attacks are still largely based on three fronts: accusing Farage of trying to sell out the NHS, being a Putin stooge and promulgating fantasy economics with unfunded pledges. Senior figures in government admit there is little evidence that the attacks are working, but argue that this is not the point. Labour believes that the messages it is embedding in the minds of voters now will come to the fore when the general election comes into view — when the prospect of Farage entering No 10 becomes a reality. But what if they don't? After all, Rishi Sunak repeatedly said that voters would change their minds about him and the Conservatives during the white heat of the election campaign. The election result was even worse for him than had been expected. The murmurings of discontent are growing louder. One senior Labour source said that 'you can't out-Reform Reform' by going tough on issues such as immigration — it doesn't wash with voters. The other fear is that giving Farage a platform and painting the idea that he could become prime minister risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy — that he might just do it.
