Commons
Westminster Hall
2 March 2026
7 contributions
Power to Cancel Local Elections
The Chairman of the Petitions Committee is introducing the debate very well. I was a local councillor too, in Basildon in the early 1990s. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is a good thing that the Government have done a reverse ferret, so we can now have local elections across the country, incl…
Just as a matter of record, we had a general election in Britain in July 1945, when we were still involved in fighting the second world war in the far east. If we can have a general election in wartime, I see no reason why we could not have local elections this May in peacetime.
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
8 contributions
Ukraine
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome), who always speaks knowledgably on defence matters—and not just because of his own service—as he has done again today.
I must apologise to the House for missing the initial speeches in this debate, which I would not usually do. …
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and it was great to have him as a colleague on that visit. He brought his great knowledge of defence and foreign affairs to our trip. I can also report to the House that my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness exchanged some humorous words with…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Support for Road Users
Essex man and woman love their cars, but the A13 and the A217 in south Essex are at 99% capacity during the morning and evening peaks—they are maxed out. The proposed lower Thames crossing would help, and although Labour now says that the crossing will be 90% privately funded, it will not say by who…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
2 February 2026
Topical Questions
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I fear that the Veterans Minister, who is still here, may have inadvertently misled the House earlier. According to House of Lords legal records, from 29 to 31 October 2007 in the al-Jedda case against British soldiers held before the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, the…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
2 February 2026
3 contributions
Support for Veterans
We had hoped to see the Minister for the Armed Forces today, but we accept that he is on manoeuvres.
More seriously, we learned last week that the Prime Minister’s interest in British Army veterans once even stretched to working with disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner to help prosecute them. What is the …
Right hon.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
9 contributions
British Indian Ocean Territory
On that point, will the Minister give way?
Will the Minister give way on that point?
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
10 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
Does the Secretary of State agree that we have a good turnout in the House tonight to debate the Armed Forces Bill, which affects the quality of life and the service of the brave people who keep us safe? Yet again when we debate this vital subject, not a single Reform Member of Parliament is in the …
Ah! Will the Secretary of State give way on that point?
+8 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
4 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
As the Secretary of State well knows, the Blair Government handed out hundreds of so-called letters of comfort to alleged IRA paramilitaries following their release from prison. John Downey, the alleged Hyde Park bomber, produced such a letter during his trial at the Old Bailey, whereupon the trial …
He is on the Committee.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
I refer the Minister to article 298 of the UNCLOS treaty, which means we have a complete opt-out on military bases, but may I take him back to costs? The Government Actuary’s Department, whose whole raison d’être is to calculate long-term spending commitments, stood up the £35 billion figure—in fact…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
3 contributions
Chinese Embassy
There is a pattern of behaviour here: the failure to act meaningfully over Jimmy Lai, the mysterious collapse of the Chinese spy case and now this abject national humiliation. Let’s call this what it is: this is appeasement of communist China for economic gain. We tried that in the 1930s, and look w…
indicated dissent .
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
19 January 2026
2 contributions
Local Elections: Cancellation
“No taxation without representation.” Councillor Kevin Bentley, the dynamic Conservative leader of Essex county council, has been adamant that elections should go ahead. On 14 January, he wrote to the Minister:
“You may be aware that at our Full Council on 9th December I stated that Essex County Co…
Shall I read it again?
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
6 contributions
Ajax Programme
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. On Boxer specifically, just before Christmas I received an answer to a parliamentary question from the Department, saying that it now will not give the initial operational capability date for Boxer, and that it is subject to the long-awaited defence inve…
I thank my hon. Friend for his generosity in giving way. As well as the delays to Boxer, there are now strong rumours about further delays to the upgrade of Challenger 2 to Challenger 3. As Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land is responsible for both programmes, does my hon. Friend agree that it really need…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 January 2026
5 contributions
Call for General Election
As my hon. Friend knows, seven of the top 10 constituencies in terms of numbers of people who have signed the petition are in Essex, and they include my own constituency. That is how unpopular Labour is in Essex. Does he think that might have anything to do with why Labour councillors want to cancel…
Is the hon. Gentleman seriously saying—his attitude is unbelievably patronising—that the more than 1 million people across the UK who signed the petition are basically all children who do not know what they are doing? That is his implication, which is deeply insulting to 1 million-plus people, inclu…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
8 January 2026
Human Rights Abuses: Magnitsky Sanctions
I apologise for intervening on my right hon. Friend so early on, but he has mentioned Russia several times. He will be aware that there has been much talk about ceasefires, but there is no sign of one yet, because Putin still thinks he is winning in Ukraine. Would he agree with me that, if we really…
Commons
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Subsea Telecommunications Cables: Resilience and Crisis Preparedness
I commend the Committee’s report and the hon. Member for summarising it so excellently. There are several questions I would like to ask him, but for brevity I will confine myself to one. A few minutes ago, he suggested that the Government should consider including a cable repair ship in its new defe…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
Another way to improve road safety is to reduce driver frustration caused by roadworks, particularly those that overrun. That is why in 2022 I launched a campaign to “Can the Cones” and introduced a ten-minute rule Bill to tighten up on roadworks regulations. I lobbied the then Minister, my right ho…
Commons
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Business of the House
Happy new year, Mr Speaker.
Can we have an urgent debate on the need to proceed with the local elections in May? In July 1945 we held a general election, even though we were still involved in fighting the second world war in the far east. If we can have a general election in wartime, why can we not…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
The Conservatives were right to abolish Whitehall-imposed mandatory housing targets, and Labour was wrong to bring them back. May I ask the Minister specifically about call-ins? Under the well-established system, the Secretary of State might have called in, on average, about 20 applications a year i…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
15 December 2025
2 contributions
Veterans
Regarding Northern Ireland veterans who served on Operation Banner, the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles Bill has now been powerfully described by eight retired four-star generals and an air chief marshal as:
“A direct threat to national security.”
Can the Minister confirm that not all the G…
That is not true. We had hoped to hear from the wannabe future Prime Minister, the hon. Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), but as we have not— [ Interruption. ] He is not denying it. If what the Minister claims is true, how does she explain the recent comment by General Sir Peter Wall, the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
Digital ID
For the avoidance of doubt, I am on this side of the Westminster Hall Chamber only because it is so packed that this was the only remaining chair. I have not defected to the Labour Party and I never will—nor to anyone else. Can my hon. Friend confirm that this policy was not in Labour’s general elec…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Driving Test Availability: South-east
Unfortunately, it was right that Loveday Ryder, the previous chief executive of the DVSA, had to resign because of this terrible ongoing problem. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we need new leadership at that organisation, to grip this problem with alacrity? We must particularly address the probl…
Tell us!
Commons
Proceedings
24 November 2025
Ministerial Code
I listened carefully to the Minister’s rather Kafkaesque reply, but could I ask him a technical question? Given that the Prime Minister oversees the code and appoints the independent adviser, when the independent adviser reports, who adjudicates whether to take further action, because it could be ar…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 November 2025
Homelessness Strategy: Housing First
We do need to build more homes, including more affordable homes, but they have to be built in an environmentally sustainable way. Why are Ministers, through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, taking powers such that any planning application for more than 150 houses, if turned down by the democrat…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Transport Infrastructure Upgrades
The lower Thames crossing—or the late and tardy crossing, as it is now known in Essex—is the second largest piece of infrastructure in the country after High Speed 2. When will the work actually commence, when will the crossing be open to traffic, and—this is my third time asking the Secretary of St…