Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 July 2026
State of Climate and Nature
I thank the Minister for early sight of the statement.
On my way into Kendal this morning, before I came down to Parliament, I observed the jarring reality of fields yellowing in the dry heat and the River Kent so low that I could see the bedrock. Alongside it, defensive walls were being built on t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
Waste Crime Action Plan
My constituents who live close to the Flusco landfill site in Newbiggin are one of many communities right across the country bearing the brunt of this nationwide scandal. The owners of the site—a legitimate one on paper—have been judged to have flagrantly broken environmental regulations. Like many …
Commons
Proceedings
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Summer Jobs
Will the hon. Member give way?
The hon. Gentleman is making some important points. Obviously, in some parts of the world, including mine, many jobs are on offer but it is hard for young people to take them up. Some 60% of employers in the hospitality and tourism industry in the Lake District find it difficult to recruit staff. On…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
High Streets
The hon. Gentleman is being very generous in giving way. I concur with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). The removal of banks from our high streets and village centres in Westmorland has had a huge impact. The relationship with post offices is important. High street banks have saved abou…
Commons
Oral Questions
29 June 2026
Universal Credit: People in Employment
The University of Cumbria has shown that average hill farm incomes are less than the national minimum wage in our communities and beyond. Despite their poverty, farmers of all kinds and small businesses often cannot claim universal credit at all because of the way that universal credit is assessed o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
Transport Connectivity: Border Communities
The TriLink scheme, which connects north-west England with the south of Scotland and upgrades the west coast main line—the busiest railway line in western Europe—has been deferred by this Government and their predecessors for years. This very likely contributed to the near-fatal derailment at Shap j…
Commons
Proceedings
23 June 2026
Defence Spending and Readiness
The hon. Gentleman is right to hold the Government to account, because the plan is massively delayed. He is surely aware that all of us here, including those from my party, who spent time in government in the last few years, know that ever since the fall of the Berlin wall, we have been complacent a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2026
Thames Water
I start by associating myself closely with the Secretary of State’s remarks about Jo Cox. It was a privilege to serve alongside her in this place, and we still miss her deeply.
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for advance sight of the statement and for the helpful briefing that I received ea…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
The sluggish and unambitious delivery of the defence investment plan is not the only threat to our security. Given that we have Russian ships threatening our cables and such like, does the Minister agree that the fact that the United Kingdom is reliant on imports for 45% of its food supply is no lon…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
Topical Questions
How will the Minister stop developers using viability assessments to wriggle out of providing affordable homes for communities such as mine in Westmorland, where an agreement for 12 affordable houses to be delivered in Allithwaite near Grange-over Sands has been torn up and the council has no power …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 June 2026
Brain Cancer
It is an honour to serve under your guidance, Mrs Barker. In April 2025, my constituent Phil was diagnosed with aggressive, incurable glioblastoma. Due to the tumour’s location, surgery was not possible, and Phil was given a prognosis of just 12 to 18 months. As parents of two young children, Phil a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Men’s Mental Health Care: North-west England
The suicide rate among men in Cumbria is twice the national average. There are a whole range of reasons why that is so, but one of them is clearly bound up in isolation and rurality. Would the Minister be willing to meet me and the Farmer Network as we seek to deliver mental health answers for peopl…
Commons
Debate
1 June 2026
Health Bill
The Secretary of State mentions some achievements and the progress being made within the NHS. May I bring him back to the issue of cancer treatment? According to OECD figures, 53% of cancer patients should receive radiotherapy as their primary treatment. In the UK, the figure is only 35%. In Cumbria…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
19 May 2026
Topical Questions
T5. Kendal magistrates court was outrageously closed in 2017, on the promise that sittings would continue in other public buildings in Kendal, yet there has not been a single sitting in Kendal since 2020. Will the Justice Secretary put this right urgently, so that that promise can be kept and local …
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
19 May 2026
2 contributions
Reoffending
10. What steps he is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending.
I had the honour of taking part as a volunteer in a restorative justice programme at His Majesty’s Prison Haverigg in Cumbria a few years ago. Restorative justice gives victims the opportunity to share with offenders the real impact of their crimes and gives offenders the opportunity to take serious…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 May 2026
High Speed 2 Reset
I thank the Secretary of State for reeling off a list of depressing dates in the far future, leading all but the youngest of us to contemplate our mortality. What is also depressing is the serious lack of investment in rail infrastructure in the north-west north of Manchester; it is an ongoing issue…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Disabled People: Benefits Reassessments
It was a great joy to spend time last month in Kendal for the Disability Confident employer scheme. It is gaining more and more members in our community and is helping people with disabilities into work. Around 20% of working-age people live with a disability; many work, and many more wish to. What …
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Mountain Rescue
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell; I am sure you will give us guidance if and when the Divisions come again, but it is a pleasure either way. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) for leading this debate so eloquently and bringing this impor…
I very much agree with my hon. Friend, who makes excellent points on behalf of his own communities in Cornwall.
I will finish by saying that we have written to the Minister for Health Innovation and Safety, because the issue is to do with the Health and Social Care Act. We are pleased to see this M…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
As a result of this war, agricultural inflation is running at 7.6%—more than twice general inflation levels. Red diesel has doubled in price and fertiliser supply is under serious threat. Predictably, food prices are likely to rise, causing hardship for millions of people, partly because of Britain’…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Gulf Conflict
A huge proportion of the global fertiliser market works its way through the strait, which is obviously going to impact on food security and food prices in this country, but it could also cause devastating famines in many countries in Africa and Asia. Research from the University of Minnesota shows t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
In 1945, 300 Jewish children who had survived the Nazi death camps arrived in Windermere, where they received a welcome beyond their wildest dreams. In the years that followed, they fell in love with this country and contributed hugely, and they leave a legacy that we are deeply proud of. Yet today,…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
Best Start Family Hubs
I welcome the decision to have a Best Start family hub in Kendal West in my constituency, which is a very deprived part of our community. Kendal is the biggest town in our community, but it is only one of 95 parishes in my vast constituency, and many people who live in often quite poor neighbourhood…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
Strategic Defence Review: Funding
Nothing is more important to our national security than our nuclear deterrent, and we in Westmorland and Furness are not only massively proud to provide the home for the Trident submarine programme; we also recognise it is a grave responsibility, just as it is in the constituency of my neighbour the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
The Prime Minister rightly referred in his statement to defence security and energy security, but he made no reference to food security. That feels like a glaring omission, given the impact of the doubling of the price of red diesel for the farmers who produce our food. I wonder if he is even aware …
Commons
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Short-term Holiday Lets: Registration
Will the Minister look at closing the loophole that allows second-home owners—people who are well-off enough to afford more than one home—to dodge paying any council tax whatsoever by letting their property as a short-term let for up to 72 days per year? Not only do they pay no council tax, but beca…