Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
11 February 2026
Defence Industrial Strategy 2025
Yesterday I met two apprentices who were engaged in firms delivering defence contracts in Northern Ireland and were enthusiastic about the skills and their prospects, but Northern Ireland benefits minimally from defence contracts across the United Kingdom. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Topical Questions
Last week the Government pushed through the imposition of the emissions trading scheme on domestic shipping. That will have a huge impact on Northern Ireland, because so many goods are brought into Northern Ireland from GB, or sent there, on ferries. What assessment has the Minister made of the impa…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
Of course we need a commissioner who has the power and ability to expose corruption and deal with it, but today’s statement was not required. We already knew that the Prime Minister made a bad judgment. What the public want to know is how he will be held to account for the things that he knew but ig…
Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
3 contributions
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment
I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The question was asked at the start of this debate, “Whose side are we on?” Let me make something very clear: I am on the side of the people who suffered one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks on 7 October 2…
Hamas would disagree with the hon. Member, because Hamas boasted that the killing of civilians would help to increase the resistance and put some fire into it. Before accusations are made against Israel, let us look at the record of Hamas on putting civilians in harm’s way, and basing their rockets …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Unusually, the Minister has resorted to bluster today, accusing those of us who are opposed to the treaty of being “irresponsible” and “toying with” the security of the country. Does he not accept that it is the Government who are toying with the security of this country by ignoring the views of the…
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
5 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
The figures given by the Secretary of State bear out the right hon. Gentleman’s argument. Of the 200 additional civil cases, 120 are directed towards the Ministry of Defence. Does that not bear out his point that this will be a one-sided outcome and a one-sided operation?
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Warm Homes Plan
Despite the fact that the plan will not apply to Northern Ireland, I welcome the aspect that applies to rented accommodation. Could the Secretary of State confirm whether there will be a Barnett consequential for Northern Ireland? Does he recognise that, even with this plan, there will still be an u…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
This is a sad day for the United Kingdom. The Government have not been prepared to stand up for the interests of the United Kingdom. Indeed, they seem to be willing to surrender when any challenge is made to its interests.
Let us look at some of the arguments that the Minister has made against the …
It is not just a question of ensuring that the 24-nautical-mile exclusion zone prevents spying and everything else; the area would still be left environmentally damaged, and there would still be a threat to the military base.
Thirdly, the Government have refused even to consider the Lords amendment…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
19 January 2026
Local Elections: Cancellation
People in Northern Ireland on a day-to-day basis know well how casually the democratic process can be set aside, not just by this Government but by the previous Government, who gave the EU permission to impose its laws on the people of Northern Ireland without any say at all. Now the people of Engla…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
Whether it is retail, hospitality or pubs, businesses right across the United Kingdom, especially small businesses, are failing. That is due in no small part to action by the Government—increased taxes, increased energy prices and increased regulation. Rates play a big part in that, too. Can the Min…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Iran
I welcome the fact that—rather belatedly, two weeks later—the Government have made a statement to the House about the situation in Iran, giving particular attention and praise to the women who have, at great personal sacrifice, led the opposition to the regime, which directs its ire at women in part…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
7 contributions
Northern Ireland Political Institutions: Reform
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. We have had a catalogue of reasons why there need to be changes to the arrangements for government in Northern Ireland. We have had collapses, difficulty in getting a three-year budget, the fallout and the use of veto powers by the parties.
…
Well, it was collapsed by the parties that were in power at that stage, because they had the ability to keep it running—but they did not. It collapsed again when the distribution of seats changed. It collapsed for a number of reasons, but the important thing is that those arrangements were put in pl…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
5 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
rose—
The Minister is putting on a brave face because a manifesto commitment has been broken. People are going to pay more in income tax despite the promises that were made. Does he recognise that, for many people, this is not money to renew public services, but money squandered on giving compensation to …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
The Secretary of State is right that no one should shed any tears at the end of Maduro’s rule. Does it surprise her that Sinn Féin, first of all, defended the fraudulent election as being electorally robust, and then attended the President’s inauguration event in order to show what it said was “soli…
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Armed Forces Recruitment and Retention
The Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner has said that this legislation will mean that those who serve in the armed forces are treated worse than terrorists. Former commanders have said that it will affect recruitment and retention and leave soldiers in fear of legal action. Does the Minister not …
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
I wish you and the staff of the House a happy new year, Mr Speaker.
Regardless of the reason for the change in policy—whether it is simply fear of the electoral consequences of breaking election and manifesto promises to farmers, or a belated recognition of the importance of the farming industry to…
Commons
Proceedings
9 December 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Kenova
The report makes quite clear the extent of IRA brutality and murder in Northern Ireland, including murders within their own republican community. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that the First Minister of Northern Ireland can no longer remain ambiguous in relation to, first, her acknowledg…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Low-income Households
Low-income families have been hit by being dragged into tax bands that they were not in before and by energy costs, and now the chief executive of Aldi has said that unless the Chancellor reviews her raid on farm inheritance tax, rising food prices will hit those families as well. If she will not li…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 December 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts
The Government have had a lucky break with the coincidence of the OBR’s confession and report on its leak of the Budget details, which has given the Minister an opportunity to use the shame of the OBR to deflect from the real criticism that should lie with the Chancellor, who, weeks before, was usin…
Commons
Debate
26 November 2025
3 contributions
Budget Resolutions
May I, on behalf of the whole nation, thank the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement over the last few weeks? I do not know what she hoped to gain by that—she may have hoped to make it more palatable—but I am afraid that the leaks have not made it any more attractive today than when they ca…
Some of that redistributive impact is the result of taxes being taken off people who are on modest incomes for welfare increases. This is a figure that the Chancellor has quoted in the House time and again: one in seven under-25s is now fully reliant on benefits and is not in work. Where is that mon…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
COP30
Does the Secretary of State not see the irony of 53,000 people—about 400 from each of the participating countries—flying to Brazil and landing on airfields cut out of the tropical forest to discuss, of all things, the reduction of CO 2 emissions in the atmosphere? Of course, they reached the conclus…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
G20 and Ukraine
Many of the Ukrainian refugees in my constituency have welcomed the continuity between the last Government and the current Government in respect of their support for Ukraine. President Zelensky is under great pressure from some within the American Administration to accept an unreasonable deal. Will …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 November 2025
Critical Minerals Strategy
Anyone listening to this statement should be fearful for the future of energy production in this country. On the one hand, we have a Government who are totally committed to net zero, the elements of which will require huge inputs of critical minerals. On the other hand, the Minister tells us that by…
Commons
Proceedings
24 November 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Confidence in the police is very important, and the Jewish community have every justification for not being confident in the police—whether it is some of the policing we have seen here in London or in the west midlands. Given that the reports in The Sunday Times seem to contradict totally what the p…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
ExxonMobil: Mossmorran
The Minister says that he and the Government have no bias against the people of Scotland, but they certainly have not done very well out of this Government—1,000 jobs being lost a month in the North sea, and now today’s announcement. He attributes it all to a commercial decision. That commercial dec…