Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
May I commend my right and learned hon. Friend for his resolute stand? It cannot have been easy to stand up to the President and not get dragged into this war, which has no apparent plan for its end. We made that mistake in 2003, and the result was disastrous. The President of the United States has …
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
I commend my right hon. Friend for grasping this nettle—it is long overdue. However, she will know, as we all know through our casework, that diagnosis leads to a delay in getting an EHCP and a delay in parents being able to advocate on behalf of their children. If fewer children will get EHCPs in t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 February 2026
Local Power Plan
I am really excited by this announcement, because I am the chair of trustees of the Samuel Montagu youth club in my constituency, which has a roof that would benefit enormously from solar panels, which could generate income and make us more sustainable at a time when local government funding is dryi…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
Lord Mandelson
There is clearly concern about Government amendment (a)—that it does not go far enough to enable scrutiny of those documents that might be withheld. Across the House, there is a growing consensus that the Intelligence and Security Committee could provide a way forward for the independent scrutiny of…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
The key question here is: who advised the Prime Minister? I do not expect the Prime Minister to do due diligence on appointments of this kind himself, but those around him must have done so. It appears that questions that needed to be asked of Lord Mandelson were not asked, or, if they were asked, t…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
Does the Prime Minister recall that during the time of Brexit negotiations, the Tories told us that we had more to gain outside of the EU than inside it and that, within days of Brexit, we would be signing trade deals with the US and China that would be bigger than the trade deals that existed with …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
I welcome the delay to the Bill. Too often Governments soldier on even when they are not getting things right, and that leads to bad legislation. This is something that we should get right before we send it to the other place.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) said, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
If this was truly a debate about the security of the Arctic, we would be talking about more than the sovereignty of Greenland, which is clearly a matter for the Danes and the people of Greenland. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that our collective interests and security are best served by working c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
6 contributions
Less Survivable Cancers
I am told that the Minister is on her way, but we will proceed because so many people want to speak. I remind Members to bob if they intend to make a speech, to give me a fighting chance of working out how long each Member will have to speak. It looks like Back Benchers will have an average of three…
Is that the Minister calling?
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
My hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) has mentioned the threats to Colombia. The Foreign Secretary correctly said that we are the United Nations penholder for the peace accord achieved in 2016, after protracted negotiations between warring factions. The accord is heavily bas…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
I agree with my hon. Friend that the housing crisis has become an emergency, but can I ask for detail on an issue that I have raised with him in the House before? He said that it is a default yes for suitable proposals for the development of land around rail stations. He knows that I have a number o…
Commons
Proceedings
3 December 2025
OBR: Resignation of Chair
Over my years here, I have seen many Budgets. Members on the Government Benches wave their Order Papers on the day, then watch as the Budget unravels over the next 48 hours, but we do not seem to have had any of that with this Budget. It has been extraordinarily tight in what it seeks to achieve— [ …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Criminal Court Reform
I understand that my right hon. Friend has inherited a disastrous situation in the criminal justice system. A huge backlog was left by the austerity of the Conservatives, so I have no truck with them. However, does he fear, as I do, that restricting trial by jury will put a certain class of people i…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 November 2025
Critical Minerals Strategy
I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement, but he will be aware of the widespread concern about the impact of the deep-sea mining of critical minerals, which devastates an ecosystem that we know very little about. I acknowledge that he may not have the answer now, but will he undertake to write to me to …
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
I can recall a predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary describing the Home Office as not being fit for purpose. I have never known a time when there was not a backlog of cases with the Home Office. This set of proposals will require people’s cases to be reviewed every 30 months. Is th…
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for giving way. He is talking about local pressures for housing delivery and the brownfield-first approach. As he will know, a number of sports grounds in my constituency are increasingly subject to interest from would-be developers. Can he …
Commons
Proceedings
12 November 2025
Independent Football Regulator
When Tracey Crouch was appointed to lead the review of football governance, there was no opposition from Labour Members or the fans to the idea that a Conservative was going to lead that review; there was co-operation right across this House. When it was expedient for them, the Conservatives support…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
This legislation is long overdue. Looking back at the scandals where the state has deceived the people, some of which go back to the aftermath of the second world war, we see a long list of how the great British state has let down the people it is there to serve. In all these scandals involving the …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 October 2025
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I welcome the statement from my right hon. Friend. This issue has its origins back in the 1940s, and it has been going on for an extraordinarily long time. The state has not been responding to or providing information to the people it should have been there to serve. We find ourselves in a situation…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
3 contributions
Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease
I remind Members to bob in their places if they intend to speak.
Right, that gives me a better idea. We will bring in the Front Benchers at 10.28 am, so that gives an idea of how much time there is for the six or seven Members who wish to speak.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
Topical Questions
I draw Ministers’ attention to the Prostate Cancer Research report published last week. It busts the myth that a screening programme for prostate cancer would cost the NHS too much money. It would focus on the people most at risk—in other words, black men over the age of 45, and those who, like me, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
3 contributions
Ending Homelessness
Order. There is a lot of interest in this debate. If a Member is intending to speak, please stand so that we have a chance to make sure everyone can make a contribution.
Order. A lot of the people who are standing did not provide their names to the Chair. I am sorry, but I will have to impose a two-minute limit if I am going to get everybody in and bring in the Front Benchers at 10.28 am.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Middle East
Can I say to the Leader of the Opposition that not every statement in this House is an opportunity for political knockabout? This is one of those occasions that required a statesperson.
There are reports that militia groups are seeking to gain control of certain areas in Gaza. What can be done to m…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 October 2025
Child Risk Disclosure Scheme
I will call the hon. Member to move the motion and then I will call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, a…