Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
While I associate myself with the wider security concerns, will the Minister forgive me if I raise a narrow point? He knows what I am going to ask, because I have asked this twice already and not had an answer. The correspondence between the Government and the Chinese reveals that the medieval monas…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
19 January 2026
A-level and T-level Enrolments
The Minister rightly paints an optimistic picture of more people enrolling for A-levels and T-levels, which is wonderful for our young people, but I have noticed in recent days that some politicians keep talking down Britain and saying it is a broken country. That is simply not true. Education, for …
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Oil Refining Sector
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and neighbour for introducing the debate. Of course, as local Members of Parliament, we must be primarily concerned with our constituents who have worked at the refinery. Is it not the point, which he powerfully makes—we have just had a debate on Ukraine—that in an in…
We have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) that there are bidders, and they think that their bid is credible. I think we are entitled to tell the Government that we do not want asset-stripping here. This is not just about the local community; we are talking…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Ukraine
Madam Deputy Speaker, I know that you want us to keep our comments fairly brief, so to save time, let me say that I associate myself completely with what was said by the Minister, the Opposition spokespeople and the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in support of Ukraine. Ukraine’s fight is our…
I agree with that entirely. I am not sure that this will ever happen. I am not sure there will ever be a ceasefire. I think Putin is determined to carry on for another four years and another 30 miles. However, as the national Parliament, and given the size of our Army and the resources that we have,…
Commons
Debate
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
My hon. Friend and I both represent large, rural constituencies. Could Members across the House think creatively about how we are going to save the great British rural pub? That could be by giving special credence to those who sell draught beer, rather than selling it in supermarkets, or through nat…
The hon. Lady is giving a very good speech. I hope, as the Liberal Democrat spokesman, she will say just a tiny bit more about rural pubs. I think a lot of urban Members do not understand the context. Where I live here in Westminster, it takes me one minute to walk to my local—one minute. Where I li…
Commons
Proceedings
13 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
This is the national Parliament and it deserves answers. I have already asked this question to the Minister for Security, the hon. Member for Barnsley North (Dan Jarvis), and I got no answer at all. It may seem to be a subsidiary point, but it is important. On 14 January 2025, the Secretary of State…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
4 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
rose —
Will the Minister give way?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
12 January 2026
Private Rent Inflation
We all know that rent inflation, like all inflation, is caused by over-demand and lack of supply, and we can agree on the need to address problems by building more houses and tackling immigration, but does the Minister agree that the more controls and regulations are imposed on landlords, particular…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 January 2026
6 contributions
Call for General Election
“You lot”? Not me, thank you very much.
I will not impose a time limit, but Members can see that quite a lot of people want to speak, so I am sure they will be considerate to colleagues and will focus on the petition.
Order. The hon. Member must withdraw that comment.
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Rural Communities
My right hon. Friend is quite rightly talking about what really matters in the countryside, namely the family farm tax. Does it say much about the priorities of this Government that they think it is really important to waste Parliament’s time by banning people from getting on a horse and chasing aft…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
At the end of the Foreign Secretary’s statement, I am no wiser on whether the Government approve this action, or on whether they believe that it breaks international law. The Prime Minister is such a devotee of international law that he is not prepared to defend our borders from the small boats, and…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Migrants: Safe and Legal Routes
Of course we are all proud of our historic record in welcoming genuine political refugees who apply in the proper way, but I am sure that the Home Secretary would agree that this humane policy is being entirely negated by illegal boat crossings, which are driving people mad and putting people at ris…
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
A lot of very complex legal arguments have been alluded to today, but I think what concerns the public—and what concerns me—is the state of mind of our veterans, some of them quite elderly, who sought only to serve their country decades ago. The Secretary of State is a very moderate, clever and reas…
Commons
Debate
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I am intervening on the hon. Gentleman because we both represent rural constituencies—he in Wales and me in Lincolnshire. Our constituencies are very different in their rural aspect, but both are affected equally badly by the family farm tax. Many of my farms may be larger than his, but their income…
My hon. Friend was brought up in a notable local farming family in my constituency, and the reason why the House is listening to him is that he has been bred into farming and knows about farming. Would he like to say what, from his own family’s experience, this means for farmers in Lincolnshire? Som…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Electoral Resilience
I am curious to know in what respect our existing laws were insufficient to deal with this appalling case. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the best way to reassure the public on electoral resilience is never again to delay local council or mayoral elections?
Commons
Proceedings
16 December 2025
Chagossians: Trust Fund and Resettlement
The Chagossians have been treated appallingly by successive Governments—we all accept that. To me, it is unconscionable that, for the first time since the first world war, a colonial people is being transferred from one colonial power to another 1,000 miles away with no control. I think there should…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
2 contributions
Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill
Will the Minister give way?
Believe it or not, more than 30 years ago I was a Minister for fashion and regional policy. These things go round in a circle, and I warn the Minister —with some experience of this—that many companies were caught in a sort of Catch-22: if they were too successful, the Department of Trade and Industr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
15 December 2025
Defence Spending: Economic Growth
I congratulate the Secretary of State on his efforts so far, but our efforts are still puny compared with those made when there was last a major threat, in the 1930s. In 1933, we spent just 2.2% of GDP on defence. Remember George Lansbury, the leader of the Labour party, who wanted to abolish the RA…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 December 2025
National Plan to End Homelessness
I welcome this statement. We do need a massive house building programme, but I suspect the Government are going to have to strip away many more delays and controls if they are going to have any chance of meeting their own target. Does the Minister understand that there is a real lack of confidence i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 December 2025
6 contributions
Oil Refining Sector
I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for securing this timely debate about Lindsey oil refinery, which employed many of my constituents. The closure is a disaster for our Greater Lincolnshire area. It is, I believe, a direct result of …
I give way to the hon. Gentleman, who is the son of a very distinguished councillor in my constituency.
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
Railways Bill
A direct train to London on this line is vital. Grimsby and Cleethorpes form a huge conurbation—probably much the biggest conurbation in the country not to be served by a direct train to London. We have been campaigning for this for so long, and I call on the Minister to just get moving with it. We …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 December 2025
Grooming Gangs: Independent Inquiry
The Home Secretary knows that I admire her personally. She is a devout Muslim lady, and I share many of her values. I think she is uniquely well placed to comment on this, explain and give us confidence. What is it about these Muslim men that meant that they felt that they could behave in this way, …
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Pensioner Poverty
I am very grateful to the Minister to be in receipt of the triple lock, but it is not an effective way of tackling pensioner poverty and it is bankrupting the country. I am sorry not to be party political, but can we not have a consensus between the parties that we should phase out the triple lock, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
5 contributions
Digital ID
Order. As you may have noticed, there are huge numbers of Members trying to speak. I will have to impose a three-minute speech limit. We will try and get everybody in, but the more interventions there are, the more people simply will not get in. Perhaps you could all bear that in mind, please.
Order. The mover of the debate must make progress.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
4 December 2025
War in Ukraine
Western societies are visibly divided over how to respond to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and those divisions play directly into Vladimir Putin’s strategic aims. Putin’s method has always been to widen fractures within democracies, and to exploit hesitation among allies.
At one pole of the…