Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
14 July 2026
2 contributions
NHS Accountability
9. What steps he is taking to improve accountability in the NHS.
Accountability in the NHS must run down to the patient as well as to Parliament. Local Healthwatch organisations provide an independent voice when services fall short. What safeguards will the Secretary of State put in place to ensure that, as their functions are moved to the integrated care board a…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. I find it remarkable that the Conservatives have raised this urgent question, given that under their watch, real-terms defence spending fell by 22% and their own former Defen…
Commons
Debate
15 June 2026
NHS Dentistry
I am proud to speak in this debate. I declare that I co-chair the all-parliamentary group on dentistry and oral health.
I have been working on this issue for the best part of a decade, raising it with Ministers in the previous Government, and I have to say that the scale of the challenge that this …
Commons
Committee Stage
14 April 2026
3 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill (Fourth sitting)
I rise to ask about two things. First, for clarification on what clause 2 is actually trying to do, because, like the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, and like the hon. Member for Reigate, I was very confused by it. I read it many times and read the explanatory note as well. …
I beg to move amendment 23, in clause 3, page 5, line 25, leave out “the condition” and insert
“one or more of the conditions”.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
14 April 2026
4 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill (Third sitting)
Before I turn to the substance of this clause, I want to begin by setting out the perspective from which I speak. Before entering Parliament, I worked as a prosecutor for more than 14 years. During that time, I dealt with a wide range of serious cases, including sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence…
The restriction on some cases not being tried in jury trials is because the Government feel that that will help to bring down the delay in court listing. I say to the Government that the problem is not the jury system, but the fact that other provisions need to be made sufficient. I am afraid that t…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
We now know that an agreement was about to be reached on uranium enrichment by Iran. However, Israel decided to bomb Iran, as did the USA, engaging in an illegal, immoral and dangerous war of choice. Even during the ceasefire, which included Lebanon, Israel continues to bomb south Lebanon and Beirut…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Middle East
I commend the Prime Minister for his decision not to get involved in this war of choice. While we are all distracted by Israel’s illegal bombing of Iran and Lebanon, Israel has also occupied the west bank and, in the month of Ramadan, closed Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the third holiest Muslim site. It…
Commons
Debate
10 March 2026
Courts and Tribunals Bill
I welcome much in this Bill, including the investment in legal aid, the additional sitting days and the funding for our courts. However, I want to focus my remarks on two proposals within it: the restriction of jury trials for either-way offences, and the removal of the automatic right of appeal fro…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 March 2026
Social Cohesion Action Plan
My constituents tell me about the increased level of hate crime against Muslims. I hear stories of women being abused or having their hijabs pulled off. That is a direct result not just of most of the coverage in our right-wing media, but of politicians in this place, some of whom have held the high…
Commons
Debate
5 March 2026
Commonwealth Troops: First World War
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) on securing this important debate.
It is important that we recognise the contribution of the Commonwealth troops in the first and the second world wars. When we remember the world wars, we rightly honour the bravery of British s…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as I chair the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, an organisation partially funded by the FCDO that works in more than 50 countries to strengthen democracy, Parliaments, political parties and civil society. This year m…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 March 2026
Engagements
On a point of order, Mr Speaker.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
We have heard this language before, with military intervention dressed up as necessity or as being done out of humanitarian concern: Libya, Iraq—the list goes on. All those interventions led to devastating consequences for the people who lived there: hundreds of thousands dead, infrastructure destro…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
21 January 2026
Engagements
Q11. After 14 years of Conservative austerity, councils are finally getting the support that they need to deliver for residents. In my constituency of Bolton South and Walkden, under the leadership of Councillor Nick Peel in Bolton and Mayor Paul Dennett in Salford, increased funding has been turned…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I place on record my appreciation of the Secretary of State for standing up to the richest man in the world. Whether it is standing up and acting, or the statement on online harm made weeks ago by the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley …
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Gaza and the West Bank: Humanitarian Situation
24. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure the continued delivery of aid in Gaza and the west bank.
Even during the ceasefire, Israel is blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza while pushing ahead with illegal settlements in the E1 area, which the UK Government have described as a
“flagrant breach of international law”.
Does the Foreign Secretary accept that, by these actions, Israel is essentially …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
14 January 2026
Engagements
Q13. I offer my condolences to the families of the four people who died in the road traffic accident that occurred over the weekend in my constituency. Families in Bolton South and Walkden are already benefiting from this Labour Government’s actions—free school meals, free breakfast clubs, 30 hours …
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
7 contributions
Airport Drop-off Charges
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of regulating airport drop-off charges.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I want to make the case for ending airport drop-off charges altogether, or at the very least introducing a free grace period, and fo…
I absolutely agree.
I want to discuss the realities in Bolton. There is a direct rail link from Bolton to Manchester airport; a typical journey time is about 36 to 45 minutes and, at off-peak times, a single ticket can be found for anywhere between £4 and £9. There is also a direct coach from Bolto…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
Fireworks (Noise Control etc)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the maximum noise levels of fireworks which may be sold to the public; to require that specified information about noise levels is included on labelling and in sales information for fireworks; to require the Secretary of …
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
2 contributions
Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. The European convention gives us the right not to be tortured, not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, to have a fair trial, to have privacy and to have freedom of expression. I ask all the people who are against it: what right…
On a point of order, Mr Mundell. The hon. Gentleman just mentioned that—
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
Fresh and Nutritious Food: Inequality of Access
My hon. Friend is rightly talking about access to proper food. In my constituency, FareShare helps to redistribute more than 325,000 meals a year to 11 local charities. That is a lifeline for families struggling to afford fresh food. Nationally, however, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of edible foo…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
2 contributions
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
The Prime Minister is being very generous in taking all our questions. I congratulate him on introducing this Bill, but can the duty of candour be applied fully to all investigations, including independent panels, and not just statutory inquiries? Does he agree that the command responsibility must r…
I am proud to support this important Bill and to pay tribute to the Hillsborough families, whose courage and determination have brought us to this moment. Their decades of struggle have changed our country and created a chance to ensure that no family ever again has to fight for truth alone. The Bil…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 November 2025
2 contributions
Video Games: Consumer Law
My hon. Friend is making a great speech. On amending the law, what is required is a simple amendment to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, to ensure that when a game requires online support, developers must allow the purchaser to continue receiving that support.
It is simply a matter of justice that if someone has paid for a product, either physical or digital, they should be able to use it for as long as they like. The fact that a company goes bust should not make any difference to that.
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 October 2025
Healthcare: Bolton
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour the Member for Bolton North East (Kirith Entwistle) for securing this important debate. As she said, our other hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) has a prior commitment, so he is no…