Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
Topical Questions
Migrants who come here to work in our national health service and in other crucial sectors are tremendously welcome and should be encouraged, but I have seen surprising cases in Chesterfield because of the number of familial applications that have accompanied the arrival of a single worker. Is it th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 July 2026
State of Climate and Nature
I welcome the Government’s statement. My hon. Friend the Minister is right to say that climate change drives nature loss and nature loss drives climate change—we must tackle them hand in hand. I met this week with Moors for the Future, who spoke about peatland and the importance of working with land…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
Topical Questions
The biggest cause of river pollution is agricultural run-off. Will the Secretary of State ensure that, through the sustainable farming measures, she is prioritising farms that are taking action on agricultural run-off? Will she confirm that in the clean water Bill the issue of agricultural run-off w…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Large-scale Solar Farms
My right hon. Friend took office shortly after the fiasco of the contracts for difference auction under the previous Government, which did not get a single megawatt of new energy proposed. Since then, we have had tremendous success in boosting the amount of renewable energy, and this country is maki…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 July 2026
Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re
The 500 households in Chesterfield that were flooded during Storm Babet, almost all of which were in council tax bands A and B, will welcome the Government’s intention to make sure that this scheme remains sustainable. It is important to remember that flood victims are just that— victims. They are n…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
29 June 2026
Topical Questions
T7. Support for young people wanting access to the world of work has never been more crucial, but the success of youth hubs will depend on their ability to connect with, be useful to and understand the needs of employers. What steps will the youth hubs take to ensure that they are communicating with…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 June 2026
Farming Road Map and Profitability Review
First, I echo the Secretary of State’s thanks to Baroness Batters for this excellent report. She is also right to observe that Reform MPs have not bothered to turn up for this statement. She might also note that no Green MPs have bothered to turn up. They used to be interested in the environment, bu…
Commons
Debate
24 June 2026
Taxation (Energy and Vehicles)
I do not intend to detain the House for long. I welcome the motion to increase the electricity generator levy, which—alongside the Government’s plans to encourage participation at a competitive price in long-term fixed contracts for low-carbon generators—will weaken the link between electricity and …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2026
Thames Water
Thames Water customers are paying the price for the incompetent regulation that allowed Macquarie to saddle the company with eye-watering debts at the same time as its environmental performance was so disgraceful. That debt ultimately led to shareholders writing the equity value down to zero. Those …
Commons
Debate
9 June 2026
Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill
I am interested in what the hon. Member has had to say on amendment 6. She spoke specifically with regard to steel making. Has she also had representations about the impact of these tariffs on UK manufacturers who make things out of steel, as well as on steel stockholders? Is it her intention throug…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Water Companies
My hon. Friend the Minister is absolutely right to say that we are united by our anger about the systemic failures in the water industry, in terms of both financial and environmental regulation, and the under-investment in infrastructure over a long period—although the fact that Welsh Water, a not-f…
Commons
Debate
19 May 2026
2 contributions
Energy Security
The shadow Secretary of State said that for energy independence we need our own oil and gas, rather than investing in renewables. She will know that her Government paid £44 billion to subsidise our energy during the time of the Ukraine price spike. Will she tell us by how much our bills were reduced…
rose—
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 May 2026
High Speed 2 Reset
My Chesterfield constituents at one time hoped that they might be beneficiaries of HS2. That feels like many years ago. I share the Secretary of State’s fury about the incompetence that has got us to this stage. We would not have supported a programme like this, had we known that the line would go o…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 April 2026
6 contributions
Synthetic Chemicals
I am very pleased to present the Environmental Audit Committee’s ninth report of this Parliament, on addressing the risks from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals. The inquiry was launched last year, at a time when the acronym PFAS might have been familiar …
I absolutely believe that the Government need to be ambitious on this issue. We welcome the fact that we now have a PFAS plan, which we did not have previously, and we want to be right behind the Minister in ensuring that DEFRA is as ambitious as it can be. Water companies contributed to our inquiry…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Topical Questions
T6. I welcome what my right hon. Friends have been doing on public procurement. On car hire services, it is expected that around 20% of fleet industry vehicles will be electric, but less than 1% of Government purchases have been for electric vehicle hire. I know that the Government take this issue s…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Will the Minister give way?
The shadow Secretary of State has been speaking a bit tonight about parental choice. That is, until this amendment, where she does not believe parents are able to decide what their children should do. In fact, she believes that she is far better placed, as are many Members in the House of Lords who …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Energy Markets
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to expose the utter folly of responding to the situation that faces us by saying, “We need to stop with renewables and invest more in oil and gas.” It would be utter madness to learn that lesson. When we had the huge price spike as a result of Russia’s invasi…
Commons
Debate
3 March 2026
6 contributions
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
I very much welcome the leadership that the Government are taking on this important industry. How much sustainable aviation fuel does my hon. Friend anticipate that the UK will be able to provide, and after his amendments have gone through, is it still likely that we will depend on imports of sustai…
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way; I wish him a happy birthday. I am interested in what he has to say. I think the Government have to be given some credit for bringing forward this signal that pushes the industry, in terms of both support for it to produce here in the UK and th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 March 2026
Spring Forecast
My right hon. Friend will hear a lot from politicians today—although it appears not from Reform Members, because they have all gone—but does she agree that the most important people to listen to are not those making the sound and fury in this room but those who lend money to the Government? They bel…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
25 February 2026
Engagements
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 February 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
If the shadow Secretary of State is going to call for the Secretary of State to resign, he should make sure that he has more than four people sat behind him; that would make him seem more credible.
I appreciate what the Secretary of State is saying about the importance of elections and how rarely t…
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing the extra funding, but even with that there will never be enough money to go round. Does she agree that getting decisions made by experts closer to our children in their communities will not only improve services, but ensure that we use those precious …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Engagements
Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 11 February.
I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks.
The Prime Minister’s commitment to 1.5 million more homes will require 48,000 new entrants to the construction industry every year. In Chesterfield we are doing our bit: our construction skills hub brought 70 new entrants into the construction s…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
I warmly welcome the Bill, whose introduction last year involved a happy coincidence in fulfilling one of the Government’s commitments and satisfying one of the Committee’s recommendations at the same time. This landmark legislation will lay the groundwork for protecting the marine environment and t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
2 February 2026
2 contributions
Ukraine
2. What steps he is taking to support Ukraine.
The Defence Secretary is absolutely right to spell out the strength of our commitment but there is increasing concern about the extent to which China is propping up both the economic and military capabilities of Mr Putin and his barbaric regime, so can the Secretary of State tell me what his latest …