Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation
It is a particular pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Alec. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate. I have lived and worked in a coastal community throughout my life, so I can speak with some force about the challenges they face.
…
I was not aware of the situation of the two towns the hon. Gentleman mentions, but he highlights a key point. I have been campaigning for the last 15 years to reintroduce the direct train service from Grimsby and Cleethorpes to London King’s Cross. What Hull Trains has done for the north bank of the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 July 2026
NATO Summit
May I take the Foreign Secretary back to the reply she gave to the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh)? By including some other admittedly vital services, she managed to come to a figure of 4% spending on defence. The reality, as we know, is that …
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
3 contributions
Draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir John, for what I hope will be an interesting and constructive debate about the future of Gibraltar. I am delighted to be joined by the chair of the all-party parliame…
I can see the Minister nodding; no doubt he will confirm that later.
On our trip to the airport, the concerns about Spanish officials operating on the Rock were, to some extent, assuaged. I was delighted that we were able to receive reassurance from not just the Chief Minister but his senior offici…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 June 2026
NHS Breast Screening
Order. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to contribute—as they are doing. I will not impose a time limit at this stage. If you stick to about five minutes each, we should accommodate everyone.
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
North Sea Oil and Gas
The hon. Gentleman is making a compelling case for the domestic industry. Does he agree that, in this troubled period of world history, our refining capacity in the UK should also be maintained? As he will know, Lindsey oil refinery in my constituency was recently closed, although some operations co…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Fly-tipping: Residential Areas
The hon. Member—my Member of Parliament—is being very generous in giving way. Her comment about the community is very relevant. To give one example, there was an action day in Immingham only two or three weeks ago, which involved not only local authority councillors but, in our case, Lincolnshire Ho…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 May 2026
High Speed 2 Reset
Having chaired the all-party parliamentary group on rail for the last nine or 10 years, I have seen a procession of Ministers and officials come along and give reassurances such as those we have heard from the Secretary of State today. It is hard to believe that her successors will not come to the H…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
Yesterday I held a meeting with representatives from Hydrogen UK, a number of whose members have projects planned for my constituency. They expressed concern about the delay in the publication of the Government’s hydrogen strategy. The delay is costing these companies many thousands of pounds and ma…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
Business of the House
Last Friday, along with the leader of North Lincolnshire council, I visited the carers support centre in Brigg, and met the staff and volunteers who do such an excellent job. I also heard from individual carers about the challenges they face, one of which, incidentally, is the complexity of the Gove…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
16 April 2026
Archbishop of Canterbury
Many rural areas are served by clergy who are responsible for multiple parishes. Will the hon. Lady urge the archbishop to focus on providing more priests for rural parishes?
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
My constituents share the same hospital trust as those of my right hon. Friend the Member for Goole and Pocklington (David Davis), who raised a number of issues earlier. I certainly share his concerns and criticisms. It is important to my constituents to be reassured that, despite the failings of se…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
Following on from the reference to Lincolnshire by the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), I warn the Government that this will come back to bite them. It is over 50 years since northern Lincolnshire was put into County Humberside, and it is stil…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Passenger Rail Services
Further to the pleading of my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) about the train service—[Hon. Members: “On your knees!”] That makes two of us pleading with Ministers for that service, and I know that the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) would…
Commons
Debate
19 March 2026
UK Steel Strategy
Hundreds of my constituents work at the Scunthorpe steelworks, and hundreds more are reliant on the supply chain. They want certainty about their future. Will the Secretary of State give a clear indication of how long he anticipates the existing blast furnaces will be in operation? If the Government…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
For workers at Lindsey oil refinery in my constituency, the clock is ticking towards the end of this month, when they will receive their final redundancy notice. We had a useful meeting with the Energy Minister on site a couple of weeks ago, but I am sure that the workers would appreciate an update …
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
19 March 2026
2 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill
9. Whether the Attorney General has advised the Lord Chancellor on the potential impact of the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the rule of law.
Notwithstanding what the Solicitor General just said, she must recognise that there is growing resentment and lack of confidence not just among the general public but within the legal profession. How does she expect to maintain confidence in the judicial process against such widespread opposition?
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
Freedom of Religion or Belief in China
Between 2017 and 2020, my daughter worked as a teacher in Shanghai. We visited her at Easter 2018, and I recall walking past the Catholic cathedral while the service was taking place on Easter morning, and it was overflowing. Later in the day, I attended a service at the church that my daughter went…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I congratulate the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing this important debate. He referred to most of Lincolnshire in his opening remarks, but I represent the bit of Leicestershire that is not, in official government terms, part of th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
In addition to the business that the Leader of the House has announced, I can advise Members that on Thursday 26 March, there will be debates in the Chamber on transport accessibility for disabled people, and on support for Gurkha veterans. In Westminster Hall next week, there will be a number of de…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Topical Questions
Since part of Grimsby falls in my constituency, I join my Member of Parliament, the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), in celebrating Great Grimsby Day. I recently attended a meeting with the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) and a group of potential investors…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
My constituents who have lodged complaints with the local Royal Mail are receiving messages that say:
“We’re sorry to advise that deliveries in parts of the DN31-DN37 postcodes are being disrupted due to resourcing issues at the Grimsby Delivery Office.”
Will the Minister give an assurance that, i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
3 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
Order. I remind hon. Members to bob, as indeed they are doing, if they wish to be called.
May I remind the hon. Gentleman that we do not refer to other Members by name, but by their constituency?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
I agree with the Chancellor that de-escalation is desirable, but this conflict is likely to go on for many months. She talks about reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, which I agree with, but businesses are operating in the here and now, and they want reassurance. Forget the 500 businesses that wi…
Commons
Debate
5 March 2026
Palliative Care
I congratulate the hon. Lady on the work that she has done on this issue. Two hospices serve my constituency—Lindsey Lodge in Scunthorpe, and St Andrew’s in Grimsby—and the percentage of funding that they get through the NHS, as opposed to from charity, varies dramatically. Does she agree that, at v…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Energy Markets
Representing the constituency of Brigg and Immingham as I do, I recognise that the renewable energy sector is attracting investment and jobs into the area. However, I have thousands of people who work in energy-intensive industries, and their jobs are increasingly at risk. As with everything, compro…