Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
Last Thursday the Minister for Energy visited my constituency, which was much appreciated, to discuss the fall-out from Lindsey oil refinery going into administration, and how we boost the local economy following the number of redundancies that will occur. As business leaders keep pointing out to me…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
The Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), is no longer in his place, but can I put on the record my support for the words of caution that he expressed earlier? Can I turn the Prime Minister’s attention to oil supplies? It is not just about the risk…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Last Friday, a doctor came to my surgery and produced a letter that he and around 100 other doctors and consultants from the hospital in Grimsby had sent to the then interim chair. They were concerned about a rundown of services at Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals and a further concentration on …
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
The chemical industry sector is particularly important to the local economy in my northern Lincolnshire constituency, the wider Humber region and, as the Leader of the House will appreciate, in the north-east. The Chemical Industries Association recently produced a report showing that in the last qu…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
Further to the exchanges about radiotherapy, I understand that the national figure for access to radiotherapy is 53%, which itself does not seem particularly high. However, the figure for my Brigg and Immingham constituency, which falls in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, is only 35%. Could the …
Commons
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Business of the House
Hundreds of my constituents work at the Scunthorpe steelworks, which, as the Leader of the House will know, is under Chinese ownership. When the Prime Minister reported back earlier this week, I asked him whether he had engaged in related negotiations during his visit to China. It is disappointing t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Could I return the Secretary of State to the issue of jury trials? I have received an email from a constituent who is a practising barrister, who points to the issues, which have already been mentioned, of poor prisoner transport, the cap on sitting days and the condition of many courtrooms. Could t…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
In an earlier answer, the Prime Minister mentioned Scunthorpe steelworks, where hundreds of my constituents are employed. We welcome the Government’s support to date. Was he able to discuss Jingye’s ownership with his Chinese opposite number, and can he give any positive assurances to my constituent…
Commons
Debate
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Holocaust Memorial Day
It is a pleasure to take part in this debate once again. There have been some profound, passionate, emotional and informative contributions, as is so often the case when we put our political exchanges to one side. As Members have mentioned, this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme is, “Bridging Gene…
I entirely agree with my right hon. Friend.
Srebrenica is located in Republika Srpska, a semi-autonomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by Serbs as part of the Dayton peace agreement. Many perpetrators are still at large, and genocide denial is widespread among some groups of Bosnian S…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
29 January 2026
Topical Questions
I return again to the steel industry, and thank the steel Minister for the meeting we held a few weeks ago. I was contacted by a couple of employers in Scunthorpe last week who expressed concern about recent reports of publicly funded contracts using foreign-produced steel. Could the Minister give a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
The Humberside force that polices my Brigg and Immingham constituency covers four local authorities and two separate mayoral authorities. Exactly what proportion of police funding is likely to come from the police precept, and how will it be divided up?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
Having served as both a district and a unitary councillor, I actually support the Government’s move towards unitary authorities. My Brigg and Immingham constituency is served by two unitary authorities—North Lincolnshire council and North East Lincolnshire council—both of which want to continue as t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
North East Lincolnshire council has just received a planning application for 3,500 homes in the strategic gap between Laceby in my constituency and the west of Grimsby. When developments are proposed, the developer usually says that it will provide a new school and doctors surgery and so on, but tha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Business of the House
Yesterday, Open Doors held its annual event here in Westminster and published its world watch list. Thanks to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) in particular, we have often had debates about religious persecution, but can the Leader of the House find time for a debate in Government time i…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
7 contributions
Oil Refining Sector
It is a pleasure to take part in this Adjournment debate, and I thank Mr Speaker for granting it. As I advised the Speaker’s Office and with the Minister’s agreement, the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) will take a few minutes of my time. To some extent, the points I will…
I thank my right hon. Friend the Father of the House, who makes an important point and strengthens the argument I was trying to make. We are exporting skilled jobs, and the Government seem to find that acceptable. The Minister has previously stated that the market would adjust as, indeed, it has, bu…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 January 2026
Northern Powerhouse Rail
Sadly, we have heard all this before. I admit that some of the last Government’s ambitious proposals have not come to fruition, but the Labour Government are now finding that it is easy to criticise. I do not recall that the criticism coming from Labour Members when we were in power was, “Don’t worr…
Commons
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Business of the House
The village of East Halton in my constituency is partly cut off at the moment because of a sinking road. Natural England is refusing permission for the local authority to move in and carry out the work because of badgers in the area. This is causing complete chaos, and tractors and heavy goods vehic…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Rail Fares
While keeping fares down is welcome, as is simplification, the Secretary of State will be aware that London North Eastern Railway introduced what it called a simplified system a few months ago, which has actually resulted in a number of increases, and that is causing considerable concern to my const…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
Energy Jobs: Yorkshire and the Humber
Sadly, it is not job creation that faces many of my constituents, particularly those who work at the Lindsey oil refinery. The Secretary of State knows that Axiom and others submitted bids that would have continued production at the refinery. Instead, we now have a deal with Phillips 66 that transfe…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
The Minister’s statement referenced a presumption in favour of sustainable development on certain brownfield sites. Will applications for those developments still have to undertake a traffic and environmental impact assessment? If, for example, the highway network were found to be inadequate, would …
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
Business of the House
Last Saturday morning, the manager and assistant manager of a local care home came to my surgery out of concern for an elderly resident—they gave up their own time to do so. She was bedbound and could not get dental attention for a serious abscess, and she was in great pain. She could not get to the…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Oil Refining Sector
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the future of the oil refining sector.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Western. I am pleased that this debate has attracted considerable support, particularly from north of the border, and that today The Times had a timely editorial on thi…
The hon. Member makes an important point: it is the case that such decisions are not solely commercial; the Government must consider, more widely, energy security and the impact on the economy.
In preparation for this debate, I received representations from various interested parties that are depen…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Railways Bill
I speak in my capacity as a constituency Member and also as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on rail, which submitted a response to the Secretary of State on the changes she is bringing forward.
Will the proposals deliver improved rail freight and passenger services in my constituency …
I thank the Father of the House for that intervention. LNER operates five or six services to Lincoln, and it would be easy to extend those services the extra 30-odd miles to Grimsby and Cleethorpes. There is also the possibility of an open-access operator. Indeed, Grand Central Rail has made another…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
Medal for Wounded Service Personnel
I will call David Baines to move the motion, and will then call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may only make a speech with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate. As is the convention in 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member i…