Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
2 contributions
Police Officer Numbers
13. What estimate her Department has made of the number of police officers in September (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
The Minister has confirmed that under this Government the number of police officers has fallen. It is now proposed that in Essex they will become part of a regional force that will be more remote and less accountable to the people that they serve. How does that increase public confidence in policing…
Commons
Debate
15 June 2026
3 contributions
Royal Albert Hall Bill [Lords]: Revival
I am pleased to support the revival motion before the House today. It is about 11 months since I moved Second Reading of the Bill last year. At that stage, it had already completed its passage through the House of Lords, and it was given a Second Reading without opposition. It then went into the Com…
I will make a couple of points to my hon. Friend. As I have said, I not only served as a trustee, but sat on what is called the conflicts committee. The conflicts committee has a majority of independent members—not of seat holders—and it is there to ensure that any decisions taken are done properly.…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Russian Shadow Fleet
I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on his appointment and welcome the action in the channel. He will be aware that last night saw one of the biggest attacks yet on civilian buildings and people in Kyiv, and included damage to the historic cathedral there. He will also be aware that dual-use tec…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Digital Safety: Children
While I welcome the Government’s belated intention to act in this area, does the Minister agree that there would be no need to wait for legislation if the social media companies actually started to enforce their existing age requirements for participating online? Many children under the age of 13 ar…
Commons
Proceedings
4 June 2026
2 contributions
Russian Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on the recent deliberate attacks by Russia on civilian infrastructure, including residential apartment buildings and other non-military targets.
I thank the Minister for her reply. She will be aware that on Tuesday night, one of the largest aerial attacks so far during this war took place against Kyiv and other cities. It left 22 dead, including two children, and 130 injured. In Dnipro, there was the use of cluster munitions and, indeed, a s…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Industry
12. What steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality industry.
Despite what the Minister says, hospitality businesses in my constituency, and the constituencies of my hon. Friends, are reeling from the impact of higher energy costs, and increased national insurance contributions and business rates. These businesses are making it clear that if there are any furt…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
3 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
This morning’s Foreign Affairs Committee session lasted for two-and-a-half hours. It was certainly one of the more remarkable sessions that I have attended, and I have been involved in a number of quite controversial Select Committee hearings over the years. It showed the Select Committee system at …
I completely agree with the hon. Lady. It is somehow being suggested by Labour Members that this was about people advising the Prime Minister—I think one speaker earlier said that the Prime Minister had been persuaded to appoint Peter Mandelson. Well, I worked for a Prime Minister, and she coined a …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
The result of the Prime Minister’s terrible failure of judgment is that for over a year this country’s interests were represented in the United States by someone that our own security services deemed to be a security risk. Will he assure us that an investigation will take place into all aspects wher…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
Topical Questions
T7. My constituents in Maldon have, for more than 30 years, been promised a new health hub in the town to replace St Peter’s hospital, a building that is over 150 years old. In the first round of new neighbourhood health centres, the integrated care board put forward the case for Maldon, but it wa…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
How does the Minister expect local authorities in Essex to be ready for elections for unitaries in a year’s time, while at the same time undertaking local government reorganisation, creating a new Greater Essex integrated care board for the NHS, dealing with unprecedented demand for social care, and…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 March 2026
International Development
I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s decision that the UK will once again co-chair the global Media Freedom Coalition, but will she match that with financial support for independent media organisations and journalists in the growing number of countries where media freedom is under attack and …
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
3 contributions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
I am very grateful for the opportunity to debate the future spending of the Foreign Office. The Foreign Affairs Committee, which I sit on, shares the concern expressed by the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) about the impact of the settlement, which will result in significant reductions in…
The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. He is right about the importance of the work, which is not always fully visible, including in established countries—I have a particular knowledge of and interest in the Baltic nations, which are on the frontline against Russia. Latvia especially has a Russian m…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
On Saturday, Prime Minister Carney said:
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.”
Why was our Prime Minister not able to make the same statement? Was Prime Ministe…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister may be aware that at the end of this week the UK takes on the chair of the global Media Freedom Coalition—a partnership of 51 countries pledged to protect journalists and the freedom of the press. How could the UK have any credibility in that role, given the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
May I tell the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, in relation to his previous answer, that the Foreign Affairs Committee repeatedly asked for Lord Mandelson to appear, but he refused to come, and that what the Committee did hear, from the permanent under-secretary, was that Lord Mandelson would …
Commons
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
In December, I asked the Prime Minister to make it clear that his visit to Beijing could go ahead only if Jimmy Lai was released. He responded:
“It is important that we continue to engage, so that we can raise this issue”. —[ Official Report , 17 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 910.]
That clearly achi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
The league table of NHS trusts shows that the percentage of patients starting treatment for cancer within 62 days in Mid and South Essex is 21%, which puts it bottom of 121 trusts. Can the Minister say what additional help will be given to the Mid and South Essex NHS trust to recruit the additional …
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
8 contributions
Lord Mandelson
We have heard some very powerful speeches in this debate. It is a credit to this House that we are discussing this issue and the appalling behaviour of Jeffrey Epstein in a way that is not happening in Washington. However, what we have heard in the last few days has been truly shocking. There have b…
That was made absolutely clear right from the start. Indeed, the permanent under-secretary described this as a political appointment, which was made on the direct instruction of the Prime Minister.
I want to go through the three stages. The first stage was the conflicts of interest form. As the Cha…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Iran
Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee were told by the Iranian ambassador that 80% of the deaths were the responsibility of ISIS-style terrorists. Will the Minister continue to give every support to journalists, human rights activists, and all those who are seeking to uncover the evidence to demo…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
The Prime Minister will be aware that some 80% of the sanctioned dual-use items that Russia needs for the drones and missiles it is firing at civilians and children on a daily basis come from China. He says that he raised that matter. Did he get any assurance that China will stop supplying Russia?
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 January 2026
3 contributions
Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I start by congratulating the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), who has been tireless in raising the issue of our support for Ukraine. I was delighted to hear from him that the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshi…
I am listening with great interest to my right hon. Friend’s speech. He will remember Operation Orbital, during which the UK provided training and supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces in anticipation of the attack that then followed.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I welcome the Secretary of State’s confirmation that elections in Essex are going ahead; indeed, they should have taken place a year ago. However, he will be aware that elections have also been proposed for new unitary authorities next year, although we in Essex do not even know what the unitary aut…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
21 January 2026
Draft Non-Domestic Rating (Chargeable Amounts) (England) Regulations 2026
I do not want to repeat the excellent points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, but I have listened carefully to the Minister and I have to say that essentially, this measure is a sticking-plaster over a gaping wound. It is of course the case that specific relief wa…
Commons
Debate
19 January 2026
Local Elections: Cancellation
A year ago, Ministers told council leaders in Essex that it was necessary to postpone elections in order to facilitate reorganisation to “the most ambitious timetable”. A year later, there has been absolutely no progress and we do not even know how many authorities are proposed. Was it not wrong to …
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
As well as pubs, hotels and restaurants, is the Minister aware that many grassroots music venues, some of which have never been liable for rates, now face demands for thousands of pounds? The Music Venue Trust has said that these are not bills but “closure notices”. Will he ensure that grassroots mu…