Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
Topical Questions
Last month the former Defence Secretary said that he believed he was misled by his own Department while he was Defence Secretary. Former Scotland Secretary Baroness Liddell, who sat on the Philip review panel, said that she was misled. Given that, surely the Secretary of State must support the Chino…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Court Transcripts
13. What steps he is taking to make all court transcripts free for victims.
I am particularly keen that this matter is progressed at speed, because the fees for victims who want to get their transcripts are eye-watering. My constituent is a victim of domestic violence and her barrister needs transcripts of her hearing in the family court now to appeal against procedural irr…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
18 June 2026
Education and Engagement Outreach Team
I have to say, I am dismayed by the fact that there will not be humans in contact with young people. From my experience, I know that young people are really engaged when somebody turns up in their place, particularly in their school. At a time when we are trying to reduce the screen time of young pe…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
2 contributions
Access to Music and Dance Training
2. What steps she is taking to help ensure that children from less privileged backgrounds can access music and dance training.
I thank the Secretary of State for her response. Wells Cathedral school is in my constituency, and it has 80 young people who are on the music and dance scheme. It is a fantastic scheme, and I pay tribute to the outgoing headteacher, Alastair Tighe, who has done his very best to ensure that the sche…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 June 2026
Courts and Tribunals Bill
I too voted for the minority report, mainly because I am particularly concerned that the Government are going much further than the Leveson report. On judge-only trials, if magistrates’ sentencing powers are increased to 24 months, it is not impossible that cases with sentences of up to two and a ha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Russian Shadow Fleet
I welcome the Defence Secretary to his position and thank him for his statement. Sanctions are ineffective unless they are fully enforced, and I join the Lib Dem spokesperson, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary), in pointing out that we cannot allow loopholes to undermine our sanct…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
9 June 2026
Draft Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment etc.) Order 2026
It is a pleasure to serve with you as Chair, Sir John. The Liberal Democrats support the implementation of the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction agreement, and welcome the draft order, which enables the United Kingdom to meet its international obligations under the global oceans treaty. We h…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Draft REACH (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026
The Liberal Democrats support the principle of reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and avoiding costly duplication for businesses in the UK REACH regime. We recognise the challenges that businesses face in complying with post-Brexit chemicals regulations, and we understand the need to develop a more pr…
Indeed I was.
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
1 June 2026
Topical Questions
I wonder whether the Minister could tell me the date on which the very first documents relating to the Chinook air disaster were closed and why it is that Ministers seem to have absolutely no oversight, responsibility or accountability over when decisions are made to close documents to the public.
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Small Businesses: Rural Areas
7. What steps his Department is taking to support small and microbusinesses in rural areas.
My constituent Jason runs The Cider Barn in the village of Draycott just outside Cheddar, a fantastic local venue that hosts live music and serves, unsurprisingly, really good local cider and ales. Jason was rocked by this year’s massive increase in business rates, which have jumped from £100 a mont…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
19 May 2026
Topical Questions
I represent a very rural area, and people have to drive many miles to get to a court. With fuel prices currently so high, why are ordinary citizens reimbursed for jury service at the rate of only 31.4p per mile for travel by car, yet the standard HMRC approved rate is 45p per mile? It does not cover…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
19 May 2026
Delegated Legislation Committee
I want to be really clear: the Liberal Democrats support the statutory instruments, but we wonder why it has taken so many years for them to come forward. Why has it taken two years of this Government for the statutory instruments to reach Parliament? Given that the substances were added between Mar…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 May 2026
National Security
I thank the Minister for his statement. He has confirmed the roll-out of new training for police officers and staff to increase their understanding of state threats. Will that training be mandatory for officers in all police forces and all police roles, including police community support officers an…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 April 2026
Engagements
The Prime Minister may be aware that in December, for the first time in over three decades, Defence Ministers met the families of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre. The Ministry of Defence promised “ongoing dialogue” with them. Is he also aware that, despite receiving…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
Business of the House
The residents of Cheddar suffer the weekend misery of thoughtless, antisocial drivers who come from across the country to meet in Cheddar Gorge. Not all the drivers are careless, but I have been contacted by well over 100 residents, many of whom fear for their lives as a result of often dangerous dr…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
5 contributions
Regulation of the Marmalade Market
At the end of October 2013, I led a debate on the regulation of jam, which caused a bit of a stir. It rightly warned of the end of the British breakfast as we know it. Thirteen years later, I have returned to discuss marmalade.
Last July, a lady called Vivien Lloyd, who inspired the debate about ja…
I partially agree with the hon. Gentleman, although if we were part of the EU, we might find ourselves in the position of being able to influence that a little more. He is right to recognise that our jams, spreads and marmalades have a distinctive characteristic. Indeed, they are one of our largest …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
My constituent Michael is autistic and actively psychotic, and he has a confirmed lack of capacity. His parents have power of attorney. His chronic medical problems include cysts deep in his chest that could burst at any time, bowel disease, myopathy and sleep apnoea. His family contacts me with inc…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 March 2026
International Development
I am proud to have been part of the 2010-15 Government, when Michael Moore and others took us to 0.7% spending for aid. I think my Labour-voting constituents will be utterly stunned to hear the contents of the Foreign Secretary’s statement today. I do not understand the disconnect between this Gover…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
My constituent, an indomitable lady in her eighties, was seriously assaulted at home last year, and her assailant was jailed. He was given a sentence, and the court granted an exclusion order covering the whole area around her home, where he committed the offence. Over a month ago, he was released e…
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Student Loans
Would the Minister consider doing something about the cost of accommodation in university towns and cities? Where I come from in north Somerset there is no university, and at the moment people do not really have the option to go anywhere except a city, which is incredibly expensive. Would she give s…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Foreign National Prisoners: Sentences
3. What discussions he has had with his counterparts in countries to which foreign national prisoners will be returned on ensuring that prisoners serve the full term of a sentence handed down by the UK courts.
I am not sure that that really answers my question. Let me set out the details of what I am asking about.
One of my constituents was murdered by a foreign national, which robbed her mother of her daughter and her mother’s grandsons of their much-loved mother. Her mother is very distressed to discov…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
GP Contract
Serious concerns have been raised about GPs being offered incentives to prescribe particular branded drugs. We cannot have a situation where prescribing decisions are made to balance the books; they should be made on a purely clinical basis, as I am sure the Minister agrees. With many GP practices s…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address
It has been revealed that Peter Mandelson was given top-level briefings before his vetting was finalised. Who did that, and who will hold those people to account? Will the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister write to me if he is not able to answer that question now?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
I am seriously concerned about the lack of progress on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. I served on the Committee in November, and the issue was urgent then. Will the Leader of the House write to me to explain why the Government have not adopted the common-sense and victim-centred amendment …