Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for leading the debate. She has done it again: she has brought an excellent debate to Westminster Hall. Whenever she speaks, she always draws a crowd, so well done to her—we can see the n…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
2 contributions
World Book Day
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) for setting the scene incredibly well. It is a real pleasure to have her back in a very constructive role; I thank her for her work on the Education Committee. Her speech …
Six.
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
I commend the hon. Lady—a champion by name and a champion by conviction. We are very pleased to see her in her place, and we thank her very much for what she does.
I sometimes think there are opportunities for partnerships. For instance, churches in my constituency have very active partnerships in …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
I thank the Minister very much for his answers. Nobody in this House doubts his commitment to finding answers to ensure that the truth is out and justice is done—I thank him for that; everybody respects it. I highlighted when my constituents raised surveillance by the Chinese Communist party in my c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Healthcare in Rural Areas
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I want to give a special thank you to the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) for securing today’s debate on this matter. It is important that I am here, as a representative of a vastly rural constituency, to highlight the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Energy Security and Net Zero: Scotland
I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this debate forward; she is absolutely right to do so. The devolved institutions’ contribution to net zero targets are important, and I am pleased to hear of Scotland’s success. I look forward to the Minister’s response.
Northern Ireland shares the commitment to…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Economic Growth
I thank the Minister for her answer. She and I know that when it comes to economic growth in Wales, or indeed in Northern Ireland, Scotland or England, we are better together. We are also better together historically and culturally. My Gaelic cousins on the Benches in front of me are my friends—I wa…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
3 contributions
NATO and the High Arctic
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, as always, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for leading the debate in such a helpful way. He set the scene, the focus and the strategy, and he asked questions that I was going to ask—great minds think alike. He has a …
That is the focus we need to have. Climate change is affecting the world. We might find ourselves in a slightly different geographical position in a short time. The right hon. Lady has illustrated that to our advantage.
The Greenland-Iceland-UK gap remains vital for monitoring submarine activity. I…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Work Capability Assessment Timescales
I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. To add my support from a personal point of view, in my office I have a lady who looks after nothing else but benefits. She has told me that there are major issues regarding reassessment waiting times for those who are up for review. The official inte…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
NHS Capital Spending
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) for setting the scene incredibly well. Of course, I want to give a Northern Ireland perspective, but I want to put forward two areas where possible savings could be mad…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
3 contributions
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
I thank the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) for securing this debate. Some 12% of species are threatened with extinction in the countryside we live in, as he underlined very clearly. The 50% loss of biodiversity since the ’70s is a serious problem. I want to give an exampl…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
Funeral Premises: Environmental Health Inspections
I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. I always try to be helpful by talking about what we do in Northern Ireland. Issues around funeral service premises are sensitive and people must be treated with care when they are dealing with the death of loved ones. In Northern Ireland, funeral…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Small Charity Sector
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for leading the debate. We should do more to ensure the long-term sustainability of the charity sector.
I declare an interest as chair of the all-party p…
The Minister is right to recognise the importance of volunteers, and we all recognise that—we meet them every day of our lives—but charities also employ people and pay their wages, so there is an economic advantage to having them as well. Does she recognise that?
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
North Middlesex Hospital Accident and Emergency Services: Cancer Patients
I commend the hon. Lady on securing the debate. She is right to illustrate this important issue at her local hospital, which is replicated wherever we might be the United Kingdom. Indeed, people back home are waiting 12 hours for admission or discharge. Those who attend A&E should be treated wit…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
3 contributions
Community Cohesion
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison, and to have the opportunity to be here. I thank the hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for allowing us to discuss the important issue of community. I may be giving the hon. Gentleman a big head, but may I say what a joy he brings in…
My hon. Friend and colleague has summed that up incredibly well. That is exactly how I feel about where we are, and the community that we are trying to build for our children and grandchildren. I have six grandchildren, and I want to build a future for them—I want to build a future for every grandch…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
Small Religious Organisations: Safeguarding
First, I commend the hon. Gentleman on bringing forward this debate. He spoke on this issue some time ago, and made a very good case. I support him in the case that he is putting forward, and I want to give him an illustration. A 2013 report by the Northern Ireland Assembly revealed that small, unaf…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
The UN’s definition of an adult is somebody who is 18 years of age. Restrictions on social media are being introduced to ensure that those aged 16 and above will be protected. I genuinely and sincerely ask the Minister, when it comes to reducing the voting age to 16, have the Government considered t…
Will the Secretary of State give way?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. Ayatollah Khamenei and his regime have denied religious minorities their freedom of religious belief for years—Christians, Sunnis, Shia’s and Baha’is. They killed 30,000 protesters in January 2026. Girls are abused and victimised regularly. Today the aya…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Power to Cancel Local Elections
Will the right hon. Member give way?
Honourable would be enough for me. Does the right hon. Member agree that the elections are not just bureaucratic processes? They are how communities hold leaders to account, set local priorities and influence decisions that affect their everyday lives. If anybody tries to stop an election, it will b…
Commons
Debate
26 February 2026
St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
I commend the hon. Lady on securing this debate; she is right to praise St David’s day, and everyone is here for that purpose. While we can be Welsh, Northern Irish, Scottish or English, what brings us together is this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and our Gaelic cousin…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
I first of all thank the Chair of the Committee for the report. Sport is always a method of bringing people together, but on this occasion it failed miserably as a result of the conduct of certain police elements that distorted the occasion of a Maccabi Tel Aviv football match. What did the Committe…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Gibraltar Treaty
I thank the Minister for his statement and for his strong words. I am reminded of a wee saying that my mother used to use when I was young: once bitten, twice shy. With that in mind, I must ask the Minister a question. As a nation, Northern Ireland finds itself a slave to European diktats, with our …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
During the recess last week, I had the opportunity to visit Iraq as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, and I wish to take this opportunity to again raise the continuing plight of Yazidi families. More than a decade after the atrocities committ…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
26 February 2026
Church Attendance: Christmas 2025
I thank the hon. Lady for her response. Trends seem to indicate that among the young people of Generation Z, attendance at churches is growing, which is good news. We all know that the greatest story ever told is the birth of the Lord Jesus on 25 December, and the fact that he was crucified and died…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
Short-term Lets
I thank the Minister very much for her answer. Indeed, I am always impressed with her answers. Those that she has given us this morning are equal to what she always gives to me and others in this House.—[Hon. Members: “Ah!”]
Back home in Northern Ireland, we have the same problem with short-term le…