Commons
Westminster Hall
23 October 2025
Work of the County Court: Government Response
I thank the hon. Gentleman and his Select Committee for all they have done. I understand that the recommendations in the report are specific to England and Wales, but the issues, difficulties, problems and shortcomings the hon. Gentleman has referred to are the same in Northern Ireland. Ever mindful…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
Mental Health and Hoarding
I congratulate the hon. Lady for bringing forward this issue. She is a dear friend of mine, and I always look forward to her contributions to this Chamber and Westminster Hall. I often think of a TV programme on this subject. Perhaps I did not always understand the obsessive behaviour of hoarding, b…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
Devolution in Scotland
I commend the hon. Gentleman on including some positivity in his speech. Does he agree that we do not want my Gaelic brothers and cousins, the SNP Members who are sitting in front of me, to leave the Union? I want them to stay in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland foreve…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Renters’ Rights Bill
Will the Minister give way?
I welcome what the Minister has proposed. More and more of these issues have come to my attention in my constituency. Tenants then have to find alternative and affordable accommodation that is close to their work and close to their children’s education. I know this legislation applies to England and…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
I very much welcome the Secretary of State’s statement—her positive words are encouraging. This is an economic advantage for everyone, and I thank her for that. The fact that Heathrow’s numbers look set to surpass last year’s numbers, with 8 million passengers in August 2025 alone, demonstrates abun…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences
I am old enough to remember the Aberfan disaster, unfortunately—all the things that happened and the lives that were lost. Northern Ireland has some coal tips, primarily from historical operations at Ballycastle and Coalisland. They have not been active for some years, but does the hon. Lady agree t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Trade Union Workplace Access
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. I want to tell a short story very quickly, for the record. When as a 20-year-old I went to work for Henry Denny in Belfast, the guy says to me, “You have to be a member of the union.” I said, “I’m not so sure whether I want to be or not.” He said…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Korean War: 75th Commemoration
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I commend the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing this debate. I always come along to support him because his heart is always in the subject matter. Today he illustrated that incredibly…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Financial Inclusion
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this important debate. I am a firm advocate of local credit unions that provide access to affordable loans and help with learning how to save. Does he agree that financial inclusion must be available in small villages and towns through sound help and advice?…
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
Social Housing: South Cotswolds
I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate. I spoke to her beforehand to get an idea of what she would be referring to. We had a debate in Westminster Hall this morning on homelessness, and one point that came through very clearly was affordability. House prices can sometimes be over 1…
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
Sentencing Bill
What the right hon. Lady is putting forward is a very logical and sensible way forward, but I am conscious that young people in particular can do something wrong in life, and then return to the area that they came from. They are subject to peer pressure, and can be affected by all the things that ha…
Commons
Proceedings
21 October 2025
Rape Gangs: National Statutory Inquiry
I thank the Minister for her answers. I know her heart is in this to get justice, and I do not think that there is any doubt about that. However, it is difficult to hear the news that these victims, who have already been denigrated and treated as voiceless and worthless during their initial abuse, h…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Mandatory Digital ID
I congratulate the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) for securing this debate. There is no doubt that this is a contentious issue for many, but the position of me and my party is clear. It is one of opposition at every stage. The intention of these online IDs is blurry, and it i…
How will the Minister and the Government react to the united political opposition from both sides of the community in Northern Ireland, nationalist and Unionist, to the ID card? How can the Minister and the Government pursue something that is so unanimously opposed by everyone in Northern Ireland?
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Local Government Funding: North-west England
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward this debate. He is absolutely right to underline the importance of local government. I served as a local councillor for some 26 years before I came to Parliament, so I understand the importance of local government. He is outlining why Government need…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Ending Homelessness
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for setting the scene so well, and I wish the Minister well in her new role. I will ask her for one thing at the beginning. This morning I met representatives from Centrepoint, which loo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Co-operative Sector: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) for securing this debate. The hon. Gentleman is right that co-operatives are incredibly important, including in Northern Ireland. I will give some examples from my …
I absolutely agree. I spoke to the hon. Gentleman beforehand; I was fairly sure that he would come up with a Portaferry connection to the debate, because he has family connections down there. I am very pleased to see him doing so well. He had to leave Portaferry to come here and do well, but those w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Electricity Infrastructure: Rural Communities
The hon. Gentleman is right to mention resilience and modern technology. I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers Union. The National Farmers Union and the UFU have indicated that infrastructure needs to be upgraded to ensure that whenever storms come, there will not be loss of electr…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
2 contributions
A50/A500 Corridor
Will the hon. Member give way?
I congratulate the hon. Member on bringing this debate before the House. He is an assiduous Member, and he is doing extremely well in bringing forward his constituents’ issues. Does he agree that the Government must also look at the impact that long-term work will have on the motorists who rely on t…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Thank you for allowing me to speak on this issue once again, Ms Ghani. I will prefix my comments with this. It is always good to see the Ministers—the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) and the Minister for…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
I welcome the Secretary of State and thank her very much for her statement. I was saddened to hear of this decision and, more importantly, the message it sends to our Jewish community. This is a dire situation, and we must make use of UK policing services to find a way for this sports event to take …
Commons
Proceedings
20 October 2025
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
The Minister is striving incredibly hard to answer these questions; some would say—well, with respect, we will leave it at that.
The news of suspecting spying in Parliament is worrying —there is no that this poses a huge threat to this country and to us as MPs. Mr Speaker, we owe you a debt of grat…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Free Schools: Application Decisions
I thank the Minister very much for his answers, and I thank the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash) for setting the scene so very well. We in Northern Ireland are very keen to learn from the education system here. I believe that the Education Minister from the Northern Ireland Assembly—he is a col…
Commons
Debate
16 October 2025
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill and for her deep interest in this subject. We are all very impressed by what the Minister does and we thank her for it. Further to intervention of the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Stephen Gethins)—he and I both represent coastal communiti…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
Once again, I welcome the Leader of the House to his new role, which he is clearly enjoying very much. I wish him well.
On Wednesday past, I met a deputation from Chin state in Burma. I am deeply concerned about increased reports of junta military attacks on the majority Christian community in Chin…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Official Secrets Act Case: Witness Statements
Minister, what a baptism of fire. As an MP, I understand the beautiful picture that words can paint, but I also understand the damage of ugly words, and unfortunately, I see here the problems that playing with words is leading to. With great respect to the Minister, does he acknowledge that the play…