Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I welcome the steps to protect our children on social media platforms. It is very difficult to see how that can be achieved effectively without further detailed checks and balances on users and, essentially, the tech companies themselves. Social media governance is like the wild west; it is like cyb…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Palestine: International Humanitarian Law
9. What diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In July 2024, the ICJ ruled that the Israeli occupation and settlements were illegal, and must be ended and dismantled. Then, in September 2024, the UN General Assembly gave Israel 12 months to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories—a deadline that has now laps…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
NHS Staff
1. What steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of burnout of NHS staff.
Will the Minister join me in thanking the fantastic employees of Northumbria NHS foundation trust for their continued dedication and commitment, from the top surgeon to the ancillary workers? We know that the NHS is held together by their efforts, but that comes at a severe personal cost to many ind…
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
Poverty and Welfare Policies
I thank my hon. Friend for his powerful contribution with regard to poverty. What concerns me greatly is families sitting around a table on a cold night—as cold as it is today—and not being able to put the heating on or to feed themselves. They are not bothered whether it is abject poverty or whatev…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
The whole world is now asking, “Who’s next? Who’s on this list? Is it Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Greenland, Canada or Colombia?” The attack on Venezuela sparked a wave of regional instability, including in Colombia. The Colombian peace agreement is under threat, exacerbated by the rhetoric from President…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
Kashmir: Self-determination
My hon. Friend is making a powerful contribution. Could explain he explain what actions the UK Government could best make to assist the Kashmiri people to get self-determination?
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
3 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My hon. Friend has done a remarkable job with this Employment Rights Bill. However, it would be remiss of me not to ask her a question. The new deal for working people stipulated quite clearly that employment rights from day one were sacrosanct, then a manifesto pledge in 2024 said categorically to …
My hon. Friend was one of the authors of the new deal for working people, which insisted that the most critical part of this Employment Rights Bill would be employment rights from day one. Does my hon. Friend agree with me on that point?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
Child Poverty Strategy
It is obvious from their absence just how interested our Conservative friends are in eradicating child poverty. It is a moral duty of any Government to remove every single child from poverty. I say a massive thank you to the Secretary of State from the 3,000 bairns in my constituency who will benefi…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 December 2025
2 contributions
Engagements
Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 3 December.
The north-east is still picking up the pieces of the destruction and decimation of 14 years of Tory government. Men in the north-east of England still expect to live 10 years less than people in other parts of the country. Women in the north-east of England are making, on average, over £11,000 less …
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
I am listening to this debate and I am discombobulated—I really, really am. The shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew) spoke for 20 minutes, but he never mentioned why his party—and others—absolutely opposes withdrawing the two-child cap. In this country, we have kids su…
Madam Deputy Speaker, I would never dream of calling you a disgrace—you are far from that—but I was pointing at the two Gentlemen on the Opposition Front Bench, the right hon. Member for Daventry and the hon. Member for North Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller).
Getting back to the reality, why did the r…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 November 2025
3 contributions
Infrastructure: Cramlington and Killingworth
I appreciate the fact that my hon. Friend recognises that the situation on the Moor Farm roundabout has an impact on North Tyneside and south-east Northumberland, and right up to the Scottish Borders. We are all very much concerned about what is happening in that area because it is of the utmost imp…
My hon. Friend is making a powerful contribution regarding our area. One of the main issues for Blyth and Ashington is the £10 billion investment in a new data centre that will be just along the road from Moor Farm roundabout. The idea is to create tens of thousands of jobs in a cluster in and aroun…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
I agree with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary that this system is absolutely smashed to smithereens. It is smashed to smithereens because of 14 years of destruction from the Conservatives. Of course we all want to see the control of our borders. We want to stop the boats, and we want to see b…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Topical Questions
T3. The data centre in Cambois in my constituency has a £10 billion investment. Together with subsea interconnectors, for example, it looks as if my constituency is a plug-in centre for critical national infrastructure. With that in mind, can the Minister give me some advice on whether terrorism is …
Commons
Proceedings
12 November 2025
Independent Football Regulator
The Football Governance Act is an excellent Act which was driven through this place by the Tory Government, but at the very last minute, on Third Reading, they decided to oppose it. That was horrendous behaviour. It is worth wondering why that happened. On the appointment of Mr Kogan, it has been sa…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Access to Justice
6. What steps his Department is taking to help increase access to justice for people from all social backgrounds.
The Labour Government’s investment in legal aid and legal services is hugely welcome. However, expert analysis has shown categorically that young people from more deprived backgrounds find it extremely difficult to access justice. Many people from constituencies such as mine are very much unaware of…
Commons
Debate
5 November 2025
6 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
Some 73% of employers support giving employees protection from unfair dismissal—the day one rights—according to the Institute for Public Policy Research and TUC research, and 83% of managers agree that improved workers’ rights can and do positively impact on workplace productivity. Does my hon. Frie…
The shadow Secretary of State is showing how much he despises the trade union movement and ordinary working people— [Interruption.]
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
I thank the Government so much for bringing this much-needed, vital Bill to the House. It shows what a Labour Government can actually do, and how a Labour Government can effect change. It was really positive to hear the Prime Minister say this afternoon that there would be an absolute guarantee that…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
Engagements
Q8. The big four banks have been allowed to abandon our high streets, basically closing their branches with impunity. Between 1999 and 2025, my constituency alone lost banks in Guide Post, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Bedlington and Blyth. Meanwhile, those banks made more than £40 billion profit in the las…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 October 2025
Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay
Does my hon. Friend agree that kinship carers, people who adopt children and foster carers should be included in any review? We can give those people—the heroes of our communities—as much time off as we want, but they need some financial stability during that period, and the £4.99 that he mentioned …
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Trade Union Workplace Access
I hugely thank my hon. Friend for the work, effort and determination that he put into seeing the Employment Rights Bill through the Commons—absolutely outstanding work. On access to the workplace, does he agree that any individual who wants to speak to a trade union or union representative in the wo…
Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely essential that lawbreakers and bad employers are not allowed to price in any breaking of the law to the detriment of people in the workplace?
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Public-private Partnerships
12. What steps he is taking to ensure that frontline NHS services are supported following the potential introduction of new public-private partnership contracts.
May I begin by congratulating the Secretary of State on his actions in trying to repair our cherished NHS following 14 years of Tory destruction? We must learn from past mistakes. The private finance initiative was a huge, expensive mistake—an absolute disaster—with £80 billion repaid for an investm…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
It is great news that QTS is investing £10 billion in a state-of-the-art data centre in Cambois in my constituency, because artificial intelligence will undoubtedly shape the economy, society and workplaces for decades to come. It is also very exciting that the Government have announced that my cons…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
2 contributions
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation
6. If she will have discussions with the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation on its role in supporting coalmining communities.
The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation dates back to the 1920s. Its main function then and its main function now is to support the mining communities, but sadly many mining MPs are witnessing exactly the opposite. The chief executive officer’s rigid enforcement of decades-old covenants and do…
Commons
Debate
15 September 2025
3 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
I refer to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my support of the trade unions. On the thresholds, does my hon. Friend agree that those who choose to abstain should be counted as “no” votes?
You haven’t understood my point.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
Some 122,000 people have signed the petition, many of them from my constituency of Blyth and Ashington. I have met the teachers, the educators, the authorities, the parents and the schools. The default position, rather than assisting and supporting the individuals involved and the families who are i…