Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 November 2025
Business of the House
This week, the Birmingham bin strike escalated further. Now, even the agency workers who have been keeping a minimal service going have voted to join the strike from 1 December. I have raised this issue with the Leader of the House before, and was promised a statement, but the situation has got wors…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
2 contributions
Transport Infrastructure Upgrades
1. What steps she is taking to ensure that major transport infrastructure upgrades are delivered effectively.
The Secretary of State has recognised the value of the midlands rail hub and the investment that was needed there; it will create much needed capacity through central Birmingham. Given that, does she agree that now is exactly the moment to look at options such as the Sutton Park line, to enable the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 November 2025
15 contributions
Land Use Change: Food Security
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the impact of land use change on food security.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I am grateful for the chance to raise this issue, which goes to the heart of our national interest. When I submitted my bid for the debate, lit…
That is exactly the point. Many farming families—often the hill farmers, in particular, but the arable farmers too—struggle. The last couple of years have been really difficult for many farmers. If they have one bad year, it is very hard for them to recover the next year. They are working against so…
+13 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
17 November 2025
Illegal Waste: Organised Crime
The number of fly-tipping incidents per day is 3,157. That is equivalent to one every 27 seconds. We see fly-tipping all too often in the west midlands. In my constituency, despite the council’s great efforts to rid us of the scourge of piles of mattresses and fridges, what we see is absolutely shoc…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Budget: Press Briefings
Leaks, unauthorised briefing and speculation—or maybe not speculation—are creating instability, chaos, volatility and uncertainty for the markets, for businesses and for households in my constituency, so why will the Minister not answer the shadow Chancellor’s question about having an inquiry into w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
4 contributions
House Building: London
My hon. Friend is painting a really bleak picture for London. Does he agree that to build the homes that we need in this country, we should focus not only on increased density in our city centres, but crucially on brownfield sites? We are not seeing from the Government a determined brownfield-first …
The key thing is that until the Government recognise that they need to put some support into brownfield regeneration, our green belt and our green spaces will always be under threat.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Supporting High Streets
Does my hon. Friend agree that we have a Government who simply do not understand business? They seem to think that they can just squeeze and squeeze small businesses because they make unlimited profits. If they do that, there will be no businesses left on our high streets.
The hon. Lady talks a lot about footfall on high streets, and I think we all agree that more footfall benefits businesses. With that in mind, what consideration has she given to regenerating our towns and city centres by building on brownfield sites and setting proper housing targets in our city cen…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Employer National Insurance Contributions: Business Impact
6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer national insurance contributions on businesses.
I am not convinced that that answer went anywhere near my question. Family businesses are the lifeblood of communities and constituencies such as mine. Last week, I met Family Business UK to discuss how the Government’s national insurance hike and restrictions to business property relief are forcing…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent
We are seeing more and more HMOs across Walsall borough and in my constituency, and it is leaving my local residents feeling that they have very little say on what is happening in their streets. Walsall council has worked on this. I welcome its new article 4 direction, which came into effect in Octo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Official Development Assistance Reductions
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing this timely debate. I also welcome the Minister to her place on the Front Bench; I think this is the first time we have met across the Dispatch Box in Westminster Hal…
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention; I was just going to come on to the point that I believe answers his question.
Our development partnerships must adapt to the changing geopolitical landscape that we face today. That is at the heart of this issue. The minilateral model, where…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
It would not be business questions if I did not raise a certain topic, but I have let the newly appointed Leader of the House settle into his role before I raise the issue of Aldridge train station. In 2021, the Conservative mayor committed £30 million to build a new station in Aldridge and we were …
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Sudan: Protection of Civilians
If I may, I will start by thanking the Minister for his update on Hurricane Melissa. On behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition, I add my thoughts and solidarity for all those affected at this time.
I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question and to the right hon. Member …
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Asylum Seekers: MOD Housing
My constituents are increasingly concerned about the rising number of houses in multiple occupation. Can the Minister assure me that any overflow from these bases will not lead to an increased reliance on HMOs in our towns and cities, including Walsall, and may I ask what further powers the Governme…
Commons
Debate
28 October 2025
2 contributions
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Does my right hon. Friend agree that, even in such a short period of time, this Government are showing that it is they who cannot be trusted with the economy and the future of this country? Is it not time they woke up to the reality?
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury indicated that if there was a plan to fund the proposal, he would back it. The shadow Chancellor has clearly set out that we do have a plan to fund it, so will the Chief Secretary back it?
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
28 October 2025
Ukraine
Russia’s war in Ukraine is fuelled by oil export revenues sustained by third-country refineries in India, Turkey and China. They process and re-export Russian crude as refined products, often to sanctioned states. These countries are fuelling Putin’s war chest. Last month, President Trump called on …
Commons
Debate
27 October 2025
Prisoner Release Checks
Kebatu’s accidental release is beyond belief; it is a national embarrassment. But what I have found really disturbing has been sitting here on the Back Benches watching the Justice Secretary laugh at some of the responses. I find that wholly unpalatable and am left wondering what the victims must be…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
The Birmingham bin strike has now cost taxpayers £14 million. Residents have had no recycling collection since last Christmas, and the city has lost £4 million in income due to no garden waste collection. The strike is doing irrevocable damage to the reputation of the west midlands, including my con…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 October 2025
Engagements
Q2. My constituents have so many questions they would like to ask the Prime Minister, but I will settle for one today: can the Prime Minister define when grey belt is really grey?
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Korean War: 75th Commemoration
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I welcome the Minister to his new position. This is the first time we have—I will not say sparred, because it is not the sort of debate for that—worked together since we served as Whips a number of years ago.
Let me begin by congratulatin…
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
Sentencing Bill
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for making that point, because many of us will have examples in our constituencies of families who have been tragically affected by knife crime. Some go on to do amazing work to educate young people, but at the same time it is important that where a sentence has…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Electricity Infrastructure: Rural Communities
We have a similar issue in the west midlands, although it is not entirely a rural area. On the edge of Birmingham in my constituency, battery energy storage systems are being imposed upon local communities. What was green belt is now being defined as grey belt. Local communities feel that they get a…
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
20 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
I beg to move amendment 1, page 1, line 7, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
“(1A) The Treaty and sections 2 to 4 of this Act do not come into force until the duties outlined in section [The additional period and right to extend: duty to publish legal advice and risk assessments] are discharged.…
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Chairman, and to speak to the amendments that stand in my name and in the names of other right hon. and hon. Members, as we open this Committee of the whole House to debate Labour’s Chagos surrender Bill.
It has been more than a year since the surrend…
+18 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
As things stand, the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans reflects so badly on Birmingham, the west midlands and our country, and at a time when football can often bring people and communities together. Will the Secretary of State assure us that she will do all she can to ensure that any reviews un…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
Nineteen thousand: that is the number of homes that this Labour Government want to impose on the Walsall borough. In Aldridge-Brownhills, not only are we fighting to protect our precious green spaces and our green belt, but we now find ourselves threatened by this term, and new regulation, “grey bel…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 October 2025
Ada Lovelace Day
The Ada Lovelace event held earlier this week in Parliament was an excellent way of highlighting for many of us the importance of women in manufacturing and STEM, but Ada Lovelace was clearly a visionary. Does the hon. Lady agree that we need to keep that visionary sense at the heart of all we do wh…