Commons
Statutory Instrument
3 December 2025
Draft Infected Blood Compensation Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025
I rise to speak in support of these regulations, as we set out when the Paymaster General made his statement at the end of October. There are, of course, many things on which we disagree, but this is not one of them. The Opposition will not be confecting differences purely for political benefit when…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 December 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts
As the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will know, the “Ministerial Code” requires Ministers to be
“as open as possible with Parliament and the public”.
Exactly when did the Chief Secretary learn that the Chancellor did not face the shortfall that the Treasury was briefing to the press?
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
The Leader of the House will know from his own teaching experience that challenges faced by schools do not respect administrative boundaries. Dudley and Staffordshire schools in my constituency get hundreds of pounds less per pupil than the same pupils would attract if they went to neighbouring scho…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 November 2025
Domestic Abuse: Children
It is a privilege to speak on behalf of the Opposition in this debate on such an important issue, and I join others in congratulating the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) on securing it.
This is an area in which Parliament must work with clarity, evidence and determination. The stake…
Commons
Debate
26 November 2025
6 contributions
Budget Resolutions
The number of jobs lost in hospitality since last year’s Budget, just over a year ago, exceeds 110,000 as a result of the Chancellor’s choices.
This Budget underlines the cost of a Labour Government who are making bad choices that are hurting working people. Once again, the Government talk about growth, but it is clear that the biggest growth that will come from the Budget is in people’s tax bills. This is a Budget that takes £12 billion fr…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
24 November 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Does the Minister agree that the information that came to light over the weekend seems to suggest that a very worrying bias has entered the decision-making process, and that this has cast a stain on Birmingham’s reputation as a welcoming city as well as raising serious questions about the senior lea…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
19 November 2025
Engagements
Q13. Everyone who cares about media independence and freedom will be relieved that RedBird has recognised that it cannot run The Telegraph , but there are serious concerns that it will burden the paper with unsustainable debt if the title is sold for less than half a billion pounds. Will the Prime…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
19 November 2025
Businesses with Supply Chains in Great Britain
Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol says that where we experience diversion of trade, we may take unilateral action. The Secretary of State will be well aware that three reports in the past month have noticed significant trade diversion affecting trade between Great Britain and Northern Irel…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Legal Immigration: Statutory Annual Cap
12. What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory annual cap on levels of legal immigration.
Does the Minister not recognise that an important step towards significantly reducing net migration would be to make it clear to all those working in his Department or handling migration that there is a number that everyone is working towards? If that is the case, surely Members of this House should…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
The Bill is the result of decades of campaigning and struggle by families fighting for answers. The thoughts and hearts of all of us in this House, regardless of party affiliation, are with the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster and their families. The tireless work of those families is ultimat…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 October 2025
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I thank the Minister for his statement and for advance sight of it—although just under an hour is not a lot of time to digest 75 pages of documentation, so I will do my best. I join the Minister in acknowledging the work done by Sir Brian Langstaff and his inquiries, as well as the serious improveme…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Engagements
Q9. I am proud that the last Government introduced the triple lock, and we have committed to keeping it. [ Interruption. ]
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
The triple lock was a great achievement of the previous Government, and we will be keeping it. From April, pensioners with private pensions as low as £2 a month will be paying income tax for the first time. At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor was clear that extending the fr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
23 October 2025
2 contributions
Civil Service Recruitment
Last year, the Government promised us that they were going to slash the size of the civil service, but instead the latest figures showed that the size of the civil service has increased by 7,000 compared with last year. It is not only other Departments that have failed to get a grip: the headcount o…
I think that the Minister is missing the fact that she is in Government now and has been for well over a year, but the numbers are going up not down, as they promised. The Minister is correct when she says that the civil service must be able to recruit the brightest and the best, but surely she can …
Commons
Proceedings
21 October 2025
Rape Gangs: National Statutory Inquiry
We have heard what the Minister said about diverse views among victims, but is she concerned that some survivors of these terrible crimes have described the process as a toxic, fearful environment and warned that there is a high risk of people feeling silenced all over again? What is she going to do…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 October 2025
2 contributions
Asylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
On the hon. and learned Gentleman’s claim that the Government are making progress, does he expect the total number of nights spent in hotels by asylum seekers to be higher or lower this year than it was last year?
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
On 14 March, my constituents Sue and Dave Evans lost their 18-year-old son, who was the passenger in a car being driven by a newly qualified driver. Yesterday, Sue and Dave were in Parliament with the RoadPeace charity to call for graduated driver licensing, to save other families from the devastati…
Commons
Debate
15 October 2025
Jhoots Pharmacy
The failure of Jhoots is putting unsustainable pressure on other pharmacies across my constituency, but talks have not even begun on pharmacy funding beyond March of next year. Given the urgent situation with Jhoots, will the Minister review the timescale for those talks so that our pharmacies that …
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
15 October 2025
UK Internal Market
On 26 November last year, the Health Secretary assured this House that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will apply in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State will know that the age-based sales ban affects the placement of tobacco products on the market and so is potentially in breach of the EU’s tobacco …
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
Child Poverty Strategy (Removal of Two Child Limit)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On 7 April, with the shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, I tabled a question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office about updating guidance for Ministers on declaring hospitality and meetings with social media platforms. As this is the last sitting day …
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector
On that point, will the Minister give way?
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have received hospitality below the threshold from UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, the Campaign for Real Ale and probably the British Institute of Innkeeping.
Hospitality, as has been sa…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 July 2025
Infected Blood Inquiry: Additional Report
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his statement and for advance sight of it.
On behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition, I thank Sir Brian Langstaff for his initial work on the inquiry and for all his follow-up work. This additional report, focusing on compensation, is a significant and thoroug…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2025
4 contributions
Beer Duty
I draw hon. Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have also received hospitality from CAMRA, the BBPA, UKHospitality and probably the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates. I rise to speak not only as the Member of Parliament for Kingswinford and S…
The hon. Lady is completely right because of the margins that such brewers operate on. The concern now is that, if reports are correct and the Government are considering beer duty as a revenue raiser to fill the gap in the Chancellor’s budget, so much of the progress will be put at risk.
Since the …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 July 2025
UK-EU Trading Relationship
As the Minister will be aware, under the existing framework, the UK is entitled to take unilateral measures to protect the internal market where there is a diversion of trade. The Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland says that a third of businesses that previously traded between Great Bri…