Commons
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my membership of the GMB trade union.
I am sorry to say that it beggars belief that the response of a Labour Government to a court judgment confirming workers’ rights should be to run in the opposite direction, in som…
Commons
Debate
2 July 2026
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents
I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, for recognising the work done not only by me, but by Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick on the APPG. I was struck by a comment in the Committee’s report about the argument put forward by some freeholders t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Leasehold Reform
15. What steps his Department is taking to reform the leasehold sector.
I thank the Minister for coming to speak to the all-party parliamentary group on leasehold and commonhold reform and setting out so comprehensively his vision for ending fleecehold for good. He has explained many of the things that need to be done to get us to that place, including fixing some of th…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Carbon Capture Pipeline Projects: Cheshire
The hon. Member is giving a very balanced presentation of the differing views and arguments, and she hits on a really important point: a number of residents feel that this consultation is not really a consultation, and that the decisions have already been made. We should all be united in urging Peak…
I am grateful to the Minister for acknowledging that a number of colleagues have contacted him about this issue. In particular, I will speak on behalf of my Wirral colleagues, including my hon. Friends the Members for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick), for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern) and for Wallasey (…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
10 June 2026
Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2026
The shadow Minister is raising some interesting points, though I think they probably are slightly out of scope of what we are debating. I want to ask him about the use of the GDP deflator—when I saw that, I thought it was referring to previous Conservative Chancellors, but of course, it is actually …
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Topical Questions
My constituents were delighted to see the opening of the Great Sutton medical centre, but it has brought into sharp focus the need for an urgent upgrade of GP practices in Ellesmere Port town centre. I have submitted an expression of interest to the neighbourhood centre programme, and I wonder wheth…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Digital Safety: Children
I welcome this announcement, but is it not shocking that these companies have to be told what is unacceptable—that children should not be able to send and receive naked images? I ask the Minister: is this a tech problem or an issue of a lack of understanding and decency at the heart of these compani…
Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
rose—
I will ask the questions of the Leader of the Opposition, as that is how interventions work. Can I also suggest that, if she wants Government Back Benchers to support her motion, she should not be insulting us and calling us sheep? The critical question to which a lot of Back Benchers want to know t…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Carry-over)
I start by thanking the Minister for her hard work and dedication in trying to get this Bill right. She has worked tirelessly to ensure that the voices of the campaigners have been heard and are reflected in the final provisions, and I know that she will continue to do so when the Bill returns in th…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
When the Central England Co-operative announced that it was purchasing the Marquis pub in Great Sutton and the Saffron restaurant in Ellesmere Port, we were delighted that those old buildings were going to be brought back into use as convenience stores. However, five years on since those announcemen…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
Public Procurement
10. What steps he is taking to reform public procurement.
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Royal Mail depot in Ellesmere Port, where I went in one of its newly purchased vans from the Stellantis factory just down the road—a perfect example of how we should be supporting British industry. I urge the Minister to look further at this issue, becau…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
We all find it staggering that someone can fail their security vetting and still be appointed to such a sensitive and critical role. It is even more staggering that the Prime Minister was not informed of that failure. I agree with what the Prime Minister said: he did not need to know the details, bu…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
We will not prosper as a nation without a lot of support for the manufacturing sector—vital for our security and our resilience—so I welcome today’s statement. I notice with some irony that the fertiliser sector is included. A producer in my constituency closed under the previous Government, and as …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 April 2026
3 contributions
Single Status of Worker
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of creating a single status of worker.
Good afternoon, Mr Efford; it is a pleasure to see you in the Chair. I am grateful for the opportunity to draw attention to an issue that has the potential to transform the world of work for m…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the arguments put forward by not only those who represent workers, but those who represent businesses about the need for a level playing field. I will draw on some of the examples and evidence that the Select Committee has heard of the imbalanc…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
Last week, President Trump was making the most outrageous and dire threats in order to try to reopen the strait of Hormuz; this week, he wants to keep it shut. Can the Prime Minister shed any light on the United States’s strategic objective behind this latest move, what can be done to reopen the str…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
The consumer-focused, pragmatic approach being taken by this Government is in such contrast with the rhetoric of some on the Opposition Benches, who would only see military action escalate—and be in no doubt that our constituents would be paying the price for that.
I welcome the CMA’s report this m…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
Ellesmere Port is benefiting from investment in its new market and £20 million from the Pride in Place fund, but the shopping centre is basically being left to rot by its owners, Adhan. The problem we have is that Adhan is a private company. It has made many promises of investment in the past, but h…
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
If one of my constituents told me they had lost their job or been sacked because they had lied during the application process and they wanted compensation, I would tell them they had absolutely no chance of getting it, so I really struggle to understand why we paid a penny. I understand what the Chi…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Department for Business and Trade
I have enjoyed an interesting few months on the Committee so far. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is perplexing that we do not have any understanding as to why there is not more pressure being put on Fujitsu to come up with a figure? Fujitsu keeps saying that it is waiting for the outcome of…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
While new technologies can often be a force for good and, when used correctly, can enhance political debate, accountability and trust, in practice they are too often having the opposite effect. Social media, in particular, has helped to fuel further division and facilitated levels of distrust, threa…
In my experience, Meta does not care about the truth. We heard from the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) about what he experienced, and I have had the same experiences: stuff goes up, it does not meet the threshold, it carries on and the lies continue to be propagated. Meta’s indifferenc…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
Student Loan Repayment Plans
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I declare an interest: I have three sons who have huge debts from their time in education. I would be surprised if more than one of them pays off their debt in full, but that would be in line with the roughly one third of all students who fully re…
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
First, I declare an interest: my wife is a teacher. In her statement, the Secretary of State spoke about her desire for schools to be welcoming environments for children. That really matters because when a school implies that it might not be the right setting for a child, it can often be the start o…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
The £20 million that the Government are investing in Ellesmere Port is so welcome, but it is undermined by news such as that yesterday, that Halifax is closing its branch in our town centre. One of the justifications Halifax uses is that its customers are now using the app; well, I am a customer of …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Hughes Report: Second Anniversary
It is, as always, a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Allin-Khan, but it is not a pleasure to be here marking two years since the publication of the Hughes report. Sadly, in that time, those recommendations seem to have been in a holding pattern somewhere in the Department for Health and Social C…