Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Can the Minister tell us what modelling those in the Home Office have done in respect of whether these visa bans will actually affect the backlog of refugee and asylum seekers? Have they looked at the impact on local services in constituencies such as mine? People running care homes have told me tha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 March 2026
Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec, for the first time. My hon. Friend has touched on training and the need for awareness. One issue is that very often even people with type 1 diabetes, because of the lack of awareness, are not aware of the symptoms as they begin to react or th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Consular Assistance
I appreciate everything the Minister has said and thank him for the information on this, but in his statement, he did not mention the many thousands of British citizens affected in places outwith the Gulf. I have constituents in Sri Lanka who cannot get home, and they have said that they cannot get …
Commons
Debate
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Bereaved Children: Government Support
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for bereaved children.
First, I thank the Backbench Business Committee and all those who supported my application for the debate, not just on my behalf because we have the opportunity to discuss this issue, but for many thousands of …
I thank everyone who has taken part in the debate and spoken so movingly and powerfully about their own experiences and the experiences of those they have spoken to. I also thank the Minister for laying out the steps that the Government are already taking to move towards the better understanding and…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
Defence Manufacturing Jobs
Many of my constituents work in the Leonardo factory, which the Secretary of State mentioned. They contribute hugely to this economy, but they are concerned about the contradiction between what the UK Government say and what the Scottish Government say about defence spending. Can he detail exactly h…
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
The hon. Gentleman is making a very important point. What concerns me deeply in this matter is the fact that my constituents and members of the public are increasingly concerned that what they see is the tendrils—as the hon. Gentleman referred to—reaching into government through this debate. In the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
Gaza Healthcare System
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point in this important debate. Does he agree that there is an overwhelming level of concern among constituents across the country about the restrictions on international aid organisations such as Christian Aid? There is a genuine concern that after the war, people wi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
2 contributions
EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK
I tire sometimes of the hon. Member’s party in Scotland making this fuss about us not wanting to rejoin. If he looks back, he will see that the Liberal Democrats were the ones who desperately wanted not to leave. We campaigned for a second referendum. We want to create a new customs union. We desper…
If the hon. Member can explain the contradiction between wanting to join one union and give up sovereignty and wanting to leave another.
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address
This is the second statement or urgent question in a row that we have had about ethics, and where the tentacles of various organisations or individuals go within Government. Does the Minister accept that we need a statutory inquiry that looks closely at the links and interference of outside bodies i…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review
I am a former journalist and member of the NUJ, and I cannot sufficiently express my anger at hearing that a member of my former profession was investigated in this way in an attempt to intimidate them. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has made great play of the fact that it was not the Gov…
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion
I thank the Minister for his assurances today that these reports and publications will come forward as soon as possible. As I am sure he can pick up from the tenor of the House, many of us are concerned about public confidence in this place—in us—being undermined. Every day that we do not have the r…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Driving Test Waiting Times
I thank the Minister for the measures she has outlined. In Edinburgh West this is a significant problem, and it seems to be a problem across the city. Young people, some of them graduates, cannot access driving tests, and then they cannot get jobs because they do not have a driving licence. They are…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 February 2026
3 contributions
Healthy Relationships
Order. I remind hon. Members that if they wish to speak, they should bob. Informally, speeches should be kept to around five minutes.
Before I move to the Front Benches, does anyone else wish to speak?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 February 2026
UK-EU Agritrade: SPS Agreement
We begin with a Select Committee statement. Mr Alistair Carmichael will speak on the publication of the fifth report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, HC 1661, “UK-EU agritrade: making an SPS agreement work”, for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At th…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 February 2026
Engagements
Q13. I associate myself with the comments of my party leader about Lord Wallace, a man whom I was privileged to know. Conversations are taking place in the Chamber today and up and down the country about Peter Mandelson and his involvement with the paedophile who trafficked women. Given that million…
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
4 February 2026
2 contributions
Teenagers’ Use of Social Media
2. What discussions she has had with stakeholders on teenagers’ use of social media.
In Australia, the Government are playing a game of whack-a-mole as they struggle to keep up with young people switching between social media sites and new apps that have just been brought on board. I have spoken to people in the industry here and to parents who say that a blanket ban is not working.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
3 contributions
Fast-Track Visas: Skilled US Citizens
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of fast-track visas for skilled US citizens.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I would like to share an email I recently received:
“All I’m asking for is a direction to march in, as I am in fact a refugee…
I completely agree. We need a system that allows people to come here—not just from the United States, but more generally. People in the United States have the skills we need in the industries that so much of our economy will be dependent on: artificial intelligence, cancer research, pharmacology, sc…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
I echo the remarks made in the House this evening that it might be time for criminal proceedings to take place. When the Government have made such a totem of tackling violence against women and girls, it is important that they are seen to stand up for women and girls on this matter, and to encourage…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Business of the House
It has been brought to my attention by an employer in my constituency —a vape manufacturer—that there are products on sale in this country by importers that are either circumventing or exploiting loopholes in the legislation. They are selling vapes that are big puffs and break the regulations. They …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector
10. What steps he is taking to support hospitality businesses.
The Minister referred to there being hospitality businesses in every corner of this country. Unfortunately, the change in business rates does not help hospitality businesses in every corner of this country because business rates are devolved in Scotland and Wales, and the businesses in my constituen…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
A number of businesses, particularly care homes, in my constituency have approached me with concerns about the salary limit for migrants. Migrants already in this country, who have trained and qualified here, are finding it difficult to reach those standards to remain. Is it possible to have a meeti…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
UK Citizens Detained Abroad
Sadly, Jagtar Singh Johal’s case is not the only instance in the world of human rights violations against British citizens, and one of our biggest allies has just said that peace is no longer a priority for it. Given that the world is such a dangerous place, and given the threat to the human rights …
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
Business rates in Scotland are, of course, devolved, but businesses, particularly in the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors, are not immune to the impact of these measures as they spread across the United Kingdom and undermine the economy. Has there been any effort to sit down with Scottish Gov…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
Thank you. If contributors could please keep to the informal time limit, it would be a huge help. After Ruth Jones, I will call Rachael Maskell and then Tom Hayes.
Commons
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Digital ID
I wanted to come here today and say that I was delighted to hear that this scheme will now be voluntary, not mandatory. Frankly, I am completely confused by the farce that we have got here today. The scheme will not be free, because we know it will cost the taxpayer. I do not think we should be sayi…