Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
A Member of Parliament’s partner has been accused of spying for China. The Minister has been asked this several times: have the Foreign Secretary or the Home Secretary specifically asked and summoned the ambassador to come to explain themselves, and if not, why not?
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
4 contributions
NHS Capital Spending
I, too, associate myself with the comments about the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) on her stepping down as a Minister. She was a formidable opponent and will be sorely missed. I am sad to see her step back, but she has made the right decision for her, as in this place we should all…
I am grateful for the chance to put this on the record. The health infrastructure plan 2019 had the £3.7 billion, which was the seed funding to look into the projects to bring things forward. That also dealt with the first wave—the three hospitals that were brought forward to allow the second and th…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Spring Forecast
You froze the threshold.
I want to raise the issue of the freezing of thresholds and its effect on the state pension. When the Chancellor froze thresholds in the Budget, she told Martin Lewis that some people would be pulled into paying tax, but would not have to pay small amounts of tax or do a tax return. The updated fore…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
The Prime Minister has been explicit on two decisions: one was that no bases would be used; now, some bases can be used. Could he set out specifically how this interacts with the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill and the exchange of notes from 1966 between the UK and…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
6 contributions
Minister for Men and Boys
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of appointing a Minister for Men and Boys.
This is about men and women, not men or women. It is about boys and girls, not boys or girls. It is crucial to set that out from the start. John Gray was clear in his book, “Men are from M…
The hon. Gentleman makes a fantastic point, and I will come on to Andrew Tate. That is my worry, and I have been raising concerns both in this House and outside about the dangers of labelling what young men could be. Only this week, the British Medical Journal published a paper on the topic of the G…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
May I ask the Leader of the House for his help? I have recently learned that the £10 million day case unit in Hinckley is potentially in jeopardy and might get cancelled. This follows a series of delays by the NHS and the local council and, unbelievably, a last-minute plea by the Lib Dem borough cou…
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
3 contributions
Pharmacy First: Withholding Payments
(Urgent Question) : To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the withholding of Pharmacy First payments to pharmacies.
It is a regret that I have had to summon the Minister here to answer questions, and surprise, surprise—
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion
Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) about the WhatsApps, the Minister seemed to suggest that it was not an orderly process. First, is there to be any reprimand for the Health Secretary? Secondly, will the WhatsApps between all Ministers and Peter Man…
And the WhatsApps?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
May I thank the Chief Secretary for his statement about the new rules and legislation that he is bringing forward? I have missed something, though. Can he point to what he is bringing forward that would stop a Prime Minister from appointing a twice-sacked best friend of the world’s greatest paedophi…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
10 contributions
Lord Mandelson
My hon. Friend is making excellent points. It is a surprise not to see the Prime Minister answering these questions himself. At the end of the day, he made the decision to appoint Mandelson to the post of ambassador, so he must explain his decision-making process, and what he knew and when. Why is h…
rose—
+8 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
12 contributions
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
Fairness matters, not only to those receiving the support but to those making the difficult choices without it. During the short time I have, I will talk about the principles and then the context.
I come to this subject thinking about the publican in my constituency who has two children and who wak…
I would credit her. She is a credit to the hon. Gentleman’s family for what she has managed to achieve.
The key point I am trying to get to is that, when those people leave their doorstep, is it fair that the choice they have made to have only two children is simply thrown out the window, because a…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
It is widely reported in the media that the Prime Minister and his entourage had burner phones when they went to China. Could he confirm that? If so, was the reason that he was worried he was being spied upon?
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
3 contributions
Youth Unemployment
Will the Minister give way?
Will the Minister give way?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
16 contributions
British Indian Ocean Territory
Negotiations may well be ongoing, but the key question is whether the UK can make a unilateral decision to give away sovereignty without the blessing of the US. This question was posed three times on Monday, and the Minister simply said it is under discussion. Ministers need to answer directly today…
rose—
+14 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
It is a surprise to see the Minister so ratty and full of bluster, so I am going to ask him a technical question that I would appreciate his answer to. We have talked about the 1966 UK-US exchange of notes; the question is whether the Government can go ahead with the Chagos deal without the US. Wher…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
Topical Questions
T7. In the Budget, the Chancellor froze thresholds, which brings state pensioners into paying tax. This was raised with the Chancellor, who said that she did not want that to happen and that she would create a workaround. However, only two weeks ago we voted on the Finance Bill, which the Labour par…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
Since the Budget, the hospitality industry has been very anxious. We have heard from the Treasury and the Chancellor that a package is coming forward. I spoke in the Budget debate asking when it will come forward, we have had urgent questions about it, and we have had an Opposition day debate. Even …
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Will the hon. Gentleman be supporting Lords amendment 1, given that he has just specified that the base needs to be used for military purposes? If that use becomes impossible, because the islands go under water, for example—which is a real risk—would he want to carry on paying for the deal?
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am not sure which amendments are being addressed. There are at least five on the amendment paper to be talked about. I just wondered if Russia is relevant to any of those amendments.
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
I am going to ask again: does this make the British public safer—yes or no?
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 January 2026
3 contributions
ADHD Diagnosis
It is a pleasure to respond on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition. I thank the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) for getting so many MPs here to talk about such an important topic. His tribute to Matty Lock was truly epic. The only thing I am sad about is that we could easily h…
On that point, the Minister mentioned the taskforce. It did produce its report, with its recommendations, and the Government have not yet responded to those recommendations. Will the Minister give a timescale for when he is looking to do so?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
14 January 2026
Engagements
Q10. I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to the violence against women and girls strategy, but I and many others have concerns about stigmatising young boys, men and masculinity as inherently toxic, especially when suicide is the No. 1 killer of young men. Is it about time that we had a Minist…
Commons
Debate
13 January 2026
8 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
This new clause is even more important given the fact that the Government, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister understand the impact that the Bill will have on pubs. They have said that they will bring forward measures to help and support pubs, yet we have not seen those measures, because they are…
The hon. Member rightly points to the cumulative effect, but I am interested to see that her new clause 9 does not mention the Employment Rights Bill or the impact of the national living wage increase. Is it by design that the Liberal Democrats have not put those in, because they do not agree that t…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Primary Care in Epping Forest: House Building Targets
Community pharmacies are a vital part of the primary care infrastructure, including in Epping Forest. Using NHS Organisation Data Service data, can the Minister tell the House how many pharmacy contracts ceased in England last year?
I appreciate the Minister’s answer. However, the answer to my question is: 650 contracts across England and Wales. He only had to look at the newspaper headlines from yesterday to see that—this is his Department and his portfolio.
The chair of the Independent Pharmacies Association, Leyla Hannbeck,…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
9 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
indicated dissent.
Will the Minister give way?
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
12 January 2026
Topical Questions
T7. The Government insist on forcing through local government reorganisation when there is no agreement in Leicestershire. There are three different plans ahead. One thing that Leicestershire does agree on is no expansion of Leicester city. Will the Minister put that to the test and have a referendu…