Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 June 2026
East Midland Railway Collision
First and foremost, I offer my condolences to the family of Shaun Burton. In addition, our thoughts are with all those injured, some of whom are still in hospital with very serious injuries. I and all my colleagues on the Conservative Benches wish them all well. I agree with the Secretary of State, …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
11 June 2026
2 contributions
Mass Transit Systems
Since coming to power, the Labour party has increased the bus fare cap by 50% from £2 to £3. But one area that has not seen that rise is Greater Manchester where the last Conservative Government gave over £1 billion to support its mass transit system, expressly including keeping a £2 bus fare cap. I…
Given the right hon. Lady’s clearly close working relationship with the Greater Manchester Mayor, does she agree with the decision of the Prime Minister—sorry, Mayor Burnham—reported in The Sun to spend £35,000 of taxpayers’ money repainting a train because he literally had nothing to announce and n…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
3 contributions
Transport Accessibility for Disabled People
Over the past few decades there has been a consensus in politics that disability should not prevent people from living fulfilling and successful lives. However, I recognise that, despite strong standards and the implementation of new measures by Governments of all stripes over previous decades, the …
The hon. Lady makes an important point. I will add, though, that disabled people often choose to use a car, if one is available, because it is the most convenient means of getting around; it means that they can travel at times that suit them. I totally agree that we want to ensure that all our publi…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Topical Questions
In September last year, the Secretary of State told the House:
“I know the importance of the fuel duty freeze”. —[ Official Report , 11 September 2025; Vol. 772, c. 1031.]
That was when diesel and petrol were significantly cheaper than they are today. Why is Labour hiking fuel duty by 5p a litre t…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
2 contributions
Passenger Rail Services
We still do not know how or what the Government want to achieve with state control of the railways. They say that there will be simpler fares, but the public are seeing simply more expensive fares. They say that passenger growth is necessary, but there is no target for that growth in the Railways Bi…
It is clear that the Minister is not prepared to agree with the Secretary of State, so I ask him whether he agrees with himself. In an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) on 23 March, he said that
“public ownership is expected to save taxpayers up to...£11…
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
22 contributions
Fuel Duty
I beg to move,
That this House believes that it is wrong to increase the main fuel duty rates on 1 September, then again on 1 December 2026, with a further increase on 1 March 2027, by a total of five pence per litre, as global oil prices are rising; notes that these increases will affect drivers, …
I could not agree more with the hon. Member. We need to get back to drilling in the North sea. Norway is drilling on one side of the same basin and getting the benefit of those jobs and the tax revenue. It bemuses me why we are not doing that here. The shadow Energy Secretary, my right hon. Friend t…
+20 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
Passengers want safe and reliable journeys, and those who work on our public transport system deserve to be safe at work, especially when they do the right thing in difficult circumstances. However, bus driver Mark Hehir, who was praised by the police for stopping a thief, was sacked. I have met Mar…
Nobody from the Department for Transport has reached out to a heroic bus driver, and the Secretary of State is clearly not really paying attention to officer numbers either, because they are down by 112. Ironically, that is the same number of unpaid tickets racked up by fare dodger Charles Brohiri, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 January 2026
Animal Rescue Centres
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Sir Alec. It is also a pleasure to hear from the Petitions Committee, and I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for outlining the petitioners views. There were almost 110,000 of them across the country. Some of …
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
Point of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In written parliamentary question 99967, I asked the Department of Health and Social Care to publish training modules and guidance related to first cousin marriage and genetic risk. The Minister replied that these materials existed, but would not be publish…
Commons
Proceedings
13 January 2026
3 contributions
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Always, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The Cabinet Office guide to parliamentary work is clear:
“There should be no inconsistencies between the provision of information in answers to written questions and information given under the FOI Act”.
It also states that material disclosable under the Freedom of I…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement, although obviously some of it was reported in The Times earlier this week. I welcome the fact that the Government have published the road safety strategy, and I welcome the broad ambition, shared right across the House, to reduce the number of…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
3 contributions
Topical Questions
At oral questions in September, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) asked the Minister to apologise for failing to bring down the driving test backlog, which Labour had promised to do. The Minister told the House then that there were “early signs of improvement”. Can he te…
The Minister has still not properly answered the question and, frankly, should be embarrassed by that answer. Labour promised to reduce average waiting times to seven weeks— [ Interruption. ] Wait for it. Instead, we are now seeing waits of up to 22 weeks—almost a month longer for a driving test tha…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Economic Growth: Transport System
Could the Secretary of State enlighten the House as to how reversing the last Conservative Government’s 5p a litre fuel duty cut will help the transport system to support economic growth? Is it not the truth that, come September, this will be known as Labour’s back to school tax?
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Local Bus Services
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to the Government.
Yesterday, the Minister for nature, the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), told the House that there was no national bus fare cap under the last Conservative Government. That is not surprising, as the Prime Minister keeps gaslighti…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
7 contributions
Railways Bill
I beg to move,
That this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Railways Bill because it prioritises putting the rail system under state control, rather than prioritising passengers and taxpayers, and the effective and efficient running of the railway; because it significantly reduces the r…
My hon. Friend makes an important point. It was interesting to hear Government Members saying, “Yes, yes,” while he spoke, because that is exactly what they did: they threw money at the transport unions. It is particularly interesting that the Secretary of State said today that the railways will fac…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
1 December 2025
3 contributions
Budget Resolutions
The real issue here is hiding in plain sight. It is on the annunciator. This is all about bearing down on inflation, because this Government have already catastrophically failed to keep it at 2%, where the Conservative party left it at the time of the general election. That is having an impact on th…
My right hon. Friend has made an extremely important point. These taxes are hitting across the board, and they are hitting the employment of his constituents. That is on top of the tax rises that we saw last year: the changes in business property relief, business rates and agricultural property reli…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
25 November 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. At Transport questions, my hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst) asked the Transport Secretary whether a pay-per-mile charge would be introduced, as had been reported in the Financial Times . In response, the Transport Secr…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
2 contributions
Transport System: Economic Growth
There is no passenger growth commitment in the Railways Bill, just the expectation of inflation-busting fare rises in the Budget. Holidaymakers are being used like a piñata, with a 13% rise in air passenger duty already in prospect, and airport business rates will be passed on to them too. Ports hav…
Everyone I have spoken to in the UK automotive sector knows that the Government’s 2030 targets for electric vehicles are unachievable, will cost good UK jobs and are a boon to China as we see BYD sales up by 350% year on year, to 3,500 in the latest October figures. In fact, although the Government …
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Cabinet Office guide to parliamentary work is very clear that
“Every question should be approached with a predisposition to give relevant information fully. There should be no inconsistencies between the provision of information in answers to written q…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement and for advance sight of it.
The statement should have been brought to the House months ago. The Secretary of State surely recognises that today marks a delay and an acknowledgment of that, rather than a decisive move forward. The truth is t…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Topical Questions
When we next have transport questions, the Budget will be just days away, so can the Transport Secretary rule out any of the following—increased duty on fuel or flights, VAT on private hire, increasing the insurance premium tax or raising rail fares above inflation? If she will not, has she at least…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Transport: Economic Growth
Thank you very much indeed, Mr Speaker. I also thank the Secretary of State for her welcome last night, and welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Selby (Keir Mather) to his new role.
I associate myself with the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Broadla…
I have obviously followed the Secretary of State’s lead; I believe she had a constituency once upon a time in south London, but now represents Swindon. It is great to have that leadership there.
Growth requires investment, which Labour is cutting as it gives billions in no-strings-attached pay rise…
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
2 contributions
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
The Minister should see how committed we were in office, because I gave more than a billion pounds to Manchester for that scheme and for setting it up. Indeed, the National Audit Office recently praised our £2 bus fare scheme, saying it
“achieved its aims to make bus journeys more affordable for lo…
What bus passengers really want is reliable, affordable and cheap bus travel on a growing network. That is what was guaranteed under the last Conservative Government’s £2 fare cap. It was a commitment in our manifesto, and one that worked. [ Interruption. ] Opposition Members may jeer, but the Natio…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
1 September 2025
Draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I rise to speak to the statutory instrument before us, which concerns hovercraft and the invaluable role they play in supporting the local economy, particularly on the Isle of Wight, and our wider transport network. We welcome the Gove…
Commons
Debate
15 July 2025
8 contributions
Taxes
The shadow Chancellor is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that the danger is that if Governments do not have a prudent financial position, they end up in the situation that we are now seeing, with the interest on Government debt going up and up? We are now paying around £10 billion a year m…
Labour Members pretend that 2010 was year zero. In truth, in 2010 there was an annual deficit of 10% of GDP in Government spending, which meant that the Government were borrowing £1 for every £4 they were spending. Does the hon. Member not acknowledge, or understand, that that was a far worse econom…
+6 more contributions in this session