Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House with his statement. Although he has outlined that there is a clear precedent, from 2019 and 2021, for postponing local elections, he reassured my Select Committee back in November that these elections would go ahead. Residents in those areas wil…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
2 contributions
Government Use of Technology
13. What recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on improving the use of technology to implement Government priorities.
I thank my right hon. Friend for making sure that he is earning his keep. I welcome the written statement from the Minister for Digital Government and Data on the plan to use artificial intelligence to boost productivity in public services. It is right that we look at all avenues, but I am concerned…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Water White Paper
I thank the Secretary of State for this White Paper, and I concur with many of the comments from colleagues. I attended a community meeting last week on the Kennington Park estate in my constituency to hear from residents of Blythe House, Alverstone House and Lockwood House. Many of them have not ha…
Commons
Debate
19 January 2026
Local Elections: Cancellation
I thank the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly), for raising this important issue. I accept that the Minister highlighted that there are concerns from councils, but again, we find ourselves in quite a disappointing area. Just before Christmas, the Mini…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
New Towns
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) on securing this debate, and I thank her for outlining her experience, and for her passion in representing a new town. When we talk about the next generation of new towns, it is important to listen to the exp…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
14 January 2026
Engagements
I wish you a belated happy new year, Mr Speaker. However, for the 4.8 million leaseholders across England, it is not a happy new year; they will receive large bills in a matter of weeks. They have been waiting patiently for us, a new Government who said we would deliver change, to bring forward legi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Iran
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. It is good for us as a united House to send the strongest condemnation of what we are seeing—the little we are seeing; we know there is a lot more. She mentioned support for British nationals. Many of my constituents have contacted me, including one w…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
I thank the Secretary of State for her comments this afternoon, and agree with her that anyone saying that this activity is free speech is totally incorrect. We must continue to redouble our efforts to protect women and girls. Part of this abuse happens on social media. As the Secretary of State kno…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
12 January 2026
Leasehold Reform
I thank the Minister for his answer. I know that he has been taking a lot of time to debate and look at the issue of leasehold, and he can see the cross-party concern on behalf of many constituents up and down the country on this big issue, as well as the support for tackling it. We on the Select Co…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
3 contributions
Jury Trials
rose —
rose —
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
I thank the Minister for her statement. I know she has been working really hard on this issue since she took on the role a few months ago. She is aware of the many pressing issues facing councils up and down the country—from SEND to temporary accommodation, housing and adult social care—and 14 years…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations
I thank the Minister for his statement. I am a proud Erasmus graduate and the first in my family to go to university. As I was a carer for my late mother, I did not study abroad. I stayed at home and commuted to university, so Erasmus was the first time I was able to experience that. Many years on, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
I thank the Minister for his statement. I commend him for his work on bringing the planning system up to date, which can be quite a technical process, and on the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will receive Royal Assent later this month. I welcome the fact that the Minister has list…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Electoral Resilience
I thank the Secretary of State for making his statement. Far too often, Members right across this House take elections for granted. The fact that we can go to the ballot box and cast our votes in a free and fair election is something that we have to fight for and protect, so I welcome the fact that …
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Sudan: Humanitarian Situation
I thank the Minister for responding and I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing this important urgent question. It is important for us to keep the focus on Sudan. Islamic Relief recently held an exhibition in my constituency entitled “Are your eyes …
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
I thank the Minister for coming to the House to respond to the urgent question. I know that this is an issue that she cares passionately about, and I can sense her frustration about the fact that such an important strategy is to be announced in the House on the last day before the recess, when many …
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs
I am a London MP, but I feel that I must step in for the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is not here. But my intervention does have a connection to the subject of the debate. It is about the vibrancy of Scottish universities. People from my constituency travel as far as Scotland to get…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 December 2025
National Plan to End Homelessness
I thank the Minister for her statement this afternoon. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) for their work; this is an area they were both committed to when they were in thei…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
As one of the co-chairs of the all-party parliamentary group on HIV, AIDS and sexual health, I thank all Members across the House for joining in to recognise World AIDS Day on Monday and at Prime Minister’s questions on Wednesday. It is important that parliamentarians continue to show that cross-par…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Local Elections
I thank the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds) for asking this urgent question and the Minister for responding. Real change is about having mayoral candidates rooted in their community, with an increase in power and funding so that they can deliver that change. There are …
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
Does the Secretary of State agree that the hard-working staff at St Thomas’ hospital across the bridge, who deal with patients from right across the country, including many who have had surgeries and operations booked for many months, still kept the show going during the last rounds of strikes? Will…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Angiolini Inquiry
I thank the Minister for this statement and join colleagues in their remarks about Sarah Everard’s family. Her mother is quoted in The Guardian as saying that she is still “tormented” by the horror of what her daughter suffered at the hands of Wayne Couzens. I think too of the many other victims who…
Commons
Debate
24 November 2025
5 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I thank the Minister for outlining the new power that the Government are looking at. I had a meeting this morning with two of my neighbouring parliamentary colleagues, my hon. Friends the Members for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) and for Clapham and Brixton Hill (Bell Ribeiro-Addy). In some…
I thank the shadow Minister for discussing the issue of council tax, which I am sure he will agree is one of the most regressive forms of taxation. If he is honest, he will recognise that successive Governments have dodged this issue by placing it in the “too difficult” box, including during the las…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 November 2025
Families in Temporary Accommodation
I thank the Minister for outlining those points. The situation is not just isolated to London; many councils are seeing an overspend—still going up —in this really tricky area. Just today, Epsom and Ewell borough council reported an overspend of £500,000, rising to £800,000 by next year. Slough esti…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
The reality is that we need an asylum and immigration system based on fairness and consistency. My constituency of Vauxhall and Camberwell Green is a testament to that, as it is a place that has been made richer because of the people who have come there from all over the world. Some of them have fle…