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…
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
3 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Just this week at the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, the new Secretary of State outlined that the Government will not be urging national development management policies to be non-statutory. That almost seems at odds with the Government’s direction of travel, which is towards sp…
I pay tribute to those in the other place for their work in getting us to this stage. I am conscious of time—it is a Thursday, and many Members want to speak—so I will not go into great depth on the amendments. However, I welcome the changes that the Government have made in the other place, and the …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
5 November 2025
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: Public Sector
As we come to the end of celebrating Black History Month, it is vital that we continue to promote diversity in all workplaces. Does the Minister agree that it is fundamental for us to have DEI practices in all workforces so that we can fight for equality, fairness and transparency and prevent discri…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Huntingdon Train Attack
I associate myself with the powerful tributes to the train driver, staff and members of the public. The incident demonstrates the importance of having more than one staff member on trains. The train guards play a vital role in protecting passengers.
My constituency is home to Vauxhall and Waterloo—…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 October 2025
4 contributions
Land Value Capture
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. This week, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published our third report, following our inquiry into land value capture. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allocating time for this statement, and I th…
I thank my fellow Committee member for her useful points. I know this is an issue close to her heart. She represents a rural constituency where additional infrastructure is needed with the new housing, because people need to get to work as well as having somewhere to live, and community facilities a…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and am pleased to hear that this will be a thorough and meaningful consultation, because even though my constituency is not near the airport, my constituents in Camberwell, Stockwell and Brixton write to me regularly to say that they are suffering fr…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Middle East
I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister on the awful attack in Manchester and the attack in Peacehaven.
I want to highlight the issue of aid workers and the work of UNRWA with many British aid organisations including Oxfam, and Christian Aid and Islamic Relief, which are both base…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
2 contributions
Emission Reductions: Progress Report
13. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Climate Change Committee’s 2025 report entitled “Progress in reducing emissions”.
I welcome the Minister to her place—it is good to see her among the line of men on the Treasury Bench. I have just finished chairing a meeting of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. One issue that we discussed was decent home standards. Emissions from homes is another key area t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Manchester Terrorism Attack
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and agree with her that anyone seeking to divide us will only unite us. I join hon. Members in paying tribute to both Melvin and Adrian’s families.
I refer the Home Secretary to the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (M…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
Homelessness
I welcome the Secretary of State and his Ministers to their positions. I very much look forward to welcoming them to meetings of the Select Committee; we are a fair and robust Committee. The Minister highlighted the inter-ministerial group, which the former Secretary of State chaired and saw as bein…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Ambassador to the United States
First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the many victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s appalling abuse. For many of them, this story is not a political one; it is a personal one. No one could fail to be moved by listening to the brother and sister on the news this Sunday in their first interview in the UK,…
I thank my hon. Friend for making her point. I think about the amount of abuse that many parliamentarians in this Chamber sadly face—particularly black and minority ethnic Members—just for their mere existence. I know about the horrific domestic abuse that my hon. Friend has faced, and I hope that, …
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
2 contributions
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
My hon. Friend knows that one of the busy floating bus stops in my constituency is right outside St Thomas’ hospital, which I will confess I have had a few bumps on. She and I did oppose its introduction. Does she agree that all floating bus stops should be reviewed, so that when patients are going …
Does my hon. Friend agree that by getting this right and ensuring that we have bus stops that are accessible for everybody, including partially sighted people and disabled people, we will encourage more people to use public transport, because they will feel that it is safe and accessible for them?
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
I thank the Minister for outlining the strongest condemnation of the attacks and the blatant disregard for Qatar’s sovereignty. I refer the House to my registered interests, as I visited Qatar last year and spoke to Ministers there. I saw how diligently they are working, day in and day out, to secur…
Commons
Proceedings
8 September 2025
Palestine Action: Proscription and Protests
I thank the Minister for his response to the urgent question, but I concur with some of the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) about people being arrested, including my constituents, some of whom were protesting peacefully.
I want to come back to the issue of the im…
Commons
Proceedings
22 July 2025
Birmingham Bin Strikes
I thank the Minister for outlining the Government’s work to maintain vital collection services for residents, who want to see their city cleaned up rather than another summer of this, given the recent heatwave.
Strike action has now passed the six-month mark. As the Minister just outlined, it is im…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 July 2025
Middle East
I want to gently point out to the Foreign Secretary that the reason so many of us are here is that we have been waiting a long time for this statement. With the situation unfolding, as many colleagues have said, our constituents continue to write to us. Last week, Save the Children held a photo exhi…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
3 contributions
Strategy for Elections
I thank the Minister for the written statement and for her work behind the scenes.
We should welcome the opportunity for more people to be enfranchised. We should be very clear that one person losing the right to vote at the ballot box is one person too many. It is really important that we look at …
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is really important that Members of Parliament are accurate in our statements, and I just want some clarity. The hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) mentioned bags of postal votes, but you will be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, that under th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 July 2025
Topical Questions
This afternoon, I visited Centrepoint, where I spoke to young people living in self-contained flats and met the staff who are working to support those young people. The Secretary of State will be aware that a coalition of 150 charities supporting young people are calling for a specific youth-focused…