Commons
Oral Questions
15 January 2026
Access to Sports Facilities
I recently met Abbas and Templecombe parish councillors to discuss their exciting plans to add a 400-metre running track, a multi-use games area and an outdoor adult gym to the local recreation ground. Given that physical inactivity costs the UK over £7 billion a year, such improvements are welcome,…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
Horse and Rider Road Safety
Given the lack of knowledge about the changes to the highway code, Somerset council has a road safety initiative that offers training to riders and drivers. Would my hon. Friend join me in congratulating Somerset council on its position and on the training it is providing to make our roads safer?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Iran
Annette from Wincanton contacted me at the weekend, deeply worried about her extended friends and family living in Iran. She told me that many there feel that they have nothing much to lose, as they come out on the streets to protest against the repressive Iranian regime. At this volatile moment, wh…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
Clause 62 shows that this Labour Government simply do not understand farming communities. Persevering with an ill-thought-through family farm tax that treats business assets as personal wealth, even with the recent concession, will continue to harm investment in food security and rural growth. At th…
Absolutely. There is no doubt that the agricultural supply chain has been affected by the torrid 14 months of uncertainty caused by the family farm tax. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor speak consistently of growth, but their damaging policies have crippled family farms. Some 49% of farm busine…
Commons
Proceedings
12 January 2026
Water Supplies: East Grinstead
About 16,500 residents have been impacted as a result of the latest water outage. GPs and schools have shut; vulnerable people, including those in care homes, are unable to access water; and people have been forced to queue for hours at water distribution sites. Unfortunately for customers of South …
Commons
Proceedings
12 January 2026
New Medium Helicopter Contract
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for securing this urgent question on behalf of his constituents, as well as mine in Glastonbury and Somerton. Alan from Keinton Mandeville, a Leonardo employee, recently wrote to me to stress how securing the new medium helicopter contract wo…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
6 contributions
Rural Communities
It is a pleasure to speak for the Liberal Democrats on this motion. Around 10 million people live in rural areas, and the rural population has been growing faster than the population in urban areas since mid-2020. However, under successive Governments rural communities have largely been viewed as an…
Renewable energy is vital for the future of this country. However, we must ensure that it is put in the right place and is fit for the future. Putting renewable energy on our best and most versatile land certainly is certainly not the way the Liberal Democrats would go about it. However, there are p…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
It really should not have taken over a year for the pleas of thousands of farmers to be heard, and for the Government to finally concede their mistake and change the disastrous family farm tax. However, it is clear that they still simply do not understand the industry. Many farms in Glastonbury and …
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Topical Questions
Rural life, particularly for those in farming communities, is more typically based on traditional roles, which can often see women marginalised in their role within the family and, sadly, more likely to be victims of abuse. Can the Minister assure me that with any new strategy on tackling violence a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
One fifth of the UK population live in rural areas. They face unavoidable additional costs, including longer travel times, reduced provider competition and workforce recruitment. Those costs have an impact on every single aspect of local service delivery, but funding formulas fail to adequately reco…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations
Mandatory method of production labelling on animal-derived products could improve animal welfare and increase UK farm profits by over £46 million annually, but we must make sure that the UK-EU SPS agreement is aligned on standards and quality so that British farmers in Glastonbury and Somerton and a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
15 December 2025
Women Veterans
Recent media reports highlight the full extent of abuse that women have suffered in the armed forces, highlighting why the recommendations from the Atherton report must be urgently implemented in full. What steps is the Minister taking to remove the barriers to create an environment within our armed…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 December 2025
National Plan to End Homelessness
Glastonbury has the highest density of van dwellers in the UK, with around 300 people living in caravans. While some do choose this as a way of life, many are vulnerable or simply cannot afford to pay rent. They deserve a proper roof over their heads, as many of these caravans are simply not fit for…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
Business of the House
Yesterday, I hosted a mulled cider event with the National Association of Cider Makers. Cider makers in Glastonbury and Somerton are increasingly focused on survival, as uncertainty grows around future inheritance tax relief. Cider making is uniquely capital-intensive and requires special equipment …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector: Glastonbury and Somerton
12. What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector in Glastonbury and Somerton constituency.
Earlier this week I met children from Ilchester community primary school. Maeve, who is in year 6, told me her No. 1 concern is the pressure on local businesses. Glastonbury and Somerton has many wonderful hotels and restaurants, like the Hollies in Bower Hinton, but many will face an average rates …
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Railways Bill
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. In the 1800s, Britain’s railways unlocked growth and opportunity across the country. A huge network grew, until the Beeching cuts closed roughly a third of it in the 1960s. As a result, many rural communities lost their rail links, forcing reliance on buses …
I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is absolutely essential that there are lifts at train stations to provide that step-free access for people with mobility issues, pushchairs or luggage. Indeed, Castle Cary station is the official station of the Glastonbury festival, so people might also be ca…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Post-16 Skills Education
As was identified in the national food strategy, there is a shortage of skills in food and farming. The Liberal Democrats are proposing a “Farm First” scheme to give young people training and the incentive they need to choose a career in farming. Will the Minister outline the steps the Government ar…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
Yesterday, in my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on women in defence, and alongside Angela Owen OBE, who founded Women in Defence UK in 2011, I was pleased to chair a briefing to discuss the publication of this year’s Women in Defence charter data report. The report shows that wom…
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
On neighbourhood health plans, St Dunstan’s House health and wellbeing centre and West Mendip primary care network are seeking to put together a preventive approach to crime, social and mental health issues in the Glastonbury area. Does my hon. Friend agree that this innovative, community-based proj…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Angiolini Inquiry
I associate myself with the comments from across the House today. My thoughts are with Sarah Everard’s family and all those whose lives have been impacted by violence against women and girls.
The landmark 2019 study into rural domestic violence found that abuse in rural areas lasts longer, is more …
Commons
Oral Questions
2 December 2025
2 contributions
Ukraine
4. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of US foreign policy on Ukraine.
Since 2022, 1,600 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Somerset away from Putin’s war machine, many making Glastonbury and Somerton their home. The US-led peace negotiations, dictated by Russia, risk excluding US security guarantees, leaving many Ukrainians in fear of returning to Ukraine. What discussi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 December 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts
At last year’s autumn Budget, the Chancellor claimed that 75% of farms would be unaffected by agricultural property relief and business property relief, a figure that has been widely disputed. This year there is yet more confusion over the figures, with the Chancellor implying that public finances w…
Commons
Oral Questions
1 December 2025
Child Poverty Strategy
Rural areas have deep pockets of deprivation, and nearly 18% of children in Glastonbury and Somerton live in poverty. How will the Minister ensure that the child poverty strategy sufficiently focuses on child poverty in rural areas?
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
Last year, gig ticket scams cost music lovers over £1.6 million, as fans were exploited by greedy ticket touts. The money they paid for fake tickets often went on to fund serious organised crime groups. That makes people less willing to buy tickets for live events, which undermines that important in…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) on securing this important and timely debate, and on her excellent speech. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions.
The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s desire …
I want to push the Minister on the plight of our struggling hospitality sector. I asked if she could consider exempting pubs from the EPR scheme at this stage to give a chance to review the scheme and help support our struggling hospitality sector.