Commons
Proceedings
21 July 2025
Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity
There have been numerous reports over the weekend about an alleged incident at the Metropole hotel, the asylum hotel in my constituency. The Minister will know that I have raised concerns about the hotel numerous times with the Home Office. Will she ensure that this incident is investigated swiftly …
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
2 contributions
SEND Provision: Funding
8. What steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate funding for SEND provision.
The last Government left behind a SEND system that was failing children and families. Parents were made to fight for support, with education, health and care plans denied or delayed and vital services taken away. Tory cuts to early years support, rising poverty and extreme deprivation in Blackpool, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2025
West Coast Main Line
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Connor Naismith) for securing this debate—although I feel it is slowly turning into that famous Monty Python “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, with all of us declaring our woes with th…
Commons
Debate
14 July 2025
UK-France Migration: Co-operation
I applaud the Home Secretary for the months of hard work and serious negotiation that have resulted in this deal. We now have the real deterrent that the Conservatives failed for many years to secure for my constituents and others across the country. These deals make it more important that we keep p…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 July 2025
Topical Questions
T4. My constituent Andy is one of several former civil servants in my constituency affected by the McCloud judgment. Like many of them, he is still waiting to receive his hard- earned pension, and the delay is causing serious distress. While Andy recovers from major surgery, he now faces financial h…
Commons
Oral Questions
7 July 2025
2 contributions
Neighbourhood Policing
10. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.
Last week I joined Blackpool police and our police and crime commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, under the iconic Blackpool tower to launch the safer streets summer initiative in Blackpool. This has coincided with delivering the guarantee that every community in Blackpool will now have a named police offi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
G7 and NATO Summits
It is the first duty of any Government and Prime Minister to keep this country safe. The Prime Minister takes that role incredibly seriously, in stark contrast to what we have seen today from the Leader of the Opposition.
The Prime Minister has visited Blackpool many times since becoming leader of …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
26 June 2025
2 contributions
Passenger Rail Performance: Cumbria
18. What steps she is taking to improve passenger rail performance.
In 1911, Blackpool was home to the busiest railway station in the world—a testament to our town’s rich transport heritage. Today, the Blackpool South line urgently needs a passing loop to enable trains to pass each other and deliver the reliable, frequent rail service that our community in South Sho…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 June 2025
Spending Review: Health and Social Care
My constituents in Blackpool South will never forgive or forget that the previous Government left us with the worst health outcomes in the country. We have an ICB having to make £350 million of cuts. The hospital that my son and I were born in has been left inadequate and one of the worst in the cou…
Commons
Proceedings
12 June 2025
Business of the House
Mr Speaker, this week has been a great week for rugby league with Billy Boston being knighted, but you will be astonished to find out that only one former boxer has ever been knighted—Sir Henry Cooper. Does the Leader of the House agree that more grassroots, working-class sports stars should be knig…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
Today’s announcement is a great day for Blackpool, which was mentioned more than any other place in the country. The Chancellor will know the issues we face from when she joined me in Blackpool last year and saw for herself the deprivation and the damage that 14 years of the Tories did to our town. …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 June 2025
Engagements
Q8. May I start by congratulating Sir Billy Boston? Billy ended his career playing at Blackpool, and I know this has been a long campaign by the Culture Secretary, the Speaker, my hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Josh Simons) and many in this House—congratulations to Sir Billy.It has been ex…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
I welcome the Minister’s announcement and the change in course from the Government. Many of us were uneasy about the low threshold for the winter fuel payment, especially in deprived communities such as mine—I have the most deprived borough in the country. Will the Minister assure my constituents th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 June 2025
Free School Meals
I applaud the Government’s decision to extend free school meals to children across the country. This initiative is a vital step in supporting families in need and will undoubtedly benefit many children across Blackpool, which the Minister will know, as he joined me in visiting primary schools last y…
Commons
Proceedings
5 June 2025
Business of the House
Tomorrow marks the start of Pride weekend in Blackpool—a town that has always been a little louder and prouder than most. Blackpool has long been a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community and a place where queer joy has always found a home. I am looking forward to marching in the parade on Saturday and j…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
5 June 2025
Civil Service Reform
How is the Cabinet Office working with the Department of Health and Social Care to bring down waiting lists, not just in Blackpool but across the UK?
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 June 2025
Engagements
Blackpool’s own boxing champion, Brian Rose, uses his gym to tackle knife crime and antisocial behaviour and to give young people a safe space, demonstrating the significant impact of amateur gyms. Thousands of amateur gyms up and down the country operate on a shoestring and cannot afford to keep th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 June 2025
Disadvantaged Communities
Nowhere is this issue more stark than in my constituency, where we have 34 critical neighbourhoods—more than any other constituency. They cover every part of the town, with 98% of its population living in them, including my own family. Does my hon. Friend agree that the impact of this issue is felt …
Commons
Oral Questions
3 June 2025
2 contributions
Reoffending: Young Offenders
1. What steps her Department is taking to help reduce reoffending by young offenders.
I thank the Minister for his answer. In a recent survey on the impact of the cost of living on childhood in Blackpool, six in 10 respondents told me that they were worried about children in their care becoming involved in crime or antisocial behaviour. The link between deprivation and crime is clear…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
2 June 2025
Illegal Working
Around our asylum hotel on Blackpool seafront, we see increased illegal working in our takeaways, bars and restaurants. Will the Minister outline to my constituents how this Government are tackling that illegal working, to ensure that we have safe spaces for people in the jobs in our vital tourism i…
Commons
Debate
22 May 2025
Access to NHS Dentistry
Anyone who has had severe toothache knows the unbearable agony. In those moments, it feels like there is nothing worse. But imagine watching your four-year-old child suffer that same pain and being told that he cannot be helped. That was the reality for my constituent, Louise. A single mum, Louise g…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Independent Sentencing Review
Under the last Conservative Government, the number of foreign criminals in our prisons rose to the tens of thousands, shamefully. Will the Lord Chancellor outline for my constituents what we are doing to deport those foreign criminals from our prisons as quickly as possible to free up vital prison s…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
20 May 2025
Topical Questions
The recent report by the independent commission on neighbourhoods shows that 98% of Blackpool’s population is living in high-need neighbourhoods. With 34 mission-critical neighbourhoods in my constituency, Blackpool is desperate for investment and economic growth. Will the Chancellor outline what th…
Commons
Debate
19 May 2025
2 contributions
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
I have spoken many times in this House about mental health because I see the impact of poor mental health every day in Blackpool—in our communities, our families and, tragically, our children and young people. Today I want to focus the House’s attention on them. As a mental health advocate and forme…
I completely agree. A family member of mine was recently suffering from a mental health crisis but could not be placed in Blackpool and had to go hundreds of miles away. That is not acceptable. Patients must have a greater say and they need more support.
Mental health charity Mind points out that c…
Commons
Oral Questions
6 May 2025
Emergency Dentistry: Access
It is a year today since I was sworn into this House, and every single week, someone has raised with me the issue of getting access to an NHS dentist in Blackpool. Nowhere is taking on adults, and nowhere is looking after pregnant women. This has to change, so can the Minister outline to my constitu…