Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
4 contributions
Co-operative Sector: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. Please do not adjust your sets: I am not the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. But I am very pleased to be here on her behalf for my first stint at the Dispatch Box. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Thank you.
I am grateful to my hon. Fri…
My hon. Friend intervened on my maiden speech, which is slightly irregular, and now he has intervened on my first outing at the Dispatch Box. Co-operatives have a wide variety of uses in the economy and I am sure that the Department and the Government more broadly will consider them. Their importanc…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
4 September 2025
10 contributions
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
This is a fascinating return to the ’90s—like much about the Conservative party—but I think the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has missed the fact that there was an election last year in which the Labour party clearly won a mandate to deliver the removal of hereditary peers. What may or…
Will the hon. Member give way?
+8 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
2 contributions
Property Taxes
It is wonderful to be back for another Opposition day debate, as I am sure we can all agree. It is another debate about imagined proposals. It must be a difficult time for Opposition Members, because for so many years, this was the time of year when they were preparing for their conference and for t…
Indeed. Thank God the Conservatives are not writing the Budget, because we have seen what their Budgets led to. I understand Opposition Members’ frustration. It is nice to see that they have settled into the most comfortable aspect of being in opposition. As I have said before in these debates, as a…
Commons
Proceedings
21 July 2025
Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity
The shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), has spoken passionately about crimes in this country—including, I dare say, some by a number of individuals who entered the country on his Government’s watch when he was a Home Office Minister. As other Members have sa…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 July 2025
Afghanistan
As I am sure many Members do, I feel a sense of anger that once again the Afghan people have been betrayed. I thank the Secretary of State for his candour and his response, and for lifting the super-injunction, which will allow proper parliamentary scrutiny, but will he assure me that the following …
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2025
Trial by Jury: Proposed Restrictions
As I think Members across the House would agree, Alex Chalk, the former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, was taken seriously in this place, as were his opinions. He recently said that some cases
“could conceivably be dealt with by a judge and two wingers, so reserve the Crown court for the mo…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 July 2025
Road and Rail Projects
The Secretary of State and the Minister for the Future of Roads will be surprised that I am going to break the habit of a lifetime and not talk about the Gateshead flyover for a change. But I am very interested in the structures fund, and I look forward to engaging further with the Department on how…
Commons
Oral Questions
7 July 2025
2 contributions
Antisocial Behaviour
25. What recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour.
We have exciting plans for Gateshead town centre, but we have more work to do on antisocial behaviour. Northumbria police’s Operation Shield has brought down antisocial behaviour significantly, but more powers and more officers are needed. What are the Government doing to ensure that the police have…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
Charlie Rogers was a unique chronicler of my community. He was a friend of L. S. Lowry and the pitman painter Norman Cornish, and his paintings and illustrations of working-class life in central Gateshead and central Newcastle are incredibly powerful and deserve a wider audience. My constituent, Bri…
Commons
Debate
1 July 2025
2 contributions
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
Will the right hon. Lady give way?
I do not know about the rest of the House, but I am slightly baffled. The Leader of the Opposition has made a virtue of her blank slate and her blank sheet of paper, but is she in favour of more or less? Is she in favour of the actions of her Government or not? This complete lack of taking responsib…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2025
Welfare Reform
The Labour party is defined by work and by the dignity of work, and so is my community in Gateshead and Whickham. People have the belief that they should be able to work to provide for themselves, their family and their community, but too many in my community have been let down by successive Governm…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
30 June 2025
Topical Questions
T3. Nothing matters more than home, so I welcome the huge progress that has been made on forces housing over the past 12 months, especially for forces families. Does the Minister agree that the Opposition’s half-baked reprivatisation plan would be a huge threat to those in the armed forces and their…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
G7 and NATO Summits
I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, especially on defence. Politics is about priorities and, as I know he knows, the most important responsibility of Government is the defence of the country and its people. I echo the sensible points made by the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
Business of the House
My constituent Danielle Wiseman is desperate to pass her theory test, but she was recently told that she cannot get a theory test in Gateshead until 2026. Will the Leader of the House make time for the urgent debate needed on access to theory tests and driving tests—an issue that bedevils people in …
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 June 2025
2 contributions
Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for the speech he is giving. I am very proud that the Royal Naval Reserve is based in part on the banks of the Tyne, on Gateshead quays. Does he agree that visible representations of armed forces bases in our communities is incredibly important in encouragin…
While the Minister commends the work of cadets, will he join me in commending 361 Gateshead air cadets for the critical role they played in remembrance services by leading the parade through the centre of Gateshead last year? Does he agree that the role of the cadets in remembrance is incredibly imp…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
17 June 2025
2 contributions
NHS: Wasteful Spending
7. What steps his Department is taking to tackle wasteful spending in the NHS.
From speaking to my local NHS trust in Gateshead, I know the value it places on driving costs down, but it still faces financial pressures. Key among those are issues related to the digital capital gap. We are really keen in Gateshead to improve that situation and to allow more people to access the …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 June 2025
Topical Questions
T2. This week, the Government have announced £86 billion for research and development. Recently, I visited PROTO and Digital Catapult in my constituency. Does the Minister agree with me that this sort of investment is exactly what Gateshead, the north-east and our country need?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
A Labour Government, a Labour Chancellor, and a Labour plan. We have half a million children getting free school meals, huge investment into our national health service, jobs and opportunities closer to home, and £39 billion for affordable housing. This is fantastic for my community, but does the Ch…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 June 2025
Nuclear Power: Investment
As a child, Sizewell was an important word to me, like Wylfa, Hunterston, Dungeness, Dounreay and Hinkley, because they were places where my father, based in Gateshead, went to work. Will the Secretary of State assure me that the announcement is part of bringing back those fantastic safe jobs, which…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 June 2025
Free School Meals
This change will make a difference to the lives of thousands of children in my Gateshead constituency, and may I say it would have been hugely welcomed by my grandmother who was a Gateshead dinner lady? Does the Minister agree that through 30 hours of free childcare, a limit on the number of branded…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Members have tried to reach for the right words to describe what the Palestinians are facing. It is incredibly difficult to convey that within the constraints of parliamentary and diplomatic language. I will not go over any of the ground that colleagues have covered, but does the Minister agree that…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 June 2025
Regional Growth
It has been good to hear so much talk about left-behind communities today, but I have always hated that phrase, because my community was not left behind by the last Government; it was wilfully abandoned by them. The £1.8 billion for the North East combined authority region is hugely welcome. I welco…
Commons
Oral Questions
3 June 2025
Topical Questions
T8. I am sure that hon. Members from all parties will be looking forward to Olivia’s law, in memory of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, coming into force, thanks to a huge amount of support from my hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley (Anneliese Midgley), Olivia’s family and other families. What else can be done…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base
America backs the deal. Canada backs the deal. Australia backs the deal. New Zealand backs the deal. Our relationship with the Five Eyes countries is our most crucial intelligence relationship, so does the Secretary of State agree that it would have been a dereliction of duty to our country and thos…
Commons
Debate
21 May 2025
3 contributions
Immigration
rose —
I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way—that roar from Opposition Members is no doubt enthusiasm for what I am about to ask.
This week, the Government signed a deal with the European Union that includes, among other things, the ability to find out if someone has been arrested in another Europea…
+1 more contribution in this session