Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 February 2026
Post Office Green Paper
High streets in towns like Long Eaton have come under growing strain in recent years, not least because of widespread bank closures, but around one in five people is still not using online banking—a group that disproportionately includes older and disabled residents. I am fighting hard for the estab…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 February 2026
Local Power Plan
I thank the Secretary of State for explaining very clearly why the local power plan represents the biggest investment in community energy ever. It will help create jobs, develop skills and generate growth. Those are clearly the ambitions behind the redevelopment of New Stanton Park in my constituenc…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
On Monday, Ilkeston’s No.1 tourist attraction, the NatWest hole, was cruelly divided in two by a metal pole, which was installed with no explanation. The hole is a beloved part of the fabric of our town, and its defacement caused significant distress to my community. Thankfully, the pole mysteriousl…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. When I trained as a physics teacher, I saw both the enrichment that tech can provide, with easy access to calculators and apps to enhance learning, and the disruption, with endless notifications, distractions and cyber-bullying incidents. How will th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
I welcome the Minister’s statement and thank her very much for presenting the strategy. Road safety is a frequent and serious concern across Erewash. Following the tragic murder of Samuel Wilson by a driver under the influence of alcohol and drugs in Ilkeston marketplace in December 2023, I have bee…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 December 2025
2 contributions
Modern Industrial Strategy
5. What steps she is taking to support sectors identified in the UK’s modern industrial strategy 2025.
I thank the Secretary of State for her answers. I used to be one of those research scientists. I worked in metrology for advanced manufacturing, so I am glad that the Government have identified advanced manufacturing as one of the eight sectors with the greatest growth potential.
From the Victorian…
Commons
Debate
16 December 2025
4 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I was elected to this House to be a voice for working people, and the thousands of families in Erewash who, in 2022, saw their mortgages skyrocket because the Conservatives sent markets spiralling with billions in unfunded tax cuts. The people who I represent did not vote for Liz Truss—most of them …
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his amusing intervention. I am sure that time will tell.
We must all contribute to Britain’s renewal, and there are things that only Government can do to secure that renewal. If we want to get the NHS back on its feet, fix our crumbling schools, cut waiting list…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Budget Resolutions
Undoubtedly my constituents will be watching this Budget debate closely, asking what it means for them and whether it will sort out the cost of living, fix the NHS and help pay down the national debt. What they will have seen from my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and her ministerial team is a Bud…
Commons
Proceedings
24 November 2025
Ministerial Code
My constituents have not forgotten following the rules during lockdown only to find out that the then Government, who set those rules, were having raucous, drunken parties in the corridors of power. I greatly welcome this Government’s strengthening the ministerial code and ensuring that our nation’s…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 November 2025
Topical Questions
T4. Much of Erewash is on a floodplain, so the Flood Re scheme is an enormous help to my constituents, particularly those who were catastrophically affected by Storm Babet in 2023. However, local businesses have told me that there is no similar scheme to support their properties. What steps is the M…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
5 November 2025
Engagements
Q12. Since this Government massively boosted the national minimum wage for young people, my Erewash constituents earn far more than the £3.40 an hour that I was paid in my first job just 17 years ago. What is the Deputy Prime Minister’s response to the people, including Conservative and Reform Membe…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
4 contributions
Supporting High Streets
When the shadow Minister’s party came into government in 2010, I was working in the Animal store in Queens Arcade in Cardiff, which was an anchor institution there: it brought people in, and ensured that retail was thriving in the community. When his party left government 14 years later, the Animal …
In my area, the Conservative administration brought in a parking charge after Labour campaigned extensively for free parking. I was reassured by the local council recently, because the data showed that parking charges actually made no difference at all to footfall. Could the right hon. Gentleman com…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
This evening, I will join Long Eaton’s Men Walking and Talking group, who meet every Thursday to go for a walk in the park and discuss life and their mental health. The group gives men a safe space to open up about their mental health and provide each other with judgment-free support. Will the Leade…
Commons
Debate
27 October 2025
Victims and Courts Bill
I will speak in favour of new clauses 13 and 14 and the expansion to clause 3. I served with some colleagues in Committee, but may I begin by thanking all Members who have contributed tonight? We have had a series of impassioned speeches from across the House, and I particularly thank my hon. Friend…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
Topical Questions
As a migraine sufferer, I am afflicted about once a week by debilitating symptoms, which always include partial blindness, and sometimes include numbness in my fingers, nausea, brain fog, sensitivity to light and sound, a pounding headache and even an inability to speak—heartbreaking for a politicia…
Commons
Petition
13 October 2025
Ilkeston Market Place
This evening, I am presenting a petition in the name of Samuel Wilson, who, on 16 December 2023, was murdered in Ilkeston by a man driving a van under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. This murder was possible because of a lack of appropriate anti-vehicle measures on Ilkeston marketplace. This p…
Commons
Debate
13 October 2025
Baby Loss
I thank all hon. Members in this evening’s debate, particularly those who secured the debate but also the many who shared their incredibly powerful stories.
We have heard from several Members about the failures at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust to keep mothers and their babies safe. In 2…
Commons
Debate
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Regional Transport Inequality
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) for securing this debate. She knows my constituency well, and will be familiar with many of the issues that I will raise.
Erewash is at the geographic and, dare I say, emotional heart of the east midlands— the halfway point betw…
I agree completely with my hon. Friend. Indeed, for years the east midlands has languished, as my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North said in her opening remarks, on the bottom few rungs of the table for regional transport funding. I am glad that times are changing, however. The Treasury’s £2 bil…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
8 September 2025
Topical Questions
T5. Like several colleagues across the House, I grew up in the air cadets. I left as a cadet warrant officer, having gained so much by flying aeroplanes, shooting rifles, marching in a band and, crucially, learning the self-discipline and leadership that ultimately brought me to this House. Cadets a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing the debate and thank my great friend the Minister for taking his position today.
When the Hong Kong UK welcome programme was established in 2021…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 September 2025
Topical Questions
T4. Erewash’s industrial base was built on the Erewash canal, which is now a lovely leisure spot for my constituents. But abandoned boats, like the two near Sandiacre lock that sat rotting for over two years, pose serious risks to public safety and local wildlife. I was very glad to work recently …
Commons
Debate
22 July 2025
Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment
I spent my youth in the grassroots music scene playing in bands and putting on shows with my friends. The music was rough, the gear rarely worked, and if we got one lonely punter who was not a family member turn up we considered that a win.
The DIY music scene was where my journey into politics beg…
Commons
Debate
21 July 2025
Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary
In February 1942, Singapore fell to the forces of the Japanese empire. Nearly 85,000 British, Indian, Australian and Malay soldiers were captured. One of those many thousands was Major Paul Robinson, a Sherwood Forester from Ilkeston. He was taken to join the hundreds of thousands of prisoners of wa…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
2 contributions
New Nuclear
24. What assessment he has made of the role of new nuclear in supporting a clean energy transition.
Rolls-Royce in Derby has recently been announced as the preferred bidder for the delivery of small modular reactors, which means that many of my Erewash constituents will become the beating heart of the workforce that delivers the reactors. Can the Minister explain how Derbyshire’s finest SMRs will …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
I thank the Secretary of State for her fantastic statement. Could she elaborate on how the Best Start family hubs will support the families that I represent in Erewash, and those across Derbyshire, who are fighting for a better deal for children with special educational needs and disabilities?