Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
Fuel Duty
My hon. Friend hits the nail precisely on the head. We are debating a possible fuel duty increase seven months ahead of it happening. The reality is that the Opposition have been caught championing an illegal war in the middle east that the public of this country do not support, and they are trying …
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
Royal Mail: Performance
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg.
My constituents in Hartlepool report letters arriving late, entire streets going days without deliveries and, in some cases, post turning up only once every 13 days—this is not once or twice, but a pattern lasting for months. Let me be ab…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Topical Questions
Ministers will be aware of the campaign to make all court and tribunal transcripts available for free. Fees can run into the thousands, effectively acting as a paywall to justice. Do Ministers agree that access to the law cannot be based on wealth alone, and what will they do about it?
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Child Maintenance Service
One of my constituents has raised this issue with me; she is owed nearly £6,000. She says:
“What makes me most mad is if he paid, I wouldn’t need UC to top up my wages. The government is paying twice, once for chasing him and once for covering him.”
Is the system not completely broken?
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
GP Contract
My dad was a GP in Hartlepool for 33 years. He worked through the improvements brought in by the last Labour Government and, until his retirement, through the destruction that the last Conservative Government oversaw—most notably the inability to get a same-day urgent appointment, which saw far too …
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
2 March 2026
Topical Questions
As this is Colleges Week, will the Secretary of State join me in paying tribute to the incredible college staff in Hartlepool and across the country for the work that they do? Does she agree that we must end the misguided prejudice that the academic route is always best, and champion vocational qual…
Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
13 contributions
Local Government Finance
I am sure the hon. Member did not mean to inadvertently mislead the House, but as I was a councillor in Hartlepool in 2010, I can tell him with absolute surety that it was the Conservatives who cancelled the building schools for the future programme. I think he should take the opportunity to correct…
Sorry, they cancelled it; we initiated it.
+11 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Police Grant Report
My hon. Friend makes my point for me, which is that the devastating thing was ripping the experience out of our police force and then dressing up new recruits as somehow a replacement. That led to higher crime in my constituency and, I know, in his.
My hon. Friend talks about a new funding formula needing to be based on need and the challenges that the precept creates. We are never going to get fairness if the council tax system is the method of doing this. Is she ruling out getting rid of the police precept as a method of raising funding?
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Nuclear Projects: Alternative Routes to Market
15. What recent progress he has made on developing alternative routes to market for new nuclear projects.
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the publication of the advanced nuclear framework. It is an important step forward, providing a clear pathway for credible projects such as the one that X-Energy and Centrica are delivering in my constituency. Will he ensure, though, that the right balance is struck …
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
9 February 2026
Topical Questions
Town centre crime in Hartlepool has fallen by 15% in the last year, thanks to the brilliant work of our police force under the leadership of Helen Wilson, but far more needs to happen. My constituents deserve to feel safe in their town centre, so can the Secretary of State tell me what more we can d…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
Lord Mandelson
I stand here acutely aware that I am the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool, and I think today I speak for Hartlepudlians when I look at the evidence before us and say: undoubtedly, Peter Mandelson is a traitor. On that basis, it is important that the public have confidence in this process. Does th…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 February 2026
Engagements
Q7. Hartlepool now has the third highest number of children in care in England—a number fuelled by southern councils shipping families to my town. This is blowing a £6 million hole in our budget, a deficit that my brilliant Labour council has halved, but there is now nothing left to cut. Percentage …
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Changes to Jury Trials
19. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposal to restrict the right to a jury trial for certain offences on court backlogs.
I recognise the Justice Secretary’s sincere commitment to tackling the court backlog that was disgracefully left by Conservative and Reform politicians. However, one of the most troubling aspects of the proposals on jury trials is the suggestion that the changes will be permanent, regardless of whet…
Commons
Debate
29 January 2026
3 contributions
Non-league Football
I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the importance of non-league football and the vital role it plays in communities across the country.
Non-league clubs are often more than football clubs. They are community hubs, employers, charities and a source of deep local pride. Nowhere is that cleare…
Of course I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to those organisations, which exemplify why non-league clubs are so important to their communities. He pre-empts me, because I was going to remind him of our recent match on 30 December, when we beat you 2-1.
I will focus my primary remarks on the n…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Business of the House
Keeping our neighbourhoods clean and tidy requires a whole community effort, and that is exactly what we are delivering in Hartlepool. Our Labour council is investing £1 million in its Pride in Place campaign, complementing the fantastic work of volunteers from Hartlepool Big Town Tidy Up to make a …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector: Hartlepool
6. What steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality sector in Hartlepool.
I thank the Minister for her answer. The Marine hotel in Seaton Carew in my constituency of Hartlepool has been run for the last 30 years by Lee and Claire Dexter. It is a family business run by hard-working people who are committed to their community, yet they have seen their business rates rise si…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
4 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
It seems to have been indicated a couple of times during this debate that President Trump has apologised. As far as I can tell, he has not apologised at any point for his disgraceful comments. Will the hon. Gentleman join me in encouraging President Trump from this place to do so publicly and quickl…
Like my hon. Friend, I have many veterans in my constituency, and when I speak to them, they often talk about how lip service is paid to the armed forces covenant. Does she therefore agree that we must ensure that when it is extended to every public sector organisation, they are held to account in d…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
I offer a cautious welcome to the proposals. Reorganisations and mergers are only effective if they create a more efficient system that reinvests savings into the frontline. Under the Tories, Hartlepool saw cuts to the frontline, including to our custody suite. Does the Home Secretary agree that the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Water White Paper
Hartlepool is a coastal community home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the north-east, but they are too often polluted by water companies to the detriment of my constituents. I absolutely agree with the Secretary of State that this Government have done more in 18 months to fix this mess tha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Warm Homes Plan
Some 15% of my constituents live in fuel poverty, and many more go without in order to pay the outrageous energy bills they face. Many vulnerable people, children and elderly people are living in properties that are too cold and too damp. That is not acceptable to me, and I know that it is not accep…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
It is clear that social media harms our children. I am firmly of the belief that when a child is being harmed, it is the Government’s duty to act. I support a ban, but even the most cursory engagement with Hartlepool residents shows me very clearly that there is a range of views among parents on thi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for the expert way in which he opened the debate. I think the last time I spoke in a petition debate that he led, Members across the Chamber agreed about mandatory digital ID, so I am…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Currently, not a single NHS dentist in Hartlepool is taking on new patients, and many of my constituents are desperate. We have made real progress on urgent care, including a new urgent dental access centre, but it is not enough. What more will be done to fix NHS dentistry in Hartlepool and acro…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Brain Cancer Treatment: Hartlepool
7. What steps he is taking to improve access to tissue freezing for brain cancer patients in Hartlepool.
I thank the Minister for her answer, and for her positive response during a recent Westminster Hall debate on this issue. As she will recall from that debate, my constituent Trevor Jones died in September last year from glioblastoma. His widow, Samantha, learned only later that life-extending treatm…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
12 January 2026
Topical Questions
In purporting to discharge their homelessness duties, some southern local authorities are bundling vulnerable people into taxis in the middle of the night and dumping them in Hartlepool because our housing is cheaper. They are acting in a vile way. I welcome the fact that the Minister has written to…