Commons
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Early Release of Prisoners
The hon. Member calls this an “ideologically anti-prison Government”, but in 14 years of Conservative Governments, there was a net increase of 500 prison places. In the very first Division post the King’s Speech in this Parliament, I remember voting to deal with that problem, and we had to vote to r…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
1 July 2026
Engagements
Q5. In this increasingly dangerous world the space domain is critical, so I welcome the £3.2 billion set out for space in the defence investment plan. The plan refers to Skynet 6A, the first military satellite to be designed, manufactured and tested completely in the UK, beginning at Airbus in my co…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 June 2026
Animal Abusers
I thank the petitioners for bringing this important issue to the House; I am very sympathetic.
Animal abuse comes in many forms, and we should also consider what sanctions owners who are irresponsible with their pets should face. In my constituency, we recently had a horrific case where an XL bully…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Fly-tipping: Residential Areas
It is a pleasure, as always, to see you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for securing the debate, because fly-tipping affects every community in this country.
Stevenage was the country’s first post-war new town, which is gr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
3 June 2026
2 contributions
Public Service Reform
8. What steps he is taking to support public service reform in Northern Ireland.
Thanks to this Government’s investment in public services, Northern Ireland received a record funding settlement in the spending review. Given that settlement and the extra transformation funding, does my hon. Friend agree that it is now up to the Executive in Northern Ireland to deliver the changes…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
1 June 2026
Topical Questions
As my ministerial Friends will know, MBDA, which makes the Storm Shadow missiles used in Ukraine, has doubled its workforce in my constituency since 2010 and is investing £4.8 million annually in training. What more can the Secretary of State do to support businesses in the training and resilience o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 June 2026
Child Sexual Offender Data
The hon. Member is making a very clear and reasoned argument. Does he agree that everyone here cares deeply about this horrific crime, and that we should be thinking about how we can approach this together rather than attacking people over their party political positions?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 May 2026
Youth Justice
I recently hosted a screening of a short film called “The Orphan”, a dramatisation of a boy being caught up in county lines activity. It was directed by Leo Powell and supported by Stevenage borough council and across our local schools. I welcome the White Paper, particularly the new offence of chil…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 April 2026
Park Home Owners
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Alec. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing this debate. For residents of park homes in my constituency, this is not a technical issue; it is about power, protection and whether anyone steps in when things go w…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
Members of the public watching this matter will have been baffled by all the speculation about who said what and when, so I thank the Prime Minister for his calm and clear answers today. No Prime Minister wants to be or should be in a situation like this, where governmental processes mean that criti…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
2 contributions
Euro 2028
1. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that hosting UEFA Euro 2028 supports communities.
Our fantastic English Football League club, Stevenage FC, is pushing for promotion to the championship, and its community foundation has delivered nearly £10.7 million of social value to my constituents in the last year alone. Communities outside of host cities have not always felt the benefits of h…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 April 2026
Police Federation
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s experience and advocacy of police officers throughout the country. In my constituency, local officers from the federation have been supporting police officers. This debate is not about them, but how can we support them by giving them more choice?
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
5 contributions
Student Loans
This Opposition debate brings to mind the old proverb that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today. During this debate, we have heard from Opposition Members who were part of the Government who planted that tree and proceeded to do absolutely nothing while it…
I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. [Hon. Members: “Right honourable.”] Yes, right honourable —I remember her time as Chief Whip. Like her, I did not have the burdens that people who went to university after me had to face, so I am very conscious of my responsibility to those generations and…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 March 2026
International Women’s Day
All of us in this House—women and men—will have been inspired by individual women, both in and outside our own lives. I have certainly been inspired by many of the contributions made by women Members today, and I have been proud to be part of the minority who are listening and also contributing.
I …
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
5 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
Will the right hon. Gentleman give way on that point?
We have just heard the Conservative definitions of a child and an adult, but according to the law in this country, there is no single definition. The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10, the driving age in this country is 17, and the voting age has gone down over the decades. S…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
26 February 2026
Bereaved Children: Government Support
I would like to add my personal thanks to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) not just for securing today’s debate but for being such a powerful champion of this cause. I came to it myself through leading a petitions debate. The hon. Member took part in it, which I really apprecia…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Gibraltar Treaty
The people of Gibraltar have had 10 years of uncertainty since the Brexit vote, so I congratulate His Majesty’s Government, and indeed the Government of Gibraltar, on working so hard to get the treaty over the line. When I visited Gibraltar last year as a member of the armed forces parliamentary sch…
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
Ukraine
My right hon. Friend has been a steadfast champion of this country’s support for Ukraine, alongside his predecessors—the country is indeed united. Will he pay tribute to those in our defence industry, including in my constituency, who have been manufacturing the Storm Shadow missiles that have been …
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Defence Manufacturing Jobs
9. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support jobs in the defence manufacturing sector in Scotland.
Labour’s defence industrial strategy will strengthen our security across the whole United Kingdom and deliver an unprecedented growth deal for Scotland that includes £250 million of UK-wide investment and £182 million for skills. For me, this is personal. My grandfather worked in the Glasgow shipyar…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
2 contributions
UK-German Relations
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Twigg. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) on securing this important and timely debate. It is really good to have the Minister here covering another part of the world for a change, which I am sure he will appreci…
I hear my hon. Friend, who makes a salient argument. We have seen how some of our European neighbours, Germany and France, perhaps collaborate in a different way, and we will see whether that works out. I hope that the Minister will speak to his friends in the Ministry of Defence and the wider Gover…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Student Loan Repayment Plans
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for securing the debate.
Young people who work hard, gain qualifications and enter the workforce deserve a system that supports their ability to build secure and fulfilling lives. On…
The hon. Member made the point about working-class people thinking about whether to go to university and be loaded with debt. Why should they have that worry when people who have far more family income do not have to make that choice?
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Defence Industrial Strategy 2025
9. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the defence industrial strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.
My hon. Friend will be aware that the defence industry sector is well established in my constituency, where it is building links with its counterparts in Northern Ireland. Does the Minister agree that the defence industrial strategy presents a huge opportunity for businesses in constituencies throug…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
I welcome the Prime Minister’s report back from his visit to China and Japan. Previous Tory Governments refused to make such reports for many years. He says that the issues discussed included human rights, trade and security. I am particularly interested in what he had to say about the border securi…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
2 contributions
New Towns
Can my hon. Friend confirm which is the oldest new town?
It is a pleasure to come second—on this occasion—to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince). Stevenage may not have a concrete donkey, but we have Donkey park, as well as a concrete polar bear in Chells, of which we are very proud. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cumber…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
3 contributions
Ukraine
We have heard powerful speeches today. Those of us in the Chamber are united in support of our friends in Ukraine. Members have spoken about their own experiences of support, and about the support given by Members who are not present. But we must remember this: Members of the Ukrainian Parliament—th…
Absolutely; the hon. Lady makes a good point about Ukrainians we have given sanctuary to in this country. They are making a fantastic contribution and should be proud of their identity; just as many of us, even if we are not doing it today, wear the Ukrainian flag alongside the Union Jack, they shou…
+1 more contribution in this session