Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
14 January 2026
Engagements
Q11. Many of my constituents in Stevenage were appalled to hear Reform MPs oppose the principle of deploying British troops to maintain peace in Ukraine. Our brilliant armed forces have defended democracy in Europe across the generations, so it is shameful that the leader of Reform opposes that toda…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 January 2026
Ukraine and Wider Operational Update
I, too, commend the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister for their calm and determined resolve in defence of Ukraine. Beyond that, Ukraine has no truer friend than this country. Putin knows that too, which is why he would never tolerate a democracy such as ours, nor have a debate and questioning…
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
3 contributions
BBC Charter Renewal
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I thank the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) for bringing this important issue to Westminster Hall.
In the short time I have, I want to make only one point: the BBC is distinctly British. What do I mean by that? It is a servi…
The hon. Member really wants to hammer the BBC about the amount of scandals. Guess what? It is the biggest broadcaster, so I do not think that just talking about numbers is enough. The fact that is really important about the BBC is that, compared to other broadcasters, we hold it to a higher standar…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
15 December 2025
2 contributions
Defence Spending: Economic Growth
15. What steps he is taking through defence spending to help increase economic growth.
As the Secretary of State knows from visiting my constituency, Stevenage hosts a thriving defence and space sector, with more than a quarter of satellites in space built in our town. Next month, Airbus Defence and Space will open Launchpad, a new facility in Stevenage giving small and medium-sized e…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Costs for Commuters
7. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce costs for commuters.
I thank the Chancellor and the Transport Secretary for freezing rail fares next month, which will help to ease commuting costs, especially for my constituents who use Stevenage and Knebworth stations. However, affordability alone is only part of the railway jigsaw; regeneration schemes like Stevenag…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
4 contributions
Digital ID
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair today, Ms Furniss. The historian AJP Taylor said:
“Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state…He could travel abroad or leave his country for ever without a passport or any sort o…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
1 December 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
The right hon. Lady says that people will pay for people on benefits, but some 60% of those people on benefits are working. Does she not agree that we are supporting people into work?
This Budget shows that after years of decline, this Labour Government are building a stronger and more secure economy, one that works for working people in Stevenage and the villages across our constituency. We are beating the forecasts, with growth upgraded to 1.5% this year and wages rising faster…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
I thank my hon. Friend for leading today’s debate, and the Movers and Shakers for promoting both the debate and the Parky charter. My hon. Friend talks about working together. One of the issues I have heard from constituents in Stevenage is misdiagnosis at the outset, where GPs have not identified t…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
12 November 2025
Engagements
Q15. I pay tribute to a new veterans group in Stevenage, The Muster Point, which was founded by Stuart Mendelson and Steve Black. Last week, I joined them in a continuous 72-hour vigil at Stevenage war memorial, where veterans shared stories of family and friends lost in war. But veterans deserve mo…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
Remembrance Day: Armed Forces
It is an honour to mark Armistice Day by speaking in this debate about our armed forces—those who serve today and those who served before them. Their courage and service is woven into the tapestry of every village, town and city in this country.
In my constituency, that tapestry has been preserved …
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
5 contributions
Supporting High Streets
This motion is a masterclass in political gaslighting. It claims to support high streets, but proposes slashing public investment, scrapping workers’ rights and deregulating the very protections that keep our communities safe. It is not really a motion; it is a demolition notice for our high streets…
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. The point is that we, as politicians, have a duty to explain facts and base our arguments on evidence, which was not done in this case. I put it to all politicians and would-be politicians to base their arguments on facts.
This motion is a Tro…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 October 2025
Holidays During School Term Time
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) on introducing the petition, and I thank the petitioners themselves. I am also grateful to the 865 people in Stevenage who signed this petition, showing how strongly families fe…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
Renters’ Rights Bill
I fully support my hon. Friend the Minister’s motion to agree with Lords amendments 19 and 39, and I thank him for all his work. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) for piloting this momentous legislation through the House. If I may, I add my own th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 October 2025
4 contributions
Asylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
Will the hon. Lady give way?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for leading the debate.
I think that all of us in the Chamber agree on one point: hotels are simply not the right place to house anyone seeking as…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
15 October 2025
2 contributions
Defence Industrial Strategy
3. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the defence industrial strategy on Northern Ireland.
Airbus, which manufactures satellites in my Stevenage constituency, will soon integrate the civil aircraft wing business at the historical Shorts site in Belfast, close to where Thales tests its satellites and produces vital missiles for Ukraine. Will the Minister work with colleagues across Governm…
Commons
Debate
13 October 2025
Heritage Sites: East of England
I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. Does she agree that other heritage sites including independently run stately homes like Knebworth House in my constituency receive no Government funding and therefore need a fair fiscal and planning framework? Does she agree that we need the Government…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Manchester Terrorism Attack
I thank the Home Secretary for her powerful statement and send my condolences to those grieving for their loved ones following the horrific terrorist attack, which realised the fears of those in our Jewish community across the country. A Stevenage constituent wrote to me straight after the attack to…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Neighbourhood Policing
18. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.
I commend the Government for their commitment to neighbourhood policing, not least the proposed powers in the Crime and Policing Bill that will empower officers to stop antisocial and illegal e-scooter riding, which has been a dangerous blight across Stevenage town centre. However, does my right hon…
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace
Like the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty), I was part of the excellent armed forces parliamentary scheme visit to Operation Chessman in Poland earlier this year. I also saw the scrambling of our RAF Typhoon jet and it going up in the sky to check out suspicious Russian air activity. That…
Commons
Debate
4 September 2025
3 contributions
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
This is not about individuals; it is about the principle. Does the Father of the House agree that it is the principle we should be talking about today, not the individuals, however good they may be at serving in the other place?
Our constitution is indeed a very curious beast. Nobody starting from scratch would come anywhere near designing what we have for this country—perhaps apart from the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart), and some of those on the Benches…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
21 July 2025
Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity
We have heard Conservative and Reform MPs decry legislation that they say is stopping the problem being fixed. They talk the talk, but they do not actually vote for legislation. The shadow Home Secretary, with an angry face, was going on about what is happening in hotels, but it was his Government’s…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Strategy for Elections
I declare a former interest as a lawyer specialising in election law. I can say from that previous life that the previous Tory Government left our election law in an unfair and dangerous state: unfair in that they made it harder for people to vote, and dangerous in that they did nothing to prevent f…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 July 2025
2 contributions
Leasehold Reform
8. What steps she is taking to reform the leasehold system.
My constituent Ed, a leaseholder in Monument Court, Stevenage, has been trapped for years in an unsellable flat after the building failed its EWS1 assessment because Higgins Homes had not followed its own architectural plans. He has faced uncapped and unregulated service charges and utility billing,…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
NHS 10-Year Plan
I thank the Secretary of State and everyone involved in creating this well-designed and excellent 10-year plan. There is so much good stuff in it, but I particularly like the approach of shifting treatment from hospitals to neighbourhoods and homes. Many of my constituents in Stevenage have been tak…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
3 July 2025
2 contributions
Community Cohesion
4. What steps the Church of England is taking to support community cohesion in its parishes.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the contribution of the churches in my constituency, from All Saints in Datchworth, which is currently celebrating 850 years of service, to St Mary’s in Aston, where the Rev. Canon Jenny Gray has recently retired. However, another church, St Andrew &a…