Commons
Debate
15 July 2026
5 contributions
Iran
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Iran.
I welcome this opportunity to update the House on the latest developments in Iran, the strait of Hormuz and the wider middle east.
First, as a veteran myself, I know what a remarkable and difficult job Britain’s armed forces are doing. From our …
We say thank you to every member of our military in the middle east, saving lives and working with international partners to defend our interests. Britain is proud of you.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
7 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank the hon. Member for raising such an important issue, and I thank Clint and Carol for their service. Our blast injury support is world leading. We have invested £3.65 million in cutting-edge scanning technology, and we collaborate internationally to drive forward research on blast-induced and…
I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important question. She is a doughty champion of our servicepeople and we are very grateful for her support. As someone who has four children who were all raised in the service, I understand the pressures of service life. While service personnel are not cov…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
3 contributions
Cadets
My time as an air cadet is one of the reasons why I am stood here today. We are committed to expanding and modernising the five MOD-sponsored cadet forces and to investing to improve opportunities for young people, which supports social mobility, confidence and resilience. The 30% growth target in t…
I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue, but I do not recognise the idea that we have cut the funding. We still intend to expand the cadet forces by 40,000 cadets, and that target will be met by 2035. The details he mentions are in the cadet action plan.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
2 contributions
MOD and NHS Collaboration: Richmondshire
I am pleased to say that the Catterick integrated care centre will open in Richmondshire later this year. This cutting-edge healthcare facility is a joint MOD and NHS initiative, the first of its kind, which will deliver transformative integrated health and care services to the military and civilian…
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I entirely agree with the right hon. Gentleman, and it is an incredible honour to respond to a question from him. The work that he has done shows just how important the work of Back Benchers is: it is truly transformative, and something from which the rest of us can all learn.…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
2 contributions
Veterans: Homelessness
One veteran rough sleeping is one too many. This Government will always ensure that support is available when needed. We have committed an additional £12 million to the reducing veteran homelessness programme. Alongside Op Fortitude, we will deliver three years of support services across the UK for …
I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important point. I am continuing my predecessor’s close work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and with local authorities to ensure that veterans receive the support they deserve, and I will soon meet with MHCLG to discuss the m…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
5 contributions
Operation Valour
Thank you, Mr Speaker. As it might be in excess of 47 years since the last Labour RAF veteran stood at this Dispatch Box, I would like to acknowledge those who served in a squadron.
Valour will improve the co-ordination of services at national, regional and local level, ensuring that veterans from …
I thank my hon. Friend for recognising the work of the Darren Deady Foundation. As an Afghan veteran, I take this issue incredibly seriously. The foundation is doing incredible work in the name of Kingsman Darren Deady, led by his family and in his memory, and I would take great pleasure in joining …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
9 June 2026
Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill
Perhaps I can give the hon. Lady a moment to gauge where she is in her notes while I take her back momentarily to amendment 7. She spoke about the importance of steel to our defence industry, which is therefore central to European security and to deterring the threat of Russian rearmament, but amend…
Commons
Debate
4 June 2026
Pride Month
My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech. While I understand the intent behind the guidance, many of my constituents are concerned about its practical effect. It is one thing to write guidance for a world in which everyone behaves reasonably and respectfully, but it is another to ensure that …
Commons
Debate
2 June 2026
4 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
This weekend, just over two years after leaving the military, I received my recall notification. I managed to update the details within it. At the same time, I was presented with nearly 60 pages-worth of forms to complete just to take on a reserve service commitment. Does my hon. and gallant Friend …
The right hon. Member is making a powerful point, and it is something I hope that I can expand on as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the armed forces community. We have worked extensively with the Department for Education on this matter, and I hope to be able to address the right h…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
Preparedness for National Emergencies
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I want to focus on two areas of national resilience. The first is hospital capacity. The covid inquiry highlighted the lack of surge capacity within the NHS, and NATO recognises the lack of medical capacity as a critical vulnerability. Th…
Commons
Debate
21 May 2026
Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill
The nationalisation of the steel industry explicitly links our domestic and international policies. It demonstrates the need for us to go out and champion our steel sector by filling its order books, as we have been able to do because of the wonderful trade deal created with Nigeria, which is expand…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 April 2026
Engagements
Q2. Today marks the anniversary of the racist murder of my friend’s brother, Stephen Lawrence. Tomorrow is St George’s day. Does my right hon. Friend agree that now, more than ever, we need to tell the positive story of Englishness, founded in who we are and not in who the far right would like us to…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
I joined East London and Essex liberal synagogue for a seder this month. They, and all our Jewish communities, are loved and respected—something that has been made clear to them in the many written messages from our churches and mosques, and from across the community. I truly regret not speaking out…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
Mandelson’s appointment was a huge failure of the British state, and I welcome the Prime Minister’s candour in accepting his responsibility for his part in it. Does the Prime Minister agree that restoring public trust is a mammoth task that requires leaders on all sides to be careful with their lang…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
I welcome the Prime Minister’s leadership in supporting our regional partners and our national interests, particularly that of free navigation. However, that lies outwith our most immediate security problem, which is defending Europe from Russian attack in all its forms. Does the Prime Minister agre…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Topical Questions
T2. As the US-Iran war pushes up petrol prices, ensuring that people can own electric vehicles is an economic and environmental necessity. To do that, it is essential that families can reach a charging point within a four-minute walk of their house, which Waltham Forest council has enabled for 86% o…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Middle East
The availability of Type 45s is a direct result of the severe defence cuts enacted by the Conservatives in 2010, so I am incredulous that they comment on their availability without giving an apology. However, while we recognise that perhaps there is not an Iranian missile capable of travelling the 2…
Commons
Debate
12 March 2026
2 contributions
International Women’s Day
My hon. Friend is making an incredibly powerful point. However, if we are really going to change things, we need fathers to speak to their daughters. I recall making a deliberate point when my daughter started menstruating. I was standing in the supermarket trying to assess and understand what I was…
“A very quick speech from Calvin Bailey,” said no one ever. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—this will show your influence over me.
In 2021, the Defence Committee published a landmark report on women in the armed forces. One of the most consistent things that came out of it about women who serve is …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. As we know, this Labour Government have created a men’s health strategy in which the men and boys summit later this year will be an essential pillar. Today, the all-party parliamentary group on prostate cancer heard powerful testimony from Movember, Maggie’s…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
It was a Conservative 2010 strategic defence and security review and subsequent basing review that took the Royal Navy’s repair facilities from three to one—an utterly reckless decision that was made worse considering that the Conservatives knew of the Type 45s’ power plant problems—creating an inte…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
The impacts of this spiralling conflict are serious and will fall on our constituents’ pockets, so I welcome the Chancellor’s statement and the measures that she has set out. Yet last week, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) was in the United States attempting to lobby against our national i…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
3 contributions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
I thank my hon. Friend for her very powerful and pertinent speech. One of the big shifts is from aid to trade, and as trade envoys, we are trying to deliver some of our aid ambitions through trade relationships. However, if we just do not have the people available, there is no way that we can make t…
The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point about the British Council and the work that it does. Much of that work is required to counter malign Russian and Chinese influence. There are a number of countries that are desperate to get out of the grasp of China and would like to have greater frien…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
1. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.
At the announcement of the £50 million Wales defence growth deal that the Secretary of State and the Defence Secretary made a few weeks ago, they visited Space Forge, which, at the request of my air cadets from 12F Walthamstow and Leighton Squadron, I am meeting at the Space Expo in east London tomo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
Community Cohesion
I thank my hon. Friend for securing such an important debate. One of our vital tasks in creating stronger communities is to counter how patriotism and national symbols are abused by racists and the far right. I am grateful for the work that British Future and Hope not Hate are doing with me on this,…