Commons
Debate
17 June 2025
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I rise to speak to amendment 160, which stands in my name, and briefly in favour of amendments 157 and 158, also in my name.
I wish to start by thanking all those who have campaigned over many years for some of the sensible changes to the Bill that we are discussing today. I also want to put on rec…
As is usual on matters of conscience, these votes will not be whipped by my party today, as I believe is the case across the House. That said, my party passed relevant policy at our party conference, and I will lay out that policy before talking a little about my predecessor’s work on the 1967 Act. …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
16 June 2025
3 contributions
Windrush Day 2025
There have been some incredibly powerful speeches this evening, and I feel really lucky to be participating in the debate. There is a lot to celebrate, but there is an awful lot to be really angry about as well.
We owe an enormous amount to the Caribbean and broader black-British community for thei…
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the huge contribution of Hongkongers in his constituency. I have asked the Minister before about some of the changes the Government propose to the time period for indefinite leave to remain. The Minister has answered that a consultation is under way, …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report
Child sexual abuse and exploitation are among the most abhorrent crimes imaginable, and we must all support every effort to deliver justice for victims and prevent these vile acts from happening again. It is, of course, right that the Government follow the recommendations of Baroness Casey’s report,…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
10 June 2025
2 contributions
Energy Efficiency
10. What steps he is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes.
Happy birthday, Mr Speaker. My Lib Dem predecessor, the much-missed Andrew Stunell, pushed for the zero carbon homes programme during his time in the 2010 to 2015 Government, having brought in his first Bill on that subject back in 2004. Sadly, those standards were scrapped as soon as the Conservati…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2025
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
My hon. Friend is laying out many of the issues that my constituents face. He talked about his constituent using the right to choose. A number of my constituents have taken that route and got a diagnosis, but they cannot access medication because of the shared care model. That is a problem my consti…
Commons
Debate
5 June 2025
Bank Closures and Banking Hubs
A point that has not yet been made is the importance of credit unions and access to responsible lending. One thing that people can do at a high street bank but cannot do at a banking hub is get a loan, so I am grateful to the hon. Member for mentioning credit unions. In my area, Nationwide on the A6…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 June 2025
Free School Meals
As a Liberal Democrat, I warmly welcome the announcement today. I stood on a manifesto that mentioned this policy at the previous four general elections, and it is good news. However, it would be the best news if the Minister could explain more about what he means by fully funded. I refer the House …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 June 2025
Regional Growth
I warmly welcome the news that the tram is finally coming to Stockport. I have also warmly welcomed that announcement every time it has been made previously, so I am delighted that the Chief Secretary will deliver it. My hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) rightly acknowledges the sterl…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
2 June 2025
Qualifying Period for Settlement
Another group for whom the immigration White Paper is creating uncertainty is refugee families. Family reunion is a vital route by which refugees can safely reach the UK, free from the grasps of criminal trafficking gangs. The Government should be looking for more ways to facilitate refugee family r…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
2 June 2025
Neighbourhood Policing
Peaceful protest is a fundamental right in any free society, but for protests to remain safe and orderly, a visible, well-trained and effective police presence is often needed on top of existing neighbourhood police teams. Cities such as Manchester are seeing rising numbers of demonstrations, which …
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
2 contributions
Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Stuart. May I join all colleagues in thanking the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter)? She has led on the issue with determination and relentlessness, and she is an example to all of us.
The people of Ukraine are fighting for …
I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for talking about the Ukrainian communities who are contributing so much in our country. I have asked the Government to give further clarity and more than an 18-month visa extension, to continue to show support for the Ukrainians living in all our consti…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 May 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Foreign Secretary rightly talks about a two-state solution being the only framework through which we can find a just and lasting peace, and this has long been the case. He also talks about bilateral and multilateral talks at the upcoming conference. If that conference does not achieve the hoped-…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
20 May 2025
Topical Questions
T5. My Hazel Grove constituents are content to pay their fair share of tax, but they are understandably disappointed when His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs overcharges and then ghosts them. Gail from Romiley is a foster carer who was owed a tax repayment. She repeatedly contacted HMRC over a nine-mo…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
20 May 2025
2 contributions
Public Spending: Value for Money
4. What progress she has made on updating the Green Book.
Bear with me on this, Mr Speaker. The previous Conservative Government did not get absolutely everything wrong. They rightly identified that Treasury spending was a powerful tool to rebalance our economy in favour of areas like ours in the north of England. They then failed to deliver, and voters de…
Commons
Debate
19 May 2025
National Security Act 2023: Charges
I am grateful to the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement.
The Liberal Democrats remain extremely grateful to all the extraordinary people from our police, intelligence and security services who continue to put themselves at risk to keep our country safe. We support the action taken by…
Commons
Debate
16 May 2025
2 contributions
Stockport Railway Station
I am grateful to my constituency neighbour for giving way in this really important debate. I started my journey to the Chamber today at Stockport station. I completely agree with his comments, but I wonder whether he would go further. Our ambition for accessibility on our railway network needs to ex…
The Minister is talking about the assessment of various options. We know that the Treasury is looking at reviewing the contents of the Green Book that measures the benefits and disbenefits of any capital spending. Can he say a few words on how we can ensure that the north, particularly the Stockport…
Commons
Debate
14 May 2025
Sanctions
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he is laying out, and I absolutely agree with him that the support for these measures across this House is really powerful. I was most recently in Kyiv two weeks ago, and the look on the faces of the people subjected to war crimes by the Russian army will sta…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 May 2025
Glass Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility
This is an important debate. I am lucky to have Robinsons Brewery in my constituency, as well as a number of pubs and the excellent bottling and packaging plant in the Bredbury industrial estate. They have been in touch with me about this issue, because they already pay for commercial waste collecti…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 May 2025
Rebalancing Regional Economies
We have had debates on the Green Book in Westminster Hall before, and I am sure the hon. Gentleman agrees with me that there is a real opportunity, in the Treasury’s review of its methodology, to drive growth in our regions and in constituencies such as mine. We should be valuing things such as inve…
Commons
Proceedings
13 May 2025
Mansion House Accord
Before I was elected to this place, I was a trustee of one of the large public pension funds, and a lot of the correspondence I received was from retired social workers who were quite grumpy about their funds being invested in extractive industry companies listed in London. We know that more young p…
Commons
Debate
12 May 2025
4 contributions
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
I rise to speak to new clause 21 and other new clauses in my name and those of other hon. Members. I put on record my particular thanks to my hon. Friends the Members for Woking (Mr Forster), and for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray), for the sterling shifts they put in on the Bill Committee.
We ca…
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for intervening on me in debates on immigration; this is not the first time we have had a conversation of this nature. Ukrainians and Hongkongers came here under the previous Government, and that is to be welcomed—
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 May 2025
Immigration System
Immigration is personal to all of us, whether we are immigrants ourselves, the descendants of immigrants, or benefit from the skills, talents and cultural richness that immigrants bring. I am immensely proud that our country took in my nan, aged 18, when she was fleeing the Nazis in 1939. I am also …
Commons
Westminster Hall
7 May 2025
Educational Opportunities in Semi-rural Areas
The hon. Gentleman is laying out well the challenges that all our young people face in accessing educational opportunities. My constituency, which is on the urban fringe of Greater Manchester, is the bridge between the centre of Stockport and High Peak. Many of my young constituents in the rural bit…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
6 May 2025
Counter Terrorism Policing: Arrests
I thank the Minister for updating the House and for advance sight of his statement. I also add my thanks to the security services and the police for all their work to keep us safe.
Over recent years Members have been called to this Chamber to discuss plots to commit acts of terror on Britain’s stre…