Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
The conflict in the middle east has again highlighted just how vulnerable our off-grid rural households are to fossil fuel-driven energy shocks. Does the Chancellor agree with me that the warm homes plan is a major opportunity to upgrade rural housing and cut bills? Will she confirm what further ste…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
The Carlisle of my childhood was a thriving industrial hub of textiles, engineering and food manufacturing sectors, which were all sadly decimated by successive Conservative Governments. We do, however, remain home to the world’s oldest biscuit factory and the UK’s last tyre manufacturing facility i…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
15 April 2026
Engagements
Q10. In the last week alone, two Scottish pensioners have been hospitalised following a collision with an illegal e-bike and a 10-year-old boy in Grimsby has been injured by another. The new Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives Government the power to define these bikes as unsafe and ban …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 April 2026
Cost of Heating Oil
Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the advantages of extending regulation to this market would be to introduce a requirement on the companies to maintain a priority service register, as is the case with the gas market, which would ensure that those companies could more easily identify which custo…
Commons
Debate
14 April 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My hon. Friend has been a doughty champion on the issue of dodgy shops. I would go as far to call her a guru on dodgy shops, if she will accept that accolade. Carlisle, like her constituency, is blighted by minimarts, vape shops and so on. I am attracted to Lords amendment 333, but superficially so.…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
National Savings & Investments
Sadly, I have administered the wills of two relatives in the past year, both of whom held NS&I accounts, so I know acutely how difficult and emotional that time can be. I have two questions for the Minister in that regard. Can he assure my Carlisle constituents that any moneys owed to them and t…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
As the current Youth Parliament draws to the end of its term, can I put on record my thanks to you, Mr Speaker, for your continued support of our Youth Parliament? Earlier this week, I met Bobby Forbes, who is Cumbria’s Member of Youth Parliament. Yesterday, the Select Committee that he chairs publi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 March 2026
2 contributions
Public Baths and Lidos
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship this afternoon, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) for securing this excellent debate.
I begin by paying tribute to Kitty Wilkinson, the woman to whom we owe a debt of thanks for giving us modern public baths. …
My hon. Friend has, and I appreciate it.
Steve Yeates was the secretary of Friends of Carlisle Turkish Baths, and he sadly passed away last year. I also thank the Architectural Heritage Fund for the advice and financial support that have enabled the group to evidence the viability of its vision, wh…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Before I begin my brief speech, may I say how good it is to see my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) in the Chamber? We owe her a debt of gratitude for both introducing the Bill and piloting it through the House. She leaves behind—I was going to say large shoes, but that see…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
Citadel Homes has issued demands for rent increases of over £200 a month, in tandem with no-fault eviction notices, to tenants in the Denton Holme area of my Carlisle constituency. Those affected have done nothing wrong. Will the Leader of the House ensure that in the final weeks before the abolitio…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
Social Enterprises and Community Ownership
I would like to add one further example from my constituency. The Rebuild Site, a social enterprise, has identified that in the construction industry a large amount of waste goes to landfill and contributes hugely to our carbon dioxide emissions. It offers a service to developers whereby at the end …
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
Carlisle and north Cumbria has around 7,000 off-grid households, so I thank the Minister for his statement, which I know will be welcomed by heating oil and LPG households in my constituency. Will he reassure us that, in tackling the under-regulation left by the previous Government, this Government’…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
2 contributions
Defence Skills
8. What plans he has to increase defence skills.
I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that my constituency was home to Europe’s largest munitions factory during the first world war, a legacy that lives on in MOD Longtown. When the Minister confirms that my constituency of Carlisle will be one of the locations for the six new munit…
Commons
Debate
12 March 2026
International Women’s Day
We have had an excellent debate, with so many brilliant contributions, but I would like to single out three in particular. The hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) made a brilliant maiden speech. I am sure she will continue to make many colourful and inspiring contributions in her year…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Hospitality Sector
For almost a year, the constituents of my friend and neighbour, the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), have enjoyed the benefits of the guest beer agreement. Given that the Society of Independent Brewers believes that a right to buy a guest beer drives cus…
Commons
Debate
5 March 2026
Palliative Care
My hon. Friend raises an important point about the NHS. In my limited but painful experience of hospices, one problem is that even when there is a hospice bed available, NHS staff do not refer end-of-life patients to the hospice because the palliative team is 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. Does he agree …
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for introducing this excellent debate. I am proud to represent a constituency shaped by 2,000 years of history—a history of conflict, dispute, industrial growth, people and, above al…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
World Book Day
On that point, I invite my hon. Friend to pay tribute to my constituent Hayley Slack. She wrote the book “Little Coffee Cup”, copies of which are printed entirely on recycled coffee cups. Does my hon. Friend agree that such an innovative approach to book writing and publishing encourages young peopl…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
The Leader of the House knows how proud I am to represent England’s most northerly city. It is a city that had not one, but two Roman forts. It has a wonderful Norman castle and a 900-year-old cathedral with the nation’s favourite stained glass window and retains its city walls and citadels. Nationa…
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
Ukraine
The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point about the reconstruction that will follow the peace, and one of those areas will be mine clearance. It is estimated that about a quarter of Ukrainian land is now mined, which means that Ukrainian farmers are literally farming on the front line. We shou…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Relations with Scottish Government
1. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the effectiveness of their relationship with the UK Government.
One example of what might politely be called ineffective relations between the Scottish and UK Governments concerns bovine electronic identification, where instead of agreeing to adopt the same radio frequency as the rest of the UK and Europe, the Scottish Government have chosen to use a high-freque…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
Student Loan Repayment Plans
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, and he has set out comprehensively the issues that we look to the Government to examine. Does he agree that the Government have begun to take very welcome steps in reforming student finance, in particular the changes to the plan 5 loan system? We are looki…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Topical Questions
T7. A resident in my constituency was initially told to take a round trip of almost 200 miles to receive hospital treatment in Glasgow because he was registered with his nearest GP, which happened to be in Scotland. Can the Minister tell the House what progress is being made in reviewing and updatin…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 February 2026
3 contributions
Firearms Licensing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing the debate. I also thank the 323 residents of my constituency who signed the petition and the many more constituents who contacted me directly about the ma…
It is absolutely incumbent upon any Government to carefully consider any issue. In this regard, I urge the Minister to approach the consultation with an open mind and not to have a predetermined outcome for the conclusion.
For many, this proposal represents a far-reaching regulatory shift, with con…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Rural Mobile Connectivity
My hon. Friend is making a powerful point about the role of Openreach in this scenario. I have said for some time that its role is equivalent to that of electricity distribution network operators. Although we all pay our bills to an electricity company, it is the distribution network that is respons…
I thank the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for bringing forward this delayed but important debate. My constituency includes the very rural area of north Cumbria, bordering Scotland and Northumberland. It is beautiful, remote and, in parts, devoid of mobile coverage.
The lack of mob…