Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
Last week, the east window of Carlisle cathedral was voted the nation’s favourite stained glass window. May I invite the Leader of the House to join me in congratulating John de Salkeld, who in 1359 donated 40 shillings
“to make a window anew in the chancel”
of Carlisle cathedral; Ivo de Raughton,…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 February 2026
Healthy Relationships
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis) for securing this excellent debate. One organisation that does really interesting work in this space—which, I am ashamed to say, I did not know much about until last year—is Soroptimist International, which has developed fantastic “Lov…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
Young Children’s Screen Time
I am at the other end of my parenting journey—my little girl is 24 today. She is a paediatric nurse and has drawn my attention to the “Cocomelon” channel on YouTube, which is a sensory overload. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is about not just the length of time, but the content—and sometimes the…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
9 February 2026
2 contributions
Illegal Migrants: Pull Factors
8. What steps her Department is taking to reduce pull factors for migrants seeking to arrive in the UK illegally.
Illegal immigration, illegal working and illegal trading frequently go hand in hand, and all too often manifest themselves in the proliferation of dodgy shops on our high streets. While I welcome the shop raids in my constituency last summer, without action to tackle illegality at source the police …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
The reality is that if someone lives in a big city with access to a university teaching hospital, their access to cancer treatment will be different from those who live in a town or small city like Carlisle, where we face challenges in recruiting and retaining specialist consultants. Does the Minist…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Business of the House
The last Labour Government lifted 600,000 children out of poverty and helped break down barriers to opportunity by introducing child trust funds, giving every single 18 year old savings regardless of their background. However, on turning 18, a disabled person will find that if they have a care packa…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 February 2026
Engagements
Q2. Every month, people across our constituencies are injured by illegal e-bikes being ridden at 30, 40 and 50 mph through our town centres and parks, but for every illegal e-bike that the police seize and crush, another 10 hit our streets, because they are too freely available to buy. That is wh…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
Postal Services: Rural Areas
The hon. Gentleman is talking about mobile outreach services. One of the things that concerns me is that when the Post Office closes a bricks-and-mortar branch, it is required to carry out a six-week consultation with the community, but when it closes a mobile outreach service, there is no requireme…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 February 2026
Town and City Centre Safety
My hon. Friend makes the point about people needing to feel safe in their communities. One of the issues that many of us hear from our constituents about is illegal e-bikes speeding through our parks and town centres. Many reputable dealers, such as Bikeseven and Palace Cycles in my constituency, wo…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Business of the House
The Royal National Institute of Blind People’s 2024 report, “Turned Out”, found that disabled people face significant barriers when it comes to casting their vote, a finding echoed by the Electoral Commission in its report last year. Both those reports informed my ten-minute rule Bill on this subjec…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
29 January 2026
Encouraging Exports
Last week I visited the brilliant family-run Clark Door company in my Carlisle constituency. Clark Door designs, manufactures and exports right across the globe, and supplies venues such as the Tate Modern, the Qatar national centre and, topically as we approach next weekend’s super bowl, the Nation…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
Last Friday I held a community meeting with Cumbria’s police, fire and crime commissioner, David Allen. Since his election just 20 months ago, he has been focused on taking those officers who were forced into the back room under the last Government and putting them back on the frontline. Can the Hom…
Commons
Proceedings
22 January 2026
Agricultural Sector: Import Standards
My hon. Friend mentions food imports and illegal imports. Next month will be the 25th anniversary of the devastating foot and mouth outbreak. Nowhere knows better than my Carlisle and north Cumbria constituency just what happens when foot and mouth takes hold. Does my hon. Friend agree that illegal …
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
Emergencies: Rural and Coastal Areas
I recently met representatives of Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service and ACTion with Communities in Cumbria to discuss community resilience in Carlisle and north Cumbria. One of the challenges we face in geographically remote areas such as mine is the speed with which local authorities and other …
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 January 2026
International Day of Education
The hon. Lady is making a powerful point about the number of children who are outside of the classroom globally and the impact that has, but it also happens in our own country. I recently visited the Gillford Centre pupil referral unit in my constituency. It does phenomenal work and, unlike other sc…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
It is 20 years since I co-authored the first code of practice on new forms of content on mobile. In the intervening 20 years, we have seen the proliferation of over-the-top services that bypass the network-level filters that we introduced as part of that code of practice. However, social media does …
Commons
Debate
19 January 2026
Local Elections: Cancellation
As the Minister has already mentioned, the previous Government postponed elections in 2021, including in my constituency. Does she agree with the words of the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), who was the Communities Secretary at the time—and whom I note is not in either of his recent p…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
My constituents, like those of so many of us, have written to me about this. I want to talk about Jessica, who wrote to describe how the impact that fireworks had on her father reduced him to a near panic attack. She also has a friend who served in multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a dog w…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 January 2026
Topical Questions
Next year, the Tour de France will return to the UK for the first time since 2014, starting in Edinburgh. The route through northern England has yet to be determined, but does the Minister agree that there could be no finer starting point than my constituency of Carlisle and Cumbria, and will she en…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I very much welcome the fact that, from next year, an estimated 85% of farms will pay no more inheritance tax on their farming and business assets. I agree with the Minister that it is a proportionate measure that aims to prevent the wealthy from abusing APR, and I know that he is mindful of the pro…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Rural Communities
I join the Minister in congratulating our rural crime teams on their work. I invite her to pay tribute to Special Constable Susan Holliday who has served almost 40 years as a special constable and was awarded the British empire medal in the new year’s honours. I am delighted to invite the Minister t…
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
Happy new year, Mr Speaker. I pay tribute to Carlisle NFU and my constituents who have raised this issue with me over the last 14 months, and I thank the Minister and his colleagues for engaging constructively and listening to those representations. North Cumbrian farmers face land price increases a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 December 2025
Grassroots Cricket Clubs
My hon. Friend makes an important point about indoor cricket, which is particularly vital in Cumbria because our weather requires slightly more cover-ups than cover drives. I recently learned that, through the Super 1s programme, Cumbria Cricket is now offering table cricket to young disabled people…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
Women and girls must have confidence both in the strategy and that the perpetrators of the violence against them will be brought to book. However, when I asked the Crown Prosecution Service to review a decision not to prosecute a case of violent assault against one of my constituents, it pushed back…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
2 contributions
St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—today is indeed my birthday. I thank my Scottish colleagues for letting me, as an English Member, crash this debate on St Andrew’s day.
I have the great privilege of representing the great border city of Carlisle, the only city in the United Kingdom to have been gove…
Indeed, and my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I was just about to mention Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 300 Jacobite soldiers he left in Carlisle castle after riding into Carlisle, standing on the steps of our historic market cross and claiming the city again for the Stuart Crown, and then ri…