Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
Payment Scheme
I thank the Minister for his continued commitment to improving the compensation scheme and for keeping the House up to date on its progress. I know that he takes this matter seriously, and I hope that we will see him continue to do so after the summer recess.
We Liberal Democrats welcome many of th…
Commons
Debate
2 July 2026
Access to Further Education
I congratulate the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) on securing this important debate. Access to further education is access to opportunity. For most young people, and for a great many adults, it is the route to a job or back into learning. When that access works, it changes lives. …
Commons
Statutory Instrument
24 June 2026
2 contributions
Draft Lifelong Learning (Fee Limits) Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. The Lib Dems have long supported the principle of a flexible credit-based system that lets people study in smaller chunks across their working lives, rather than in one fixed block at 18 years old. We are glad to see that direction reflect…
Well, I am a mathematician by trade. It is a small point, but every fee limit in the system is derived from that per-credit calculation, so will the Minister confirm the correct rounding convention, and that the providers and the Student Loans Company are working from the same figure?
We support th…
Commons
Debate
23 June 2026
Forest City: West Suffolk
My constituency is in the path of the Oxford-Cambridge arc. I welcome the proposed development at Cambourne; there is also a proposal for a new town just south of the constituency, in Tempsford. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that Forest City could just be a huge distraction from the new towns progra…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
Topical Questions
T6. The Government have described the recently announced greater Cambridge development corporation as “infrastructure-first” development, so will the Minister set out what new infrastructure it will have the responsibility for delivering, and by when it will deliver it?
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
11 June 2026
2 contributions
Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire: Transport Links
5. What steps she is taking to improve transport links between Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire in the context of the Universal United Kingdom resort.
The Universal resort will be a major employer, as well as a visitor destination, and East West Rail is central to people getting there sustainably. For my constituents, that includes being able to access the railway sustainably. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the planning of the new station…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
1 June 2026
3 contributions
Armed Forces Recruitment and Retention
1. What steps he is taking to improve recruitment and retention in the armed forces.
I thank the Minister for his answer—[Interruption.]
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
Yesterday the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box for nearly 2.5 hours and said on at least 12 occasions that appointing Mandelson was an “error of judgment”—his judgment. He apologised and said that he took responsibility for it, but at no point—not once in that 2.5 hours—did he tell the House…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I, too, welcome the Minister’s statement and his commitment to updating the House regularly on this issue. However, my constituent was infected with hepatitis C in 1993 and is still yet to receive any support because of the scheme’s original cut-off date. I know that the strict cut-off dates have be…
Commons
Debate
19 March 2026
3 contributions
Online Harms
I beg to move,
That this House believes that current legislation is falling short in preventing online harms; and calls on the Government to review whether it is necessary to introduce new legislation that is centred around harm reduction in this Parliament.
I thank the Backbench Business Committe…
The text of the motion asks for a review, and that is certainly what I want to see.
I have not come here today to stir up panic or to imply that the wellbeing of our children, or indeed our adults, is doomed. There is hope and we should not have to accept harm as a reality of life on the internet. …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
Following on from that, St Neots is the fastest growing town in Cambridgeshire, and our community-led festival has attracted 35,000 people in recent years, demonstrating the extraordinary cultural energy of the town. With the UK town of culture expression of interest deadline falling on 31 March, wi…
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Student Loans
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way; I did not cover myself in glory when I responded to his point earlier, and I would like to take another bite of the cherry. The point I was trying to make was that simply basing it on salary value is not the only way to assess value. The right way to do it …
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
5 contributions
Student Loans
I am grateful to the Opposition for this debate. In the recent Westminster Hall debate on this topic, we heard powerful testimony about the reality that graduates face in making repayments every month and watching their balance grow, with their plans deferred and lives constrained. I am sure we will…
The history of access to university demonstrates that point well.
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
10 March 2026
2 contributions
Draft Higher Education (Fee Limits and Fee Limit Condition) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Sir John.
I will speak briefly. The Liberal Democrats will not be supporting this draft instrument. We understand why the Government brought it forward: universities are under severe financial pressure and the sector needs sustainable funding. W…
The Minister has made that point in several debates. I would just like to explain that the commitment was to raise thresholds from when the first cohort graduated, which was in 2016. That was indeed why Martin Lewis investigated the issue and considered judicial review in 2016. There was no freezing…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Topical Questions
T5. With nearly a million young people not in education, employment or training, the growth and skills levy is due to launch in less than a month, but as few as eight courses have been confirmed, with no funding rates, no duration and no assessment detail published. How is anyone—a young person plan…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
Youth Services: Birmingham Perry Bar
According to the Office for National Statistics, 3.8 million people report feeling lonely, with young people consistently among the loneliest groups. Is it any wonder when we have seen youth centres shuttered and libraries boarded up, and the very places that bring people together hollowed out? The …
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 February 2026
Independent Faith Schools: VAT
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing forward this debate.
It is well established that the Liberal Democrats oppose taxing education, whether that is independent, faith or non-faith schools. We did not support …
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Student Loan Repayment Plans
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the chair today, Ms Lewell, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) on securing this debate.
As we have heard, there are many graduates in this country who make loan payments every month and yet they see their loan balances grow. They a…
I am not personally an architect of plan 2, but the former leader of my party did say sorry, and my party was appropriately punished at the 2015 general election.
The decline in the graduate earnings premium is, at its root, a story about economic underperformance, and that points towards the solut…
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
By any measure, this past week has been an extraordinary one in British public life. Within five days, two people have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office: one a former member of the royal family, and the other a veteran Labour politician who we now understand to be the man who…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Topical Questions
T3. The B1050 between Earith and Willingham in my constituency is one of many peat-affected roads in Cambridgeshire. Such roads cost up to four times more to repair than others, and repairs last just a fraction of the time. The Secretary of State will know that the funding formula for highways maint…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
2 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward. I am grateful to the petitioners for bringing this important matter to Parliament, and to the hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for leading the debate.
The Government are right to say that settlement should b…
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and will shortly cite an example of that from my constituency. The key distinction to make is between selection and settlement. Our visa system is the selection mechanism; we judge whether someone has the skills we need, meets the thresholds, and fills a genui…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
The Foreign Secretary has talked a lot about military co-operation today, less so about economic security co-operation. She will remember that the Prime Minister abolished the National Security Council sub-committee on economic security. I was pleased that the Minister with responsibility for econom…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
Universities: Statutory Duty of Care
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this important debate.
I acknowledge the families who have suffered the devastating loss of their loved one at such a young age. In particular, I recognise Natasha Abrahart’s…
Commons
Debate
8 January 2026
High Street Gambling Reform
I thank the hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for securing this debate and for all her hard work on this issue. What she has been doing is impressive.
Gambling can be a light-hearted pastime that many would describe as fun and harmless. As a Liberal Democrat, I support an individual’s right …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 January 2026
Ukraine and Wider Operational Update
The Secretary of State will know that the NATO Secretary-General said in September that we must “prevent spreading” NATO forces “too thinly”. Could he provide some reassurance to the House on the implications of this potential deployment for the Joint Expeditionary Force and our leadership of that i…