Commons
Westminster Hall
11 November 2025
Alcohol Duty: UK Wine Sector
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate. On the point about excessive tax inhibiting entrepreneurship, I visited Ned Awty and his family, who run the Oatley vineyard in Cannington in my constituency, and they pointed out that it is perverse that the United Kingdom has a duty relief …
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
4 contributions
Welfare Spending
Britain’s welfare system was created as a safety net. It is a system designed to protect people who face hardship through no fault of their own, but today, that net is becoming a trap—for individuals, for families, and for this country. Any welfare system must be fair, providing support for those wh…
When we design welfare rules, it has to be for the whole economy and all our people, and I believe that the two-child benefit cap is fair.
Under this Labour Government, unemployment has risen every month since they took office; 5,000 people a day are now signing on for sickness benefits, and, thank…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
7 contributions
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Royal Mail and the universal service obligation.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. It is also a pleasure to move the motion and introduce this debate on Royal Mail and the universal service obligation. This issue affects e…
If the hon. Gentleman stays, he will find that I answer most of those points in the remainder of my speech. Since 1840, the principle of the USO has been simple: everyone in the United Kingdom, no matter where they live, should have access to a reliable and affordable postal service. It is a promise…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
28 October 2025
9 contributions
Stamp Duty Land Tax
If the hon. Gentleman had listened to the shadow Chancellor, he would have heard him say that half the £47 billion in savings will come from reducing welfare spend. Another significant proportion will come from reducing the civil service to the size it was back in 2016. The proposal is fully funded,…
The hon. Gentleman has not mentioned covid, which is the largest single contributor to the increase in the size of the state. He also did not mention the £5 billion reduction in welfare spending proposed by the Government; the Conservative party supported that, but the Government just gave in on it.…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
27 October 2025
Prisoner Release Checks
It is outrageous that Kebatu was not deported at the end of his sentence. What is worse is that the number of prisoners released by mistake has more than doubled under this Government. If the Justice Secretary is determined to release thousands more prisoners early, how confident is he that this mis…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
27 October 2025
Post-16 Education: Skills Needed in the Economy
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place, and to his new responsibility for skills. The Government recently reduced the amount of funding for level 7 apprenticeships, so can he tell the House what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of this reduced funding on the number o…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 October 2025
Engagements
Q6. Weston Hospicecare provides an invaluable service for constituents with a terminal illness. The hospice now faces an increased national insurance bill of £139,000 a year as a result of the Chancellor’s jobs tax. The Prime Minister will know that the money he has announced for capital expenditure…
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Sentencing Bill
Does the hon. Lady not accept that most victims of crime would say that a suspended sentence is very much not a custodial sentence?
The Gauke review was a thorough exercise carried out in good faith. It was intended to fix some of the problems that persist in the justice system, and was particularly aimed at easing the burden on the prison estate. As a member of the Justice Committee, I had the opportunity to question the former…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 October 2025
7 contributions
Asylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
Does the hon. and learned Member accept that under the Dublin regulation the United Kingdom was a net recipient of refugees?
Is the hon. Gentleman saying that it is Liberal Democrat policy that asylum costs should not come out of the foreign aid budget?
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
In Woolavington village in my constituency, three separate planning applications, totalling over 400 homes, have been submitted, with the prospect of a fourth, even larger proposal to follow. The cumulative impact of those developments on local services will not be fully assessed, because each appli…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Official Secrets Act Case: Witness Statements
The CPS decision not to prosecute leaves our nation less secure. What assurance can the Minister give the House that the Government did everything in their power to ensure that the CPS had the necessary evidence to prosecute?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 October 2025
Pride in Place
I welcome the fact that south Bridgwater has been included in this programme. These funds come on top of the £23 million allocated to Bridgwater under the last Government’s town deal. Parts of Highbridge in my constituency are equally deserving of funding, so can the Minister advise whether there wi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 October 2025
4 contributions
Criminal Courts: Independent Review
Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that Sir Brian’s proposals to change access to jury trials represent a distinct restriction of freedom for citizens facing trial, yet he does not offer convincing evidence that that will save an enormous amount of time or speed up the trial process, and th…
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Efford. I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing this debate. Increasing delays in Crown court trials are a very real problem. They pose a problem for victims, witnesse…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
I am pleased to speak in favour of the Government amendment in lieu of Lords amendment 21, which commits the Government to reviewing whether to add special constables to the list of roles that entitle an employee to request unpaid time off work from their employer under the Employment Rights Act 199…
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that many small businesses are fearful of day one rights because they worry that they might take someone on, only for it to become apparent within a few days that they are not appropriate for their business, and they then fear an employment tribunal for procedurally unfai…
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
3 contributions
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
On that point, does the hon. Lady accept that increasing the fare cap from £2 to £3 is likely to reduce ridership, whatever is contained in the new clause?
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is odd that the provisions apply to people who travel on trains but not on buses? Does he understand why the Government made that distinction?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 September 2025
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
The Minister will be aware that the reason hereditaries still sit in the House of Lords was the deal done in 1999. The promise made by the then Labour Government was that hereditaries would remain until the House of Lords was properly reformed. The Minister is aware that he is removing the hereditar…
Commons
Proceedings
4 September 2025
Business of the House
In December, I asked the Leader of the House for a debate on the Environment Agency’s failure to adequately dredge Somerset’s rivers and maintain our drainage network. The EA has now announced that it will withdraw entirely from main river maintenance in Somerset. My constituents are concerned that …
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
4 contributions
Property Taxes
This Government were elected on a manifesto to increase spending by £9.5 billion. That was to be paid for through £7.3 billion of extra taxes and £3.5 billion of extra borrowing, all of which was set out in the Labour manifesto. It was a modest plan with a prudent margin—exactly the sort of plan one…
I do not accept that at all. This surge is entirely due to the Chancellor losing control of public expenditure, and the increased cost of servicing our national debt adds further pressure on the British taxpayer.
Having presented her Budget, the Chancellor said:
“We’re not going to be coming back …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
2 September 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Foreign Secretary wants to pay a huge amount of taxpayers’ money to Mauritius to lease back a military base that we already own. Why is he afraid of holding a vote on this policy?
Commons
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
Employment: Trailblazer Programme
Does the Secretary of State accept that the reason that unemployment is higher today than the day she took office is the jobs tax, which increases employers’ costs by £25 billion? What hope does her trailblazer programme have when the Chancellor is working against her?
Commons
Debate
15 July 2025
4 contributions
Welfare Spending
The UK’s benefits system is designed to act as a financial safety net. It exists so that people in hardship through no fault of their own can be supported. Supporting families and helping parents into work requires a balanced and fair system. It must provide meaningful support for those who need it …
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for making that point. It is essential that we put Britain’s finances on a sustainable path. All benefits are funded by taxpayers or borrowing, so every time the cost of benefits rises, so does the burden on taxpayers, or the debt we place on future generations.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2025
Trial by Jury: Proposed Restrictions
We should thank Sir Brian for his report and carefully consider his recommendations. Criminals already get a one-third discount for an early guilty plea, and the idea that that should be increased to 40% risks undermining trust in the criminal justice system by victims. Jury trials are a centuries o…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
9 July 2025
Engagements
Q12. The Prime Minister was elected on a promise to smash the gangs. He said he would reduce small boat crossings. He said he would close asylum hotels. Why are all these issues going wrong?
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2025
4 contributions
Neighbourhood Plans: Planning Decisions
Is my hon. Friend aware that in the south-west the house building target for Somerset has risen by 41%, but in nearby Bristol, recently controlled by the Labour party, it has gone down by 11%?
Does my right hon. Friend agree that probably half of Labour Members are pleased with the enormous reductions in housing totals in their urban constituencies and those who represent rural constituencies are just too embarrassed to show their faces?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
8 July 2025
Crown Court Backlog
The rise in the Crown court backlog in 2024 was 7,051 additional cases; that is 588 extra cases on the backlog every month. The figures for March 2025 show an additional rise over three months of 2,300; that is 769 additional cases on the backlog every month. Not only is the position getting worse u…