Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Local Government Finance
I am incredibly proud to have been a councillor until last year, because local government is the foundation of so much that matters in people’s daily lives. It keeps our streets clean, supports vulnerable families, funds social care, maintains roads, protects our environment, ensures that our childr…
Yes, the Reform Benches are empty, as we all can see and as the British public can see, and this is really important because, as I have said, local government is the foundation of our places. It gives us our civic pride in our areas and is on the frontline of delivering services, so this is really d…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 February 2026
Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
My hon. and gallant Friend is right to highlight the threat from hostile states such as Russia and most importantly from individuals with Russian links. That is exactly why I introduced a private Member’s Bill last year to cap political donations and close the loopholes that allow foreign-linked dar…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
The two-child limit has punished children for circumstances entirely beyond their control. For nearly a decade, families have been denied support simply because a child happened to be born as a third or a fourth child. That was a cruel choice made by policymakers, not one made in children’s best int…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
I want to focus on the victims—the children and young girls who were trafficked. Will the Government confirm that any UK-linked offences will be fully investigated, that all evidence will be acted upon, and that anyone implicated, whatever their status, will be pursued with the full force of the law…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Warm Homes Plan
In my constituency, there are hundreds of residential park homes occupied by elderly residents. They are very energy-inefficient homes and very complex to retrofit. Previous home upgrade grants were ineffective and bureaucratic, because of the batching application process to retrofit homes, so they …
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Waste Collection: Birmingham and the West Midlands
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) for introducing this important debate.
I note with dismay that as Birmingham’s bin strike reaches its first anniversary, the people of Birmingham continue to pay the price.…
I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I understand that recycling is now at 15% in this authority; given that there have been no weekly recycling collections for almost a year, it is a surprise that any recycling gets done. Perhaps it is the result of the good work of residents, who are doing the…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 January 2026
Water (Special Measures) Act 2025: Enforcement
In my constituency, the River Avon and its tributaries are central to our natural environment and to leisure and tourism—the visitor economy. It is a disgrace that our waterways are still being polluted. Does my hon. Friend agree that water management data must be transparent, and that the Governmen…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
President Trump has stated that he no longer feels an obligation to think “purely of Peace”. He has threatened a trade war with the UK and Europe, and he has refused to rule out military force against Greenland. This shows that President Trump and his Administration cannot be trusted. Will the Gover…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Iran: Protests
My constituents have contacted me sick with worry. They have not heard from their loved ones for over a week. There are reports of tens of thousands of citizens being killed, but the number could be higher because of the deliberate communication blackout. This is now an international human rights em…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
5 contributions
Covid-19: Financial Support
I beg to move,
That this House has considered financial support for small businesses and individuals during the covid-19 pandemic.
I would like to thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing us time to debate this important issue. I also thank colleagues across the House for their tremendo…
I thank the hon. Member, and I will get to that point. In Stratford-on-Avon and up and down the country, business owners ask a simple question: why were they excluded when they had paid tax for years? These were people running events businesses, training services or consultancies, freelancers in the…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Horse and Rider Road Safety
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) for securing this important debate in support of the equestrian community. Stratford-on-Avon is a deeply rural constituency with fast-moving country roads and narrow lanes. For many riders, using public roads is not a choice but a ne…
I thank the hon. Lady for highlighting that issue. I agree with her.
As we have heard, the figures are horrendous: thousands of incidents involving horses result in injury and death. These incidents are widely under-reported, but the harm they cause is very real. Most concerning of all is that more…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Jury Trials
My hon. Friend is making a very powerful case. Does she agree that jury trials are not responsible for the backlog in Crown court cases piling up to nearly 80,000, and that the real causes are staff shortages, a broken estate, and 10 years of Conservative complacency that hollowed out the justice sy…
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
I welcome the revised threshold change; it is a first step in the right direction. I thank the local farming community in South Warwickshire and the National Farmer’s Union in Warwickshire for their tireless campaigning. However, farmers across my constituency tell me that the changes to agricultura…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Rural Crime
In my constituency, car thefts and related burglaries continue to rise. Nationally, almost four in five car thefts go unsolved. This is not low-level rural crime; it is organised, highly profitable, and deeply disruptive and upsetting for families and businesses reliant on vehicles. Will the Ministe…
Commons
Debate
16 December 2025
Finance (No. 2) Bill
As a result of the Bill, in places like Stratford-on-Avon, pubs on high streets and in villages face bill increases many times higher than those faced by the larger distribution warehouses linked to online retail. Does my hon. Friend agree that this raises serious questions about whether the tax sys…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
In Stratford-on-Avon, previous changes to national planning policy wiped out the council’s five-year housing land supply almost overnight. Despite years of over-delivery, we did the right thing, and this has opened the door to a developer free-for-all. Will the Minister look again at the impact of t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 December 2025
Online Safety Act 2023: Repeal
The hon. Member is making a strong and thoughtful case. Does he agree that although the Act regulates user-to-user services, it leaves a significant gap around generative AI chatbots, despite the growing evidence of harm caused to children from private interaction with them? And does he share my con…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
10 December 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
Women in rural areas often have to travel long distances to reach a refuge, police station or basic support services. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the impact that travelling those long distances has on the safety of victims of domestic abuse, and what action is being taken to c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
6 contributions
Village Schools
I beg to move,
That this House has considered village schools.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I sought the debate because of the importance of village schools to the lives of many of my families in the Stratford-on-Avon constituency living in rural communities. For many…
I fully agree with the hon. Member. I hope to hear from the Minister about funding for rural schools.
Nowhere has the pressure been felt more deeply in my constituency than at Great Alne primary school, which is threatened with closure by Reform-led Warwickshire county council. In recent months, I …
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
10 December 2025
2 contributions
Conversion Practices Ban
1. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her timetable for bringing forward legislative proposals to ban conversion practices on affected people.
LGBTQ rights campaigners have warned that the Government’s continued delay on banning conversion practices is dangerous and leaves vulnerable people without protection. Every month of delay leaves people exposed to practices that the Government themselves have said are abusive. Will the Minister now…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
Digital ID
My constituents in Stratford-on-Avon are deeply concerned as well. Does the hon. Member agree that if millions of people need to rely on a Government-built identity tool to access work and services, the risks of data and privacy breaches and of errors will be considerable?
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
3 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
I rise to speak to two new clauses that stand in my name. The first is new clause 3, which concerns the use of the special rules for end of life form to ease the burden on people with a terminal illness seeking support from the Pension Protection Fund or the financial assistance scheme; the second i…
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. When people get terminal illnesses, it is a time full of grief and stress, so new clause 3 aims to address the bureaucratic barriers those people face in accessing compensation or assistance from the Pension Protection Fund or the financial assistance sc…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
25 November 2025
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I am pleased to speak to several amendments, tabled by my Liberal Democrat colleagues, that relate to community assets, planning and local democratic engagement. These are practical proposals designed to strengthen the community empowerment provisions in the Bill and make them work in our communitie…
Commons
Debate
24 November 2025
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I will speak to the amendments tabled by me and Liberal Democrat colleagues, particularly new clause 5 and amendment 27. If the Bill is to deliver meaningful and real devolution, it must involve the people who live with the decisions made by mayors and combined authorities. However, too much of the …
I thank the hon. Member for his support in Committee. We know that two-tier governments —district councils in the shires in particular—will be abolished, and town and parish councils will have to take on more assets and deliver even more services. However, as I said in Committee, the voice of town a…
Commons
Debate
18 November 2025
Warm Homes Plan
In my constituency, the charity Act On Energy gives advice and support on energy efficiency to residents, many of whom are in fuel poverty. Its work is particularly relevant in rural communities where properties are older and harder to insulate and, in many instances, rely on oil and liquefied petro…