Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 April 2026
Engagements
Q12. Thank you, Mr Speaker—and a happy St George’s day for tomorrow too. In Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield, we have a large number of ex-industrial, derelict land sites crying out for regeneration and redevelopment. They are blighting communities and many are a fire risk. Our area of Britain needs …
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Topical Questions
T4. I am worried that, despite this Government’s historic recognition of a Palestinian state, there will never be one if the west bank is annexed further, which Netanyahu knows. Some 56 new illegal west bank settlements were approved by Israel in 2025, and since the Iran war began, 78 violent attack…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
I so welcome this strategy. I am quite ashamed to say that before being elected to this place, I did not know enough about women’s health issues, and in particular the issues with pelvic and vaginal mesh—the wait for treatment and the struggle to be heard—and endometriosis; people with that conditio…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
18 March 2026
Engagements
Q14. Burnley Manchester Road station is a key driver of growth. It is Burnley’s link to Manchester and Leeds and, more importantly for them, it is their link to Burnley. There were more than half a million journeys from the station last year, and yet it is inaccessible. Despite big, empty promises f…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Youth Unemployment
I am glad to hear that the employer NI exemption for staff under the age of 21 is staying in place. The new £3,000 hiring bonus for businesses taking on young people will make a real difference. How will the Secretary of State ensure that it is taken up by businesses and young people in Burnley, Pad…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Energy Markets
The Secretary of State is right to say that, because of our reliance on oil and gas, we are a price taker, not a price maker. We are exposed, and families in Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield are worried. Will he continue to strengthen our home-grown sovereign energy supplies and production to keep dr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
2 March 2026
Topical Questions
T7. The brilliant Burnley college has bid to become one of the UK’s four new advanced manufacturing technical excellence colleges. Its bid is the only one from Lancashire. It is backed by the North West Aerospace Alliance and the Northern Automotive Alliance, our big local world-class manufacturing …
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill (Fifth sitting)
Will the Minister give way?
If the Minister is not otherwise engaged on Valentine’s day, he is always welcome in Burnley for the bumper cars.
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Those were exactly the words of my constituent Arshad Khan when he came to see me at my constituency surgery this weekend; he made that point about indentured servitude and visa licences, and how these employers operate. I just want to add to the hon. Gentleman’s argument, because this is a serious …
Commons
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill (Third sitting)
I have a great deal of respect for the hon. Gentleman, and I know he is trying his best, but I am surprised at the tone that he is taking and at his language around the winter fuel allowance. He can correct me if I am wrong, but the 2017 Conservative manifesto outlined stripping this benefit complet…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
Burnley’s local bus operator Transdev has increased the price of an under-19s bus ticket from £13 a week to £20 a week, which is a huge increase for kids, students and families. It has now been lowered to £18 a week, thanks to our campaign, but that is not enough. More than 1,000 people have backed …
Commons
Debate
16 December 2025
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I welcome the £50 million or £60 million that the Government have provided to Lancashire county council to provide good roads for my constituents. On the Minister’s point about business investment, I welcome the three-year holiday from the stamp duty reserve for new listings, which we are not talkin…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Transgender People: Provision of Healthcare
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) for securing this important debate. She is the champion we all deserve, and she almost brought me to tears with her passion in opening the debate. I com…
I thank my hon. Friend for that very relevant point. He took the words right out of my mouth, to quote Meat Loaf. We must also recognise that the wider picture, though, is that transgender people face questioning or even denial of their very existence as people. They face barriers not just in specia…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
NHS: Winter Preparedness
I am so angry. I am sorry to say this, but I feel that by its actions today, the BMA is killing our NHS, and quite possibly my constituents and patients over the Christmas period, and it has become almost the midwife for privatisation under Reform. The Secretary of State has been robust in his role …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 December 2025
Engagements
Q4. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on multiple sclerosis and as the proud son of a lifelong multiple sclerosis patient—she joins us in the Gallery today. Neurological conditions such as MS and Parkinson’s affect one in six, but wait times for first and follow…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
This Budget sets out a serious and responsible direction for our country’s future and speaks directly to the needs of people in Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield. It supports families and workers, puts the public finances back on stable ground and backs the businesses that are the backbone of towns li…
I will not, because of time.
We are doing all that while paying down the national debt and getting into surplus—something promised several times by the Tories but, as far as I am aware, never done. We are doubling the fiscal headroom, which is a momentous achievement—something we are probably not s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 November 2025
2 contributions
Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England
It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) for securing this critical debate, and praise her language, campaigning approach and resilience —that is really the buzzword for this topic.
When we talk abo…
It is great to hear about the record funding to tackle flooding. I wonder whether I can copy the words of another Member and invite the Minister to my constituency to see some of the great benefits of that funding increase in Padiham.
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
3 contributions
Welfare Spending
On savings and leaving the next generation with a bill, can the hon. Lady remind the House just how much the now shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), increased Department for Work and Pensions spending on welfare during his time in the Department? The figure I…
To quote the shadow Secretary of State, my hon. Friend thinks he is “so clever”, arguing with facts! Those facts are not particularly appreciated by those on the Conservative Benches. Does he agree that what is important in this debate is the people who were left destitute by the policies of 14 year…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
30 October 2025
2 contributions
Jaguar Land Rover: Cyber-attack
15. What steps his Department is taking to support businesses in the Jaguar Land Rover supply chain affected by the recent cyber-attack.
I thank the Minister for that answer, for his work thus far, and for his extensive correspondence with me and the industry during this crisis. Local suppliers, such as the brilliant BCW in Burnley, have told me that the finance just is not getting to suppliers and that some of them are going to the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
Civil Justice Council Review of Litigation Funding
It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I thank the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) for securing the debate and allowing me briefly to contribute.
When people go to court, they deserve justice, not a financial system that puts investors before victims…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Topical Questions
The Padiham Greenway bridge has been closed since 2021. In December last year, this Government gave £280,000 to Sustrans to get the work finished, but there is a shortfall. The Government have given £19 million to Lancashire county council through the active travel fund and the capability fund to ge…
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
Does the Minister agree that the £3 fare cap is an essential lifeline for people taking the bus from Burnley to Blackburn hospital, which was a service that I managed to secure through work with local transit companies and Lancashire county council?
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace
I am glad to hear the Minister’s resolve and, indeed, the whole House’s united condemnation and shock at these outrageous attacks. The UK must stand firm with NATO, with Poland and with Europe, and we must increase our support for Ukraine and its neighbours including Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Lithua…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Financial Services Reform
10. What steps she is taking to reform the financial services sector.
I also welcome my hon. Friend to her new role. Small businesses in Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield are the lifeblood of our community, providing jobs and livelihoods to our people. Growing manufacturers and exporters such as the brilliant Barnes Aerospace in Burnley are doing an excellent job at tak…