Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
14 July 2026
Topical Questions
T2. The Houghton health hub, which I recently visited, is very well located in the town centre next to a library. It is owned by the council and leased by NHS Property Services, which in turn is paid by the integrated care board for the modern clinical rooms, which are on the right as people go in. …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 June 2026
East Midland Railway Collision
This was a hugely tragic incident, and my thoughts are with all those affected. The Secretary of State was right to say that we should wait for the investigation and not jump to any conclusions. Will she join me in thanking the local residents who heeded the calls not to visit A&E at Bedford and…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
18 June 2026
2 contributions
Cruelty-free Cleaning Products
2. What steps the Commission is taking to reduce the number of cleaning products used on the parliamentary estate that are not certified as cruelty-free.
I very much welcome the progress that is being made; we are going in the right direction, from the figure of nine when I originally asked to three today. Would my hon. Friend be willing to meet with the body that runs the international approval programme for cruelty-free products, to see whether we …
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Road Adoption
9. What steps his Department is taking to expedite road adoption.
Residents in Fossett Grove have been battling for 10 years for the adoption of a piece of land that is strewn with litter. Elsewhere in my constituency, roads are not gritted during the winter months, in Bidwell West we have an area where they cannot get a post box and, where a car crashed into a ho…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I must be the night owl of this debate.
I have long believed that replacing the use of animals in experiments is the right thing to do. Indeed, it is the mark of a civilised society that we treat animals well. It is ethically sound, but c…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Transport Accessibility for Disabled People
I am always pleased to speak in debates about transport. I want to paint a picture for the Minister of Leighton Buzzard station—he is, of course, welcome to visit too. There are two lifts, which is fantastic, and I do not knock those lifts at all, because I know that many people want them. At the mo…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
The clocks change this weekend, and at a stroke we will have light in the evenings. We could have light at evenings all year round if we adopted Churchill time; it would also cut bills, reduce road traffic accidents and boost the hospitality industry. Given that this is a cross-departmental issue, h…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
Lots of letters are late. One that stood out to me, which a constituent raised, was a parking fine that had almost doubled in price by the time it arrived. Locally, the Royal Mail tells me that it is recruiting 12 new postal workers, but if that does not fix the problem, what should we try next?
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
Young coach drivers are severely limited in the distances they are allowed to drive. Trying to get to London from your constituency, Madam Deputy Speaker, they would only make it as far as Sheffield. The Government have recently closed a consultation on this issue. Could the Leader of the House let …
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
2 contributions
World Book Day
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I want to put it on the record that Paddington is my favourite bear, and I have a large poster of Paddington in Westminster in my office, so I do not want people to get the wrong end of the stick and think he is only liked by certain othe…
I recently ran a survey in a local school and asked the children what they thought they would be doing if they were not spending as much time on smartphones. About a third of them said they thought they would be reading more if they were on social media less, so I am really pleased that the Governme…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
Housing Developments: Access to Infrastructure
Until local roads are adopted, communities miss out on so much—from having their roads gritted to getting a post box, as I have found out. How can we speed up Central Bedfordshire council and others?
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Woodland Creation
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell.
Woodland creation is, at its heart, hopeful work. It is about climate action, nature recovery and public good. It is about taking long-term decisions for future generations. I also like that we know it is doable, because we have examples ri…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
Young Children’s Screen Time
I recently did a survey with local schools. Perhaps the children were more willing to put on the survey how much screen time they had when they were not supervised by their parents, but I was enthused about the things that they said they would do if they were not on social media, including spending …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Water White Paper
This week, work begins on storage tanks to stop raw sewage pouring into the River Ouzel during periods of heavy rainfall—I know that my constituents and residents welcome that, as I am sure do the fish in the river. Does the Secretary of State agree that since we have had a Labour Government, it rea…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
UK Wine Industry
My hon. Friend talks about bottles, but they are not the only way of packaging up wine. In my constituency, the innovative packaging company ecoSIP makes single serve wine portions but, bizarrely, regulations mean that they cannot sell them in 125 ml containers. Does my hon. Friend think that is a s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
I wonder if my hon. Friend prefers the whoosh as fireworks go up, rather than the bang; I think that is what most people are there for. My constituents get in touch with me to say that when they complain, they feel as if they are passed from pillar to post between the council and the police. Does my…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Protection and Management of Young Trees
Let me begin by thanking organisations including the Woodland Trust, the Arboricultural Association, the Forestry Commission, Highways England, the Horticultural Trades Association and the National Forest Company, and Ness Champion, founder of the Biophilic Design Conference, for their engagement ah…
The research found that 39% of the trees were missing or dead. Along the A14, National Highways planted over 860,000 trees in 2020, but the failure rate was 45%. More detailed evidence comes from the evaluation of urban tree planting across four cities—Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds—cover…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
Topical Questions
T7. AW Group in my constituency has two wind turbines and a solar array, which are creating what I think of as great Bedfordshire energy, but currently it gets muddled in with all the other energy in the area and the company cannot have its own local tariff. Will the Minister consider community en…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
Railways Bill
This summer, when I was travelling by train to a bus conference, I managed to lose my bag. I did what everyone in that circumstance would do and panicked slightly, because my purse and my keys were in it, along with my House of Commons pass. I thought, “Who on earth do I contact?”, because I was not…
Commons
Debate
4 December 2025
War in Ukraine
I am struck by what my hon. Friend has just said. About eight years ago, during Trump’s first term, I was in the United States with a group of Latvian MEPs. I remember being almost bemused by how often the Latvians wanted to turn whatever discussion we were having to defence. To some extent, it was …
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
South Side Studios is a fantastic temporary custodian of the old Wilko shop on Leighton Buzzard high street. It has put on some brilliant events, such as salsa, more dancing, painting and Lego workshops—who does not like Lego? While it has had fantastic success in persuading commercial businesses to…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
2 contributions
Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) on securing this important debate about a place where innovation really happens, but which is also a great place to live. The whole idea of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor is fantastic, but the name is absolutely terrible:…
Indeed. It is so important to make sure that we have things that link us, and I think Universal will make a real difference on that. I very much urge the Minister to make sure that Paddington Bear is a key feature—what an ambassador for our region that would be! The forest is also fantastic news for…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
Advent is approaching. Do you have an Advent calendar, Mr Speaker? If so, is it a traditional one or a chocolate one, or maybe even one filled with wine? If it is filled with wine, the little pouches in it are probably made using technology based in Leighton Buzzard. Those pouches are 125 ml in capa…
Commons
Debate
24 November 2025
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I really welcome devolution and look forward to a time when every local area really wants a mayor. I have tabled a number of amendments and new clauses, which I will go through in turn.
First, on the question of commissioners, I have to say that I disagree completely with the hon. Member for Guildf…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Police Reform
I, too, thank John Tizard for his tireless work in securing extra resources for Bedfordshire police. I tend to agree that the mayoral model is the best way forward. Does the Minister agree that it is vital that we redouble our efforts to move at real pace to ensure there is a mayor in every area of …