Commons
Westminster Hall
12 November 2025
Public Bodies: Governance and Accountability
My concern is about interim officers in local government, and CEOs who pop up in one place and then pop up somewhere else a couple of months after they have resigned. What safeguards are in place to ensure that negative behaviours or actions in one organisation do not appear in another where the sam…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
Remembrance Day: Armed Forces
This morning, I was thrilled to unveil a plaque in Leighton Buzzard, next to the church, to honour the people who served at a place called Q Central. It is not very well known that during the second world war, 5,000 personnel served just outside Leighton Buzzard, and they were predominantly women. D…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
The BBC is unique and special, and it is ours. Yes, it is absolutely a part of the national conversation—but, importantly, it is also a part of the regional and local conversation. I have fantastic local journalists in my patch on Three Counties Radio and on “Look East”, and the fact is that a local…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
It is also important to get letters into the postal service in the first place. In Bidwell West, which is in my constituency, residents face a 30-minute walk to the nearest post box. That is because Royal Mail refuses to put in new post boxes on unadopted roads, despite the fact that the developer i…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
A year ago, I delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for quieter fireworks, keeping the whoosh but getting rid of the bang. This year, fireworks night falls on a Wednesday. Will the Leader of the House consider having a debate on designating a specific weekend for bonfire night and fireworks…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
Connected and Automated Vehicles
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing this important debate.
I have no doubt that one day autonomous vehicles will be the norm on our buses, and I am perfectly okay with that, because I am fairly su…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
Regarding the new airports national policy statement, can the Secretary of State clarify whether “airports” is in the plural? If so, will she be looking to change the planning process so that it can take into account the cumulative environmental impact of different airport expansions around the coun…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 October 2025
Engagements
As Britain faced peril in world war two, Winston Churchill took a radical step: he changed the clocks to shift extra daylight into the evenings. As the clocks go back this weekend, will the Prime Minister take a look at the evidence on trialling Churchill time again to cut carbon, reduce bills, impr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
A new school has been in the offing in Bidwell West for almost a decade now. The independent council promised me that places would be available from September 2027, but now appears to be backtracking. Is the Minister willing to meet me to discuss the obvious concerns of parents, many of whom moved i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 October 2025
Tree Maintenance: Guidance to Local Authorities
With so many new-build estates that are home to young trees, where watering and aftercare are so essential, does the right hon. Member agree that any new guidance should have a large section with a focus on early years for trees as well?
Commons
Debate
11 September 2025
Regional Transport Inequality
I strongly believe that a regional geography is the right scale to make substantial public transport improvements. That is why I back this Government’s devolution agenda as the right approach to improving transport. The real inequality of the future will not be north versus south or urban versus rur…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 September 2025
Business of the House
Sadly, last week in my constituency there was yet more flooding. This follows on from a very dry period and the hottest summer on record. Clearly, the weather is changing. Would the Leader of the House consider bringing forward a debate on building resilience to more extreme weather events, as he ma…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Topical Questions
T9. Does the Minister agree that extending the Dunstable-Luton busway on to Leighton Buzzard and then Bletchley would be a real boon to more fully link the area into the Oxford-Cambridge growth area?
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
My amendment 66 and new clause 46 are not intended to change Government policy, nor to bind the hands of locally elected mayors or transport authorities—quite the opposite. Amendment 66, which my hon Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), the Chair of the Transport Committee, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 September 2025
Neurodivergent People: Employment
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) on securing this debate.
Our workplace, culture and society thrive not when everyone thinks alike, but when talent, creativity and difference are allowed …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 September 2025
Living Standards: East of England
Continuing on the theme of averages, as council areas get bigger, the averages are skewed a little. Within my area, which is already in a large unitary authority, life expectancy can vary by up to eight years. If the Government say, “Hooray! The council area is getting a Best Start family hub!”, I a…
Commons
Debate
22 July 2025
Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment
Although some people will be hoping for a summer that is hot, hot, hot, many workers will not be doing so, because, although we rightly have legal protections against the cold in the workplace, there is still no legal maximum for heat. I am pleased that Ministers began a process with the Health and …
Commons
Debate
16 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
I am pleased to hear that my hon. Friend gets to visit lots of primary schools. During the debate I have heard about so many schools all over the country. However, the people of Bidwell West, in my constituency, are still waiting for a primary school. It was promised in plans and brochures when they…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
I welcome that, through Best Start, Central Bedfordshire is getting funding for a family hub for the first time. Will the Secretary of State explain how this will be linked to areas of deprivation and urge the independent council to look closely at the statistics that show that places such as Dunsta…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2025
2 contributions
Department for Transport
I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate to take place. I very much welcome the investment in transport—especially public transport—in the spending review. The commitment is really clear; for example, there is £2.3 billion for the local transport grant, which will support lo…
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I know she is normally a champion for trains in her constituency, so I welcome her branching out into buses. The Campaign for Better Transport says that £1 of investment in buses brings £4.55 in benefits, and I am absolutely up for that. While we are on the su…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 June 2025
Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates
It does not seem very long since we were last here talking about eggs and chickens, although I imagine it would feel much longer if we were stuck in a cage only the size of an A4 piece of paper. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to learn lessons from other countries, including Austria and Luxem…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2025
Animal Welfare in Farming
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) on securing this debate.
I last spoke about eggs in a debate just before Easter, but eggs are not just for Easter; they are for all year round. As other hon. Members ha…
Commons
Debate
2 June 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. I think buses are brilliant, so I am delighted that this Bill is coming forward on 2 June, because, as you said, it is my birthday. I thought it was the Minister’s way of wishing me many happy returns—and singles also!
For too long, buses have been in decl…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
2 contributions
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas
Will the hon. Member give way?
I thank the hon. Member for giving way. Does she agree that it can be a particular problem when remote areas become new-build areas, yet are completely lacking in any mobile or broadband infrastructure? Some telecom companies say that they are not fully involved in the planning aspects, yet they can…