Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 September 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. When the announcement about Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland came forward in July, I wanted reassurance from the then Secretary of State about barriers to growth, which for Leicestershire are not having a mayor and being without a devolution set…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas
There are lots of similarities between Coalville and Totnes, including a monastery just a few minutes away. The biggest issue is that banking hubs, although incredibly important, do not provide the excellent business banking services that businesses need. Does the hon. Member agree that the issue is…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 July 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement confirming the outcome for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. With three very different options on the table, it is inevitable, as we have heard, that there will be opposing views on the outcome. My priority throughout this process has been to sec…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
Defibrillators in Police Vehicles
The hon. Member is giving an impassioned speech. I share his sadness about the loss of Jay, whom he mentioned in his opening remarks.
In my constituency we did a defib dash, where I encouraged constituents to understand where their nearest community defibrillator was. The average return journey was…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 July 2026
Heart Disease and Stroke: Premature Deaths
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr Foster) for securing this important debate and for his opening remarks on his own health. We all wish him well.
My speech today will focus on heart health. I am a former ch…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
Financial Inclusion: Young People
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) for giving us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of financial inclusion among young people. As the former co-chair of the a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Fly-tipping: Residential Areas
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. We have heard some meaningful contributions so far, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for giving us the opportunity to praise our communities for the extremely hard work they are putting …
Commons
Debate
22 June 2026
British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme
I thank the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) for bringing forward this debate. He will know, because I have spoken to him before about this, that my father-in-law’s pit would fall within his constituency. My constituency of North West Leicestershire has about 2,200 coalminers, of whom a big m…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
Access to Music and Dance Training
Musical theatre and dance are important parts of the creative industries. Kristian Thomas Company in my constituency provides extensive training for young people aged four upwards, up to formal qualifications at BTEC and foundation degree level. What financial support is given to organisations such …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Social Media Ban for Under-16s
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and welcome the decisive action she has taken. As a parent, I have seen at first hand how harmful predators stalk gaming sites, so I am glad that these have been included. As students in North West Leicestershire complete their GCSEs this week, can th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
11 June 2026
Topical Questions
The Minister will know that I have been campaigning on the availability of driving tests, so I was pleased to see this week that our changes have released driving tests back into the system. Will he update me on how the demand for tests in my North West Leicestershire constituency will be matched wi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Rail Freight
It was great to welcome the Minister to my constituency to visit the east midlands rail freight terminal, which has huge potential to take vehicles off the road and on to rail.
Bardon has a quarry, and a private spur of the Ivanhoe line is used. In the conversation about reopening the Ivanhoe line,…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
Community Pharmacies
The hon. Member is making a powerful speech about the importance of community pharmacy. There are pharmacies on the edge of my constituency, serving Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The inconsistency of integrated care board delivery can create problems for local communities trying to…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
Preparedness for National Emergencies
It was really useful to observe the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Resilience Forum test exercise to understand what could go wrong and how it would deal with it. Does my hon. Friend agree that local resilience forums are crucial to our preparedness in national emergencies, because they know …
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
7 contributions
Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for securing this incredibly important debate. I will never miss an opportunity to talk about how isolated my community is in terms of public transport.
The ability to get to London by train would be transformational for North West Le…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is really problematic if nobody is able to get to these hubs.
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
Flooding: Rural Communities
As in the constituency of the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns), one of the impacts in Leicestershire has been the sheer volume of water, and the villages in rural parts of Leicestershire have just felt left behind when it comes to money. I am grateful that Diseworth was selected …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this incredibly important debate.
My colleagues will all agree that the east midlands is a region with so much to offer. We have two local mayoral author…
One of the things that is problematic about the hon. Gentleman’s line of questioning is that one in 10 people in Leicestershire are on an NHS waiting list. In order to increase economic productivity, we need to make sure that people of working age are well enough to work. Does he agree that investme…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill
The way in which the Secretary of State has spoken so far reflects the way we all felt post-Grenfell. We must ensure that the communities feel they have somewhere to go, somewhere to grieve. Does the Secretary of State agree that the work relating to who was responsible for the tragedy needs to cont…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
I welcome the speed with which this Government have listened and responded to those households whose homes are heated by heating oil. I also thank the ministerial team for their engagement with MPs across the House. As many people on heating oil in North West Leicestershire may not previously have a…
Commons
Debate
10 March 2026
2 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill
This is the crux of the issue that we are discussing today: how do make sure that justice is given to victims as quickly as possible? Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill enables us to do that?
We have heard many moving speeches today. I pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols), and for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet), for sharing their personal experiences.
Jury trials are a really important mechanism in the British legal system, and should not be take…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Topical Questions
I recently met my constituent Dean, who is in his 60s and wants to return to full-time work after a bit of ill health. With more than 15 years’ experience in human resources, he is struggling to get over the line and get that next job. He feels he is being turned away not just because of his age, bu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 March 2026
Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank John, Lyla’s father, for starting the petition. It was signed by 227 of my constituents in North West Leicestershire, and I would like to share as many of their experiences as I can in the time available. Throughout these stories, I h…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Energy Markets
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Households, businesses and charities in North West Leicestershire have highlighted some immediate pressures on the cost of heating oil and fuel costs in recent days. Does the Secretary of State agree that energy security across our country is vital a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
World Book Day
I want to celebrate our local libraries and how much they give to our communities. Castle Donington library hosts not only a uniform swap but a dress-up swap, which is so important for affordability. Libraries are also working hard to tackle the literacy crisis that we face, as just one in three chi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Healthcare in Rural Areas
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) for giving us the opportunity to talk about how living in a rural area can impact our access to healthcare.
As time is short, I will focus on two things. When I became an MP, one …