Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2025
Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery
I understand that Lindsey oil refinery has gone bust because it was uncompetitive because of high energy prices, just months after Grangemouth closed. We are witnessing the disappearance of the oil refining sector in this country because of high energy costs. We are witnessing the deindustrialisatio…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2025
Glastonbury Festival: BBC Coverage
Another week, another month, and once again the BBC has got it horribly wrong, in its Glastonbury broadcast, with regard to Hamas and to antisemitism, and once again there has been another grovelling apology. I ask the Secretary of State: how long must this go on before, regrettably, many in the Jew…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2025
Criminal Cases Review (Public Petition)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for the general public to petition the Criminal Cases Review Commission to review sentences that the petitioners believe to be either too harsh or too lenient; to make provision about the review of such sentences; to make provi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 June 2025
UK Modern Industrial Strategy
This 138-page industrial strategy highlights the key problem facing British industry: high energy prices. The Secretary of State is putting in place some measures to reduce them, but surely he could do that earlier than 2027 by removing some of the green levies of net stupid zero sooner. When will e…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 June 2025
Middle East
Given that there is a consensus, I think, across the whole House that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon, it seems that there is a lack of willingness to recognise that negotiations, after many years, have patently failed to yield results. Will the Foreign Secretary join Reform and me in thanking…
Commons
Proceedings
19 June 2025
Business of the House
It is important to celebrate awards given to hon. colleagues, so will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating both the Deputy Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), and my hon. Friend the Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) on winning the award in their …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 June 2025
HS2 Reset
It may surprise the Secretary of State, but I actually have some sympathy for her for inheriting the HS2 nightmare. When she receives the updated budget and timeframe, will there be a cost and a timeline at which point she will say, “Enough is enough—it’s better to stop,” or is it an open-ended cheq…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report
I welcome the statement from the Home Secretary, and the fact that there will now be a national inquiry. Does the Home Secretary think that it will be finished within, let us say, two years for the British people? Given that she quite rightly apologised to the victims and survivors, will she apologi…
Commons
Debate
13 June 2025
3 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I rise to support new clauses 13 to 15, and to oppose amendment 42. I commend the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) on the way that she has navigated this incredibly difficult and sensitive process.
In considering these clauses and the passage of the Bill, I have kept in mind the simple …
I will not, because so many hon. Members wish to speak.
In this country we are lucky enough to have some of the finest palliative care in the world, and it is a noble aspiration to want to improve that—to be the best in the world. Nevertheless, many of us will have seen loved ones, family members a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 June 2025
Gibraltar
I want to probe the question of whether Spanish border officials have an effective veto on the entry of a British citizen from the United Kingdom landing on British sovereign territory in Gibraltar. I just want absolute clarity for everybody in this House: do Spanish officials have a veto or not? Se…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
The Chancellor supposedly inherited a black hole, and she has dug a crater into which public confidence and business confidence are plunging. The truth is that 250,000 jobs have disappeared since the blunder Budget. Despite all the noise we hear from those on the Government Benches, the reality is t…
Commons
Proceedings
9 June 2025
Chinese Embassy Development
National security and security is a valid planning consideration, so does the Minister accept that, in the event that the Secretary of State allows this decision to go ahead, regardless of the planning inspector’s recommendation, this Government will essentially be putting our relationship with Chin…
Commons
Proceedings
3 June 2025
Thames Water
I declare an interest as a Thames Water customer. The reality is that Thames Water is bankrupt. It cannot pay its debts and it cannot meet its legal obligations to Ofwat, the state and its customers. Therefore, surely the right thing to do is to put it out of its misery, and put it into special admi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base
The Mauritians have never ever owned the Chagos islands. When they gained independence from the United Kingdom in the 1960s, the UK paid them millions of pounds to cede any future claims over the sovereignty of the Chagos islands. The Defence Secretary has confirmed the strategic importance of the C…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 May 2025
20 contributions
EU-UK Summit
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey.
This week will go down in parliamentary history as the week of the greatest surrender. It was bookended by the surrendering at the beginning of the week of the valuable freedoms won from the European Union through the joys of Brexit, and …
No, they have not mentioned that at all. Likewise, none of the major logistics firms in my constituency has even once mentioned the so-called delays at the border. This surrender of fishing is completely and utterly inexcusable, and nothing has been gained in return.
The second big surrender is tha…
+18 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
22 May 2025
Topical Questions
T3. Apart from the sensational ice cream, I am sure the Minister will join me in congratulating Skegness on being awarded the prestigious blue flag for the quality of its beach. I am concerned that not enough people can enjoy that, however, because of the lack of direct public transport from London.…
Commons
Proceedings
21 May 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. May I put on the record the sad passing yesterday of Patrick O’Flynn, a political journalist who was well known to many hon. Members? He died after a short battle with cancer. He was a Lobby journalist for some 20 years, spending many days, weeks and months in the Pr…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 May 2025
UK-EU Summit
In Boston and Skegness, my fishermen are furious that the Prime Minister has surrendered the fishing industry. My constituents are furious that he has surrendered on freedom of movement and on rule taking under the ECJ. But there is good news: does Prime Minister accept that he has also surrendered …
Commons
Debate
19 May 2025
National Security Act 2023: Charges
The British people will be appalled to learn that Iranian nationals who have come across the English channel have been charged with terror offences. They will also be concerned that the Home Secretary talked in opposition about proscribing the IRGC, but now we have Jonathan Hall KC recommending a de…
Commons
Proceedings
15 May 2025
3 contributions
Solar Farms
Obviously, I like to bring people together in consensus, and I think there is consensus in the House that there is a place for solar—on roofs. Of course, I like to lead by example, so I have put solar panels on the roofs of my industrial buildings. Then, one can sell electricity to the occupier bene…
I am most grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for common sense. Most solar farms now include huge battery storage systems, which, we have learned, are very dangerous. Three of them have gone up in flames just this year in the United Kingdom. The fires cannot be put out; they must be left to burn o…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
15 May 2025
Recalled Offenders: Sentencing Limits
The Minister and the Secretary of State have often used the word “emergency” to describe the state of the prison population, and I have asked the Secretary of State how long it will take to deport all the foreign criminals clogging up our jails. This is a moment for the Secretary of State to say, “Y…
Commons
Proceedings
13 May 2025
2 contributions
UK-EU Summit
rose —
I can understand why the right hon. Member did not want to answer the two questions from the Opposition on dynamic alignment, but surely, given a third opportunity, he will commit the Government not to have dynamic alignment in any way, so that we can benefit from trade deals around the world—a grea…
Commons
Proceedings
13 May 2025
2 contributions
Mansion House Accord
Pension funds are, by definition, long-term capital and are therefore particularly well suited to being invested in long-term infrastructure. British pension funds investing in British infrastructure should be welcomed by us all, but I would caution against any specific mandating within sectors, whi…
indicated assent .
Commons
Ministerial Statement
6 May 2025
Counter Terrorism Policing: Arrests
I, too, pay tribute to the brilliance of our security forces. The Minister has paid tribute to the quality of advice from Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism, and said that he will indeed listen to that advice. Well, that same Jonathan Hall KC last autumn advised that in serious …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 April 2025
Energy Grid Resilience
Just before the Spanish blackouts we had two unexpected outages—one in Lincolnshire and one at the other end of the Viking Link. The NESO was not going to tell us about it, but thanks to a whistleblower we now know. It seems to me that with the ever-increasing reliance on renewables, many are concer…