Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
North Atlantic Submarine Activity
Russia is in our seas and undermining our North sea cables. It is on social media spreading myths and disinformation. It is even in our politics: we must remember that the former Reform leader in Wales is currently serving time in prison for accepting Russian bribes. Members across the House recogni…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership on this issue. Unlike certain other world leaders, it is clear that he recognises the consequences that international crises have on the cost of living at home. My constituents feel that impact every time they go to fill up the car, which is made more ga…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
2 contributions
Gurkha Veterans
I am privileged to have seen the service and sacrifice of the Gurkhas to the British Army at first hand during my visit to Brunei last year, where I had the honour of being hosted by the First Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme—a scheme that I know th…
I thank the Minister for all that he has said so far. We have had an incredibly harmonious debate, with views shared by Members from across the House on this important issue. I note that a Member of Reform UK, the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), has now entered the Chamber, but does the …
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
The hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) may call me Pothole Pete after this question. Residents in Bracknell Forest are frustrated about potholes, so I welcome the fact that Bracknell Forest council has committed over £7 million to fixing local roads in this year’s budget, backed by millions …
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I genuinely welcome the fact that my hon. Friend stresses the need for locally led decision making. She will know that there is widespread support across the Thames valley for a foundation strategic authority for Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, and that a bid along those lines is with her minist…
Commons
Proceedings
25 March 2026
Foreign Financial Influence and Interference: UK Politics
I thank Sir Philip Rycroft for his important work. In his review, he notes:
“The online environment has created a cheap and relatively simple means of getting anonymised content in front of ordinary people in a way that seeks to undermine their trust in the political process.”
He notes that this a…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
Oil and Gas
The Minister mentioned energy security. Of course, that is fundamentally the most important issue facing us as a country at the moment, not only because of the conflict in the middle east, but wider conflicts, including that in Ukraine. Is it not the case that we must stop taking short-term decision…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
Topical Questions
T2. Last week, I visited Estonia with the Education Committee to learn about early-years education, and I heard that even nursery-aged children are taught to spot fake news. What conversations has the Minister had with colleagues across Government about taking a whole-of-society approach to misinfor…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
The right hon. Lady knows that the challenge at the moment is that, because of the way that the system works, local authorities can control the number of admissions to good and outstanding maintained schools, but have much less control when it comes to academies. When there are falling pupil numbers…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
I thank the Defence Secretary for all he is doing to support our troops in the region and protect British citizens. It is clear that a long conflict would pose real risks not only to our troops, but to energy prices and the cost of living here in the UK. Does he agree that we need to see urgent de-e…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
2 contributions
Foreign State Actors: Disinformation
21. What assessment he has made of trends in levels of disinformation by foreign state actors.
Last week, a representative of Meta appeared before the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and when I pressed him on its role in safeguarding democracy, he was unable to say whether it is doing enough to prevent foreign actors from using social media to undermine our democratic rights and freedoms. Th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
3 contributions
World Book Day
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for schools, learning and assessment, and the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on social mobility. This debate was opened so passionately by my hon. Friend the M…
Absolutely. As we heard, the range of children’s books is growing. It can be slightly reductive to suggest that a single type of book appeals to a single kind of child, so we need to see a broad range of books. We need non-fiction as well as fiction, because lots of young people love to get into rea…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
I have raised my concerns about foreign interference by Russia and China on many occasions, and today’s events underline why the issue is so important. I welcome the Rycroft review; it is fundamental that we get to the bottom of foreign interference in our politics. My only concern is that because t…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
2. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.
One challenge faced by young people from Bracknell to Bangor is a lack of affordable housing, and not building enough homes affects our economy, too. I was pleased that the Secretary of State recently announced that our UK Government would be devolving powers to create a vacant land tax to the Welsh…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
3 March 2026
Topical Questions
T9. The International Road Assessment Programme, based in Bracknell, has saved well over half a million lives from road crashes around the world, which is a significant contribution to the UN’s sustainable development goals and a real success story of British expertise on the global stage. What ca…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
I declare an interest: I am chair of the all-party group on schools, learning and assessment, and we are conducting an inquiry on votes at 16 to see what support young people will need to make the most of the vote, when they get it. The most important thing that young people are telling us is that t…
I agree with my hon. Friend’s argument. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and a representative from Meta spoke to the Committee just last week. I was very concerned about their answers when probed on the work that needs to be done to protect social media sites from foreign interf…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
On the last day before the February recess, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government released a consultation on regional strategic planning, including proposed maps for regions where a mayoral strategic authority has not already been established. I am extremely concerned that that a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Historical Forced Adoptions: Formal Apology
8. What assessment the Church has made of the potential merits of issuing a formal apology to mothers and adoptees affected by the Church’s involvement in historical forced adoptions.
On Tuesday, the Education Committee held a public evidence session on historical forced adoptions and heard how, over many decades, unmarried mothers were shamed and coerced into giving up their babies for adoption—a practice driven by the policies of the state and delivered by charities and religio…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
Topical Questions
T7. The national youth strategy offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve access to youth services for young people in Bracknell Forest and across the country. What discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence to tie the strategy together with the strateg…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Outcomes for Young People: Bracknell Forest
7. What steps her Department is taking to help improve outcomes for young people in Bracknell Forest.
Last week, I dropped into the Wayz youth centre in Bracknell to celebrate its 60th anniversary—that is, 60 years of supporting young people in Bracknell Forest, developing their skills and helping them find and use their voice. This Government are backing the youth centre with our national youth str…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Topical Questions
T9. I am delighted that two mental health support teams are already at work in Bracknell Forest, supporting almost four-fifths of local pupils with timely, targeted mental health support. There is a lot more to do to fix the child and adolescent mental health services system, but could the Minist…
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving
Countless parents in my constituency have described the constant fight to get support for their SEND children. They have to battle to get a piece of paper that sets out rights that they then cannot access because the support is not there. Will the Secretary of State set out what the new system will …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
Engagements
Q3. The Government have delivered the funding needed to rebuild the new Frimley Park hospital after the Conservatives made empty, unfunded promises to my constituents. Now we urgently need to get on with announcing the preferred site, along with the investment needed to improve public transport, roa…
Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
Road Safety
Road safety is one of the top issues that constituents write to me about. That is why I took the opportunity to hear from nearly 1,000 Bracknell Forest residents on this issue over the summer, as I conducted my summer campaign on road safety. Those conversations and speaking with many incredible cha…