Commons
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Summer Jobs
Does my hon. Friend agree that is perhaps the most corrosive consequence of all? Businesses have all the pressure that is bearing down on them, and so many are telling me that it is just not worth it. The correlation between effort and success is being depleted, their self-confidence is being eroded…
Commons
Debate
2 July 2026
Access to Further Education
I congratulate the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) on securing this debate. Whatever our political differences, I welcome the opportunity to discuss an issue that should unite Members across this House: ensuring that every young person, wherever they live, has the opportunity to de…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
14 contributions
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for regenerating local high streets and removing unlawful storefronts.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz, and a delight to see so many Members present to talk about this important topic. High streets matter: t…
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing a debate later today. He is absolutely right: the pressure and stress that high streets are under mean that, on the current path, they will be unrecognisable in a decade.
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
29 June 2026
2 contributions
Job Opportunities: Rural Areas
2. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of job opportunities in rural areas.
The picture that the Minister paints is not one that I recognise, and it is not one recognised by businesses in my constituency. Rural job opportunities have gone down, rural unemployment is up, and businesses routinely tell me that the increased cost of employment under this Government has directly…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
4 contributions
North Sea Oil and Gas
I beg to move,
That this House has considered North Sea oil and gas.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. Energy security is a matter that impacts all of us. It allows us to reliably meet daily demand without concern for supply disruption or price spiking. It ensures that…
I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman supports continued activity in the North sea, and I will address that point later on in my remarks.
Increasing reliance on imports and blaming unstable global markets regardless of the product, when we have the ability to produce it domestically and help stabili…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Youth Unemployment
8. What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of her Department’s policies on levels of youth unemployment.
Some 42% of employers have cut back on graduate recruitment, and across Bromsgrove and the villages there has been a 25% increase in youth unemployment over the last two years. With unemployment undoubtedly weighing heavily on the Chancellor’s mind, does she regret the choices she has made and the i…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
22 June 2026
2 contributions
SEND Provision: Finance
11. What financial plan she has for improving SEND provision.
Looking out to 2028-29, there is a £2 billion gap between what the Government say they will be spending on SEND and what the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that SEND spending will be in that period. That will risk children across Worcestershire being forced to fit into a box that does no…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
Topical Questions
Will the Secretary of State rule out extending the BBC licence fee to streaming services such as Netflix?
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
17 June 2026
Engagements
Q10. May I associate myself with the tributes paid to Jo Cox? In two weeks’ time, new steel quotas and 50% tariffs will come into force, which industry has said will cost jobs. UKF steel in my constituency has been clear that without a change of course, it will almost certainly cease trading before …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Social Media Ban for Under-16s
This is a really important topic and a really important announcement about children’s health, safety and wellbeing, and I wish the Government well as they navigate some very thorny topics in bringing it into effect. Can the Secretary of State give any indication as to what accountability will look l…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Chinese-manufactured Solar Panels
13. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the use of Chinese-manufactured solar panels by Great British Energy.
The Xinjiang Uyghur region of China is estimated to provide 45% of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon. An estimated 68% of UK panels come from China, and two thirds of NHS trusts are dependent on Chinese solar. The Government have said that GB Energy is committed to having a supply chain free from …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
Topical Questions
T8. The Government’s new steel tariff and quota regime, due to come in in a few weeks, means that many businesses face a cliff edge. One in my constituency recently got in touch to tell me that it faces either a slow death or a swift death, and that it faces calling in the administrators before Chri…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Pubs: Bromsgrove
11. What steps he is taking to support pubs in Bromsgrove constituency.
I thank the Minister for her response, but I am afraid that the picture she paints is not one that pubs across my constituency will recognise. A typical pub in my constituency is paying around £2,500 in additional costs a month compared with two years ago, because of a rise in energy costs, employme…
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure: Business Rates
16. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates announced in the autumn Budget 2025 on the retail, hospitality and leisure sector.
I recently met Chris, the owner of Chapters Hair in Bromsgrove, who told me that current conditions are the most difficult he has faced in 25 years of trading, which he attributes directly to the decisions taken by the Chancellor. Why is it that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Government acr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. On cosmetics, does she share my concern about the continued use of botox in the non-surgical aesthetic treatment industry? Botox occupies an unusual, but perhaps not unique position in the market: because it is used for medical purposes, it falls under th…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
For far too long, mobile phone connectivity across Bromsgrove and the villages, Worcestershire and, frankly, the rest of the country has been woeful. I find it shocking that humanity can send a rocket to loop around the moon and back, and yet we cannot get reliable mobile phone signal. This morning,…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
UK-EU Relations
16. What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the future EU-UK relationship.
The European Union currently allows for food production methods that are either banned or being phased out in the UK, which is undercutting British farmers. Will the Minister outline what discussions have taken place with the European Union to ensure parity of welfare standards so that British farme…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
2 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
This is a particularly sorry saga. It is corrosive for not just this Government and the Labour party, but the entire political class and politicians as a collective body and it is certainly corrosive for the country. That is because a theme has emerged from this episode and others under this Governm…
On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
Southport Inquiry
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. Does she plan to provide any additional resource or funding to the Prevent programme? If so, does she have any initial idea as to where that may be targeted?
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
5 contributions
Oil and Gas
Net zero is a socialist dream, because it epitomises centralised control, Government interference in daily life and redistribution. When an idea becomes immune to scrutiny, it is precisely then that scrutiny is most needed. That definitely applies in the case of Britain’s rush to net zero, because i…
We only have to speak to businesses across our constituencies, and they will tell us about the reality of the economic calamity caused by decisions taken by this Government and the costs bearing down on them.
The reality is that choices made by this Government continue to hollow out our industrial …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
While I welcome the Minister’s statement, my constituents and I have a few questions. How many households does the Minister project that this will be applied to? What does he foresee the average amount of support being? Is there a qualifying criterion in terms of benefits or household income? Will t…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
I pay tribute to the posties across Bromsgrove, but not to the management of Royal Mail. My constituents need action, not more platitudes, like Royal Mail saying to me that it is “very sorry” that letters have not been received. I implore the Minister to get together with the management of Royal Mai…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 March 2026
Digital ID: Public Consultation
My constituents have been incredibly vocal in telling me that they do not want this. Frankly, because trust in the Government has eroded so much, this scheme is dead in the water. If the Government go ahead with it, what will they do to ensure that there is no single depository containing the data o…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
My constituents want the Government to get off their back and get on their side, rather than using their hard-earned taxpayers’ money to spend up to £40,000 on removing illegal asylum seekers. Will the Minister rule that out?