Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
3 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (First sitting)
Q I have a question for Jill Broom. You were talking about the incident reporting requirements. Do you think the legislation strikes the right balance to encourage organisations to come forward when they have been attacked, so that the sector can learn from that and vulnerabilities can be patched ou…
Q Stuart, you were nodding, which suggests you have something to contribute.
Stuart McKean: It is an interesting cultural challenge. You want people to be open and to report incidents that are having an impact, but at the same time, if they report those incidents they might get fined, which could b…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, particularly the action on mobile phones in schools. Harmful interactions can take place in online games and on instant messaging platforms, and we need to be alive to the risk of driving use to less well-regulated spaces and into virtual private networks.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 January 2026
ADHD Diagnosis
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) on securing this debate. He knows my links to his constituency, and I am certain that his moving tribute to Matt will be appreciated by Matt’s family, his Labour fam…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Covid-19: Financial Support
I thank the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Manuela Perteghella) for securing this really important debate. When the covid-19 pandemic unfolded, it tested every part of our society. It pushed our health system, our communities and our economy to the brink. In that moment of crisis, emergency fina…
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has done exactly the right thing by setting up the covid corruption commissioner. During the pandemic, there were those who saw it not as a moment of national emergency in which we should all get together, but as an opportunity to line their own pockets. The Chancello…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 January 2026
Northern Powerhouse Rail
Our region, from our big cities to our small towns, is ambitious for our future. We are hungry to play our part in our country’s economic recovery and have been impatient for the Government to see our potential after so many years of undelivered promises. Today’s announcement to invest in NPR shows …
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
Horse and Rider Road Safety
Like the hon. Gentleman, a constituent contacted me ahead of this debate and told me that, although many motorists act responsibly, there is an increasing problem with drivers behaving more aggressively and passing horses at unsafe distances. Given that horses can react unpredictably when they think…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
I commend the Minister for bringing forward the first road safety strategy in more than a decade, alongside specific and measurable targets for cutting the number of deaths on our roads. Evidently, one of the experiences we share across the House is the first time we meet the family of a child who h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Topical Questions
Sixty-six years ago this week, the last regular passenger train called at Middlewich railway station, drawing to a close 92 years of passenger rail travel from the town. A number of students from Middlewich high school have written to me to ask whether the Government would consider reopening the sta…
Commons
Debate
6 January 2026
4 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill
I am absolutely staggered to hear the shadow Secretary of State talk about standard software testing practices as though someone is doing wrong by trying to penetrate systems and find flaws in them. Is not the whole point of software testing to find the flaws in a system and get them fixed, rather t…
indicated dissent.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Topical Questions
T2. I recently met a group of care workers from Northwich who are here through the health and social care visa, and who are undertaking vital work with great commitment and some personal sacrifice. They spoke passionately about the unfairness of applying the proposed changes to requirements for sett…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
I thank the Minister for her statement and welcome her commitment to restoring fairness to the heart of the local government financial settlement, giving our councils the long-term certainty they have been crying out for. The Conservatives were a disaster for local government. In both Cheshire autho…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 December 2025
National Plan to End Homelessness
I thank the Minister for her commitment on this issue and on the child poverty strategy, which is not unrelated to this work. I welcome the strategy she has announced today as a good first step in the right direction. The focus on prevention and the duty to collaborate are particularly important, as…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
10 December 2025
Engagements
Q4. Thousands of families are moving into new estates only to discover that basic infrastructure—roads, drains and sewers—remain in limbo, unadopted by public authorities. In Mid Cheshire alone, 4,700 households—more than 12% of all properties in the constituency—face that uncertainty, with no gua…
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
Child Poverty Strategy
I thank my right hon. Friend for her leadership and all her hard work in getting us to this point. The extent to which child poverty increased under the last Government, and the fact that it shifted so heavily towards children in working families, ought to be a source of shame for the Conservatives—…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Local Elections
May I welcome the additional £21.7 million per year announced today for the Cheshire and Warrington combined authority? I know my hon. Friend the Member for Chester North and Neston (Samantha Dixon), who is on the Front Bench, has campaigned for that for many, many years. Our region has massive unta…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
4 December 2025
2 contributions
EU Relations
11. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.
Recent efforts to secure UK participation in the EU’s Security Action for Europe initiative, which aims to strengthen defence capacity across the continent in response to escalating Russian threats, appear to have come to an end without agreement. While it is right that the UK only enters agreements…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 December 2025
5 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Perhaps I have misunderstood, but I am sure that the Minister has clarified that the standardised pay across the sector should be a floor, not a ceiling. Can the hon. Gentleman confirm that that is his understanding too?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Barker. I begin by thanking the petition organiser and all who engaged with it. Like many colleagues from across the House, I entered politics because I wanted to make sure that all children, regardless of their background or circumstances, had t…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Budget Resolutions
This Budget is about building an economy that works for working people and families, not returning to the short-term decisions of the previous Government, which left public services stretched and household finances fragile. I welcome the fact that the Government are choosing stability, fairness and …
Commons
Oral Questions
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Cities and Towns of Culture
7. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK city of culture and UK town of culture competitions on local communities.
Northwich and Winsford, in my constituency, have long punched well above their weight when it comes to cultural vibrancy and creativity. Winsford, in particular, has earned a proud reputation as an incubator for musical talent, with emerging acts, such The Luka State and The Voke, making waves on th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 November 2025
Young People not in Education, Employment or Training
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) on securing this important debate on NEETs. This is an issue that affects the future of our young people, and it is a persistent challenge that we must tackle hea…
Commons
Debate
19 November 2025
3 contributions
Northwich Railway Station: Accessibility
From a debate about the personal property rights of crypto tokens, we move seamlessly into a debate I am proud to have secured on railway station accessibility, specifically at Northwich in my constituency. My thanks go to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and Mr Speaker for giving me the opportunity to ta…
I congratulate my hon. Friend and her councillors on securing that improvement. I agree with her entirely, and I am sure the Minister has heard what she has said.
Passengers in Northwich who cannot use stairs cannot get to the Chester-bound platform. There is no lift and no ramp; there is just a st…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 November 2025
Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England
My hon. Friend mentioned Storm Christoph. Both Northwich and Winsford in my constituency flooded twice in an 18-month period, most recently during that storm. Our section 19 investigation found that although Northwich’s flood walls held, the ancient Victorian combined sewerage system was not up to s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 November 2025
Rogue Builders
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) on securing this debate. We have heard some harrowing stories from right hon. and hon. Members from across the Chamber. I am pleased that the right hon. Member for New Forest …
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
3 November 2025
2 contributions
Ukraine: Military Support
5. What recent discussions he has had with allies on military support for Ukraine.
I strongly welcome the Defence Secretary’s continued leadership on Ukraine. I visited Estonia in early September, just prior to the incident in which three MiG-31 Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace and stayed for 12 minutes, in a further dangerous escalation of tensions in the region. Ev…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 October 2025
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I thank the Minister for his statement and for his very clear personal commitment on this issue. He will be aware that building and maintaining trust between the affected families and the Government is essential. I am sure he will agree that the Hillsborough law, which comes before the House next we…