Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
5 January 2026
Topical Questions
Sussex police is one of the most underfunded forces in England, with the number of officers per resident 27% below the national average. Following the national decrease in police officers during the first year of this Government, will the Home Secretary commit to ensuring that police officer numbers…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 December 2025
2 contributions
Digital ID System
7. What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on introducing a nationwide digital ID system.
A very happy Christmas to you, Mr Speaker. More than 5,300 of my constituents have signed a petition opposing digital ID, alongside nearly 3 million people nationally. In my own local survey, two thirds opposed it outright. Digital ID did not appear anywhere in Labour’s manifesto. The Government hav…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
Topical Questions
T8. Ahead of Small Business Saturday, I visited Armen at Rose Green Hardware. He told me that it has never been as tough to run a small business as it is under this Labour Government. Does the Minister believe that removing business rates relief will make things any easier?
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Pubs: Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
13. What steps his Department is taking to support pubs in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.
Mr Speaker,
“The Chancellor’s disastrous budget was the most bitter attack on the pub industry for years.”
Those are not my words, but those of Iain Brown, who runs the William Hardwicke pub in Bognor Regis. Charlie Cockaday, landlord of the Fox Inn in Felpham, told me that due to increases in bus…
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
14 contributions
Seasonal Work
On the tourism tax, which will come on top of the increase in business rates, I spoke last week to Catherine, from the Navigator hotel, who is in despair at these additional costs. She fears for the future of her hotel and, indeed, for the 10 employees who work in that hotel. What reassurance can my…
Will the Minister give way?
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
3 contributions
Digital ID
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Edward. I am grateful to the Petitions Committee for granting this debate, which could not be more timely. People in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton have been talking to me about digital ID for months, and more than 5,300 have sign…
There is certainly no mandate for either. If a Government wish to change something as fundamental as how we prove who we are, they need to be up front about it; they need to win consent for it. Attacks on our privacy and personal freedom must be debated in depth, not sneaked in through the back door…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
26 November 2025
2 contributions
New Nuclear Sites
15. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the potential for new nuclear power sites in Scotland.
A key plank of the SNP’s dogmatic argument against new nuclear is cost. Will the right hon. Gentleman find a quiet moment—perhaps when the winds fall light and the turbines stop—to point out to them to reduced costs of small modular reactors?
Commons
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
2 contributions
NHS Industrial Action
12. What steps he is taking to help prevent industrial action in the NHS.
After warnings from the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, my constituents are still rightly concerned that services may yet be cut, appointments lost and operations delayed as a direct result of the BMA’s industrial action. These strikes did not need to happen. What will the Secretary of State do…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 November 2025
Topical Questions
T9. Flooding costs the UK economy up to £6 billion a year. Aviva estimates that 2,000 more homes will be at risk of surface water flooding by 2050 in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton alone, as well as 115,000 of the Government’s planned 1.5 million new homes. That is why flood resilience is a growth…
Commons
Debate
18 November 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton is a coastal constituency with a strong forces tradition. Many of my constituents served in Northern Ireland and are now terrified of being pulled into a process that continues with no end. Does my hon. Friend agree that we owe those veterans a process that is fair, pr…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
China Espionage: Government Security Response
The Minister stresses the importance of mindset, so can he tell me whether it was a failure of mindset that underpinned the failure to secure the prosecution of two alleged Chinese agents? Why should parliamentarians now trust that he has the mindset to keep us safe?
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Official Secrets Act: Alleged Breach
13. Whether her Department provided evidence relating to the alleged breach of the Official Secrets Act on behalf of China.
Our judicial system is rightly rigorous and independent, which is why the Government’s handling of intelligence that is central to national security, and passing it to prosecutors, matters so much. As the Minister responsible for our state threats framework and domestic security, will the Home Secre…
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Energy
My constituents are looking at their rising energy bills, already the second highest in the world, with a real sense of fear. People should not have to choose between heating and eating because of the direct choices—the political choices—of the Labour party.
It is not just residents I am hearing fr…
I will not, given the time constraints.
Our cheap power plan would axe the carbon tax, scrap renewable levies on household bills and put money back into the pockets of hard-working people, because if we give families certainty and give businesses room to breathe, the growth will follow. This is how…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
Prisoner Releases in Error
On 10 October, Ola Abimbola, a violent Nigerian criminal, walked out of Ford open prison in my Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency. He has not been seen since. He is meant to be serving 21 years for grievous bodily harm, kidnap and possession of an offensive weapon. How many other prisoners …
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
5 November 2025
Topical Questions
Mr Speaker, last night I was honoured to speak at an event you kindly hosted with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. I met Craig, the chief executive of Action Deafness, which delivers vital services across my constituency, as well as Stuart, an academic focused on the needs of deaf young…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Supporting High Streets
Our high streets are not just places to shop; they are the hearts of our communities. Yet every business I speak to in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton tells me the same thing: they are unsure if they can survive another year of this Labour Government. Families are under pressure too, worried about ke…
I am going to keep making some progress.
Secondly, let me turn to energy costs. Too many small businesses are paying bills far higher than they were just a few years ago. Green levies are a political choice and the result of the Government’s ideological pursuit of net zero by 2030. While big manufa…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
At Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, the Prime Minister offered scant reassurance to business owners trying to create jobs and growth in the face of higher taxes, costs and regulations. The Institute of Directors warns that:
“Business confidence has plumbed new depths”.
Ahead of Small Business…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
Engagements
Q11. Last weekend I spoke to Paul, who runs Bah-Humbug Sweets in Littlehampton, and yesterday I heard from Matt, a tech entrepreneur whose British company employs thousands worldwide. Their businesses could not be more different, but they both told me the same thing: this Government are piling on …
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Independent Lifeboats: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), a fellow south coast MP, on securing this important debate.
I am an avid sea swimmer and sailor who enjoys every opportunity to be in the sea, so it brings me gre…
The hon. Member makes a good point. She would probably agree with me that asking the Government to reinstate the rescue boat grant fund is a first step in that direction. I hope the grant would include capital expenditure.
This is not a topic for political point scoring; it is about saving lives. T…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Alleged Spying Case: Role of Attorney General’s Office
The Sunday Times reported that, following a key meeting on 1 September, the Attorney General’s Office was asked to speak to the CPS. Did anyone from the Attorney General’s Office speak directly or indirectly to the CPS after that meeting?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 September 2025
Business of the House
Two nights ago, a man in his 30s was stabbed in the centre of Bognor Regis, and that follows a fatal stabbing earlier this year. Will the Government bring forward a debate to consider how to make high streets safer and tackle the increasing prevalence of knife crime in small seaside towns such as Bo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 September 2025
Non-surgical Aesthetic and Cosmetic Treatments
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important and increasingly pressing issue. I also thank the hon. Members for Putney (Fleur Anderson), for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for Calder Valley (J…
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
The hon. Lady and I share a huge concern for ensuring access to all types of transport, including buses, for the disabled of every kind. Does she agree that the strike in London, which is crippling transport services, is causing greater harm to the disabled community here than in any other part of t…
Commons
Proceedings
4 September 2025
Business of the House
In a week when the Liberal Democrat-run Arun district council has been found to have the worst possible grading for its social housing provision—including more than half of its homes being without smoke alarms—it is alleged that two senior directors, including one responsible for housing, have left …