Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
Asylum Hotels
I inherited three asylum hotels in Bournemouth, and I know that the Home Secretary is working through a complicated process to close those hotels. I have asked on 5 January, 9 February, 9 March and 8 June whether the Government have positive news about the closure of any of the asylum hotels in Bour…
Commons
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a GMB member.
I recently met coastguard rescue officers in my office, and they told me how they respond in all conditions and at all hours. They drop everything to save life, and providing that public servic…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
National Youth Strategy
I make a habit of agreeing with my hon. Friend, and I particularly agree with her on that point. When I speak with youth workers, they are clear that they do not want to reinvent the wheel. Youth work works; we just need more of it to be ringfenced and have dedicated funding. We are about to have a …
Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
Payment Scheme
On behalf of constituents that I am proud to represent, I want to ask the Paymaster General questions of justice. I want to ask whether the infected blood compensation scheme is delivering the justice that Sir Brian Langstaff’s inquiry promised everyone who has suffered one of the greatest scandals …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 June 2026
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
With your grace, Madam Deputy Speaker, and with the consent of my constituents, I wish to put some people on the official parliamentary record. Mich says:
“Conversion therapy taught me to be ashamed of being non-binary and gay, and taught me how to pretend to be someone I’m not, by changing my outw…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2026
Windrush Day
Britain is a great country, and Bournemouth is a great town; everywhere I go I see the values of unity and decency. I saw this recently at St Walburga’s primary school in Bournemouth, where I was invited by one of the teachers, Kern Browne, to hear from year 6 students who were remembering the Windr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
Public Libraries: Bournemouth East
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the future of public libraries in Bournemouth East constituency.
It is an honour to speak under your chairpersonship, Mr Turner. This debate is the third that I have called since my election. My first was on playgrounds all over our country; my second …
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
8 June 2026
Topical Questions
We are a patient people and a compassionate community in Bournemouth, but there is a feeling in town that, with our three asylum hotels, we are being asked to do more than our fair share. Will the Minister please set out for my constituents that Bournemouth is uppermost in his mind as he closes hote…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
Topical Questions
Had the 8.3 GW of offshore wind secured at the start of this year through allocation round 7 been in place last year, we would have seen gas generation cut by a third, and wholesale prices down by 13%. It is clear that we have to double down on the clean energy revolution. We cannot be distracted by…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Ground-mounted Solar Panels: Alternatives
I feel that we are slightly misrepresenting the argument. There is no debate about choosing between food security and energy security. The National Farmers Union states that if solar capacity were to increase fivefold by 2035, we would still only see 0.5% of UK agricultural land covered by ground-mo…
I do not want us to keep talking around each other, but the hon. Lady is missing the point again about the quantity of agricultural land that can be taken out of agricultural use. Reference has been made to the idea that the UK would be carpeted with ground-mounted solar panels. That is not going to…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
Oil and Gas
I thank the hon. Member for giving way. I am a fan of his work, but I do have to ask this question. The Conservatives and Reform would have joined the American-led war of choice without any questioning of the reasons for it, and the Conservatives and Reform want to leave the UK reliant on fossil fue…
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
3 contributions
Fuel Duty
In a pithy sentence, will the hon. Gentleman describe the mission of the Conservative party?
I think the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) was making is that, contrary to what the hon. Member said, the majority of parents of children who are disadvantaged by the two-child benefit cap are working. They are grafters; they are the hon. Member’s c…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address
For five years before my election, I led services for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is a cause that means a lot to me, and I know it is a cause that means a lot to the Prime Minister too.
We on the Labour Benches are furious with Peter Mandelson; he hoodwinked left, right and centre…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
The Government have learned from the missteps of Iraq, whereas the Conservatives and Reform would repeat them. The Prime Minister is de-escalating in line with the national interest, whereas the Conservatives and Reform would blindly follow President Trump into a war of choice. Will the Minister sta…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
As the Labour Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, I stand by my posties here in the House of Commons and thank them for their dedication and diligence, which stands in sharp contrast to the management of the Royal Mail. The trial that is under way has failed, and the new approach will spectac…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
I respect the Conservatives who are calling for de-escalation, but they need to have a word with their leader, who wanted to sign Britain up to a war of choice with changing goals and no clear timescales, thereby contributing to the chaos and the worsening cost of living crisis. The Chancellor has a…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Some say that this Government are controlling our borders in spite of our progressive values, but no, we are securing our borders because it is in line with our Labour values. In my constituency, residents want to feel safe, and they do not feel safe with our borders not yet controlled. In wanting t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 March 2026
Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing
I thank the 143 constituents who signed this petition. I am representing my constituent David. His son fell unwell, but the GP surgery did not recognise the symptoms and he had to be blue-lighted to a hospital the same evening. He has now recovered—in fact, he has now raised £500 for Breakthrough T1…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Topical Questions
T5. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Ryan Cornish and Elliott Prentice, who are the Members of Youth Parliament for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and their deputies, Ruth Simpkins and Lilee Bedwell, on a fantastic year? They have not just participated in our democracy; they have …
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
2 contributions
UK-EU Emission Trading Systems
16. What recent discussions he has with the European Commission on linking UK and EU emission trading systems.
The EU’s carbon budget amendment mechanism came into being on 1 January. It affects the IFA2 interconnector between Britain and France, which I visited recently. CBAM is a trade block for UK electricity exports to the EU, imposing costs on exporters of £2.2 billion, and it robs the Treasury of up to…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
Instead of fighting for Bournemouth in Poole-led Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council, Liberal Democrats in Southbourne and—proving they are just like the rest—independents in Muscliff and Strouden Park voted to kill off a shovel-ready rail project that would have given disabled people, paren…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 February 2026
Post Office Green Paper
I welcome the announcement of £483 million to invest in our post offices around the country, and I join the Minister in thanking our postmasters and postal staff, particularly those at the Southbourne Grove, Malmesbury Park, Hengistbury Head and Sea Road post offices in my constituency. What happens…
Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals
On behalf of my constituent David, I want to ask: has the ETA regime created a de facto UK passport requirement for British citizens? I also want to ask a question on behalf of my constituent Dolores, whose son, Tommy Roberts, an aspiring Royal Marine, was murdered in Bournemouth, aged 21, by somebo…
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
Online Harm: Child Protection
My hon. Friend makes a really important point about the restriction of phone use in schools, and he mentions pouches. I met Naomi from Smartphone Free Childhood Dorset last week, and she is concerned that the use of pouches reinforces the idea that children can have smartphones at school. Although a…
Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
The hon. Lady makes an important point about it not being a child’s fault that they are growing up in poverty. I grew up in poverty, caring for two disabled parents, and I would also say that it is not the parents’ fault; it is society’s fault. When we say that people should be poor, and we create t…