Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2026
4 contributions
Lobular Breast Cancer: Moon Shot Project
It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. Like others, I thank the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) for introducing the debate and for how he did it.
I want to make a prediction. I think the remaining speakers are going to say that they support this campaign and that they …
Exactly. In a former life, I was an academic. UKRI does at times engage with academics to fine-tune such questions. UKRI provides funding to universities, if needed, to bring the very best people to the UK either temporarily or on longer-term contracts to help to make a difference in the UK. Those t…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 June 2026
NHS Breast Screening
You will not be surprised to hear, Mr Vickers, that it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for the way in which she introduced the debate and engaged with the petitioners.
The UK’s breast screening progra…
Commons
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Sudan
I thank the Minister for his statement and the level of reassurance he has given us. I also thank the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam), who yesterday introduced me to three men with a connection to Sudan. They were all absolutely distraught by what is happening, and I really felt for t…
Commons
Proceedings
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Defence Spending and Readiness
rose—
Of course, this is not a debate about whether or not we increase defence spending; it is a debate about how much we increase it by. The hon. Gentleman has talked about our standing with our allies, which is incredibly important. What did our allies think when his Government were cutting defence? Can…
Commons
Proceedings
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Puberty Blockers
The hon. Lady knows that she is one of my favourite Tories—I think I have said that before. She has quoted Baroness Cass many times. Of course, Baroness Cass thinks this trial should go ahead, because the benefits outweigh the costs. Why is Baroness Cass wrong and the hon. Lady right?
By giving way a second time, the hon. Lady shows why she is my favourite Tory. Does Baroness Cass not say that she has met young people who have been self-medicating with testosterone, which is irreversible? That is one of the problems that we are trying to address through this trial. It is about pr…
Commons
Proceedings
11 June 2026
Compassionate Use Medicine Schemes: VAT
I thank the Minister for her response—I am sure she is working hard to resolve this issue. As the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) explained, a pause was introduced. That was welcomed by charities such as Sarcoma UK, which asked for that pause to be made permanent. If the Mini…
Commons
Debate
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Railways Bill
When we previously discussed that point, I made this same observation: when we think about privatisation, we tend to think of the rolling stock companies. However, we should not forget that originally there was a privatised rail company, Network Rail, and that it cost the lives of over 40 people in …
rose—
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Improving the UK Visa System
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. International students have always come to the UK and it is not because of the visa system; it is because we have fantastic universities. The hon. Gentleman will know that our very best universities do not actually rely on …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 May 2026
National Security
I thank the Minister for his statement and his unequivocal support for the Jewish community. I am proud to have an Iranian community in Edinburgh South West. They are concerned about people in that community who speak out against the Iranian regime, particularly journalists, who they fear may be per…
Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
6 contributions
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
Of course, the Leader of the Opposition is right that the Conservatives had a free vote on the partygate scandal. She chose to abstain, which is an absolute disgrace. [ Interruption. ]
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The bigger disgrace is that she voted against taking action on Owen Paterson. An utter disgrace—she was whipped.
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
22 April 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
I know that this is an important subject for the right hon. Lady personally, but Labour MPs have not voted against a ban; they have voted for a consultation. They have voted to listen to parents, young people and charities and to learn lessons from what has happened in places such as Australia and G…
Commons
Debate
22 April 2026
Government Procurement Strategy
I thank the Minister for his answer to the urgent question. It is common sense that we use the Government’s procurement power to support British jobs, but sadly that common sense is lacking in Scotland, where the Scottish Government are buying ferries from Poland, Turkey and China. Yesterday, Unite …
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Any progress on banning pavement parking is progress, so I absolutely welcome that. Will guidance be given to local authorities on how that could work? We have a ban in Edinburgh, which has been transformative, so hopefully we can look there for examples of how it could work. The Minister mentioned …
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
2 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
I am not in the Peter Mandelson fan club—I am old enough to remember his first life in government—but this morning we heard that UKVS had judged him to be a borderline risk and that officials thought that that risk could be managed. That is quite different from what the right hon. Gentleman is outli…
rose —
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
For most of my life, the UK was becoming a more tolerant society, so it really pains me that in recent years we have been going backwards; that is particularly true of the hate and violence faced by the Jewish community. That is why it was right that Kanye West was banned from entering the UK.
Last…
Commons
Proceedings
16 April 2026
Neuroendocrine Cancer
I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this vital issue to the House. The term neuroendocrine cancer may not be familiar to many, but tens of thousands of people across the United Kingdom have had to educate themselves after receiving a diagnosis. As with any rare cancer, this is often an uphill…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
Strategic Defence Review: Funding
I am proud to be part of a Government who are building ships in Scotland, whereas our Scottish Government colleagues are building ferries in Poland, Turkey and now China. Quite incredible.
Mr Speaker, you will be pleased to hear that I always use security guards at my surgeries, and a young chap wh…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 April 2026
“For Women Scotland” Court Ruling: First Anniversary
I know this is a really important subject to the hon. Lady. Of course, the Government received the revised draft guidance only yesterday and they issued a statement today. It is important to remember that.
The hon. Lady mentioned parkrun a minute or two ago, before the flurry of interventions. What…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
I thank the Minister for working over many months with our allies on this issue to reach agreement in our national interest and theirs. He has remained consistent on this issue and has given many updates on it. I wish I could say the same about the Opposition. Their short memory, their flip-flopping…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 April 2026
3 contributions
Statutory Menstrual Leave
You will not be surprised to hear me say, Mr Mundell, that it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for the way in which he introduced this debate, and other hon. Members for the excellent speeches that followed.
I recently …
Nine years—apologies. It took just over nine years for a diagnosis to take place, given the pain we have heard about. We have heard in this debate about the real human impact that delay causes. That must be impacting our economy too, so I hope the Government will commit to studying the effect of the…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Oil and Gas
Will the hon. Lady give way?
As ever, the hon. Lady speaks with great passion on this issue. She started by talking about Jackdaw. She must recognise that her party made a complete mess of that, which is why it is completely shrouded in uncertainty just now. She blames the Government and suggests that Labour is to blame, but it…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 March 2026
Puberty Blockers Clinical Trial
I believe that a trial for puberty blockers is necessary, and I am hopeful that the issues raised between the MHRA and King’s College can be resolved to allow the PATHWAYS trial to go ahead. If not, I hope an alternative trial can be proposed. I believe that if we accept that trans people exist and …
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion
I thank the Minister for his statement and also for the tone in which he has brought it here today. It has been quite an open statement in terms of the discussion. As a Government, we are serious about the whole agenda of violence against women and girls, and I just cannot conclude that giving Mande…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 March 2026
Social Cohesion Action Plan
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, I think we are easily confused.
Yesterday I attended Open Heavens church in Wester Hailes, and a man told me how he had faced open racism from his colleagues and had been forced to resign, take his employer to court, and win his tribunal—a fantastic achievement. It …
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
I want to start by paying tribute to Edinburgh’s Iranian community. Despite being concerned about their families in Iran, they have taken time in the past week to host public events, which shared details of Iran’s rich culture and the barbaric nature of its regime.
I want to ask a question about HM…