Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
Topical Questions
Two months ago my constituent, farmer Ian McKie, was subjected to a burglary in which his workshop was broken into and a quad bike was stolen. According to Mr McKie, such crime is happening more frequently and boldly in North Northumberland. What reassurance can the Minister give me about rural crim…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
4 contributions
Farming: Financial Sustainability
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the financial sustainability of the farming sector.
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. In a shameless effort to garner sympathy, I thank you for allowing me to sit down if I need to; I have a bad back today. Members can fe…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He will see this in the road map and in the Government’s approach. There needs to be the right balance between environmental approach, renewables and food production. I agree that the decision about where solar farms go is key.
We need to help British fa…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
22 June 2026
2 contributions
School Rebuilding Programme
13. What progress the school rebuilding programme has made.
Young people in Berwick in my constituency have been taught for over a decade in a crumbling high school—the only high school in the town in a wide surrounding area. Following sustained calls from families in Berwick, the Conservative county council promised five years ago to rebuild Berwick academy…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger, and an absolute pleasure to stand alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter), who made a fantastic speech. She was exactly the right person to make it: no one in this place is more of a Sir David …
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
3 June 2026
2 contributions
Defence Industrial Strategy
5. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the defence industrial strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I also welcome the good news that this week alone, Thales in Belfast has been given a £36 million contract to provide those multi-role missiles, which will support 700 highly skilled jobs in Belfast. Does the Minister agree that the defence industrial strategy…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 May 2026
Supreme Court Dillon Judgment
With respect to the shadow Minister, I have to say as someone who ran peacemaking programmes in Northern Ireland and who did a master’s dissertation on the South African truth and reconciliation commission that, sadly, the legacy Act came nowhere near replicating that. Does the Secretary of State ag…
Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
My constituency neighbour is giving a speech full of hyperbole. The motion is about a specific question, yet he treats this as if it were a referendum on the Prime Minister. Does he agree that that is simply not what we are voting on tonight?
Commons
Debate
22 April 2026
Government Procurement Strategy
I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. For many years it has seemed to me that while our European partners have been able to have significant sovereign procurement programmes, we have so often tied ourselves up in knots and been unable to do the same. My hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk …
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Defence
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
There are many things in the hon. Gentleman’s speech that I agree with, but as someone who grew up on the Clyde, does he welcomes the naval shipbuilding on the Clyde and the sales to Norway. Those who live in Scotland—I grew up 15 miles as the crow flies from Faslane—are also protected by the nuclea…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 March 2026
Puberty Blockers Clinical Trial
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. Any debate in which we are talking about the health and wellbeing of children and young people requires us all to be measured in our remarks, not least in the context of a debate that has been so toxic at times.
Our focus in clinical studi…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
2 contributions
Flooding
7. What steps she is taking to help protect communities vulnerable to flooding.
I warmly welcome the funding just announced, including for areas in my constituency—Budle bay, Belford and areas along the Coquet river. The national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk assessment says that one in four homes are projected to be at risk of flooding by 2050. Will the Minister…
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
The children of Belford primary school in my constituency recently wrote to me on a range of subjects. One of them said:
“There are too many people using fossil fuels in Northumberland. It is hurting the earth’s surface and increasing global warming. Please can you encourage people to stop using fo…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
3 March 2026
Jimmy Lai
Sticking with detentions in China, last week I had the great honour of meeting Grace Jin Drexel, the daughter of pastor Ezra Jin, who—along with 18 other pastors from Zion House Church—was arrested and detained by the Chinese authorities last October on the very vague charge of illegal use of inform…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Banking Hubs: Rural and Post-Industrial Communities
Will the Minister give way?
The Minister has been very generous. On the specific point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), similarly in Alnwick and Berwick, in my constituency, there is an issue to do with the diminution of high street banking. Only three years ago, there were three b…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 February 2026
3 contributions
Firearms Licensing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I approached you beforehand to tell you that, unfortunately, I cannot be here at the end of the debate because of a Select Committee, so I apologise to the Minister. That is a genuine shame, because this has been one of the most productive…
As my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) said earlier, we need must base our decisions on evidence. That is why I welcome the fact that there is a consultation, but it should be a genuine consultation on the facts of the matter.
Speaking of facts, I would expect every farmer in my const…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
It is really disappointing to see those on the Opposition Front Bench treating this as if it is some kind of party political issue. They do not have a monopoly on outrage about this; it really should be a cross-party issue. I will ask my hon. Friend the Minister about a specific element. As she and …
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
3 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
My right hon. Friend may shortly be coming on to this, but civil cases have been raised as a concern given the potential for lawfare, notwithstanding that people like Gerry Adams are also subject to civil action in the coming months. Will he outline what he expects in terms of civil cases against th…
We can talk about political parties and we can talk about the general population, but does the shadow Secretary of State agree that there is nearly universal opposition among victims of terrorism to the conditional immunity in the legacy Act?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
I am very clear that I am owned by a chocolate labrador. Coco is 12 now and the problem seems to be getting worse every year. That is why the reduction in decibels would be the most effective way of dealing with the problem. People could let fireworks off when they wanted and where they wanted, as l…
Commons
Debate
13 January 2026
11 contributions
Nigeria: Freedom of Religion or Belief
It is a great pleasure to lead this debate on Government support for freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria; I hope that we have some good debate. Recent events have thrown a spotlight on Nigeria in general, and on freedom of religion or belief in particular, so I hope that this debate can strengt…
I thank the hon. Member. I know that he is concerned about this issue and has spent a lot of his time in this place addressing it. I am aware of that list. I am pleased to be speaking speak at the Open Doors world watch list launch tomorrow—I understand that Nigeria is also high on that list.
What …
+9 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
3 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I welcome the Finance Bill. I will address clause 62 and schedule 12, which relate to APR and BPR. I have spoken on this subject several times, and did so back in November, because my constituency of North Northumberland has over 700 farm holdings, each of them growing the food that we eat and stewa…
As I will go on to say, I can confirm that I have had many messages of support for this change in policy. It has been a pleasure to work with the Labour rural research group and other colleagues on this matter, as my hon. Friend mentioned. As I thank farmers, I also want to thank the Government for …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Jury Trials
Let me speak to the point about the magistrates. In 2012, I took part in a six-month in-depth application process to become a magistrate, and I was accepted. I was then told that because of a pause by the previous Government, there would be no recruitment. In the following eight years, we lost 10,00…
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
The Secretary of State has already confirmed that under the legacy Act the immunity provisions were never commenced, so it is important to say that nobody was ever granted immunity under those provisions. Sticking with the subject of immunity, the three Veterans Commissioners for Northern Ireland, S…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
International Human Rights Day 2025
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I am delighted to be speaking in this debate about International Human Rights Day and I congratulate the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) on securing it. I declare an interest as the UK special envoy for freedom o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
4 contributions
Network Rail Timetable Changes: Rural Communities
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this important debate. He mentioned Berwick train station, which is in my constituency. Although the initial timetable change began in 2021, it is true that it has been brought in now.
I want to highlight more regional travel. It is good to be working cros…
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Budget Resolutions
I am grateful to be speaking in support of a Government who have delivered a Labour Budget that has ended the child benefit cap. That benefits 1,150 children in my constituency. The Budget is tackling the cost of living by reducing household energy bills by £150 from next April. It is raising much-n…