Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 July 2025
State of Climate and Nature
I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, particularly his encouragement for Members from across the House to support the Government’s efforts—and those of any future Government who maintain that commitment—to reach net zero by 2050. Does the Secretary of State agree that the announcement…
Commons
Debate
8 July 2025
2 contributions
Football Governance Bill [Lords]
It is a pleasure to speak once again on this important Bill. I happily declare an interest as a season ticket holder at Selhurst Park and long-term fan of Crystal Palace. I am still basking in the glory of our Wembley triumph in May. I promise to stop talking about it soon, but I hope to milk it for…
I do think that the Conservative Government’s attitude in the 1980s was to treat football fans as less than human. I would not wish to say that Opposition Members are not football fans, but the empty terraces on their side of the Chamber bespeak a lack of interest in the Bill.
The Opposition’s amen…
Commons
Oral Questions
8 July 2025
2 contributions
Crown Court Backlog
2. What steps her Department is taking to reduce the Crown court backlog.
Thanks to the massive court delays inherited from the Conservatives, as the Secretary of State said, residents in Dartford continue to face huge delays in getting cases involving them to court. What assurance can she give that the delays will reduce, and that for my constituents, it will not continu…
Commons
Debate
7 July 2025
Government Performance against Fiscal Rules
With major investments announced by this Government that will directly benefit my constituents—such as the lower Thames crossing, Darent Valley hospital and school building renewal—does the Chief Secretary agree that this Government have the fiscal rules in place to provide the economic stability we…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
NHS 10-Year Plan
I thank the Secretary of State for both his statement and the 10-year plan. I am delighted that residents in Dartford were able to play a full part in shaping its priorities through our consultation meeting in February. They will be really pleased to see not only the additional GP appointments, but …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
The Leader of the House rightly celebrates the one-year anniversary of this Government, with all the great work started on the NHS, transport and new homes. She will be aware that a one-year anniversary is a paper anniversary, and on the subject of paper, would she consider granting a debate in Gove…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2025
Welfare Reform
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of engaging in a number of in-depth conversations with people and families living with disabilities, and I thank Dartford’s Kindness Community for arranging that event. One comment that I heard again and again from the people I talked to was about how poor the h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
26 June 2025
2 contributions
Road Network: Condition
9. What steps she is taking to improve the condition of the road network.
I thank the Minister for her answer, and for reassuring residents in Swanscombe and the surrounding areas that, two years after the collapse of Galley Hill Road, hope for a solution is in sight, thanks to the structures fund announced as part of the comprehensive spending review. Can the Minister co…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2025
3 contributions
Department for Transport
I thank speakers who have taken part in the debate, and I particularly thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), the Chair of the Transport Committee, for her comprehensive speech.
Transport is a huge priority for residents of Dartford. The constituency contains th…
Having seen the DOGE unit turn up in Kent on day one—people with no knowledge of Kent, wearing baseball hats—I am not hugely confident that the council will spend the money well, but let us give it a chance. I throw that challenge out to them. Our community needs Kent county council to put the £23 m…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 June 2025
Topical Questions
T9. I thank the Minister for the Indo-Pacific, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West), for her support for the family of Simone White, who tragically died last year after drinking a free vodka shot in Laos. I hear worrying reports that the hostel where that happened…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2025
Unadopted Estates and Roads
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, and thank him for his powerful speech about the iniquity of the current situation. From talking to residents of Ebbsfleet Garden City in my constituency, I know there is growing frustration because they are paying council tax to management compa…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
23 June 2025
Topical Questions
T3. Child poverty in my constituency grew from 12.4% in 2015 to 15.5% in 2024: huge growth under the last Government. With the child poverty taskforce due to report soon, can the Secretary of State assure me and my Dartford constituents that child poverty at the end of this Parliament will be lower …
Commons
Debate
20 June 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My hon. Friend speaks of the views of constituents. At a very well attended public meeting of my constituents just before Second Reading, one key question they wanted an answer to was how the Bill could prevent vulnerable people from being coerced into taking a decision to end their life. Does she a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 June 2025
UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy
I thank the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for his statement and for the national infrastructure strategy. It is particularly welcome that, after the dither and delay of the last Government—who failed to get important projects such as the lower Thames crossing, which has been mentioned, over the li…
Commons
Proceedings
19 June 2025
Business of the House
As has already been said, this week the Minister for Future of Roads announced an increase in the Dart charge, which is the toll that all road users pay to use the Dartford crossing. Residents in Dartford are extremely disappointed and frustrated by this rise, and I aim to take the matter up with th…
Commons
Debate
17 June 2025
Crime and Policing Bill
I congratulate the Minister both on the Bill as it stands and on today’s amendments. Near my constituency, there has been a troubling spate of recent incidents in which younger people, in some cases encouraged by older men, are filming themselves catapulting and injuring wildlife, and placing that f…
Commons
Committee Stage
17 June 2025
2 contributions
Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Tenth sitting)
The hon. Member is pointing to a real fear for fans, particularly Premier League fans. In Europe, Serie A has said it will be playing competitive matches in the United States within two years. The Spanish super cup, its equivalent of the Community Shield, is already played in Saudi Arabia. It is imp…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and hope he forgives me for not being a supporter of a club at which gin is the normally consumed pre-match beverage.
I have a lot of sympathy with what the hon. Gentleman is saying. I regularly attend home matches for Dartford football club, where people c…
Commons
Committee Stage
12 June 2025
Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Eighth sitting)
The Minister is setting out how important it is to get the distribution arrangements right. This is the part of the Bill that may be the most critical in ensuring that the pyramid is sustainable, which is the objective. It is great that the Government are working hard to get the backstop arrangement…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
People in my constituency will hugely welcome today’s statement—not just the investment in public services such as schools and the NHS and in new homes, but the commitment to investment in transport infrastructure. People in Dartford are sick and tired of living with the terrible congestion caused b…
Commons
Committee Stage
10 June 2025
2 contributions
Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. We have all seen clubs driven into the ground by irresponsible owners. We have cited Dai Yongge at Reading, Mel Morris at Derby and Steve Dale at Bury, who disastrously led Bury into bankruptcy and eventually it disappeared. The dilemma wil…
The hon. Gentleman is outlining in great detail the amazing work done by Charlton Athletic through its club charity. Nearby Dartford football club are lower down the football pyramid, but is he aware that, none the less—typically of clubs around the country, be they in League One, the Championship, …
Commons
Debate
9 June 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I was privileged to be a member of the Bill Committee. I started the Committee as a supporter of this legislation, and I rise to speak now as an equally strong supporter of it.
Many of my constituents in Dartford are also extremely strong supporters of change. Their town is regularly paralysed by o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
5 June 2025
Topical Questions
T6. Given the extremely welcome recent news that economic growth for the first quarter of 2025 was 1.6%, indicating that the Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth in the UK is beginning to work, can the Minister set out what plans exist Government-wide to make sure that that prosperit…
Commons
Debate
2 June 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
The hon. Lady is painting a picture that will be very familiar to my constituents in Dartford. In my case, we have deteriorating services under Kent county council, with 30 years of Conservative rule meaning that buses have got worse pretty much every year. I have written to the new Reform-led admin…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base
I thank the Secretary of State for setting out very clearly why this is the right thing to do for the UK. Could he share with the House any threat assessments that he has, indicating that without guaranteed access to Diego Garcia—and “guaranteed” is the key word—China and other countries could attem…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 May 2025
4 contributions
Government Travel Advice: Laos
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government safety advice for visiting Laos.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am grateful for the chance to lead this debate on the Government’s safety advice for visiting Laos and to raise awareness of the dangers of methan…
It is indeed the case that not enough awareness is currently out there among citizens of all ages travelling from the UK to places where organised crime regularly doctors drinks. Part of the mission of this debate and our conversations with the Minister and the families is to raise awareness and fin…
+2 more contributions in this session