Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
9 July 2026
Jury Trials
The Solicitor General has just mentioned the early victims’ right to review, or the VRR. As a west midlands MP, I am proud that we were the first area in the country to trial the scheme for victims of rape and serious sexual offences. Will the Solicitor General confirm that jury trials will still be…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 July 2026
NATO Summit
I am really pleased that the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister were able to discuss Sudan at the NATO summit, because it is the biggest humanitarian crisis the world is facing. However, did she also have the opportunity to discuss the situation in Gaza and the west bank? It is nearly two year…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Magistrate Numbers
1. What steps he is taking to increase the number of magistrates.
Although I support the Government’s reform of the justice system to tackle the courts backlog, it is clear that more cases will be going to the magistrates court. Estimates suggest that will require the recruitment of an additional 6,000 to 7,000 magistrates by 2029, but previous attempts to increas…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Fly-tipping: Residential Areas
In my constituency, fly-tipping remains a significant problem for local communities. Waste is dumped, and the council acts properly to remove the waste but it comes back again. As has been mentioned, the problem is even more challenging when waste is dumped on private land, and the landowners have t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 June 2026
Courts and Tribunals Bill
My hon. Friend will know that there has been quite a bit of opposition to having judge-only trials. Given that only 1% of the judiciary are black, does he agree that it is now even more urgent to look at how the judiciary are appointed? Something appears to be seriously wrong with the selection proc…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2026
Human Rights: Supply Chains
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing the debate. As a long-time trade unionist, I am proud of the work this Government have done to secure employment rights in our country, but last year the International Trade Union Confederation global rights index found that more than 80% of countries res…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 June 2026
Engagements
Q14. Every year, about 160 university students commit suicide. That is more than three every week, yet there is no established duty of care on universities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their students. It is not about creating excessive burdens on universities, but about requiring the…
Commons
Debate
3 June 2026
General Strike Centenary Commemorations
Speaking of local history, Wolverhampton, Bilston and District trades unions council has prepared a book on the 1926 general strike. In my hon. Friend’s experience, has he found that workers usually go on strike only as a last resort? Does he agree that the right to protest and to withdraw labour ar…
Commons
Debate
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill
Will the Secretary of State give way?
I did not mean to interrupt my right hon. Friend, but I thought this was an appropriate time to intervene. As a member of the GMB trade union executive council, I was pleased to see my union welcome the Government’s move to nationalise British Steel, which it described as a
“decisive and timely int…
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
National security should be the primary duty of every Government, and so I have been pleased to be present in this House while listening to the contributions made on defence readiness as part of the King’s Speech debate. When the world today is more dangerous than it has been for a long time and whe…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
19 May 2026
Topical Questions
Half of all prisoners lack the basic literacy skills needed to navigate everyday life, only one in three secure employment within six months of release, and a third reoffend within a year. Rehabilitation, reducing reoffending, and improving public safety must be at the heart of our criminal justice …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 May 2026
Youth Justice
I welcome the White Paper. My right hon. Friend has acknowledged that 80% of prolific offenders first offend as children and that two thirds of children reoffend within a year after being released from custody, so does he agree that early and fast intervention is crucial to cut crime? Can he please …
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Cost of Living: Wolverhampton West
12. What steps she has taken to help support people with the cost of living in Wolverhampton West constituency.
I thank the Chancellor for her condolences. I was at the site of the tragedy on Sunday laying flowers. It is very upsetting for everyone in my constituency.
One of my favourite places for lunch is the Pomegranate Café, together with the Central Community Shop, in my constituency. It is a community-…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Ernest Bevin
On the eve of International Workers’ Memorial Day, this debate is highly appropriate. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as trade unionists and parliamentarians, we should commemorate that day tomorrow?
Commons
Proceedings
20 April 2026
Community-owned Assets: Government Support
My right hon. Friend is putting forward a very persuasive argument. In Penn in my constituency, where I live, we have the Old Stag’s Head, a pub that closed down some time ago. Many efforts have been made to allow the community to purchase the pub, so that it can recreate the community value that it…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
Last week, I had the pleasure of holding a chess tournament at the Royal School Wolverhampton in my constituency, bringing together primary and secondary school pupils to socialise and compete for individual and team medals. I even managed to play a couple of games myself. Chess is invaluable to you…
Commons
Committee Stage
24 March 2026
4 contributions
Representation of the People Bill (Third sitting)
Is the hon. Member aware that the evidence submitted by the Electoral Reform Society says that research has shown that the younger people are engaged in voting, the more likely they are to carry on voting later in their lives? What he has said about there being no evidence is not correct.
It is misguided to compare the ability to vote with being a representative. There is a huge step between someone having the right to decide who should represent them and being that representative themselves. Many people well beyond the age of 18 would be able to vote for their representative, but wo…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Child Maintenance Service
My constituent Megan contacted me to say that she has escaped from her abusive former partner, who is supposed to be contributing less than £1 a day towards their child’s needs, but is not even managing that, although he does have influence over key decisions such as schooling and where they live. T…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Asbestos-related Lung Cancer: Compensation Act 2006
My hon. Friend is making a powerful argument. Does he agree that the whole reasoning of section 3 of the Compensation Act was because of the difficulty in identifying employers who exposed claimants to the particular fibres that caused mesothelioma, and that it is a huge anomaly that the section sho…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
A constituent contacted my office to say that their daughter and her partner are caught in a student loans trap, where although they are both working and paying back their loans, they are hardly making any headway in reducing their debts. Apparently, of those with student loans, 76% feel trapped by …
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.
5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.
I recently visited Wolverhampton girls’ high school in my constituency of Wolverhampton West, and was pleased to see posters promoting the “Orange Wolverhampton” campaign, which is working with community partners in the fight against gender-based violence and abuse. While the criminal justice system…
Commons
Debate
10 March 2026
5 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill
We already have judges who make decisions on cases where children are taken away from parents, so does the hon. Gentleman not consider those to be serious cases? Some 90% of cases are dealt with by magistrates, so does he say that justice is not achieved in those cases?
Does my hon. Friend agree that the restriction of jury trials in some cases is just one among a whole range of measures, and that in order to protect really vulnerable victims—for example, rape victims, who will have a jury trial—we need to make the process quicker? That necessarily means that, for …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Base 25, a dedicated charity supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities, to formally launch its new youth café provision in my constituency. Among the vital services it provides is the Government-funded WorkWell programme, which su…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
Last weekend, the Wolverhampton Wanderers player Tolu Arokodare was subjected to appalling racist abuse on his social media profiles and three other premier league players shared similar experiences. I wrote to the Minister for Online Safety, my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Sudan Conflict: Christian Population
10. What assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact of the conflict in Sudan on the Christian population in that country.
Earlier this year I attended the Open Doors world watch list launch, at the request of my Wolverhampton West constituents, who are gravely concerned about the situation in Sudan. The event confirmed the extreme levels of persecution against Christians in that country, with reports of forced conversi…