Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
Police Grant Report
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for lobbying on behalf of Essex. Obviously, I want more funding for Essex as much as he does. I should declare an interest at this point, as I have stood against Roger Hirst in two elections, but I want to make it clear that I have a great deal of time for the w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Hughes Report: Second Anniversary
I thank the hon. Member for bringing this important debate to Westminster Hall. I secured a debate on the Cumberlege report 18 months ago; I said at the time that I hoped it would be the last time we debated this issue, yet here we are again. Does the hon. Member agree that the emotional impact on t…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts
I welcome this Government’s record funding for our defence, and I also recognise that the US is one of our closest allies. In this House we often talk about energy security, but I sometimes think that we do not talk enough about the security of security. What more can this Government do to invest in…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
I thank the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement and his focus on the victims of these appalling crimes. What steps have the Government taken to ensure that victim-survivors of these vile crimes are heard by those in power?
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
9 February 2026
Policing: Rural Areas
As well as Harlow, I represent a number of rural communities such as Great Canfield, Matching Tye and Nazeing. When I speak to residents in those parts of my constituency, they tell me that farm theft and fly-tipping are having a devastating effect on their families and their livelihoods. What is th…
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
4 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Fourth sitting)
I seek some clarification on the shadow Minister’s statistics about the number of MSPs that are in scope, and what they are as a proportion of the MSPs in the country. Could he clarify that he is talking about individual organisations rather than what they do? For example, if there is one large orga…
The shadow Minister is always very generous with his time. This is not meant to be a controversial intervention, but does he recognise that micro and small enterprises have been omitted from this legislation because we recognise the challenges they have with the guidance? I appreciate that small can…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
3 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Third sitting)
I declare an interest: my father-in-law is a professor of cyber-security at City St George’s, University of London. Also, Kao Data has a large data centre in my constituency.
The hon. Gentleman is making an interesting speech. I recognise his desire to be constructive on the issue. Will he recognise that this is about finding a balance? We want to include some flexibility in the legislation, because of the ever-changing threat that he mentioned. Equally, we recognise the…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
Lord Mandelson
I made this point on Monday, but it is really important to make it again. The vast majority of Members in this House come here to represent our constituencies, and people across this House will recognise that I do my best to represent Harlow as much as I possibly can. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] D…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
I thank my hon. Friend for recently welcoming me to the Peterborough museum and art gallery, where we went to a “Dr Who” exhibit and discovered that Davros was considering defecting to Reform. I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent speech. I recently talked to the chief executive officer of the fo…
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
7 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Second sitting)
Q I declare an interest. My father-in-law is Professor Robin Bloomfield, a professor of software and system dependability at City St George’s, University of London, and I have a large data centre in my constituency. My question is probably shorter than that. Why is it important to give regulators fl…
Q Thank you for coming to give evidence. What methods are hostile state actors using to infiltrate UK essential services, and what can we do to prevent that?
Chung Ching Kwong: Just to give some background, I am a senior analyst for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, and a PhD candidate in …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (First sitting)
Q I feel that I should declare an interest as the MP for Harlow, which has a large data centre within it. My question is about international alignment. Is this legislation in keeping with developments that you are seeing globally?
David Cook: There is reform all over the world. At its core, we have…
Q Thank you for coming along. Chris has touched on this already, but the Government’s impact assessment of the Bill said that the UK was falling behind its international partners. You all have experience of working globally. Could you comment on that and whether you agree with it?
Matt Houlihan: I …
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
I thank the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement. His focus on the victims of these terrible crimes is absolutely right. The majority of us in this House, whatever colour rosette we wear, come here to represent our constituency, and I hope I show that I represent my constituency a…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for his continued international leadership. I know, however, that wherever he goes in the world, he is always thinking about Harlow, so what difference will a productive relationship with the second-largest economy and our third-biggest trading partne…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the Advanced Aquarium Consultancy in my constituency of Harlow, where they breed, grow and sell coral. I am not going to make any coral jokes, which will be a reef to everybody. [Hon. Members: “Oh!”] What is unique about Advanced Aquarium Consultancy is t…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
Youth Unemployment
It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. I thank the Minister and the shadow Minister for opening the debate on this important issue. It is hugely important that hon. Members have the opportunity to speak on this subject. The hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) suggested that Labour Members …
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
The Secretary of State will know that one job I did before coming to this place was to work at a homelessness charity. It was particularly difficult to see homeless veterans coming to me in need of support. In my constituency, we have nearly 2,000 veterans. Will he outline what additional support th…
As the shadow Secretary of State knows, I always try to find cross-party consensus. Will he join me in praising Private Robert Foster, who was from Harlow and who lost his life in Afghanistan? Members from across the House had constituents who lost their lives serving this country, and we should all…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement and welcome the reforms that she has set out. I was pleased to see a mention of direct entry—although, as I say that, I realise that my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle and Clitheroe (Jonathan Hinder) might never pass to me in football again. Can she set…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
State Pension Age Changes: Compensation
Mr Speaker, can I offer my deepest sympathies for your recent injury?
I pay tribute to the WASPI women in my constituency for their tireless campaigning on this issue. Will the Minister outline the difference that his Department and this Labour Government are making to all pensioners in Harlow?
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
3 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
Will the shadow Minister give way?
The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier), challenged Labour MPs to champion their constituencies. One of the biggest concerns I have about pensions in my constituency of Harlow is the number of people who are not paying into any pension at all, particularly those who are s…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Warm Homes Plan
I warmly welcome the statement from the Secretary of State. I had a visit from Citizens Advice Harlow yesterday, and it told me what we probably already know: the No. 1 issue facing residents in Harlow is damp, mould and fuel poverty. The homes in Harlow were not built in 1919, because Harlow did no…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
Holocaust Memorial Bill
I thank the Minister and the shadow Secretary of State for their speeches in opening this important debate. I absolutely welcome this Bill and its aim to create a lasting memorial to the 6 million people who lost their lives in what was probably the most devastating event in recent history, to those…
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Sentencing Bill
The Minister is making a powerful speech. He will recognise that the Bill is of huge concern to residents in my constituency, because many victims of crime who are waiting for justice to be served are waiting years for the person responsible to face trial. Does the Minister agree that it is really i…
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for her personal work to tackle the huge issue of tool theft, which has had a huge impact on tradespeople in my constituency of Harlow. Does she agree with me that, as she said, it is not just about the person themselves but their family and their livelihood…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Iran: Protests
The scenes in Iran that we are seeing are obviously absolutely terrible, but I am also concerned about the impact that the ongoing situation will have on safety in this country. May I ask the Minister to pass on my thanks to the Foreign Secretary for her decision, in her previous role, to list Iran …
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
19 January 2026
SEND Funding Shortfall
I note that the Minister has not been to Harlow yet. [ Laughter. ] Families in Harlow have completely lost faith in the SEND system that we inherited. I do not think that it is too much of a stretch to suggest that parents are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after battling to get suppo…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
Covid-19: Financial Support
I have a genuine question, because I have followed this campaign from afar. What were the reasons given by the Government at the time for these people being excluded in this way?