Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Support for Pig Farmers
The hon. Member is making a really important point about the need for consumers to be clear about where their food is produced and reared. I draw his attention to my private Member’s Bill on that very topic. I hope that he and others across the House will support it.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) on securing this debate. The financial pressures facing pig farmers—indeed, farmers in every sector of our rural economy—are serious. Independent pro…
Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
Environmental Protection
We recognise that the current system for regulating those who transport and control waste needs to be updated to ensure the waste sector has a regulatory framework that delivers the safe and responsible management of waste and reduces opportunities for criminal activity without being unduly burdenso…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. Too many of our high streets are under immense pressure. Businesses face rising costs, declining confidence and falling footfall. That is a direct consequence of Labour’s policies. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that there is an ex…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
2 contributions
Tourism and Leisure
8. What steps her Department is taking to help support the tourism and leisure sectors.
Tourism is vital to Chester South and Eddisbury’s economy. From Snugburys and the Ice Cream Farm to BeWILDerwood and Beeston castle, we are fortunate to have fantastic attractions, and I encourage the Minister to visit them. But as one business told me following the Government’s summer savings annou…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
3 contributions
Carbon Capture Pipeline Projects: Cheshire
I am grateful for today’s Adjournment debate on the proposed carbon capture and storage project Peak Cluster, and the implications it could have for communities, landowners, farmers and the countryside across Cheshire and neighbouring counties. The proposed pipeline route cuts through my Chester Sou…
The point that I am getting to in my speech is that, yes, there are things that are in the national interest, but is this really the best use of investment to get the most effective outcome? The question is whether spending £5 billion on a pipeline really is the best way to safeguard the future of t…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
4 June 2026
Cost of Fertiliser
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I regularly hear from farmers in my constituency. The shadow Farming Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), is today at the Royal Cornwall Show 2026, where he will no doubt hear about the challenges that farmers face as a direct result of …
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
In a Foreign Affairs Committee meeting in November last year, I asked Sir Oliver Robbins whether the Foreign Office had a different view about who should be recommended for the posting of ambassador. Sir Oliver Robbins said to me that
“the Prime Minister took advice and formed a view himself, and w…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
Topical Questions
T3. A local employer—himself a former apprentice—tells me that his industry is now in crisis, with his firm’s apprentice intake falling from 60 to just 20 this year due to this Government’s decisions. Meanwhile, Reaseheath College is having to turn students away and restrict courses in agricultura…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
We are at a point where it is no longer credible to ignore the scale of the challenge posed by social media to children and young people. Platforms and algorithms are designed and deliberately engineered to maximise engagement, capture attention, and keep users scrolling for as long as possible. As …
I will now turn to why we need consistency for headteachers, schools, parents and children, particularly in relation to a mobile phone ban.
Lords amendment 106 mandates schools to prohibit the use and possession of a smartphone during the school day. It is an amendment that could have been written …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
The war in the middle east is having a real effect on my constituents. From fuel to fertiliser, prices are increasing, and action needs to be taken to alleviate the consequences. Although there are immediate steps that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor should be taking, not least reversing the p…
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Topical Questions
T7. Red diesel prices have shot up by 60%, a third of the world’s fertiliser goes through the strait of Hormuz, and energy prices are skyrocketing. All that is creating challenges for farmers, and will ultimately affect the prices we pay for food in the shops. What is the Minister doing to work acro…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
Like other hon. Members, I have had many constituents get in touch about poor mail service. One constituent in Kelsall reached out to Royal Mail after experiencing deliveries once per week at best, only to receive a reply stating that service levels in our area are good. The same constituent later r…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Since the last estimates day, the world has grown even more volatile: war continues in Europe, and the middle east is once again descending into crisis. Recent events have underscored that although hard power is indispensable, soft power remains vital to a serious and effective foreign policy, prote…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Healthcare in Rural Areas
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that allocating NHS resources on a strictly per head basis disadvantages rural communities, particularly when nearly a quarter of rural residents are over the age of 65 and the rural population is ageing faster than in urban areas? Will he …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
It is no surprise that drones have become a central element of Iran’s response. The Shahed drones that it deploys are relatively inexpensive, easy to mass-produce, and capable of causing significant damage. However, the interceptors that we use to bring them down are substantially more expensive. Gi…
Commons
Debate
25 February 2026
Ukraine
The contributions to the debate from right hon. and hon. Members have been a powerful reminder of the unity that exists across the House and, indeed, throughout our country, in steadfast support of the Ukrainian people.
In April 2025, I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine, alongside fellow member…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 February 2026
Post Office Green Paper
I welcome the Government’s commitment to retaining the minimum network size of 11,500 post office branches. The Minister will know that I have campaigned extensively on this issue, not least because I do not have a single bank branch in my entire constituency. There is a particular need for post off…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
Student Loan Repayment Plans
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I declare an interest: I have two children at university who both have student loans.
I am proud to represent part of the city of Chester, home to the University of Chester, which is a fantastic asset to our city and region. Young people ar…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
Topical Questions
There are a number of new build housing developments in my constituency where developers have sold the properties and moved on without completing work on vital infrastructure such as roads and sewers. What consideration has the Minister given to allowing councils to refuse future planning permission…
Commons
Debate
12 February 2026
Rural Mobile Connectivity
I thank my constituency neighbour the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this important debate. From Tilston to Tattenhall and from Acton to Audlem, poor mobile connectivity is all too common across Chester South and Eddisbury, but the House need not take my word for it. Ea…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
With World Book Day coming up on Thursday 5 March, I have launched a short story competition for primary school pupils across Chester South and Eddisbury, encouraging them to go all-in and use their imagination through reading and creative writing. At a time when children are spending more and more …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
2 contributions
Rural Transport Connections
10. What steps her Department is taking to help improve rural transport connections.
In my Chester South and Eddisbury constituency, villages like Little Budworth have no bus services at all, and are miles from any public transport. Even where a school bus exists, families tell me that if a child misses that single service, there is simply no alternative. In villages like Milton Gre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Rural GPs: Funding
My right hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is making a wonderful speech. Is she going to come on to the pressures of house building? There is huge pressure for new homes, and many of our rural areas already struggle with insufficient infrastructure. I am working with our GP in Handbridge, where…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Woodland Creation
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Milton Keynes North (Chris Curtis) on securing the debate and clearly setting out the key benefits for us all of our woodlands, in both rural and urban areas. We have had a good debate, and all of the many …
I am standing in.
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Household Energy Bills
23. What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.
A recent survey conducted by Censuswide shows that two thirds of households with heat pumps say that their heating costs have increased, driven by electricity prices that are four times higher than gas. With energy bills now £190 higher, despite this Government promising to cut them by £300, does th…