Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
Road Safety
There are schools and nurseries in my constituency, such as Jigsaw nursery on Wrexham Road and Delamere Academy, which is just off the busy A556, where children have to navigate fast-moving traffic. Does the hon. Lady agree that proximity to schools and nurseries should be treated as an essential co…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 February 2026
Sustainable Drainage Systems
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) on securing the debate. He spoke passionately about this issue, the impact of heavy rainfall and flooding in his constituency, and the consequences for residents when devel…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
Lord Mandelson
The Foreign Affairs Committee, on which I sit, called for Lord Mandelson to appear before us on multiple occasions to explain the circumstances and process of his unusual appointment. He did not adhere to that request. Does the shadow Minister agree that Lord Mandelson’s failure to come before the C…
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
4 February 2026
Project Gigabit: Rural Areas
The new Project Gigabit contract for Cheshire, expected to be in place by the spring, will cover only around a third of the premises in Chester South and Eddisbury that currently lack adequate broadband. I have raised this issue repeatedly, but I am still without a clear answer. Can the Minister now…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
2 contributions
British Indian Ocean Territory
Does my hon. Friend agree that British Chagossians will be given no say in how a trust fund is to be spent, and that it is simply wrong that they are being given no opportunity to have any personal say in the matters that will affect them and their futures?
On every level, this is a bad deal. From the absurdity of paying £34.7 billion for the privilege of ceding our own territory to the implications for defence, from putting at risk one of the most pristine marine environments in the world to the complete disregard shown to the British Chagossians them…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
21 January 2026
Engagements
Q14. My constituents are deeply concerned by proposed cuts to police community support officers across Cheshire. The Labour police and crime commissioner, Dan Price, was silent on the issue, seemingly content to see numbers slashed across the county until residents and local MPs spoke out. Now he …
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
The Bill goes to the very heart of our national security, the safety of the British people, our global reach and our operational effectiveness in two of the most volatile and unpredictable regions of the world: the Indo-Pacific and the middle east. It also raises serious questions about the cost of …
I will make progress, because we are nearly out of time. Instead of pursuing the Bill, the Government could withdraw it, and redirect the vast sums involved towards addressing that shortfall and genuinely strengthening our national security.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
Families in my constituency are deeply concerned about the impact of social media on their children’s wellbeing. Just last week a headteacher told me that schools need the Government to act, and young people themselves describe the real damage that social media is doing to their mental health. The C…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Horse and Rider Road Safety
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd.
Just last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Harry Zimman, a constituent who is a keen rider. He highlighted two significant issues. The first is access to bridleways. Even in areas with excellent riding routes, such as Cheshire, riders …
I thank my right hon. Friend for that really important intervention. We need to understand what the removal of our countryside and green belt will mean for people using rural roads, and the real impact that some of these developments will have.
For riders and their horses—I should add carriage driv…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
NHS 10-year Workforce Plan
8. When he plans to publish the NHS 10-year workforce plan.
I have been contacted by concerned doctors in Chester South and Eddisbury who, after five or six years at medical school and a further two years of foundation training, are now struggling to secure specialty posts and are being forced to consider leaving the NHS altogether. While I will reserve judg…
Commons
Debate
8 January 2026
2 contributions
Post Offices: Cheshire
The Post Office is a critical part of our national infrastructure. I do not believe that to be an exaggeration. In the time available to me this afternoon, I hope to demonstrate to the House, and to the Minister, why I, many right hon. and hon. Members on the Conservative Benches and, most important…
My hon. Friend makes an important point and mentions the sub-postmasters in his constituency. I echo what he has said and pay tribute to those who work so hard in my constituency.
Although I sincerely hope there will be no future branch closures, if the Government intend to make changes to the netw…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
Dangerous driving and speeding are among the biggest road safety issues in my constituency. Despite that, the local Cheshire councils frequently say that they cannot introduce further safety measures because the police are unable to enforce them. What discussions has the Minister had with the Home O…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Jury Trials
The right to a trial by jury is one that has stood at the very centre of our criminal justice system for centuries. It is a crucial check on the power of the state as it undertakes one of the most solemn duties: to try a citizen and to determine guilt or innocence. That principle is, in the words of…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
I welcome the removal of Nicolás Maduro, who for too long oppressed the people of Venezuela, but history shows that the aftermath of intervention can be as consequential as the intervention itself. What specific steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure that there is no vacuum for instability …
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
The Government have heard from these Benches time and again about the impact the family farm tax has had on food security and the risk to countryside stewardship and our environment and the economic viability of farms, but also, crucially, about the impact on farmers’ mental health. My question to t…
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Puberty Suppressants Trial
Children struggling with gender dysphoria and their families are trying to find their way through very difficult and often distressing times. We should be helping them, not experimenting on them. Should we not be following the example of other European countries, such as Denmark and Finland, which h…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Employment Rights Bill
I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
I wonder whether the Minister is comfortable with the fact that introducing an uncapped unfair dismissal compensation award will make the UK an international outlier, when many of our international compet…
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
Seasonal Work
Just last week, I visited one of the many fantastic cafés in my constituency. The hard-working owner told me that she had chosen not to take on a young Saturday worker as a direct result of the increase in business rates. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that this Government’s policies are directly…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
2 contributions
Digital ID
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I want to begin by thanking the 4,337 constituents in Chester South and Eddisbury who have expressed their opposition to the introduction of mandatory digital ID cards. The British public, including my constituents, are concerned not only b…
My hon. Friend makes such an important point. The money that will be spent on mandatory ID needs to be spent on ensuring that all our constituents are connected. The £9.5 million strategy to tackle digital exclusion is inadequate.
To conclude, this policy is an attempt to distract from the Governme…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Right to Trial by Jury
Trial by jury may be more expensive than trial by judge and magistrates, but does the Minister agree that, as we have heard today, this decision goes beyond just finances? The right to a fair trial by an impartial jury is fundamental and essential to safeguarding justice, and it must be protected fo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. As we have heard today, Parkinson’s is a life-changing, degenerative and deeply debilitating condition. I am grateful that we are taking the time to debate the issue and give voice to people living with Parkinson’s—people such as Matt Eag…
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Energy
As we head towards winter, I am sure that, like me, many Members will have begun to receive emails from worried constituents asking how they will afford to heat their homes this winter. The reality is that they were promised by this Labour Government that their energy bills would fall by £300. Inste…
I will continue because of time.
For those who doubt this, let me set out the cost of the Secretary of State’s policies, with statistics sourced from his own Department. The UK now faces the world’s second-highest domestic electricity prices: four times higher than those in the US, with 12.1 millio…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
5 November 2025
Violence against Women and Girls
Strangulation is an extremely common form of gendered violence: up to two thirds of women suffering domestic abuse report having been strangled. I have corresponded with the Minister about the need for the Institute for Addressing Strangulation to have funding certainty beyond March next year in ord…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
5 contributions
Supporting High Streets
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Like so many people across Chester South and Eddisbury, I rely on our local high street for all sorts of everyday things, from popping to the shops for groceries, to grabbing a coffee with a friend, getting a h…
My right hon. Friend makes an important point, and it is one that businesses have raised with me directly. They all want to do the right thing, but they need the flexibility to be able to employ in different circumstances.
Just last week I met Richard, who runs several independent pubs across Chesh…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
29 October 2025
Cross-border Rail Connectivity
The huge potential of both the north-west of England and north Wales is being held back by poor rail infra-structure. The last Conservative Government committed themselves to spending at least £1 billion to upgrade and electrify the railway lines from Crewe and Warrington through Chester and into no…