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…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
2 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
The treaty that the Bill will implement is shocking for so many reasons: the security implications, the staggering costs, and the voices that it has ignored—the voices of British Chagossians. Their views and concerns are many and varied. I had the privilege of meeting members of the community when t…
My hon. Friend makes an important point. It has no navy and only nine coastguard vessels; it is not able to protect those waters.
Even if illegal fishing were controlled, the Mauritian Fisheries Minister has already spoken of wanting to issue fishing licences around the Chagos Islands. The agreemen…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
Following the tragic murder of her daughter Brianna, Esther Ghey has dedicated herself to making our schools safer. I have just come from an event that she is hosting in Parliament, at which she is calling for a statutory ban on smartphones in classrooms. Will the Minister for Children and Families,…
Commons
Debate
9 September 2025
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
At the start of this Parliament, I could not have imagined that we would be asked to consider a Bill that is so uniquely detrimental to our national security, the British taxpayer, the British Chagossian people and the environment. Not only are we ceding sovereignty of a critical overseas territory,…
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Hospitality Sector
The hospitality sector is all too often overlooked, yet it is one of the most vital pillars not just of our economy, but of our communities. My constituency has 215 registered businesses in accommodation and food services, contributing at least 4,000 jobs—nearly one in 10 local jobs. The sector real…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2025
West Coast Main Line
I thank the hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, for securing the debate. Many people in Chester South and Eddisbury rely on the west coast main line, but unless they have a car it is a real challenge for them to reach a station easily and join the line, because there is a lack of public trans…
Commons
Debate
14 July 2025
6 contributions
Condition of Roads: Cheshire
I am grateful to have secured today’s Adjournment debate on an issue that affects communities across the country: the condition of our roads. Although I will focus on the situation in Cheshire and in my constituency of Chester South and Eddisbury, and on what I believe is a failure by local authorit…
That is exactly the point I am making—the hon. Gentleman says it very well. As I outline the issue in more detail, I urge the Minister to consider how local authorities might be encouraged to take a more strategic, preventive approach. I have lost count of the number of times that frustrated residen…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
9 July 2025
2 contributions
Supporting Scottish Agriculture
5. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on supporting Scottish agriculture.
Like farmers in my constituency of Chester South and Eddisbury, farmers in Scotland feel let down by this Government’s disregard for agriculture and the countryside. We have seen Labour look the other way as the Scottish Government have delivered real-terms cuts to the agriculture budget. The Scotti…
Commons
Debate
4 July 2025
3 contributions
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
It is a pleasure to reach this milestone in the Bill’s journey through the House of Commons. As we know, livestock worrying has devastating consequences for both animals and farmers. In Committee, I and other Committee members shared the expe…
I thank the hon. Member for his insights as a vet, and for emphasising what so many people across the House know: these changes are vital. May I also say how grateful I am to the hon. Members who took the time to serve on the Bill Committee? I am truly grateful for their support and contributions, a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 July 2025
Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill
I thank the hon. Member for introducing this important Bill, which I support. He talks about the impact of diseases that puppies might have when they are brought in. Does he agree that there are also diseases that have potential impacts on human health, often for the veterinary surgeons or nurses wh…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
26 June 2025
Topical Questions
My constituent Paul cycles more than 1,000 km a month all across the country, but he tells me that Cheshire’s roads are among the worst. Poor roads are dangerous for all road users, so does the Minister agree that national guidance for pothole repair policy must properly reflect the needs of cyclist…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 June 2025
Middle East
The Foreign Secretary has said that Iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Does he therefore support the recent targeted strikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities: yes or no? If not, can he explain how exactly that inaction would have curtailed Iran’s nuclear …
Commons
Proceedings
19 June 2025
Business of the House
A constituent of mine, Yvonne, has led a brilliant community blister pack recycling initiative in Tattenhall. Through her efforts, the project has picked up pace and is now expanding to other villages including Tarporley, Farndon and Malpas. Hopefully it will get to Chester in the near future. Blist…
Commons
Committee Stage
17 June 2025
8 contributions
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Sixth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I rise to make some brief comments on amendment 49.
I am sympathetic to aims of the hon. Member for Winchester in tabling the amendment. A patient who is being discharged from hospital may indeed require specific, targeted support. The …
My hon. Friend makes an important point. This is not a simple or straightforward addition; it would require potentially substantial training. We would not want somebody in a role that they were not adequately prepared for. With any amendment, we would need to ensure that training, and the time and e…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
17 June 2025
2 contributions
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I rise to support amendments 54 and 55, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, but I will first briefly speak to clause 24, which is an important and long-overdue step towards modernising the Mental Health Act …
My hon. Friend makes an important point. If parents are not acting in the best interests of their children, there is a wider safeguarding issue that needs to be considered. One would question why such parents had been left in a situation in which they have responsibility for their children and are p…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 June 2025
2 contributions
High Street Businesses
6. What steps he is taking to support high street businesses.
Chester South and Eddisbury is home to some truly special high streets, lined with independent shops and pubs that play a vital role in the life of our communities. I have spoken to local business owners, especially in hospitality, who are already feeling the pressure. Following the spending review,…
Commons
Committee Stage
12 June 2025
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers.
I rise to speak in support of amendments 44 and 45, which have been tabled by my hon. Friend the shadow Minister. These amendments seek to put patients at the centre of the Bill by promoting a safe therapeutic environment and recovery f…
Commons
Committee Stage
12 June 2025
3 contributions
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss.
Government amendments 26 to 29 risk undoing some of the good work done in the other place, where careful improvements were made to strengthen the Bill and ensure a more compassionate and effective response to mental health crises. I am con…
It is extremely important that people are not put at risk, and that is exactly the point I have been making. People need to be properly trained, and we need to set out who those individuals can be, rather than leaving ambiguity in the wording. The Government amendment will undo exactly the protectio…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
10 June 2025
3 contributions
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
I represent an English constituency on the border with Wales; on some streets, one side is considered Welsh and the other English. Does the Minister recognise that it matters to people in England and Wales that there is consistency across both parts of our fantastic country, and that it is not suffi…
Like my hon. Friend the Member for Farnham and Bordon, I have a lot of sympathy with some of the things that the hon. Lady is trying to achieve through the amendments. If there is to be an additional requirement for six-monthly rather than annual checks, how will the balance be struck to ensure that…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
10 June 2025
3 contributions
Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. The new clause is incredibly important. We do not want vulnerable people to slip through the cracks and not receive the right support, and it is really important to ensure that there is consultation with the right stakeholders. I recently met with Down S…
I rise to make a few remarks on new clause 11, which would require a costed plan to ensure that ICBs and local authorities are able to provide adequate community services for individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people at risk of detention under part II of the 1983 Act.
We need to en…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
9 June 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My hon. Friend is making a wonderful point about the new clause I have tabled. Does he agree with me that this is about improving our environment and reducing pollution, and we need to think about all of that when we consider this Bill?
I love trees, which is why I rise to support new clause 63 tabled in my name. I am sure that all of us in this House recognise the value of trees—not just their ecological importance, but the character and beauty that they bring to our communities and high streets. I hope that I can demonstrate why …
Commons
Debate
21 May 2025
Immigration
I thank the hon. Member, who is my neighbour in Cheshire, for giving way. I note his views on the last Government’s record, but can he explain how Labour’s decision, just 20 days after the election, to suspend the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which would rightly have prevented illegal migrants from c…