Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 February 2026
Social Rented Housing Sector
As the chair of the recently formed all-party parliamentary group for council and social housing, I welcome the report’s conclusion about the importance of boosting the supply of social housing to meet the huge demand for new, high-quality, genuinely affordable homes and to replace older, lower-stan…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
The disgraceful scandals of recent days have left what little remains of faith in our democracy hanging by a thread. One of the lessons has to be that, while inherited privilege is no basis for a second Chamber, neither is self-interested patronage by political leaders. Does the Leader of the House …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Woodland Creation
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell.
The state of England’s woodland paints a clear picture of national decline. The elms are gone, the ash is dying and even the English oak is at risk from the existential threat of climate change. We have far less woodland cover than many of …
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 January 2026
2 contributions
River Habitats: Protection and Restoration
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) on his well-made speech opening the debate.
The state of our rivers is a near-perfect metaphor for how badly we have got our priorities wrong as a society. Through a …
I am afraid the Minister has slightly walked into this. Previously in this Chamber, I extended an invitation to her to come and visit RevIvel in my constituency. That is a campaign to restore the Ivel chalk stream. It has a pilot project looking at taking the Chalk Streams First approach, which woul…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 January 2026
Key Stage 1 Curriculum
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) on her excellent speech—although the “productive struggle” she referred to sounded rather like a slogan from my trade union days. I wholeheartedly support the petition, and I tha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Energy Costs
There are two particularly important conclusions in the Select Committee’s inquiry: first, that reducing energy costs for everyone should be the top priority; and secondly, that there is no shortage of money in the wider energy system. Does the Chair of the Select Committee agree with me that GB Ene…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
Liberal Democrat-run Hertfordshire county council has been looking at closing several village schools in my constituency, with a decision due soon on Albury primary school. I will not ask the Leader of the House to comment on a particular cases, but from speaking to parents and local communities, it…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
Dementia Support: Hampshire
The hon. Member is making a powerful speech about an incredibly important subject. It affects my constituency, too, where we have 1,500 people living with dementia. On top of that, as she was referring to, around a third of the people currently living with dementia do not have a diagnosis and, stagg…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
New Towns
The Government’s determination to deliver a new generation of new towns, with everything residents will need for a thriving and fulfilling life, offers a much more hopeful solution to the housing crisis in this country than the proliferation of overpriced and characterless bolt-on estates thrown up …
Commons
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Digital ID
I am pleased that the Government have dropped the plans for mandatory digital ID; it was always clear that the British public would heavily reject that idea, and it is our duty as Members to jealously guard our constituents’ civil liberties. Will the Minister convey the lessons learned from this dec…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
4. What discussions the Church of England has had with the Government on when the evaluation report of the listed places of worship grant scheme will be published.
Whatever one’s faith, the historic churches in North East Hertfordshire are an incredible part of our local heritage. They are places of peace and beauty, ever-present reminders of centuries of our history and a focal point for village life, providing space for social activities and community life i…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
As I have previously discussed with the Minister, the A505 is one of the deadliest roads in the country, and the stretch between Baldock and Royston in particular has seen tragedy after tragedy in my constituency. Will the Minister set out how the road safety strategy will empower local highways aut…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
2 contributions
Rail Fares
1. What steps she is taking to help reduce rail fares.
The fact that this Labour Government have frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years is hugely welcome, but for many of my constituents, recent years have felt like death by a thousand costs, and they desperately need to see rail fares come down even further. Would the Secretary of State meet …
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Jury Trials
I have great respect for what the Minister is saying, but I and many others on the Labour Benches still have questions. Will he agree to meet those of us who think, for example, that the proposals from the Criminal Bar Association deserve closer scrutiny, so that we can discuss those proposals in fu…
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
I thank the Minister for listening and acting on the concerns that I and many other Labour MPs raised alongside our farming constituents. Now that a happier compromise has been found on inheritance tax, the issue remains one of securing a profitable future for nature-friendly farming in our country.…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 December 2025
National Plan to End Homelessness
I welcome the Minister’s work on this important subject. Just after we came into office, Ministers committed from the Dispatch Box to a revolution in council house building. I have welcomed and noted the Minister’s statements on social housing, but she will be aware that there are growing concerns a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
Topical Questions
T6. I thank the Minister for meeting me recently to discuss the campaign for Hugh’s law and the Government’s plan to consult on support for families with seriously ill children. One parent recently told me,“our savings disappeared under the cost of surviving”,while their disability living allowance …
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Water Scarcity
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stuart. I begin by recognising that the Minister takes these issues very seriously, and congratulating the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) on securing this important debate. I agree with him that one would think it would take true organising ge…
Briefly, may I encourage the Minister to come to my constituency and see the incredible work being done by the RevIvel campaign, which is trying to restore the Ivel chalk stream? It has a brilliant proposal for a chalk stream-first approach that would restore not just that chalk stream but the whole…
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I am not certain whether I or the Minister will be more relieved at the conclusion of debates on this legislation. I welcome the fact that the Minister has tabled an amendment to the remaining proposal from the other place; I support Government amendment (a), and welcome the additional parliamentary…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
Digital ID
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, as usual. Does he agree, from the clear argument across the Chamber, that constituents are overwhelmingly unconvinced by the proposed benefits of this scheme and overwhelmingly concerned by the disbenefits; and that therefore the Minister should commit tod…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
Last year, against a target of restoring 5,000 hectares of ancient woodland in England, we managed a grand total of zero. It is little surprise, then, that Government analysis published this week shows that we continue to see wildlife decline across the board, yet certain commentators continue to pe…
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
The hon. Member asked whether there were any positives in the Budget. Does he not think that raising more children out of poverty than any other Parliament on record is a positive? Does he not welcome that—does he not think it benefits all of us?
Throughout the Budget debate, all those on the Government Front Bench will have heard the concerns of Labour MPs who represent rural constituencies, as I have, about the proposed changes to agricultural property relief. Many of us feel that those changes are not properly calibrated. Will the Ministe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 December 2025
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
I apologise in advance, Ms Barker, for the fact that I cannot stay for the full debate because I have been assigned to a Delegated Legislation Committee. I want to echo the concerns of my constituents, many of whom are home educators, about the legislation. Will the hon. Member join me in calling on…
Commons
Debate
25 November 2025
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I have tabled new clause 13 to address a slight oversight in this Bill—namely, that despite its title, it does not give communities any substantially new powers. The strengthening of the tools that local people have at their disposal to purchase assets of community value is certainly very welcome—ye…
I absolutely agree.
The freedom to go out the front door and play in the street or near home is no longer part of many children’s lives, as it used to be. The right to play would reverse the trend of estates being full of signs shouting, “No” and “Do not”, with more space given to car parking than …
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 November 2025
Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations
UNICEF has highlighted that the Israeli blockade is preventing nearly 1 million bottles of ready-to-use infant formula from reaching babies in Gaza at risk of malnutrition. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must impose widespread economic sanctions on Israel unless and until that aid is let through?