Commons
Proceedings
25 March 2026
Foreign Financial Influence and Interference: UK Politics
I warmly welcome the Rycroft review and the Government’s swift action set out today on crypto and on overseas donations, although I would like to see them go much further. The Secretary of State said that he will amend the Representation of the People Bill wherever necessary. As a member of the Bill…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
24 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
The fuel price shock caused by Trump’s reckless war highlights just how risky it is for the UK to be locked into the global fossil fuel markets. The Climate Change Committee recently pointed out that the cost of achieving net zero by 2050 is less than the cost of a single fossil fuel price spike, re…
Commons
Committee Stage
24 March 2026
8 contributions
Representation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)
It is a pleasure to speak with you in the chair, Dame Siobhain. I rise to speak briefly in support of new clause 44, which, as the hon. Member has set out, is a very reasonable and modest proposal. As I said, I very strongly support the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, but it is cr…
I am sorry; I may have misunderstood, but is the Minister arguing that she does not support new clause 44 because a range of organisations will be taking part in action to raise awareness of the extended franchise and, therefore, it would not be right for the Government to provide a report only on w…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
24 March 2026
8 contributions
Representation of the People Bill (Third sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I am delighted to speak on a Bill of such huge importance. I am also delighted to be speaking so positively in support of clause 1. I might have some constructive suggestions to make on further clauses, but I warmly welcome the long-over…
I think the hon. Gentleman is in effect making my point for me, which is that adulthood starts in a phased way. There is no simple black-and-white cut-off at which things change from one night to the next. In society, we recognise that many aspects of growing up are part of a process. Voting is clea…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Petition
23 March 2026
River Wye Pollution
Water is life, and rivers are the lifeblood of our landscape, but too often they are in a perilous state. Yesterday we celebrated World Water Day, and last month, on Valentine’s day, I celebrated the work of North Herefordshire constituents who love the Lugg, the river that flows through the heart o…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Middle East
The expansion of US use of UK bases announced over the weekend represents an escalation of UK involvement in this war. At a time when we all agree that de-escalation is urgently needed, we are being dragged into Trump’s illegal, reckless war, with huge ramifications for the region and for households…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 March 2026
International Development
Pitching defence against development is utterly short-sighted—it is a totally misjudged binary. These aid cuts make us all less secure. The Foreign Secretary has talked about this as a difficult choice; in fact, it is the wrong choice. Let us be clear: under this Labour Government, we are seeing dee…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Middle East
In the Foreign Secretary’s statement—all six pages of it—there was not a single word of criticism of the illegal, reckless action of Trump and Netanyahu in launching the strikes that have set off this conflagration in the middle east. If the Foreign Secretary is not prepared even to criticise that, …
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
The Minister and the Prime Minister have talked about the UK being willing to participate in a “viable, collective plan” to reopen the strait of Hormuz, but does the Minister really think that President Trump has a viable plan, given that he had no plan for the illegal war, nor any legal justificati…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
Topical Questions
In 2020, the now Prime Minister proposed legislation to ensure that any UK military action could take place only if there were a legal justification, a viable objective and the consent of the Commons. Does the Secretary of State endorse the principles outlined by his party leader, and will he theref…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
Topical Questions
Given the recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report that says that the Treasury’s excessively narrow focus on fiscal rules leads to dysfunctional policy making, and given recent global events showing the uncertainty of fiscal forecasting, does the Chancellor recognise that it is time to move to a m…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
The Iran crisis highlights the urgent need to speed up the UK’s energy system transition to clean, green, cheap renewables and energy efficiency. The last time that energy prices went through the roof due to illegal international aggression, in 2022, normal people paid the price while huge energy gi…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
3 March 2026
West Bank: Illegal Settlements
The Minister says that he is concerned by the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the expansion of settler violence, and he says that he is considering concrete steps. He refers to previous actions, but it is now many months since the last concrete action by this Government. Actions speak l…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
4 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
Why don’t you tell your party leader?
Does the hon. Gentleman not recognise that the resounding victory of my hon. Friend the new Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) in the by-election was a victory for hope over hate? And does he not recognise that he sounds like an extremely bad loser?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Point of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The right hon. Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke) incorrectly attacked the reputation of Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the Green party, by saying that he had protested in support of the ayatollah. He certainly did not. Mothin Ali attend…
indicated assent.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
My party and I stand with all the brave Iranians who condemn the vile regime in Iran. We also condemn the deeply irresponsible and illegal attack by the US and Israel on Iran, which was launched in the middle of nuclear negotiations and led by Trump—a clearly unstable loose cannon—and Netanyahu, a w…
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Online Harm: Child Protection
I had understood that the hon. Member’s party was keen on public consultation, and there is clearly a lot of public concern about the very real problem of online harms and the need to protect children. I am therefore puzzled by the fact that she is seeking to control the parliamentary agenda in just…
I have received contact from hundreds of parents in my constituency and from some young people sharing their huge concern about online harm caused by engagement with social media, so I fully understand the sense of urgency in the Chamber and the desire for quick action. The Government said in Januar…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Topical Questions
T6. In the past seven months, I have been contacted by 18 constituents who have faced unacceptable delays in getting responses from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency about licensing issues where a review by the medical team is required. Each time I have intervened and each time the issue has…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts
The co-founder of Palantir, Peter Thiel, maintained a close financial and personal relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. There are profound ethical concerns about the web of connections between Thiel, Epstein and Mandelson. The hon. Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) is absolutely ri…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
3 contributions
Independent Water Commission: Final Report
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing this debate. He shares my passion for tackling water pollution, which is why we work together on the all-party parliamentary group on water pollution, which I set up when…
I thank the hon. Member for that clarification, and I am delighted to hear that in this Parliament that has been changed. Historically, it was run by the water industry, which is why it was necessary to set up a new group.
I will confine my comments today to the two elephants in the room: ownership…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 February 2026
3 contributions
Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I have notified another Member of the House, whom I intend to name in my speech.
I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing the debate so comprehensively and effectively on behalf of the Petitions Commit…
I absolutely agree that Russian money is used in all sorts of manners to undermine our democracy. Rather than splitting hairs over the meaning of war, I will say that it is clear that we are in a fight for the life of our democracy, and that is why I am so passionate about the need for us to work co…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment
I thank the hon. Member for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (Brendan O’Hara) for securing today’s debate. In June last year, I secured a debate in Westminster Hall on the same topic, and the arguments that I set out at length then still hold; indeed, they have been deepened and strengthened by event…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
Sudan
I very much thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement, her visit, the new sanctions and aid that she has announced, and for her clear, personal passion to keep the spotlight on the horrific suffering of women and children, in particular, in this conflict, as well as her clear determination to br…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Business of the House
The 2024 Labour general election manifesto promised
“Immediate reform of the House of Lords”,
noted that
“reform is long over-due and essential”,
and said,
“Labour is committed to replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber”.
Given the Mandelson scandal and the unacceptable…