Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Defending Democracy Taskforce
In 2019, an attempt was made to physically attack me during the general election campaign, when a beer glass was thrown at my head. That was intimidating, but I recognise that it was nothing compared with the experience of those who are commemorated on the walls of this House, or of many of the wome…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
Frimley Park hospital in my constituency is due to be rebuilt as part of the Government’s new hospital programme, but it has recently transpired that the cost of upgrading vital local transport infrastructure has been neither costed nor budgeted for. The National Audit Office shares my concerns abou…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 March 2026
Topical Questions
Yesterday I met representatives of the British Chambers of Commerce, who relayed the profound concerns of the UK automative industry that it might be excluded from the European Union’s proposed industrial accelerator Act. Nissan and Honda have already broken cover to say that their futures may be un…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Technology Sovereignty
The hon. Lady mentions Britain’s extraordinary human capital. In my role as my party’s Europe spokesperson, of late I have been speaking to very large international defence firms, which thrive in the UK intellectual environment. They have great links with universities, but they say to me that they a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
6 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the impact of local government reorganisation in the South East.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Vickers. I am grateful to the hon. and right hon. Members from across the House who will be contributing to this debate.
Local…
As ever, I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his thoughtful, sagacious intervention. He will discover, if he is able to stay for the rest of my speech, that I will cover those fundamental topics: the funding of the transitional moment, and the certainty that joining two authorities together does…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Topical Questions
My constituent Michael, who is autistic, lost his personal independence payment in January when he was moved to employment and support allowance without explanation. He is attempting to appeal that decision. Given warnings from the National Autistic Society about barriers that autistic people face i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
2 contributions
NATO and the High Arctic
As ever, Dr Huq, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank the hon. and gallant Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for securing this geostrategically important debate and drawing this issue to the attention of the House.
At a moment when the world’s attention is understand…
I am grateful to my hon. and gallant Friend for his intervention; the President of the United States is perhaps more Teddy Roosevelt than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He seems to be living every day under the impression that his mission should be to expand US territory and to plant the US flag, no mat…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 March 2026
Middle East
Since we came to the Chamber, a senior Iranian commander has said that they would seek to bomb Cyprus to force out US aircraft from our sovereign bases. As a guarantor of Cyprus’s security and as a sovereign presence on the island of Cyprus, what concrete military devices and measures do we have in …
Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory
I am acutely aware that this urgent question comes in the aftermath of the attempt by the hon. Member for Clacton to land on the Chagos archipelago last week, and although I might admire the hon. Member’s audacity, I am deeply concerned that his actions trivialise what is indeed a deeply serious sit…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
UK-German Relations
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for securing this important and timely debate.
The Liberal Democrats believe that we are stronger, safer and more prosperous when we build serious, long-term partnerships wi…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
2 contributions
People with Down’s Syndrome: Sport and Health
13. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the role of sport in health outcomes for young people with Down’s syndrome.
I recently had a meeting with British Gymnastics, the charity Stepping Stones, and Prime Acrobatics, a wonderful and inclusive gymnastics centre in my Surrey Heath constituency. They told me that young people with Down’s syndrome are routinely prevented from taking part in physical activity and spor…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
Local Transport: Planning Developments
Like in my hon. Friend’s constituency, there are all kinds of speculative developments in Surrey Heath, but one of the greatest challenges we face is the potential relocation of Frimley Park hospital. When I asked about the budget that had been set aside for the creation of new roads, railway statio…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
2 contributions
EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK
I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Stephen Gethins) for securing the debate. In 2016, the British people were offered a vision of life outside the European Union built on easy promises: £350 million a week for the NHS, effortless global trade deals, and all the be…
The capriciousness of the United States makes the case for closer economic co-operation with Europe all the greater. This is not abstract. Businesses up and down the UK are grappling with rules of origin paperwork, border delays and lost contracts. Investment is held back. Productivity is squeezed. …
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
Topical Questions
The Minister has talked about the protections afforded by local plans, but in areas such as Surrey Heath and Guildford, which have experienced a near-doubling of housing targets, those protections have been stripped away according to the tilted balance approach. What protections will the Minister pu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 February 2026
Firearms Licensing
My constituency is home to the National Shooting Centre at Bisley, and therefore also to the National Rifle Association. One constituent contacted me to say that it took a year to have the address on their certificate changed, after they moved from Hampshire to Surrey. Does my hon. Friend agree that…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
Engagements
My Surrey Heath constituent Christopher was discharged from the RAF in 1966 solely for being gay, but—despite the Government committing to restoring the medals and the berets, and indeed acknowledging the injustice of those who were discharged from our armed forces prior to 1967 for that reason—his …
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Businesses: Cost of Energy
10. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.
Small and large businesses in my constituency of Surrey Heath—everything from small cafés to care providers and large manufacturers—tell me that they are being crushed by high energy costs. Given that the wholesale cost of gas has fallen substantially since its peak in 2022, can the Minister indicat…
Commons
Debate
5 February 2026
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment
What we have witnessed in Gaza is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. It has been a catastrophe both for the hostages who have endured Hamas’s brutal captivity and for the millions of Palestinian civilians whose lives, homes and communities have been devastated by Israel’s military offensive, so le…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
Sudan
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. Nobody could fail to be moved by the horrific tales from Adré. As she has said, accountability is crucial, and a future ICC court case will rely on incredibly hard work being done now to secure witness statements, preserve digital files, build structu…
Commons
Debate
22 January 2026
4 contributions
Local Government Finances: Surrey
The hon. Gentleman is giving an excellent speech that has really drawn out the pressures on his constituents, as well as on mine and on those of the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford). West Surrey unitary authority as a whole faces the prospect of beginning its life with £4.5 bill…
In my area—perhaps in the hon. Member’s, too—we have had increased housing targets of up to 150% as a consequence of this Government’s decision. I understand their commitment to house building, but such targets open up the floodgates to opportunistic development—development that is unplanned. It req…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums
As the Minister knows, in Surrey, which is going through a process of reorganisation, two unitary authorities have been selected, and each will cover more than 600,000 people. There is a great concern that that is too big or will feel too remote. An added complication is that, with potentially £4.5 …
Commons
Debate
20 January 2026
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Please forgive my slightly croaky tones today, Madam Deputy Speaker.
I will do my best, having received that cue from you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
This Bill returns to us from the other place with amendments that raise serious questions about the governance, cost and durability of the treaty concerning the future of Diego Garcia and the wider Chagos archipelago. For d…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
Topical Questions
In answer to an earlier question, the Foreign Secretary said that the future of Greenland should be determined by Greenlanders and Danes, yet Members across this House are just finding out that any opportunity to give Chagossians a referendum has been stripped from this afternoon’s discussions on th…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
A week or so ago I asked the Foreign Secretary at the Dispatch Box: where was the red line? What was the Rubicon that would have to be crossed to lead the UK to hang together with our values-based allies in opposition to the imperialist ambitions of Donald Trump? I have to confess that I felt a brie…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Iran: Protests
At the weekend, I visited several Iranian-owned businesses in my community to show my support and solidarity. The business owners told me that they have relatives inside Iran who, due to the internet shutdowns, are going to increasingly extreme lengths to pick up information from the outside world, …