Commons
Debate
18 November 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
In the months in which I was the Northern Ireland spokesperson for my party, I engaged with lots of veterans’ groups. Their members told me that they were very keen for this legislation to recognise that they went to Northern Ireland, as service personnel, to restore the rule of law. They recognise …
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
2 contributions
Reducing Energy Bills
13. What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills in Surrey Heath constituency.
The National Audit Office recently reported that 98% of the 23,000 homes fitted with external wall insulation under the previous Government schemes are at risk of damp and mould unless they are swiftly remediated. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that homes in Surrey Heath insulated under…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
As my hon. Friend well knows, 94% of the UK’s biodiversity lies within the waters of our overseas territories. Just north of the Falkland Islands is the so-called blue hole, an area of unregulated fishing beyond national jurisdiction. It is an area where trackers are turned off and illegal fishing t…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Budget: Press Briefings
I have had meetings with businesses and constituents in Surrey Heath who tell me that they have changed their decisions based on the speculation they have heard in recent weeks and months. We have heard about the rage that some people have felt; in my constituency, I have heard anxiety from people w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
In advance of this debate, my constituent Tony contacted me to say that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019 but has only seen a specialist three times in the six years that have followed. Does the hon. Lady agree that access to a specialist is vital, not least for quelling anxiety, but al…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
Earlier this year, as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I had the great privilege of visiting the 77th Brigade—the anti-Russian disinformation brigade of the British Army down in Newbury. The experts on the front line of the information wars told us that the British population are being…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
Topical Questions
I have been contacted by a Surrey Heath resident who has not just endured and survived appalling domestic abuse but is now enduring and attempting to survive the family court process, with multiple hearings over child contact arrangements. Will the Minister commit today to implementing the Domestic …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 November 2025
Autistic Adults: Employment
My constituent John has experienced prolonged periods of unemployment —he has been employed for only four of the past 14 years—and I think his experience is redolent of that of many other people with autism who feel that they are not getting the support that they need. Does my hon. Friend agree that…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
2 contributions
Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights
Thank you, Mr Mundell. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles) for securing this important debate, and other Members—most of them, at least—for their contributions.
The Council of Europe is one of the post-war generation’s quiet triump…
It is truly shameful company for us to maintain, and there is nothing virtuous or patriotic about calling for our withdrawal.
Indeed, those calling for withdrawal, in pursuit of a single policy objective—ending illegal migration—should heed a deeper warning. In “A Man for All Seasons”, the playwrig…
Commons
Proceedings
4 November 2025
Sudan: Government Support
I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing this important debate. I have been to Srebrenica, and I was in Sudan in 2022. As I travelled with my research team to the northern Nubian desert, our path was blocked by the presence of the Wagner Group, which was training the RSF militia and extracting vast…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
Supporting High Streets
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way four times in such quick succession. Of the £40 million of business rates levied this year by Surrey Heath borough council, only £1 million has been retained locally. Given that borough councils levy business rates and that businesses have an expectatio…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent
We also have the phenomenon of HMO properties in my constituency. If someone were to apply to build a block of six apartments, they would have to go through a proper planning process, with things such as parking being considered. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the licensing regime needs to be si…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
“Soldier F” Trial Verdict
I thank the Secretary of State for his responses so far. We welcome the resolution of this trial and the clarity that the law has afforded. The Liberal Democrats extend our deepest sympathies to the families who still seek justice and answers. The legacy Act of 2023 may have been driven by the insti…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
3 November 2025
Army Recruitment
May I begin by associating myself and my party with the sentiments reflected by the Secretary of State about the terrible events in Huntingdon at the weekend?
The Secretary of State’s ambition to reverse the outflows from our armed forces is absolutely right, particularly considering the damage the…
Commons
Debate
30 October 2025
Property Service Charges
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) for securing this important debate. Across the country, and certainly across my constituency, leaseholders are trapped in a system that too often leaves them feeling powerless. They face spiralling service charges, opaque management practic…
Commons
Debate
28 October 2025
Support for Disabled Veterans
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for securing this debate. Where the state falls down, so often the charitable sector and amazing volunteers are there to pick up the pieces. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to some of the incredible charities in my Surrey Heath…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
28 October 2025
2 contributions
Gibraltar: UK-EU Agreement
5. What progress she has made on implementing the UK-EU agreement on Gibraltar.
Like the Minister, I had the pleasure of being in Gibraltar in the summer at the invitation of the Government, and I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I saw for myself the vital necessity of this deal to secure the economy and the social fabric o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
Connected and Automated Vehicles
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing this important debate. To the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), I say: automated vehicles—
“It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it”.
Connected and automated vehi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Trade Union Workplace Access
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate to the House. I commend the University and College Union, which was incredibly supportive to me and my colleagues in my former life as an academic. It was only because our employer was decent that it was able to have access to our campus s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 October 2025
Korean War: 75th Commemoration
My hon. Friend is right to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of British and international forces in the Korean war, as other right hon. and hon. Members have. Will he join me in also paying tribute to the extraordinary journalists who bravely sought to bring news of Korea to international and…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
6 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
I will speak in support of seven amendments tabled in my name. For too long, decisions about the Chagos islands have been made without the consent of Chagossians. My grave concern is that the treaty to be given effect by the Bill fails to rectify that historical and ongoing injustice. Not only does …
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am aware that he has a long history in advocating for this particular cause, but I am relentlessly surprised by the position he takes on this point. He would seek to effectively reinscribe the colonial construction that was British Ma…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 October 2025
Educational Assessment System Reform
I recognise that my constituency has a bad name in this area, because it was largely my predecessor MP who introduced the kind of memorising curriculum that my hon. Friend refers to. Does my hon. Friend agree that to preserve the mental health of our young people, and to maximise their human capacit…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Northern Ireland Troubles
I welcome the hon. Member for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) to his ministerial position, and I welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) to his new place as spokesperson—frankly the best job anybody could have in opposition.
I have spent the summer speaking to veterans about the v…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
Topical Questions
T4. According to the National Audit Office, some 98% of the 23,000 homes fitted with external wall insulation under Government schemes in recent years now need urgent repairs to correct faults that lead directly to damp and mould. What plans does the Secretary of State have to remediate those affe…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
Ambassador to the United States
The hon. Member’s speech reminds me of an earlier episode in UK-US relations, when Donald Rumsfeld referred to known knowns, unknown unknowns and known unknowns. While the Government might be forgiven for not holding Peter Mandelson to account for unknown unknowns, does he agree that it is unforgiva…