Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Extreme Heat: Preparedness
On the hon. Member’s point about mental health, does he recognise that a number of treatments for depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, can affect the body’s ability to regulate te…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
8 July 2026
Engagements
Q14. Stourbridge is famous for many things: the glass industry, Jude Bellingham—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]—Robert Plant and, most importantly, the Stourbridge shuttle, the UK’s shortest railway line at just 0.8 miles, or 1.3 km for those who prefer metric. It links Stourbridge Junction with Stour…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Climate Change: Resilience Planning
During the heatwave a fortnight ago, I was contacted by the head of Oldswinford primary school in my constituency, who felt that the Government’s advice on keeping the building cool for children did not adequately reflect the challenges. I know that this feeling was shared by other schools around th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2026
2 contributions
MPs’ Second Jobs: Prohibition
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for securing this timely and important debate. I know how hard he has worked on this issue over a number of years.
Before the general election, Labour wanted to ban second j…
Does the shadow Minister recognise that this is not necessarily about the amount of remuneration, but the risk of corruption and the types of employment that have been mentioned by many Members in this debate?
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Support for Industry
12. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support industry.
I welcome the decisions taken by the Chancellor and Government colleagues to revise the electric vehicle targets for 2030, following representations from the industry, unions and MPs. Targets are really great, but they need to match capabilities and market realities. What assessment has she made of …
Commons
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Steel Tariffs
May I add my voice to that of other Black Country Members? On behalf of Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and Netherton, I am grateful to the Minister and the Department for Business and Trade for their ongoing engagement with me and local businesses. It is much appreciated, but can I also add my voice to …
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Care in the Community
Last year I campaigned with the community and local councillors to save the Crystal dementia centre in Stourbridge. The centre provides community support for dementia patients and their carers, employs dementia advisers and assessors, and offers day services to many local people. Sadly, however, sin…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Water Companies
In 2025, there were over 300,000 sewage spills into our waterways up and down the country. In March this year, a section of the Stourbridge canal had to be closed due to raw sewage spilling into the water from a broken Severn Trent pipe, killing hundreds of fish. Does the Minister accept that the cu…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Steel Strategy
16. What progress he has made on implementing the steel strategy.
May I put on record my thanks to Ministers and the Department for their ongoing excellent engagement with me and my local businesses on the steel strategy? Many of the downstream businesses in my Stourbridge constituency currently import products—including zero-carbon steel—that are not produced in …
Commons
Proceedings
23 April 2026
Allied Health Professionals
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for her opening speech and my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for securing this long-overdue debate.
As we have heard, allied health professionals make up the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS, yet sadly, time and …
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
Following the Environment Act 2021, all councils in England were required to introduce food waste collections and improved kerbside recycling by April this year. Despite the long lead time, Tory-run Dudley council waited till the 11th hour, leaving it ill prepared for the changes and without the veh…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
Engagements
Q14. The announcement that pubs and music venues will receive a much-welcome reduction in business rates is a positive step. However, in our manifesto we did promise root-and-branch reform of business rates. Hospitality and leisure businesses in my Stourbridge constituency are facing a projected £20…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Energy Bills: Small Businesses
14. What steps his Department is taking to help ensure the accuracy of small businesses’ energy bills.
Small businesses across my constituency have been mis-sold commercial energy contracts by brokers. A business in Lye was recently locked into a three-year contract in which it found itself paying more than double the market rate. An independent café in the Merry Hill centre recently had to close due…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. The proposals to retroactively extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain create considerable insecurity and disruption for migrants living in the UK. Contrary to what many believe, the process of getting ILR is difficult a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
Animal Welfare Strategy for England
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) for securing this important debate. The Government’s animal welfare strategy, published last month, is welcome. It makes important commitments to improving animal welf…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 January 2026
Domestic Abuse-related Deaths: NHS Prevention
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on securing this important debate.
Too often, domestic abuse is framed solely as a criminal justice issue when, in reality, it is one of the most urgent public health crises that…
Commons
Proceedings
19 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
I welcome noises from the Department about additional support for pubs, but this is not just about pubs; it is about all hospitality businesses, including music venues such as Claptrap the venue and Katie Fitzgerald’s in my constituency. They have been massively impacted by a perfect storm of new va…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
Sale of Fireworks
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for securing this important debate and speaking so passionately on the issue.
Every year in the weeks leading up to bonfire night on 5 November people suffer life-changing inju…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Railways Bill
As a long-time supporter of our railways and rail workers, I am proud to speak on a key Labour Government manifesto commitment. The Bill is about putting passengers, workers and the national interest back at the heart of our railways. For too long, a fragmented model has left the public with a patch…
I thank my right hon. Friend for his valuable intervention. He makes the really important point that there is currently no mention of staff in the Bill. As I have said, there will be no Great British Railways without those staff and all the protections and assurances they need.
I welcome the move t…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
26 November 2025
Engagements
Q5. At the moment, everyone is being bombarded with adverts and emails for Black Friday encouraging them to spend money on so-called time-limited deals, leading to panic buying and increasing debt and buyer regret—not to mention the impact on the planet, with delivery and returns of goods respons…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Asylum Policy
As a delegate to the Council of Europe, I will always defend the European convention on human rights and its institution and treaties, and that is why it is important to talk about it in the correct context. In the last 45 years, the Strasbourg Court has ruled against the UK on immigration rules onl…
Commons
Proceedings
13 November 2025
Point of Order: Rectification Procedure
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I would like to apologise to the House for failing adequately to declare an interest when speaking in the House on 10 June this year during the debate on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Although I referred to my entry in the Register of Mem…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Police Reform
I thank the Minister for her statement. I pay tribute to the West Midlands police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster, who has served diligently and ably since 2021. He has always been community focused; he worked with me to secure a police hub in Stourbridge and helped me to negotiate with police …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Business of the House
Children and adults across Stourbridge and the wider Black Country are being prevented from accessing vital care and support because all new shared care agreements have been stopped since the start of September. The Black Country integrated care board has placed the blame on GP surgeries, but I have…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
8 contributions
Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights
I beg to move,
That this House has considered UK participation in the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. Yesterday marked 75 years since the United Kingdom, a founding member of the Council of Europe, was one o…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution.
Earlier this year, my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill (Kate Osamor) reported on Europe’s demographic ageing and the decline in youth and working-age populations, highlighting the impact on the elderly, public services, labour m…
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