Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
I travelled through Manchester Victoria station on the day of the arena bombing and I saw the young people on their way into that concert. They were young, vibrant, excited, happy—all the things that they deserved to be, doing the most normal thing in the world: going to see a concert. It was one of…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 January 2026
Arctic Security
I thank the Secretary of State for the strong statement she has made. I have been disappointed to hear so much politicisation of a national security issue in this House, but can she confirm that, just as the future of Ukraine should be determined by the Ukrainians, the future of Greenland should be …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 January 2026
Northern Powerhouse Rail
As a Yorkshire MP, I could not be more proud of the fact that it is a Labour Government who are delivering this change. I urge the Secretary of State to look again at the Calder Valley line. It needs electrification, perhaps as part of phase 3, which was promised by the Conservative party in 2015 bu…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
NHS 10-year Workforce Plan
When the Secretary of State was in front of the Health and Social Care Committee, he recognised that we will not solve the workforce problems in the NHS without solving the workforce problems in social care as well. There are 150,000 unfilled posts in social care—three times greater than in the wide…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
I declare my interest as an officer of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities team, and as a recovering local government alumnus.
We inherited a system in which 40% of local authorities were at risk of going bust and issuing section 114 notices by March 2026, driven by a rising demand …
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Puberty Suppressants Trial
I hope we can all agree that the young people involved should not be used by anyone as a political football. Can my right hon. Friend please assure me that the process and trial will be clinically led, not defined by rhetoric—in this place or anywhere else?
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
Topical Questions
T6. With some victims of sexual assault being told that their trials might not be heard until 2029, what can we do to reduce delays and tackle the backlogs so that victims can be confident that they will get justice and will not have to face the trauma associated with these delays?
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
I commend my hon. Friend for her ongoing work on this issue. I was proud to work with her closely on ending the presumption of involvement for abusers in the family courts. As a long-term supporter of the White Ribbon campaign, which has the slogan “It starts with men”, can I ask my hon. Friend to c…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 December 2025
Resident Doctors: Industrial Action
With a 28% pay rise and 4,000 extra specialty training places, it is starting to feel like the BMA resident doctors committee is deeply committed to not taking yes for an answer. It is not just about the services; it is about the parent who wants their kids to have their elective appointment before …
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Were I not sat in a different place, I would be feeling déjà vu, because this appears to be the same debate that we had on the Budget just a week or so ago when I pointed out to the right hon. Gentleman that the problem we have is that two thirds of children growing up in poverty have a parent in wo…
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
Seasonal Work
Much like my hon. Friend’s constituency, mine relies on its manufacturing industry, and our apprenticeship guarantees and support will make a huge difference to people there. However, having listened to my hon. Friend’s history lesson, I am thinking back to the youth training scheme. I recently met …
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Topical Questions
T5. Having worked on child poverty for over a decade, I have seen at first hand the damage to health, education prospects and life chances that poverty can cause, put at £40 billion a year by the Child Poverty Action Group. Can the Chancellor assure me that the child poverty strategy will build on t…
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
Child Poverty Strategy
From loss of earnings to poor health outcomes, in 2023 the Child Poverty Action Group estimated that had child poverty continued to rise as it was, it would have cost the economy £40 billion by 2027. I am proud that not only have we stopped that rise, but we will see 550,000 fewer children in povert…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 December 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts
It strikes me that much of the criticism from the Opposition Benches is rooted in the decision to increase funds to raise the headroom. I know that forecasts are a job for the OBR, but given that it is busy at the moment, could my right hon. Friend advise me on what the likely impact on the markets …
Commons
Oral Questions
1 December 2025
2 contributions
Speech and Language Therapies
14. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that specialist speech and language therapies are available to children with education, health and care plans.
Currently, about 60,000 children are waiting for their first speech and language therapy appointment, and some are waiting for over a year. As with a lot of SEND problems, this happens because health and education are not working that well together. Can the Minister tell me what we are doing to brin…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
I am sure the right hon. Gentleman is aware that the majority of people impacted by this uplift, and two-thirds of children in poverty, have a parent in work. The false dichotomy of those in work and out of work is simply incorrect, and as a former Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, h…
This Budget comes at a crucial time for the country and this Government. I say that because I am not blind to the public mood. It is a mood that calls for more change and, fundamentally, I think that only the Labour party can deliver the change that we need.
To understand the decisions we made in t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 November 2025
6 contributions
Specialist Manufacturing Sector: Regional Economies
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the contribution of the specialist manufacturing sector to regional economies.
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris, and a privilege to open this debate on the contribution of the specialist manufacturing sector to regional econ…
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct. The point about smaller towns is so important, because as well as creating brilliant jobs in the smaller economy where they will make a difference, they give a sense of place and value to what we produce. People are proud of what their town produces, whether…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Topical Questions
Healthy peatlands are among the most carbon-rich environments on the planet, acting as a carbon store and reducing flood risks. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs draft policy says that disturbing these peatlands leads to negative carbon impacts. We cannot be in a situation where…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
Budget: Press Briefings
I am often put in mind of that scene in “Casablanca” where the official expresses surprise at gambling taking place in the casino when I hear Conservative Members say that briefing might have taken place. Perhaps in 2017, when the key stamp duty measure in that Budget was leaked, the right hon. Memb…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Violence against Women and Girls
3. What steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls.
Ending the presumption of parental contact in the family courts was a huge and long-overdue step that campaigners work hard for. That presumption often allowed post-separation abuse to continue. Although the Ministry of Justice is leading on that, can the Minister tell me what the Home Office is doi…
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Taxes
Will the shadow Chancellor give way?
One unexplored area we could look at to raise some of the money we need is selling the brass neck of the Conservatives on the commodities market. Having cheered when Liz Truss delivered her mini-Budget, they now have the gall to lecture us about fiscal responsibility.
Commons
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
On 20 October, a phone mast serving thousands of people in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd was removed without warning, cutting O 2 , Vodafone and Three coverage. Residents were told that they would be disconnected until April. It was only through the intervention of Baroness Lloyd and I that a tempor…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
Welfare Spending
Conservative Members talking about what they would do in government is like me talking about having the ability to take a penalty in a world cup final. The Conservatives left us with 1.4 million PIP claimants for mental health reasons and 1.2 million on mental health waiting lists—that is 217,000 pe…
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
5 contributions
Supporting High Streets
I welcome the hon. Member’s new interest in adult social care. The Dilnot report was delivered in 2011. What were the Conservatives doing for the subsequent 13 years while they were in government and not delivering meaningful change to social care?
Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 October 2025
UK-Türkiye Typhoon Export Deal
I welcome this deal, which is the biggest of its kind in a generation. As the world is becoming more unstable, this ambition should turn world-class defence deals into growth that we can feel in workshops, factories and communities across the country. In Calder Valley—or valve valley, as it is known…