Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Support for Pig Farmers
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) for securing this timely debate.
I grew up on a sheep and beef farm, and when I was about 11 years old, I bought 13 pigs from market to take home. They became more …
No, I used to play football matches with them. They were a lot of fun, and I learned that of all livestock, they are potentially the most intelligent and certainly some of the most affectionate animals. I had a particularly interesting visit to Sparsholt agricultural college in Winchester with the N…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
9 July 2026
Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates
It is well recognised that people who inflict deliberate pain, injury or violence on animals are more likely to be involved in domestic abuse, yet if someone is prosecuted for deliberately injuring an animal, they are prosecuted under animal welfare laws, meaning that their conviction is unlikely to…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
Topical Questions
I welcome the Secretary of State’s mentioning an update to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966; after 60 years, it is much needed to make the Act fit for purpose to regulate new business structures and paraprofessionals such as physios, and to protect the title of veterinary nurse. Could we have an ass…
Commons
Proceedings
8 July 2026
NHS Corridor Care
My hon. Friend has just highlighted a point that was mentioned by the hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan). That kind of experience causes concern not only for its lack of dignity, but for infection control, antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections. That kind of treatment not onl…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Climate Change
14. What steps he is taking to help tackle climate change.
Will the Minister join me in congratulating Lib Dem-run Winchester city council on its fantastic initiative, Solar Together, which installs solar panels on council houses? So far, it has installed solar panels on 35 properties, reducing energy bills, lifting people out of fuel poverty and reducing c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
Mental Health: Parity of Esteem
On wraparound care, we have a fantastic initiative in Winchester where Citizens Advice spends time with patients at Melbury Lodge, the in-patient unit, to help them deal with all their life admin, such as debt issues and money issues. It has been shown that those who receive that service have a shor…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 June 2026
2 contributions
Russian Oil Sales
18. What recent discussions she has had with international partners on the potential merits of increasing sanctions against Russia.
Two years ago, I visited Ukraine, taking medical supplies in refurbished ambulances; we had to stop only twice to fill up with diesel, which made us realise just how close to us the frontline really is. It is deeply troubling that the Government are now reneging on their full support of Ukraine by p…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
2 contributions
High Streets
1. What steps he is taking to support high streets.
It is Independent Bookshop Week, and we are fortunate to have some fantastic independent bookshops in Winchester, including P&G Wells, which I visited recently. It is possibly the longest-running bookshop in the country—it has been running continuously for over 300 years, and Jane Austen and Joh…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Digital Safety: Children
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) this urgent question. I am very disappointed that the Minister brought petty party politics into his response, because we have consistently proposed legislation that could have been implemented months ago. I…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
I too pay tribute to the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley for her immense campaigning and work in this area. Can the Secretary of State be more specific on what actions will be taken to prevent women and girls becoming victims of AI-generated sexual content, because it really can ruin lives?
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Immigration Rules: Economic Impact
1. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned changes to immigration rules on the economy.
I thank the Home Secretary for her response. We have 104 different nationalities working in Winchester hospital, throughout Hampshire over one third of the workers in the social care sector are born outside the EU, and we know statistically that we are more likely to be cared for or treated by an im…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
4 June 2026
2 contributions
Water Quality
6. What steps she is taking to help improve water quality.
The Government’s own Veterinary Medicines Directorate is really concerned that pet flea treatments sold in supermarkets are washing pesticides into Britain’s lakes, waterways and chalk streams and killing aquatic life. Those treatments include ingredients such as fipronil and imidacloprid, which is …
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
4 June 2026
2 contributions
Domestic Abuse: Prosecution
5. What steps she is taking to ensure the effective prosecution of domestic abuse cases.
One form of domestic abuse is financial abuse and coercion. I have been made aware of a Child Maintenance Service case in my constituency that has been repeatedly dropped at the magistrate level because of one parent failing to attend the hearing. That means that the CMS withdraws the case, not pros…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 June 2026
Engagements
Q10. The Conservatives repeatedly promised us 40 new hospitals that we knew were never going to happen, but the current Government are now promising us a new hospital in Hampshire in 20 years’ time, if it gets built at all. My constituents really rely on our A&E and maternity services, but our c…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
1 June 2026
Draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2026
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister for her speech.
Liberal Democrats will also support the long-term move towards a fairer farming system that rewards sustainable food production, nature recovery and climate resilience rather than relying solely on an o…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
1 June 2026
Delegated Legislation Committee
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister for her speech.
Liberal Democrats will also support the long-term move towards a fairer farming system that rewards sustainable food production, nature recovery and climate resilience rather than relying solely on an o…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
1 June 2026
General Committees
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister for her speech.
Liberal Democrats will also support the long-term move towards a fairer farming system that rewards sustainable food production, nature recovery and climate resilience rather than relying solely on an o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for securing the debate and for her tireless championing of animal welfare in Parliament. This is not the first debate to be secured on animal welfare issues, and it really…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for another insightful speech; this time I will avoid comparing the anatomy of human and dog ear canals—we have covered that already.
We always rightly start…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
Last week in my Winchester office, I held a meeting for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities, and some were in tears when discussing the fight they have had to get the care to which they are entitled. Can we assure parents that any reforms made to the SEND system—which…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
The Liberal Democrats welcome the strategy, and its specific recognition of the socioeconomic and racial disparities in women’s healthcare, which it is important to put front and centre. We also appreciate the specific recognition of endometriosis and similar conditions. My partner, Emma, suffers fr…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
2 contributions
Community Spaces
9. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to community spaces.
The charity St John’s Winchester runs a brilliant community space for people with dementia; I have attended it myself and sung songs with them, including Motown. It is also one of the oldest charities in the UK and provides almshouses for vulnerable people. It has been running for 900 years and has …
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 April 2026
2 contributions
NHS Federated Data Platform
It is an honour to serve under your chairpersonship, Dame Siobhain. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for his tenacity and expertise in this subject. He has done a huge amount of research, and made an absolutely excellent speech.
At a moment of rising global instab…
That is an important point. Amnesty International, whose representatives I believe are present, and others including voices within the NHS have been raising serious concerns about the potential misuse or inappropriate sharing of sensitive data. The Government must come clean about how the contract w…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
I will bring up one more time the state of our roads, particularly in Hampshire. I was a horse vet before I was elected, so there is probably not a single road I have not driven down. Thankfully I had a 4x4, because I genuinely needed that for the roads, not just the farm tracks. Where I live in Sha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 March 2026
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Craniocervical Instability
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for securing this important debate. Many people have to come watch in the Public Gallery, and I do not underestimate how much effort that will have taken some of them. We really do app…