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…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
Defence
Does my hon. Friend agree that one immediate action the Government could take to reverse some of the damage that the Conservatives have done to our armed forces is on the Conservative decision to shut down Winchester’s Army training regiment, which trains 20% of our troops. No replacement for that f…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 March 2026
Endometriosis Services
I can reiterate that point; my partner Emma has severe endometriosis. She is regularly crippled—barely able to get off the sofa and in absolute agony. She has been told for years that this is normal and that there is nothing wrong. She had to fight repeatedly to get the diagnostic surgery that she n…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
I also welcome the hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) to her position as Minister for Public Health. I had the privilege to serve on the Bill Committee, as other hon. Members did—indeed, I see some familiar faces in the Chamber. One of the things that struck me most was whe…
The hon. Gentleman raises legitimate points about the pressures facing small businesses at the moment, but does he not agree that there must be better ways of supporting small businesses than facilitating children to get cancer?
Commons
Debate
19 March 2026
Online Harms
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) for securing this debate. His introduction was eloquent and his knowledge of the subject very evident.
I will be honest with the House: when I first saw the title of this debate, I was not quite sure what to focus on…
Commons
Proceedings
19 March 2026
Climate Change
At a time when misinformation about climate change is louder than ever, these discussions are not just important but essential if we are serious about protecting our environment and our future. I thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy), for securing the debate,…
Commons
Petition
18 March 2026
School Bus Service from Kings Worthy to Henry Beaufort School
Today I present a petition on behalf of over 500 of my constituents who call on the Government to urgently review the removal of school transport for children attending Henry Beaufort school in Winchester. Under the current changes, children as young as 11 are expected to walk up to three miles—that…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
We appreciate the Minister’s statement and the fact that the Government have moved so quickly to provide support. I have received many messages from people in the Meon valley who use heating oil and other types of energy as their main sources of heating. They understand that we cannot control intern…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
Topical Questions
There is widespread concern about the Government sticking to the decision made in 2016 to shut Army Training Regiment Winchester, which trains 20% of our troops. Has an impact assessment been carried out, and have the Government spoken with commanders at Pirbright and Winchester to ensure that they …
Commons
Debate
10 March 2026
2 contributions
Courts and Tribunals Bill
rose—
I visited the Winchester courts recently and spoke to about a dozen barriers, who were all concerned about us taking a sledgehammer to jury trials, not only because they are a fundamental part of our justice system, but because doing so will not even help to clear the backlog, as jury trials are not…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
2 contributions
High Street Businesses: Tax Changes
13. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of tax changes on high street businesses.
Many businesses in Winchester that I speak to on a regular basis talk about higher energy costs and national insurance rises, and many bring up the increased red tape that has resulted from the Conservatives’ failed Brexit project. Businesses in Winchester say that they want growth, not continued re…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Fur: Import and Sale
Last year, I was pleased to promote a private Member’s Bill—now the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025—to stop puppy smuggling, specifically given the issue of ear cropping. It has been illegal to crop a dog’s ears in the UK since 2006, but it was legal to import dogs with cr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Young People and Work Report
Sophia, whom I spoke to in my constituency office in Winchester this morning, is one of many recent graduates—often with really good degrees from really good universities—who have been applying for hundreds of jobs and not even receiving replies. Has the Department carried out an assessment of the i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
I promise I will be as quick as possible. There is so much I would like to say about biodiversity net gain and the importance of the natural environment to people in Winchester, but I will speak only about a specific issue with one of our chalk streams that I believe the Minister could help us with.…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
Representation of the People Bill
There has, rightly, been a lot of talk on both sides of the House about restricting and capping foreign donations, and how they are regulated. Does my hon. Friend agree that we also need to look at how foreign individuals and foreign states use social media to influence and change election results?
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
Online Harm: Child Protection
This week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week, so I would like to pay tribute to the amazing staff at Leigh House in Winchester, an in-patient unit that cares for people with eating disorders in Winchester and the surrounding area. Eating disorders are possibly some of the most serious mental health c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
2 contributions
Fast-Track Visas: Skilled US Citizens
The biggest challenges facing the world now are global: climate change, the risk of pandemics, and antimicrobial resistance. These are global challenges, but also science challenges. The US Administration have an anti-vaxxer running the Health Department and a President who seems not to believe in c…
It is really encouraging to hear that 5,000 Americans came in on skilled worker visas. We are concerned that companies, especially AI and tech companies, are setting up in the UK, but not growing here, because they then relocate, particularly to silicon valley, and become multimillion or multibillio…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Transport in the South-East
Will my hon. Friend give way?
It will be. In the rural villages in my constituency such as Colden Common, people rely on the bus service to maintain their independence. If the bus service goes, they cannot get to hospital appointments and they cannot stay in the house they may have lived in for years. Does my hon. Friend agree t…
Commons
Debate
29 January 2026
Holocaust Memorial Day
It is an honour to speak in this debate and to follow such passionate speeches, including that of the hon. Member for East Kilbride and Strathaven (Joani Reid). I congratulate the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) not only on such an eloquent introduction to this debate…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
Dementia Support: Hampshire
I can empathise with my hon. Friend’s experiences of caring for her mother. My father also died of dementia; we cared for him at home for many years. On a more positive note, I recently visited the St John’s dementia group in Winchester. It is a fantastic group with loads of activities—I joined them…