Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Social Media Ban for Under-16s
The Secretary of State knows that I have concerns about the enforceability of a platform-based ban, but I welcome the news about tackling infinite scrolling, which affects people of all ages. I am concerned about young LGBT people growing up in often unsupportive environments, who can find support o…
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
Today’s debate theme is defence readiness, and I am pleased that we heard in His Majesty’s Speech the Government’s clear commitment to a sustained increase in defence spending. I also welcome the announcement of several Bills aimed at boosting national security, notably the tackling state threats Bi…
Commons
Debate
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Does the right hon. Lady not recognise that action and a ban will not necessarily be the same thing? This is a really nuanced policy area. Quite recently, there was a huge online joint letter published by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Molly Rose Foundation, the …
My hon. Friend is citing some shocking evidence, and I will be sure to listen to the Committee session later. On her comments about Meta not believing that its platforms are addictive, does she agree that the problem goes more broadly than just children? Lots of adults have issues with social media …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Knife Crime
On Sunday, there was a horrific attack in my constituency; a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Orton. My thoughts—and those of the House, I am sure—are with his family.
I welcome the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime. How will that help to tackle the issue in Peterborough and across C…
Commons
Debate
25 March 2026
Nuclear Test Veterans
Would my hon. Friend join me in commemorating the life and legacy of Alan Dowson? Until very recently, he was a councillor in my constituency. He was first elected in 1971, and served as a Labour councillor for most of the intervening years. He was 19 years old when he was on Christmas Island, and h…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
5 contributions
Defence
I, too, will start by agreeing with a member of the Opposition, specifically the former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. He was quoted as saying that under his own party, our armed forces had been “hollowed out”.
The shadow Secretary of State says, “Under successive Governments”—that includes his own, for 14 years. It is not often that I agree with Ministers from the last Government, but the former Defence Secretary was absolutely right. The smallest Army since the Napoleonic era, a record 13,000 complaints …
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
Topical Questions
T9. Young people in North West Cambridgeshire and across the country are struggling to access mortgages and get on to the housing ladder due to thin credit files. Will the Minister explore requiring lettings agents and large landlords, with the consent of tenants, to report rental payment data to cr…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 March 2026
Social Cohesion Action Plan
I have long been arguing that we need an overhaul of charity regulation to tackle rogue operators who are exploiting charity status to peddle extremism and hate, so I am thrilled that the Government have listened and are starting that today with new powers for the Charity Commission—I look forward t…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
5 contributions
Small Religious Organisations: Safeguarding
Over this Labour Government’s term in office so far, we have spent a lot of time discussing and highlighting the evils of child abuse and the exploitation of women and girls, and there has been a lot of progress. The audit from Baroness Casey on grooming gangs made several recommendations that we ha…
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. It sounds like really helpful evidence and a really good example, and I will certainly go away and have a look at it.
I will not rehash the arguments I made in June, but I will say that IICSA was clear, having examined the issue in hu…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Online Harm: Child Protection
The hon. Lady has been very clear that she wished the Government had just charged forward in some direction or other. I have had hundreds of constituents email me about this, from various perspectives and various concerns about the workability of certain solutions. I would like to listen to them, an…
I commend the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) on bringing forward this debate, which is a really valuable opportunity to talk about this issue. I also thank the many hundreds of my own constituents who have written to me about this from a variety of perspectives—if I have not got back to …
Commons
Proceedings
23 February 2026
Kinship Carer Identification
My hon. Friend was a big advocate for kinship carers before becoming a Minister, and he still is. Kinship care is incredibly hard for everyone involved. It often arises from really difficult circumstances, and the family members who make that commitment often give up a lot to do so. Will the Ministe…
Commons
Proceedings
22 January 2026
6 contributions
Agricultural Sector: Import Standards
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the impact of import standards on the agricultural sector.
I am delighted to have secured today’s debate. I am very grateful to all colleagues who signed my application, and to the Backbench Business Committee for granting time. I am happy to take inte…
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who makes his point well. I will touch on EU regulations later.
Our Labour Government have a stellar record on this issue so far. In negotiations with India, we refused to lower protections on goods such as pork, chicken and eggs. In talks with Korea, we have se…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
17 December 2025
Engagements
Q12. In September, a National Secular Society report highlighted alarming numbers of extremist religious organisations in the UK from various faith traditions expressing hideous views about women, including promoting female genital mutilation and denying the existence of marital rape. Many of these …
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
I welcome that the strategy will have a focus on tackling the root causes of misogyny and radicalisation in young men. Those roots are often laid in early childhood, so what consideration has the Minister given to how social and emotional learning programmes in early years settings could be part of …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 December 2025
Grooming Gangs: Independent Inquiry
I hugely welcome the appointment today of the chair and panel members, all of whom are brilliant appointments and who will do a thorough job. I am also pleased to see religion referred to in the terms of reference. IICSA unveiled serious problems in religious groups of many different faiths, many of…
Commons
Debate
4 December 2025
Camden Nursery Sexual Abuse Case
This awful case underlines how important it is that we implement the recommendations from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse as soon as possible. As my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) said, the Home Office has set out plans not to implement the recommen…
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
Ely: Railway Upgrade
I thank the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) for securing this debate. As she said, there is a lot of support for this scheme across the political spectrum, and it has been on the books for a very long time—as a good indication, the number of years she just mentioned is l…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Angiolini Inquiry
I hope that after the statement, we will all go away and check whether our police forces are in that 26% who still do not have those basic policies in place and, if that is the case, seek to address it. The statistics on young women as victims of these crimes are particularly shocking. Will the Mini…
Commons
Proceedings
1 December 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
That is very generous, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am delighted to speak about a Budget that builds on what this Government started last year and takes the necessary decisions to grow the economy and protect working people. With a focus on reducing the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting lists and reduc…
The hon. Member has made his point. As we heard from the Chancellor, all NHS efficiencies will be reinvested in its budget, and I welcome that. My constituents rarely raise with me the specific way in which their healthcare is being delivered. What they want to know is why they cannot get a GP appoi…
Commons
Debate
25 November 2025
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I strongly support this Bill and was proud to serve on the Committee. The Bill will deliver an enormous transfer of power out of this place and into our local communities. As a former councillor, I know that trusting local representatives to make decisions about local services and issues leads to mu…
I recognise what my right hon. Friend has said. In fact, I carefully drafted this speech to avoid attacking Wolverhampton in any way, because I recognise that the reasons for this situation are complex. That goes to my next point: overstretched councils cannot monitor conditions, let alone enforce t…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
24 November 2025
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My hon. Friend is speaking eloquently about the length of time people have been lobbying for this power. I felt that when I was a councillor. Does he agree that the right to request in this Bill will help mayors to identify these issues, and provide a pathway for them to request such powers much mor…
I used to be a councillor in an authority that had area committees, and we ended up scrapping them because they were not really doing a good job. Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that mandating particular governance arrangements of that sort and at that level within councils in legislation undermin…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
Taxes
The shadow Chancellor has spent a lot of time in his speech talking about what people have said and done. I wonder if I could remind him that just a month ago he said that if he were in the Chancellor’s position, he would raise income tax. How does he square that with the speech he is currently givi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
Bronze-age Heritage: Cambridgeshire
Must Farm is just outside my constituency, in the constituency of the right hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay), who I am very pleased to see here. It provides great support for people in Stanground in my area. Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming its contribution to the br…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair today, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) for securing this debate.
HMOs can work for some people, such as students. With the average house price now more than 7.5 times the average salary, compared with the ’80s when it wa…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Huntingdon Train Attack
May I take this opportunity to put on the record my thanks to the first responders, the police and everyone on the train who put their lives at risk to protect others? So many people from the communities I represent in both Peterborough and Huntingdonshire have written to me today in absolute fear, …