Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
1 July 2026
Social Media: Dangerous Content
I thank the Secretary of State and the ministerial team for their positive engagement with me and colleagues across the House who have been working with bereaved families and the Molly Rose Foundation on the devastating impact of suicide forums. On the new crisis response protocol, my understanding …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 July 2026
Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement.
We Liberal Democrats support the Flood Re scheme and the protection it provides, but we are concerned that the package still risks falling short in a few ways. We agree that it cannot be right for lower-income households to subsidise the most…
Commons
Oral Questions
29 June 2026
Child Poverty
It was interesting to hear the Minister’s comments in relation to the last question. In assessing progress on reducing levels of child poverty, what assessment has been made of hidden pockets of deprivation in places such as my own constituency? Overall child poverty in Guildford after housing costs…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
8 June 2026
Draft Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond.
We Liberal Democrats are pleased by the reversion to SV and are grateful to the Government for it. We would have liked them to go further and introduce the alternative vote system, but, as the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pin…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
4 June 2026
Victims: Right to Review
I thank the Solicitor General for her previous answers. I have been contacted by constituents whose son was among the 79 British victims formally recognised in the Canadian proceedings against Kenneth Law. While families welcome that their loved ones have finally been acknowledged in court, many are…
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Conflict in the Middle East: Cost of Living
5. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.
I thank the Chancellor for her answer. The tensions in the middle east are pushing up energy and food prices, adding further pressure to households who are already struggling due to the cost of living. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister warned this weekend that families face “eight-plus month…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s decision not to insist on their disagreement with Lords amendment 2, which proposes the inclusion of rural affairs in the list of competences for strategic authorities.
My hon. Friend is right. We have fought for the amendment consistently because rural communities are indeed overlooked too often, and it would put them at the heart of the Bill.
As I was saying, we support Government amendment (a) to Lords amendment 2, which adds coastal communities to the list of …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
2 contributions
Child Maintenance Service
8. If his Department will review the adequacy of the treatment of redundancy payments by the Child Maintenance Service.
I thank the Minister for this and previous answers on the CMS. I hear the Government saying “when time allows”, but this really is important for the families who have suffered for too many years. My constituent, for example, has successfully appealed at tribunal, with both the judge and the Child Ma…
Commons
Debate
23 April 2026
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) for securing this important debate.
I want to keep my contribution brief and focus on the story of just one of my Guildford constituents—although I have had correspondence with many more—which I think really cap…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
UK-EU Relations
I wish the House and you, Mr Speaker, a happy St George’s day. I welcome the fact that the Government are taking steps to improve and deepen our trading relationship with Europe, which is absolutely crucial to businesses right across my constituency, which have told me again and again of the challen…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
4 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I would like to start by thanking colleagues across the House in the other place who have worked tirelessly to improve this Bill, in particular the Liberal Democrat peers Baroness Pidgeon, Lord Foster of Bath, Baroness Bakewell and Lord Shipley. As we on these Liberal Democrat Benches have said thro…
When it comes to brownfield-first development in my constituency, there is an area in the town centre where we could deliver homes, but that is prevented by the fact that we do not have the money to progress at pace with the necessary flood alleviation scheme. We will be voting to support Lords amen…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Topical Questions
Just before Easter, a development of 500-plus homes in my constituency, predicated on building a brand-new Howard of Effingham school, was withdrawn after a decade of commitment to the plan. The developer is expected to proceed with a new application without a school. The community and school are un…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Local Youth Services
May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy Easter, Mr Speaker?
Under the previous Government, youth funding was reduced by approximately 70% and universal provision was impacted the most. Although we on the Liberal Democrat Benches welcome the youth strategy, I am very concerned that local gov…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
It is deeply disappointing that this matter is being addressed today through an urgent question, and was not addressed yesterday through a proper statement from the Government. As I have said, the Liberal Democrats support devolution and reorganisation where that strengthens communities, but changes…
Commons
Proceedings
25 March 2026
Foreign Financial Influence and Interference: UK Politics
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his comments. The Rycroft report has come at a really important time. As a member of the Bill Committee, I look forward to working with the Government to ensure that all the recommendations are brought through, because they are incredibly important. I retu…
Commons
Committee Stage
24 March 2026
Representation of the People Bill (Fourth sitting)
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove set out clearly, we Liberal Democrats support the Government on automatic voter registration. I have just one question for the Minister: can she confirm which datasets the Government plan to…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
In my constituency and right across the country, the continuation of the spike in the oil price is having a huge financial impact on families who are reliant on heating oil. Will the Leader of the House please allow a debate in Government time on the plans to help with this issue, and will he ask hi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
2 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I am exceptionally grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for securing the debate and outlining so eloquently his concerns and those of his residents. I thank all colleagues who have spoken; it has been hel…
I want to return to the Minister’s point about how mayoral authorities are making such economic progress, and to my question. When foundation authorities are formed on the journey to reorganisation, they do not get the same funding support as a mayoral authority. They are therefore losing out on ess…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 March 2026
Engagements
My constituent, Hannah, tragically ended her life using a substance purchased from overseas. Following her death, the coroner issued a prevention of future deaths report containing specific recommendations. Since 2019, the Molly Rose Foundation has identified at least 65 similar cases in which coron…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
Community Cohesion
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for securing this very important debate. His speech was incredibly powerful, and I congratulate him on the work he is doing to support and empower his constituents to build …
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
I am grateful for the chance to speak in this debate on such an important Bill that represents a long-overdue modernisation of our democratic framework, but the Government should be in no doubt that we Liberal Democrats will push them to go further, faster. For decades, my party has campaigned for y…
I wholeheartedly agree. I urge the Government to listen to the 60% of the public who want a fairer voting system, including members of their own party, and take very seriously the case for proportional representation.
I declare my interest as a member of the Speaker’s Conference on the security of …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Draft Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026
Thank you, Sir Roger; it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank the Minister for her introductory remarks and echo her thanks to all those across Surrey who have been involved in the transitional work, whether they are officers or elected members.
The Liberal Democrats recognise th…
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, but I was referencing specifically the debt of Woking and Spelthorne, which were under Conservative administrations.
As I was saying, we understand why the Government decided to push Surrey to go first with reorganisation. However, we and local governme…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Businesses: Cost of Energy
18. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses with the cost of energy.
A third-generation advanced manufacturer in my Guildford constituency invested in a solar-covered, energy-efficient factory to cut emissions and expand, yet overall operating costs have risen sharply, including business rates increasing from £130,000 to £570,000. That business is doing everything ri…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
Topical Questions
His Majesty’s inspectorate of probation found that weaknesses in risk assessment, information sharing and planning in domestic abuse cases are leaving victims at greater risk of harm and without consistent safeguarding across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Will the Secretary of State set out what steps hi…