Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
3 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Will my hon. Friend give way?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
4 contributions
Railways Bill (Eighth sitting)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship once again, Mrs Hobhouse.
Liberal Democrat amendment 252 is intended to strengthen the freight target in the Bill, which—as I have previously said—is something that we welcome. Amendment 149 on freight electrification and the need for a freight strateg…
As the shadow Minister said, amendment 210 is our attempt to strengthen the ORR’s role in access decisions, so we agree with some of the Conservative amendments, but not all of them.
Let me explain the context. In an ideal world, I would not want to see competition between passenger services decide…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
4 contributions
Railways Bill (Seventh sitting)
The hon. Gentleman is quite right to rebuke me, albeit very politely and gently. I should have worded the amendment in a non-exclusive manner, to make sure that I did not forget any other form of transport. He is right to highlight, as I know he is about to, the critical importance of the integrated…
We seem to be losing track of the words that have been tabled. Either that or, like a group of management consultants, we are in danger of getting plans confused with strategies and tedious things such as that. Amendment 207 is neither intended nor drafted to encourage or enable the micromanagement …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
Rail Passengers’ Charter
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to establish a Rail Passengers’ Charter, setting out certain guarantees and targets in relation to the provision of passenger rail services; to make provision for penalties for failures to comply with the Charter; and for connected purposes.
Ou…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Official Development Assistance
10. What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on planned levels of spending on official development assistance.
The United States Government have cut funding for research and development on lifesaving health solutions that help the world’s poorest people. In that context, the UK has the opportunity to embrace world-leading scientists who are no longer welcome elsewhere. Will the Government seize the opportuni…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
Covid-19: Financial Support
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Manuela Perteghella) for her passionate speech and for securing the debate, and the Backbench Business Committee for giving time to this topic. As many hon. Members have said, covid feels like a distant memory to so many of us, but it continue…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I stand to speak in favour of various Lib Dem amendments and in particular new clause 7. Farmers in this country continue to be hammered, as they were under the previous Government, by the current one. From poor funding of rural public services to botched trade deals that undercut British farmers, r…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Call for General Election
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for his eloquent introduction of this important topic. Over a million people have signed the petition, and 4,929 of them are constituents of mine in Didcot and Wan…
I am going to have to launch a cyber-security inquiry, because the hon. Gentleman has clearly hacked my notes. [ Laughter. ] I entirely agree with him and pay tribute to him, because he is a consistent and passionate advocate for proportional representation, as am I. That is something on which we ca…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
8 January 2026
Road Safety Strategy
I thank the Minister for her statement and for the strategy. We welcome it, having called for an updated road safety strategy for some time, following years of neglect of our roads by the previous Conservative Government. The strategy shows serious intent, and I commend the thought and research that…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Topical Questions
Across the country, people enjoy traffic-free walking, cycling and wheeling on disused railways such as the Tissington trail in Derbyshire, the Mawddach trail in Gwynedd or the Deeside way in Aberdeenshire. What steps will the Secretary of State take to make it easier for local government and commun…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Passenger Rail Services
The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s decision to embrace our 10-year-long campaign for a rail fares freeze. However, I am sure the Secretary of State would agree that passengers have had to bear above-inflation fare increases for two decades prior to that, yet experience trains that are la…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
Topical Questions
T9. Space Solar, based on Harwell campus in my Oxfordshire constituency, plans to deliver commercial space-based solar energy by 2032. Given what we have heard today about the Government’s commitment to artificial intelligence growth zones and the very high cost of industrial electricity, does the S…
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
Future of Thames Water
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for introducing the debate so eloquently. As she said, there is no question but that climate change and population growth are placing …
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 December 2025
Grassroots Cricket Clubs
The hon. Member makes a good point about the growing diversity in cricket. My constituency is home to Challow and Childrey cricket club, as well as to Didcot cricket club, at which there is a junior division, one of Oxfordshire’s largest disability cricket associations, and a women and girls divisio…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Small and Medium-sized Businesses
1. What steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses.
Love Beer Brewery in Milton in my Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage supplies fantastic ale for events and a number of local pubs. However, its viability is threatened by the freeze of income tax thresholds and the increase in beer duty. Its monthly beer duty costs are now between £1,500…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
4 contributions
Railways Bill
I thank those who have put so much work into the Bill, which has had a long gestation, with its roots in the multiple timetable change meltdowns across the network in May 2018. They and the Government are right to recognise that our railways need change. That should be our starting point.
I will st…
My hon. Friend is quite right to point out that some of the more sparsely populated parts of our country have been neglected in their rail offer. It is important that the spending recognises that and does not just follow large towns or cities or inter-city routes.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Topical Questions
T10. The Government created the National Wealth Fund to encourage investment in innovation in critical sectors, such as clean energy and sustainable aviation fuel. How will the Chancellor make sure that the wealth fund uses different, and maybe even better, risk criteria than commercial banks and fi…
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
Pension Schemes Bill
I welcome that the Government have tabled these amendments to strengthen the Pension Protection Fund arrangements. However, that will be of little use to those such as the AEA Technology pension campaigners, about whom I have met the Minister. Despite many Select Committee reports and National Audit…
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
I think everybody in this Chamber and in this House can agree that we need economic growth, but many question whether the Budget will really help with that. It prolongs Conservative underhand tactics, such as tax threshold freezes, which will have a comparable impact to more honest and up-front tax …
Commons
Oral Questions
2 December 2025
2 contributions
Alaa Abd el-Fattah
9. What recent progress she has made on helping Alaa Abd el-Fattah to return to the UK.
I am sure that the Minister will join me in welcoming Alaa’s recent release from detention in Egypt, and in thanking the many people who have campaign for and helped secure that over the years. This week, Alaa will miss the 14th birthday of his son Khaled, because the Egyptian authorities are not le…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 November 2025
Young People not in Education, Employment or Training
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) for securing this debate and the powerful points that she made, especially about how young people are often lazily demonised as being an idle generation. That view fails to …
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Topical Questions
The new railway between Oxford, Bicester and Milton Keynes has been open for more than a year, successfully running freight and charter trains, but passenger trains have yet to start. When will passenger services begin, and what does the Secretary of State feel are the lessons for her Department as …
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Transport System: Economic Growth
For decades, rail fares have been subject to above-inflation increases, and many people feel that prices such as £7,780 for an annual season ticket from Didcot to the London travelcard area do not represent good value for money and hinder the railways’ potential to reduce congestion and contribute t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
My hon. Friend is quite right to highlight the importance of mental health support for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Will she join me in paying tribute to my constituent Peter Cook, who is doing great work as a trustee of the Parkinsons.Me charity, and also to Paul Mayhew-Archer MBE, wh…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
Engagements
Q13. I recently had the privilege of visiting Fitzwaryn school, the only special school in my Oxfordshire constituency, to see the excellent care and education it provides. Given the urgent need for more funding for additional special schools and to enable special schools to spread their expertise t…