Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
2 July 2026
Employment Rights Act 2025
The Government’s impact assessment puts the costs of the Employment Rights Act at up to £5 billion, which will hit small and medium-sized businesses since they lack the human resources teams and the expertise to absorb the additional burdens. What advice does the Minister give to small and medium-si…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
29 June 2026
Unemployed Young People
Over 700,000 young people are now out of work. That figure is up 100,000 year on year, and the youth unemployment rate is now at over 16%—higher than at any point during the pandemic. As this is likely to be the ministerial team’s final question time, will the Secretary of State reflect on the damag…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 June 2026
Milburn Review: Interim Report
As the report highlights, the number of NEETs is set to rise to 1.25 million over the next five years unless something is done. The Government need to listen to the wealth creators that create the jobs that so many of our young people need. Alan Milburn’s report says that 84% of young people really …
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Apprenticeships
With the number of young people not in education, employment or training hovering at the 1 million mark, apprenticeships now more than ever are key to supporting opportunity and aspiration for so many of our young people. Conservative Members fundamentally believe that the best path out of poverty i…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Topical Questions
T4. Last week, a former Attorney General wrote that there was no legal reason for the Government not to publish a list of the Humble Address documents being withheld by the Metropolitan police. Will the Government publish that list?
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
Civil Service: Performance Management Plans
8. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of performance management plans in the civil service.
Our constituents must interact with many Government agencies each week to renew their passport or driving licence or to submit their tax returns. Despite record numbers of bureaucrats, productivity remains low, which results in many errors and vast delays for our constituents. The answers to my writ…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
2 contributions
Free Childcare: Providers
14. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of 30 hours of free childcare on early years providers.
I recently met several early years providers, who told me that the 30 hours funded childcare scheme is placing real strain on their businesses because the policy does not take into account the setting up time, the packing away time, and the time spent training and dealing with compliance issues with…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
Pension Schemes Bill
Is not the hallmark of every Labour Government that they end up running out of other people’s money? When they do that, they end up borrowing. When that runs dry, they end up eyeing up our pensions, as Gordon Brown did. My constituents and many people who contact me are deeply concerned by the manda…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
15 April 2026
Draft National Employment Savings Trust (Amendment) Order 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. As with many areas of Government policy, there is a degree of consensus across the House; the draft order is no different, and the official Opposition will not oppose it today.
Auto-enrolment, alongside the creation of NEST, was an obvi…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Youth Unemployment
This is a socialist economic statement. If it moves, the Government tax it; if it keeps moving, they regulate it; and if it stops moving, they subsidise it. Will the Secretary of State accept that his national insurance rises, the changes to business rates and the “unemployment” rights Act have cont…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Right to Protest
People should have the right to protest, but that needs to be coupled with responsibilities. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) mentioned, it is outrageous that fringe groups feel emboldened to protest in support of terrorist ideology, contrary to basic British values. What …
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Unemployment
When this Government came into office, unemployment stood at 4.2%. After a brutal 18 months of job-destroying, anti-business, anti-growth policies, it now stands at 5.2%, with young people bearing the brunt—1 million of them are not in employment, education or training. We Conservatives believe in b…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Small Charity Sector
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for introducing this immensely important debate. The UK’s charity sector is facing mounting challenges. Just like many small businesses, char…
The hon. Member has made her point clearly, and I am very sympathetic to the argument she puts across. In my constituency, I have seen the impact of these economic policies and the tough environment for small and medium-sized charities such as Wyggestons and Trinity Almshouses, which provides shelte…
Commons
Debate
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Representation of the People Bill
It is quite frankly absurd to grant children the right to vote, and even place 14 and 15-year-olds on the electoral register, all while maintaining the plethora of age-based rights elsewhere. Just look at the contradictions. A 16-year-old would be able to determine who governs the country, yet not a…
If the Government get their way, young people will not be able to access social media anyway, so I am not sure the hon. Member’s argument holds up.
Secondly, other inconsistencies arise because the Government believe that those young people should be shielded. They should be shielded from fatty foo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Minister for Men and Boys
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) for securing this important debate.
Men are often told that we do not talk enough about our feelings and that we bury our heads in the sand, and too often in this Hous…
I could not agree more. I think that, at times, Departments work in silos. Strategy is not often cross-departmental and decisions made in one Department mat have a massive impact on another, so I absolutely agree with the point that the hon. Member makes.
As I said, these outcomes demand serious an…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
3 contributions
Local Transport: Planning Developments
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) for bringing forward this debate.
On paper, Mid Leicestershire is well connected between the M1 and the A46, but the reality for my constituents is a different st…
The hon. Lady and I both served on Leicestershire county council together, so we are both well aware of that issue. We have made the case before to ensure that the money is invested in local infrastructure, and will continue to do so.
Secondly, I have seen in Mid Leicestershire the consequences of …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
Topical Questions
T7. It has been reported that lawyers—some of whom now sit in this House and in the other place—have relied on the European convention on human rights to support the prosecution of patriotic Brits who fought for their country. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is yet another example of a…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Youth Unemployment
I turn 40 next week. I hope that does not render me too old to highlight the realities faced by some of our young people. They feel let down and some even speak of intergenerational unfairness. The facts are stark: youth unemployment is rising, home ownership feels out of reach, NEET levels are at u…
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Another campaign I have been articulating is on financial education. That is also key to unlocking opportunity for many of our young people.
Only us Conservatives believe in young people. We are on the side of hard-pressed taxpayers, we are on the side of sma…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
Support into Work: Health Conditions
As a result of this Government’s economic vandalism, unemployment continues to rise, particularly among young people and those with disabilities. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we support people back into work, but the Access to Work scheme is overly bureaucratic and faces significant delays…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
8 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of referendums on local government re-organisation.
It is, as usual, a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. Before I begin, I would like to ask the House a simple question: who truly understands the challenges and i…
A lot can be learned from previous Governments of all different colours, and I ask the Minister to look at history and not repeat any mistakes that may have been made in the past.
Local identity, democratic consent and keeping council tax low are all at the forefront of my constituents’ concerns. F…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
7 January 2026
Engagements
Q3. Unlike many of his parliamentary colleagues, I actually do not think that the Prime Minister should resign. But at the start of a new year, it is time to reflect—reset, detox, if you will—on his Government’s appalling economic policies and tax rises, particularly business rates and the impact th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Since the Government came to office, the average household energy bill has increased by £200, so the Government’s claim to be cutting bills by £150 rings somewhat hollow with my constituents. Will the Secretary of State commit to reviewing the green levies and taxes that continue to drive up e…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Jury Trials Proposal: Impact
8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed ending of jury trials for certain offences on the right to a fair trial.
The Justice Secretary may have complete faith in the independence of the judiciary; sadly, I do not. We have seen a plethora of cases, particularly involving freedom of speech, where the judiciary has arguably been influenced by political correctness and the virtue signalling of bodies such as the S…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
2 contributions
Welfare Spending: Economic Impact
21. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of future welfare spending on the economy.
In their first Budget, the Government hiked taxes on employers, leading to a sustained increase in unemployment. Earlier this year, we saw a botched attempt to reform welfare, which is now going to cost us more in welfare spending, and in the Chancellor’s “Nightmare before Christmas” Budget, she ham…