Commons
Proceedings
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Future of Thames Water
My hon. Friend is making a powerful argument. Does he agree that the Government’s reluctance to take a company that is clearly now technically insolvent into a SAR is loading costs on to consumers who use other water companies, by creating a moral hazard that means that companies are incentivised to…
I am glad the Minister has moved on to the substance of DEFRA’s case. Will she clarify for my residents whether she considers a company that is spending 33% of the income it gets from customers on servicing its debt and paying a 10% premium on that debt is actually viable as a company? Will she set …
Commons
Debate
8 July 2026
2 contributions
Rearmament and Warfighting Readiness
Will my hon. Friend give way?
The hon. and gallant Gentleman is in a unique position to advise the House on his assessment of the DIP as published. Can he give us his view on whether the quantity of funds provided and the certainty of the period over which they will be provided are sufficient to achieve the kind of industrial st…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
Topical Questions
Local residents, including service personnel living in my constituency, are deeply concerned by the proposal to create a new asylum centre at MOD Bicester. The Minister for Border Security and Asylum, who is currently in his place on the Front Bench, promised me last week that there would be absolut…
Commons
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Sudan
I respect the Minister, but I regret the gap between his words and the actions of this Government. He said that the world has failed Sudan, but the UK has also failed Sudan. He said that the Government believe that we need those responsible to be held to account, but the Government are not doing tha…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
22 June 2026
Children of Military Families: Educational Support
In this Armed Forces Week, I want to draw the Minister’s attention back to the issue she has just been discussing. I have heard too often from the service families in my area that when they need to move, their child’s EHCP, which they have spent some time arguing for, does not automatically follow t…
Commons
Debate
22 June 2026
6 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) for opening this debate and speaking to his new clauses. I will shortly speak to the new clauses and amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) on behalf of my party and to others tabled by my …
I thank the hon. and gallant Gentleman for his intervention. I quite agree with him that the work of our brave service personnel in the bomb disposal units and those who train them—as I say, at the Bicester garrison in my constituency—deserve to be celebrated. I would resist the temptation to say th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 June 2026
Strait of Hormuz
The terms of the US-Iran deal that have been briefed to the press look like a huge win for Iran. Above all, Iran has strengthened her position by showing the impact of closing the strait of Hormuz. This spectacular failure of Trump’s foreign policy has made us poorer and less secure, so what plans d…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 June 2026
West Bank: Settler Activity
May I associate my party with your tribute to the life and work of Jo Cox, Mr Speaker, and extend our thoughts to her family and her many friends?
The prospect of a two-state solution rests on at least two essential conditions: the protection of Palestine’s territorial integrity, and political refo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
Local Government Reform
The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case against the reorganisation in principle, but does he agree that if it is to go ahead, the Government should stick to the guidelines they provided to councils? In Oxfordshire, a Labour city proposal for a similar expansion of the boundaries of the city vio…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2026
Middle East
I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of her statement.
The steps announced by the Government today are important and right. British businesses and charities have to know that engaging with or sustaining settlements in the west bank is illegal and unacceptable. The updated business risk g…
Commons
Debate
1 June 2026
Health Bill
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place. He has spoken about two themes: the scale of ambition of this Bill, and the need for the patient voice to be heard at the heart of it, given how much all our constituents care about the NHS. In the case of Healthwatch, can he reassure the House that bri…
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
The Minister makes a strong case for hard power, and we on the Liberal Democrat Benches support the investment in British defence. However, he also knows that generals on both sides of the Atlantic have made the case that investment in development is necessary to prevent conflict. In fact, they say …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
20 May 2026
Engagements
Q9. Gallos brook in my constituency has the highest concentration of forever chemicals in the country. The BBC has reported today that the concentrations are 47,000 times higher than the environmental quality standard. However, the Environment Agency has no plan for regular monitoring. A stream flow…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
Like many, I spent the weekend door-knocking in my constituency. People in Bicester and Woodstock are frustrated by delays to medical appointments, fed up with rising prices and fearful about the war in the middle east. Yet a number of them raised the Prime Minister’s handling of the Peter Mandelson…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Topical Questions
This morning the Foreign Affairs Committee learned that officials in No. 10 put pressure on the FCDO to find a job as ambassador for Matthew Doyle, a close friend of a convicted sex offender. Does the Foreign Secretary see a pattern here? Does she find it incredible that No. 10 told FCDO officials n…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
West Bank: Illegal Settlements
My constituents have shared with me their concern that Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet is committing international war crimes in Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon, under the cover of the war that he launched with Donald Trump. As my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) has just …
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
Developed vetting should be carried out before someone has “frequent and uncontrolled access” to top-secret material or any access to top-secret or coded—otherwise known as STRAP—material. The Prime Minister has promised full transparency, so I ask him these three questions. Did Peter Mandelson have…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Mental Health Services
4. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mental health investment standard on access to mental health services.
In my constituency, too many families face long and distressing waits for mental health support for children and young people. When I raised this with the Secretary of State some 15 months ago, he said that the Government were determined to ensure that mental health waits receive the same focus as t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
North Atlantic Submarine Activity
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and I associate my party with his thanks and appreciation for the dedicated service of our armed forces personnel around the world.
While the world’s attention was on Trump and Netanyahu’s catastrophic war in Iran, Vladimir Putin was collecti…
Commons
Debate
17 March 2026
Middle East
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement.
The war of Trump and Netanyahu—cheered on uncritically by Reform Members and the Conservatives—has put our citizens and troops in the region under immediate threat from Iran’s reckless retaliation, and worsened the cost of living cr…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Topical Questions
One of my constituents has been waiting since September for a three-day fact-finding hearing in the family court. A hearing scheduled for February was cancelled at only a few days’ notice because no judge was available. My constituent had to pay nearly £2,000 in legal fees for preparation and repres…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
Households across the UK are fearful of rising prices at the pumps and for heating their homes. The closure of the strait of Hormuz by Iran will worsen the serious situation, yet it should have come as no surprise. In response, President Trump’s position is both irresponsible and inconsistent. One w…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 March 2026
Public Body Data Collection: Sikh and Jewish Ethnicity
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. My constituent Dan has written to me to express his strong support for Sikhs and Jews being able to identify as an ethnic group. He is Jewish, but not religious, and says it is important for him to be able to register as belonging to a group not…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
Community Ownership
Across my constituency, there are three things that small villages tend to have: a pub, a church and a village hall. The community asset policy will support community ownership of the pubs, but I am hearing from those who run large faith buildings that they are deeply concerned about the changes to …
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Vickers. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for securing this important debate.
Last October, together with my hon. Friend the Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo), I met with representatives of 48 parish…