Commons
Debate
6 January 2026
4 contributions
River Cherwell: Clearing Illegal Waste
It is my privilege to represent a beautiful part of England’s countryside. Stretching from the Chilterns in the east to the Cotswolds in the west, it is criss-crossed by a network of rivers that define the geography of the area. The largest of these is the River Cherwell, which flows from its origin…
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Perhaps we can look forward to joining up on the A34 at some point. I agree that we need an approach that is truly national and truly strategic. What I have witnessed in my constituency is a piecemeal approach, with best efforts by an under-r…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Middle East and North Africa
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. I regret that the Government have presented developments in four significant states in one statement, but I will do my best to respond in the time afforded to me.
While the attention of the world is seized by the illegal actions of the US Pre…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
The people of Greenland are concerned today. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement earlier that UK bases that are used by the US air force will not be used for any attack on Greenland. Will she confirm that she will make that clear to Secretary of State Rubio next time that they speak?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
I welcome the ambition to build much-needed homes, especially social and affordable housing. However, in places such as Cherwell district in my constituency, the problem is not planning permissions. Under Liberal Democrat control, the council has already consented more than 10,000 homes; though cons…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Electoral Resilience
Members across the House expressed their deep concerns on this issue in the Backbench Business Committee debate on foreign interference that was led by my colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary), last Thursday, so I am glad that the Government have taken this step today. The…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
Topical Questions
T7. My constituent is a female probation officer in the early stages of her career. She came to my surgery last week because she is scared for her safety at work. Three weeks ago, her colleague in the Oxford probation office, who was following guidelines put in place following a similar attack in Pr…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Jimmy Lai Conviction
I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of her strong statement. I associate my party with her remarks about the appalling attack at Bondi Beach. We stand united against all anti-Jewish hatred.
I share the Foreign Secretary’s utter condemnation of Jimmy Lai’s politically motivated convictio…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
I share the Minister’s impatience and desire to see the publication of a comprehensive strategy that can command the confidence of all parties in this House. Too many cases in my constituency surgeries highlight how perpetrators skilfully exploit the family courts and the Child Maintenance Service t…
Commons
Debate
11 December 2025
Foreign Interference
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) for securing the debate and all other hon. Members who have spoken so thoughtfully.
The first duty of the state is to protect the freedom of its citizens. Today’s debate has highlighted how foreign states with malign intent are seeking t…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
US National Security Strategy
With this statement, Trump’s White House has driven a coach and horses through the UK’s national security strategy and strategic defence review. Trump has stated that the US has no enduring commitment to NATO, no support for fair and open international trade, and no willingness to co-operate in inte…
Commons
Petition
9 December 2025
Illegal waste dumping
I am proud to present this petition from my constituents who care deeply about protecting our natural environment, and especially the River Cherwell, from criminal pollution from the enormous dump of illegal waste close to Kidlington. I thank all those who signed the petition, and those who collecte…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
Railways Bill
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her strong support for rail across the country. She talks about the passenger watchdog. I stood for 54 minutes on the train from Bicester to London yesterday, along with many other passengers. They want to know that the passenger voice will be heard. Will …
Commons
Proceedings
3 December 2025
2 contributions
Venezuela: US Military
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on imminent US military strikes on land targets in Venezuela, and the implications for UK foreign policy.
I am grateful for the granting of this urgent question, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I am grateful to the Minister for that answer.
At oral questions yesterday, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy, and I thank the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) both for securing this debate and for laying out so well so many of the issues that relate to the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor.
I am proud to represent a dynamic centre of in…
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
The Secretary of State knows, because his Department shares responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities education, that that is a major challenge facing the young people whose opportunity he so rightly champions. How will the announcement that the Government will take responsibilit…
Commons
Oral Questions
2 December 2025
China: Threat to UK Interests
Two weeks ago, the Security Minister came to the House to describe sustained efforts by China to infiltrate Parliament, and to announce that the security agencies were launching an espionage action plan, yet when Cabinet Ministers, including the Prime Minister and, today, the Foreign Secretary, are …
Commons
Oral Questions
2 December 2025
Ukraine
Ukraine needs the support of its allies to counter Russia’s threat, but Belgium and the European Central Bank are holding out against the European Union’s using frozen Russian assets to give it the funds that it needs. The Wall Street Journal has reported that while discussing the original 28-point …
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 November 2025
Driving Test Availability: South-east
Constituents of mine, like those of my hon. Friend, are part of the 6 am scramble, with thousands of people ahead of them in the queue. Does he share my view that the inability of young people to access driving tests is harming their life chances? That is particularly true of those with special need…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
G20 and Ukraine
I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to ensuring that decisions about Ukraine are not taken without Ukraine, and to upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty. Yet we know that Russia is trying to use this negotiation to undermine the future security not only of Ukraine but of Europe. In the light of the …
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children
Donald Trump’s latest proposals for securing peace in Ukraine might as well have been written in the Kremlin—indeed, they probably were. Those in Reform UK who have been paid to repeat Russian propaganda might disagree, but I believe that those in the House today will see the proposals for what they…
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
Russian Ship Yantar
May I begin by joining the Minister in thanking our service personnel for their bravery and dedication? The use of lasers in this instance was a brazen act of aggression by Russia that endangered the lives of RAF pilots. Have the Government identified the Russian officials and military personnel who…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
I thank the Foreign Secretary for advanced sight of her statement, which I welcome.
The Foreign Secretary is right that the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is horrendous, as are accounts of systematic murder, rape and torture, often targeted at civilians from specific ethnic groups, …
Commons
Proceedings
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Illegal Waste: Organised Crime
(Urgent Question) : To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers, funding and staffing of the Environment Agency to tackle the work and impact of organised criminal gangs illegally dumping huge quantities of waste in …
I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to Mr. Speaker for granting the urgent question.
I recently knocked on the door of Billy Burnell, the chair of the Kidlington Angling Society in my constituency. Billy showed me photographs and videos that took my breath away. They revealed the obscen…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Immigration Removal Centre Contracts
1. What steps she has taken to ensure that the tendering process for immigration removal centre contracts is competitive.
My constituents are very concerned about the Home Office’s race to reopen the Campsfield House immigration removal centre. The first contract for opening the centre was announced in June 2024, when this House was not sitting. The then Home Secretary announced that she intended to expand the facility…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Police Reform
I thank the Minister for her statement. In 2021, Thames Valley police closed the front desks at Bicester and Kidlington in my constituency, removing a key means for local residents to report to local officers antisocial behaviour, vandalism, mobile phone theft and other crimes that blight and damage…