It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for her excellent speech leading the debate.
When we talk about transforming global food systems, what we are really talking about is resilience: the resilience of…
CommonsOral QuestionsJustice16 September 20252 contributions
6. What steps he is taking to tackle backlogs in the courts.
Crown courtrooms are sitting empty for up to 75% of the time. Judges used to be booking in trials three to six months into the future, but now they are booking well into 2027 or even into 2028, which is to save the cost of bringing in a recorder at £830 a day. However, these cases still need to be t…
CommonsWestminster Hall15 September 202512 contributions
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 711021 relating to assessments and support for children with SEND.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in this extremely popular debate, Dr Huq, and it is a privilege to open it on behalf of the Petitions Committee. Over 122,00…
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. Given the number of people who want to take part, I will proceed with my speech to allow the maximum number possible the chance to speak.
We extended support from birth to 25 in 2014, replacing statements with holistic education, health and care plans, …
I thank the hon. Gentleman for drawing attention to the need to provide for disabled bus users. My amendment would require local authorities seeking a franchise to take people with special educational needs into account, and to consult them and the groups that represent them. Does he agree with that…
CommonsWestminster Hall9 September 20252 contributions
The River Thames arises in my constituency, and hence the Thames Path does too. As well as providing a beautiful walking route, it offers a valuable corridor for wildlife. Does my hon. Friend agree that funding the Thames Path adequately is essential if we are to protect habitats, contribute to biod…
As my hon. Friend the Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) mentioned, many of the challenges facing our national trails are caused by the impacts of climate change, but at the moment Natural England’s fund for environmental incidents covers only coastal erosion and riverbank erosion. Doe…
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this debate, and the hon. Member for Worcester (Tom Collins) for leading it with such competence and aplomb.
Hydrogen has long been talked about as the fuel of the future, …
To pick up on my hon. Friend’s point about environmental concern, at the moment local authorities have a weak duty on biodiversity—to consider from time to time what they might do to conserve or enhance biodiversity—so does she agree that the Bill offers a real opportunity to strengthen such environ…
CommonsOral QuestionsForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office2 September 20252 contributions
3. What diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid can reach people in Gaza.
More than 20,000 Palestinian children have been hospitalised for acute malnutrition this year alone. Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s use of starvation as a “weapon of war”, and the UN deputy relief chief has called the aid blockade a “human-made crisis”. Will the Minister move beyond wo…
As the MP for the South Cotswolds, I know that living in a rural area brings many blessings, but also some challenges. Ambulance wait times are nearly 50% longer in rural areas. When every second counts, that delay can make the difference between life and death. That is why access to defibrillators …
I rise to present a petition on the continued existence of a GP surgery in the village of Sherston, in my constituency of South Cotswolds. I thank the 1,695 local residents who have signed a similarly worded petition, and I hope that this demonstrates to the Government this rural community’s strengt…
I thank both the Energy Secretary and the Environment Secretary for today’s momentous statement, which I trust will be the first of many annual climate and nature statements. I also thank them for recognising the role of Zero Hour and the campaigners behind the Climate and Nature Bill—the private Me…
We know that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. My Climate and Nature Bill is a vital opportunity to back a joined-up, science-led approach to the climate and nature crisis, but that drive—that transition—is being undermined by advertising falsely giving the impression that business as us…
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing this important debate on GP funding in the south-west, and for his passionate speech.
I want to shine a spotlight on a village in my constituency called Sherston, where the future of the local GP surgery hangs in the b…
CommonsWestminster Hall23 June 20252 contributions
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 701963 relating to geo-engineering and the environment.
The petition was started by Antoinette Taylor and opened on 23 December 2024. As of 12 June 2025, it had gathered more than 159,000 signatures. Just two of those signatures were from my…
I thank hon. Members for their contributions to the debate. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) for highlighting possible solutions, particularly the ocean-based solutions that are very dear to my heart.
This debate seems to be one of those rare occasion…
As the MP for South Cotswolds and an environmental campaigner who has spent decades campaigning for climate action, I would like to raise serious concerns about the unchecked expansion of BESS facilities. Earlier this year, I brought the Climate and Nature Bill to the House because I believe in havi…
The Leader of the House will be well aware that the global ocean treaty has still not had its passage through the House. With the first ever ocean conference of the parties coming up quickly, next year, will she confirm when the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction agreement will be brought for…
Does my hon. Friend agree that in rural constituencies like mine, bus routes are an absolute lifeline and a route out of poverty? When the 84 and 85 bus route was cut last year, it meant not only that people could not get to medical appointments or to work, but that students had to drop out of the c…
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 701159 relating to transgender people self-identifying their legal gender.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell, and to bring forward this very important debate. I am grateful to the petitioner, John Baic, and the mo…
Dignity and respect are exactly what we are talking about, and I absolutely agree. For us, this is not about abstract debates, but about real lives, human beings and the fundamental human right for someone to live safely, freely and in their own truth. Yet today we find ourselves in a situation wher…
+6 more contributions in this session
CommonsPrime Minister's QuestionsPrime Minister7 May 2025
Q5. Under the Conservatives, inequality has surged. More than 14 million people—including 2,000 children in my constituency—now live in poverty, while the richest 1% see their incomes soar. Of the developed countries, ours is now the ninth most unequal. Will the Prime Minister listen to the Libera…