Contributions
199 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Rural Pubs: Fiscal SupportIt is a pleasure to serve under you, Mrs Hobhouse. I congratulate the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti) on securing this timely and important debate. Pubs…17 Jun 2026 · 3d agoHANSARDDefence Investment PlanWith the defence investment plan now nine months overdue, I hear almost daily from small and medium-sized defence enterprises that face a funding precipice. Many are warning that…15 Jun 2026 · 5d agoHANSARD Russian Shadow FleetI thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and I join others in welcoming him to his new role. May I start by associating myself with colleagues’ remarks…15 Jun 2026 · 5d agoHANSARD Water CompaniesVillagers in Rodmell in my constituency have been without water or had low water pressure for weeks—including during the recent heatwave—with little or no communication from South…08 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillMy hon. Friend raises questions for the Minister to answer in closing the debate, but recruitment and retention are key concerns and have been a sort of crisis in the armed forces…02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillThe continuous attitude survey is a survey of service personnel, but a review is quite different, as I am sure the right hon. Gentleman appreciates. We are talking about an…02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillAbsolutely. The suicide rate among young men in this country is already high, and the numbers relating to people discharged from the armed forces are deeply troubling. We have…02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillI understand exactly what the right hon. and gallant Member is saying, but failures in the civilian justice system—which, as he rightly observes, has a big backlog of cases—should…02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillOn that point, will the Minister give way?02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillThere is much in the Bill that deserves support. It renews the statutory basis for our armed forces, extends the armed forces covenant duty, introduces a defence housing service…02 Jun 2026HANSARDArmed Forces BillAs I am sure the hon. Member is aware, this was a recommendation of the Atherton report, and there was good reason for it. That inquiry took a lot of evidence on this subject, and…02 Jun 2026HANSARDRussia: Level of ThreatLast night, I returned from a week in Ukraine. I visited villages in Kherson, just tens of kilometres from the frontline, and saw the total devastation wrought by Russian forces.…01 Jun 2026HANSARDDefence ProcurementI regularly meet defence SMEs, and they all tell me the same thing: without a defence investment plan, investment decisions are being delayed, expansion plans are being put on…01 Jun 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessAs has been pointed out, defence spending has been reduced by successive Governments over a very long period of time, so focusing on the Liberal Democrats’ record alone is…20 May 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessThe hon. Gentleman is quite right that defence bonds, as with all bonds, would be borrowing. We have spoken before about the need to increase defence spending through cross-party…20 May 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessLearning from Ukraine has been very important. To be fair, the Government have made some steps in that direction, but we can always do more to learn from our friends who are…20 May 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessIf His Majesty’s most Gracious Speech was meant to show that this Government have grasped the scale of the danger facing Britain, it fell a long way short. We live in a more…20 May 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessThe right hon. Member enjoys raising the coalition quite a lot. You are talking about the nuclear submarines, aren’t you? That is what you asked about.20 May 2026HANSARDDefence ReadinessThe Liberal Democrats have reaffirmed our commitment to our nuclear deterrent repeatedly, and we will continue to do so. The defence investment plan is still not published.…20 May 2026HANSARDPoints of Orderrose—29 Apr 2026