UK Parliament - Page 7

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, I was forced to do the hardest thing I have ever experienced, to tell my two daughters that their dad had cancer. Was our family of four about to become a family of

As the Member of Parliament for Broxbourne, I’m determined to be a strong local voice for my constituents. People in Broxbourne want to see the problems they face in their daily lives brought to Parliament and, ultimately, addressed by the Government. That’s

London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – New MP Steve Witherden receives a reminder about strict no food or drink rules in the Commons. Steve Witherden, Labour’s newly elected MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, was caught sipping milk from a carton in the House

London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – Former energy secretary Claire Coutinho faces scrutiny over ties to JCB donations, and grants. A Conservative former cabinet minister and current shadow secretary for energy security, Claire Coutinho, is facing criticism after receiving donations and hospitality from

London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – Starmer’s government was criticized for delays in appointing MPs to EU-UK partnership amid Trump’s re-election. PM Keir Starmer’s government is coming under fire for failing to appoint MPs and peers to the EU-UK inter-parliamentary forum for over

London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – Nigel Farage claims Donald Trump has been invited to address the UK parliament in 2024. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has claimed that Donald Trump has been invited to address the UK Parliament in 2024, calling it

The scarcity of childcare provision has been a national conversation, it is known that in England, for every 100 children who need a childcare place, there are actually only 25 spots available. The knock on effects are not just for the parents,

Nine times out of ten, the issues that I speak on in Parliament come from correspondence or conversations that I’ve had with people in Glastonbury and Somerton. My decision to hold an adjournment debate on World Stroke Day, however, was personal. Last

Surf, sun and sand. That’s usually what comes to mind when people think of Cornwall. It is, rightly, the tourist capital of the country. It’s also much more than that. Cornwall’s real riches are buried under our rock, under the waves that

As the climate crisis intensifies, food security has become a critical concern. In constituencies like mine – Ynys Môn – the need to protect agriculture alongside renewable energy projects is increasingly pressing. With the island traditionally known for its fertile lands, balancing

The new Government has pledged to ‘get Britain building’; but the question I have been asking myself is ‘building what?’ With the Government setting itself the ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years, we need to

As both a parent and an MP, I strongly believe that improving paternity leave and pay benefits not just fathers, but mothers, children, employers, and our broader economy. Currently, the UK has the worst paternity leave and pay in Europe, and among

Earlier this week, I led an adjournment debate in the House to raise awareness about the outcomes of the 2015 Deregulation Act and the impact it has had on our Taxi sector. A sector that many of us often rely on in

Thanks to this appalling Labour Government, the pub and hospitality sector faces severe uncertainty over its future. With the budget just around the corner, industry experts have been sounding the alarm and I fully believe that they are completely justified in doing

Having lead debates and sponsored legislation in the Northern Ireland Assembly, it was a great privilege to have secured my first Westminster Hall debate on my 102nd day as Member of Parliament for South Antrim. To have been able to do so

Driving test delays are a source of misery, anger and lost opportunity across the country. In September, new learners waited an average of over four months for a test. That’s a third of a year where young people cannot get moving, apply

In the heart of crisis, where darkness surrounds the innocent, there stands the unwavering humanitarian aid workers — heroes whose courage and compassion drive life-saving efforts amidst impossible odds. With 289 aid workers having paid the ultimate sacrifice, their commitment to alleviating

Our railways were once the pride of Britain, however rising fares and deteriorating service quality means this is distant memory. Commuters are increasingly finding themselves caught in a system that is unaffordable, unreliable, and unfair. In my constituency, the cost of a

Nuclear power stations, it turns out, need a lot of water. Hinkley Point C, just outside my constituency of Bridgwater, will be no different. Once operational, it will need nearly 8,000,000 litres of water a minute. That’s an Olympic swimming pool taken

This week, I led a Westminster Hall Debate on the future of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR). With the Autumn Budget looming, farmers and family business owners are anxious about potential changes to these vital reliefs, and it

The new Labour government have rightly placed addressing the housing crisis central to our programme for government, delivering security and opportunity for hundreds of thousands of families. To meet this ambition, we must ensure that we’re building not just houses, but communities.

The impact of flooding across the Mid Bedfordshire constituency has been absolutely devastating for some in our local communities and I am determined to make sure people can recover and that the response to flooding is much better in the future. That’s

1 in 6 vapes confiscated from schools across England were found to contain Spice, according to Professor Chris Pudney at the University of Bath. I have been working closely with Professor Pudney to understand exactly how children are accessing this harmful drug

It is obvious that Scotland has great economic potential. It has some of the best universities in the world. It has a brilliant energy sector, with the skills and ingenuity to be at the forefront of the energy transition, and it has

The world is undergoing a monumental shift, similar to the transformative impact of mobile phones, the internet, and the combustion engine. Today, this change is the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Billions of pounds are being generated, thousands of jobs

This week was a fitting moment for a debate on the future of the nuclear industry in Cumbria given it marks the anniversary of the world’s first civil nuclear power station, Calder Hall, in my constituency. It was a landmark moment for

Before becoming an MP, I worked for 22 years in the NHS, including a role as a mental health nurse. Working there I saw how deep rooted the issues are within our mental health system. Children as young as nine were self-harming

I think it is fair to say that whilst many of us recognise sepsis as a serious condition, most people do not understand the real danger it poses and how often it is mistaken for another illness. The cases of both my

THIS year marks the 200th anniversary of the RSPCA: the oldest animal welfare charity in the world. Two hundred years ago, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals met in a London coffee shop at a time when the issue

With only around two hundred chalk streams worldwide, they are a precious feature of our natural environment, and I’m highly privileged to have four within my constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted. Being waterways uniquely containing mainly spring water, chalk streams hugely enrich

When people asked me on July 5th whether the incoming Labour Government would do anything to derail the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, pointing out that its most important clauses weren’t due to be commenced until August 1st, I assured

Lord Collins, the new FCDO Minister has had a long-standing commitment to the people of Africa, and he will bring expertise and humanity to the many challenges he now faces – the most urgent of which is the catastrophic war in Sudan.

The Government might be able to ignore my request for a meeting to discuss their disastrous decision to impose VAT on independent school fees, but they won’t be able to ignore my Westminster Hall debate. I warned at the election, and I’ve

A year has passed since the former Chancellor imposed a staggering 10.1% increase in excise duty on Scotch whisky and other spirits. This was the largest such tax hike in over four decades, and the result has been nothing short of disastrous

Caring is a universal experience. Almost everybody will find themselves being an unpaid carer for their loved ones at some point or being cared for by their loved ones in turn. We talk about record waiting times for illness’ but for every

The new government has no shortage of challenges to tackle when it comes to housing. Homelessness more than double what it was in 2010; the slow progress of post-Grenfell cladding removal works; years of delays on leasehold reform and renter’s rights; and

It was the youff that did it in the end. Bangladesh, a nation that’s only existed since 1971 had a founding constitution stressing democracy, secularism and socialism. In recent years it’s been synonymous with authoritarianism and repression. Weeks before the UK’s own

Short-Term Lets are an acute issue in central London, and many other tourist and visitor destinations across the country. The issues are on multiple fronts – 13,000 short-term lets advertised in Westminster alone at a time when there are over 3,000 households

We face a looming cliff edge for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) at the end of March next year when existing funding runs out. Last week I held an adjournment debate in the House of Commons to highlight the risk this

The topic of baby loss is arguably one that many people feel uncomfortable discussing, given its sensitive nature. We often avoid talking about it for fear of upsetting the families directly affected and being unable to speak about it in a way

Oswestry is a town in North Shropshire with a proud market trading heritage – a place where people have long come to visit from a large rural hinterland that stretches across the countryside and over into Wales. Yet when I read the

Rishi Sunak turned up the heat on his successor Sir Keir Starmer over his party’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments to millions of pensions. In a heated exchange during PMQs, the former Prime Minister challenged the Labour Government to publish “the

I was happy to bring this debate to Parliament last week as the SEND system is failing some of the country’s most vulnerable children. My inbox is full to the brim with parents who are concerned about the wellbeing of their child

The debate around the taxation of Independent Schools all too often produces an argument centred on the money the Government hopes to raise from imposing VAT. Those in favour argue that it could raise up to £1.5 billion, while others dismiss this

Despite not featuring in the King’s Speech, the government still plans to introduce a mandatory retirement age of 80 for House of Lords members. This follows the introduction of legislation on Thursday to expel the 92 remaining hereditary peers by the end

The UK government has outlined plans to abolish the remaining hereditary peers in the House of Lords, marking the most significant reform of Parliament in 25 years. The proposal aims to eliminate the 92 seats reserved for hereditary peers—individuals who inherit their

In less than two months since being elected, Keir Starmer’s government has passed its first major reform in public services. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill has cleared all stages in the Commons, paving the way for the renationalisation of Britain’s

Every four years, the Summer Olympics comes around and grips the nation. Like many others, I was hooked to Paris 2024. I was gripped to the drama of the Men’s Mountain Bike, where Tom Pidcock overtook the french rider after a dramatic puncture and