May 2026

Parliamentary appearance by Kirsty Blackman

The Secretary of State talks about deregulation, but we have seen what that has led to in the finance sector, the banking sector and the water industry: consumers end up paying the price. The Secretary of State also talks about AI; speaking way back in 2014, Stephen Hawking cautioned: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Why do the Government believe that deregulating AI is going to assist their growth mission? It will put consumers’ lives and

I wish to speak about rural regeneration and the need to back business and create economic growth in rural areas. Around a fifth of the British population live in rural areas, which have great untapped potential, but we do not see the infrastructure in those areas to allow them to reach that potential and provide the economic growth we need. To illustrate the point, I have picked five areas, the first of which is digital connectivity. The previous Government’s Project Gigabit seemed like a reall

I agree entirely. I question the perception that people’s objection to masts is holding us back. In Shropshire, passive infrastructure masts have planning permission and are ready to go; what cannot be achieved is a mobile phone operator willing to put its equipment on those masts. We need to work with mobile network operators to get the connectivity we need. I will move on to public transport. Shropshire has lost 63% of its bus miles since 2015, compared with 19% on average across England. Plac

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention; it speaks to the point that rural areas have been looked past by the current Government and the previous Government. They have been neglected for many, many years, and if we are to unleash the potential of those rural areas, we need the political will to invest in them. Shropshire has lost more bus service miles than pretty much anywhere else in the country, but in the funding round in early 2025, Shropshire had the 53rd lowest of 73 allocations, desp

I wonder whether it has occurred to the hon. Gentleman that the Liberal Democrats’ whole point is that local government should be able to decide on its own policies, because they will be appropriate in some cases and not in others.

Parliamentary appearance by Andrew Western

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on backing business to create economic growth. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to removing the barriers to growth in all corners of Britain. With all the hubbub of the last week, it may have escaped the attention of many that GDP grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026—the highest level of growth across the G7. Although that is positive, it needs to mean more than a percentage point on a graph for communities like the one I repr

Parliamentary appearance by Neil Duncan-Jordan

Earlier this month, I was privileged to be involved in the inaugural Money Made Human awards organised by 1st Class Credit Union, a large national credit union that was started by postal workers at Royal Mail 35 years ago but now spreads across the communication industries. The whole concept of Money Made Human is to recognise that every single decision we make on a macro or microeconomic level affects people. We can choose to make it simply about numbers on a spreadsheet and lines on a graph, o

In 1603, Britain saw the Union of the Crowns. That moment began a journey that would lead to the Acts of Union and the growth of not only our modern democracy but the most powerful economic and industrial force that the world has ever seen. This story was not written by one nation alone; it was a political union of nations enabled by the sharing of skills and resources from every corner of these islands to build something far bigger than anything that could have been achieved individually, with

Parliamentary appearance by Jo White

Parliamentary appearance by Ms Stella Creasy

Parliamentary appearance by Frank McNally

I appreciate what the Justice Secretary wants to achieve on reducing the rate of recidivism. He said in his statement that “custody will always be necessary for the most dangerous offences”, but went on to say that there will be “an intention to reduce the use of short custodial sentences.” Will he add some more detail around the length of sentence that he considers to be a “short” custodial sentence? In relation to knife crime, he will know that the minimum sentence for threatening with a knife

The Secretary of State mentions crocodile tears; what would he say to the hospitality businesses in my constituency that have been impacted by the rise in national insurance contributions, the minimum wage rise and the business rates that he just talked so effusively about? What message would he give to them as they struggle to deal with the outcome of the Budget?

I welcome the White Paper and put on record my thanks both to my right hon. Friend and to the Minister for youth justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards), for their work on this issue. One of the most heartbreaking things I have to do as a Member of Parliament is meet families and young people who have been failed by the system after those young people have taken actions that have caused disturbance for their families and the wider community. Accountability matters, b

For my constituency, the King’s Speech was underwhelming; a timid affair, not the radical bold change our country needs right now. In the previous parliamentary Session, my constituents were promised change and a Government focused on growth. Instead, we have the farm tax for those producing our food and a job tax for our local businesses that impedes the very same growth. In Stratford-on-Avon, one of the key industries is hospitality and tourism, which is why I have long called for better rail

I agree with my hon. Friend that the audiology action day was phenomenal, and that those in the audiology services at Doncaster royal infirmary are doing everything they can to improve the service that they offer my constituents, who are their patients. I have been exploring other opportunities; for example, I have been working with Specsavers in Thorne, to see whether there are services available on the high street that we can maximise and use. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to work wit

My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) mentioned dementia. This is Dementia Action Week. The ability to hear is so important, not just for the obvious reasons, but in the broader context of dementia. This is about dignity and being able to enjoy precious moments. The Alzheimer’s Society has a regular “singing for the brain” event at Cantley community centre, and it is a beautiful way to bring people together. The ability to hear, converse and grasp that music is so important. Does my