May 2026

10. What steps he is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending.

I had the honour of taking part as a volunteer in a restorative justice programme at His Majesty’s Prison Haverigg in Cumbria a few years ago. Restorative justice gives victims the opportunity to share with offenders the real impact of their crimes and gives offenders the opportunity to take serious responsibility. Studies show that restorative justice reduces reoffending rates by up to 28%, so what is the Minister doing to ensure that restorative justice programmes are delivered in every prison

T5. Kendal magistrates court was outrageously closed in 2017, on the promise that sittings would continue in other public buildings in Kendal, yet there has not been a single sitting in Kendal since 2020. Will the Justice Secretary put this right urgently, so that that promise can be kept and local people can have reasonable access to justice?

I welcome the clarity and determination to deliver on HS2. Rail investment is infrastructure investment, which drives growth, but may I urge the Secretary of State to look at driving growth between towns as well as between cities, for example by bringing lines such as the Calder Valley line into the 21st century?

Patricia Ferguson voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Parliamentary appearance by John Lamont

Parliamentary appearance by Rachel Hopkins

Parliamentary appearance by Lisa Smart

I am really pleased to speak in this debate on the Gracious Speech. This Government were elected to deliver change. For too long in my community we felt at best ignored and at worst left behind. Decisions taken in Whitehall and Westminster did not address the challenges we faced, and investment and opportunities did not reach us. Frankly, Westminster did not hear us. The measures in the last King’s Speech began to change that: the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 brings deci

I point out to the hon. Lady that it would be helpful if the new Welsh Government could release the £3.8 million of funding that the UK Government have given to the Welsh Government to help people struggling with their heating oil costs. I wonder when that will be distributed.

I am delighted that measures in the King’s Speech will strengthen our economic security, our national security and—what we are debating today—our energy security. While the Tories and Reform want to ditch our net zero policies and our clean power targets, it is a huge relief to people in Monmouthshire and across the UK that Labour is taking clean energy seriously. Anyone hearing the speeches from those on the Conservative and Reform Benches would think that they wanted to take us back to oil lam

Joe Robertson voted AYE on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Aphra Brandreth voted AYE on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Last week in the Gracious Speech, the Government pledged to introduce a new Representation of the People Bill. Constitutional issues such as the electoral system can seem far removed from people’s daily lives, but that could not be further from the truth. With a better electoral system, politicians and parties will be more focused on the issues that really matter to voters. Electoral reform is a necessary step to ensure a fairer society with better schools, better hospitals, safer communities, c

My hon. Friend is spot on. I accept that former Labour voters vote for me to keep out the Tories and Reform, and former Conservative voters vote for me to keep out Labour and the Green party. That is not the system that we want. We want a system where people can vote positively for change, with hope. It is little wonder that the only other European country besides the UK that elects its Parliament in this way is Belarus. If first past the post continues, we could see just 30% of votes bringing i

Madam Deputy Speaker, these parties do not represent the moderate majority, but with as little as 30% of the vote at the next general election, they could control all the levers of power. First past the post is unfair and unrepresentative, and it undermines the legitimacy of our elections. I urge the Government not to prolong the disenchantment, the apathy and the hopelessness. People are fed up with being told to vote for the lesser evil. The Representation of the People Bill is this Government

When Olly Robbins appeared before us on the Foreign Affairs Committee, he was asked why he did not view the summary document produced by UK Security Vetting. He pointed to the sensitivity of the vetting interviews—what the Minister calls the raw detail—and said that those detailed vetting files should remain in a “hermetically sealed box”. We have heard that that box was not opened for sharing with the Prime Minister, and it has not been opened for sharing with those of us who sit on the Intelli

Parliamentary appearance by Lisa Smart

Parliamentary appearance by Martin Vickers

Parliamentary appearance by Martin Vickers