May 2026

Parliamentary appearance by Jess Brown-Fuller

Parliamentary appearance by Callum Anderson

Parliamentary appearance by Rachel Gilmour

Parliamentary appearance by Sir Desmond Swayne

Parliamentary appearance by Helen Hayes

Parliamentary appearance by Helen Hayes

Parliamentary appearance by Sally Jameson

Parliamentary appearance by Sir John Hayes

Last Wednesday—it seems so much longer ago—saw the second King’s Speech of this Labour Government, with 37 Bills to address the UK’s economic, energy and national security at a time of gigantic global challenge, much of it unforeseeable at the time of the last King’s Speech in 2024. A stunning proposer—from Bradford like you, Madam Deputy Speaker—was followed by the Prime Minister’s forceful plea for a change to the status quo, which he mentioned 10 times. I was having visions of “Rockin’ All Ov

Let me start this debate by welcoming the Minister to her seat and to her new role, as I believe that this is her first time responding from the Front Bench. I am sure that she will be excellent, and I look forward to her response. Doncaster has a long and proud history of supporting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. It is home to the historic Doncaster school for deaf children, which was founded on 2 November 1829 by Rev. William Carr Fenton. That legacy continues today through the Carr F

That goes to show that this is a widespread issue. This is happening not just in Doncaster, but further afield, and thousands upon thousands of people have been impacted. At one stage, the audiology service at Doncaster royal infirmary temporarily shut down. While some of the emergency cases and children’s cases were reallocated to neighbouring services, a lot of people were left with pretty much nothing. They were totally uncertain about when, or even if, they would receive an appointment. The

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. As he knows, some appointments were outsourced during this period, but if we are honest, it was not enough. The waiting list is still far too long, and too many people have been waiting four or five years, so part of our collective ask as MPs for these areas is that the Minister continues to press the ICB to look at what resource is available for outsourcing more to the high street—at least in the short term—so that we can clear the backlog and get the wai

My hon. Friend is completely right. In a world in which we focus a lot on how we can treat and slow the progress of dementia and Alzheimer’s, this is something we really need to look at. That is key, and it is worrying and disappointing to us all that our constituents will be more susceptible to this issue because they do not have the service that might be available in other areas.

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I reassure him that I will not attend the Alzheimer’s Society’s “singing for the brain” event in Cantley, as that would be devastating for everyone who had to hear it. It is important that we start to raise awareness of the knock-on effects that poor audiology services can have on wider society, and on people’s health generally. I ask the Minister to consider the following important points. First, will she ensure that the NHS 10-year plan includes greater

Well, what a complete shambles! Less than two years ago, this Government were elected with the largest majority of any Government, bar one, in 100 years. People across our country, including most in my home county of Nottinghamshire, put their trust in the Labour party. Why? Because it promised change. It said it would do things differently, it would be better and it would end the chaos. It would put country before party. And where are we, less than two years later?

We are here—[Laughter.] The hon. Member asks why I changed party. I will tell him why I changed party. It is because millions of people across the country look upon the performance of the last Government, and this one, and say that these are wasted years and that our country needs real change, yet we see nothing for it. This Government, let us be honest with ourselves, lie in ashes. They have failed. An air of unreality hangs over this debate. Members queue up to speak as if this were a normal K

I will give way in a moment. Mass migration remains rampant. The public finances are getting worse. Look at what the markets are saying: the cost of borrowing is going up and the pound is falling. Unemployment is rising. Great, proud industries, such as one in my constituency, NSK, a business that makes steel ball bearings, are going bust because of uncompetitive energy prices and unfair competition from China—hundreds of people thrown on the scrapheap and now looking for new jobs in north Notti

Let me give the hon. Gentleman some, then. We all know that this King’s Speech is not worth the paper it is written on—there is nothing in it. Speaking as a former Minister, it is made up of the very policies that officials pull out of the third drawer of a desk and hand to weak, inept Ministers who have no ideas of their own: “Here you go, Minister. Here’s a substitute for your own thoughts.” I will tell the House some things that we would do— that Reform would do, were there a Reform Governmen

My constituents want and deserve a justice system that is fit for purpose, delivers justice for victims, and tackles crime properly and effectively. That said, poverty and deprivation play an important role, so will the Secretary of State assure me that there is a proper and effective cross-Government approach? He mentioned the Department for Education, but the heart of this strategy goes further than that. We need a carrot and stick approach, not just words.

I thank the Justice Secretary for recognising the disproportionality that still exists within the criminal justice system for our black communities. Education and diversionary activities are absolutely essential to early intervention. After the anti-Muslim hate marches and anti-Muslim rhetoric that we saw at the so-called “Unite the Kingdom” march last weekend, how will the Government ensure that this White Paper provides our schools and youth services with the tools they need to prevent young p