Carla Lockhart MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Border Security: UK-Ireland Co-operation · Hansard source

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  I will address just that as I go on with my speech. We are the only part of the UK with a soft land border with the EU. That reality has been downplayed by politicians in London and Dublin alike when it comes to illegal immigration. Northern Ireland has been left uniquely exposed—the weak link in the UK’s border security chain—and our people have been put at risk. In the case of the Sudanese attacker, they were quite literally at risk of life and limb. The attempted beheading in Belfast has served as a brutal reminder to us all. That is what happens when Northern Ireland’s security is treated as an afterthought. The attacker came here illegally. He travelled from Sudan to Paris, flew to Dublin and took a bus to Belfast. That is all public knowledge. He was granted asylum with astonishing haste. He passed through two other safe countries first. He completed a 10-page application to gain access—really? It is simply not acceptable that our UK border with the Republic of Ireland has been left so porous.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Border Security: UK-Ireland Co-operation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his response, but my constituents will be listening, and they will say that they have learned absolutely nothing and know nothing more about illegal immigration than is already in the public domain. They will have heard the word “disturbing” in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), who referenced the case of an individual returning three times. We are living with this in Northern Ireland. We are living in communities that feel unsafe because of illegal immigration, yet they see a Government who are not even willing to take the full time to debate this issue, and are unwilling to give us evidence that they are taking it seriously. The Minister talks about data sharing—really? We need action. We need buses. We need real checks. We need action, not data sharing.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Puberty Blockers · Hansard source

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  I am absolutely appalled by the Government’s decision to press ahead with the Pathways puberty blockers trial. When I look at the decision, I genuinely find myself asking: what lessons have this Government learnt from the last number of years? Parents have raised concerns, families have raised concerns, clinicians have raised concerns, campaigners have raised concerns, and many in this House have raised concerns. This is not a concern that has appeared overnight. The petition on this issue, which was debated some time ago, attracted significant support, and I must note that my constituency of Upper Bann was one of the leading constituencies in raising concerns about puberty blockers and their impact. Ministers have been warned time and again. We had the Cass review, the closure of the Tavistock clinic and the decision to stop the routine prescribing of puberty blockers to children. All those developments pointed in one direction: greater caution, greater scrutiny and greater protection for vulnerable children. Yet somehow this Labour Government have looked at all of that and reached the conclusion that will harm more children, not less. They have decided that the answer to this difficult issue is to recommence a trial using the very drugs that are considered unsuitable for routine use, the very drugs that children cannot routinely be prescribed, and the very drugs that Ministers themselves acknowledge raise serious unanswered questions. That is the contradiction at the heart of the announcement to recommence the puberty blockers trial. If these drugs are not considered sufficiently safe, sufficiently evidenced or sufficiently understood to be routinely prescribed to children, why are the Government prepared to recruit children into a trial involving the same drugs? What troubles me in particular is the age of the children involved: children as young as 11. When I think of an 11-year-old, I think of a child at the very beginning of secondary school, maybe even in primary school; I think of a child still trying to work out who they are; I think of a child whose views, interests and outlooks on life can change dramatically in the space of a few months—indeed, even in the space of a few days; I think of a child who still needs adults to guide them, protect them and make decisions in their best interests. I do not think of somebody who should be carrying the burden of unresolved questions about fertility, bone development, neurological development and long-term health outcomes. The Government tell us that more evidence is needed, but on whose shoulders are they placing that burden? The shoulders of children: children are being asked to participate because adults still do not have the answers. That cannot be right. I have had the honour of meeting Keira Bell—one of the bravest campaigners I have encountered in public life, because she has been willing to speak publicly about consequences that she will carry for the rest of her life. When people discuss the issue, they often hide behind clinical language and advice. Clinical advice can be wrong. I queried clinical negligence and malpractice in Northern Ireland through a recent freedom of information request; in one year, £9 million was paid out. That shows that clinicians can be wrong. Yes, we need them and we depend on them, and I have so much respect for them, but they are not always right. Keira Bell has spoken openly about the loss of her healthy breasts, concerns about her future fertility and the permanent changes that she lives with because of the pathway she was placed on as a vulnerable young person. Perhaps the most heartbreaking thing she has said is, “I was a vulnerable teenager who needed help”—not drugs, but help. She has also said, “I believe I should have been challenged on my views.” Let us think about that: a young woman looking back and saying that the adults around her should have asked harder questions, exercised greater caution and protected her. We are all called to this place to do the right thing. The right thing is to look at the data that is already there and the young people who have been on this pathway, and to stop the puberty blockers trial with immediate effect.

• 22 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. The armed forces covenant was a national promise to the veterans of this nation. A veteran from Birmingham, Glasgow or anywhere else in GB will have better access to the covenant provisions, because their local authorities will benefit from them, yet someone living in Upper Bann, South Antrim or Fermanagh will not have that access. Does he agree that that smells very much like kowtowing to Sinn Féin, its demands and the anti-covenant approach it has taken over many years?

• 17 Jun 2026 · Steel Tariffs · Hansard source

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  The Minister says that the Government are listening to the concerns of businesses. May I be so brazen as to suggest that we need action and need it urgently, given the timescale of these changes—changes that will cripple steel-using businesses across the manufacturing, construction and infrastructure sector in my constituency, which have no domestic steelmaking industry in Northern Ireland on which to rely? Will the Minister meet businesses from Northern Ireland as a matter of urgency to discuss the devastating impact that this will have?

• 17 Jun 2026 · Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  The reality on the ground is very different. The demand required is 9.1 million tonnes per year, with 5.6 million tonnes being produced in the United Kingdom. We all want to see domestic production increase, but until we see that and allow it to happen, we cannot slap a 50% tariff on what we need to import to keep our manufacturing, our construction and our infrastructure sectors functioning, and to avoid supply chain complications, potential shortages and increased building costs. To my mind, this is a farming inheritance tax moment for the Government. If they do not pull back from it, they will see industry crippled across this United Kingdom—industries such as our manufacturing, our construction and our infrastructure. I encourage every Member in Committee to think long and hard before destroying our home-grown industries.

• 17 Jun 2026 · High Street Shops: Illicit Activity · Hansard source

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  Crowds and antisocial behaviour outside shops are often a red flag for the activity inside them. That is an issue not just for the Home Office and HMRC, but for the police. To make our towns safe, the individuals engaging in that type of activity outside shops also need to be dealt with. Does the hon. Member agree?

• 16 Jun 2026 · Access to Dental Services: West Sussex · Hansard source

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  I apologise for intervening again, but I want to make a point about cancer patients, similar to the one made by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Alison Griffiths). The teeth of cancer patients are heavily impacted by the strength of the drugs, so does the hon. Lady agree that the Government need specifically to consider how they can support cancer patients post-treatment and that cancer patients should be able to access free dental care quickly and efficiently?

• 16 Jun 2026 · Access to Dental Services: West Sussex · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is making a powerful point for his constituents. Similarly, in Northern Ireland only 50% of adults are registered with NHS dentists. Almost 400,000 registrations have been lost since 2023, and ultimately practices are leaving NHS dentistry because it is financially unsustainable. Would he agree with me that there needs to be a UK-wide look at this? While health is a devolved issue in Northern Ireland, there needs to be learning from the UK, because this is not just about waiting times, but about people finding a dentist who will actually take them on. Does he agree with me that we need a UK-wide resolution?

• 10 Jun 2026 · Belfast: Violent Disorder · Hansard source

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  Having seen violence in my constituency last night, I want to say clearly that violence is never the answer, that it is wrong, and that those engaged in it should face the full force of the law. Despite what Sinn Féin tells us, there is always an alternative to violence. We do not want attacks on people—including the police—on homes or on businesses. We do not want families to feel unsafe. We do not want little children from different ethnic backgrounds to feel afraid or fearful even to go to school. However, the many people who are angry and scared because of uncontrolled immigration, and because of the barbaric act just two nights ago and the footage of the incident that has been displayed, want to see politics and democracy fill the space. There is significant concern in Northern Ireland about open borders. Will the Minister release the numbers on those who have crossed into the United Kingdom via the border with the Republic of Ireland, and will he commit himself to at least starting to replicate the Republic of Ireland’s system of checking people who travel from the United Kingdom—from Northern Ireland—to the Republic of Ireland? People need to see this Government take action.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Police Service of Northern Ireland Training College · Hansard source

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  I certainly agree with all that the hon. and learned Member has said with regard to ethnicity. In relation to the police, we have to commend those young officers who go out daily and put themselves in harm’s way to protect our community. However, does the hon. and learned Member agree that there is a real disconnect with the senior leadership of the PSNI with regard to community engagement? We only have to look at the weekend event in Scarva, when political representatives had to step in and ensure that the PSNI dealt with protesters in the same way—with equality—when they were dealing with a parade that was highly political, in which people were carrying “From the river to the sea” banners, which are highly offensive and constitute a hate crime. Does he agree that the PSNI needs training around dealing with the Protestant Unionist Loyalist community, and start to listen to their concerns on the ground, and engage with them on the issues that matter to them?

• 9 Jun 2026 · North Belfast: Violent Attack · Hansard source

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  My thoughts are very much with the victim of the horrific attack last night, and I echo the calls for calm in our communities. Communities in Northern Ireland are angry: they are demanding answers and they deserve answers, but sadly I do not feel they are getting those answers today. It is not lost on the people of north Belfast who in this place today is speaking up for working-class communities that are very concerned about uncontrolled immigration and the fact that mayors will not even say how many houses they have full of immigrants. Was this individual known to the authorities? How many others from the same country are currently being accommodated in Northern Ireland? How did they enter the UK? What actions are this Government taking to prevent the abuse of our immigration system, including via the land border with the Republic of Ireland?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  Given Northern Ireland’s disproportionate contribution to the armed forces over many decades, the Minister’s answer to the question from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister)—on the armed forces covenant being made compulsory within councils in Northern Ireland— does not really cut it. Sadly, in Northern Ireland we still have political parties that completely oppose the armed forces covenant and its implementation there, so does the hon. Lady agree that the Government need to go further and act to protect our veterans in Northern Ireland?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  The Minister is being very generous with his time. I hope he will forgive me for making the point that I have limited trust in the ability of the Sinn Féin Minister in Northern Ireland to get this £81 million out the door to folks. What oversight will the Minister have of that money actually getting to the people who need it? It is sitting there and it needs to be distributed.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  People in Northern Ireland are struggling: our bills are higher and, as has been alluded to and as the Minister has addressed, a number of folks use home heating oil. The £81 million has been allocated to a Northern Ireland Department—a Sinn Féin Department—that is sitting on spend. Will these regulations allow that £81 million to be released to those who are hard pressed and hard pushed with regard to their energy? Will we be able to benefit exactly as folks in GB have over the last number of months?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Murder of Henry Nowak · Hansard source

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  My thoughts are with Henry’s family. As I listened to his dad yesterday, I could not help but cry at the loss that his family have suffered, and at the fact that the video footage will be etched on their minds forever. It appears that we have an undercurrent of anti-white racism brewing in the UK. We see white people jailed for allegedly inciting racial hatred on social media, while members of other communities are not even prosecuted for viciously attacking police officers. Henry Nowak deserved better—he did not deserve to be attacked; he did not deserve to spend his final moments pleading for help and saying that he could not breathe; he did not deserve not to be believed; and, above all, he did not deserve to die. Why did it take this Government until yesterday to speak out on this matter, while they run to virtue signal on many other cases? Is the UK no longer a safe place for people like Henry Nowak?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I apologise for not giving prior notice of my point of order, but it pertains to the answer given to me by the Minister during the statement. Could she advise on whether the record can be checked to see whether this House discussed the murder of the three little girls in Southport and the case of Sir David Amess before the murderers in those cases were sentenced? I believe that both those cases were brought to the House before the murderers were sentenced.

• 20 May 2026 · Child Protection Online · Hansard source

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  When a child views an inappropriate image online, they cannot unsee it. I have been horrified recently by the number of parents coming to me about inappropriate ads popping up on kids’ digital games. Some of the images are horrendous, and children are viewing them at a very early age. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss this ongoing issue?

• 20 May 2026 · Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions · Hansard source

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  The sanctions on Russian gas and oil were put in place for good reason, as we know, but I seriously question how environmentally friendly it is to import supplies of gas and oil, when we have one of the largest sources of natural resources just off the coast of Scotland. The Government continue to refuse to allow it to be further explored. The madness of the pursuit of net zero is exposed by the fact that there is more pollution involved in importing these products, instead of drilling for our own, which would also create jobs and revenue for the Exchequer.

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  Having listened intently to the King’s Speech, I was left with one conclusion: the Government just do not get it. We have a Government who are completely out of touch. After recent election results and a surge in support for parties campaigning on illegal immigration, sovereignty and cost of living pressures, I would have thought the Government might have finally recognised public frustration; instead, they appear to have learned nothing. People are angry about illegal immigration, angry about the cost of living and the pressure they feel every time they fill up their car or heat their home, and angry about overstretched public services. Ordinary people are increasingly angry as they feel they are losing control over decisions affecting their lives. The debate is about energy, and there is no doubt that is the topic around every kitchen table, yet the King’s Speech had little to say to families facing those pressures. On energy security, nowhere is the gap between Westminster policy and reality clearer than in Northern Ireland. About 60% of households in Northern Ireland rely on home heating oil. Many live in rural communities where a car is not optional but essential.

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  Yes, and I will come to that. When oil prices increase or when instability sends shockwaves through energy markets, families in my constituency feel it immediately. Hauliers, farmers and many businesses are feeling the pressure too. In Northern Ireland there is no easy switch, no ready-made alternative and certainly no escaping the cost. I have repeatedly raised concerns in the House about heating oil costs, fuel affordability and support for households uniquely exposed to those pressures. I have repeatedly pressed for practical measures that would make an immediate difference, including cutting fuel duty, reducing VAT burdens on hard-pressed householders, greater support for those dependent on home heating oil, and stronger protections for consumers exposed to volatility in the heating oil market. Those are not radical ideas for the long term; they are a practical intervention that would show a Government in touch with people’s needs.

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. That is a practical step that would make a real difference. Families are entitled to ask what possible justification there is for support sitting untouched while people struggle. We look at the £81 million given by Westminster to Stormont that is sitting in a Sinn Féin-controlled Department rather than reaching households who desperately need it; I ask the Minister to intervene. Energy security means affordability and policies grounded in reality. People support protecting the environment, but they also expect realism, and that means recognising the simple truth that energy security begins with producing the energy we need ourselves. The North sea has the ability to help power our economy, support jobs and strengthen our energy resilience for decades, yet instead of backing a strategic national asset, the Government too often appear determined to turn their back on it, with a Secretary of State who is so wedded to a failing, crazy net zero agenda rather than helping those most in need. At a time of global instability, increasing dependence on imported energy while restricting domestic production raises serious questions. That is not energy security; it is exporting jobs, exporting investment and increasing dependence on others. We should be supporting domestic production, backing strategic industries and ensuring that we are using our own resources wherever possible. We should also stop loading further costs on to households and industry through increasingly unrealistic and punitive carbon taxes, which ultimately make life more expensive for working people and businesses. The cost associated with net zero from 2025 to 2050 is £116 billion—£35 billion per year. Those are eye-watering sums and it is the taxpayer who is paying. The election results should have been a political earthquake—a warning shot—yet the Government have not listened. Instead, they remain trapped in the Westminster bubble, with a lack of understanding of what life actually looks like outside SW1. Let us look, for example, at illegal immigration. The public were promised stronger borders, tougher action and control; instead, we are seeing expensive failure dressed up as progress. More than 200,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats since records began. In 2025 alone, more than 41,000 crossed, making it the second-highest year on record. I have repeatedly raised concerns around asylum accommodation costs. Rehousing asylum seekers is set to total £15 billion of taxpayers’ money in the next decade, and in Northern Ireland, the figure is set to rise to £400 million. I know that that money would be better spent on our own citizens first. At a time when pensioners struggle, businesses face pressure and families watch every penny, the Government are more concerned about forcing unwanted and not needed agendas and ideology, such as digital ID and net zero. That money would be better spent on our WASPI women, on our pensioners and on meaningful welfare reforms. Where was the support for businesses and farmers that sustain our rural economy and food security? Where was Northern Ireland? There was no meaningful recognition of the continuing barriers within our own United Kingdom internal market. What frustrates people most is what was simply not in the King’s Speech: antisemitism, Islamist extremism, and our veterans. And then there is the EU rhetoric. The public sent a message at the ballot box; it is time for the Government to wake up and start listening.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Dunmurry Police Station Attack · Hansard source

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  I, like every right-minded person, utterly condemn the abhorrent attack on Dunmurry PSNI station and the one on Lurgan in my constituency. I commend PSNI officers for their bravery in dealing with these attempts on their lives. Does the Secretary of State agree that Sinn Féin’s response drips with rank hypocrisy, condemning the bombers of today while glorifying, lauding and even erecting illegal statues to the bombers and terrorists of yesterday? Does he agree that the decision to put forward Órlaithí Flynn MLA—daughter of Patrick Flynn, convicted of an IRA bomb in Dunmurry—to condemn this attack was a calculated insult to victims and a grotesque reminder that Sinn Féin’s words condemn terrorism, but their politics still romanticise it? Surely the Government should reflect on their decision not to strengthen the legislation on glorification of terrorism and act to legislate against it immediately.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is making a very powerful point. Despite the promised raft of amendments, this Bill does not and will never protect those who put on uniform and stood between good and evil—the bloodthirsty terrorists. When the East Tyrone killing machine of the IRA was taken out at Loughgall, it saved countless lives, and it was the same at Coagh. People have had enough of the hounding of those who served, and they have had enough of this Government bending the knee to Dublin. It is time that we stand up for our veterans, not throw them to the wolves.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister give hope tonight through this Bill to the families of those who lost loved ones on 2 June 1994 on the Mull of Kintyre? Currently, documents pertaining to the tragedy of the Chinook disaster are under lock and key for 100 years. Indeed, the documents and evidence that are currently available should give this House serious concern as to what went on before that tragedy. Can she give hope today?