Helena Dollimore MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Water Sector: Public Ownership · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that some of our water companies operate in extremely murky arrangements? Often, there is a complicated network of different companies that sub-contract from each other, meaning that the customer who pays the bill has no idea what value for money, if any, they are getting.

• 14 Sept 2026 · Water Sector: Public Ownership · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I pay tribute to the campaigners and citizen scientists—some of whom are in the Public Gallery—who have exposed the scale of the sewage scandal. It is only because of them and their campaigning that we are having this debate. Our water industry is fundamentally broken. I sat with my hon. Friend the Member for Mid and South Pembrokeshire (Henry Tufnell) on the Select Committee and questioned the water bosses, and all we heard was excuse after excuse. We need a fundamental change to protect our failing water infrastructure. That is a top priority for our Labour Government and I welcome the steps that have been made so far to ramp up regulation and get tough on the water companies, but as I will outline, we need to go further. Nothing enrages the people I represent in Hastings and Rye more than bills going up every year to prop up failing companies, while executives and shareholders try to find ways to evade bonus bans as their companies edge towards bankruptcy. We have already taken important steps, but we must go further to protect vital national infrastructure. In Hastings and Rye, we already see the impacts of the regulation that we introduced: more Environment Agency staff focused full time on monitoring Southern Water, more inspections taking place, and more enforcement notices issued. We are starting to see the results of that work, but there is still more to do. Those of us in the Chamber who favour a co-operative model believe it is the solution that would put people before profit in fixing our broken water industry. I will talk briefly about the impact of our failing water industry on the people I represent. We have had two major water outages in the past couple of years, one lasting nine days and one five days; there was major flooding in Hastings town centre that ruined people’s livelihoods; and 300 million plastic beads washed up on our coastline—we found out that they came from a Southern Water treatment plant only because we got down on our hands and knees and exposed that scandal. Public health has been compromised and sewage is dumped in our sea regularly. Right now a digger sits on the beach in Hastings, an eyesore, because of Southern Water’s failings. I believe that the solution is to move to a co-operative model, which would be the radical shake-up that this industry needs.

• 2 Sept 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Everyone is so excited about the return of the Bayeux tapestry, which comes back to our shores for the first time in almost 1,000 years. That is a testament to this Labour Government’s work to strengthen our relations with European neighbours. Hastings has often been at the centre of historical events, but we have not felt the benefits and we rank in the bottom 10 places nationally for social mobility. Thanks to my campaign, the young people I represent will get free priority access to the tapestry exhibition and not be priced out by the cost of a ticket. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that this is great news, and that the British Museum must do all it can to ensure as many as people from my area as possible can see the exhibition?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Maritime Sector · Hansard source

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  Of vital importance to our maritime sector is our coastguard and our volunteer coastguard officers. I know that the MCA’s planned changes to the operating model have been causing serious concern in coastal communities such as mine in Hastings, Rye and the villages. I thank the Minister for really listening to those concerns from our coastal communities. Can I urge him to ensure that these plans are paused and do not go ahead on 1 September, and to really look at the MCA’s handling of this situation? Will he also join me in thanking the brilliant coastguard rescue officers and the many people in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in my constituency and up and down the country?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Reorganisation makes sense. The situation that we have now, with services split across a borough or district council and a county council, causes many issues. If a drain is blocked by leaves that are on top of the drain, it is one council; if the leaves are below the drain, it is another. We had a big fire last week, and the responsibilities were again split between two councils. As the Secretary of State knows from our conversations, it is vital that the voices of the coastal community that I represent are not overridden in this process. Can he assure me that we in Hastings and Rye will retain powers to summon certain people who deliver services, be that the academy trusts, the cabinet members for social care or for potholes, or the integrated care board? We need those powers, because right now we do not have them. Can he give me an assurance that Hastings and Rye will be at the front of the queue for those new powers?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Our roads in Hastings, Rye and the surrounding villages are riddled with potholes, and it is one of the biggest issues we face. One of the most frustrating things is that on the rare occasion that a pothole gets filled, all the other potholes around it are left untouched. That is why I wrote to the new leader of the Reform-led East Sussex county council on 21 May to urge him to take decisive action on this issue by reviewing the contract with Balfour Beatty and changing the intervention criteria. Two months later, and despite my writing repeatedly to him about this issue, he has not responded to any of my questions about potholes. Does the Leader of the House agree that this shows that Reform is not interested in fixing the issues that local people care about, even when it gets record money from this Labour Government to do so?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Death of Ann Widdecombe · Hansard source

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  I join Members across the House in giving my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Ann Widdecombe. I never had the privilege of meeting her, but I certainly remember growing up and seeing her on the TV and thinking what an outspoken, strong woman she was and how she would not take no for an answer. I pay tribute to her. I do not want to speculate on the case or on what happened, but I place on record my concern about the fact that we see very frequently the media either photograph or broadcast identifiable details of Members’ or former Members’ homes. That is happening repeatedly to Members across this House, including members of the Cabinet, members of the shadow Cabinet and former Members. We have heard today about the risks that come with that. The former Member for Surrey Heath mentioned in a podcast fairly recently that the man who killed Sir David Amess had visited his home, using details that he had identified from the media. That is how serious this issue is. I know that the Speaker’s Conference has looked at this issue. Given the risks that exist and the new tools such as reverse image searching, which makes it easier to look at a media image and find out where a house is on Google Maps, will the Home Secretary urgently look at this issue with her colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the media regulators Ofcom and the Independent Press Standards Organisation?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Maritime and Coastguard Agency · Hansard source

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  I, too, refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests in respect of the GMB, and also declare that I am a supporter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for asking the urgent question, and pay tribute to the lifesaving work done by our local coastguard officers, as well as the brilliant volunteer RNLI officers and those in independent lifeboats, like the one at Pett in my constituency. I also thank the Minister for stepping in and pausing this process. I agree with him that it is vital for us to review the process fully and reflect on the MCA’s handling of the issue—which, in the experience of my local coastguard officers, has been pretty shocking—and to pause and take enough time to get this right for our coastal communities. Given the increase in extreme weather events owing to climate change—we are experiencing a heat wave now, we know that there will be more storms, and there might even be more sharks coming to our waters—the work of the coastguard officers is more important than ever before.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance · Hansard source

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  My constituency neighbour and I share a coastline, and we know the important work that CROs do. Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that they must be valued as the emergency service that they are, especially as more extreme weather events mean that they are more needed than ever?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As we approach the upcoming EU-UK summit, can I urge the Minister to make sure that restoring international trains at Ashford International is firmly on the agenda for discussions with our European neighbours? It would bring over half a million extra visitors to Sussex and Kent every year and £2.5 billion of economic growth. Everything we need is sitting there in pristine condition, ready to go—it is a no-brainer. Will the Minister support it?

• 16 Jun 2026 · Thames Water · Hansard source

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  Thames Water is clearly failing its customers and the environment. I thank the Government for their action this week, which makes it very clear to Thames Water that it will not be allowed off the hook for fines, it will not be allowed off the hook for performance targets, and it must not be allowed to mark its own homework. I want to probe the Secretary of State on a specific aspect of its failure. We on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee asked Thames Water how much it had spent on the legal proceedings to try to avoid a special administration regime. The company replied: “we estimate that our legal fees for work done in connection with our liquidity extension transaction, as implemented through the interim restructuring plan at the High Court and Court of Appeal, was approximately £67.6 million”. That was last June. I will be writing to Thames Water to ask for an update on those costs. Given that shocking amount being wasted on legal fees—almost 3% of what customers are paying in bills—does the Secretary of State agree that Thames Water must spend its money on fixing broken pipes, not bonuses and not bumper legal payouts?

• 15 Jun 2026 · Brain Cancer · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. It is great to see Members in the Chamber in such great numbers. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) for her determination in this area. Through her sheer force of nature, she has raised the funds to start these trials that are now ongoing in memory of Margaret, who we all miss dearly. That is testament to her sheer determination to put this situation right. We are all behind her. Unfortunately, the experience described by so many Members today—such as that of Margaret, of my cousin Ewan and of so many of our constituents, where fit, healthy individuals are told that there are no further treatments available for them and there is nothing to try or test—is too common across the country. It is what so many of our constituents are told. I want to press the Minister on some points. As a Government, we have announced more training places in recent weeks. To the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), there are just 40 neuro-oncologists with a specialism in brain cancer around the country. Are we allocating some of those training places specifically to solve this problem of the pipeline of doctors coming through? There are just 15 trials going on for brain cancer, compared with 54 for pancreatic cancer. What measures is the NHS taking to inform patients of the trials available to them? Members are in the Chamber today in great numbers, which sends a clear message to the pharmaceutical industry that we want more emphasis on trials in this area. We will not stand for their inaction any longer. For too long, they have put brain cancer in the “too difficult” box. By showing up in these numbers today, we are showing that the market is failing patients and that they must act. The Government must also use all levers at their disposal to act on this.

• 15 Jun 2026 · Brain Cancer · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Gentleman describes, there is a postcode lottery in the treatment that people can access. In Hastings, a patient has to do a four-hour round trip to Brighton hospital to receive their basic treatment. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we must address this postcode lottery in brain cancer treatment?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Abandoned caravans are causing an eyesore across Hastings, particularly along St Helens Road and Cinque Ports Way, which are being treated as a dumping ground. It is very frustrating for local residents, and the police tell me they are getting higher levels of antisocial behaviour in those areas. For the past 18 months, I have been writing to East Sussex county council, run by Reform, and Hastings borough council, run by the Greens, urging them to act. Instead, they are dragging their heels, and not using the powers in section 143 of the Highways Act 1980. I want to get this issue sorted for local residents, so I am organising a meeting with the two local councils and local residents to hear what the councils are going to do to sort this out, and I will try to knock heads together to get it sorted out. Does the Leader of the House agree with me that those local councils must treat this issue with the urgency it deserves?

• 10 Jun 2026 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome the new powers in the Bill, particularly on timetabling. To give an example from my patch of how the new powers could be used to improve passengers’ experience without having to build any new railway infrastructure, hundreds of people have told me that they want a faster service from Hastings to London that does not stop at every single station along the way. That could shave a long time off people’s morning commute. On the other line I represent, passengers in Rye constantly miss their connection at Ashford because of the late-arriving Marshlink service, and face either missing their train or an extremely dangerous dash through Ashford station, where people fall over. If we could better co-ordinate between Southeastern and Southern Railway, that could be alleviated.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Accountability in the Health Service · Hansard source

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  Jules Fielder from Hastings was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer after doctors missed her symptoms, mistaking them for tennis elbow. As a non-smoking young woman, she did not meet the stereotype of what lung cancer patients often present with, but she was determined to channel her own tragedy into change. She campaigned for better, earlier awareness of symptoms among clinicians and members of the public, and she took that message to everyone she could. Together, we convinced Boots to roll out on-shelf awareness labels in the cold and flu medicine section to raise better awareness. Sadly, Jules passed away last month. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to all of Jules’s campaigning, and commit to continuing her vision in the Department of Health and Social Care by ensuring we use every possible avenue to raise better awareness and catch cancer earlier?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I recently met a local steel business to discuss this issue and how it can source more British steel in line with the principles of the Bill. It raised with me a keen desire to source as much as possible in Britain, but it is not sure if it can actually source all the products it needs in Britain. It mentioned hot rolled coil as one example. The business is called Fowle & Co. and it would be great if the Minister could commit for his officials to meet my local business and hear its experience.

• 8 Jun 2026 · Water Companies · Hansard source

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  In Hastings, Rye and the villages we have had sewage dumped in our sea, two major water outages—lasting five and nine days—Hastings town centre flooded and, last year, as the Minister knows, 300 million plastic beads washed up on our beaches all thanks to Southern Water. Its failures are making people sick, damaging local businesses and tarnishing our livelihood as a seaside economy. That is why so many of the people I represent are fed up with Southern Water, while having to pay more in their bills. They welcome the action that the Labour Government are taking to ramp up regulation, ban bonuses and much more, but they want to know what more can be done. The water White Paper, which she has brought forward, talks about the importance of ownership and opens the door to the Government looking at not-for-profit structures. Could she say a bit more about that?

• 3 Jun 2026 · South East Water: Disruption of Supply · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) for securing the urgent question. The disruption caused by this incident has been extremely distressing for my constituents on the Sussex-Kent border who are served by South East Water. Many residents and businesses were impacted, and it is right that the chief executive and the chairman of South East Water have resigned. I urge the Government to look at the terms of the company’s licence and whether they have been breached. We are here in the Chamber again discussing another major water outage—as the Minister knows, there have been two major outages in my patch—and we see the same mistakes and failures repeated time and again by the water companies. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee looked at the issue and found that the water companies need to have clear plans of action in place, including for providing water stations in the right places, such as those that people can get to without a car, and they need to think about the impact on businesses and maybe deliver water to them to keep them open. All of those things are forgotten every time, so will the Minister instruct all water companies in the country to have detailed emergency response plans in place for every constituency in the country and ask that they work with local MPs on them? We are the people who can get the contact details for the local headteachers and vicars, as I had to last Christmas eve, who can set up water stations, but the water companies need to do the planning before disaster strikes and people lose water. I urge the Minister to look at such measures.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. and gallant Friend is talking about the support that the Government are giving to veterans, and about improving their housing situation. In my constituency, the East Sussex Veterans’ Hub, which provides really valuable support for local veterans, has just received a grant of half a million pounds to scale up its work, and convert disused office block accommodation in Hastings town centre into supported accommodation for over 14 veterans, which is amazing. Will he join me in paying tribute to the work done by the East Sussex Veterans’ Hub, led by Bernard Stonestreet? May I extend an invitation to him to visit? He will be pleased to know that the hub has built a full-scale flight simulator that simulates Operation Black Buck, and I know that the veterans would be delighted to welcome him.

• 13 May 2026 · New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public Amenities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises the issue of the facilities on new housing estates, and playgrounds in particular. One of the new estates in my constituency, the Ashdown House development, has been developed by Chartway homes and funded by Legal & General. A playground was promised as part of the development, as was a community centre, but they have not been delivered, to the shock of residents. Eight-year-old Gia came to my playground drop-in session to tell me about this, and to show me in her notebook—with a cat on the front—the many residents’ signatures she had collected to urge the developer to live up to its commitments. Does my hon. Friend agree that not only must the developers live up to their commitments, but the planning enforcement teams at Hastings borough council need to enforce the provision of services that developers have agreed to provide?

• 16 Apr 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We have a pothole epidemic in Hastings, Rye and the villages, and that is why the Government gave East Sussex county council a record £21 million to tackle it—more money than ever before. So, I was absolutely furious when I uncovered figures that showed that it actually planned to spend £18 million in the same year, £3 million less, on filling potholes—absolutely shocking. The drivers and residents I represent are fed up with this Conservative council dodging its responsibilities and wasting our taxpayers’ money, such as £5 million overspent on the shambolic Queensway Gateway project. Does the Leader of the House agree with me that there are now no more excuses, and that East Sussex county council must crack on and fill the potholes?

• 14 Apr 2026 · Dualling of the A21 · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan) for securing this important debate about improving the A21. This is an issue that we work on together and with colleagues who represent constituencies along the road, which runs from London down to Hastings and through his constituency. We all want to see improvements. Like the hon. Gentleman, I support the dualling of the A21 and further improvements to the road. We have both spent so many hours stuck on the A21 commuting between Westminster and our constituencies. As the Minister will be aware, because there is a single-lane system after Pembury, when an accident happens on the A21, people can be stuck for an extremely long time and everything comes to a standstill. That is a really serious issue for our constituents. The hon. Gentleman talked about how improving our transport links will improve opportunities. Hastings and Rye ranks in the bottom 10 constituencies in the whole country for social mobility, and our poor transport connections are cited by the Sutton Trust as one of the reasons for that, so this is really key. A lot of work has been happening in recent years to make the A21 safer. I pay tribute to the former Member for Bexhill and Battle for his time in the Department for Transport and for securing some of that funding, which has been continued under this Government. The A21 has definitely become safer in recent years; I know that I have seen a marked improvement, particularly at night, and many constituents have said the same. It used to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country, and I think it still holds a very serious record in the number of fatal road accidents, but it is getting better and is clearly getting safer. Despite raising this issue, which is mentioned repeatedly by constituents, with National Highways, it is not getting any better, and my constituents and I have experienced it many times: the way in which National Highways handles overnight road closures on the A21 is unacceptable. It does not give any warning or put signs up in advance to tell people that the road is closed. In the pitch black at 10 pm, people are confronted with a road closure and one sign sending them down a series of dark country lanes, with no further signs after that. That puts them in an extremely difficult position in the dark. It is not safe, and actually makes our road safety record go the opposite way, with all the improvements that we are closing the road overnight for. We need to see National Highways get much better at overnight road closures and the notice that it gives. It is not good enough, and I would be really grateful if the Minister could raise that with National Highways. The other thing I will raise is the Queensway Gateway Road. It has finally been finished and opened, but we have had much pain in Hastings during the works that have been run by East Sussex county council. It was a shambles from start to finish; it was meant to take a month, and it lasted over a year. We have just found out that there was a £5 million overspend on the roadworks, costing local businesses millions and leaving residents stuck in gridlock for hours when trying to get to work or school. I am calling for an independent investigation into this issue. Conservative-run East Sussex county council and the contractors it used, such as Balfour Beatty, have serious questions to answer about how they could plan a project so badly that it ran on for a year and overspent by £5 million—taxpayers’ money. I would be grateful if the Minister could look into that as well.

• 19 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Queensway Gateway Road works were a shambles from start to finish. They were meant to last weeks, but dragged on for almost a year, causing gridlock and losing local businesses millions. We have just found out that Conservative-run East Sussex county council overspent by £5 million on those shambolic works. Does the Leader of the House agree that that is £5 million less to repair our potholes and our roads? Does he also agree that East Sussex county council and the contractors, who include Balfour Beatty, owe it to local taxpayers to explain what the hell went so wrong and how they will ensure that it does not happen again?