John Glen MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 4 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Agriculture offers enormous growth opportunities in the UK, and when it comes to precision breeding and plant protection, it is vital that the SPS deal maintains the UK’s right to diverge on the basis of its own scientific assessments, particularly in those sectors. What reassurance can the Secretary of State give such growth sectors in agriculture that that autonomy will be retained in any future deal?

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

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  Wiltshire council has assessed that the combination of the decision to stop the A303 tunnel at Stonehenge—despite £250 million already being committed to that, and spent—confirmation that the UK Health Security Agency will move to Harlow from Porton; the reduction to the rural grant; and Wiltshire having one of the lowest levels of police funding, as the police and crime commissioner tells me, means that Wiltshire’s GDP is at risk of falling by 6%. Could we have a statement from the Government on the effect of combined Government decisions on the Wiltshire economy, and what they propose to do to assist us through this time?

• 4 Jun 2026 · Russian Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  Eight years ago next month, Dawn Sturgess died in my constituency as a direct consequence of Russia’s attack, via Novichok, that aimed to take out Sergei Skripal. During that awful episode, it was quite clear that the work of our security services was instrumental in understanding the covert networks that Russia has across the globe. I pay tribute to Sir Alex Younger, who did so much to hold together an increasingly sophisticated capability to protect us in the United Kingdom. Will the Minister reassure us that continued investment will take place in whatever sophisticated surveillance of Russian assets across the globe exists, so we can ensure that we are one step ahead of Putin?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Having recently visited Wiltshire cadets in Old Sarum, I very much welcome what the Minister said about National Cadet Week. Will she ensure that all schools, particularly those in Pride in Place areas, such as the one in Salisbury, are made aware of the transformational opportunities of attending the cadets? That will be a great way of expanding the uptake, which I am sure she is aiming for.

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is, quite reasonably, setting out his assertions about where he wants the Government to go, but does he not see the irony? After all the events of last week, the cost of borrowing in the UK is higher than that of many of our competitors, and all business leaders say they feel the instability. The right hon. Gentleman’s words will not ring very true for people who seriously wonder about the Government’s future direction, with putative leadership contenders talking about fundamental changes in direction and different fiscal rules.

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. and learned Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby), on her elevation to her new position. The subject that I want to focus on—the enhancing financial services Bill—makes me reflect on the fact that I was in office as Economic Secretary for 1,640 days and, since then, we have had seven Economic Secretaries. I fully concede that several were from my party, but it is regrettable that there is not a degree of continuity in that role, because one of the most fundamental challenges facing the financial services sector, which is so important to securing enduring growth, is having Ministers who are able to maintain a relationship with the regulators and work through what, contrary to the way our politics is conducted these days, are quite complicated and delicate changes to regulation, capital requirements, and the way in which the consumer interacts with banks and financial services. I think it is deeply regrettable that that has come to pass. However, I welcome some of the legislative measures put before us in the King’s Speech, such as the changes to the senior managers regime, removing the degree of certification necessary; the streamlining, essentially, of the functions of the Payment Systems Regulator into the Financial Conduct Authority; the re-anchoring of the Financial Ombudsman Service into the FCA, removing a degree of arbitrage existing in the marketplace; and adjustments to the ringfencing regime. Those are good things, and I am sure that we on the Treasury Committee and across this House will examine the detail of them. I want to make three other points, if I may, about some of the challenges we face in the economy and financial services. First, we have to own the trade-offs that exist between financial stability and lending capacity. Post 2008, we made a number of decisions as a country to secure stability on an enduring basis, and we have now become too reluctant to recognise that the world is a completely different place. The question this House needs to answer in 2026 is whether the same calibration remains appropriate, and whether the proposals in the enhancing financial services Bill—for example, on ringfencing—go far enough. Are we used to holding on to a framework that protects and apparently gives stability, but which is in fact stopping significant tranches of capital being available to grow businesses and grow the economy? The second area with which I am very preoccupied is the consumer duty. In the other place, the Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee published a report last year, called “Growing pains”, which explicitly identified the consumer duty’s lack of clarity as a source of “regulatory penalty on investment in UK businesses”. We must ask whether the time has come when responsibility for where to invest and how to invest should lie more with the individual consumer. We are advancing this notion that somehow we in this place can define all the checks and balances, which we delegate to the regulator, and the moment something goes wrong, we expect that regulator to step in and to offer compensation. The emphasis should now be on reforming the Consumer Credit Act 1974—I think the Government are announcing that today—but that has been taking too long. It was first mooted when I was a Minister several years ago, and we have to be real about the reset that needs to happen as we redefine the level of responsibility that individuals take when investing. Thirdly, I welcome the regulating for growth Bill’s sandbox measures. They are welcome as a concept in bringing in innovative businesses, in which this country continues to be very strong in financial services. However, we must be real about the fact that the area is dominated by large firms, and the new Economic Secretary will need to work with the regulators to see how we can bring firms in at an earlier stage, so that smaller firms, which may have achieved only a few million in seed round investment, can access the acceleration through that considerable regulatory burden. Let me finish by making a few other observations about the state of the economy. All Governments intend to do the right thing. The narrative of this Government in their first year was, “We need to reset and bring stability, and from that growth can come.” But when I speak to businesses in my constituency and beyond, I hear that the burdens of the increases in national insurance and the national living wage, the uncertainty around fiscal events, and what happened with regulation have had a material impact. It is not enough to suggest that somehow small retail and hospitality businesses are not where future growth in the economy as a whole is going to come from. That says something about the level of confidence the man on the high street feels about where the Government and the economy are going. I fear, from widespread reports—notwithstanding today’s welcome news from the IMF, if it proves to be true—that the overall consensus is that the burden of taxation on business and wealth creators has reached a level where people will not invest in this country. Unless the Government grasp that fundamental truth, we will be in a spiral. Every few months there might be a little bit of hope with the adjustment of a prediction, but the fundamental trajectory of confidence in the British economy is just not there. That is reflected in the cost of borrowing which, whether we like it or not, is the markets’ fundamental measure of confidence in the economy’s future, at a time of high borrowing. I always try to take a constructive view, as I have today. I pointed to the significant positive things in the enhancing financial services Bill, and I welcome other elements in the regulatory growth legislation. But let us have some fundamental honesty about where we are now, notwithstanding all the mistakes that the Governments I was part of may have made. We are where we are now, and we have to be real about the challenges we face to secure enduring confidence and growth in this country.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During the winding-up speech on the Pension Schemes Bill, I understand that the Minister for Pensions made specific reference to me. I was elsewhere at the Treasury Committee, but I am told that he referred to a Westminster Hall debate on 25 November, and depicted me as arguing for the mandation of pension investments. In that debate, I explicitly said that mandation would be an “overreach”. I went on to say: “I hope that the Minister will reflect a little more on the need to empower pension holders to take decisions in the interest of investing more in UK equities.” —[ Official Report, 25 November 2025; Vol. 776, c. 122WH.] I would be grateful if you could advise me on how I could avoid being inadvertently misquoted by the Minister in future.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  Over the past 21 months, the Minister has worked tirelessly to try to build on the consensus across the House on the legislation that I put through on 21 May 2024 in order to make the scheme work, and I pay tribute to the work he has done. He has listened carefully to a whole range of inputs on an extremely complicated problem from a heterogeneous group of individuals, and he has done his level best to respond to the advice and best judgment of professionals, to attend to the range of needs and oversights, and to create pathways. I pay tribute to the work that he has done. He assured the House repeatedly that the money would get out as quickly as possible, and it did get out quickly and move swiftly after that initial process had been resolved. However, given that it cost over £150 million for the public inquiry, let alone the several billions of pounds for the compensation, will he ensure that the proper lessons are learned by the British state, so that not only can such a scandal never happen again but the conduct of public inquiries is as efficient as possible and we can reduce the delays that may have occurred in this situation?

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  If we now have a more sophisticated understanding of an individual’s need, and if the provision required to meet that need across society has reached a cost and breadth that is so significant, how do we provide for that given the finite budgets that exist?

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  When addressing this subject, I think of the 16 years of surgeries I have had where parents have come in to explain their profound dissatisfaction with the way in which the evaluation of their child’s needs has been conducted. One of the most powerful examples was a constituent who came to me and said that their son has complex SEND needs, including: autism; ADHD; sensory processing disorder; demand avoidance; social, emotional and mental health; and severe anxiety and school trauma. They went on to tell me that for the last eight years, there had been a series of failings in dealing with their situation—an inadequate and inaccurate EHCP, and school placements and support failures—and then went on to tell me the enormous impact on their family. I honestly believe that everyone in this place wants to get the right improvements to this broken system.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  Of course I do. This is where the problem is. If we move towards a standardised provision that is driven by central Government or a latest orthodoxy, we risk missing the flexibility that should and needs to exist on an individual basis. There is a core point about which I am still uncomfortable. In a situation where, as in 2024-25, parents won 95% to 99% of tribunal cases, it appears that the system has defined needs that exist for which we cannot provide. We need to level with the country and with parents and say what we can provide and what we are actually unable to provide.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  I will not have any more time, so I will not. Let us not peddle a dishonesty by saying that we are going to deliver a perfect system. Frankly, we have got to the point where we need to look at the definitional parameters and get to a more honest conversation about how we are going to actually deal with this problem.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  I do, but I want to address the key point that I think we all have to acknowledge. Between 2014 and 2023, there was a 140% expansion in the number of EHCPs to well over half a million. In generating that volume of demand, Members in all parts of the House—no matter who is in government—have to be honest about whether, given the budgets we have, we can actually provide solutions that meet the needs of every individual child. We are all trying to make the case to achieve that, whether through EHCPs giving us the legal backstop, or moving to an individual support plan in a school-based solution. I want us to recognise that, in defining needs so much more broadly, we have created such a demand and expectation of the state. We have to be real about what we can and cannot provide. This is very delicate territory, because we are always concerned that we will be accused of denying that the needs exist, but what concerns me is that we will set expectations that the school will set up an individual definition of provision and it will not be met in exactly the same way that we have seen with the challenges over the past decade. There is a central tension in the White Paper that, as we move from a rights-based system of statutory entitlements to a resource-led system, the situation will automatically improve. It seems to me that the representatives of those with unmet SEND provision and the charities are concerned that having set expectations in our country that EHCPs are legally enforceable, there will be an enforceability gap. With the proposed ISPs, although parents might have the right to a plan, they will not have the legal right to the provision it contains. If we standardise things over individual needs and move to a situation where we have nationally determined fixed packages of support, we will risk getting into exactly the situation that we have reached in recent years.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is making a very moving and powerful speech, but is not the reality that if every single EHCP was properly diagnosed and the need expressed, it would impose an honest but unachievable burden on the state? Will he acknowledge that and address how we come to terms with it?

• 26 Mar 2026 · National Savings & Investments · Hansard source

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  I welcome the actions that the Government are taking to restore trust in NS&I, and to take the appropriate compensation measures. I was in the Treasury for a while, and I had conversations with the previous chief executive—the one prior to 2023. Like the Minister, I took advice from my officials on what assurances I could have from NS&I on the delivery of programmes to transform the IT infrastructure, and I was given those assurances. I welcome the appointment of Jim Harra, who I think is an excellent public servant and is very well placed to understand the nuances of this issue. Will the Minister review the mechanisms by which his officials keep on top of what is happening at NS&I, so that he can be absolutely sure that when things go awry, they are brought to his attention and he can make the necessary interventions? I do not think that that happens currently.

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

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  I represent Salisbury hospital, which has one of the eight specialist spinal units in the country. I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on spinal cord injury, which is chaired by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald). We are very concerned about the Government’s plans to commission spinal services through integrated care boards, which directly contradicts a recent report advocating a national strategy as the best way to maintain specialist nursing numbers and avoid a postcode lottery for treatment and outcomes. Will the Leader of the House ask a Minister to give a statement to the House on the rationale behind this decision, which has massive implications for a very vulnerable community of patients?

• 24 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

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  I welcome the targeted nature of these measures, but three weeks ago it looked like inflation was going to return to the level that the right hon. Lady inherited when she took office in July 2024. That is no longer going to happen, but we are now seeing it the cost of borrowing. Given that we are spending well over £100 billion a year on debt interest, what assessment has the Chancellor made of the implications for the public finances of higher inflation and higher borrowing costs?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Flooding · Hansard source

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  Salisbury has benefited enormously from investment in the river park scheme, which has alleviated flood risk to the centre of the city. My attention now turns to the villages, the role that farmers and agricultural land can play in effective flood defence, and the consequential impact on food supply. How does the Minister view the role of farmers in a collaborative approach to flood defences?

• 17 Mar 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I share the concern of many on the Opposition Benches about the national insurance increase, but I am particularly concerned by what is happening with graduate unemployment, which we have seen increase by 46% over the past six years. I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to the work of upReach, a charity that I have been involved in over the past few years. It is a social mobility charity that offers workshops, work experience and career coaching to young people. Will he engage with organisations such as upReach and Nick Bent, the excellent CEO who runs it, to see what lessons can be learned? In a world where AI is already taking many graduate jobs, it is concerning that the trend will only accelerate further.

• 16 Mar 2026 · Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address · Hansard source

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  Of course, nobody would expect the Government to contravene the indications of the Metropolitan police by publishing documents, but most people would expect that the first step for somebody applying for such an important job—the most senior diplomatic post—is to submit a declaration of interests. It is unclear whether that declaration of interests was submitted, or whether it actually exists, because we have not seen it yet. It is difficult to understand how such a basic first-principles requirement would not be disclosed in the first tranche of documents. Why is that?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State is a former distinguished Treasury Minister. Government is about taking decisions when things change. It is welcome that the Chancellor has addressed the heating oil crisis, but what will the Secretary of State do to make the Chancellor come to terms with the changes over the last few weeks, and to provide some additional support so that the defence investment plan will do justice to his ambitions?

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

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  My constituent Kate Szymankiewicz’s daughter, Ruth, tragically died in a mental health in-patient unit. She has been told by the Government that the law as it stands already provides adequate protections to ensure that family contact and visits can happen, but that plainly did not happen in this case, with tragic consequences. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a debate, statement or meeting with the relevant Minister on this matter? When such a tragedy happens, it is not enough to say that the law is satisfactory as it is. My constituents will not rest until the tragic death of their daughter is properly met by Government action.

• 10 Mar 2026 · OBR Growth Projections: Departmental Spending · Hansard source

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  5. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility's growth projections for 2026 on future departmental spending levels.

• 10 Mar 2026 · OBR Growth Projections: Departmental Spending · Hansard source

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  Given that the Chancellor has pencilled in 0.3% real-terms growth in public spending in 2029-30, and assuming that health spending is at its historical average, the special educational needs and disabilities spend is as per the proposals, and defence is at 3%, that will leave a 2.5% real-terms cut in unprotected Departments. What plans do the Chancellor and Chief Secretary to the Treasury have to fill that £13 billion gap in the 2029-30 envelope?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

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  Given that it was promised at the start of June last year, when will the Chancellor sign off on the defence investment plan?