Lisa Smart MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity to clarify. In my speech, I said explicitly, from the Lib Dem Front Bench, that I welcomed the Minister’s openness to the ISC being part of this process.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I will give way one last time.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  A series of Administrations have not been as open as they could be, and have made poor choices about the behaviour of some of their Members, which has ended up in scandal and disgrace. I completely agree, if the hon. Lady is making the point that public trust in our institutions and our Government is vital; we must all take that seriously. There is a sorry legacy of recent Governments who behaved less than impeccably in a number of ways. We strongly support using this whole sorry episode as a catalyst to bring about much-needed change.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  The best disinfectant is often daylight. I am strongly in favour of transparency; I welcome it, including about the information that is being requested today.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  That is an important clarification to make. Rightly, there are questions surrounding the judgment displayed by the Prime Minister in appointing Peter Mandelson to the position of UK ambassador to the US. Those questions are wholly valid, as are the questions being asked about current Cabinet Ministers who also chose to maintain friendships with Mandelson—there are rumours of him popping in and out of some offices at will. I must say, I noted the facial expressions of some Government Front Benchers during Prime Minister’s questions earlier. Of course, many questions were raised about Mandelson before his appointment. Questions were raised about him during the 2009 expenses scandal. He was forced to resign from Cabinet twice for unethical behaviour, and we understand that the security services raised serious concerns about his appointment last year, yet he was still appointed to one of our most sensitive diplomatic positions. This is not a case of one unforeseen problem; it is a pattern of warning signs that were ignored. This Labour Government promised to break with Conservative chaos, but instead we see the same failures—inadequate checks, reactive crisis management, and an inability to prevent obvious problems. You do not restore public trust with heartfelt apologies after things go wrong; you do it by having proper systems that stop scandals before they happen. Labour has failed to maintain public confidence, and it must do better.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I think my hon. Friend is referring to the appointment of the friend of a known paedophile, rather than the appointment of a paedophile.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I strongly agree with the hon. Lady. Transparency is what the public deserve, and it is what we in the House demand. This whole sorry tale is about more than the failures, greed and corruption of one man, or even whole swathes of rich, powerful men who conspired to abuse their wealth and power over many years. It is about judgment, and also about a system that has long been not fit for purpose, and an establishment that wants to keep things just the way they are because that suits their needs. We should use this shocking situation to bring about the changes that our country needs, that trust in politics demands, and that those brave women who spoke out deserve.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman has clearly been reading Liberal Democrat press releases, because we believe that a public inquiry would be a far more effective way of getting to the bottom of this matter. I am delighted that he made that point.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I am always delighted to get agreement from across the political spectrum, and I very much agree with the right hon. Gentleman: an independent, judge-led inquiry would be the right way to go.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is entirely right to talk about the very well-known men—and it is men, wealthy, powerful, greedy men—who should be held accountable for their actions. We should all welcome the transparency that is being sought today. We should have in mind the victims and survivors, and the need to prevent young girls and women from becoming victims and survivors of similar crimes. We should do all we can to prevent that, and should take the responsibility that we have seriously. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) mentioned in Prime Minister’s questions, as did the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart) at the Dispatch Box in this debate, that the Polish Government think that Epstein might have been spying for Putin. The British public and Epstein’s victims deserve to know whether a UK Cabinet Minister was leaking secrets to not only a convicted paedophile and sex trafficker, but a Russian agent. We Liberal Democrats recognise the vital importance of safeguarding national security, and we genuinely welcome the openness that the Minister displays about looking at using the ISC to get to the bottom of some of this. However, there are already safeguards to protect national security. Those include the National Security Act 2023, which restricts the disclosure of information where that would harm the safety or interests of the UK. By tabling their amendment, which uses international relations as a reason to keep secret the information that they have, the Government are trying to wriggle out of their obligation to tell the truth, and we will not support it.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Lady’s characterisation of some of the individuals we are talking about today. We will be supporting the Leader of the Opposition’s motion to request the information that is sought. The Liberal Democrats would go further, looking to a public inquiry in order to get to the detail that the victims deserve. The revelations about Peter Mandelson’s conduct raise profoundly serious questions about judgment, national security and accountability. The leaked emails suggest that while serving as a Cabinet Minister, he shared sensitive Government information, sharing details about the 2008 financial crisis, market-sensitive bail-out measures and potential asset sales. These allegations point to potential misconduct in public office, aimed at helping those involved to enrich themselves. They certainly warrant the police investigation that was announced yesterday, but also reveal catastrophic failures in the systems meant to protect our national interest. The emails highlight a fundamental lack of accountability that exists within our current system. The Prime Minister has rightly called Peter Mandelson’s conduct a betrayal, and has submitted material to the police and requested draft legislation on removing peerages. These responses are necessary, but it has taken the Government far too long to get to this position. Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States by this Government and this Prime Minister even after his links to Epstein had been extensively reported by the Financial Times and “Channel 4 News”.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  I am sure that I have been listening as intently as the hon. Gentleman. There are so many questions that it is right for the Government to answer, and we believe that a public inquiry, after any police investigation has concluded, is the way to get to the bottom of them. There are questions swirling around about which advisers said what, when, but the decision to hire Mandelson was ultimately the Prime Minister’s, and he must be held responsible for that.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  We are having this debate today solely because of the women and girls who found the courage to come forward and speak about the abuse they had endured over years at the hands of rich and powerful men. Without these women’s bravery in speaking up about their experiences at the hands of a paedophile sex trafficker and his friends, none of these shocking revelations would have come out. We owe these women justice, and we owe it to them to make changes to create a system that works.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Business Rates · Hansard source

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  William Robinson is the managing director of Robinsons Brewery, on my patch. His is the sixth generation running a brewer, a bottler and more than 250 pubs, inns and hotels across the north-west and north Wales, as well as an important bottling plant in Bredbury. William has written to tell me that the present system is destroying confidence, businesses and future investment, and therefore jobs. Does the Minister accept that repeated changes such as moving from the removal of reliefs to this package, including frozen bills and a temporary 15% discount, have created huge uncertainty and anxiety for pubs as they are making important investment and staffing decisions?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My constituent Harry has a learning disability, and he is so brilliant that he has not one but two jobs. His mum, Helen, is his appointee, and she is not allowed to access his Access to Work paperwork online. This means she has to print out 24 bits of paper, get it manually signed and pay to post it. That is crackers in 2026. Will the Minister undertake to look at Harry’s case and ensure that appointees, such as Helen, do not find it too hard to access Access to Work, so that we can keep brilliant people like Harry in work?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

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  In Greater Manchester we love a bit of drama. We have the longest-running soap opera in the world—“Coronation Street”—we have some nail-biting derby matches, and over the weekend there was some pretty high-octane speculation about whether the current person responsible for policing in the city region might be allowed to apply for another job. Where we do not want more drama, though, is in policing our communities. Could the Home Secretary share her thinking about how to preserve what works well in Greater Manchester—where the police force is coterminous with the mayoral authority and the 10 local authorities within it, enabling good, strong partnership working—so that my Hazel Grove constituents get the policing they deserve?

• 22 Jan 2026 · UK-EU Relations · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, the Trade Secretary was the latest senior Government figure to break ranks by saying that it would be “crazy” not to look at a customs union with the EU. That position is already supported by the Prime Minister’s economic adviser, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Health Secretary. Since leaving the EU, many businesses including those in my constituency have found it harder to trade with our neighbours, which is having an obvious impact on the economy. The Government have changed their mind on many things since the last election, having said that they definitely were not going to. Does the Minister accept that it would save us all a lot of time, be the single biggest lever that the Government could pull to generate growth, and give those on his own Benches something that they are crying out for if he just agreed to crack on and start negotiations for a bespoke customs union with the EU?

• 22 Jan 2026 · UK-EU Relations · Hansard source

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  We expect an EU reset Bill in the coming months to update the arrangements around our relationship with our European neighbours. Following the terrible Brexit deal delivered by the Conservatives and cheered on by the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), which trashed our economy and our international standing, a reset is essential, and we welcome it. Does the Minister agree that Parliament should have the ability to fully scrutinise the legislation to ensure that the Government deliver the change that we need and that we can hold Ministers’ feet to the fire as they set up new structures or committees as needed? To that end, will he assure the House that the Bill will contain enough detail to allow meaningful democratic accountability and that the specifics will not be kicked into secondary legislation?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Water White Paper · Hansard source

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  I am lucky enough to represent the constituency of Hazel Grove, which includes the junction of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest canals. My constituents value our canals because they are green veins throughout our area and a link to our industrial heritage, but they are concerned about the sustainability of funding for our canal network, given what has happened recently with the breach at Whitchurch and a few years ago at the Toddbrook reservoir. The Secretary of State will know the role of the Canal and River Trust when it comes to water management; it looks after 74 reservoirs nationally. She will also know that the ownership model means it cannot pass on the uplift in costs to customers in the way that water companies do. Could the Secretary of State meet me to talk about the funding given to CRT to ensure that our canal network is sustainable for the future, and that we treat it as the asset it is and not a liability to be managed?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Chinese Embassy · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister for advance sight of his statement and for the time his officials took to brief me earlier today. The Government’s decision to approve plans for the Chinese mega-embassy represents far more than a planning matter. It shows that Ministers have learned very little from the evidence exposed in recent months of Chinese spying efforts to infiltrate British politics and this House. Throughout this stunted process, the Liberal Democrats have consistently called these plans out for what they are: a mistake. The Government know that the decision they have made today will further amplify China’s surveillance efforts here in the UK, endangering the security of our data. Planning conditions are meaningless without proper enforcement. Given the unprecedented security concerns surrounding this site, how will the Government ensure that planning conditions are rigorously monitored and enforced, particularly in regard to the underground cables that the current plans come dangerously close to? No amount of planning conditions can address the fundamental problem. The embassy does not clean Chinese officials of their human rights abuses. It is shocking that China has placed bounties on the heads of democracy activists from Hong Kong who live in the UK. That type of interference and intimidation in our country is totally unacceptable, so in the light of this decision, will the Government include all Chinese officials, Hong Kong special administrative region officials and Chinese Communist party-linked organisations on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme? Beyond the security and diplomatic concerns, there are fundamental questions about our democratic freedoms. The previous Conservative Government attacked our fundamental right to protest, and this Labour Government have continued to erode those freedoms. As a democratic society, we must protect the right to protest peacefully, including near embassies and including for Hongkongers living in the UK. Will the Government continue to guarantee the right to protest, even as this embassy moves ahead?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  Safe, reliable and affordable railways are vital for economic growth in communities like mine. I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, because for too long we have not seen that investment in our northern communities. For too long, our infrastructure has been neglected and, as a result, our northern communities have not been able to fulfil their potential. I will build on what some Greater Manchester colleagues have been asking about Manchester Piccadilly. Some of the enabling work around Ardwick and Ashburys would unlock improved services to communities like mine on the Rose Hill line, or maybe even a tram-train to Marple. How can the Secretary of State ensure that communities like mine can feed in, so that this project reaches its full potential and gets a 10 out of 10, rather than a mediocre “meh”?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My local mental health trust is commissioned to deliver just 100 autism assessments and 88 ADHD assessments per year. The team is led by Clare, a constituent from Marple. There are approximately 1,600 people on the waiting list for ADHD alone—that is a 12-year waiting list. That is driving constituents to seek private diagnoses, but their GPs then refuse to sign up to a shared care arrangement, as the numbers just do not add up. What plans do the Government have to review the shared care protocols so that they work for patients and GPs?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Call for General Election · Hansard source

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  I give way to the Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Call for General Election · Hansard source

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  I would be genuinely delighted to talk about the many and varied ways in which we could change this place that I am sure the hon. Gentleman and I would agree about. There is a chance that we agree, although I am not entirely sure whether we still do, about how we elect people to this place. People elect their MPs to come here and represent them, and that includes fair representation on Select Committees, and that should be proportionate. Given the total of 650 MPs, including five Reform MPs, there is a risk that we would end up with about 100 MPs on each Committee to maintain proportionality. I do not think that that is practicable or practical. The hon. Gentleman and I would agree in many ways on how we should reform this place and change it for the better. The voting tonight is due to start soon; we are going to be going for many hours until late tonight, as I understand it. I suspect that he and I will feel similarly about that as a way to run a country. [Interruption.] Voting is a good thing, of which there should more, but I think that other democracies in other parts of the world have found a more effective and efficient way of doing it than voting at midnight by walking through a corridor for 15 minutes. It is reckless to maintain an electoral model that so consistently produces such wildly disproportionate groups of MPs and leaves millions of voters feeling ignored. If those trends are allowed to continue, it is not difficult to see how turnout will fall further, results will become even more distorted and political instability will grow. We can look at what has happened in actual ballot boxes since the last general election: in 2025, the Liberal Democrats won more councillors than Labour or the Conservatives for the first time, and won more local council by-elections than any other party. We Lib Dems look forward to May’s local elections and are well up for the next general election, whenever it is called. It is shaping up to be a battle to stop Trump’s UK fanboys from doing to our communities what their idol is doing to America. I am a bit worried about what the future holds for our country, but I choose to be optimistic. The British people are bright, innovative, witty and sarky, and they will not put up with snake oil salesmen peddling conspiracy theories and division for very long. The people will let the Government, whoever they are, know that they are livid with them—not usually by rioting in the streets but by taking the mickey out of them, mercilessly. Long may that continue.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Call for General Election · Hansard source

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  No Government is perfect, but I am immensely proud—and will be to my dying day—that some of my friends in a same-sex relationship can get married, when they were not allowed to do so under the previous Labour Government. I am immensely proud—I say this as a school governor for 20 years—that the kids who need the most support get it through the pupil premium. And I am immensely proud, that that showed that a grown-up, consensual coalition Government can work. The hon. Member will know—I am sure he read Alistair Darling’s budgetary plans in the run-up to the 2010 election—that the then Labour Government planned to cut more than either the Liberal Democrats or the Conservatives. So although I did not agree with everything the 2010 to 2015 Government did—no sane person possibly could—I am proud that we delivered what so many people wanted and needed. There is always work for every Government to do. The million or so members of the public who signed this petition, including 1,987 of my Hazel Grove constituents, are calling for a change via a general election. They are feeling frustrated and disappointed that this Government have failed to deliver the change that they promised at the 2024 election.