Peter Prinsley MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Forest City: West Suffolk · Hansard source

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  I do not wish to declare my support for Forest City, but I wish to declare that there has to be some imagination here. It seems to me that the hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, has not grasped the imagination behind this project. We are not talking about simply expanding a number of existing towns; this is a completely new idea. What does he think about that?

• 15 Jun 2026 · Local Plans · Hansard source

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  In Suffolk, many villages need new affordable houses, so what can be done to make the rural exception sites more attractive to developers?

• 1 Jun 2026 · UK Coastal Waters: Protection · Hansard source

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  12. What steps his Department is taking to protect UK coastal waters.

• 1 Jun 2026 · UK Coastal Waters: Protection · Hansard source

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  Off the tranquil coast of Suffolk lie critical pieces of infrastructure, communications cables and electrical installations. There are alarming reports of munitions that are capable of creating giant tidal waves, threatening our coastal communities and indeed our nuclear facilities. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to protect our coastal waters from hostile foreign activity and truly safeguard our national security?

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement. I declare an interest as a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, but I speak for myself. The actions of Minister Gvir, seen on the news last night, are an utter disgrace. As a Jewish MP, I was ashamed, for sometimes it is not easy to be a Jewish MP in this House. Does the Minister agree that the actions of certain Israeli Ministers are not the responsibility of the Anglo-Jewish population, and that there can be no excuse for the terrible epidemic of antisemitism we have seen on British streets? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  I thank all hon. Members who came to speak in the debate. I particularly thank the hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan), who gave very interesting Back-Bench contributions. I also thank the Minister and the Opposition spokespeople—the hon. Members for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) and for Winchester (Dr Chambers)—for their contributions. It is quite true that the shadow Minister and I grew up on the same street—probably about 10 houses apart, but many more than 10 years apart. This has been an interesting debate, whose purpose was to highlight the plight of foundation doctors. As we have said, if we can fix the foundations, we will be able to fix the problems we have with our young doctors. I definitely think that this industrial dispute, which has been rolling and rumbling on for several years, is solvable. It sounds as though we were close to solving it and particularly to attending to the conditions of young doctors.

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  I will wind up, then. I thank everyone very much, and I look forward to seeing success in the future. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the Foundation Programme and its role in supporting and retaining resident doctors.

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  Certainly we must address the workload but, as I will reveal later in my speech, there are many things that we can do to help the situation. Let me say a bit about my own experience, which admittedly was a long time ago—

• 16 Apr 2026 · Places of Worship Renewal Fund · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her answer. Church leaders in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket are rightly concerned about the cancellation of the listed places of worship grant scheme. Will the Church Commissioner outline what conversations she has had with the Government regarding the support and guidance given to those people who are concerned with the upkeep of churches in my constituency and across the country? It is surely for our generation to preserve the legacy bequeathed to us by our forefathers.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I understand exactly what the hon. Member says. My position is this: I support the Government, and I support the Bill, but I think the House should take very seriously what the Lords have asked us to consider. If the Government are not minded to accept the amendment as it stands, I believe there is a strong case for them to bring forward their own proposal to achieve the same outcome clearly and in a timely fashion. Ultimately, this is about setting the right boundaries for children in a digital world that is evolving quickly. There is a clear expectation, inside and outside this House, that we must act.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Royal Mail: Performance · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I thank the hon. Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) for introducing the debate. I also thank the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor), who has turned private investigator. I was very impressed by his efforts. There is no doubt that there is a real crisis in the postal service. I have just read “Precipice” by Robert Harris; it tells the story of a love affair between Prime Minister Asquith and a young socialite. It is recorded in the many, many letters delivered between them each day. The book is about the letters between them, half of which survive. The letters to the Prime Minister, I believe, were destroyed, but the letters to the socialite survive and form the basis of the book. Mr Harris invented the other letters—love letters to the Prime Minister: imagine that. Now we have email and texts, and no doubt future writers will look at political emails. Times have changed, and we must acknowledge that. In Denmark, the letter post has, unbelievably, completely stopped. Here, the universal service remains an obligation, not an option. Our people expect that. I urge the Government to get a grip on this. If the solution is indeed public ownership, let us simply do that.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Royal Mail: Performance · Hansard source

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  Give it time.

• 16 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Many United States service personnel from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall live off base in Bury St Edmunds. Three planes from Lakenheath were shot down in friendly fire over Kuwait last week. Fortunately, the pilots were rescued. Mildenhall is home to a large fleet of aerial refuelling tankers. I do not know whether it was a tanker from Mildenhall that was lost, but I do know that there are six grieving families right now. Will the Secretary of State join me in extending our support and sincere condolences to our brave United States families? Wherever they are, they are in our thoughts.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Rural GPs: Funding · Hansard source

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  There is obviously a problem with funding the recruitment of additional GP partners in rural surgeries. Does the hon. Member agree that we should think carefully about how the partnership model itself might be improved?

• 11 Feb 2026 · Rural GPs: Funding · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 9 Feb 2026 · Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps · Hansard source

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  6. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the EU’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.

• 9 Feb 2026 · Brain Tumour Survival Rates · Hansard source

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  I cannot understand how there can be a relationship between head injury and brain tumour. Repeated injury causes some neurological conditions, particularly for footballers, whom we see getting early dementia, but I do not see a connection between head injury and brain tumour. Does the shadow Minister?

• 9 Feb 2026 · Brain Tumour Survival Rates · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister take an intervention?

• 5 Feb 2026 · National Cancer Plan · Hansard source

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  What a brilliant plan, and I congratulate the Minister on bringing it to the House this afternoon. However, cancer trials need clinical academics, and we have a crisis in clinical academic recruitment, retention and funding. Does she agree that we must find ways to encourage young clinicians into academic and research roles?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Lord Mandelson · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is giving a historical perspective, which I am sure we all appreciate. It seems that Mr Mandelson is a serial liar. Does the hon. Member agree that the Prime Minister said this morning that Mr Mandelson lied, lied and lied to him? Who in this House has never been lied to?

• 29 Jan 2026 · Holocaust Memorial Day · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that information, which I was aware of. If I have a little time, let me thank the leader of Plaid Cymru, the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts)—I simply cannot pronounce the name of her constituency. She was correct that we must remember the other genocides, some of which really are a memory for me, not history; many of us can remember several of them. I was particularly taken by my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal), who spoke about the expression “never again”. As he correctly said, “never again” is a test for all of us. What will we do to ensure that it will never happen again? Finally, I would like to say something about my hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride and Strathaven (Joani Reid), who is the most powerful advocate for the Campaign Against Antisemitism. If it were up to me, I should appoint her as a righteous gentile. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered Holocaust Memorial Day.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Holocaust Memorial Day · Hansard source

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  Oh, there is time! In that case, I will tell hon. Members the story. The great Abbey of Bury St Edmunds had large landholdings all over the country, including land in the City of London. Wooden stakes were put out each year to define the land, which were called the Bury marks. “Bevis Marks” is simply a spelling mistake.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Holocaust Memorial Day · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member is making a really powerful speech. Does he agree that there is a strong suspicion that some of the hate marches we have seen on the streets of Britain have been orchestrated by Iranian agents?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Arctic Security · Hansard source

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  As possibly the only MP with American grandchildren, may I ask whether the Foreign Secretary agrees that whatever disagreements may arise between this Government and the Government of the United States about Greenland, the bonds of friendship and kinship between the peoples of this island and the peoples of the United States are historic, vital and enduring?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.