Richard Quigley MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Social Media: Dangerous Content · Hansard source

  More

  I warmly welcome the Government’s plans to ban social media for under-16s. However, when it comes to content promoting eating disorders, the risks do not simply disappear at 16. The eating disorder charity, Beat, recently pushed ChatGPT to stop generating restrictive meal plans altogether, which it did, so it is possible. Other platforms, however, have failed to act, with X still allowing users to search for harmful hashtags, such as #proana and #bonespo—I apologise if that is triggering. Will the Minister work with me and the eating disorders all-party parliamentary group to ensure that platforms such as X can no longer exploit mental ill health for engagement and profit?

• 1 Jul 2026 · Social Media: Dangerous Content · Hansard source

  More

  4. What steps she is taking to help remove dangerous content from social media platforms.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Puberty Blockers · Hansard source

  More

  I will not, I am afraid—I did warn you, although I do like the hon. Gentleman very much.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Puberty Blockers · Hansard source

  More

  I must confess that Opposition days are beginning to feel a little bit like groundhog day. A party that largely sat on its hands during some of the most significant and difficult challenges is now returning to tell us where this Government are going wrong, and doing so with all the fervour of a party that has never held power, let alone governed for 14 years. Just to warn everyone, I will not be taking interventions. This is a deeply emotional issue, and I recognise that it provokes strong and differing views across the House. I am not here to shout down or dismiss any perspective. I have never had to face this decision myself, either as a parent or as a young person. It is a decision that invites intense scrutiny and judgment, often unfairly casting those involved as villains for doing what they believe is right for a child. We would all do well to remember that we can never truly know what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Too often, this debate has been shaped by vilification and misinformation, much of it amplified by opposition voices and anonymous social media accounts, to the detriment of one of our most vulnerable communities. We hear the warped suggestion that people simply wake up one day and decide on a whim to embark on years of hormone treatment, to face discrimination and to fight for legal recognition, or, worse, that clinicians involved are reckless experimenters intent on subjecting vulnerable children to harm. The Conservatives are, of course, entitled to their opposition, but what alternative are they actually proposing? As usual, they have found an apparent problem, but where is their suggested solution? Is it to return to a time when children experiencing gender incongruence were ignored or dismissed as an inconvenience? That approach belongs to the era of section 28, not to 2026. If their answer is an outright ban, they risk driving vulnerable young people into what Dr Hilary Cass has described as “unregulated and dangerous routes.” We are already seeing reports of children presenting at clinics having already accessed irreversible treatments at a very young age. The outrage we hear today about so-called experimentation rings hollow when it is accompanied by no viable alternative, only a return to the same vacuum that previously existed. I do not suggest that this trial will provide all the answers, but it is undeniably better than turning our backs on a complex reality and leaving young people without safe, supported options.

• 23 Jun 2026 · Puberty Blockers · Hansard source

  More

  Not enough to give way. If we cannot trust Dr Hilary Cass, the author of a report that the Conservative party itself has endorsed, when she says she is “absolutely convinced that more children will be harmed if we don’t do the trial than if we do,” who exactly are we prepared to trust? Do we follow the evidence, the clinicians and the science, or do we retreat into denial, burying our heads in the sand and pretending that trans people do not exist and have never existed? The process the Government have chosen to follow is not reckless; it is rigorous. The MHRA and King’s College London have undertaken detailed scientific scrutiny, and a revised protocol has been agreed that meets the highest regulatory and ethical standards. That is exactly what responsible, evidence-led policymaking looks like. It is up to us to decide what kind of Parliament we want to be: one that confronts complex and sensitive issues with care, compassion and evidence, or one that turns away, leaving vulnerable young people to navigate these challenges alone and in the shadows. For me, the choice is clear: we owe it to those young people not to look away, not to inflame and not to exploit, but to act, guided by science, led by compassion and grounded in responsibility. I am once again proud to be part of a Government who are doing just that.

• 16 Jun 2026 · Isle of Wight Dementia Patients: Discharge to Mainland Care Homes · Hansard source

  More

  I could not agree more; a national dementia strategy is of the utmost importance. As I will go on to say, we currently have a situation where people are being moved away from home or where the care they need just is not available. Nationally, 87% of care services are now commissioned by councils or the NHS at rates below the true cost of care, and locally contracts are being let at around £24 an hour—only 84% of the Homecare Association’s minimum recommended rate. Within that model, smaller island providers are often subcontracted by larger mainland-based organisations at even lower rates. Despite demand continuing to rise, the island is one of the only authorities inadvertently forcing local care providers to make staff redundant or even consider closure, simply because the funding does not stack up and because price increases are not being passed on to those smaller providers by first-tier commissioning organisations. I strongly urge the Minister to press Isle of Wight council to ensure that any funding uplift reaches the frontline providers that are actually delivering care. Once again, with no dedicated long-term NHS dementia ward on the island, as soon as those block contracts are full, as they increasingly are, there is simply nowhere else for people to go. At that point, decisions are no longer driven by what is best for the individual, but by whatever capacity happens to be available. The closure of three care homes this year has not occurred in a vacuum. In 2022, the island lost six care homes. With one third of our population aged 65 and over, alongside staff turnover rates that are significantly higher than the national average, this is a system already under immense strain. While dementia care on the Isle of Wight is delivered across a mix of NHS, council and private provision, the reality is that the capacity and specialist care has not been enough for some time. This is not just an island problem; it is a warning of what lies ahead for the country as our population ages. In making that point, I wish to strongly advocate for any measures the Government consider adopting to confront this national challenge being piloted on the Isle of Wight, where the need is greatest and where meaningful change can be delivered most urgently and, most importantly, measured in almost real time. What makes the Isle of Wight a particularly stark case is the added cruelty of our geography: the reality that families must cross the Solent, which some estimates have placed as the most expensive stretch of water in Europe, in order to visit a loved one who is sick and in need of care that simply cannot be provided closer to home. Eighty-two-year-old Graham Martin, who is living with dementia, is yet another example of the impact of this reality. In mid-April, he was moved to Southampton against the wishes of his family because of his complex needs, separating him from his wife of 63 years, Carol, who is unable to travel to visit him due to her own health and the cost of ferry travel. Being moved away from home, across a stretch of water, is distressing enough; being effectively cut off from loved ones because they cannot afford or physically manage the journey, at the very moment that people need their family most, borders on forced isolation. As the niece of another patient facing a mainland placement said to me, “Imagine a vulnerable elderly resident in Westminster being sent to a care home on the Isle of Wight. It simply would not happen.” It would not happen because in other parts of the country, the system would not tolerate separating vulnerable people from their families in this way, yet for the Isle of Wight, that basic standard is not applied. MPs and Ministers all the way up to the Prime Minister have heard me talk relentlessly about how the island is a brilliant place to live, work and learn, and despite my intervention today I still believe that to be the case. But that comes despite the inequality and deprivation we face, which is hidden by neighbouring prosperity. Whether it is schools unable to take a trip across the Solent due to budgetary constraints, young workers having to look for jobs elsewhere due to lack of opportunity, or—as I have spoken about today—an elderly person ripped away from their home because of lack of capacity, the Isle of Wight has been functioning with one arm tied behind its back. The time has come to do something about it. When capacity on the island runs out—and without the necessary action, it inevitably will—people are not just delayed but displaced. What should be an absolute last resort for the most vulnerable people is fast becoming a routine response, with elderly people being sent miles from their home simply because the system cannot cope. That is neither sustainable nor dignified, and it cannot be allowed to continue. I ask the Minister to take action for the benefit of my Isle of Wight residents.

• 16 Jun 2026 · Isle of Wight Dementia Patients: Discharge to Mainland Care Homes · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for that timely intervention. Before I get into the deeply troubling accounts that have been brought to me, I pay tribute to Maggie Bennett and her team who run the Parklands Alzheimer’s café. While the café cannot offer overnight accommodation, it offers vital respite for carers. Loved ones can spend a great day at the café, doing activities, chatting over tea and cake and even getting their hair cut. However, for island dementia sufferers, that is where the happy story ends. The issue of mainland discharges has struck a chord across the island because it goes to the heart of many of the other inequalities my constituents have been expected simply to accept as part island life. We are the only English island where the sole means of transport on and off is entirely privately operated. Coupled with that, we have only a small specialist dementia in-patient ward, and no dedicated long-term NHS dementia provision. There is a very real fear that when someone is at their most vulnerable, where they live will determine how they are treated and whether they are afforded the dignity they deserve: the dignity of being close to family, of continuity in care, and of remaining in the place they call home. For those unfamiliar with the situation, the recent closure of three care homes on the Isle of Wight, including one in Freshwater in my constituency, has led to 44 residents being displaced, with 10 already placed in care homes on the mainland. The niece of one resident living with dementia contacted my office to say that she is terrified that her uncle will die in his proposed placement in Horsham, 70 miles away, “alone, confused and feeling that no one cares.” Worse still, his family have been told that if they do not accept the placement, they will be liable to pay £500 a day for the hospital bed he will need to occupy. Other than a few brief periods away, the Isle of Wight is the only home that Phyllis, Adam and Rob Snow’s 87-year-old island-born mother, has ever known. Phyllis now requires round-the-clock care due to a brutal combination of dementia and Parkinson’s, and her family are absolutely terrified by reports of patients like her being relocated to the mainland. With Phyllis already having been stuck on a hospital ward for months, her family are in a lose-lose situation: they either watch her become more vulnerable to infection the longer she spends in hospital, or push for a care home release only for her to be relocated miles away from the only home she has ever known. It is important to understand how dementia care is currently funded on the Isle of Wight. Much of our provision relies on a limited number of block-booked beds commissioned by the local authority, layered on to an adult social care budget that is already under severe strain.

• 16 Jun 2026 · Isle of Wight Dementia Patients: Discharge to Mainland Care Homes · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to have secured my first Adjournment debate as an MP on an issue that has resonated so deeply with many residents across the Isle of Wight, whether they are directly touched by dementia or not. I put on record my thanks to those across the island who have contacted me and are passionately fighting for their family member or friend during their time of need. It really shows the best of our island, and it makes me even more proud to represent Isle of Wight West in this place. I also thank the Minister for her engagement to date with me and my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson), on the wider issue of patient discharges off the island. I will continue to do all that I can to work across the island and with Government to help find a solution.

• 21 May 2026 · Family Justice System: Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Member agree that perpetrators should not be rewarded through the court process with reduced sentences when they change their plea to guilty at the last minute? It is just a continuation of the coercive and controlling behaviour that they have already displayed.

• 19 May 2026 · Family Court: Harassment of Domestic Abuse Victims · Hansard source

  More

  5. What steps his Department is taking to help prevent people convicted of domestic abuse from using family court proceedings to harass their victims.

• 19 May 2026 · Family Court: Harassment of Domestic Abuse Victims · Hansard source

  More

  While I welcome the steps the Department has already taken to prevent perpetrators of domestic abuse from using the family courts to continue coercive control, will the Minister look to ensure that legal aid is accessible to victims in pathfinder courts, particularly at decision hearings, given the worrying reports that it has become nearly impossible to access it in practice, so that perpetrators cannot exploit this process and continue their campaigns of harassment?

• 29 Apr 2026 · Sexual Assault Survivors: Isle of Wight · Hansard source

  More

  1. What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of support available to survivors of sexual assault on the Isle of Wight.

• 29 Apr 2026 · Sexual Assault Survivors: Isle of Wight · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for her answer. On the Isle of Wight, the absence of a sexual assault referral centre means that survivors of rape and sexual assault are often required to make a long ferry journey to Portsmouth or Southampton—sometimes in the very clothes they were assaulted in—to access the specialist support they need. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can finally address and overcome that injustice faced by women and girls on the Isle of Wight?

• 23 Apr 2026 · Cross-departmental Working · Hansard source

  More

  21. What steps his Department is taking to improve cross-departmental working.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Cross-departmental Working · Hansard source

  More

  Happy St George’s day, Mr Speaker. My right hon. Friend may have heard me say what a fantastic place the Isle of Wight is to live, work and learn. Does he agree that our island is uniquely well placed to test exciting new policies and initiatives across all Departments to speed up national roll-out, as evidenced in an article this week in Computer Weekly by James Findlay, and that rather than being left behind, as we were under the previous Conservative Government, it is now time for the Isle of Wight to be a leader in building the better country that this Government want and that we all deserve?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Interpol: Red Notices · Hansard source

  More

  My constituent Ollie Bennett is wanted by Interpol for an alleged crime in Morocco three decades ago. Ollie has always maintained his innocence, and following a debate in this place, his crewmate was granted a full royal pardon for the same charges. Ollie, however, was not. In December, he was arrested and detained in a French police cell. Although he is now safely home, Ollie remains at risk of arrest each and every time he goes abroad. The irony is that the Moroccan authorities have never filed to extradite Ollie, yet a Moroccan-sponsored Interpol red notice for Ollie remains active. Will the Minister commit to meeting me, to ensure that Ollie can access the support that he needs to successfully appeal this red notice and finally end this 30-year-long groundhog day?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Interpol: Red Notices · Hansard source

  More

  2. What discussions she has had with international counterparts on the adequacy of safeguards governing Interpol red notices issued in respect of British citizens.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T3. The wage gap between the Isle of Wight and the rest of the UK— [Interruption.] I know that Conservative Members love the Isle of Wight, but they did nothing about it when they were in power. The wage gap between the Isle of Wight and the rest of the UK leaves full-time island employees about £5,500 a year worse off in comparison with the national average, while female islanders are about £8,000 worse off. Will the Minister work with Cabinet colleagues as a matter of urgency to address the island wage gap, particularly for women, and does she agree that closing that gap is good for women, good for communities and good for growth?

• 5 Mar 2026 · World Book Day · Hansard source

  More

  May I say what an incredible pleasure it is to serve under your superb chairship, Mrs Hobhouse? I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) for securing this debate. As in so many other ways, I am proud to represent an area that truly punches above its weight in literary tradition, not only through the talent the Isle of Wight has produced past and present, but through the inspiration the island has offered to many of our country’s most celebrated authors. Just two weeks ago, I was honoured to attend the Isle of Wight story festival, a wonderful event supported by the national lottery and Arts Council England created for island families during the February half term. The festival showcases not only the passion for creativity and storytelling across all ages on the island, but its founding principle that stories are around us, wherever you live, whoever you are and whatever your circumstance. It is a precious reminder that imagination and creativity exist in all of us, even people in this place. I touched only briefly on the island’s rich literary tradition earlier, so I hope Members will indulge me as I offer a small humblebrag about the remarkable authors and the stories that have been produced on or inspired by the Isle of Wight. Charles Dickens spent several months on the island while working on his semi-autobiographical novel “David Copperfield”. During a visit to Bonchurch, he described it as “quite the prettiest place I have seen”. Despite not being in my constituency, I agree. Today, the island proudly commemorates his 1849 family holiday through the Charles Dickens trail, which guides visitors around the locations he knew and loved. The Isle of Wight was also home to Queen Victoria’s beloved poet laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who lived at Farringford House in Freshwater. Although he ultimately felt compelled to leave due to the rather overenthusiastic attention of local residents and curious tourists, he maintained ownership of Farringford House until his death. Upon his elevation to the House of Lords in 1844, he took the title Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater, suggesting he did not harbour too much ill will towards the island, despite the disruptions he endured during his time there. However, the island is so much more than its literary past. I think of the Isle of Wight literary festival, which has not only hosted such authors as Dr Stuart Lawrence, Susie Dent and Martin Edwards, but also does fantastic outreach through its schools programme, which brings these celebrated authors into almost every local primary classroom, allowing local children to see these stories and the authors behind them in real life. While I am pleased to celebrate the island’s rich literary heritage, it would be remiss of me not to highlight that, despite the inspiration that the island has provided to some of our greatest writers, we remain one of the UK’s most disadvantaged areas for literacy and have the second-highest level of educational deprivation in the south. One in three children leaves school unable to read at the expected level. Without straying too far from the subject of today’s debate, the contrast speaks to why the island is so often left behind in terms of funding and outcomes. Our historic reputation and perception as a holiday destination for the wealthy masks the reality experienced by most islanders, particularly our children. Too often, these outdated assumptions rather than the stark realities I have set out influence funding allocations. When I have spoken to officials inside Government, there has been genuine shock to learn that relative child poverty on the island is 10% higher than the regional average and nearly 3% higher than the national average. That goes a long way to explaining the gap between the perception of the island and the reality. Despite these obstacles, I know there is a strong determination, nationally from the Education Secretary to the brilliant education team in the Isle of Wight council, to improve that picture. I am absolutely certain that the talent and determination is there to ensure that our literary tradition is matched by equally strong outcomes from young readers and students. As we celebrate World Book Day, I end with a nod to author and admirer of our island, Jane Austen. In the novel “Mansfield Park”, Maria and Julia tease their cousin Fanny for her devotion, saying: “She thinks of nothing but the Isle of Wight, and she calls it the Island , as if there were no other island in the world.” As any Austen reader knows, it is Fanny and perhaps the Isle of Wight itself that has the last laugh, proving in time to have a depth of understanding and awareness that her cousins never quite match.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q5. As the Prime Minister will have heard me say, the Isle of Wight is a fantastic place to live, work and learn, despite the Leader of the Opposition trying to give us to China. He will also be aware of some of the challenges we have in cross-Solent transport with reliability, frequency and price. The emissions trading scheme, which ironically applies only to hybrid vessels, might increase fares further. Exemptions have been granted for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the lack of grid capacity means that we cannot fully decarbonise. I am deeply concerned about the impact on our island community. Will the Prime Minister urgently ask Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Ministers to review this issue?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Eating Disorders (Training) · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to establish a requirement for persons providing certain public services to undertake training relating to eating disorders and disordered eating; to make provision about the delivery and content of such training; and for connected purposes. As many colleagues will know, this Bill is deeply personal to me. I have spoken before about how my youngest child’s experience with an eating disorder exposed me to the scale of failings across child and adolescent mental health services, wider mental health services and our in-patient system. The Bill will not fix every one of those problems, but I do want to place on record my sincere thanks to the Department of Health and Social Care, particularly the Minister for Care and the Minister for Health Innovation and Safety, for their genuine commitment to understanding this crisis and their determination to confront it head-on. Turning to the Bill itself, I have chosen to focus on training for frontline public service workers, ensuring that they are equipped to recognise and safeguard those experiencing one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions. The evidence is clear: early intervention—spotting the signs quickly and accessing appropriate care—dramatically improves outcomes. It can reduce the need for in-patient or day patient treatment by around 35%, meaning fewer hospital admissions and far less disruption to everyday life. Yet eating disorders remain profoundly misunderstood. Unlike many other illnesses, the person affected may actively resist help. These conditions often drive secrecy, denial and a determination to mask the harm being done both to the individual and to the people who love them most. As with domestic abuse, it is so often our frontline public service workers who, in those brief moments when a sufferer allows their guard to drop, are best placed to reassure them that recovery is both possible and within reach. Eating disorders do not only cause physical and mental deterioration; we must not forget that eating disorders carry the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. The most recent confirmed data from the Office for National Statistics recorded 36 deaths for 2019, yet research from the US suggests that the true figure for the UK could be far higher, potentially closer to 1,860 deaths once under-reporting and misclassification are accounted for. Hospital admissions tell a similar story. Admissions exceeded 30,000 for the first time in 2023-24, which is a 60% rise compared with pre-pandemic levels. I fear that without legislative action we will continue to reach these devastating milestones: more children losing their childhoods, more parents fighting desperately just to have their child heard, and more entirely preventable deaths. The framework for the training proposed in the Bill already exists. As I have said, it mirrors the approach taken for domestic abuse inquiries, giving frontline professionals the skills to ask sensitive, safe and appropriate questions. I firmly believe that the vast majority of dedicated frontline staff want to help. This Bill simply gives them the tools and confidence to do so. In 2023, the Royal College of Psychiatrists developed the guidance document “Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders” to improve the safe management of crises and prevent avoidable complications and deaths. Yet we still do not see consistent implementation across the UK. Far too many people with eating disorders arrive at A&E only to be turned away with no follow-up support. That cannot be right. Eating disorders rarely appear in isolation. The eating disorders all-party parliamentary group has heard harrowing accounts of people undergoing cancer treatment whose chemotherapy was not adjusted due to a lack of understanding about their eating disorder, leaving those already facing the fear and loneliness of chemotherapy even more vulnerable. One profession where this training could have a profound impact is teaching. Body dissatisfaction—one of the strongest risk factors—is now being observed in girls as young as six. That is a truly shocking fact, and many teachers feel utterly helpless when they see their students beginning to slip into harmful patterns of thinking or behaviour. NHS figures show that around 6,000 children under 10 were hospitalised for eating disorders over a five-year period, including more than 1,000 children under five. I do not believe for a minute that the hospitalisation of over 6,000 children suffering from an eating disorder was inevitable. I can only imagine the helplessness felt by parents, carers, teachers and clinicians as they watched those children struggle. The training in this Bill is designed to change that. It would give teachers and other frontline staff practical, evidence-based tools to recognise early warning signs: noticeable changes in eating behaviours, obsessive thinking about food or exercise, rapid weight fluctuations, withdrawal from friends, or sudden anxiety linked to body image. It would guide staff on how to ask sensitive questions safely, how to communicate without reinforcing harmful thinking and how to signpost families quickly towards appropriate clinical support. Crucially, it would also help staff understand what not to do, avoiding language that might inadvertently validate disordered thoughts, resisting the instinct to offer reassurance that could make things worse and recognising when urgent escalation is required. As I have set out, eating disorders are complex, often misunderstood conditions that present differently in every individual. Anorexia, binge eating disorder and other illnesses do not look the same from one person to the next, but we know that, in a moment of need, having someone who can recognise the signs and intervene can be the first step towards a meaningful recovery, giving someone the chance to reclaim their life. As I said at the start of this speech, this Bill is not a silver bullet for the crisis in eating disorder services. I have been candid with Ministers about the breadth of change required across the system, and I suspect that the Department will be delighted to hear that I intend to continue campaigning, but the Bill recognises the deceptive nature of these illnesses and acknowledges the simple truth that families cannot and should not be expected to navigate such complex and deeply confusing conditions on their own, and that frontline staff must have the tools to help where they can. For those such as Zara Taylor, who tragically passed away due to her eating disorder, we will never know whether the measures in this Bill might have made a difference, but we owe it to her and the many others who are no longer with us to do everything within our power in this place to ensure that those who are struggling can seek and access help wherever they are in their journey. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, That Mr Richard Quigley, Wera Hobhouse, John Whitby, Llinos Medi, Baggy Shanker, Lee Barron, Siân Berry, Anneliese Dodds, John McDonnell and Josh Newbury present the Bill. Mr Richard Quigley accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 February , and to be printed (Bill 380 ).

• 10 Feb 2026 · Businesses: Cost of Energy · Hansard source

  More

  I know that the Department is working hard with the Department for Transport to decarbonise shipping, but the current system works against businesses. One of our ferry companies is having to pay £12 million up front for a shoreside connection and then wait for up to seven years. Will the Minister commit to reviewing this system to speed up electric shipping for places such as the Isle of Wight?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Listening to the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately), is quite something—one would think that the recipients of this benefit were spending the money on soft furnishings for their second homes. They are not; they are spending it on food, rent and clothing for their children. The rise in child poverty under the previous Tory Government has been a shameful stain on this country, and I am proud to be part of a Government who are taking action, not only to provide food and basic necessities but to give children the opportunity to escape cycles of poverty and build secure, independent futures. In the months since this policy was announced, we have heard some truly shameful language from Opposition Members, including describing this Budget as a “Budget for ‘Benefits Street’”. In doing so, they completely denigrate the 450,000 children who never chose to be born into poverty, and who for the most part have simply had the misfortune of growing up during years of successive Conservative Governments. It is telling that using taxpayers’ money to lift children out of poverty is framed by the Conservatives as an irresponsible use of public funds, while the £10 billion lost to covid fraud is something we are apparently expected to forget and move on from without consequence. I would genuinely welcome the shadow Secretary of State and the Leader of the Opposition to my constituency, so that they can explain directly to the nearly 1,600 children who will be lifted out of poverty by the removal of the two-child cap why the Leader of the Opposition so routinely denigrates people like them and their parents—parents who themselves are paying the price for a Government she was part of, who sent mortgages soaring and allowed inflation to reach 11%. Sadly, I will not hold my breath. When she is not using the Isle of Wight as a punchline for one of her poor, laugh-less jokes, she treats it as a photo opportunity, without having the basic respect to engage with local people, local media or, indeed, the local MP. Perhaps we should not be surprised. The Conservative party has consistently failed to understand the real, tangible difference that such policies make to people’s lives. Instead of reckoning with the impact of their poverty-accelerating decisions, they choose to vilify those who stand to benefit from the Bill. As I understand it, Reform would now reverse the two-child cap to find money to pay for a cheaper pint at the local pub. Presumably Reform’s next policies would increase the drunk-driving limit to whatever people think they can get away with and lower the age of buying cigarettes to 12, because daddy will be too busy down the pub saving money to buy his own cigs. As a small business owner, I know too well the damaging legacy of austerity, and the removal of the two-child cap represents the clearing away of one of the most shameful legacies of the austerity years. I know from first-hand experience the impact that Government decisions have on local economies. Austerity was not just a line in a Budget; it was a decade of under-investment that hit businesses such as mine hard. It hollowed out our high streets, weakened consumer confidence and squeezed the incomes of working families. This policy is about more than tackling poverty and the intergenerational damage it causes; it is about giving hard-working families the chance to feel that they are a part of their high street again, and supporting those who have lost a wage earner or whose wages have simply failed to keep pace with the cost of living. It is called social security for a reason, and it is the solemn responsibility of any Government to provide a safety net to those who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times. This policy is not just about the removal of the benefits cap; it is an investment in our greatest asset—the British people—and in our future. It is about ensuring that the next generation do not go to school hungry or without the basic necessities and about putting our country on a stronger footing by giving every child a fair start in life.

• 2 Feb 2026 · Naval Shipbuilding · Hansard source

  More

  Wight Shipyard and Diverse Marine in my constituency do fantastic work and they thoroughly welcome the launch of the new dedicated unit to help ensure that small defence companies can access Ministry of Defence contracts. However, given the recent news that a £200 million contract has been awarded to the Dutch firm Damen, what assurances can the Minister offer to companies such as Wight Shipyard and Diverse Marine that they will have a fair and credible route into competing for these major programmes?

• 2 Feb 2026 · Naval Shipbuilding · Hansard source

  More

  13. What steps he is taking to support naval shipbuilding.