Wendy Chamberlain MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Sept 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I echo the comments made in relation to the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Nearly 25 years ago, in the April after the attacks, my husband and I visited the site of the twin towers. We were both police officers at the time, and realising that we and our colleagues would have faced the same dangers that others had faced really brought home for us the scale of the sacrifice made. Having attended a debate on confidence in policing yesterday, I know how important trust in policing is. Reform UK’s disdain for British electoral law was broadcast to the nation last week in undercover footage involving the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage)—I have emailed him—and some of his closest advisers. The Metropolitan police were already investigating Reform UK, and they have now confirmed that they are broadening their inquiry to include foreign donations involving polling. I find it ironic that a party that stakes so much of its reputation on claims of patriotism spends far more time trying to get around British law than strengthening it. Will Reform MPs share with the country whether they and their campaigns have ever benefited from any foreign money? I also reiterate the calls I made over recess for Reform’s home affairs spokesperson to provide evidence for the damaging claims he made online against a business in my constituency. Several weeks on, that business and I are still waiting. We are living in an unstable world, where dodgy donations are routine and corruption is common. Bad actors such as Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Reform pin-up boy Donald Trump are dedicated to destroying our democracy. The Government and all parliamentarians should be standing up against those threats. Again, for a party so keen to ensure relationships with our nearest neighbours, Reform UK seems happy to jeopardise our sovereignty by encouraging foreign interference. However, the Representation of the People Bill that passed through the Commons last week did not include a donation cap and therefore failed to protect our political system from the corrupting influence of foreign money. Given that the Bill was debated before MPs were aware of these concerning allegations, will the Government find time to legislate to protect British democracy?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Public Confidence in the Police · Hansard source

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  I recognise the hon. Member’s police service; I myself served for 12 years in Lothian and Borders police. One of the challenges we now have is that there is a continual churn in police roles, which means that communities do not know their police officers and their police officers do not know them. Does the hon. Member agree that, culturally, that is something the police service needs to tackle?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Public Confidence in the Police · Hansard source

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  I am one of the co-chairs of the all-party parliamentary group for the survivors of Fayed and Harrods. In recent weeks, the APPG has met the Metropolitan police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. There is absolutely no doubt that historical failures in investigations have damaged the survivor cohort’s trust in the police and the criminal justice sector more widely. My hon. Friend is talking about violence against women and girls now, but does he agree that historical legacies also play a part?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Public Confidence in the Police · Hansard source

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  When we talk about confidence in policing, it is important that we acknowledge that we have a role to play in that as elected representatives. Youth antisocial behaviour has been a problem in my North East Fife constituency over the summer, in places such as Crail and Elie, but when I engaged with local officers, I found they had good intelligence and had dealt with the events pretty robustly afterwards. The fact of the matter is that the community were not aware of that. Does my hon. Friend agree that we have a responsibility to tell the public about the work our local officers are doing?