partytracker.uk — a sourced record of what Britain's political parties say and do, party by party, with every entry linked to a primary source

Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks

1. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his direct engagement with the Falkland Islanders—I know that such engagement is always appreciated by everyone in our British overseas territories—and as a direct result he has been able to impress on the House exactly what the Falkland Islanders want, which is their right to self-determination. He mentions our relationship with the United States. Because it is our closest ally, our relationship with the United States is one of candour, and it could not be clearer about our position, which is that the Falkland Islands will remain British for precisely as long as the Falkland Islanders want them to.

   Hansard source
2. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   Can I start by thanking my hon. Friend for her work on the overseas territories, to which I know she is deeply committed? Can she please pass on, on behalf of the whole House, our thanks to her constituents for their bravery, courage and sacrifice? I could not agree with her more: this question is settled, because it is settled in the minds of the Falkland Islanders, who want to remain British, and they will do so with our support.

   Hansard source
3. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   Yes, of course, the right hon. Gentleman should feel free to pass on to Mr Moody the view of this House and of the British Government that it is part of the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination that they may develop their own natural resources. We stand four-square behind them in doing so, and we stand four-square behind the companies that are involved in doing so, too.

   Hansard source
4. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   I confirm to my hon. Friend that we will never, under any circumstances, compromise on the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination. I join her in commemorating all those who risked and lost their lives in the defence of that very principle.

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5. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   The United States remains our closest ally, and we will continue to engage with it while being absolutely clear with it about our position. No one should be in any doubt, least of all the people of the Falkland Islands, about our steadfast and unwavering commitment to the Falkland Islanders’ self-determination. We will continue to impress that on the United States Government.

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6. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   I can confirm that the Falkland Islands will remain British because the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination is absolute.

   Hansard source
7. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   All Members of the House will know that we are in ongoing dialogue with our European partners, and, crucially, we are committed to investing in our own defence. That is why this Government have made such strong commitments to continue defence investment.

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8. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   I join my hon. Friend in remembering Lance Corporal Thomas. His constituents should be reassured, as indeed should everyone in the Falkland Islands, that we are absolutely committed to Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination, we are committed to their defence and we are committed to them remaining British.

   Hansard source
9. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

   Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

   This is a matter of all our diplomatic relationships being brought to bear. The key is that the message goes out from this House today, loud and clear—and is heard unequivocally by the people of the Falkland Islands—that we stand with them in remaining British for as long as it takes.

   Hansard source
10. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    We are confident that our defensive capabilities in the south Atlantic are equal to the task.

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11. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    This Government could not have been clearer about the work that we are doing to defend our bases, and we will keep it up.

    Hansard source
12. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I thank my hon. Friend for his visit, which will have been deeply appreciated by Falkland Islanders. I join him in commemorating and thanking everyone involved in the defence of the islands and our service personnel, wherever they are in the world.

    Hansard source
13. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    This Labour Government will not take any lectures about how we should defend our interests and stand up for Britain from a party that has been fawning over Vladimir Putin.

    Hansard source
14. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    Yes, I can confirm to my hon. Friend that we are in ongoing conversation about exactly that. I thank him for his visit; I cannot stress enough to the House how deeply Falkland Islanders appreciate it when people come to visit and can then impress on this House our unified position that the Falkland Islands are British and will remain so.

    Hansard source
15. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    As I stated previously, we are confident that our defensive forces in the south Atlantic are equal to the task. In terms of conveying resolve, it is incredibly important that an absolutely united message is sent from this House to partners in all capitals and to the Falkland Islanders that we are resolute in their defence.

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16. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I very much agree with my hon. Friend that a huge disservice is done to the people of the Falkland Islands and to our service personnel any time that politicking takes place, instead of an absolutely united and unwavering conviction emanating from this House.

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17. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I could not agree with the right hon. Gentleman more in so far as the important thing in this debate is clarity, which is why I am saying with such conviction: our unwavering position as a UK Government in a volatile world is that the Falkland Islands are British and will remain British.

    Hansard source
18. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    May I please pass on to my hon. Friend’s constituents our thanks for their service, too? Ministers have visited and do so regularly. We are in ongoing dialogue with representatives of the Falkland Islanders. Again, I think it is very important that the message goes out from this House that the Falkland Islands are British and will stay so.

    Hansard source
19. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    As the hon. Gentleman would expect, we do not go into operational detail about our defence capabilities, but I can reassure the House that the Government are confident that our defence capabilities are as he would hope and as we need them to be.

    Hansard source
20. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I pay tribute to everyone serving on HMS Medway and, indeed, all our armed forces personnel, and offer them our unwavering commitment to their protection and the protection of all British territories overseas.

    Hansard source
21. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    As I have already stated to the House, we are in ongoing dialogue through all our diplomatic relations to stress to people in every capital—but, most of all, to the people of the Falkland Islands—that the Falkland Islands remain British and always will.

    Hansard source
22. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    We make clear to all our partners, all our allies and, indeed, people in every capital of the world that the Falklands Islands are British. We are resolute in that, and that position will not change.

    Hansard source
23. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    The hon. Gentleman will be aware that it is an integral part of a country’s self-determination that it can develop its own natural resources for its own economic benefit. That will be a decision for the Falkland Islanders. Indeed, Falkland Islands representatives have already made decisions about exactly that matter.

    Hansard source
24. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    The United States is and will remain our closest ally. We have been clear with it, we have been clear with this House, and we have been clear most of all with the people of the Falkland Islands that the Falkland Islands are British.

    Hansard source
25. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I reject the hon. Gentleman’s characterisation. United Kingdom Ministers have been clear in every international forum in which we are present about our position on this matter, and I am pleased to underscore and repeat it today: the Falkland Islands are British.

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26. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsty McNeill

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    There can be no doubt in any capital in the world and, most importantly, in the Falkland Islands that the Falkland Islands are British. Their right to self-determination is absolute, and the UK Government stand as a guarantor of exactly that.

    Hansard source
27. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kirsteen Sullivan

    Israel and Palestine

    I thank the Secretary of State for his strong statement and extend to him the gratitude of my constituents who have already been in touch with me. I have spoken before in this place about the villagers of Jayyous in the west bank who have been living under constant intimidation and fear, with farmers unable to harvest their crops and children unable to get to school. Does he agree that the statement sends an important message to the people of Jayyous and those across Palestine that they are not alone and that their calls for solidarity and the rule of law to be upheld have been heard?

    Hansard source
28. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kim Johnson

    World Suicide Prevention Day

    I thank my hon. Friend for this timely and important debate. The point about changing the narrative is very important. Will she support me in congratulating Alfie’s Squad, who are here today for World Suicide Prevention Day, and all the football clubs, including Everton and Liverpool, for the work they do in engaging with people with suicidal thoughts?

    Hansard source
29. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kevin McKenna

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    This summer, along with other Members of this House and the other place, I got to escape the heatwave here and enjoy some blessed relief in the cold weather of the Falklands, where we enjoyed the incredibly warm welcome of the Falkland Islanders. Our troops and servicepeople down there are doing incredible work and are resolute in their defence of the Falkland Islands. It was clear to me how strongly the Falkland Islanders feel that they are British, and that matches the feeling of my constituents. Can the Minister assure me that she is having conversations with the MOD, our forces and the Falklands Islands Government, to ensure that we have the right level of defence and deterrence to face this new and escalating nonsense rhetoric from Argentina?

    Hansard source
30. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kevin McKenna

    Online Safety

    I strongly welcome the statement from the Secretary of State. It is long overdue and builds on great work by her predecessors. Unfortunately, we do not have full sovereign capability in developing our own tech in this country, and we are vulnerable to politics in other countries. Will the Secretary of State tell me what she is doing to work with people across Government to ensure that if there is pushback against these changes, particularly in the United States, and challenges from the tech companies, Britain will get what it wants—not what some people in certain other countries want?

    Hansard source
31. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kate Osborne

    Health Bill

    If I may begin on a personal note, just three weeks ago I had a second operation on my back, and I wish to put on record my sincere thanks to the staff who cared for me, from the clinicians who treated me to everyone involved in my care and recovery. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.] Too often our access to healthcare depends on our postcode. That postcode lottery is stark in a number of areas, but nowhere more so than with IVF. As chair of the APPG on fertility, I have raised this issue repeatedly with Ministers. I again invite Ministers to attend our fertility roundtable tomorrow and to commit to ensuring that every ICB follows, at the very least, the NICE guidelines on access to IVF and fertility treatment. We must strengthen the role of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in neighbourhood health planning and NHS commissioning. Voluntary organisations understand the barriers to care for hard-to-reach communities and often have trusted relationships with communities that statutory services struggle to reach. We see that particularly clearly in HIV and AIDS provision. Voluntary organisations have been fundamental to the UK’s response for decades, through prevention, testing, peer support, tackling stigma and supporting people living with HIV. I am extremely grateful to the National AIDS Trust for working with me on the new clauses, and I thank Ministers for their constructive engagement. Members of the LGBT+ community must have trust in healthcare providers, and community groups bridge that gap when needed. New clauses 142 and 143 would actively harm vitally needed healthcare. The provision in new clause 142 has already been rejected in Committee, and we see it for what it is: an opportunity to attack some of the most vulnerable in our society. Access to much-needed healthcare has already been paused in the UK, and if access to treatment for gender dysphoria is now to be dependent upon additional research, the pathways trial must go ahead without further delay. The provisions in new clause 143 were also rejected in Committee and are another attempt to vilify. The amendment fails to recognise the framework already in place to ensure that single-sex services are provided where they meet the requirements of the Equality Act. Neither the code nor the Supreme Court judgment mandate the provision of single-sex facilities. Providers must still consider whether the service falls within an exception within the Equality Act, whether single-sex provision is proportionate, what the impact might be on trans people, and what mitigation might be necessary. I welcome the 10-year health plan. We have made great strides in repairing the damage done to our NHS—

    Hansard source
32. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kate Dearden

    Draft ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities

    I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Acas Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Jeremy. The measure was laid in draft before this House on 6 July 2026. This Government are resetting and modernising our industrial relations framework. We believe that strong trade unions are essential for tackling insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay. The Government want to ensure that trade union workplace representatives can take sufficient reasonable paid time off and have sufficient access to facilities to enable them to fulfil their union representative duties. The Acas code of practice, issued under section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, provides practical guidance on reasonable paid time off and access to accommodation and other facilities that employees who are trade union representatives are entitled to take to fulfil their trade union duties. The code has been updated following the changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, which strengthened and introduced rights for employees who are trade union representatives. There are three key changes made by the Employment Rights Act to the existing statutory framework. First, it strengthens the existing right to reasonable paid facility time for trade union representatives to carry out their duties. The legislation now makes it clear that, where a request is made, it should generally be treated as reasonable, and it is for the employer to demonstrate otherwise if challenged in a tribunal. Secondly, there is a statutory provision that representatives should be provided with reasonable access to facilities, such as meeting spaces, communication tools and appropriate workplace resources, to enable them to carry out their duties or undergo relevant training. Thirdly, the Act introduces a new right for trade union equality representatives to reasonable paid time off for specified equality-related purposes. Those changes are due to take effect on 30 October. The code has been updated to reflect the changes and support effective and smooth implementation when these new rights come into force in October. It provides clear, accessible guidance to employers, trade unions and representatives on how the statutory framework should operate in practice. The code sets out in practical terms how these rights should be applied, covering matters such as the kinds of activities that fall under the statutory duties and purposes, factors that might make a request reasonable or not, how unions and employers should communicate about arrangements for time off, and the agreement of arrangements between employers and unions. Importantly, the code supports constructive engagement between employers and unions. The intention is not to prescribe rigid rules but to encourage that co-operation and clarity, so that arrangements work for employers, businesses and trade unions. The code provides clear guidance that will give employers confidence in how to approach requests, and will help representatives to understand how to exercise their rights appropriately. In that sense, the laying of this code is a necessary step to ensure that the changes made by the 2025 Act operate as intended from day one. I therefore support this code of practice and commend it to the House.

    Hansard source
33. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kate Dearden

    Draft ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities

    I welcome the shadow Minister to his role and to the Committee. I look forward to working with him and debating many issues—this one in particular. He spoke a lot about industrial action. I always find it quite rich when the Opposition talk about strike days, because on their watch they did absolutely nothing to further good industrial relations in this country. That is a real shame, because it is a detriment not only to those employers but to trade unions, our society and our economy as a whole. That is why this Government are absolutely acting responsibly. I will come to the issue that we are debating today, but let me first say that we recognise the need to make sure that our wider industrial relations framework is functioning so that we can resolve disputes in the workplace early. That is good for businesses, employers and trade unions, so enforcement and ensuring we have negotiation skills across the workplace are really important. What the Government are doing to reset industrial relations is responsible. We are modernising our wider framework, alongside passing lots of legislation, including the instrument that we are discussing today, and helping to usher in a more co-operative and constructive approach among employers, workers and their unions. I think that is a really good thing.

    Hansard source
34. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Kate Dearden

    Draft ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities

    I will not be drawn on the ins and outs of every single dispute that is happening in the industrial relations landscape. I will bring us back to what a responsible Government are doing: fostering good industrial relations, which is absolutely the right thing to do. Unfortunately, perhaps the shadow Minister and I just disagree on that point. Let me bring us back to the draft Acas code of practice. The statutory instrument will ensure that employers have the guidance they need based on what was passed in the Employment Rights Act. It is a necessary step so that employers have the guidance to facilitate the legislation and understand their duties. It is really important to provide that guidance and clarity. We have already touched on the ability to resolve grievances early, and it is really good and positive for reps to have more ability to spend time on doing that in the workplace. In addition, they can improve communication, support workplace training and prevent disputes. That is great workplace value, and that is what we want to foster going forward. The measure we are debating is necessary and the right step to take. As I said in my introductory speech, we want to make sure that the code plays a key role in ensuring that the new rights introduced in the Act passed last year can operate effectively in practice from the point at which they come into force next month. I hope the code of practice will be approved. It is a real shame that the Opposition cannot support us today.

    Hansard source
35. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

    Hansard source
36. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    I know that many hon. Members want to talk about the provisions in the Bill covering many important issues. I will therefore speak briefly about two Government amendments relating to medical device licensing and information sharing. I will first address new clause 94 regarding medical devices licensing, and consequential amendments new clauses 99 to 101 regarding medical devices disclosure. These amendments are about ensuring that Great Britain’s medical devices regulatory framework remains fit for the future. As we know, medical technology is evolving rapidly, particularly in areas such as software and artificial intelligence, while our current framework was designed for a very different technological landscape. This set of amendments establishes the statutory foundation for a future medical device licensing regime, applying to Great Britain only. EU medical devices legislation will continue to apply in Northern Ireland. Such a regime would require medical devices to be licensed and certain persons operating within the supply chain to hold a licence. By placing the detail in the regulations, the amendment allows us to work with patients, healthcare professionals and the medical device sector to create a regulatory framework that protects patients, supports innovation and strengthens the UK’s life sciences sector.

    Hansard source
37. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    As the hon. and learned Gentleman knows—we have spent many long hours in this place discussing the arrangements with regard to our leaving the European Union—there are different regulations, as a result of Brexit, between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As is currently the case, due to the Windsor framework, that results in Northern Ireland following the EU device regulations. This has been discussed with the Northern Ireland and Windsor framework taskforce in the Cabinet Office, and we are content that the provisions are right, given the framework’s application. I know and understand the point that the hon. and learned Gentleman makes, and I am sure that he will pursue it with the Government in other areas. New clauses 95 and 98 update and clarify the Secretary of State’s information-sharing powers for medicines and medical devices. They provide a clearer legal framework for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to share information with UK health systems, organisations and trusted international partners. The current legislative framework does not always provide the MHRA with the powers or clarity it needs to share information quickly and effectively, and this creates barriers to collaboration, including with the NHS. The new clauses will address these challenges, providing a clear statutory basis for information sharing. There is currently no explicit statutory domestic information-sharing power for medicines, whereas there is for medical devices. The new clauses bring information-sharing powers about medicines in line with those for medical devices and updates the list of statutory purposes for which the MHRA may share information. Importantly, these reforms do not weaken existing safeguards. Patient information will not be shared internationally without consent, and domestic protections under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation remain unchanged. These new clauses and amendments will act in the interests of patients, and I commend them to the House.

    Hansard source
38. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    indicated dissent.

    Hansard source
39. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    We have genuinely had a wide-ranging and thoughtful debate, and I want to try to address all the points that have been raised. I think there is broad agreement across the House on the goals that we are seeking to achieve with the Bill: safer care, better outcomes and a stronger voice for patients. Every patient deserves safe and high-quality care, every community deserves to have its voice heard, and everyone should be able to access the care they need, when they need it. The question before us is how best to deliver those ambitions. In general, we do not believe that the current landscape works, and that better outcomes are always achieved through new reporting requirements, additional layers of statutory process or more bureaucracy. Instead, we are committed to devolving responsibility and to empowering leaders in the NHS, while also holding them directly accountable, so that the NHS is focused on delivery and improving care. I will begin with Healthwatch. I think there is broad consensus that we want to see patient voices heard strongly at every level of the healthcare system—it is something that all MPs feel strongly about, dealing with constituents as we do. Hearing the patient and user voice results in better decisions in a system that is designed around them—a system that is better able to correct when things go wrong. Our ambition is to ensure that insight and experience from patients, service users and communities is part of commissioning and service planning decisions, rather than being held at arm’s length and outsourced. Our ambition is that this is done effectively everywhere. It is about strengthening the power of patients’ voices inside the NHS, where decisions are taken, not silencing criticism of those decisions. Within our approach, integrated care boards and local authorities will be expected to engage with people in their areas and will have a statutory duty to obtain their views. That is a core part of the new strategic role of ICBs, and it involves transparency about what people have told the system, what the system has done in response and how learning is shared across partners. ICBs will be held to account if they do not demonstrate those elements. However, we have heard the strength of feeling in this place and in Committee, and as the Bill moves to the other place, I can commit to working closely with colleagues across this House and in the other place in order to review these provisions and ensure that our approach sufficiently empowers and devolves to local populations. We all want to ensure that the changes deliver for patients and service users, building public trust and ensuring that their voice is embedded in the care they receive.

    Hansard source
40. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Karin Smyth

    Health Bill

    It will not be a surprise to the hon. Gentleman that I do not agree with his proposition, although I commend the work that many people have done in Healthwatch. We want to work with people in the other place to make sure that this is the right way forward. I am sorry that we do not have more time to debate HSSIB, because it requires more discussion, although we had a good debate in Committee. We have heard many discussions today. I have met the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin), and I hear what he is saying; I will ensure that he gets a response to his letter from the new Minister for Patient Safety—asap, as they say. It is an issue that we need to get absolutely right. We all know, from our experience with patients and families, about the importance of creating a culture in which concerns can be raised without fear and lessons are learned effectively. The Government fully agree with those objectives. Our view is that patient safety, in line with the Dash review, is best served by clear lines of accountability, effective independent scrutiny, and a relentless focus on learning and improvement. We are therefore transferring HSSIB’s functions to the CQC to ensure that learning from investigations can more readily inform improvement activity across the system. We recognise the importance of ensuring that the investigation arm has the autonomy to investigate the qualifying incidents that it deems appropriate free from interference, and I can give the House the assurance that we will work with the executive of HSSIB and the CQC to ensure that their operating model upholds this operational independence. In response to the Chair of the Health Committee, who is not in her place, let me say that there is obviously no one single metric by which to judge the suitability of the CQC. It is usual in the Department’s oversight of arm’s length bodies and independent regulators to look at things like stable leadership, IT capability, governance and operational effectiveness. This is something I am sure the Select Committee can help with.

    Hansard source