What Britain's parties say and do in public, recorded from the source.
Every entry links to Hansard, Parliament, the Electoral Commission or the party's own channel. Every party is tracked by the same rules. Methodology
Labour Party
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
Conservative and Unionist Party
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
Liberal Democrats
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
Reform UK
Latest entry 6 Nov 2026
Scottish National Party
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
Green Party
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
Plaid Cymru
Latest entry 4 Nov 2026
12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them
My hon. Friend is right that we need to maximise the numbers we are returning from this country. He will know that asylum-related returns are at their highest level since 2010. This Government have made excellent progress on getting returns up and back to levels seen in previous years, and we will make more progress.
The Father of the House will know that there is a distinction between the rules of the European Union and the European convention on human rights. The ECHR is not an EU instrument, although most EU countries are signed up to it. We have discussed the ECHR across the Dispatch Boxes before, and he knows our view, which I think is the right view, about simply leaving the ECHR, as his party has suggested it would. That is not something his party ever did when it was in office, and that is because it would put at risk all sorts of other agreements that we have with other countries—agreements that we depend on. We have been able to make more progress on returns as a Government while remaining within the ECHR, and we will continue that going forward.
Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to all our partners in Portsmouth—the local authority, the police and all others—for their co-operation in dealing with the crossings launched from further west in France, which are coming into Portsmouth and seeking to come elsewhere, too. We are seeing a displacement of activity; the gangs have seen that the law enforcement response in the north of France has been stepped up, so they are now trying other routes and tactics. I assure my hon. Friend, the people of Portsmouth and everybody else that this Government will chase down those gang members, using every sinew, and will ensure that we get the number of crossings down further. I fully recognise the pressures in her community.
It is absolutely right for a Government seeking a system based on order, control and the principles of fairness and contribution to look at both the legal and illegal migration systems. We inherited an almighty mess from the Conservatives, and we are resolving all the issues. As the hon. Member well knows, the policy on indefinite leave to remain will be settled in due course. We had a consultation, we have considered the responses, and the Government will have more to say on this in the not-too-distant future.
My hon. Friend is right: not only are small boat returns up and asylum-related returns at their highest level since 2010, but in our first two years in office, this Government have managed to get returns of foreign offenders up 41% from the last two years of the Conservative Government. That is because, in addition to all the other work we are doing, we are also unlocking greater returns co-operation with countries of origin, so that we can more smoothly return people from this country. Appeals reform is also absolutely crucial, and is something that this Government are pursuing.
The hon. Lady knows that given that there are outstanding issues to be considered in this case, I cannot comment on the facts. She should know that, as a principle, anyone who receives a sentence of 12 months or more and is a danger to our community will have their asylum claim rejected.
I have an excellent working relationship with EU partners, particularly with France, which has helped prevent over 50,000 crossings since the election. The EU asylum pact has yet to resolve the challenges of returns within Europe, and currently those returns are not happening at scale, so the pact is not a silver bullet.
I am not going to conduct a negotiation with the European Union from this Dispatch Box. The hon. Member will know, as I have said to Liberal Democrat Members before, that we are of course always thinking about how we can work more collaboratively with our partners in Europe on law enforcement co-operation and data sharing. I am sure that will be the subject of much discussion at the UK-EU summit.
My hon. Friend is right. That is why this Government have been working to reset our relationship with the European Union. Of course, our co-operation with France is central to our being able to deal with the challenge of the small boats, and I was pleased to make the recent deal with the French—the successor to the Sandhurst agreement. We have set aside money that we will spend only on measures that we know have an impact on small boat numbers, which are down by 43%.
The delusion here is the hon. Member assuming that the EU asylum pact is up and running, and that it is a silver bullet. He will know that across Europe, while there is greater co-operation on data sharing and so on, everyone wants to remove people from their country, but nobody wants to receive them. On returns under the pact for the countries that are in it, those returns are not happening at scale. He knows that was also the case under the Dublin regulation, of which we were part; in our last five years in it, we did not deport as many people as we managed to under our agreement with France.
Honestly, what absolute piffle from the hon. Gentleman. He will know that the Prime Minister has been discussing having an open debate; that is not the same as settled policy, as the hon. Gentleman is well aware. The Prime Minister has also observed that there were very significant issues with freedom of movement when we were in the EU. Having an honest debate means actually being honest about all aspects of the issue, not cherry-picking, as the Liberal Democrats so often do.
Since the general election, knife crime is down by 11%, knife homicides are down by 25% and knife-enabled robberies are down by 18%. That is huge progress, but we must do more. That is why I recently launched crackdowns in more than 230 of the areas most affected by knife crime. We will be tough on knife crime, through increased patrols, but also tough on the causes of knife crime, by undertaking prevention work to prevent these crimes.
My hon. Friend has told me how much he admires the family for their campaigning efforts. We know from our own work how powerful it is when those who have suffered because of knife crime join in the effort to tackle it. As he knows, policing is a devolved matter and the question of a review is therefore one for the Scottish Government, but this Government stand ready to support them where we can.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is imperative that we get knives off our streets, and he will know that we have already taken 63,000 knives off our streets and banned ninja swords. We will make more progress, including on a consultation that we have recently carried out looking at a wider regime for the sale of knives, and we will update the House on that in due course.
Last December, Henry Nowak’s life was cut short in a horrific and senseless act of violence. My thoughts today are with Henry’s family and friends, who have shown extraordinary courage and dignity. Today I can announce an independent review, led by a former Lord Chancellor, the right hon. Alex Chalk KC. It will investigate what was known about the perpetrator, including any missed opportunities to intervene. It will look at the Nowak family’s experience of the criminal justice system and whether they were supported in the manner they should have been. Once the Independent Office for Police Conduct has concluded its investigation into the police response, the review will also consider the actions of the IOPC and, if necessary, the police. The full terms of reference have been published today, and an initial report will be submitted to me within five months. We must get to the truth of what happened before, during and after that awful night, and we must do everything in our power to ensure that no family suffers the same fate. We owe that to Henry and to all who loved him. They deserve answers, and this review will provide them.
My hon. Friend will know that we have made it easier for the police to seize e-bikes on the spot, and we have cut the timeframe for disposal to just seven days. Police forces are already making use of these powers so that dangerous and illegally used bikes can be taken off our streets. Where appropriate, they can also be destroyed.
I do not need notes from the shadow Home Secretary on any of my speeches; he can keep them to himself. Let me confirm for the House that settlement will be earned, not be automatic. He knows we have conducted a consultation on those proposals, and we will set out our policy in due course.
As the right hon. Gentleman is well aware, it is long-standing policy not to comment on individual cases. He often brings such individual cases to the Dispatch Box, so he should know that we cannot always go into all the specifics. He knows that all individuals who seek entry to the United Kingdom must meet the requirements of the immigration rules, and I will always enforce them as strongly as possible.
I am surprised by the correspondence that the hon. Member has received. She is welcome to share that with me. That is absolutely not the case for the announcements made in September.
The hon. Gentleman should be much more responsible about the way in which he makes his point in this Chamber. He will know that there is a world of difference between someone selling books and enjoying the fruits of their labour and saying that they will use that money to fund a proscribed organisation. The organisation was proscribed through a vote in this House; it is the subject of a legal case at the moment, but all of the appropriate legal safeguards and thresholds in law were followed.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising such an important point. As he will know, our modern slavery arrangements are subject to strengthening in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is currently going through this House. I would be happy to ensure that he can speak to either myself or one of my Ministers to discuss whether further changes need to be made.
The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that I discuss this issue regularly with my counterparts in the Republic of Ireland. We are committed to working closely together to ensure that we do not allow any illegal entry, either from the United Kingdom into the Republic or vice versa.
In the Thames valley, as with much of the south-east, the key driver of homelessness is high house prices. Many of the measures announced today and over recent months, while welcome, are focused in areas with mayors. In the south-east, however, devolution has stalled, meaning that some of these levers will not be available. Can I urge the Minister and the Secretary of State, who was sitting next to the Minister earlier, to get on with delivering devolution across the south-east so that we can tackle the issue of homelessness in areas with high house prices, including the Thames valley?
Violence against women and girls is one of the biggest challenges of our time, and this Government have made a commitment to halve it. Progress towards achieving that includes rolling out dedicated VAWG teams in every police force, specialist rape and serious sex offence courtrooms, and the introduction of domestic abuse protection orders. We are teaching children in schools about healthy relationships, and we are preparing legislation to make it impossible for children to take, share and view nude images.
I thank my hon. Friend for her continued work in this space and Chester Women’s Aid for its vital work in supporting the community. Supporting victims is at the heart of the Government’s strategy, which is backed by £1 billion of cross-Government investment. Domestic abuse protection orders already exist in five areas, and more than 2,000 police-led DAPOs have been issued. DAPOs will be rolled out across England and Wales by the end of the year, providing stronger protection for victims, widening the scope and, as my hon. Friend says, enabling applications from the police, victims themselves and third parties such as Chester Women’s Aid.
I extend my congratulations to the chief constable on his dedicated service, and join Cheshire MPs in congratulating Cheshire police force.
The right hon. Gentleman will know that returns are up, and we will accommodate that in any way we can.
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. As she will know, there are dedicated teams in every single police force. The Health Secretary has announced the steps to change in our local GP practices, and we are working across Government to halve violence against women and girls.
Abuse and violence against retail workers ballooned under the last Government. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and others campaigned for action. We promised to take action, and we have: the Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that alongside legislation, we need to ensure that we have the police in our communities and neighbourhoods to tackle crime. We have put 3,800 new police—extra police—in our neighbourhoods since we came to power. The collaboration between police and shop workers is having really good results in a lot of our town centres, and I encourage the Scottish National party Government to look at ensuring the same in Scotland.
We all recognise the concern about the illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters. We have taken action through the Crime and Policing Act 2026. Police no longer need to issue a warning before seizing vehicles that are being used antisocially. We have also reduced vehicle disposal timeframes to seven days, so we are taking action, but we are very much in the market for seeing what else we can do.
I thank the hon. Member for her thoughtful question. We hear what she says about e-bikes. We are having conversations with the College of Policing and others about how we can ensure that the police can respond in the way that they want to. In a big operation last month, the Met arrested 187 people and seized 157 vehicles in a crackdown on e-bikes, and Met police are using Sur-Ron bikes in that operation, so we are very much having conversations with colleagues to see what more we can do.
I thank my hon. Friend for her work on this issue. We are talking to the Department for Transport about exactly what we need to do to tackle the scourge of e-bikes and e-scooters. Every MP in this place will be facing the same challenge, and I hope that everybody would agree that we cannot allow this kind of behaviour to continue. We are looking at what else can be done. We have changed the powers in the Bill to move us in the right direction. I am talking to the police about what more support they need, and we will continue to have those conversations across Government.
This Government are determined to tackle antisocial behaviour across England and Wales. From today, we are calling time on persistent offenders of ASB with the introduction of respect orders, honouring our manifesto commitment and cracking down on ASB.
I am very happy to work with anybody who is committed to tackling antisocial behaviour. The Government have introduced not just respect orders, but extended dispersal directions. We have raised the maximum fixed penalties for public spaces protection orders from £100 to £500. We are passing legislation, putting neighbourhood police into our neighbourhoods and tackling antisocial behaviour.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I suspect that a lot of similar conversations are happening on Pride in Place boards across England and Wales. In north Wales we have seen an increase of some 60 officers in neighbourhoods since 2015, which will make a very big difference. I have talked to every police force across the country, written to all the chief constables and met all the different agencies that are part of respect orders, and everyone is lined up to do this work. Guidance has been published, and I look forward to seeing the first court cases—hopefully this week.
I went last week to Newcastle-under-Lyme, Southall and Hemel Hempstead, and I have been talking to all the police forces across the country. I expect my hon. Friend’s police force to take these powers in the manner in which they are intended—as a useful tool to help the police, local authorities, housing associations and other agents to tackle antisocial behaviour and introduce respect orders. We are increasing funding across the country. Importantly, we are also reforming policing to put local policing at the heart of everything we do, so that the public get the service they expect.
I am happy to look into whether respect orders might cover the crimes that the right hon. Member talks about and help in this space. Of course we need to ensure that we have more police in our communities, and we will always look at the legislation to see whether there is more that we can do to come down hard on these kinds of behaviours, which make our constituents and our communities really not feel safe in their own environment. We will continue to work on that.
I recognise what the hon. Member describes. I have talked to the police about what more we can do in this space. I encourage everybody to report crimes as soon as they see them, because the police can put automatic number plate recognition cameras in place to retrospectively give people fines if they are breaking the law by car cruising. I know the police are looking for the resources to ensure that they can tackle these things. More neighbourhood policing, looking at shift times, and all these things can help.
Of course that comment is racist. We know that race and religious hate crime is rising and we are very concerned about that. We have taken some legislative action when it comes to protests, around things like cumulative impact and places of worship. We have our social cohesion plan, “Protecting What Matters”, and we have invested record amounts of money—sadly, we have had to do so—to protect religious spaces for the Jewish community, the Muslim community, and those of other faiths including Sikhs. We have put in £250 million to protect our Jewish communities. There is more to do, but we are certainly in agreement that that was racist, and we need to tackle all forms of hate crime.