Conservative and Unionist Party: a sourced timeline of public activity, with filters by source type and a sidebar of tracked totals

Conservative and Unionist Party

Showing every spoken contribution, including 5,731 under 12 words. Hide short remarks

  1. ParliamentMr Mark Francois

    Local Elections: Cancellation

    “No taxation without representation.” Councillor Kevin Bentley, the dynamic Conservative leader of Essex county council, has been adamant that elections should go ahead. On 14 January, he wrote to the Minister: “You may be aware that at our Full Council on 9th December I stated that Essex County Council would not be calling for the postponement of elections in May 2026. This continues to be our position.” What was ambiguous about that? Is Labour simply running scared?

    Hansard source

  2. ParliamentMr Mark Francois

  3. ParliamentMr Gagan Mohindra

    Sale of Fireworks

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) on opening this important debate and thank the many petitioners who have brought this issue before Parliament. It is nearly a year since the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) brought this issue up in the Chamber, and it is refreshing to see the Minister at the time, the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders), here showing his continued passion for this topic. I wish to reflect the strength of feeling among my constituents in South West Hertfordshire that the balance between the enjoyment of and the disruption caused by fireworks is not being struck and that they are in fact causing harm. In the autumn and winter of 2025 alone, continuing into this year, over 200 of my constituents have contacted me directly to raise their concerns about the impact of fireworks in our area. Their concerns focus on the serious distress caused to pets, livestock and other animals, as well as the effect of loud and unpredictable fireworks on people with mental health issues including PTSD and heightened sensitivity to noise. My constituents are not calling for an outright ban. Instead, there is overwhelming support for alternatives such as quiet or low noise level fireworks, which preserve visual enjoyment while significantly reducing harm. Others have mentioned the replacement potential of drones. In South West Hertfordshire, 383 constituents have signed petitions calling for the maximum noise level of fireworks to be reduced from 120 to 90 dB. A further 293 people have supported limiting the sale of fireworks to councils or licensed events. My only word of warning about licensed events is about ensuring that displays advertised in posts on social media, including in Facebook groups, actually happen. I am conscious that over the new year and in the run-up to fireworks night, there were some fake posts suggesting that fireworks displays were going to happen and a lot of people were disappointed, although that happened in the midlands rather than in my constituency. Given the development and increasing availability of quiet fireworks, it is right to reassess the current balance between celebration and protection, including lowering the legal noise limit from 120 dB. Others have mentioned significant religious events; I represent a multicultural community, and sometimes there will be fireworks outside the normal cycle for things such as weddings and family celebrations. However, if we could mitigate the noise, no one would lose out: people could enjoy marking significant milestones in their lives without scaring the animals and the vulnerable in our communities.

    Hansard source

  4. ParliamentMr Gagan Mohindra

    Sale of Fireworks

    The hon. Member is 100% correct. None of us is looking to be a killjoy. We are trying to balance the requirements of all parts of our communities, so that people who wish to enjoy the lights and noise associated with fireworks are not doing so to the detriment of vulnerable humans or animals. The Government must consider whether additional measures, such as reducing the legal noise limit, could encourage the use of fireworks in a way that helps to strike a better balance between celebration, animal welfare and community wellbeing. I have already mentioned the potential for more widespread use of drones to ensure that people can continue to celebrate without negatively affecting other parts of the community.

    Hansard source

  5. ParliamentMr Gagan Mohindra

    Local Elections: Cancellation

    As the House may be aware, I was a local councillor at three different levels: parish, district and county. Several right hon. and hon. Members have referred to the proposals as being either single tier or two tier. I gently remind them that parishes and towns will remain, so two tiers is the minimum. I repeat the question that was asked earlier: when will all these councils know for definite if and when their elections are going to be held later this year?

    Hansard source

  6. ParliamentMike Wood

    Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

    The tables to which the Minister refers show that the median rateable value for pubs and wine bars is increasing by a third. He visited the Prince of Wales, a pub in his constituency, to help it reopen last spring. Its rateable value is going up from £49,200 to £62,500, which will push it into the higher band and higher bills. When we have the inevitable U-turn, will he ensure that it genuinely delivers lower business rates, and not just for the Prince of Wales in his constituency but for all hospitality venues across the country?

    Hansard source

  7. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    Order. Some hon. Members are standing. It is only convention that Members sit on a particular side of the room. Perhaps there will be a cross-party love-in today; we have started to see one already. If Members want to move to the other side of the Chamber where there are seats, they are able to do so. I will recognise your individual parties, so do not panic.

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  8. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    Order. I remind Members to bob if they wish to speak—I think that is happening right now, so thank you. Given the popularity and importance of this debate, there will be an informal limit of four and a half minutes on speeches.

    Hansard source

  9. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    Before I call Gagan Mohindra, let me say that, while the screen on my left is not showing the time, the screens behind me and on my right are. Members should be conscious of others when speaking.

    Hansard source

  10. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    I will call Sarah Dyke, then Juliet Campbell, and then Gideon Amos.

    Hansard source

  11. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    I call Gideon Amos. I will then call Amanda Hack.

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  12. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Sale of Fireworks

    I will call Dr Scott Arthur, Sarah Hall, Kirsteen Sullivan and Elsie Blundell, and then I will vacate the Chair for my replacement. I call Dr Scott Arthur.

    Hansard source

  13. ParliamentMark Pritchard

  14. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

    The Minister does not have to defect to Reform to get a pint, and I am very happy to show him round the pubs in Shropshire’s villages and market towns. I will show him that pubs are not just about having non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks; they are often at the very heart of village communities. Local charities, the women’s institute, pensioner groups and others meet there because the post office or the shop has closed. May I genuinely invite the Minister to get out of London—out of the beltway and out of the bubble—and come to Shropshire? He will not be allowed inside pubs, of course, but I can bring him a pint outside when the warmer weather comes. I appeal to him to join me in Shropshire and hear at first hand what pub landlords and owners have to say.

    Hansard source

  15. ParliamentMark Pritchard

    Proposed Chinese Embassy

    Following on from my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), I too would be very surprised, as a co-author of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on China, if the Committee had not seen the National Security Adviser on such an important issue. The director general of the Security Service gave a speech some time ago in which he spoke about China using a “whole-of-system” approach. I encourage the Government to do the same when it comes to our own national security and deliberately juxtapose planning with national security, to ensure that our nation is kept safe. One easy way for the Government to act to ensure that we are safe from the malign influence of Chinese spies operating in this country is to ensure that the number of diplomats at the new embassy, which will be the largest Chinese mission in Europe, is commensurate with the number of UK diplomats in China.

    Hansard source

  16. ParliamentLincoln Jopp

    Proposed Chinese Embassy

    Can the Minister not hear herself, and not see how absurd it is for the Government to insist that they should treat the decision on the embassy as a quasi-judicial, independent planning question? It is not a planning question; it is a question of national security, and if the Prime Minister had any backbone, he would own it, decide it one way or the other, and then talk to the House about it. I do not know how up to speed the Minister is on her Greek mythology, but before the Trojan horse was pulled into Troy after a 10-year siege, one priest, Laocoön, said that the horse should not be pulled in because it would spell the end of the city. That is the role that this House is playing today. Does the Minister think that the decision about whether to pull the Trojan horse into Troy should have been treated as a veterinary issue?

    Hansard source

  17. ParliamentLewis Cocking

    Local Elections: Cancellation

    Conservative-run Broxbourne borough council wants its elections to go ahead, and the people of Broxbourne should be allowed their choice on 7 May. However, devolution plans could see us merge with Labour-run Stevenage borough council and the Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition-run Welwyn Hatfield borough council, which both want their elections to be cancelled. Conservative-run Broxbourne council wants its elections to go ahead. I, as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Broxbourne, want the elections to go ahead. The people of Broxbourne want their elections to go ahead. Can the Minister categorically confirm to my constituents that local elections in Broxbourne will go ahead on 7 May?

    Hansard source

  18. ParliamentLaura Trott

    Topical Questions

    It is a disgrace that a Jewish Member of this House had his visit to a school cancelled following pressure and intimidation from pro-Palestinian protesters. That is abhorrent antisemitism. Over the weekend, the Secretary of State announced a welcome investigation into the trust, alongside Ofsted action. She said that she would “leave no stone unturned”. In that spirit, what is the right hon. Lady doing to address the role of the National Education Union in trying to prevent the visit?

    Hansard source

  19. ParliamentLaura Trott

    Topical Questions

    I am grateful for the right hon. Lady’s words. Bristol NEU publicly celebrated the cancellation of the visit from the hon. Member for Bristol North East (Damien Egan), describing it as a “win” and boasting that it sent a “clear message”. Over the weekend, the head of the NEU claimed that the visit taking place “at the height of the genocide in Gaza” was a mitigating factor for excluding a British Jew from the school. That is inexcusable. I will gladly meet the right hon. Lady. Will she also back my call for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to look into the NEU, and will she ask it to investigate these outrageous statements?

    Hansard source

  20. ParliamentKit Malthouse

    Arctic Security

    I am afraid that the Foreign Secretary is being rather mealy-mouthed about a situation that the President of the United States obviously sees as very simple. He believes that through extortion or military force—he is not denying that he may use military force—he can acquire Greenland, whichever way we look at it. As the Foreign Secretary will know, significant military assets owned by the United States are based here in the United Kingdom. Could they be used as part of an invasion of Greenland against our will? Does she recognise that when tariffs were first wielded as a weapon against the Canadians, we should have stood with them, rather than cut a snivelling deal?

    Hansard source

  21. ParliamentJohn Lamont

    Sale of Fireworks

    I pay tribute to my constituent Julie McMillan, who has emailed me with her concerns about fireworks every year for the 19 years that I have been a Member of this place or of the Scottish Parliament. Many other people have raised the same concern. I urge caution about what has happened in Scotland. The Scottish Government introduced a new licensing regime, much of which does not work, and they have had to pause the whole system. Although we need greater control and consistency across the UK, the Minister should not follow what the SNP Scottish Government have done.

    Hansard source

  22. ParliamentJohn Lamont

    Sale of Fireworks

    The Minister is being exceptionally generous with her time. The reality is that we will be back here again this time next year, because there will be another petition calling for the same things. What guarantees can the Minister give about the progress that will be made between now and this time next year on the petitioners’ asks—in terms of decibel levels and the licensing regime? What progress will have been made, fast-forwarding the clock to when we are having this debate this time next year?

    Hansard source

  23. ParliamentJoe Robertson

    Local Elections: Cancellation

    I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving Isle of Wight councillor. Local government reorganisation in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is a mess. Meanwhile, the Government propose to cut £13 million of funding from Isle of Wight council. We are due to have elections in just three and a half months’ time. Our council wants those elections to go ahead and wants to prepare for them. Will the Minister confirm that we can do that, and that those elections will go ahead on the Isle of Wight in May?

    Hansard source

  24. ParliamentHarriet Cross

    Proposed Chinese Embassy

    The Minister said that the intelligence services are engaged, but she has not given any information about whether they are happy or able mitigate any risks. Why can she not give us that information? On the timeline, the first application was rejected in 2022; the revised application was submitted in 2024, and was called in; and we are now in 2026. A decision has been made within a week, based on the unredacted plans we saw a week ago. Why such a quick turnaround?

    Hansard source

  25. ParliamentGregory Stafford

    SEND Funding Shortfall

    10. What plans her Department has to tackle the special educational needs and disabilities funding shortfall identified in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s “Economic and fiscal outlook” of November 2025.

    Hansard source

  26. ParliamentGregory Stafford

    SEND Funding Shortfall

    In Surrey, the high needs block deficit is forecast to rise to £165 million by 2027. Although Conservative-run Surrey county council has earmarked £144 million in reserves to ease that pressure, that cannot be a long-term solution. Can the Minister confirm whether and when Surrey’s safety valve agreement will be extended?

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  27. ParliamentGreg Smith

    SEND: High-quality School Places

    Does the Secretary of State accept that cancelling an £18-million, purpose-built, 152-place SEND school in Buckinghamshire, due to open in 2028, and replacing it with just £8 million over three years will inevitably increase reliance on high-cost independent placements, worsen outcomes for children with the most acute needs in Buckinghamshire, and ultimately cost the taxpayer more, while failing some of the county’s most vulnerable children?

    Hansard source

  28. ParliamentGreg Smith

    Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

    This morning I met Roly May, the landlord of the Russell Arms pub in Butlers Cross. Government Members might recognise it: it is the closest pub to Chequers, where they can drown their sorrows after an audience with the Prime Minister. The pub has seen as £17,500 business rate increase. I have heard similar horror stories from pubs such as the Cock and Rabbit in The Lee, the Dinton Hermit in Ford and many others. Will the Minister at least accept that there is no more money to squeeze out of pubs that are absolutely on the brink of financial catastrophe under this Government?

    Hansard source

  29. ParliamentGraham Stuart

    SEND: Blind and Partially Sighted Children

    Blind and partially sighted children in the East Riding of Yorkshire receive lower funding through the higher needs block than anywhere else in the country, yet in the settlement the East Riding will receive the smallest increase in the country at just 2%, compared with an average of over 6%. How can it possibly be justified that children in the rural, coastal East Riding of Yorkshire, who are already the worst funded in the country, are going to see the gap widen? Minister, please explain.

    Hansard source

  30. ParliamentGareth Bacon

    Topical Questions

    A year ago the Secretary of State dropped the statutory free speech complaints scheme from the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. According to a letter published in The Sunday Times from 370 academics, including three Nobel prize winners, this has totally negated the whole point of the Act, thus imperilling freedom of speech on university campuses. When is the Secretary of State going to do something to correct this mistake?

    Hansard source

  31. ParliamentDr Neil Hudson

    Sale of Fireworks

    My hon. Friend is making a powerful statement about the impact on animals. I thank the petitioners in Epping Forest who have signed the petition, including the Redwings Horse Sanctuary, which triggered this debate and has its Ada Cole stables in my constituency. As a veterinary surgeon, sadly I have seen at first hand the impact of fireworks: small animals go missing and get injured, and farm animal livestock and horses receive horrific injuries. Does my hon. Friend agree that something has to be done to keep people and animals safe from fireworks?

    Hansard source

  32. ParliamentDr Ben Spencer

    Arctic Security

    All relationships, particularly special relationships, must have a foundation of respect and mutual consent. What is the view in NATO on economic measures being used to force the annexation of a sovereign NATO territory?

    Hansard source

  33. ParliamentDr Andrew Murrison

    Iran: Protests

    The Minister and I share the dubious distinction of having summoned Iranian ambassadors. Does he agree that whether it is Ambassador Mousavi, Baeidinejad or Abbas Araghchi, it does not really matter, because they are not the problem? The problem is the IRGC and its constituent parts. Does the Minister accept that Jonathan Hall KC’s review is not particularly controversial? He has made recommendations that would effectively get around the Minister’s problem with the proscription of state actors. There is cross-party agreement right across the House that would get such a measure through in a day. It is not as if we do not have enough time, as today’s cancellation of business has shown.

    Hansard source

  34. ParliamentDr Andrew Murrison

    Proposed Chinese Embassy

    Circumstances have changed dramatically since 2018, and the Minister cannot simply dismiss this as a planning application, just like it were a conservatory—it is a matter of national security. Will the Government at least concede that if the building goes ahead all the cabling along Mansell Street at the Wapping exchange should, as a condition of any planning permission, be relocated at the applicant’s expense?

    Hansard source

  35. ParliamentDr Andrew Murrison

    Arctic Security

    We have to ride the Trump tiger as best we can until November 2028, but the future of Greenland is for Greenlanders. However, when the Foreign Secretary talks to her Danish interlocutors, can she ever so gently point out that small countries such as Denmark have historically spent little on their defence and on collective defence? Will she also, perhaps equally as gently, admonish Denmark? Along with most member states of the European Union, it has administered something of a punishment beating to this country since 2016.

    Hansard source

  36. ParliamentDavid Simmonds

    Public Office (Accountability) Bill

    In my past life, I spent a good deal of time working on matters affecting victims of child sex abuse and trafficking, so I have a lot of sympathy with the Government’s desire to ensure that the Bill, in its final form, is workable, but it seems there is already a serious risk of ambiguity around the accountability at the heart of the Bill. How does the Minister propose to ensure that there is effective oversight of the decision-making process about disclosure? If it is her view that it is not the heads of the intelligence services who should make that decision, can she share with the House her view on who should make that decision, so that we can be confident that there will be appropriate oversight of the disclosure process?

    Hansard source

  37. ParliamentDavid Reed

    Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

    I have heard from many struggling businesses across my constituency about the increasing pressures that they are facing. To give just one example, under the Government’s original plan, a small independent shop in Exmouth would have seen its rateable value rise by about 50%, wiping out the benefits of the lower small business multiplier, stripping it of eligibility for relief and leaving it facing extra costs of around £600 a month. Does the Minister understand how damaging that is for business confidence and viability, and will he please set out a timeline for when those types of small businesses can expect to receive support?

    Hansard source

  38. ParliamentDavid Reed

    Iran: Protests

    Does the Minister’s Department assess that the Iranian regime can come back from this and move into a position of strength? If so, does he assess that the sanctions packages being put forward are enough to limit that happening?

    Hansard source

  39. ParliamentDavid Reed

    Local Elections: Cancellation

    The good people of Exeter want their elections to go ahead as planned in May, yet the Labour super-majorities both on Exeter city council and here in Westminster leave no realistic prospect of fighting the decision. Does the Minister agree that Exeter city council is quickly losing its democratic mandate and is moving to some form of local tinpot autocracy?

    Hansard source

  40. ParliamentDavid Mundell

    Arctic Security

    In pushing back against the tariffs, will the Foreign Secretary and others make it clear to the US that it is not just the potential imposition of these tariffs, but the bandying about of the threat of tariffs, that is so disruptive and difficult for major British businesses that export to the US, such as those in the Scotch whisky industry? The tariffs might be just game-playing or tactics, but they are causing real damage right now.

    Hansard source