David Taylor

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (4 Jul 2024 – present).

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Latest on this tracker 109

1. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Cask Ale: Intangible Cultural Heritage

   I am a lover of craft ale and real ale, and that includes Mad Squirrel in my constituency and Tring Brewery in a neighbouring constituency. I declare an interest, in that I am a member of Tring Brewery, which is currently experimenting with some Japanese hops from my garden. I pay tribute to Jared, the chairman of Mid-Chilterns CAMRA—the Campaign for Real Ale—who has worked at Tring Brewery for many years as a beer sommelier and who, together with Rev. John Williams, organises a fantastic festival in our old town to promote real ale. Does my hon. Friend agree that recognition from UNESCO would have real tourism benefits, just as it has in Belgium, where Belgian beer has the status?

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2. 10 Sep 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Ukraine and Russia

   I warmly congratulate the Defence Secretary on his appointment. I want to make him aware of a range of fantastic organisations and charities around the country that regularly send convoys from the UK to Ukraine, giving not just humanitarian aid but some military equipment, including pick-up trucks repurposed for soldiers to use. I have had the honour of going out on and driving one of those vehicles. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues that could be solved to make those journeys smoother, from making it easier for public bodies in the UK, such as hospitals, to get rid of old vehicles that are coming to the end of their life and place them in the hands of those organisations, to issues, frankly, on the Polish side of the border, where the approach is less than consistent—sometimes the convoys can be held up for hours unnecessarily. Would it be possible for an MOD official to meet me and some of those organisations to thrash out some of the issues and help increase the impact of their brilliant work?

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3. 9 Sep 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Youth Parliament: Government Support

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) for securing the debate and for his excellent speech. As the Member for Hemel Hempstead, I am proud to support, and want to see continued support for, a nationally elected UK Youth Parliament. That comes from personal experience, from having been elected as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament way back in 2001, then proceeding to be part of the procedures group, as it was, until 2003, and subsequently serving as a trustee of the UK Youth Parliament for a brief period later in that decade. I want to pay particular tribute to Kate Parish and Peter Clarke, two people who were central to the creation of the UK Youth Parliament and certainly provided me with a great deal of support. I really do attribute the UK Youth Parliament, and my experience in it, to my standing here today as a Member of Parliament; it was the start of my journey towards dedicating my life to public service. As we have heard, there are many others who have now followed that path too. When I was first elected to Parliament to represent Hertfordshire—well, for the first time since representing Hertfordshire as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament—I was sad to discover that Hertfordshire, at that point, was not participating any longer in the scheme. Along with other Labour MPs in Hertfordshire, I worked very closely with both Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors on Hertfordshire county council to try to bring it back. I am delighted that Hertfordshire now participates in the UK Youth Parliament again. I had the pleasure of <span id="398WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="398WH"></span>meeting this year’s new representatives, including a gentleman who represents Hemel Hempstead, a few weeks back. I pay tribute to Katie Fineman and Karen Haswell for the brilliant work they do as youth workers in Hertfordshire. The best part of the UK Youth Parliament, as the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell have touched on, is when it reaches people from diverse backgrounds, particularly working-class backgrounds. I recognise that there is sometimes some criticism around whether it does that, but my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell eloquently laid out the ways in which it is actually doing a terrific job. The UK Youth Parliament certainly helped me, as someone who had not participated in anything like it before, and it really built my skills and confidence. It is often the first experience many people have of speaking in public, networking and meeting other people. We have to ensure that we do not lose that.

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4. 9 Sep 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Youth Parliament: Government Support

   I could not agree more. If we are looking at the future of the UK Youth Parliament, perhaps the solution to the postcode problem my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell alluded to is to mandate that local authorities go further and faster in making sure that the UK Youth Parliament is inclusive and reaches people from working-class backgrounds. It would be a shame if we lost that. It is really important that working-class kids get a chance to have their voices heard, as they do at the moment. Particularly with votes at 16 on the horizon, it is important that there continue to be elections to the UK Youth Parliament, with participation from as many young people as possible in schools in each county. It is also important to remember that the UK Youth Parliament is not just about the few who are lucky enough to be elected; over the years, millions of young people have participated in one way or another, through the elections and the campaigns in local areas. As my hon. Friend said, it is about not just the national conference, but the activities that go on around the country throughout the year, and we should not lose sight of that. I join others in asking that the Government, Parliament and the Speaker’s Office work together to find a truly sustainable funding mechanism for the future. In 20 years’ time, we will perhaps not be standing here ourselves, but we want to see people who are sitting in the Public Gallery today standing where we are now, giving speeches about the importance of the UK Youth Parliament.

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5. 30 Jun 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Defence Investment Plan

   As the UK trade envoy to Japan, I strongly welcome the £8.6 billion for the GCAP and Tempest project. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is a clear vote of confidence that will enable project partners in our country, Japan and Italy to make strong headway with that project at last?

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6. 22 Jun 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   UK Politics: Pro-Israel Influence

   I will begin, as many have, by associating myself with the remarks of the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont). In the interests of time, I will skip over the many things on which I agreed with him and talk about some of our role as leaders. What I am about to say is not meant as a partisan attack. I am just as angry about incidents of antisemitism in my own party as I am when I see it in others. On that note, and on this day in particular, I pay tribute to the Prime Minister, who rooted out the poisonous antisemitism that had taken hold of our party. However, the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) talked about choosing our words carefully before going straight into the conflation of the actions of the Israeli Government with the Jewish people. There was an attack on Labour Friends of Israel, which receives no money whatsoever from the Israeli Government.<span id="14WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="14WH"></span> My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) referred to a list. I have also been on that infamous list. I am proud that one of those donors is a big supporter of refugee rights around the world. He just happens to be Jewish. How many conversations have I had with him about Israel and the actions of the Israeli Government? Zero. The idea that any of us is somehow having their strings pulled by anyone is an absolute disgrace.

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7. 22 Jun 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   UK Politics: Pro-Israel Influence

   I will not, unless the hon. Member wants to apologise for some of his remarks. Where do we even begin with some of the things that we have heard in the Chamber in recent years? In relation to the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, one Member referred to a stunt by an MP representing the Zionist lobby. Another MP referred to Israel’s “thirst” for the “blood of innocent civilians” in a clear antisemitic trope. Another referred to the “blood-soaked tentacles” of the Israel Defence Forces—another clear antisemitic trope. That is before we get to political parties outside the Chamber, which are not yet represented in this House in any decent numbers. I am referring to the Green party, and specifically to its deputy leader, who talked about supporting the right of indigenous people to fight back on 7 October, the day the attacks happened. He has never apologised properly for those remarks, if at all, and it has since been revealed that he actively supports members of his party who have rightly been suspended for antisemitism. We leaders have a responsibility to be careful with our words and not stir up hatred in the community, among which is a very fragile Jewish community reeling from ever-more antisemitic attacks. In the case of the Golders Green attacks, there was serious injury and death, too.

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8. 22 Jun 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   UK Politics: Pro-Israel Influence

   The hon. Member rightly mentioned Russia and China. Does he agree that Iran also poses a massive threat, is interfering in our democracy and is behind some antisemitic attacks and the spreading of some antisemitic conspiracy theories?

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9. 11 Jun 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

   Legacy of Jo Cox

   I want to put on record my appreciation for the incredible work that Jo did for the people of Syria, and for the incredible work that the Minister and the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) did after she was murdered. They took forward that cause at a moment when they were both experiencing the great grief of Jo’s murder. The Syrian people are grateful for the work that Jo did, and that they continued to do, during that very difficult period.

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10. 20 May 2026·Parliament·David Taylor

    Defence Readiness

    It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke), who I know is a vocal champion of tackling antisemitism, which I will focus on in my remarks. In Tower Hamlets last week, a young man was filmed saying the most chilling antisemitic words: “The Jews, you’re going to be beheaded one by one, you dirty Jews.”<span id="598" class="column-number" data-column-number="598"></span> He has been identified and arrested, and I thank the Met police for their action. I have picked that as just one example of the crisis we face on antisemitism. From the Golders Green terrorist attack to the Hatzola ambulance arson attack, these incidents continue to rise. What is behind this antisemitism? What radicalises individuals to act in this way? Who is responsible for these attacks? It should not need saying, but I will spell it out. Jewish people in the UK are not responsible for the actions of the Netanyahu Government, and antisemitism did not start on 7 October. Israel had not yet begun its operations in Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack when the deputy leader of the Green party filmed a video saying that people should “support the right of indigenous people to fight back”. Antisemitism is often called the oldest hatred. I welcome His Majesty the King’s specific mention of antisemitism and the need to take urgent action to ensure that all communities feel safe. I welcome the commitment that the Prime Minister himself has shown in tackling antisemitism, both in our party and in government, including through the recent summit in Downing Street with the Jewish community. I further welcome the £25 million in additional funding to help protect Jewish communities, bringing the total to nearly £60 million. I agree with the Board of Deputies, which calls for an end to incitement at pro-Palestinian protests, where antisemitic hate speech frequently takes place. It has also called for the use of public order powers to restrict and ban marches where necessary. If we look at the marches last weekend, speakers from one of the march organisers, Palestinian Forum in Britain, told the crowd that Israel is a “Zionist cancer”. Meanwhile, across London at the other, far-right march, a banner was proudly displayed that read, “End the Zionist occupation of Britain”. Perhaps they could have saved the taxpayer the £4.5 million policing bill by combining their marches. Let us be clear: there is another major driver of antisemitism in this country, and that is the Islamist regime in Iran. The group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya claimed responsibility for the ambulance arson attack among others. The US Department of Justice now believes that it was a front designed to carry out terrorist attacks at the behest of the IRGC and its proxies. Meanwhile, we have Iran’s PressTV as well as its Spanish mouthpiece HispanTV. Its UK based show “Palestine Declassified” has regularly platformed conspiracy theorists and targeted Jewish schools in Britain as well as charities and individuals. I repeat my call for financial sanctions to be placed on them, as the US, Australia, Canada and the EU have done. That would close a legal loophole that currently allows them to pay UK nationals and operate through intermediaries without restriction. Connected to that is Rad Media World, a company with links to Iran that <em>The Sunday Telegraph</em> just reported is using the skilled worker visa scheme completely legally. I hope that the Foreign Office will revoke that ability as well as track individuals who came here through that scheme. There is also the issue of the charities that the Shawcross review has linked to Iran. In the interests of time, I will not repeat what I have said before, but I agree with the call of my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North <span id="599" class="column-number" data-column-number="599"></span>East (Damien Egan) for the Charity Commission to have extra resource to go after those charities and close them down. Along with other colleagues across the House, I have been campaigning for proscription of the IRGC for some time. I was therefore delighted to see the announcement in the King’s Speech of the tackling state threats Bill to give the Home Secretary new powers to clamp down on foreign states and organisations posing a threat to our national security. I hope that will come alongside further and faster action to tackle the Iranian threat to us—as we have tried to do with Putin—including against its vast property empire in London and against its spreading of hatred and disinformation on social media, which is designed to sow discord and division in the UK. Are we robustly analysing the Companies House register to ensure that Bank Melli and its many subsidiaries are not dodging sanctions simply by changing their names at Companies House? Should we also be talking more about the VAJA—Iran’s intelligence agency—and its activities in the UK? I urge my Government to ensure that as soon as the new law is passed, it will be immediately acted on. By that I mean that our intelligence officers must fully understand the powers available to them through not only the new legislation but existing legislation. This week, I had the pleasure of hosting Jonathan Hackett, a US marine veteran and expert on counterintelligence and intelligence operations. He made the point that, sometimes on the ground, some of our intelligence officers are not fully aware of the powers available to them. It is crucial both that they are aware of the powers they have to take action and that they have the resources and capabilities to do so.

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2024 General Election: Hemel Hempstead

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