Liam Conlon

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

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Latest on this tracker 120

1. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

   With 28 world records, the Crystal Palace national sports centre is the spiritual home of UK athletics. It is also an incredible community asset. Residents across Beckenham and Penge speak fondly about using its facilities growing up, or remember their children and grandchildren learning to swim in the Olympic-sized pool. However, in recent years, the centre has become a boarded-up relic of the past—in 2014, the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, even tried to demolish the athletic stadium and turn it into an unwanted free school—but thanks to the work of Fran Bernstein, Ben Woods, the Crystal Palace Sports Partnership and many others, the centre now has a lifeline. The £130 million transformation of the centre, backed by funding from our Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, will see the reopening of the Olympic-sized pool and diving boards, a revamped athletics stadium, and new facilities for other sports, too. I will be campaigning to bring world-class athletics back to Crystal Palace park once again. The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the Mayor of London and other relevant partners to support the delivery of the transformation of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the constituency of Beckenham and Penge, Declares that the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre is a nationally significant sporting and community facility; further declares that plans have been submitted to transform the site, including refurbishment of the Grade II listed building, a revamped Olympic-sized pool and athletics stadium and new multi-sport and parasport facilities; and further declares that this transformation would benefit residents of Beckenham and Penge for generations to come. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the Mayor of London and other relevant partners to support the delivery of the transformation of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003227]

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2. 13 Jul 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   State of Climate and Nature

   Earlier this month, in my constituency of Beckenham and Penge, the River Pool was lined with thousands of dead fish, including critically endangered European eels, following a pollution incident. Thankfully, the water quality has now returned to normal, and the Environment Agency has agreed to restock the river with fish species. Will the Minister join me in asking the Environment Agency and Thames Water to urgently conclude their investigation into what caused the incident and share the findings? Will she support my efforts to ensure that whoever is responsible is held accountable and faces the full force of the law?

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3. 13 Jul 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Road safety in the London Borough of Bromley

   Across my constituency, a lack of action on road safety means that parents are afraid to let their children play out, older people avoid using certain junctions, and some streets are plagued by unbearable noise. Just this week, it is likely that two people will have been seriously injured on Bromley’s roads. While there are particular issues at hotspots such as Kent House Road, Kent House Lane, Blandford Road and Hawes Lane, residents across all Beckenham and Penge are let down by the wait-for-harm approach employed by Bromley council, under which it will take action only when five people have been killed or seriously injured. The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to encourage the London Borough of Bromley to adopt a proactive, preventative approach to road safety, in line with the “Vision Zero” principles adopted by comparable London boroughs, and to make full use of the record £7.3 billion of Government funding made available to local authorities”— including Bromley council— “for road repair, renewal, and safety improvements.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the constituency of Beckenham and Penge, Declares that road safety is a matter of serious and growing concern for residents of Beckenham and Penge with residents reporting that unsafe roads discourage children from playing outside, deter older people from using certain junctions, and blight streets with excessive traffic noise; and further declares that the London Borough of Bromley currently operates a reactive “wait-for-harm” approach, under which measures to improve road safety are only considered after multiple deaths or serious injuries have occurred, rather than in response to near-misses or the lived experience of residents. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to encourage the London Borough of Bromley to adopt a proactive, preventative approach to road safety, in line with the “Vision Zero” principles adopted by comparable London boroughs, and to make full use of the record £7.3 billion of Government funding made available to local authorities for road repair, renewal, and safety improvements. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003222]

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4. 9 Jul 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban

   Will my hon. Friend give way?

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5. 8 Jul 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   NHS Corridor Care

   We talk about getting people out of hospital, but it is also about keeping them out of there. I spent years in and out of hospital as a teenager; I was one of the youngest people in Britain to have a hip replacement when I was in sixth form. The rehabilitation services that I relied on at the Royal London hospital were sadly closed by the last Government. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that we invest in those services for them to reopen, so that when people leave hospital, they stay out of hospital?

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6. 23 Jun 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Topical Questions

   T6. In all our constituencies, small hospitality businesses, such as Shotsmiths in Beckenham and the Alma pub in Crystal Palace, provide important third spaces, bringing life to our high streets and providing good jobs. The Chancellor has visited my constituency to outline additional support for local pubs. Will she set out what further steps she is taking to ensure that these small businesses can grow and thrive?

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7. 18 Jun 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Business of the House

   I was delighted this week by the Government’s announcement that, among other measures, we will be banning social media for under-16s. Throughout the consultation, I met hundreds of people in Beckenham and Penge, including parents, teachers and students, but one family I met have really stuck with me. Chris and Jo Barber from Beckenham tragically lost their wonderful son Leo, who took his own life in November 2023 aged just 16. The inquest into Leo’s death found that exposure to harmful content online significantly contributed to his mental health struggles. I have been working with Chris and Jo to advocate for this change, and on Saturday I am also joining them for the launch of Leo’s Safe Haven, a charity they have set up to provide mental health support for other autistic children and young people. Will the Leader of the House join me in welcoming the ban on social media as a major step forward in protecting the welfare of children and young people, and in paying tribute to the courage of bereaved parents, like Chris and Jo, who turn personal tragedy into positive change for others?

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8. 18 Jun 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Infected Blood Compensation Scheme

   I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham and Chislehurst (Clive Efford), my constituency neighbour, for securing the debate and speaking with such clarity, and so powerfully, in his opening address. I was contacted by my constituent Susan and her two daughters, including Louise, who I welcome to the Gallery today; they asked me to take part in this debate. I pay tribute to them for their fight and for bravely sharing their story with me. I will come to that story in a moment. As has been said, the infected blood scandal is widely recognised as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. More than 25,000 people were infected with hepatitis C and, particularly tragically, more than 380 children were infected with HIV. I vividly remember meeting some of those impacted at an event with the phenomenal and unrelenting Hillsborough law coalition. A Hillsborough law is an important part of this debate, because this situation went from a tragedy to a scandal because of the way that patients and families were treated. As I have said previously, all the campaigners and campaigns supporting the Hillsborough law are distinct. I got involved in the campaign for the Hillsborough law because I am a relative of Hugh Mullan, who was one of the victims of the Ballymurphy massacre, which was one of the worst atrocities of the troubles. He was shot in the abdomen and again in the back as he lay on the ground, giving the last rites to someone. I have watched my dad’s family fight for 50 years for truth and justice to be put on the record, and to be told that he was entirely innocent. I have got to know many of the other campaigns involved: Margaret Aspinall and the Hillsborough families, the Grenfell families, those related to the Post Office Horizon campaign, and many others who are part of this coalition. Although they are distinct and come from different contexts, places and times, there are often many similarities in what happens to them. First, victims are dismissed, information is withheld from them and they are sometimes smeared. Secondly, the authorities close ranks, shutting off routes to justice—we have heard many of those stories from Members across the House. Thirdly, victims face a legal system in which the scales of justice are stacked in favour of the state. Justice for one of those campaigns requires justice for all. The Hillsborough law must be passed in full if we are to deliver that. I echo the comments made by hon. Members across the House about learning from these injustices—we need to stop trying to recreate the wheel. We must learn from the processes around these scandals and the inquiries that take place; bringing that together with the Hillsborough law is a really important step. I turn to my constituent Susan and her husband George. Let me tell the House what happened to George. George suffered from severe haemophilia A and type 1 diabetes, and died suddenly on 26 April 1978 at the age of just 33. It was only 41 years later, when the family were able to obtain his medical records in 2019 on hearing about the infected blood inquiry being set up, that they discovered he had been given factor VIII products for various operations at St Thomas’ hospital from 1976 onwards, including a product called Hemofil in January 1978. The records also show that he was regularly tested for hepatitis B antigens and that the test results were negative until October 1976—just six months after he was first treated with factor VIII. George died in 1978 before hepatitis C had even been identified—no tests were available. The inquiry concluded, though, that essentially any haemophiliac given blood products in the 1970s would have been infected with hepatitis C. Susan, his wife, gave evidence to the infected blood inquiry in March 2020 with assistance and contributions from her daughters. They expressed their belief that infected blood products may have contributed to George’s death, in particular through his ability to respond to insulin for his diabetes. Susan has just been informed by IBCA that it is ready to begin her claim. That is really positive, welcome news, especially as she is 80 and not in the best of health. Many hon. Members have mentioned that time is not on the side of victims and families and that an expedient process is really important. Susan has been told that she will be one of the first people to make a deceased infected person claim, and that her experience will help to improve the service for people who claim in the future. However, Susan’s daughters and doubtless thousands of others affected by the scandal would like more information on when the further claims will be processed. They fully understand that those who are elderly or ill take priority and that IBCA can bring only small numbers of affected people into the scheme for now, but they would hugely value a more detailed timeline for when affected people’s claims will be addressed, even if that means distinguishing between months and years. I have also heard from other victims and victims’ families about the waiting. As Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry’s chair, stated in his address at the recent infected blood memorial service, people need greater transparency. I would welcome the Minister’s response to that. Susan’s husband George was given products that the Government knew were not safe. His family were never made aware at any time that that was happening, nor that he was being tested for hepatitis. Reading about George’s experience and that of his family, and listening to the contributions made by hon. Members across the House, brings genuine anger. The state must ensure now that it does not fail victims and families again and that we make quick progress on this. Susan had to wait over 40 years to find out the truth about her husband’s death, but she and thousands of others have still not been given closure. As the Haemophilia Society has laid out, first, psychological harm must be fairly and compassionately recognised. Secondly, the scheme must ensure that compensation to estates reflects the harm and loss suffered and removes the clear injustice of penalising those who died earlier. Thirdly, compensation must begin to be paid faster. Beyond that, as George’s daughter Louise, who is sat in the Gallery, said: “A compensation payment is hugely significant not just for its monetary value, but as an acknowledgement that an injustice has been done, too”. We talk about compensation, which is one component of redress. I have just spent the past year on Philomena’s law—I am proud to have brought it in—which has delivered justice for victims and survivors of Ireland’s cruel mother and baby homes, 13,000 of whom live in Britain today. I have met countless survivors, and what they say is that nothing can undo the wrongs done to them, but compensation is one important component of redress. The House will not deliver closure for those families until it is paid. A swift resolution to the compensation issue would help many like Susan to find some kind of ending to a very difficult process. The importance of acknowledgement of injustice and wrongdoing is a sentiment I hear echoed across much of the Hillsborough law coalition. Time and again, we have seen the state engaged in David versus Goliath battles in which the state, flanked by an army of lawyers, takes on families who have scraped together enough for a single barrister. The state closes ranks and opportunities for justice are snuffed out. Even when there are admissions of guilt and wrongdoing, such as with the infected blood scandal, too often we see hesitation to implement the recommendations of public inquiries. As the Haemophilia Society also says, the Hillsborough law must be enacted in full, introducing a duty of candour for public officials to ensure that such scandals can never happen again. The Hillsborough law will also introduce a national oversight mechanism so that Governments are held to account in implementing the recommendations of public inquiries like that into infected blood. We must deliver justice for those impacted by the infected blood scandal—we know that, for many, we do not have long to do so. We must also do all that we can to ensure that no scandal like what happened to George and his family can happen again. I have faith that the Government want to do that. I thank again my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham and Chislehurst for securing the debate. While I urge the Government as a whole to go faster, I thank the Minister personally for all the tireless work he does on this issue.

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9. 15 Jun 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

   Brain Cancer

   I join the Minister in paying tribute to the many brain cancer patients and their families who have campaigned for change. They include Joanna and Dennis from Beckenham and Penge, who lost their son Ollie at just 29 years old, and Tessa Jowell, who brought national attention to brain cancer nearly 10 years ago when she was diagnosed. I had the honour of working for her, and she would have been my neighbouring MP. I do a lot of work with the Tessa Jowell Foundation; tomorrow is their gala dinner in the Olympic Park, another legacy of Tessa’s. Will the Minister support the foundation’s calls for faster access to trials, including the right to try, precision medicine, equitable care regardless of postcode and—as Tessa would say—patient-centred care, helping people to live well with cancer and not simply die of it?

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10. 10 Jun 2026·Parliament·Liam Conlon

    Belfast: Violent Disorder

    I echo the statement from the Minister and the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast South and Mid Down (Claire Hanna), who spoke so well and with such clarity. This was a horrific attack, and I join others in extending my sympathies to the victim. I also commend the bravery of Maitiu Mág Tighearnán and those who ran towards danger to disarm the attacker, and the PSNI and emergency services for their swift response. However, it was disappointing—but not surprising—to see the usual suspects using this as an opportunity to divide, point-score and help whip up violence and disorder online, which then played out on the streets of Belfast. Will the Minister join me in condemning those who have done so, and does he agree that it demonstrates the need for urgent action against the online platforms that facilitate and spread this hate?

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2024 General Election: Beckenham and Penge

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