Mims Davies

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1. 16 Oct 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Drought Conditions: England

   I had a delightful soggy drive in this morning, so hallelujah: it has rained a small amount in my constituency. However, as the Minister knows, we are now in severe drought because of the low rainfall, record-breaking temperatures this summer and the impact of El Niño. It has now been announced that we are likely to get standpipes. Constituents with water-dependent businesses are already very worried and at their wits’ end. The fixing of leaks has been too slow. Under the Secretary of State’s guidance, there is the possibility of emergency pipes between Weir Wood and Ardingly reservoir, which is now under 20% full, but that is not a long-term answer. I know the Minister is doing a huge amount of work and having meetings on this, but can she help to arrange aligning infrastructure investment plans between Southern Water and South East Water to deliver effective change and real peace of mind for my constituents, for whom the situation is of deep worry?

   Hansard source
2. 11 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

   There is no issue of conscience more capable of dividing constituents, families or, indeed, this House, than that of assisted dying. We can all agree that no one wants to suffer unnecessarily at the end of their life, and that no one wants to witness their loved ones suffering. We are all here in this place doing what we believe is best to achieve that end. This debate means that the subject of death as a process is again out of the shadows, where we as a society have thrust it over many years. We have been unwilling to confront our own mortality, avoiding difficult discussions even with our own families until reality finally hits us, as it does—we just do not know how. It is a truth that the death of a loved one, and our own inevitable decline, can sometimes arrive with real fear, real pain and, sadly, too much unnecessary and unsupported suffering, but it does come to us all. It would be wiser for us to be ready to face it, to prepare for it and to be able to live with it as individuals, as families and as a society. For those of us here today as lawmakers, the reality is that a change can happen in all our lives—whether a bolt from the blue, an accident, an incident, a tragedy, a violent attack, a diagnosis or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time—that can mean life changes in an instant. Who you are, what you are capable of and what your life is now and onwards comes into focus. My dad’s life and that of my family changed in an instant. He was attacked at work. Punches were thrown and he fell and hit his head on the kerb. He was saved by <span id="1361" class="column-number" data-column-number="1361"></span>a passing man on his lunch break with first aid training. I was 11. Dad did not recognise us for several months. The financial impact was that we eventually lost our home, our family business and the surety that his hard work had given us. Disablement can begin at birth, it can be acquired or it can come with a health condition—all determining what happens next. Yet we are legislating potentially to fundamentally change every person’s relationship with the state, their doctor and the NHS, depending on their health, their preparedness for what is next and the support they may or may not have. Over the past two years, I have listened carefully to my colleagues from all parts of the House who have made personal arguments for and against. I have read the many briefings sent to me by charities, organisations, groups and representatives from right across our society. I have heard, too, from 1,000 or so of my constituents, who I thank deeply for sharing their own stories and thoughts. I have reflected back on my own experience, and that of my father, friends and loved ones, as one does when one witnesses an accident or incident, a health condition or, eventually, the death of a loved one. We know that many people are fighting for—and come to this place to fight for—better lives, better treatment, updated drugs, better knowledge and empathy. They often live longer, and push to live longer, than the initial prognosis they have been given. My father lived a longer life than my mum, who became his main carer. She had previously worked with disabled young adults, helping them into work and helping them to thrive. As someone who previously had the honour of being the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, I roundly appreciate that some of our most vulnerable often feel under-acknowledged, undervalued, unheard and screened out of life and work in wider society. In that role, I had to learn not base policymaking on my own thoughts and my own family experiences, but to put good lawmaking at the heart of what I did. People must not feel pressured, worthless or subject to coercion, defined solely by what they cannot do. My dad too often felt worthless. Long term, he felt less of a man, no longer a provider or a business owner. He went back to his farming roots, but a head and neck injury meant that that was not sustainable. An unseen disability saw him succumb to early onset dementia, with trauma-induced epilepsy and diabetes. He far too often felt he was worth more to us dead than alive. That was long before social media and the additional pressure that that entails. I therefore believe, sadly, that this process is completely wrong. It is wrong to use the vehicle of this Bill to bring forward such societal consequence and change—changing the relationship between patient and doctor, and individual and state, and changing significantly the connection we all have with the NHS.

   Hansard source
3. 11 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

   Absolutely; we are here to make good laws. Today’s vote, as we have heard, is not simply on the principle of the Bill, but on the detail—or, frankly, the lack of detail. Good intentions are not enough. We are voting not on what we want to happen because of the Bill, but on what will happen. We cannot continue to divorce it from reality. It will have an impact right across Government and our communities, and intertwine us swiftly in new challenges. Too often in this place, we have good intentions but no delivery plan. We cannot continue in that way. The Bill’s sponsor in the other place felt the need to bring forward 70 amendments of his own.

   Hansard source
4. 11 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

   Let me make some progress. I have four main concerns: funding, the assessment process, the lack of institutional opt-outs and, crucially, the auto-commencement clause. Can we all look our local NHS teams in the eye, knowing that we are ultimately taking more resources from them? The equality impact assessment explicitly acknowledges the impact on disabled people and those from ethnic minorities—people we often speak about in this place, because we are the ones who can speak up for them. This Bill is at odds with that. There is much more I would like to say, but I need to conclude. This Bill, although well intentioned, is simply a mixture of naivety, idealism and wishful thinking. There is no delivery plan, and it greatly raises the hopes of our constituents in their hour of need for care, good support and understanding. We are being asked to send this Bill back to the other place and perhaps to use the Parliament Act to force it through, regardless of its fitness for purpose and with full knowledge of its flaws and lack of workability, just to get it done. However, that means we are not listening even to the doctors who have spoken in this place today. I cannot subscribe to this type of lawmaking, no matter how well intentioned. I am grateful that we are talking about life and death, end-of-life care and the value we put on people and loved ones. We are fighting for better palliative care, and we are doing what we can to give people all they need as death approaches. However, I cannot in good faith support an unsafe private Member’s Bill or the process we are undertaking today.

   Hansard source
5. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Copthorne Hotel

   I rise to present a petition on behalf of 563 constituents from East Grinstead, Uckfield and the surrounding villages, as well as a further 1,364 people who have signed online. For over five years, the Copthorne hotel has housed asylum seekers, depriving the community of both a local employer and a much-used and much-loved community space. Since 2023, my constituents have seen other hotels opened for asylum accommodation close before the Copthorne hotel. There is a palpable sense of frustration within the community. They have played their part and the length of time that the arrangement has continued is simply unacceptable. My constituents urgently want clarity on when the hotel will close. The prayer of the petition is as follows. The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield, Declares that the Copthorne Hotel in Copthorne should be returned to its former use as a major local employer, valuable Gatwick Airport accommodation and a highly valued community hub, in line with the Mid Sussex District Council motion passed in September 2025. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to facilitate the return of the Copthorne Hotel—used as asylum accommodation for the last six years—to its original and proper use at the earliest possible opportunity and before the current planning permission expires. And the petitioners remain, etc. [P003236]

   Hansard source
6. 7 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Local Government Reorganisation

   I am the only MP in the House who represents constituents in both East Sussex and West Sussex and three district councils, including Lewes, which was previously potentially going to be split previously, along with West Sussex. The confusion around devolution and LGR in West Sussex is a terrible mess, because we have different speeds and approaches and an unclear mayoral timetable. The Secretary of State will acknowledge that the two previous East Sussex and Wessex Sussex leaders spent huge amounts of time on this process and brought positive energy to it. The right hon. Lady rightly talks about outcomes, but what can she tell my constituents about how their services, including education, social care, roads, and infrastructure, will be delivered in the future?

   Hansard source
7. 2 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Strengthening the Union

   I welcome the right hon. Gentleman to his place and wish him and his team well in this important role. As a former Health Minister working on the NHS in England for the past two years, he will know the challenge of tackling hospital waiting times in the face of rising corridor care. As I think we have heard from the Secretary of State, the time for devolving and forgetting has long since passed, and all nations in our precious Union need fair treatment. Will the Secretary of State do more than simply watch from the sidelines—like his predecessor, <span id="154" class="column-number" data-column-number="154"></span>sadly—and instead take action for the people of Wales, who have been waiting far too long for proper care under devolution?

   Hansard source
8. 2 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Strengthening the Union

   I thank the Secretary of State for his answer, but if being devolved means not being able to get involved when things go wrong, that is the reason the Welsh NHS is in the mess it is. I want to raise something important for our Union and for the people of Wales. A significant ITV Wales investigation uncovered 28 prevention of future death reports over a 16-month period relating to the scandal-hit Betsi Cadwaladr university health board. <em>[</em><em>Interruption.</em><em>]</em> The House might want to listen. North Wales resident David Jones tragically lost his wife and father there. He is angry. He has accused the UK Labour Government of failing victims and their families by not intervening and leaving them in limbo. Will the Secretary of State use the Inquiries Act 2005 and seek accountability?

   Hansard source
9. 2 Sep 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

   Child Poverty

   In the past 100 days, we have all witnessed the Plaid Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay having failed to publish costings and properly explain how their flagship childcare policy will work. Perhaps Plaid just wants higher taxes and higher hand-outs, like the welfare party that is Labour sitting across from us. Does the Secretary of State agree that hard-working families deserve to know whether those plans will mean higher taxes? What discussions have occurred with the Welsh Government to ensure that those election commitments are properly delivered for struggling families?

   Hansard source
10. 16 Jul 2026·Parliament·Mims Davies

    Local Government Reorganisation

    What chaos in Sussex! The West Sussex decision has been delayed, and splitting East Sussex is okay according to the Secretary of State. My constituency is the only one that covers both East and West Sussex in its current form. It is a dog’s breakfast. It is unclear on special educational needs and disabilities and adult social care. In the letter sent to me today there was no clarity on the Sussex mayoralty. There is uncertainty on elections. The one thing that is certain is that Labour and Lib Dem proposals are priorities. Why have the Secretary of State and this Department shifted so far from the initial proposals that we in Sussex considered in good faith? Surely that explains why so many people feel that this is such a huge mess.

    Hansard source