Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Madam Deputy Speaker, as we prepare for the longer summer recess and reflect on the past year, I want to extend my thanks to you and your team, and to Mr Speaker and his wider team for your and their work in making this place function as it does. I also put on record my thanks to all the amazing staff who work here in Parliament. I know that every single one of us is a doughty champion— I hear that phrase often at the Dispatch Box—but it is true of those who work in Parliament too, as well as of our staff who work out in the constituencies.

On a global scale, I know that many of my constituents in North East Fife care deeply and, indeed, despair about the horrific events in the middle east. I was unable to be here for last week’s debate on trade with illegal settlements in the west bank due to the late running of prior business, and I want to reiterate the comments of my hon. Friends and other hon. Members who called for a ban on all trade in goods and services to those occupied territories. Guidance to UK business is simply not good enough, particularly when significant building contracts are going out to tender, and UK Government requests might not outweigh the demands of shareholders and private equity contracts.

I also want to raise the worsening situation in the village of Umm al-Khair, which has been subject to multiple demolition orders from the Israeli civil administration. Just yesterday, I was at a meeting with Na’amod, a movement of Jews in the UK against occupation in the west bank, and those attending asked for urgent diplomatic intervention. I ask the Leader of the House to take note of that and feed it back to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This Palestinian village is currently having its future decided by a military court, and we must use all our diplomatic levers to prevent it from being demolished entirely.

Energy costs are high, and there has never been a more important time for us to retrofit households to make them as energy-efficient and green in their use as possible. However, when people’s homes are at stake, these retrofits must be done right, and several of my constituents have had their homes in effect trashed by workmen installing heat pumps funded through the Government’s energy company obligation 4 scheme. Ministers and officials in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are well aware of this, as I have raised it both in this place and more generally.

I had a meeting with some of my constituents and the Minister for Energy Consumers last year. That meeting was in December, and since then my team have written multiple times to follow up on the pledges made. I note a letter from the Minister to interested MPs today. Sadly, though, it is primarily focused on faulty solid wall insulation, and did not refer to the heat pump issues being experienced by my constituents and others. My constituents were promised audits of their properties for the purpose of remedial works, and although I am grateful to the Minister for his time, I do want to get something beyond my email update from last December.

Some of the building problems that my constituents have experienced stem from a lack of training and oversight for refitting older rural properties. Life in a rural community has its benefits, but it also comes with its own unique set of policy challenges, which are too often ignored. I have been trying consistently to get a banking hub for Cupar in the centre of my constituency, and I was pleased to meet the Chief Secretary to the Treasury at her surgery on Monday to discuss the review of the rules governing banking access. It is vital that everyone who needs access to financial advice can get it. As part of my battle for banking, I have spent a few Fridays travelling the bus routes of North East Fife to understand how hard it is to access services that are further away.

I would love to invite you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to visit North East Fife at any time—in fact, anybody is welcome. We look forward to the Largo and Pittenweem arts festivals this summer, and the Leven putting green is open every day, but I would never suggest that any hon. Members travelled across it by bus.

I want to finish by briefly highlighting a challenge that the University of St Andrews is experiencing in relation to cuts to the Science and Technology Facilities Council budget, which will badly affect the astronomy department. Cutting research and development is never the right answer, particularly with the scale of the challenges before us. I do hope that this decision can be revisited.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I look forward to visiting.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I associate myself with your remarks, Mr Speaker, and the remarks by the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House of both congratulations and condolences.

On the business the Leader of the House has announced, I have to say that I am very disappointed that it means the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) about the Hillsborough Bill were not accurate. I hope we will see it return after the summer recess.

On the world cup, all I will say is that, like fellow Scots, I am probably looking for my Viking helmet at the moment.

We all know that the former Member for Clacton’s resignation is nothing but a stunt designed to distract the country from the raft of allegations facing him and, it increasingly appears, his colleagues. Such allegations must be fully investigated, so that voters have all the facts about the candidates they are voting for, whether they be a bin or a politician who sees being a Member of Parliament as a part-time job.

Now that the writ has been moved, does the Leader of the House share my regret that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigation into the former Member for Clacton must pause? Does he agree that, in circumstances where the nature of an allegation is sufficiently serious, there is merit to it continuing, even if the Member is no longer an MP? Does he agree that it could and should continue regardless? Obviously, those of us on the Liberal Democrat Benches wish Count Binface well.

It was interesting to read overnight that the right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) has plans for changing the culture and narrative of the Labour party. I am sure those on the Government Benches are looking forward to that new-found freedom. But for all the talk of collaboration and modernisation, we still do not know anything about the legislation that the new Labour Government are planning to bring to the House. We know more about the right hon. Member’s love of guitar and rugby league than we do about his plans for fixing the problems facing the country. The Liberal Democrats would welcome detail on his plans to fix social care, tackle the special educational needs and disabilities crisis and support the small businesses bearing the brunt of the Government’s jobs taxes. Will the Leader of the House commit to doubling the length of Prime Minister’s questions next week, and give the Prime Minister-in-waiting the opportunity to answer questions and outline his views on the issues that really matter?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I just gently say to the hon. Lady that I sat on the Government Front Bench yesterday and I do not believe that the Deputy Prime Minister did say something that was inaccurate. As I said in my opening remarks, we are doing all we can to get the Hillsborough Bill across the line. If that means we can bring it sooner rather than later, then that will be our intention.

I agree absolutely with the hon. Lady, and I stand by what I said to the shadow Leader of the House, about this unnecessary by-election. There are serious questions to answer and Nigel Farage cannot run away from those questions. She is right to talk about the standards investigation, but the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigation is independent of the Government and the House, and it is important—I want to emphasise this—that all Members of the House respect the standards and procedures of the House. Members should not interfere with live investigations or do anything to prejudice them. She talks about what happens if a Member is no longer a Member and an investigation has begun. The procedural protocol in respect of the code of conduct sets out what happens to an ongoing commissioner inquiry if a Member ceases to be a Member of the House. That is what I would expect to happen in this instance.

The hon. Lady talks about what the manifesto will be of my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) if he is successful in becoming the Prime Minister. Let me just say this: there is a Labour Government with a legislative programme that we have set out. There will be continuity of that Labour Government. Even if the Administration changes, this will remain a Labour Government. I would expect that to be the case. As for PMQs being extended next week, by any stretch of the imagination I cannot see a situation where my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield will be Prime Minister by the time of next Wednesday.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I associate myself with the remarks of the Leader of the House and the shadow deputy Leader of the House on the knife attack in Belfast this week. I also thank the Leader of the House for the business.

I need to put on the record that this is a momentous weekend, with Scotland’s first world cup match since 1998. I had just completed my final exam at university on the day of our match against Brazil in Paris, so it really was a long time ago. As Scotland take to the field against Haiti in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I trust that all Members will be cheering us on. I know my English colleagues and those from elsewhere are very good at doing that for Scotland. I wish Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Andy Robertson and the rest of the team the very best of luck. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Thank you.

I want to highlight the fact that FIFA has done its level best to overshadow what should be a brilliant celebration and experience for fans, who are being squeezed until the pips squeak. Scotland fans are paying $80 just for the privilege of catching a train to the match this weekend, and some cannot even get there due to late updates to ESTAs. In one report, someone found out an hour before their flight was due to take off that they were no longer able to travel, meaning they are being prevented from travelling at all to the matches, having spent thousands of pounds. Liberal Democrats are calling for an international fans charter to protect against FIFA ever trying this racket again. I hope the Leader of the House will consider scheduling a debate on FIFA’s treatment of fans at the world cup.

This week, Liberal Democrats set out fully funded plans to overhaul energy pricing and to permanently lower bills for millions of households across the UK. Families were already struggling with their bills before Trump started his war with Iran, and now, with the announcement that the energy price cap will rise by 13% from July, it is time for the Government to act. By clawing back the unexpected windfall made by energy network operator companies—a windfall made possible only by weak regulation by Ofgem—we can give every household in Britain a basic energy allowance at a discounted rate, cutting the average bill by £100. I ask the Leader of the House to raise these proposals with the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and to schedule a debate on them in Government time.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I certainly join the hon. Lady in wishing Scotland well in the world cup. On the cost of attending for fans, the Prime Minister—himself a keen football fan—has already raised his concerns. The hon. Lady raises an interesting question about international action on the matter, and she may wish to do so again at Culture, Media and Sport questions on 18 June.

On the important question on energy bills, I should point out that the Government are taking action. We have frozen fuel duty for the rest of the year. We are delinking the price of electricity from the price of gas, which will protect many households and businesses from gas price spikes, and we are extending and expanding our scheme to recoup excess profits made during periods of high gas prices. There is also extra support, particularly £53 million for heating oil for rural communities. However, we keep these matters under review. The Chancellor takes a keen interest in them, and where we can further support people, I am sure the Government will want to do so.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I start by echoing the comments made by both the shadow Leader of the House and the Leader of the House in relation to the murder of Henry Nowak and the comments made by his family. As a former police officer, I would say to those seeking to protest, or indeed encouraging those to protest, that protests involve policing and they take away the very police officers who operate in our communities, trying to tackle the scourge of knife crime. It is important that we remember that. I also echo the comments in relation to the service personnel who have tragically died in recent days, the death of Sir Alex Younger, and the former parliamentarians who we all recognise and remember.

This week, I draw the attention of the House to the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Already, more than 60 people have died as a result of the ongoing outbreak, and the head of the World Health Organisation said yesterday that it could have begun as early as January. I fear that drastic cuts to international aid have undermined the international community’s preparedness to identify and respond urgently to such outbreaks. Under the Conservative Government, aid was slashed from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%; under Labour, it is down to its lowest levels as a proportion of GNI since 1999. We are responding to the Ebola crisis with one hand tied behind our back.

International development is

“important for Britain’s strength abroad”—

not my words, but Tony Blair’s, in his much-commented-on essay last week. I believe it is important to our national security, too. Liberal Democrats enshrined the 0.7% international development target in law while in Government, thanks in large part to the dedication of the now Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, Lord Purvis. That law has still not been repealed, despite successive Governments flouting it. Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Secretary to come before the House to update us on the Government’s compliance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I certainly join the hon. Lady in paying tribute to police officers, particularly those who were hurt in the appalling recent disturbances.

As colleagues will know, the current outbreak of Ebola that the hon. Lady refers to is affecting the DRC and threatening Uganda. Our estimation is that the risk to the UK population is currently low, but we keep that under constant review. We have implemented a package of broader health measures, including live information screens at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports, and NHS 111 pathways have been updated. We continue to work closely with international partners. Last month, up to £20 million of new UK aid funding helped to contain the recent outbreak in the eastern DRC, but we keep that under constant review.

I could not agree more with the hon. Lady that the aid programme is an important part of our national security. I also think it is a moral cause. We are committed to a target of 0.7% when fiscal circumstances allow. We are committing £1.4 billion a year to tackle human suffering in some of the worst humanitarian crises. We will still be the fifth-biggest funder of development aid and we will invest £850 million in the Global Fund for 2026-28. I understand what she is saying about the need to go further, but we should not ignore the fact that we are doing everything we can.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean), who is usually here for business questions, is probably very glad not to be here, given Arsenal’s success. It has been very good to see teams succeed in English football who have not succeeded for some time, but it was a different case in Scotland at the weekend. I congratulate Celtic on winning the league again, but as the wife and mother of Heart of Midlothian supporters, it has been a very difficult week. I congratulate the club on its amazing season.

I thank the Leader of the House for providing us with the certainty of the business for the next sitting week—it seems to be the only certainty that we have. Who knows where we will be after that? The Prime Minister may well still be in post, but there is no doubt that his fading authority is doing the country no favours. We have seen how the bond markets have reacted to the uncertainty and chaos. I fear that this Government are becoming a little like HS2: they are moving more slowly and making things more expensive for people in this country.

While the Government lay out their vision, we on the Liberal Democrat Benches believe that a crucial piece of the economic puzzle is still missing. We will continue to make the case for closer ties with our closest allies and trading partners in the European Union, but the Labour party cannot quite make up its mind about that policy. I note that the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), has made his pro-EU stall abundantly clear, whereas Labour’s candidate in Makerfield seems a little more unsure, despite his previous representations.

The Prime Minister’s trade deal with North Korea is impressive—I trust that he misspoke yesterday. We Liberal Democrats think that a UK-EU customs union is the single best way to start fixing the profound damage done to the British economy since Brexit, so I was disappointed that Labour MPs joined forces with Reform and the Conservatives yesterday to vote down our plans for a customs union. Those red lines are deeply damaging to our economy. Will the Leader of the House impress on the Prime Minister that, whatever his potential leadership rivals think, the Government’s EU reset Bill must include steps to negotiate such a customs union? We on the Liberal Democrat Benches will keep coming back to that issue whenever we have the opportunity to do so.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for today, Wendy Chamberlain.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

May I start by associating myself with the remarks of the Leader of the House in relation to Brighton and the elections? It is not easy to stand for elected office, particularly if you are not successful, and it does take a toll, so I thank him for those remarks.

I also thank the Leader of the House for providing us with the first set of business for the new Session, but I have to note that at the beginning of the previous Session the new Government made a virtue of the fact that they would be putting an end to the incessant chaos of the Conservatives, yet we find ourselves again with a Prime Minister who appears to have lost all authority. We all know that changing Prime Minister over and over again is deeply damaging for our economy and our place on the world stage. I heard us described in recent days as, “Italy without the cuisine.”

When we look at the content of the King’s Speech, we see the reason why this Prime Minister has run out of road, despite having such a large majority: there is no real change offered by this Government’s policy agenda, just a tinkering around the edges. There is an EU reset Bill that offers no reset and no attempt to boost growth by moving beyond the Government’s red lines. There are no measures to boost national security by introducing a programme of defence bonds, and there is nothing to fix the crisis in social care that plagues so many of our constituents.

Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in Government time on how to stop this continued chaos of successive Conservative and Labour Governments? Perhaps some of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet colleagues might want to come along and make contributions. After last week’s results, one of the solutions that should be discussed in that debate is the need to move to a system of proportional representation for general elections, as well as for local government elections in England. That need has never been greater. We Liberal Democrats will always support calls for making every vote count, and that is despite results in Richmond upon Thames and some of the Scottish constituencies—including my own, I have to say—that would make Kim Jong Un blush. Will the Leader of the House speak to the Prime Minister and try to persuade him that if he wants to leave some form of legacy that he can be proud of, he should make time for a Bill on fair votes?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The King’s Speech made it clear, as has the Prime Minister, that the long-term national interest does require a closer relationship with our European allies—now more so than ever—because there are huge opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living. We have made progress with closer co-operation on agriculture, electricity, emissions trading and more, but I have to say that the previous Government’s Brexit deal did deep damage to the economy. We will not be joining the customs union or the single market and we will not be returning to freedom of movement, but legislation will be coming forward to reset the relationship with Europe, because the Prime Minister and the Government are very clear on the need for closer partnership.

On proportional representation, our party’s position is very clear. I note that the Liberal Democrats have an opportunity to table an amendment to the Address in reply to King’s Speech on this, if they so wish, and if they do so, I think they will get an answer they do not want to hear.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating Scarborough RUFC on its success. Not only that club, but rugby clubs across our country are so important in local sports. Very often, they are at the heart of our local communities because, moving beyond the sport they play, they get involved in all sorts of other things, and I thank rugby clubs for everything they do.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

First, I am grateful to the Leader of the House for bringing my previous concerns about the management of visa cases in the Home Office to the Department’s attention. However, at the moment I have a very acute issue with immediate support needs. A constituent of mine is in the USA, where his baby was born through surrogacy. Unfortunately, the baby has been very unwell, and he has not yet been able to complete the formalities for a British passport, although they do hold a US one. My constituent’s ESTA—electronic system for travel authorisation—is running out, and he desperately wants to get back to Scotland with his baby, who needs further medical care. In the absence of any remaining Home Office questions, will the Leader of the House advise me who could urgently offer some support to bring this case to a conclusion?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

If the hon. Lady lets me have the details of that case immediately after this session, I will see what we can do. While I am on my feet, let me wish her well for her run on Sunday.

Modernisation Committee Report: Access to the House of Commons

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I rise to speak, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, both as a member of the Modernisation Committee and, at one point during this inquiry, as a witness. That is also true of the Leader of the House, who gave evidence to the Committee before he became its Chair.

The work we do in this place is complicated, but sometimes it is more complicated than it needs to be, and sometimes we revel in that. I am very conscious that we are having this debate during the final stages of the parliamentary Session and ping-pong, and I as an opposition MP have been leading my colleagues to vote No because we disagree with a Government motion to disagree with a Lords amendment, so we sometimes make this place overly complicated, and the whats and whys of how we do things do not often make sense externally.

I maintain and agree with the shadow Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), and indeed the Leader of the House, that once we are here, we see that while there are definitely things that could be done better or differently, that is absolutely not the case for all things. We must always be aware of the need not to throw the baby out with the bathwater when considering what we should do. I came into Parliament in December 2019, and over the last two Parliaments—in both 2019 and 2024—we have had a huge turnover of legislators, and understanding why things are the way they are, and what needs to be improved, does take time.

I want to make my remarks in line with the three sections of the Modernisation Committee’s report, and I echo others in commending the House Administration for its constructive response. The reality is that in many circumstances, but particularly in relation to accessibility more generally, it knows fine well what the issues are in this place, and it is as keen to ensure that it makes visible progress on those issues as are we on the Committee and parliamentarians more widely.

However, the report summary talked about clear and prompt action, but we need to acknowledge that it will not be quick. I want to mention our experience yesterday. I am the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on PANS PANDAS, a paediatric condition—have I mentioned that I am running the London marathon for it a week on Sunday?—and yesterday some young people came in for a roundtable in advance of the Backbench Business debate we are hoping to have in a few weeks’ time, because it was important to hear directly from those young people about their experience of the condition. However, one of them was using a wheelchair.

My fantastic team in Westminster, Kathryn and Claudia, incorporated a tour into those young people’s experience as part of their day, but the reality was that the one young person in a wheelchair had a completely different experience from everybody else. There is no access to St Stephen’s Hall or the top of the Westminster steps, which meant she could not see that part of the tour. A moveable ramp for the few steps from Central Lobby to St Stephen’s Hall, which could be used when needed, would be an option. The lift on the accessible lift route is really small. The young person yesterday had one of those quite mobile wheelchairs, but I have been doing bus journeys with wheelchair users in my constituency recently, and the technology is advancing significantly, but the necessary space and access are not. There are also very simple things like the fact that the carpet outside the accessible lift has a really deep pile, which makes it difficult to move across.

Among the evidence that the Committee heard, what we heard from people working on the estate, about the difficulties they face, was pretty arresting. There is the Clerk who cannot progress in his career because he is no longer able to sit at the Table in front of you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and therefore his development opportunities are restricted. There is the member of staff for an MP who started on a Speaker’s internship for 12 months—a way of getting people from different backgrounds into Parliament—and was fortunate enough to go on and work for the same MP afterwards, but it took 15 months for the nearest wheelchair accessible toilet to be accessible to him, because he could not open the door before that point.

As a Committee, that was shameful for us to hear and it shows that we have so much more to do. It is important that we remember that Parliament is a place of work and a place of democracy, and when we consider the restoration and renewal proposals—I agree with the shadow Leader of the House—we need to keep accessibility at the forefront, regardless of what our overall opinions on R and R might be.

On procedure and processes, I remember meeting the previous Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell), to discuss the Committee when the Government were looking at setting it up. On how I thought about the Committee, the equivalent that I came up with, from my time in the police, was a tasking and co-ordinating group. The remit of the Committee is wide and our make-up is unique, with the Leader of the House as Chair. The decisions on some elements of the work that we have looked at belong to other Committees, so we should be able to task and co-ordinate with them accordingly. It is right that decisions and inquiries on call lists, electronic voting—we had issues with that this week—and proxies are being led and reported on by the Procedure Committee. Our Committee also recently looked at virtual Select Committee appearances.

The evidence we heard from disabled MPs demonstrates that there is absolutely more that can be done to accommodate them. Also—this has been my own experience of late as a Chief Whip—there are practices that we have utilised in the past that in some ways we have forgotten about, such as nodding through. I am not suggesting that we go back to what is depicted in the James Graham play “This House”, but there are accommodations that can and should be made. We should be constantly challenging ourselves in that regard. Certainly, I see it as part of my role as Chief Whip for my group to make those challenges and ask those questions.

On reading the report, I also thought about my own reflections on covid. As I said, I was a new MP in 2019. There is no doubt that there was an impact on how relationships were built here in Parliament as a result of the practices we had during covid. We participated in the Chamber virtually, which gave no opportunity to learn how to intervene, or to just have those conversations in the Tea Room and the Lobby. It was quite easy to become siloed in our parliamentary groups, and I think all of us here know well that this place is at its best when it works in a constructive, cross-party way to make things progress.

The last section is on communicating what the House does. Generally, the recommendations attempt to strike the right balance between the traditions of the House— I say that as a trustee of the History of Parliament Trust—and the need for Parliament and its processes to be understandable to the wider public. There is clearly more to do, but it is important that we continue to assess whether that balance is being struck correctly.

I want to highlight the work of the Education and Engagement Team. I recently attended an event here in Parliament. Sarah Donald, the headteacher of Dairsie primary school in my constituency, is on the UK Parliament teacher ambassador programme, which will give her the opportunity to be an accredited partner of the Education and Engagement Team. That education and understanding of our democracy and how it works is really important. We are currently having Scottish Parliament elections, so knowing the difference between what an MSP can do and MP can do is important. Indeed, last week I visited Busy Bees nursery in Strathkinness to talk on the topic of “People who help us”. It transpires that it is really quite difficult to explain to four-year-olds what the job of an MP is. I have to say that when I visited my child’s nursery school a number of years ago in the unfirm of a police officer, I was much more popular.

To conclude, the Modernisation Committee is an important feature of this current Parliament. We can and should be in a position to continue to review progress and we should continue to do so as this Parliament progresses. I am very pleased that the House Administration has engaged with the report so constructively and I look forward to revisiting this topic in due course.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I start by wishing my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) all the best for his parental leave. Sadly, and particularly for his wife, I have no news to update the House with, but I hope to be able to do so in due course.

I draw the House’s attention to the devastating civil war in Sudan, which sadly entered its fourth year yesterday. This is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with over 29 million Sudanese facing acute food insecurity. Earlier in the parliamentary Session, the Prime Minister said in response to a question on Sudan from the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), that he does

“not think we discuss it enough in this House.”—[Official Report, 30 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 806.]

Will the Leader of the House act in the spirit of those words and ask the Foreign Secretary to give a statement on the conflict next week and include an update to the House on her discussions at this week’s Berlin conference?

We continue to reel from the news emerging from the Oval Office. I must confess that I did not have the President of the United States labelling the Pope as “weak on crime” on my 2026 bingo card, but given recent events, perhaps I should have done. His latest AI image released last night of him embracing Jesus Christ reminded me of the immortal words of Brenda from Bristol in April 2017: “Not another one!” In all seriousness, Trump’s chaos is having real impacts here in the UK and in my own constituency of North East Fife. His reckless war in the middle east is hitting families up and down the country in the pocket and at the fuel pumps. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in Government time on the economic impact of Trump’s war and include a consideration of Liberal Democrat proposals for a 10p fuel duty cut? Other countries are providing that certainty on fuel duty now. Is it not time that the Government did likewise?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I join the hon. Member in wishing the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) well, and we await news with bated breath—at least he might get the nursery finished by the time of the arrival.

The hon. Member makes a serious point about the Sudan civil war. The Government are doing everything we can, not just to help to address the humanitarian situation, but to try to get an end to that war. We have committed £146 million in aid to Sudan and have sanctioned Rapid Support Forces commanders. We are doing everything we can, but I join her in hoping that the conflict ends soon. We are not shy in updating the House on this matter and will continue to do so. I will draw her remarks to the attention of the Foreign Secretary.

I will not comment on the President of the United States’ comments and the effect they are having, because I think we can see that play out not just in the hon. Member’s constituency but elsewhere. The real answer from the Government is that we are absolutely focused on doing everything we can in the national interest to see if we can ensure the ceasefire continues, but also to bring an end to the conflict. She is right to point out that the economic situation is very serious, too—possibly the most serious energy crisis in the last half century. The economic impact may well be beginning to be felt and may continue for some time. Again, there are lots of suggestions about what we might do. The Government are absolutely focused on this. We will not rush to judgment about action that we need to take now—we have already taken some targeted measures, not least on heating oil—but we are absolutely focused on that, and I reassure the House that we will continue to do so.

We are looking at all of that, and I am sure that, again, because we are not shy of doing so, when the opportunity arises, there will be an opportunity for further statements on these matters. I hope the House can come together not just to ensure that we have a firm view going forward in the international situation, but on how we can combat the economic issues that I am afraid are likely to continue for some time.

Business of the House

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this important matter to the House. The Youth Select Committee is an excellent initiative, and this Government continue to take steps to ensure that young people’s voices can be heard in our democracy, not least in the dependence we placed on the voices of young people when we drew together our national youth strategy. If I may, I will share my hon. Friend’s question with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which works very closely with the Committee. I also recommend that she applies for a Westminster Hall debate, so that all MPs have the opportunity to discuss the report’s recommendations and the good work that I hope is being done in their constituencies to promote the voices of young people.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

My office has seen an increase in my constituents coming to me because of an uptick in visa processing delays—visas for which they are often paying an increased fee. I really do worry about the sustainability of the Home Office’s processes, particularly in the light of the immigration reforms that this Government are making. Will the Leader of the House ensure that there is an update from the Department about what it is doing to address those delays?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I will draw the hon. Lady’s concerns to the attention of the Department, and ensure either that she gets an update individually or—if appropriate—that the House gets an update.