2026

On Monday 13 July 2026 the House of Commons passed the Immigration and Asylum Bill. Spending on asylum support was £4.7 billion in a single year. Our country has always provided sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution, but we must rebuild public confidence and restore fairness. The Home Secretary recently announced new capped, safe,

I attended the funeral of Gladys at West Green Baptist Church on Friday 15 July 2026. Gladys son, Chris Symonds is a door keeper at the House of Commons and paid a fitting tribute to his mum. So it was with sadness that we said goodbye to Gladys who for many years looked after MPs

As a member of the APPG on the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Ambassador Kim Heung-chong’s and his wife graciously hosted a dinner on 8 July 2026 to discuss relations with the UK and Korea. The Chair of the APPG Sir Ed Davey chaired the discussion. At the AGM of the APPG on Monday 13

The APPG on Publishing of which I am Co-Chair held a meeting on 8 July 2026 to disseminate the findings of the Harper Collins UK report.  The secretariat to the APPG, the Publishers Association arranged for Alison David, Consumer Insight Director, HCCB and Farshore, Sam Eadrley, Sales and Marketing Director, Collins and Jemma Offley, Strategy

I chaired the Sixth delegated legislation Committee on Wednesday 8 July 2026.  The Committee discussed the draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 together with the draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots for Statutory Trade Union Ballots.” The scope of the legislation which is