← LEADERSHIP TERMINAL

UK PARLIAMENT · SITTING

Ruth Jones

MP for Newport West and Islwyn · Labour · United Kingdom

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“We need to see that £2 cap on bus fares in Wales, as well as the extension of £1 fares for under-21s. I look forward to Plaid Ministers announcing how they will match the UK Labour Government’s reduction in bus fares—let us hope they do it quickly.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

“That builds on the existing strengths of the semiconductor cluster in Newport West and Islwyn. Boosting manufacturing and the Prime Minister’s ambition to bring good growth to every postcode are particularly important in Wales, where we felt the impacts of 40 years of neo-liberalism at their hardest.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

“This Government’s ability to support hard-working families while continuing to provide up-front investment in our public services is testament to our careful economic management. Our careful stewardship has been commended by the IMF and has allowed us to enjoy the joint highest growth in the G7 while keeping public debt under control.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

“This is the right Budget at the right time. It delivers immediate relief, but also the long-term investment necessary to bring hope back to Britain. I welcome the further steps announced by the Chancellor to provide additional breathing room to households, which is essential.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

“I will carry on, because I am conscious that there are others who want to speak. Labour’s investment-led approach stands in stark contrast to that of the minority Plaid Government, who propose to close a number of the M4 junctions across Newport.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

“We need the Welsh Government to show the same ambition in making sure that when we push funding and powers from Westminster, it is not just hoarded in Cardiff Bay but is brought even closer to our communities.”

House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

The complete record

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This is not an official version of UK Parliament proceedings. It reproduces the published record and links to it; the official version is the one UK Parliament publishes.

  1. “I should declare that, in my previous life, as a paediatric physiotherapist, I treated a number of children and babies with SMA, so I know a bit about the struggles that families go through in coming to terms with the diagnosis, the treatment, the child’s ongoing needs and the aids and adaptation that are required throughout their life. Currently there is no cure but, thanks to transformative research, treatment can slow symptoms and even stop progression. As a result, early detection and treatment of SMA due to newborn screening can dramatically improve the wellbeing of patients. That includes the significant benefits that have already been highlighted to respiratory health, motor function and, critically, life expectancy. To be totally hard-hearted about it, catching SMA early via screening saves not only lives, but taxpayers’ money.”

    House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  2. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) for leading this important debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee, and I thank the 306 residents of Newport West and Islwyn who signed the petition. I am delighted to have spoken with the chief executive of SMA UK, Giles Lomax, a number of times, and I pay tribute to his tireless advocacy. I also thank Jesy Nelson for her work raising awareness of SMA following the diagnosis of her twin daughters. SMA is a serious but rare genetic decision that causes progressive muscle weakness and deterioration, as we have heard.”

    House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  3. “The Minister says that screening must be safe and fair. We know the benefits of screening—the people in the Public Gallery have articulated it so clearly. The benefits are undeniable, so is it fair that the whole of Wales and a third of England does not have such screening?”

    House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  4. “I appreciate what the Minister says about getting evaluation right, but Ukraine can install such an evaluation across the whole country during a war, and Ireland is doing it, too, so why aren’t we?”

    House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  5. “I thank the Minister for her responses. I want to raise the issue of young people not in education, employment or training. We know that the Conservatives failed our Welsh young people for 14 years, so I am really pleased that this Labour Government are investing £2.5 billion in the youth guarantee. How many Welsh young people will benefit from this scheme?”

    House of Commons17 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  6. “Owain’s tragic case needs to be learned from if we are to improve treatments for those with brain cancer. Relatively small investments, which are already waiting to be spent, could close the postcode lottery in freezing capacity, ensure uniform quality of care and have the potential to be truly transformational.”

    House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  7. “During his treatment, Owain and Ellie pursued a personalised cancer vaccine using Owain’s tumour tissue. However, just 1 cm of the 7 cm tumour removed during the surgery was fresh frozen. While that allowed three personalised vaccines to be made, when the tumour returned no further treatments could be made. Owain later died in June 2024. No one had discussed with Owain or his family how the tissue would be preserved or the implications of that decision. Like others, I again press the Minister on whether she will set out a funded delivery plan to close these gaps in freezer capacity. No one should have a postcode lottery on those important matters of life and death. Will she commission new national guidance on the removal and freezing of suitable brain tissue following diagnosis?”

    House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  8. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the 54 constituents of Newport West and Islwyn who signed the petition calling for an increased focus on tackling brain cancer. I will speak about Owain’s law, a campaign that seeks to end the postcode lottery across the UK in accessing brain tumour tissue freezing. That is critical for preserving the fresh DNA and RNA samples needed for later advanced genomic testing, clinical trials and personalised treatment. The current postcode lottery in accessing fresh brain tissue freezing means reduced treatment options for many and barely improving survival rates for decades. I was really pleased to meet Ellie James again last week, after her husband Owain died from a grade 4 brain tumour aged just 35.”

    House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  9. “I am disappointed to see that the Welsh Government in the Senedd have tied themselves in knots over decarbonising Wales’s energy supplies, because Plaid Cymru’s policy of undergrounding cables at all costs will mean cancelled projects and higher household bills. They need to rethink that as a matter of urgency. The Bill proposed in the King’s Speech shows that Labour is clear that the UK’s future is in clean, cheap power. The energy independence Bill is a decisive step towards energy security, warmer homes and reforming our broken energy market.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  10. “The fastest way to improve energy security, while meeting the UK’s climate and nature obligations and bringing down bills, is through the expansion of renewable energy and the roll-out of energy efficiency and electrification measures. I urge my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to go further and faster, looking not just at solar and wind—onshore and offshore—but at tidal, including wave energy and lagoons. The need for change is pressing. A third of all households across Wales live in fuel poverty, amounting to approximately 9,000 households in Newport and 12,000 in Caerphilly county borough, and that can only be tackled by bringing down bills for good.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  11. “This Labour Government have already increased the minimum wage, boosted pensions, and ensured that wages are rising faster than prices for the first time in over a decade, and the removal of the two-child cap will benefit more than 2,000 families in my constituency. Now we are moving further and faster to deliver the change that our country needs, bearing down on the costs facing ordinary families. There is no clearer expression of the cost of living squeeze than people’s energy bills, which doubled under the last Government. The latest energy crisis highlights the danger of Britain’s continued reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, which would only be exacerbated under the Conservatives and Reform. Genuine energy independence cannot be achieved through continued exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  12. “It is a pleasure—well, it is always interesting to follow the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer), and I thank him for his speech, although I am not sure that I learned anything from it. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) for her poignant and clear proposal of the Humble Address, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for his witty seconding of it. I wish him well in his future marathons. I welcome the firm focus in the King’s Speech on the day-to-day security of British families. It puts the cost of living front and centre of the Government’s priorities.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  13. “I welcome this Government’s continued commitment to supporting a two-state solution. We urgently need to work with partners to ensure a viable Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel. In supporting peace efforts in the middle east, I press Ministers to call on Israel to end its continued bombing in Lebanon, which has seen over a million civilians displaced from their homes.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  14. “Labour’s railways Bill will also give the Welsh Government a new statutory role, to ensure that Wales-wide strategies feed into cross-border plans by Great British Railways. This will be a key pillar of the constructive and professional relationship between the two Governments as they work together for the benefit of people in Wales. I turn now to the Timms review. I would welcome the Government’s continued ambition to support more young and disabled people into work by reforming the welfare system, but the changes must be based on compassion and provide effective support mechanisms for people to move into work, building on the already introduced right to try. I agree with His Majesty that we must have a system that is fair and fit for the future. Finally, I turn to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  15. “This is a massive problem for businesses in my constituency of Newport West and Islwyn, and I am pleased that we are taking action to stop it happening. Looking ahead to Great British Railways, this Labour Government’s new railways Bill will transform the railway network in Wales as we deliver our £14 billion plan to improve Wales’s railways. Front and centre of that is the £90 million investment in five new stations between the Severn tunnel and Cardiff, including new stations at Newport West in my constituency and Cardiff Parkway next door. These new stations will support over 12,000 new jobs across Monmouthshire, Newport and Cardiff. South Wales is also set to benefit from an additional £40 million investment to upgrade two sets of rail tracks, which will improve service reliability and capacity for additional services.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  16. “I gently say to those on the Government Front Bench that there is a lack of legislation on animal welfare in this King’s Speech. I said that we are a nation of animal lovers, and the Government could have some easy wins. We are committed to the animal welfare strategy, and we could use it to ban the use of snare traps, bring forward a close season for hares, and bring into effect the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023. These are small pieces of legislation, but they could make a huge difference to wild, domestic and farmed animals, both here and abroad. I will move on to small businesses. The Federation of Small Businesses has estimated that 50% to 54% of SMEs regularly experience late payments, which cost the average SME £22,000 a year. On average, businesses spend 86 hours a year chasing invoices.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  17. “The Conservatives’ botched Brexit deal has been disproportionately damaging to the Welsh economy, because Wales remains a significant manufacturing economy, with 60% of our exports going to the European Union—that is 10% higher than the UK average. Although negotiations on the EU trade Bill are ongoing, I urge the Government to commit to securing a carve-out on animal welfare, like that secured by Switzerland in a similar deal. The UK is proudly a nation of animal lovers and a world leader in animal welfare standards, and we were the first country in the world to ban fur farming. A future trade deal, involving dynamic alignment in key sectors, must not risk watering down UK commitments to ban the sale of foie gras or end the import of fur.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  18. “UK Steel has said that the Government’s steel strategy is the most significant intervention to support UK steel competitiveness in over a decade. The Government’s new target for at least half of steel used in Britain to be made here is a major boost for Welsh steel, with Welsh manufacturing expected to account for half of future steelmaking. We must not forget about Port Talbot and Llanwern in south Wales, and I pay tribute to my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden), for the sterling work that she has done to promote and protect our steel at Llanwern.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  19. “Ofwat found that Welsh Water failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its waste water assets adequately to ensure that they could cope with the flows of sewage and waste water. We know that Welsh Water discharged raw sewage into rivers, lakes and seas for over 968,000 hours in 2024. Water pollution in Wales has reached emergency levels, so I welcome the water Bill. I look forward to seeing water bosses being held to account, and to the clean-up of our rivers and waterways. I welcome further action by this Government to back British Steel. Whereas the Tories left our steel sector unsupported, Labour is taking action. That includes nationalising British Steel and protecting domestic production from international dumping and uncompetitive subsidies.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  20. “I do not disagree with the right hon. Lady, because we absolutely need to make sure that our prices are fair. That means looking across Wales as a whole, but also benefiting from the renewables that we know Wales has in abundance. The energy independence Bill is a decisive step, as I said. Another major scourge of bill payers that is firmly in the sights of this Government is our failing water companies, including Welsh Water, and I welcome the urgent steps being taken by the Government to reform our broken water system through a new water Bill. In March, Ofwat published its finding that Welsh Water breached its legal obligations in operating its waste water treatment works and network.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  21. “I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. If we cut ties, we cannot communicate. The only way to a lasting peace is through communication, so we must keep communication channels open. That is the only way to a lasting peace. I listened carefully to the King’s Speech this morning, and I am pleased to hear of the proposed 35 Bills and the actions planned. I look forward to them being delivered swiftly for working people across the UK, so that they can feel the benefits of a Labour Government working for them and with them.”

    House of Commons13 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  22. “That requires urgent implementation of the replacing animals in science strategy, strengthening enforcement of ASPA, and using Britain’s unique position as a global leader in animal welfare and pharmaceuticals to chart a global path towards ending animal testing once and for all. I thank the Petitions Committee for bringing this debate to Westminster Hall, and I urge the Minister to go faster in eradicating animal testing. The public is impatient and wants change quickly, and so do we.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  23. “That only underlines the importance of an effective inspection regime and promoting a proactive culture of safeguarding animal welfare. Despite the ASRU issuing more than 15,000 licences in 2024, at the end of that year, the ASRU had only 8.2 full-time equivalent inspectors. That means that just 68 establishments were inspected in 2024, with only 10 of those inspections being unannounced. I therefore welcome commitments made by the Government to increase the number of veterinary and medical inspectors working for the ASRU, and I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm whether the Government have been successful in recruiting to meet the previously stated target of 22 inspectors by March this year. In closing, the continued testing on animals demands moral leadership.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  24. “I appreciate that relates to a different Department, but I am sure that his Department will be working in lockstep with the Home Office, so I look forward to the response. Turning to enforcement, adherence to ASPA within licensed premises also continues to be a site of significant concern. The latest annual report from the ASRU made extremely grim reading. The 146 reported cases of non-compliance with legal requirements of licensing conditions highlight an ongoing failure to prevent appalling animal suffering in laboratories. That includes extreme cases of animals drowning or starving to death. In total, those cases detail the suffering of more than 22,000 animals. Those numbers are significant, but unfortunately they only reflect breaches self-reported to the ASRU. My fear is that the numbers are far greater than those documented.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  25. “Given that, and the section 2A duties on the Home Secretary—I appreciate that is a different Department—I ask the Minister what steps they are taking to improve the training and expertise available to ASRU inspectors to allow them to effectively and independently verify application compliance with ASPA. Of particular concern are tests taken under the so-called “generic” project licences as highlighted by Animal Aid and Animals International. Those licences are granted without knowing the substances being tested, and as such, a harm-benefit analysis cannot have been done. I therefore ask the Minister what specific steps he is taking to review “generic” project licences to avoid unnecessary harm and strengthen application of the three Rs.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  26. “As such, Ministers must drive the necessary reform of the ASRU, ensuring that it has the expertise to effectively and independently verify whether applications have been appropriately evaluated against NAMs. The ASRU has typically been composed of vets, who unfortunately, given the fast-moving nature of the field, do not always have up-to-date expertise in modern NAMs, including organs on chips and computational biology. Those handling applications need to be well versed in those technologies and able to engage in critical questions around scientific methodologies and data validation, rather than reliant on a replacement checklist. ASPA requires that scientifically satisfactory NAMs are used “wherever possible”.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  27. “Of particular importance is strengthening the ASRU’s understanding of the rapid developments in non-animal methods—NAMs. That is essential to ensuring that the application of the three Rs is effective and in line with international best practice, such as that now being implemented by the US Food and Drug Administration as part of its road map. It is interesting that the US is now ahead of us in this area. I urge the Minister that we need to get back on top here. Responsibility for driving this change sits directly with Ministers, with statutory duties to assess for the three Rs—particularly replacement, which sits with the Home Secretary.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  28. “That was a key reflection of the Rawle report, published in 2023, which voiced concerns that the welfare inspection regime risked embedding a focus on “box-ticking” rather than ensuring a culture of genuine commitment to advancing the three Rs. I greatly welcome the Government recognition of the need to strengthen the ethical review approval process to ensure that animals are used only where there is no alternative in line with the findings of the Rawle report. I therefore ask the Minister to report on the progress being made by his Department in strengthening the application of the three Rs following the publication of the Animals in Science Committee’s January report, and in advance of its forthcoming report in September.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  29. “I turn to licensing, which I have raised previously in Westminster Hall debates. I continue to believe that the Animals in Science Regulation Unit needs urgent reform. One of the key roles of the ASRU is administering the licensing regime created by ASPA. That is critical to reducing the number of animals used in scientific testing, as the Act already requires proactive consideration of the three Rs framework: replacing, reducing and refining the use of animals in such experiments. That is supposed to ensure that animals are used only as a last resort, but the embedding of the approach needs strengthening.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  30. “I particularly support funding for a new UK centre for the validation of alternative methods and investment in non-animal method technologies. Although the strategy is detailed and comprehensive, I still believe that there are areas where we can go further. Embedding the targets to phase out routine tests prioritised as part of baskets 1 and 2 in law would provide absolute certainty to both the scientific community and campaigners of our commitment to end the use of animals in testing. Such a step could also bring in wider investment in UK scientific research, strengthening our position as a global leader in the development of animal-free testing methods. I therefore urge the Minister to commit to introducing Herbie’s law and enshrining the targets committed to in the recent strategy in legislation.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  31. “Although 2024 marked the lowest number of scientific procedures involving living animals since 2001, the pace of reduction is far too slow. Britain, as we have already heard, is proudly badged as a nation of animal lovers and a world leader in animal welfare, but it is critical that we do not rest on our laurels. Indeed, continued leadership requires urgent commitments on further reforms to the regulatory, licensing and inspection regime governing the use of animals in science on the UK. I aim to touch on each of those areas in my speech —but I will be brief, as I can see the Chair’s eyebrows raising. I first turn to regulation. I greatly welcome the Labour Government’s new “Replacing animals in science” strategy, and their clear ambition for phasing out basket grouping of unnecessary tests on animals in the near future.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  32. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Mr Twigg. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing this debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. She is a fantastic, tireless champion of the rights of animals and does a great job chairing the APPG on phasing out animal experiments, of which I am proud to be a member. I also thank the 211 constituents in Newport West and Islwyn who signed this petition to end animal testing. The fact that the Public Gallery is so full today is testament to how important this subject is to so many across the UK. We have already heard that the number of procedures in 2024 was some 2.6 million, just 2% lower than the preceding year.”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  33. “I understand the timetable that the Minister is outlining, which is great, but there are still millions of tests being undertaken every year unnecessarily. We know about the forced swim and LD50 tests. Could the Minister outline a bit more the review of the generic project licences? How can we issue a licence for a generic project when we do not know about it? How can we evaluate and assess the risks there?”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  34. “The Welsh Affairs Committee has a great interest in the future of the defence manufacturing industry in Wales, because the defence sector is such a major driver of Wales’s manufacturing economy and provides many well-paid jobs, including at General Dynamics in Oakdale in my constituency. The sector is also central to maintaining the UK’s national security, so will the Minister indicate how the Government plan to help to grow this vital sector in Wales?”

    House of Commons22 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  35. “I understand negotiations are ongoing and I am not privy to behind-door conversations, but this realignment is a chance to improve our chemical safety in Great Britain. We should grab the opportunity with both hands. As I said at the beginning of my speech, I understand the need for this delegated legislation, but I press the Minister to ensure that the chemicals industry’s concerns are acknowledged and, more importantly, addressed in terms of the HSE’s remit and accountability.”

    House of Commons21 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  36. “We need clarification and transparency to ensure that we do not regress from environmental and public health protections retained in GB law post Brexit. This SI introduces changes that include postponing expiry dates to July 2031 for all biocidal active substance product type combinations. That could mean contaminated products. It could mean the continued free circulation of products in Great Britain that are blocked in the EU due to their potential to cause harm. We in the UK pride ourselves on protecting humans, animals and the environment. We should look to align closer and not diverge further from the highest chemical standards in the world—the EU’s. I want to ask about the EU-UK reset, which the Minister alluded to.”

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  37. “Secondly, we need exact dates for when protective EU hazard classes will be adopted in GB law. Why does this delegated legislation not enact the six new hazard clauses that the EU introduced in 2023? Northern Ireland, as the Minister outlined, already has those new hazard classes applied, so why should not the rest of us have them? Thirdly, we need to tighten the broad and wide-ranging criteria for diverging from the EU. The HSE talks about “exceptional divergence”, but gives very broad criteria, including economic and industrial considerations. If we are talking about forever chemicals, carcinogenic or harmful biocides, we must ensure environmental and population safety before broad economic or industrial considerations.”

    House of Commons21 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  38. “Where that has been exercised, decisions have often been more ad hoc and less protective than the EU’s. Since January 2021, the UK has operated its own chemical regulation system, but UK chemical regs are a casualty of Brexit and we have fallen behind the EU. I welcome the environmental improvement plan, which was introduced by this Labour Government in 2025. It is a sensible shift back towards EU-aligned protection, which is still the best in the world. However, I still have concerns about four specific areas. First, how will the proposed changes not lead to unnecessary and undesirable divergence from the EU chemicals regulations? That is against the HSE’s explicitly stated policy. Also, how will any changes be reported to Parliament and to the devolved Administrations?”

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  39. “Thank you, Dr Murrison, for enabling me to speak even though I am not a member of the Committee. It seems like a long time ago, but I should declare that I was a shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister and part of my portfolio included chemicals, so that is why I am here today to speak about chemicals and possible unintended consequences. I also lived through the painful immediate post-Brexit era. I thank the Minister for his opening remarks and for outlining so clearly the need for this delegated legislation. I understand that and welcome most of it, but I have concerns about its implementation and possible unintended consequences. We know that since Brexit, the HSE has had significant policymaking and delegated authority powers.”

    House of Commons21 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  40. “I would very much welcome that opportunity to talk to the Minister outside this Committee. In terms of the UN alignment, that is fine, but what happens when the UN has countries that have lower and weaker chemical regulations than the EU and the UK? What happens with the alignment then? Do we align down or up?”

    House of Commons21 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  41. “I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. He will know that Yom HaShoah, a Jewish commemoration of the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, begins tonight. We must never forget. But as this powerful memorial begins, Benjamin Netanyahu continues to flout international law by bombing innocent civilians in Lebanon and intimidating Palestinians in the west bank, under the cover of the US-Iran situation. What can the UK do to support the victims of Netanyahu and stop his ongoing destructive actions in all areas?”

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  42. “Resolved , That this House has considered the import and sale of fur and related products.”

    House of Commons10 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  43. “Members for my Fur (Import and Sale) Bill. It is simple in principle and modest in scope, but overwhelming in its justification. It would end the import of animal fur into Great Britain and prohibit the sale of new fur products in England, while allowing appropriate exemptions and of course respecting devolved competence. In doing so, it would finally bring our law into line with our values, because the truth is this. The United Kingdom banned fur farming more than 20 years ago because we recognised it as inherently inhumane, yet by allowing tens of millions of pounds-worth of fur to be imported here, we continue to be complicit in exactly the same cruelty overseas. My Bill seeks to end that double standard.”

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  44. “But he did not just slip off into obscurity. Mike Moser, because that is who it was, approached anti-fur campaigner Claire Bass at Humane World for Animals, explained his change of heart and mind, and offered his insights and services in its campaign for a fur-free Britain. I have much respect for Mike, who joins us here today. I am sure that hon. Members will agree that his powerful testimony against the fur trade is worth bringing to the attention of the House. Mike says: “Over time I realised that whatever soundbites we devised to reassure consumers, retailers and politicians, neither welfare regulations nor any industry certification scheme, would ever change the reality of these animals being stuck in tiny wire cages for their entire lives.” I am grateful for the strong support from so many hon.”

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  45. “She had beautiful silvery-grey fur, a white stripe down the middle of her nose and shiny hazel eyes. Quite without meaning to, he connected with her, and her eyes told him something. Returning home to the UK the next day, the man was greeted by his adoring Labrador, Barney. After the enthusiastic tail wagging had subsided, the man looked at Barney, and Barney looked back, eyes full of love, optimism and energy. In that moment, the man saw what he had been missing for years—the connection between these two sentient beings. He realised that if anyone tried to do to his Barney what the fur industry was doing to millions of foxes, he would do everything in his power to stop it and help him. In that moment, he decided that he could no longer defend the indefensible and he resigned from working for the fur trade.”

    House of Commons10 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  46. “One of his roles in the fur industry was to promote welfare standards on fur farms, and that saw him travel to fur farms around the world. One day the man found himself on a fur farm in Poland. On that farm, about 1,000 foxes spent every day of their lives in wire cages only a little bigger than they were, about 1 metre square. It was the rough equivalent of a person living their whole life in a phone box. The rows of cages stretched as far as the man could see. Some animals were spinning in desperate circles—a sign of mental collapse. Others were just slumped in hopeless heaps on the wire-mesh floors. All were waiting for the day when they would be electrocuted to be turned into a coat trim or perhaps a bobble hat. As the man toured the farm with the Polish industry bosses, he locked eyes unexpectedly with a fox.”

    House of Commons10 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  47. “I beg to move, That this House has considered the import and sale of fur and related products. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Ms Jardine. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing a debate on fur today. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead a debate on a topic as important as the UK’s continuing trade in animal fur, and in relation to my Fur (Import and Sale) Bill. To explain the problem with fur, I will start with a true story about a man, a dog and a fox. The man was a prominent leader in the international fur industry and had spent 10 years of his professional career defending the fur trade against accusations of cruelty and working to try to get designers to use fur in their collections. He had increasingly found that to be an uphill struggle.”

    House of Commons10 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

  48. “I am grateful to the Minister for the formation of a working group to address the UK fur trade, and I hope that it can conduct its business in the coming months with haste, followed by the political will to act in accordance with public opinion and end the UK’s cruel, outdated and unnecessary fur trade.”

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  49. “I was proud when, in opposition, Labour’s shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister stated support for a fur-free Britain. We now have an opportunity to make that a reality. I press the Minister today for any details that she may be able to provide on the timing of the publication of the results of the Government’s 2021 call for evidence on the fur trade, as well as the report on the UK fur trade by the DEFRA Animal Welfare Committee. I also place on record my hope that processed animal fur will be left squarely outside the scope of the UK’s ongoing sanitary and phytosanitary negotiations with the EU. As an important agreement to smooth trade in agrifood, it should not concern itself with trying to reach a common position on the trade in furry bobble hats any more than it should worry about trade in leather shoes.”

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  50. “That problem has improved thanks to the efforts of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the Advertising Standards Authority, Trading Standards and Humane World for Animals, but it is still today possible to buy a bobble hat on a popular online retailer that is described as fake fur but is, in fact, made of fox. That leaves would-be ethical consumers unable to buy with confidence in accordance with their values. A ban on all animal fur would simplify and strengthen enforcement and restore confidence. The evidence for this ban has been gathered, tested and confirmed for years. Parliamentary inquiries have been held and a Government call for evidence attracted tens of thousands of responses, with over 96% agreeing it is wrong to kill animals for fur. Public opinion, scientific evidence and the economic case are clear.”

    House of Commons10 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗