Lewis Atkinson
MP for Sunderland Central · Labour · United Kingdom
“That will presumably be returning next July, so I want to extend an early invite to all Members and the future Member for Clacton not just to enjoy our beautiful coast but to help ensure that all rubbish from day-trippers to Roker and Seaburn is properly disposed of—in the bin.”
“Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Sir Alan Campbell), is an ardent fan of Europe, so I am sure he will join me in wishing Sunderland AFC well for the season ahead. I specifically want to mention the contribution of David Bruce, who recently departed as the club’s chief business officer.”
“Mrs Helen Smith has been teaching at St Anthony’s girls’ Catholic academy for more than 30 years, including as head of sixth form and leading the A-level politics programme.”
“I am, however, still deeply saddened—angry, even—that that grant has not been used by the council to prevent the recent closure of the Basis homeless drop-in centre, and that no alternative provision has been put in place.”
“In the last year, Sunderland has shown that it is truly a city on the up. A new hospital, library, bridge, construction skills academy, offices and housing are all open or opening soon—all secured under a Labour council—and there are investment plans in place for the Crown Works film studio, expansion of the Metro to Washington and much m…”
“Fulwell community library, which is run by a fantastic team of volunteers led by Richard Beck, provides a welcoming space for people to enjoy books and a cuppa, as I did there the other week.”
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“Fulwell community library, which is run by a fantastic team of volunteers led by Richard Beck, provides a welcoming space for people to enjoy books and a cuppa, as I did there the other week. In the centre of Sunderland, Culture House, the new home of our city library, will be opening soon, providing access to books and learning seven days a week, thanks to the investment and decisions of the previous council administration. Will the Leader of the House celebrate the National Year of Reading, and consider giving time for a debate on the importance of library facilities? Does he agree that they are not vanity projects, but core facilities for our community?”
“I am, however, still deeply saddened—angry, even—that that grant has not been used by the council to prevent the recent closure of the Basis homeless drop-in centre, and that no alternative provision has been put in place. Imagine being on the streets in a heatwave or, in a few months’ time, in the middle of winter, without having a drop-in service to provide somewhere to have a shower, to get warm or to wash clothes. It is a disgrace. I pay tribute to Dave Cawley and the Basis team, and to the engagement of churches and other faith and community groups that are doing what they can to serve our homeless neighbours in the city. All that remains is for me to wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all the staff of the House a very happy summer.”
“Mrs Helen Smith has been teaching at St Anthony’s girls’ Catholic academy for more than 30 years, including as head of sixth form and leading the A-level politics programme. She has encouraged and inspired generations of Sunderland’s young people to be engaged in our democracy, whether as runners at our speedy election counts, visitors to Parliament or as talented interns and staff in my office and those of my predecessors. I thank her for that and for the significant contribution that she has made to public life in Sunderland, as I thank all teachers and staff retiring at the end of this term. Homelessness shames us all, and I pay tribute to the Prime Minister for the priority he gave to tackling it, including through a significantly increased homeless grant allocation to Sunderland.”
“Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Sir Alan Campbell), is an ardent fan of Europe, so I am sure he will join me in wishing Sunderland AFC well for the season ahead. I specifically want to mention the contribution of David Bruce, who recently departed as the club’s chief business officer. As a lifelong fan and a local lad made good, he led the commercial revitalisation of the club and crucially its reconnection with the fans, including through the return of the fantastic Hummel kits. I wish him well in his future work as chief executive of Sheffield Wednesday. We are at the end of the school year, so I want to thank teachers, staff and students across Sunderland for their commitment this year. A deserved summer break beckons and I hope that those awaiting exam results see all their hard work reflected in them.”
“That will presumably be returning next July, so I want to extend an early invite to all Members and the future Member for Clacton not just to enjoy our beautiful coast but to help ensure that all rubbish from day-trippers to Roker and Seaburn is properly disposed of—in the bin. Sunderland fans will be minding the gap when they get off the Metro at the airport this summer, not just for our summer holidays but for getting carried away at Europa league fixtures, perhaps in Milan. Our first season back in the premier league was a resounding triumph, marking a huge turn in fortunes for the red and white team founded by a trade union. It just shows what can be done with the right manager, inspired recruitment and consistent hard work—yes, I am still referring to football, not the Labour party. I know the Leader of the House, my right hon.”
“In the last year, Sunderland has shown that it is truly a city on the up. A new hospital, library, bridge, construction skills academy, offices and housing are all open or opening soon—all secured under a Labour council—and there are investment plans in place for the Crown Works film studio, expansion of the Metro to Washington and much more now. Reform UK Sunderland might have criticised city centre regeneration as “vanity projects” and opposed council investment, but in the spirit of constructive cross-party engagement that I have tried to adopt following its victory in May, I should acknowledge that Reform has promised to bring back the airshow, which was an annual highlight of my childhood.”
“The GP patient satisfaction survey results are out, and I am really proud that the Sunderland Central and Sunderland East PCNs show a satisfaction rating of 83%—notably higher than the national average. Will the Minister join me in thanking everyone who works in primary care in Sunderland? Equally, does he recognise that there is more to do, and what does he believe is the role of primary care at scale in that? We have the Sunderland GP Alliance working across Sunderland as a whole. What is his policy intent for primary care at scale in further improving access?”
“Against opposition from across the House, they ensured that, by slowly getting through appeals and making sure that decision-making was proper and streamlined, the backlog fell repeatedly. That is not glamourous work. It is not noisy work that seeks to score political points, but it is the real work of governing that my constituents expect. Our country has a proud tradition of offering refuge to those fleeing war and persecution, and Sunderland has lived that tradition, including the many families who offered their city of sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees. As others have said, in order to maintain that proud tradition, we need a system that commands public confidence, and it is right to reform it in the way that the Government are proposing.”
“It is happening as a result of hard, unglamourous work: disrupting the gangs, deepening co-operation with our European partners, and actually making decisions on applications. Like others have said, I travelled to northern France last year with Home Affairs Committee colleagues and saw the significant UK-backed efforts to stop the boats. However, I also heard from the French a concern that we cannot dismiss—that there remain pull factors on this side of the channel, including a system that incentivises late appeals. Because of the lengthy appeals backlog, it is right that this Government take steps to reform the appeals system. I think the shadow Home Secretary said that no previous attempts to reform the system had worked. The Blair Government, faced with a broken appeals system, passed immigration Acts in 2002 and 2004.”
“It is on that basis that I welcome this legislation, along with the other steps that the Government are taking to restore control to the system while maintaining a proper offer of safe routes for those fleeing war and persecution. In the two years since the election, rather than chuntering on like those on the Opposition Benches, the Government have begun to get a grip. Small boat crossings are down by 12% compared with the equivalent period in 2024; initial decisions are at the highest level on record; and removals of people without a legal right to remain in this country are increasing. That is not happening by accident, and it is certainly not happening because of gimmicks and political game-playing.”
“Asylum and immigration are key concerns for my constituents, and their judgment on the asylum system that this Government inherited is clear and correct: the system was broken, lacked control and cost taxpayers too much. By that, they do not just mean illegal and dangerous crossings of the channel; they mean that it was broken post-arrival, in the extended periods of time in which people have been accommodated in dispersal accommodation while awaiting decision or appeal outcomes. They are right to expect that the amount of public money spent on that system will reduce—an amount that has increased as a result of the failings of the system that the right hon. and learned Member for Fareham and Waterlooville (Suella Braverman) oversaw.”
“The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. In my constituency, we have the National Glass Centre building—a huge building, built 30 years ago, that unfortunately does not seem viable for its current use any longer. Rather than demolishing that building, as some are seeking to do, the council has been asked to consider article 4, which would remove implied permission to demolish without a full planning inquiry. Does the hon. Lady agree that that is the sort of work councils should be doing to make sure that proper scrutiny takes place, and that all possible alternative uses of a building such as the National Glass Centre have been exhausted before demolition is considered?”
“I thank the Minister for the point she is making about the role of local government. I think she heard what I said to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) about the National Glass Centre in my constituency. Would she encourage planning authorities, such as Sunderland city council, to fully consider alternative uses for very large buildings as they examine whether planning permission for demolition should be given?”
“I thank the Minister and the steering group for their work. Their findings that disabled people find the assessment process dehumanising and stressful reflect the conversations that my constituents have had with me. Paragraph 64 of the review finds that “the reliance on PIP has likely increased due to difficulty accessing vital services and support, such as community mental health services” and Access to Work. Does he agree that the reform of disability benefits in the future must go hand in hand with improving those support services, such as by widening Access to Work and, in particular, cutting NHS mental health waiting lists, which are far too long? The Minister referred to falling waiting lists; I gently say to him that while physical waiting lists are falling, mental heath waiting lists have not been falling.”
“The hon. Member is doing an excellent job of expressing the moral outrage shared by constituents from Herefordshire to Sunderland to Sheffield, but does she agree that if it is possible for international groups to find origin fraud relating to goods that originate from illegal settlements on the west bank, but are incorrectly labelled as being from within Israel, it is entirely possible for the British Government to do the same? There is no valid reason there for our not implementing sanctions.”
“Q9. Too many people are waiting too long for NHS mental health care, with over 6,000 adults waiting up to two years. In Sunderland, grassroots organisations like the wonderful Betsy Jenny café are providing support to our community, but they cannot substitute for timely, NHS-funded care. As the Government consult on their new mental health strategy, will the Prime Minister agree that it must include clear waiting time standards?”
“There are now three disease-modifying therapies in this country, including a one-time gene therapy that did not exist a decade ago. They are approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and funded by the NHS. A condition that was too often a death sentence for babies is now one that we can treat.”
“I thank all of them for their time, and I also thank the Petitions Committee staff for their help as I prepared for this debate. SMA is a rare genetic condition that attacks the motor neurones, causing progressive muscle weakness. Around 1,500 people in the UK live with it and about 48 babies are born with it each year—roughly one a week. With type 1 SMA, symptoms appear within the first six months and the effects are profound. Children cannot hold up their heads or sit unsupported; they may be tube-fed and need help to breathe. Until recently, up to 90% of untreated babies either died before the age of two or required permanent ventilation. I used the past tense there deliberately and happily, because the important fact in this debate is that SMA is no longer untreatable.”
“In January of this year, Jesy chose to share that diagnosis publicly, saying that it would be “selfish to keep this to myself and not potentially save a child’s life.” This petition is the result, and I pay tribute to her for the way that she has courageously told her story, using her own unique reach. As a result, the petition was signed by 149,692 people, including 225 of my constituents in Sunderland Central. I was grateful to meet Jesy earlier in Westminster Hall, and I thank her and every family who has turned the hardest experience imaginable into a campaign for other people’s children. In preparing for this debate, I also met Giles Lomax of SMA UK, Muscular Dystrophy UK, and Professor Francesco Muntoni of the Neuromuscular Centre at Great Ormond Street.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 755980 relating to spinal muscular atrophy and the newborn screening test. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Mundell, and a privilege to open the debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I want to begin with two little girls. In May last year, twin daughters were born prematurely to the petitioner, Jesy Nelson, who is a constituent of the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking). Several months later, they were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1, which is the most severe form. Their mother was told that they would, in her words, “probably never walk”.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend, though I think the issue is not mainly financial; I will come on to that in a minute. As other Members have said, the key point is that treatments are dramatically more effective the earlier they are given: before symptoms appear and before irreversible damage is done. Once motor neurones are lost they do not come back.”
“The hon. Lady is entirely right and I have heard a number of those heart-wrenching stories; she does well to speak so movingly on behalf of her constituent. That is a testament to the key intervention of getting a diagnosis as soon after birth as possible. Today, a baby with type 1 SMA is typically not diagnosed until around six months of age. By then, for many the window when treatment would have had the most impact has closed. There is an alternative; screening at birth through the existing NHS heel-prick test, which is routinely done on day five of a baby’s life. That already screens for 10 different serious conditions.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I will come on to talk about the potential postcode lottery. I do not believe it is a decision for individual ICBs to make, but a national decision that includes the UK National Screening Committee, which I will come on to. The screening that I have described is already in place in dozens of countries. Across Europe, 75% of children are screened at birth and since 2024, every newborn in the United States and Canada has been screened. Ukraine managed to begin newborn screening for SMA in the midst of a full-scale Russian invasion. Given that, the petitioners simply ask, “Why is this screening not in place universally here too?””
“New cost-effectiveness modelling commissioned by the screening committee and published last year finds that screening for SMA is likely to be lifesaving and cost-effective.”
“I was unable to meet with the committee in preparation for the debate, but I am sure that the Minister has had the benefit of its advice. I recognise, as we all must, that the committee’s independence matters. However, its decision making and the way in which it balances risk, evidence and benefit must be subject to ministerial oversight. In this case in particular, there are questions about how those three elements have been balanced, and specifically about how far the committee seemingly required NHS-specific evidence when significant international evidence already exists. When the National Screening Committee reviewed SMA for potential inclusion in the screening programme in 2018, the committee did not recommend screening, but campaigners like SMA UK did not walk away; they kept on doing the work.”
“I thank the hon. Member for making one of his excellent interventions. Clearly health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and Wales, where screening is also not available, but the hon. Member is absolutely right. It would be difficult to explain to parents anywhere in the UK why this screening is increasingly standard practice internationally but is not available in every nation of the United Kingdom. The petitioners are clear that all the conditions necessary to begin screening have been met. The test exists, the treatments exist and the evidence tells us that screening would save both lives and money. In the UK, screening is overseen by the independent UK National Screening Committee, which gives recommendations to Ministers.”
“We are withholding from some children a diagnosis that we are fully capable of making and that we know will help to shape their lives in order to gather data on something that Professor Muntoni considers already internationally proven. That is the view of not just one eminent clinician, I am told, but the wider SMA clinical community.”
“A baby born in one postcode will be screened, treated early and may walk, but a baby born in another postcode in the same week will not, and by the time anyone knows it may be too late. That is the postcode lottery that Jesy told me about, and which deeply concerns her, in its starkest form. It is not about a difference in waiting times but about whether a child walks, breathes unaided or feeds normally for life. That is why Professor Muntoni’s assessment needs to be heard. He asked me specifically to put this on the record: he described a trial that deliberately leaves some babies unscreened to serve as a comparison group as—his word—“unethical”.”
“The evaluation is funded. It will run at seven of England’s 13 screening laboratories, covering around 72% of births. The remaining six sites, which include the site that covers the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), and which account for the remaining 28% of babies born in the UK every year, are not at present in the plan. That does not seem to be an accident but the design. Put in human terms, of the 48 babies born with SMA in England each year around 35 would be diagnosed by the introduction of SMA screening in this evaluation but 13 would not: there would be 13 babies a year born with the same condition but on the wrong side of an arbitrary line that they did not choose who will go undiagnosed until damage is done.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is a matter of pace and of asking, “When?” not “If?” or “How?” because both those questions have already been answered. I turn to the Government’s response. The previous Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), met Jesy Nelson, the petitioner, in January. The Government accepted the case for an in-service evaluation and brought the date for that live NHS trial forward from January 2027 to October this year, when screening will begin to be rolled out. I, the petitioners and others welcome that, though there is a sadness that it has taken so long to get to that point. We must, however, be honest about where that decision leaves us. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) alludes to, the real argument now is about pace and fairness.”
“I conclude with a reflection that, as it stands, the science on this disease has changed faster than our health system has. The condition was, within living memory, untreatable, but now a test at birth can make the difference between a wheelchair and a childhood spent running around. The petitioners are not asking us to abandon evidence or caution; they are asking us to act with the urgency that international evidence now permits, and to make sure that no baby is left behind simply because of where they are born. I look forward to contributions from other Members and to the Minister’s response.”
“Secondly, what does the Minister say to the families of the 13 babies a year who, on the current plans, will be born outside the evaluation’s reach? Are there any interim safeguards against a delayed or missed diagnosis? Thirdly, will the Minister respond directly to the concern shared across the SMA clinical community that knowingly leaving some babies unscreened when the test and treatments already exist raises serious ethical concerns? Finally, will the Government commit to ensuring that every baby in England is screened for SMA as quickly as possible? Will they continue to roll that out to all remaining screening centres, even if that is on a provisional basis while we wait for the in-service evaluation? By what date can that be achieved?”
“If we cannot move at a reasonable pace on screening for SMA, which is proven, costed and adopted across the world, what does that say for the children with other rare genetic diseases, the screening tests for which will be developed in the coming years? I put the following questions to the Minister, and I hope—and I know the petitioner hopes—for answers that are as specific as she is able to give. First, will the Minister push for conclusions to be drawn more quickly from the in-service evaluation than the 18 months that are currently planned? Every month of delay in roll-out to the 28% of the population not covered by the evaluation will likely delay the diagnosis of one baby, with serious consequences.”
“Let us welcome the fact that, in Scotland, screening is now being rolled out for every newborn, though that is not the case, and there are no plans that I am aware of, in Northern Ireland or Wales. I began my speech with two little girls—Jesy’s girls—and I return to them now. The delays to their diagnosis were not inevitable. Had the UK adopted screening on a timetable comparable to that of other countries, Jesy’s twins might have been diagnosed before symptoms appeared. We cannot change that, but we can stop it being true for the next family. SMA is only the first of many rare genetic conditions where an early, treatable diagnosis will likely become possible in the coming years.”
“I am told that the research the screening committee commissioned estimates that each year, screening could prevent around two babies needing permanent ventilation, prevent around three early deaths and allow around 37 babies to live relatively normal lives. The economics are striking, too: the typical direct costs of caring for a child severely disabled by SMA—not the drugs costs, but the care costs—are around £450,000 per year. Most of that would be avoidable through diagnosis and treatment at birth. Here, the compassionate course and the fiscally responsible course point the same way. I gently raise the point—the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) has already made it—that there is a geographical discrepancy across the United Kingdom on this matter.”
“That is a world-leading vision, and I welcome it, but there is some irony in promising to read every baby’s entire genome within 10 years while not rolling out today across the whole of England one well-established, internationally proven test for a single treatable condition. Screening decisions must, of course, be taken with care. A national programme that affects 650,000 babies a year must be safe, accurate and deliverable across many laboratories. I recognise that the therapies are relatively new and therefore their lifespan impacts require ongoing evaluation. There are legitimate grounds for further research, but the evidence that we have now on its impact should sharpen our urgency, not dull it.”
“I will make a little progress and finish my point; I can see the time getting away and I want to make sure that other Members can speak. The question is why, when so much of the world has acted, the United Kingdom is moving so slowly. That caution sits oddly with the Government’s welcome ambition elsewhere. The generation study is sequencing the whole genome of 100,000 newborns for more than 200 rare conditions, and the Government have committed to offering whole genome sequencing to every newborn within a decade, which is a welcome part of their 10-year health plan.”
“I thank the Minister for her remarks. As others have said, she is a diligent Minister, and I know that she will push this carefully with the Department. Would she consider meeting me, Jesy and SMA UK after she has had a chance to push some of those points? I thank all Members for their contributions today. Most of all, I thank Jesy for bringing this petition to life, telling the story of her twin girls, being so clear and rightly challenging us about the fact that there should not be a postcode lottery in the UK. We should have screening provision as good as anywhere else in the world.”
“I commend the Minister for her work in reducing waiting lists for GP referral to first treatment, and they are genuinely coming down. She will be aware, however, that that statistic does not capture the entire picture, particularly for people who require subsequent follow-up care—for example, women with endometriosis or women waiting for breast reconstruction following mastectomies. Could she say a little about any plans she has to capture those waiting lists?”
“That is not because I want a specific piece of legislation to be passed; it is because if, as a country, we cannot resolve different views through Parliament—developing legislative proposals and scrutinising them, but ultimately reaching a decision on them—we are in a very troubling place.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 752673 relating to the timely progress of bills through Parliament. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward, and to open this important debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I want to start by being clear about what this petition, and therefore this debate, is about. Although the petition was prompted by the parliamentary consideration of assisted dying, it is not about assisted dying; it is about British parliamentary democracy and how—or, indeed, whether—it can work. The petition poses what I would suggest is an existential question for us here: does our constitutional settlement allow changes that have been backed by the public and their representatives to pass into law? I desperately want the answer to that question to be yes.”
“I agree that private Members’ Bills provide an important avenue for democratically elected Members of the Commons to seek important legislative change. For decades, they have been a long-established precedent in how this country introduces social change—whether that is the decriminalisation of homosexuality and abortion, or the abolition of the death penalty. Fundamentally, I do not believe that the unelected Lords should be able to block such key social change, but I will come on to some of the issues that my hon. Friend raised.”
“Sophie and Nathaniel were both determined that the voices of terminally ill people should be at the centre of parliamentary consideration of the Bill. They closely monitored its various stages. They were in the Public Gallery of the House of Commons on Second Reading and of Committee Room 11 for some of the 100 hours of Bill Committee proceedings, where we made more than 100 amendments, including 30 proposed by MPs who had opposed the Bill on Second Reading.”
“Sophie has incurable stage 4 secondary breast cancer, first diagnosed in 2020. She is allergic to opioids, which form an important part of the palliative care pain relief toolkit, and unfortunately her family have experienced what she describes as “bad cancer deaths”. She does not want her daughter, Maya—also in the Public Gallery—to run the risk of being left with those memories. She wants the option of an assisted death if she feels that that is required. The key demand of Nathaniel, Sophie and the 114,000 petitioners is that Bills supported by MPs and the public must be able to complete all stages of the parliamentary process and to become law; and that the unelected House of Lords should be able to scrutinise, yes, but not block legislation backed by the elected Commons.”
“As a member of that Bill Committee, I had the privilege of meeting Nat on a number of occasions. He was a remarkable man. In his final months, Nat became frustrated—angry, it is fair to say—at how the Lords were dealing with their consideration of the Bill. True to form, he decided to do something about it, starting the petition that we are here to debate today. Nat died in January this year. I pay tribute to him and his family, who have continued to support his efforts following his death. I am grateful to Rebecca Scott, his sister, for meeting me as part of the engagement process for this debate. After Nathaniel’s death, his friend Sophie Blake became the petition’s sponsor, and it is a pleasure to see her in the Gallery today, as it was to speak with her in preparation for this debate, alongside a campaigner from Dignity in Dying.”
“I will introduce the petitioners first, because they ultimately prompted the debate; I will then be happy to take further interventions. The petition was initially proposed by Nathaniel Dye, a man who felt the urgency for change and looked at his Parliament to deliver it. Nat was a music teacher, and after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in his mid-30s, he campaigned for cancer awareness and support, being recognised with an MBE for his incredible efforts. Nathaniel knew he was going to die, and he believed that Parliament should engage seriously with the issues that affected him and many others with terminal illness. He campaigned strongly in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) in the last Session.”
“It is fair to say that their position includes the assertion that the Lords were justified in not reaching a decision on the Bill because Commons consideration in Committee was flawed. I personally disagree; having sat in Committee for more than 100 hours—way in excess of nearly any other Bill—I might be expected to say that. Those exact same arguments, however, were available to Members before Third Reading.”
“I agree entirely. I absolutely respect the fact that others, including opponents of the Bill, reach different judgments on this difficult issue. Ultimately, as I said, in our parliamentary democracy that is for Parliament to resolve, on the balance of judgment of its constituent-elected MPs. That is explainable to our constituents. If something that constituents wish for is decided on by Parliament, that can be explained; what struggles to be explained is when tactics and filibustering are used to not reach a decision at all. I will come on to talk a little about that. At this stage, it is important to say that I spoke to groups opposed to assisted dying as part of my preparation for the debate—again, not to discuss the substance of assisted dying itself, but, as part of balance, to get their view about the process.”
“I am not here to speak for the sponsor of anything; I am here to speak for parliamentary democracy. Fundamentally, on Third Reading, MPs clearly backed the Bill. That was the final chance for MPs to have their say. In all those debates, my hon. Friend made his points well and ably, as I made mine, in Committee and beyond. I entirely respect his perspective, but I am bringing us back to the issue of parliamentary democracy. It is entirely appropriate, and no one is disputing—the petitioners are not disputing—that the Lords should scrutinise and indeed amend legislation passed to them from the Commons; what the petitioners find outrageous, frankly, is the failure to consider it. I will come on to that.”
“It was the approach of the House of Lords, specifically a small number of peers, that outraged Nathaniel, Sophie and the other petitioners.”