Business of the House

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. I will get to her remarks in just a second, but before I do, may I say that I was saddened to hear this week of the passing of Roy Hattersley, former deputy Labour leader? It is an overused word, but he was a true giant of the Labour party, and he will be remembered for his role in reforming it. He gave decades of service, and I send my condolences to his friends and family.

I am sure that the whole House will join me in sending condolences to the family and colleagues of PC Jess Turnbull, a Northumbria police officer who was killed on duty. Police officers risk their lives each day to help people and make a difference. PC Turnbull was a committed and dedicated officer, and she will be sorely missed.

I congratulate the parliamentarians and those associated with Parliament who were recognised in the King’s birthday honours last week. It is right and proper that people who make an exemplary contribution to public service are recognised in the way that many others across our country are recognised.

This week, we have announced that social media will be banned for under-16s. We are going further than any country in the world, and we are putting wider protections in place to give young people their childhood back. Yesterday, this House passed the National Security (State Threats) Bill. Many Members have raised the issue of national security with me in this forum, so they will be pleased to see that the Bill gave the Home Secretary new counter-terrorism-style powers to stand up to foreign state organisations and state-linked groups that threaten the UK’s national security and the safety of our communities.

I join the hon. Lady in congratulating England and Scotland on winning their opening world cup matches. I particularly congratulate Scotland on their performance, which was their first win in the men’s world cup for 36 years.

The hon. Lady started by referring to the king of the north. Her remarks were disappointing, because I thought for a moment that she was referring to me, but clearly not. She is right to say that leadership is a serious matter, but she is a late convert to that. As I have pointed out before, she was one of the last people in the bunker with Boris Johnson, and when that ended, she leapt to Liz Truss. I ask her just one question: how did that turn out?

On a serious point, this Prime Minister has done much more than his predecessors to make our country safe, by working hard on the diplomatic stage and on defence. I remind the House that the hon. Lady’s Government “hollowed out” defence—not my words, but those of a former Defence Secretary in the Government in which she served. As for welfare, we are getting on with the job of tackling the broken welfare system that her Government left behind. We are also renewing public services, as well as keeping our country safe. It is not an either/or; we are doing both those things.

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents rely on the 96, the 428 and the 492 bus routes, which serve Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater shopping centre. Reform-led Kent county council proposed a substantial increase to its bus tax, which Transport for London bus services pay to use the fast-track bus way at Bluewater. That is putting services at risk that many of my residents and those in neighbouring constituencies rely on to access the hospital and the shopping centre. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is vital that Kent county council reconsiders its proposal, and that Transport for London works with local MPs and the local council to ensure that these essential bus routes are safeguarded for my constituents?