Middle East

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are using British personnel to defend Cyprus at this very moment.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

No one should shed a tear for the Iranian leadership; this was a brutal and oppressive regime. However, there are other brutal and repressive regimes in the world. A brutal and oppressive regime is never, in and of itself, a reason to attack a country. Can the Prime Minister please assure me that any involvement of British troops or assets in this conflict will be purely defensive?

[The Prime Minister]

I have set out the principles on which I will act. I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Any action will have to have a lawful basis, and a viable case for it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kanishka Narayan]

That is a very easy yes, combining my interest in agriculture and technology. I will take the right hon. Member up on his offer.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Liz Kendall)]

The Government are determined to seize the opportunities that new technology brings, but to do that we must protect our children online and protect our critical national infrastructure from technological threats, too. That is why, today, we are tabling an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, so that we can crack down on the use of AI to depict child abuse, and why we are introducing our new cyber-security and resilience Bill to modernise the law and keep vital services safe.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

On 20 October, a phone mast serving thousands of people in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd was removed without warning, cutting O₂, Vodafone and Three coverage. Residents were told that they would be disconnected until April. It was only through the intervention of Baroness Lloyd and I that a temporary fix was found—after three weeks. Given the essential role of mobile services in our communities, this removal impacted businesses, GPs, safeguarding and many more areas. Our mobile phones have become a utility and they are regulated—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. These are topical questions. You have finished.

Middle East

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The board is an important part of the architecture. It is for others to decide what its membership will be, but I can give the commitment that we will report to the House on any developments in that regard.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

It is a huge relief to all of us that the hostages are sleeping at home with their families, where they belong, after two years of unimaginable horror. However, this plan and the recognition of Palestine must only be the start of peace and accountability. Children are dying from a man-made famine, so can the Prime Minister please assure us that we will flood Gaza with aid and continue to respect the judgments and decisions of international courts and tribunals?

[The Prime Minister]

I can give my hon. Friend our assurance on both those issues.

UK-EU Summit

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The scheme will be time-limited, visa-led and capped. It is a good scheme for young people in this country to go to Europe, and it will have those features, which we negotiated because we had a red line about freedom of movement.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Calder Valley is home to many of the small and medium-sized enterprises that simply stopped trading with Europe because of the disastrous deal agreed by the Conservatives. Can the Prime Minister assure me that he will not stop here with this deal, but will continue to work to open more of our borders to more of our businesses?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a really important point. The Federation of Small Businesses has come out strongly in favour of this deal because it knows the impact it will have on small and medium-sized businesses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point not just to specific resilience measures but the most fundamental thing for national resilience: the underlying strength of the country and its services. Nowhere is that more true that in the national health service. We are investing in the national health service and are already seeing the early results of that, with the first fall in NHS waiting lists for years. It is a good start; it is not enough, and we want to build on that progress to treat patients more quickly and, indeed, build our resilience in the process.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

18. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government advertising through social media.

[The Minister without Portfolio (Ellie Reeves)]

The Government regularly evaluate the effectiveness of all communication channels, including social media, to ensure that they are delivering and providing value for money for taxpayers, and that Government messaging appears in appropriate environments.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

Since Elon Musk purchased X three years ago, Departments have continued to spend money on subscriptions and ads on the site, and one Department has recorded a spend of more than �400,000 since 2022. Given the lack of adequate content moderation, and an increase in the peddling of conspiracy theories, misogyny and racism on the site, often actively encouraged by its owner, does the Minister think it right to review Government spending on X?

[Ellie Reeves]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a keen interest in these matters. In 2023, the previous Government suspended paid advertising on X while reviewing alignment with our safe guidelines. That suspension remains in place. We continue to post content, without paid promotion, to communicate important Government information.

Ukraine

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Monday 3rd March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We will be undertaking a strategic review of our capability, gauging it against our challenge, and, obviously, I will put the results before the House in due course. I would just caution against the suggestion in the second part of the hon. Lady’s question—if I have got it right—that somehow we should take this as a moment to go it alone without the US. I fundamentally disagree; I think that would be wrong. We have never chosen that course in our history, and we should not choose it now.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for today’s statement, and for his diplomatic efforts to restore our international reputation since taking office. Will my right hon. Friend confirm the basic principle that no decision can be made about the future of Ukraine without including its elected leadership in the negotiations, and that any ceasefire must be adhered to by Russian aggressors and not just the Ukrainians?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree on both propositions. Ukraine needs to be at the table. There have to be security guarantees, because we know from history that Putin does not honour agreements that do not have security guarantees. That is precisely why we need one.

High Street Businesses

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) for securing this debate, which has been a wonderful tour of Members’ high streets, although, as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I cannot recommend a deep-fried Mars bar.

I pay tribute to those who, on top of running their own businesses, put time into a broader business community, such as Calder Valley’s town deal boards, including in Todmorden, Elland and Brighouse, and those who have helped their towns to thrive by having a bigger vision for what their towns can be. Even though I did not always see eye to eye with local businesses on parking charges when I was a councillor, those businesses show how the spark of an idea can end up as a dream that becomes part of a community of successful businesses, because success breeds success.

Calder Valley is a series of towns, all of which have their own personalities. A great proponent of this theory is the Totally Locally campaign, a national campaign that was founded in Calder Valley and remains active in the towns of Brighouse, Elland, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. It extols the virtues of local businesses’ working together and the power of spending money locally. Their annual “Magic Tenner” campaign uses analysis from the New Economics Foundation that found that £10 spent in a local shop could be worth as much as £50 to the local economy, as those local shops use local suppliers, so the money is recycled again and again. The campaign highlights that by having participating businesses offer deals for a tenner, and we are going to see that operating throughout Calder Valley and across the country starting next week and running until 16 March. I urge people to take part in those Totally Locally campaigns. I pay tribute to the small-business owners of Calder Valley who started with a dream and ended up building a proud business community.

Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

1. What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the accessibility of domestic violence prevention services for women.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)]

Because this is the first opportunity I have had to do so, may I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) on welcoming her new son into the world? I wish her and her family every happiness in this wonderful phase of their journey together.

The Government are steadfast in their mission to halve violence against women and girls. Having run a women’s refuge before coming to this place, I know how important it is for survivors to receive effective, timely support, and we are investing more in those services.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

In her 2022 report, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner warned of “A Patchwork of Provision” in local services. Just six in 10 victims reported being able to access a helpline, and only four in 10 reported being able to obtain refuge accommodation. Local organisations such as WomenCentre Calderdale and Kirklees do fantastic work for my constituents, but not all victims and survivors have the right support when they need it. Will the Minister ensure that the upcoming violence against women and girls strategy includes a requirement for the Government to engage with the sector so that women across the country receive consistent care and support?

Plan for Change: Milestones for Mission-led Government

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

If the hon. Member looks at the document, she will find that an expansion of nursery places is in it, because we know it is good for children and for working parents. That is part of the plan we set out today, and part of our plan to ensure that children in early years have the best possible start in life. I cannot announce anything further to the Budget on national insurance, but she knows the background to why we had to take those decisions.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Listening to Conservative Members, one would think we were left a golden legacy. Despite that halcyon legacy, it is no wonder the Conservatives were resoundingly beaten in the last election—my constituents want an NHS that can be relied on, yet Lord Darzi’s report was clear that we have not sorted out the health service or social care. Indeed, 13% of NHS beds are taken up by people who could be in social care. Will the Minister outline what he will do to ensure that we finally get to grips with that crucial issue?

[Pat McFadden]

The legacy of the Conservative Government was not just economic or in policy, but a loss of faith in government’s ability to do things. That is part of the backdrop to the plan that we are publishing today. I commend Lord Darzi’s report to anyone who has not read it. It fully sets out the legacy in health. We have put getting waiting lists down at the heart of the plan that we are publishing today because that drives the whole system; if we get them down, we will have a healthier population, more people ready to work, more people to contribute to the country and more people to contribute to our productivity. That is why it is at the heart of the plan.

G20 and COP29 Summits

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman knows very well, North sea oil and gas is sold on the international market and therefore is subject to constraints. The proof is there; over the last few years, we have had terribly high energy bills—it was worse in this country than in others. The suggestion that somehow the last Government insulated us from the impact felt by other countries is ludicrous against the evidence.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Today, the United Nations has said that virtually no aid has got into Gaza for the past 40 days. This winter, hundreds of thousands of people face malnutrition or worse. Can the Prime Minister give an update on conversations he had at the G20 that could help us end this conflict, release the hostages and finally get aid back into Gaza?

[The Prime Minister]

I repeatedly pressed that matter not only at the G20 but elsewhere. That aid into Gaza is desperately and urgently needed, and in much greater volumes than are currently making their way through. I have argued consistently for the release of the hostages— that has to be the starting point—for that aid to get into Gaza and for all of us to work for a long-term solution here. It has to be a peaceful way to the two-state solution.