Call for General Election

Olly Glover Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for his eloquent introduction of this important topic. Over a million people have signed the petition, and 4,929 of them are constituents of mine in Didcot and Wantage in Oxfordshire. I want to start by summarising some of the reasons they gave for asking for a general election and, indeed, this debate when they wrote to me.

Some people feel that the Government’s impact on small businesses and economic growth is too much to bear—for example, a small business owner who is considering having to close his business as a consequence. For other people, it is more about international matters, including concerns about the Government’s approach to the Gaza situation. Others felt that working-class people have been disregarded and betrayed by the Government, given what was promised before the general election. For other people, there was an overriding feeling of dissatisfaction and general incompetence. Some people, particularly those who send their children with special educational needs to private institutions, were concerned about the impact of VAT on school fees.

Although I am no fan of the Government and agree with some of those criticisms, I am afraid I must politely disagree with my constituents, because I do not think we should have a general election, for three reasons. First, there are no straightforward criteria for assessing when it is time for a Government’s time in office to end early, because under our first-past-the-post system a Government almost never earns more than 50% of support in the first place. We could end up with an endless revolving door of elections and brand-new Government chaos. The period in the late 2010s, when we saw frequent general elections, did not lead to a general increase in satisfaction with the political system, or to a feeling that the economic or general outcomes for the country had improved.

To be fair, Governments deserve time to learn the ropes and get things right, albeit this Government have not necessarily used their time so far very well. But we must hear and understand the underlying reasons that have led to the petition and the call for a general election. There are lots of things that we need to change about our politics, which we need to make relevant and responsive again. Notwithstanding the very good opening remarks by the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, I am afraid the exchange we heard during the previous speech perhaps shows what is wrong with our politics at the moment and why it puts people off: relitigating the arguments of 10 or 15 years ago, with a lot of “he said”, “she said” or “they said” between representatives of the two main parties, which between them have been running our country for the overwhelming majority of the last 100 years or more.

Instead, I offer some better ways to address the discontent and boost engagement with politics. At the risk of sounding naive and full of optimism about the future—my Liberal Democrat colleagues know I never do that, as I am yet to understand the philosophical or intellectual basis of optimism, but I will put that to one side—what we really need in our politics is more listening to each other and more sharing of political ideas, not just as parties but as 650 people who all have different backgrounds, and who bring those different backgrounds and life experiences to this place. We need to do that to achieve better representation for our constituents, because none of us individually can hope to represent directly, or have the lived experience of, all of our tens of thousands of constituents. That would be impossible. We can only listen to them, learn from them and reflect on that.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his constructive comments about the need to change the political culture inside this place, but there is also a need to change it right across the country, including in our councils and devolved Governments. Does he agree that working to roll out proportional representation across all our electoral systems would change the culture both in the country and in this place?

--- Later in debate ---

[Olly Glover]

I am going to have to launch a cyber-security inquiry, because the hon. Gentleman has clearly hacked my notes. [Laughter.] I entirely agree with him and pay tribute to him, because he is a consistent and passionate advocate for proportional representation, as am I. That is something on which we can agree.

Actually, some people said they signed the petition because they would like to see proportional representation, because they feel the current Government do not represent the views of the country. Of course, many people meant that critically, but it also reflects the simple numerical fact that we have a voting system that gave a majority to a party that won 33.7% of the vote on the lowest turnout in 24 years. It would of course be unrealistic to even hope that such a Government could represent the views of the country, because they are so far below representing what at least 50% of people think.

Absent our changing the culture of this place so that we have more listening and sharing of ideas, I agree with the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) that we need proportional representation to create a structure to enable that. We could have a long debate about what forms proportional representation could take, but I think people would find that even more dull than anything else. However, proportional representation would enshrine the idea of more than one party having to co-operate, compromise, listen and engage in order to form a broad-based and more representative Government.

I also feel that we need to get back to the idea of fixed-term Parliaments. It was perhaps a matter of regret or irony that the time when we did have fixed-term Parliaments was one of some of the greatest political turmoil that this country has had, but that does not mean that the idea is not sound. It is not right that a Prime Minister of whatever party affiliation should be able to treat the country like a political casino, choosing on a whim when to have a general election. That does not help serious policy or long-term thinking over those four or five years. Instead, a fixed-term Parliament would give everybody clarity on how long a Government are in—absent some particularly drastic circumstances, obviously. It would be good for the economy, good for the markets and good for that Government themselves. It would certainly be good for the civil servants and people who have to enact the instructions of that Government.

We also need reform to political finances. Thankfully, we are a long way from the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in every special election in the United States, but it is still important that large financial interests are not able to have a disproportionate influence on our politics—or at least not without proper transparency and declarations. More is therefore needed to strengthen the role of the Electoral Commission.

We also need a media landscape that is fuelled by facts and respectful discussion of views, rather than misinformation and the screaming that happens between people of different views on social media. That is also important, and comes through creating better politics.

While I agree with a lot of the criticisms of the Government that have led to my constituents signing this petition, instead of a general election now, I hope that the Government will reflect—and I hope to hear from the Minister on this—on what else we can do to restore or build up people’s faith in politics, and have a much more broad-based political system. Who knows? Maybe, this afternoon, the Minister will have a damascene conversion to proportional representation. I look forward to finding out.

[Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)]

I thank you for a cerebral speech, which will probably do you no good at all.

Oral Answers to Questions

Olly Glover Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising these tragic cases, which have a huge impact on families, friends and communities. I know that she is a passionate and dedicated campaigner on this issue. Every single life lost to knife crime devastates communities. That is why we banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are strengthening controls on online knife sales. We are also giving stronger powers to the police in our Crime and Policing Bill, which both the Conservatives and Reform voted against.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Q13. I recently had the privilege of visiting Fitzwaryn school, the only special school in my Oxfordshire constituency, to see the excellent care and education it provides. Given the urgent need for more funding for additional special schools and to enable special schools to spread their expertise to mainstream schools, what does the Prime Minister say to parents and education workers who are desperately worried by his Government’s decision announced last week to delay reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that. I think the broken SEND system has been raised with me more frequently than any other issue at Prime Minister’s questions. We need to review it because it is not working for any of those involved, particularly children and parents. It is important that we get it right and, in so far as we can, that we get a consensus on how we go forward. That is what we are attempting to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Olly Glover Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Q11. On a recent visit to the UK Space Agency, based in my Oxfordshire constituency, I learned of the huge value created by our space sector, generating more than £7 for every £1 invested. Given the Government’s decision to scrap the UKSA as an executive agency, will the Prime Minister guarantee its international credibility, its operational independence and its budget? And will he visit Harwell Campus to hear what our brilliant space companies need from Government?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this important issue, and reassure him that we do want to keep the huge expertise and knowledge of the UK Space Agency staff, including those working in his constituency. We have already secured almost £300 million in contracts from the European Space Agency and this will cut costs, reducing duplication, so we can really focus on growing this important sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Olly Glover Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

The funding will be available to women-led businesses in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. It is right that we continue to support the work of the Women’s Business Council and others, and look at all we can do to support women in businesses, and those who are coming forward to start their own enterprises.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

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

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

The Government are taking decisive action to deliver our plan to make work pay, putting more money back into people’s pockets. The Office for Equality and Opportunity recently launched a public consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, and a call for evidence on other measures to improve security at work for everyone and tackle unequal pay. We will work in partnership with business to deliver this Government’s plan for change.

[Olly Glover]

Many constituents have written to me to express their concern on the recent UK Supreme Court ruling relating to the legal definition of a woman. It has left the already vulnerable members of the trans community feeling uncertain about how they will be able to go about their day-to-day lives. What steps is the Minister taking to work with her colleagues in other Departments to provide further guidance and clarity on what the judgment means in practice?

[Bridget Phillipson]

You will know, Mr Speaker, that I made a statement to the House setting out the Government’s position where we welcomed the clarity of the Supreme Court ruling. I should also stress that, of course, everyone within our country deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion, and trans people continue to enjoy protection from harassment and discrimination under the law. We are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on its code of practice, which it will set out in due course following consultation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Olly Glover Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. Hospital admissions for allergies have risen sharply in the last two decades. I welcome the work of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. We will respond to the recommendations of the national allergy strategy group in due course, and I will make sure my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss it.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Q11. My Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage has seen a 35% population increase in the last 20 years. My constituents recognise the need for affordable housing, but the current planning system is not delivering the GP surgeries, dentists and transport options they need. Will the Prime Minister restore faith in the planning system and, as well as focusing on housing numbers, deliver the local targets for health services and wider infrastructure that growing communities need?

[The Prime Minister]

We are, of course, delivering 1.5 million homes, but we are also creating communities for the future. The hon. Gentleman is right that that must include good schools, GPs and reliable transport links, which is what makes a good community. Just today we have announced an additional £350 million to deliver more affordable homes so that more people can realise the dream of home ownership.