United Kingdom Military Installations

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question because it gives me the opportunity to clearly set out that the relationship we have with the United States is strong and enduring and will remain our No. 1 security partnership. Our armed forces work closely together, strengthening the UK-America relationship and the wider security of NATO. We are seeing an increase in misinformation, especially online. The hon. Gentleman will know that the Prime Minister has set out his intention to create a centre to address misinformation, which was a recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Committee. That is an important part of how we tackle misinformation, but another important part is ensuring that we do not inadvertently share misinformation or give greater emphasis to those people who wish to do us harm. Tackling misinformation online is as important as the base security arrangements—the physical netting around our bases.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

My constituency is home to the Army Foundation College just outside Harrogate. It is an isolated site west of Harrogate, yet we have seen proposals for over 280 homes to be built immediately next to it. Given that the Minister has outlined concerns about the protection of sites and the threats posed to them, what steps is the MOD taking with other Departments and North Yorkshire council on the security and protection of places like the AFC?

[Luke Pollard]

Harrogate plays an important role for our armed forces, and the hon. Member will know what good work takes place there. I am happy to arrange a meeting with the Minister for Veterans and People to discuss Harrogate. We should be aware that right around our country, there are communities next to our bases that care passionately about the security of those bases and actively contribute to it.

Battle of the Somme: 110th Anniversary

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the 110th anniversary of the battle of the Somme.

It is a great privilege to open this debate as we mark the 110th anniversary of one of the most defining battles of the first world war. For 141 days, between 1 July and 18 November 1916, British, Commonwealth and French forces fought along the River Somme in northern France. Around 3.5 million men took part. By the time the fighting ended, well over 1 million men on all sides had been killed, wounded, captured or were missing. Those numbers are almost impossible to comprehend.

Perhaps the figure that remains most deeply embedded in our national consciousness is that of the first day. At 7.30 on the morning of 1 July 1916, whistles sounded and tens of thousands of British soldiers climbed from their trenches and advanced towards the German lines. By the end of that day, the British Army had suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 men killed. It remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army.

Yet even those extraordinary figures can distance us from what actually happened. Statistics convey the scale, but do not tell the stories: every single one of those 19,240 fatalities is a unique story—each a family tragedy; an empty chair at a table; potential left forever unfulfilled. Madam Deputy Speaker, you may have seen some of those stories projected on to the face of the Elizabeth Tower on Sunday to mark Remembrance Day. I thank the Speaker and his office for their work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in making that wonderful spectacle happen.

The battle of the Somme did not begin as the predominantly British offensive that it became. In December 1915, the allies had agreed a strategy of co-ordinated offensives against the central powers. Britain and France would attack on the western front, while their allies attacked elsewhere, making it more difficult for Germany and Austria-Hungary to move forces between theatres. Then, in February 1916, Germany attacked Verdun. The enormous demands of that battle meant that the French contribution planned for the Somme was dramatically reduced, while the British commitment increased. By the end of May, one of the principal purposes of the Somme offensive had become relieving the immense pressure on the French at Verdun.

The British Army that prepared for the attack was very different from the small professional force that had gone to France in 1914. It had expanded rapidly following Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers, and many of the men preparing to fight had relatively little experience of battle. For seven days before the attack, allied artillery pounded the German positions. More than 1.5 million shells were fired. It was hoped that the bombardment would destroy the German defences and cut the thick belts of barbed wire protecting their positions, but in many places those defences survived. German troops had deep dugouts in which to shelter, and when the bombardment lifted, they emerged to meet the attacking infantry.

So began those 141 days of fighting. Names that had once meant very little to people in Britain, and what would become the wider Commonwealth, became part of national memory: Beaumont-Hamel, Mametz, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Longueval, Courcelette and Thiepval. Today, anybody who visits the Somme discovers that those places are not simply names in a history book. The battlefield is marked by cemeteries and memorials, many standing on or close to the ground over which those men fought and died.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates 1.7 million casualties of the two world wars in more than 150 countries. Of those, 140,000 died in France during those bloody months of the battle of the Somme. Around 61,700 have an identified grave, while approximately 78,950 are commemorated by name on memorials to the missing. Commonwealth casualties from the battle lie in more than 400 cemeteries across the region.

I should declare an interest: Members who have heard me speak on this subject will know well that, before entering this House, I had the great privilege of working for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and I now chair the all-party parliamentary group for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and commemoration. That experience taught me something very simple: behind every one of these enormous figures is a name, and behind every name is a story. Every Member of this House will have many stories from their own constituency, and I want to put a few of the names from my South West Devon constituency on the record.

On 1 July, the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment were part of the attack south of Mametz village, which was behind German lines. Successfully taking the village and the surrounding woods, the battalions returned to Mametz to bury their dead in a section of their old frontline trench. Now known as the Devonshire cemetery, the site contains 163 Commonwealth burials from the first world war. There lies Private Thomas Collings of Sparkwell, Plympton, killed on the first day of battle. Sadly, I am yet to visit the cemetery, but it is famous for the inscription, “The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still.”

Acting Lance Corporal Robert John Antiss was born in Ivybridge and enlisted in Plymouth with the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Devonshires. He was killed in action in Ginchy on 6 September 1916, aged 25. Alongside him, and killed on the same day, was Private Martin John Damberell, known as Jack to his family and friends. Having lied about his age, Jack was only 17. His family in Ivybridge received the news that he was missing, but it was not until a year later that it was confirmed he had been killed. Both men are buried and commemorated at Delville Wood cemetery in Longueval.

It is particularly appropriate that we should be holding this debate here, though, because the losses of the Somme reached into Parliament. Thomas Michael Kettle had served as the Member of Parliament for East Tyrone between 1906 and 1910. In 1916, he was serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. He was killed on 9 September 1916, aged just 36. He has no known grave, and his name is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial. Gerald Archibald Arbuthnot was, as part of a long political career, MP for Burnley for nine months in 1910. He was unfortunately killed on 25 September 1916.

Reginald Lanchbery worked in the other place as a Clerk in the Journal Office. He went to war with the Black Watch and died on 17 July 1916. Unlike Kettle, he has a known grave, at La Neuville British cemetery near Corbie. Reginald William Garton was the youngest son of an officer of the House of Commons. He was a lieutenant in the 11th South Lancashire Regiment, and was killed on 1 July. He is another one commemorated by name at Thiepval memorial.

Evelyn Walter James Johnson was the only son of a House of Commons Doorkeeper. A second lieutenant in the Bedfordshire Regiment, he was just 19 years old when he died of wounds later that month. Walter Ker Sanderson had worked in the Vote Office at the House of Commons. He served with the Border Regiment and was killed on the opening day of the battle, aged 34. He, too, is commemorated at Thiepval.

The consequences of the battle had an impact on those at the very highest political levels. The then Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, knew personally what thousands of parents across Britain were experiencing. His eldest son, Raymond Asquith, was killed during the battle and today lies at Guillemont Road cemetery.

One hundred and ten years later, those individual stories, just a few, help us to understand the numbers. Men from all different backgrounds, different ranks and different circumstances were all drawn into the same battle.

The Somme was not simply a British story. Men came from across Britain and Ireland and from across the empire. Australians, Canadians, Indians, Newfoundlanders, New Zealanders and South Africans took part. The British West Indies Regiment was represented, and men from Bermuda and Southern Rhodesia also served.

That international dimension can still be seen in the landscape. At Beaumont-Hamel, the Newfoundland memorial stands on the ground where the Newfoundland Regiment suffered devastating losses on 1 July. The memorial commemorates all 821 Newfoundland servicemen of the first world war who have no known grave. Perhaps nowhere is the scale of the battle more apparent than at Thiepval. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1932, the Thiepval memorial bears the names of more than 72,000 soldiers of the British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector and have no known grave. Around 90% of them died during the 1916 battle. Beside it lie 300 Commonwealth and 300 French servicemen in the Anglo-French cemetery, deliberately placed together as a permanent symbol of the alliance in which they fought.

Some may ask why Parliament should debate a battle 110 years after it took place. There are now no surviving veterans of the first world war to listen to our words, and those who fought at the Somme have passed well beyond living memory, as have most of their children. However, that makes our responsibility greater, not smaller. For a century, remembrance could be sustained by people who had been there, and then by the children and families who had listened directly to their stories, but, increasingly, we are the custodians of that memory. Our task is not to glorify war—anyone who stands among the graves of the Somme could scarcely do that—but to understand its cost.

In a previous debate, I spoke about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s work in encouraging families and historians to tell the stories behind those it commemorates, and that is something I feel particularly strongly about. A headstone gives us a name, a rank, a regiment and a date, but research can give us back the individual. It can tell us who their parents were, what job they did, where they lived, who they loved and what they left behind. One hundred and ten years later, we cannot know all their stories, but we can ensure that their names endure, that the places in which they rest are cared for and that future generations understand the extraordinary human cost concealed within two simple words: the Somme.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

The hon. Lady is making a powerful and moving speech. I can remember being a child at high school and going on a trip to world war one battlefields. My little sister, who is 15, has never had that opportunity. Does the hon. Lady agree that we should do more to ensure that the memory lives on, by making sure that our children, grandchildren and future generations get the same opportunities to understand what happened at the Somme and throughout the world war?

[Rebecca Smith]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman 100%. I did not get to visit a cemetery site when I was young either, so I appreciate the situation his sister is in, but I got to when I was working for the commission. I pay tribute to my former colleagues, the public engagement co-ordinators at the commission, who go out to schools right across the country to ensure that the next generation can understand and hear some of these stories.

Ukraine and Russia

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is right to link those two issues, which we have heard about from Members across the House. I can assure him that, particularly through the UDCG, and through our bilateral conversations, we will continue to do whatever we can to liberate frozen Russian assets and put them in Ukrainian hands to fight for Ukrainian freedom.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his place and support the statement he has made. I would like to press him a bit further on the point from my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) about turning off the taps on the Russian war machine when it comes to funding. Earlier in this Parliament, I raised the issue of cultural exports such as the likes of “Masha and the Bear” and how that was directly contributing to the Russian war machine. Ukraine has now sanctioned “Masha and the Bear”, but it is still on ITVX and Netflix in the UK. Will he work with Cabinet colleagues to look at how we can tackle the ways in which Russia finances its war?

[Wes Streeting]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that example. I know that my colleagues across Cabinet are willing for people to do more through their Departments to support Ukraine. I will certainly pick that issue up.

Support for Disabled Veterans

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Jarvis]

I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for her intervention. I will come to that point later.

During Mark’s time abroad, he paid UK taxes, and he is now back in the UK permanently, yet he has been blocked from accessing continuous care and financial support because of the residency criteria. The emotional toll on Mark and his family has been enormous. They have been forced to sell their home of more than 20 years. In his words,

“I fought for this country. I’ve paid my taxes all my life. And now because I was abroad for 18 months I am made to suffer. I feel deserted, unwanted…abandoned. It’s devastating”.

I am sure the Minister will agree that this is an appalling way to treat a veteran. The armed forces covenant states that members of the armed forces community should be treated with dignity and respect, but in this case, as in so many others, that simply is not happening.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

The armed forces covenant all too often does not live up to what people expect. I have a constituent who has struggled to access housing suitable for his needs. He has two children, but because he suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder and wakes up in the night with night terrors, the children are not able to stay with him. Does my hon. Friend agree that when it comes to housing, we need to do much more to support those who have served?

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

8. What steps he is taking to improve recruitment and retention in the armed forces.

[Mr Speaker]

Minister, welcome.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Louise Sandher-Jones)]

It is a huge honour to be here, and I am very honoured.

We inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention. This Government are renewing the contract with those who serve by giving them the largest pay rise in 20 years, allocating an extra £1.5 billion to fix forces housing and establishing a new Armed Forces Commissioner. It is clear that our actions are having an effect. On recruitment, inflow continues to improve and is up 13% year on year, and applications to join the armed forces and intakes to basic training both remain high. On retention, morale had been falling year on year with more people leaving than joining, but we have started to reverse that decline, with an 11% reduction in outflow year on year.

[Tom Gordon]

I welcome the Minister to her place. Over the past year I have had the privilege of taking part in the armed forces parliamentary scheme, and have met people across the United Kingdom and beyond. One of the issues that arises when it comes to retention is that of the families of overseas workers in the armed forces. They have no access to work opportunities, and there are no specific visas or agreements with other countries where our armed forces are based, which means that they must often take pay cuts or not relocate with their partners in the forces. Will the Minister think about what we can do to support armed forces workers overseas?

[Louise Sandher-Jones]

I have served overseas and observed this issue at first hand. Discussions with the Cabinet Office are ongoing, and I hope to update the hon. Member in due course.

UK Military Base Protection

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

The Foreign Secretary was very clear, when he was at the Dispatch Box for his statement earlier, that the UK and the US share the same long-term ambition to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Let me associate myself with the remarks about Armed Forces Week from Members across the House and the condemnation of the escalation of the situation in the middle east. Is the Minister able to explain to me if there will be any additional security measures at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, given the unique nature of what is happening there?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the college at Harrogate. It is a really important part of the defence family and I know that the Minister for Veterans and People, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), who is sat next to me on the Front Bench, takes an especially keen interest in the affairs of Harrogate. As the review is conducted and we see what lessons can be learnt from the incident at Brize Norton, we will be taking measures possibly at all military installations, including training establishments across the country if that is suitable. But I am certain that the Minister for Veterans would welcome a further conversation with the hon. Gentleman in relation to Harrogate in particular.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)]

3. What steps he is taking to ensure that veterans receive adequate support after leaving the armed forces.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

19. What steps he is taking to ensure that veterans receive adequate support after leaving the armed forces.

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

I have always said that we train people to join the military and to be in the military, but we do not necessarily train them to be a civilian after they leave. That is why this Government have taken swift action to support veterans upon leaving. Last month I launched Operation Ascend, which will help veterans thrive into post-service careers. Our hugely successful career transition partnership has now seen 88% of all veterans leaving straight into employment since October. We have extended national insurance contributions relief from April 2026 for employers who recruit veterans. On top of that, this Government have awarded £3.7 million in veterans housing grants. I am a firm believer that over the past 14 years we did not take enough responsibility for supporting our veterans, and plans that we will unveil in the future will take a step in the right direction to improving that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Al Carns]

I thank all the people, most of whom are probably volunteers, who are supporting veterans in the hon. Member’s constituency. Two days ago I visited another tri-service veterans hub that is delivering, I think, exactly the same types of services. We often find that while there is a great deal support out there, it is difficult for veterans to navigate the process of finding the right place, and we are working on plans to help them with that.

[Tom Gordon]

Harrogate is a proud armed forces town and the location of the Army Foundation College, and Menwith Hill and Catterick are nearby. North Yorkshire as a whole plays an important part for our armed forces. Veterans in my constituency have told me that they often move back there after postings throughout their careers, but they then have problems accessing housing through the local authority. What conversations is the Minister having with local government colleagues to ensure that local authorities have a better understanding of how to listen to what veterans say about the adaptations they need?

[Al Carns]

As the hon. Member knows very well, access to social and affordable housing is a severe problem across the country. We work with many councils, explaining to them the covenant as a whole and the need for veterans to be fast-tracked. Op Fortitude is a prime example: there have been 3,000 referrals, and 825 veterans have been put into housing in a relatively short time. I would like to connect the hon. Member with that operation to ensure that we can point any veterans who need such support in the right direction.