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Category: Speeches

  • Paul Davies – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    Paul Davies – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    The speech made by Paul Davies, the Labour MP for Colne Valley, in Westminster Hall on 6 January 2026.

    Forty-seven per cent of cancers diagnosed in the UK are rare and less common cancers, and 55% of deaths are from rare and less common cancers. That means that, every year, around 180,000 people will be diagnosed with a rare and less common cancer, and more than 92,000 people will die from such cancers. Blood cancer is one such cancer, and I recently met the Blood Cancer Alliance to discuss improving access to lifesaving blood cancer treatments across the UK. Over 280,000 people in the UK are living with blood cancer, and every year 40,000 more receive a diagnosis, including 5,000 children. It is the fifth most common cancer, the most prevalent childhood cancer and the third biggest cancer killer in our country. However, despite amazing advances in tech and treatment, our outcomes are falling behind in the nations.

    The reason is clear: systemic barriers within the NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal processes are preventing patients from accessing innovative therapies. Between 2019 and 2025, over a third of NICE appraisals for new blood cancer treatments were terminated—more than double the rate for other cancers. Those are not ineffective drugs; many are available overseas, and even privately in the UK. That creates a two-tier system in which those who can pay receive better care than those who cannot. It is unacceptable. I have been told that treatments such as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy can transform lives, extending survival and improving quality of life.

    The current system, with rigid cost-effectiveness thresholds and inflexible commercial frameworks, is failing patients. That is why I warmly welcome the UK Government’s cancer plan, which represents a vital opportunity to reset our approach to cancer care and to ensure that innovation is embraced, not obstructed. By prioritising timely access to effective treatments and addressing systemic barriers, the cancer plan can help deliver world-class outcomes for patients.

    I stand with the Blood Cancer Alliance and Cancer52 in calling for urgent, joined-up action from Government, NICE, the NHS and industry. Together we can ensure that every person with blood cancer has timely access to the best possible care, because survival should never depend on postcode or income.

  • Vikki Slade – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    Vikki Slade – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    The speech made by Vikki Slade, the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, in Westminster Hall on 6 January 2026.

    I thank the hon. Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) for that really moving account. We know that cancer affects us all. In my family it claimed my mum Lin; my sister-in-law Lisa and my stepmum Sally have both beaten it, and now my dad Ray is living with terminal cancer. One of my team is also undergoing treatment for cancer, so we know that it is prevalent among all our lives. All of them were fit, healthy people who did everything right, as are so many others each year who get the horrible news or—worse—turn up in A&E after becoming suddenly unwell. According to a Cancer Research study, many of those patients had visited their GP but had not been referred for tests, either because they did not meet the thresholds or because they had been missed altogether. This is not a criticism of our GPs, who are working in highly difficult situations. Indeed, when I shadowed Dr Wright from Walford Mill surgery in Wimborne, he had the sober task of sharing a diagnosis and undertaking a very personal test during his appointment, which he let me witness.

    If diagnosis doubled across the six least survivable cancers alone, an additional 7,500 lives a year would be saved. Each year in my constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole, there are 540 diagnoses of cancer and 300 cancer deaths. Although 85% of them should be starting treatment within 62 days, the number is actually only 60%. What is the Minister doing to bridge that gap? If we met the target in my constituency, 70 additional people would be getting on with their lives. Across the country, 45,000 additional people would be given a greater chance of not just surviving but having a life shared with those they love.

    Furthermore, once they get to hospital, patients are faced with out-of-date machinery and not enough specialist nurses. Macmillan Cancer Support says there is an acute shortage and calls for a cancer nurse fund to increase the numbers by 3,700. Will the future cancer strategy include such funding?

    I want to speak briefly about pancreatic cancer, which claimed the life of my cousin Colin, a super-fit former Welsh Commonwealth games cyclist who died in his 50s despite the best care available. Many other constituents have written to me about poor prognosis for this treatment. They have flagged that the NHS has approved selective internal radiation therapy, but only for colorectal and liver cancers—not those whose primary cancer was in the pancreas and then spread to the liver. These families are keen for urgent trials to be undertaken to allow the treatment to be used, given the incredibly short life expectancy faced by patients. Will the Minister consider that?

    We have been waiting such a long time for this cancer strategy. We need the workforce plan and the road map for the NHS plan. Nine hundred and fifty people will be diagnosed with cancer today, and those people need hope.

  • Patrick Hurley – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    Patrick Hurley – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    The speech made by Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport, in Westminster Hall on 6 January 2026.

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Week is an important marker in the calendar, but I want to talk about another important marker when it comes to these cancers—one that is important for me and my family anyway—because this year marks 20 years since I was made unavoidably aware of the devastation of oesophageal cancer. In May of that year, my father developed the classic symptoms: difficulty swallowing, feeling like food was getting stuck, heartburn and weight loss. He was diagnosed in August and died on 23 December: from becoming symptomatic to losing his life was just seven months. The rapidity of the decline was overwhelming. Barely had he been diagnosed than he was given a terminal diagnosis. I must admit, though, that I was not giving my father my full attention during that time. In almost any other circumstances I would have been a much more dutiful son, but my own focus was elsewhere that year. On 1 August 2006, my wife Susan also became symptomatic with oesophageal cancer. She was diagnosed on 11 September and died on 14 November.

    The speed with which I read that sentence reflects the speed with which Sue died. There was barely any chance to understand what was happening, to seek help or for the family to manage. That is not unusual with these sorts of diseases. It is the sort of story that thousands of us know. Crucially, for my Southport constituency, it is also a story that disproportionately impacts people from the north-west and from north Wales. For my family, there was not any long fight or slow decline—only shock, confusion, urgent decisions and death. That is what a less survivable cancer looks like.

    May I make a clear ask of the Minister today? I am asking for a personal commitment, and a commitment across Government, to drive up survival rates for all these less survivable cancers, but most urgently—for my personal history and for the geographical distribution that shows that my part of the country has higher levels than elsewhere in the UK—for oesophageal cancer. That could mean things such as early diagnosis, recognising that one size fits all does not work. It could mean fast-track treatment pathways once suspicion is raised. Above all else, it should include serious investment in experimental and pre-symptomatic techniques, finding ways to detect cancers before symptoms even appear. These are difficult cancers to deal with, and that is why they need targeted action. I am here today because two people I loved did not get the help they needed, so I urge the Government to help other families avoid that same fate.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on West Midlands Police and Football Policing Decision

    Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on West Midlands Police and Football Policing Decision

    The comments made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, on 6 January 2026.

    West Midlands Police capitulated to Islamists and then collaborated with them to cover it up.

    They knew extremists were planning to attack Jews for going to a football match, and their response was to blame and remove Jewish people instead. They presented an inversion of reality and misled a Parliamentary Committee.

    We have had enough of this in Britain.

    The Chief Constable’s position is untenable.

    The British Police serve the British public, not local sectarian interests.

  • Keir Starmer – 2026 Remarks after Coalition of the Willing Meeting

    Keir Starmer – 2026 Remarks after Coalition of the Willing Meeting

    The remarks made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 6 January 2026.

    It’s important that we are starting the year like this –  

    European and American allies, side-by-side with President Zelenskyy…  

    Standing for peace. 

    And we are closer to that goal than ever…  

    But the hardest yards are still ahead…  

    So we’re here today to keep driving that effort forward.  

    And we’ve had a very constructive meeting…  

    Which has built on the excellent progress made in negotiations over recent days and weeks.  

    The purpose of the Coalition of the Willing… 

    Is to help deliver a peace that can last –  

    And to work with the US to guarantee Ukraine’s security for the long term. 

    This work is now more advanced than ever.   

    Today’s joint declaration set that out in clear terms –  

    On top of that, and alongside President Zelenskyy and President Macron,  

    We went even further today.

    We signed a Declaration of Intent… 

    On the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. 

    This is a vital part of our iron-cast commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long term.  

    It paves the way for the legal framework… 

    Under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil –  

    Securing Ukraine’s skies and seas –  

    And regenerating Ukraine’s armed forces for the future. 

    We discussed these issues in detail today. 

    And so I can say that, following a ceasefire,  

    The UK and France will establish “military hubs” across Ukraine… 

    And build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment… 

    To support Ukraine’s defensive needs. 

    And with our Coalition partners,  

    We also have agreed significant further steps.  

    First, that we will participate in US-led monitoring and verification of any ceasefire. 

    Second, we will support the long-term provision of armaments for Ukraine’s defence. 

    And third, we will work towards binding commitments… 

    To support Ukraine in the case of a future armed attack by Russia. 

    This is all about building the practical foundations on which peace would rest. 

    But we can only get to a peace deal if Putin is ready to make compromises. 

    And so, we have to be frank –  

    For all Russia’s words…  

    Putin is not showing that he is ready for peace. 

    Over the last few weeks, we have seen the opposite: 

    Further horrific strikes on Ukraine… 

    Killing and wounding civilians… 

    And cutting off power from millions of people in the dead of winter. 

    His forces hit a hospital in Kyiv just yesterday.  

    And he has tried to distract from peace efforts with unfounded claims of attacks on his residence. 

    Now this only hardens our resolve.  

    We will continue to step up our support to Ukraine’s defence in 2026… 

    To ensure it gets the equipment and backing it needs to continue the fight. 

    And we will keep up the pressure on Russia… 

    Including further measures on the oil traders and Shadow Fleet operators funding Putin’s war chest.  

    We will continue these efforts until they come to the table in good faith… 

    And until we realise the goal that we all share – of a just and lasting peace. 

    Thank you, Emmanuel.

  • Siobhain McDonagh – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    Siobhain McDonagh – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    The speech made by Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, in Westminster Hall on 6 January 2026.

    I thank the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) for organising this debate. My purpose is to find a cure for glioblastoma brain tumours, the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, with a life expectancy from diagnosis of just nine months and a five-year survival rate of 5%. The only way to find a cure and improve outcomes for a cancer that has seen no improvement in 30 years is through drug trials.

    In the absence of commercial or charitable glioblastoma drug trials, we launched our own trial in memory of my late sister, Margaret, in July last year. The trial is being run by Dr Paul Mulholland, Europe’s leading consultant on glioblastoma, who is based at University College London. It will include 16 newly diagnosed patients at University College hospital. This is a pre-surgery immunotherapy trial focused on patients who have received no prior treatment. The drug is given before surgery, allowing the immune system to attack the tumour before it is removed.

    I am delighted to confirm that we have already recruited five patients and, while the trial remains at an early stage, we are encouraged by the early findings. This is only the start. This journey has proven extraordinarily difficult and has been possible only because of an alignment of factors that very few will ever encounter: access to one of Europe’s leading clinicians working from a major London teaching hospital, alongside a world-class university; a group of my sister’s friends who have campaigned tirelessly and raised more than £1 million in two years; and the engagement and backing of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to get the trial over the line.

    Our ambition is to establish 10 such trials using 10 different immunotherapy drugs, but ultimately our ability to raise money will end. How can Dr Mulholland apply for funding to support the programme of trials using repurposed immunotherapy drugs? Can the Minister’s team provide a written explanation and a link setting out how a bid can be made to the NIHR to access those funds? It is a straight question, and I would welcome a straight answer.

  • Steff Aquarone – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    Steff Aquarone – 2026 Speech on Less Survivable Cancers

    The speech made by Steff Aquarone, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, in Westminster Hall on 6 January 2026.

    I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) on securing the debate. He is a truly committed campaigner on cancer care.

    Over previous decades, we have managed to achieve great progress on cancer care and survival. Many cancers now have high survival rates and straightforward detection and treatment, and survivors live long and happy lives. However, that is not the case across the board, and the less survivable cancers are the prime examples. Survival rates remain stubbornly low, treatment rates are shockingly low and the situation facing someone who is diagnosed with a less survivable cancer is often unacceptable.

    I want to describe how these deadly cancers, and access to care for them, impact people in rural communities such as mine. Every day that such cancers go undetected reduces the likelihood of survival, but too many constituents either struggle to secure a GP appointment or have difficulty navigating our ailing transport system to attend one. Those who have been diagnosed and are receiving specialist treatment are likely to have to journey outside North Norfolk to Norfolk and Norwich University hospital, or to Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge.

    I warmly welcome the fact that Cromer hospital delivers chemotherapy to more than 30 patients a day in its new cancer centre, but there is still only one cancer treatment available within my constituency. Additionally, the loss of convalescence care beds in my area means that there are fewer opportunities for people to recover from major treatments closer to home.

    Looking to the future, I am pleased to see new diagnostic tools and treatment options being brought forward by talented researchers across the country. The revolutionary breath test for pancreatic and other less survivable cancers could be a real game changer. However, I have real concerns that when those new and revolutionary tools and treatments are rolled out, rural areas such as North Norfolk may wait longer to receive the benefits. I hope the Minister can reassure me that her Department is working to ensure that any newly approved treatments and diagnostic tools will be just as easily available in rural communities as they are in the big cities.

    I am grateful to all the charities that make up the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce for their hard work and advocacy for patients, survivors and loved ones who have felt overlooked for too long. They also do vital work in making us all aware of the symptoms we should watch out for, and when to speak to our GP if something does not seem right. I hope that as we come to Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Week, people in North Norfolk will take the time to learn the signs and symptoms, because when we catch these deadly cancers early, lives can be saved.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on the Chagos Islands

    Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Comments on the Chagos Islands

    The comments made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, on 5 January 2026.

    Last night the Conservatives defeated the Government four times over its Chagos surrender. Surrendering a vital military base weakens our security and costs £35bn.

    Britain must project strength. Only the Conservatives will stand up to hostile actors and for our national interest.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2026 Comments on Venezuela

    Bernard Jenkin – 2026 Comments on Venezuela

    The comments made by Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative MP for Harwich and North Essex, in the House of Commons on 5 January 2026.

    To those who still harbour illusions about an idealised world of international rules that will be abided by all, should we not just say, “Welcome to the real world, where might often proves to be right and we have to face the circumstances that we are in”? May I therefore give my support to the Government’s ambivalence, as supported by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, who also rightly criticised—it was all she disagreed with the Government about—the slow pace of rearmament? Will the Foreign Secretary avoid blowing up the bridges we have with the United States and use that influence? Does she not agree it really would be stupid to slag off President Trump now when we want to have influence over what he does next?

    Yvette Cooper

    Let me address some of the hon. Member’s bigger points about the international rules-based order and global power politics. He and I are old enough to have experience and reflections on the cold war, which was all about great power politics and difficulties. Alongside those big military global tensions, we had worked hard post the second world war to develop a rules-based order. This has been a part of global history for a long time: the tensions between how we maintain international law and an international rules-based order and how we engage with different competing interests, sometimes from some of the biggest countries in the world and sometimes from some of the smaller countries in the world who have particular power in particular areas.

    In terms of the UK’s approach, we continue to believe in the importance of a rules-based order and of such an international framework. We also engage with the world as it is—the world as we face it. We need to be able to do so and to be agile in responding to that.

  • Stella Creasy – 2026 Comments on Venezuela

    Stella Creasy – 2026 Comments on Venezuela

    The comments made by Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, in the House of Commons on 5 January 2026.

    The truth is, the warning signs that the rules-based order is at risk have been there for some time. In evidence to Congress during the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, the former White House adviser on Russia and Europe, Fiona Hill, claimed that an informal offer was made by Russia to withdraw its support for Venezuela in exchange for America withdrawing its support for Ukraine. In the light of these events, will the Foreign Secretary confirm that that specific allegation has been raised in her conversations with our American counterparts? What response has she had?

    Yvette Cooper

    We continue to have important discussions with the US about Ukraine and support for Ukraine. Many of those discussions have been about the security guarantees that the US would provide as part of a peace agreement for Ukraine. Those security guarantees involve the US providing that support, working with other European countries. That will continue to be a central objective of our foreign policy.