Liam Conlon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Mar 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that it is really important that we make participating in democracy as easy as possible? There is an inextricable link between high levels of deprivation and low levels of registration, and it is really important that we do all we can to make it as easy as possible and remove the barriers.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Admiral Casino on Westow Hill · Hansard source

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  Twenty-four hour gambling centres target the most vulnerable in our communities, fuel antisocial behaviour and damage the character and identity of a local area. They also harm local businesses and contribute to the decline of our high streets. That is why I am proud to present this petition on behalf of my constituents in Beckenham and Penge, including Crystal Palace and Anerley, and the local Labour councillors Ruth McGregor and Ryan Thomson, who stand firmly against the application to open a 24-hour gambling casino on Westow Hill in Crystal Palace. The petitioners request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage the Conservative-run council to ensure that Admiral Casino on Westow Hill in Crystal Palace is not granted a 24-hour licence. The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of Beckenham and Penge, Declares that a 24-hours licence for Admiral Casino on Westow Hill in Crystal Palace would damage the character of the area, fuel anti-social behaviour and increase gambling harms for vulnerable people. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Croydon Council to ensure that Admiral Casino on Westow Hill in Crystal Palace is not granted a 24-hours licence. And the petitioners remain, etc. [P003165]

• 24 Feb 2026 · EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK · Hansard source

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  That is something the Government are looking at, and I would welcome the Minister’s response. This week, I have had the pleasure of being joined by two university students from Beckenham and Penge, Zoe and Isaac, who are in the Public Gallery today. I asked them what Brexit has meant for them in practical terms. Zoe said that although her course offers a year abroad, which is something she has always wanted to do, it is now implausible for her to go because of how expensive it has become given increased mobility, visa and administrative costs. Likewise, Isaac would like to study in the EU after he graduates or to work abroad, but current restrictions mean he is unlikely to be able to do so. I therefore welcome the Government’s steps to address some of these issues through plans to rejoin the Erasmus scheme in 2027 or indeed through the EU-UK youth mobility scheme, which would give those aged 18 to 35 the chance to study and work for up to four years abroad. Will the Minister tell us how quickly that will be rolled out?

• 24 Feb 2026 · EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I was going to talk about business, trade and many other factors, but let me focus my remarks on young people. When I go to schools and speak to young people across Beckenham and Penge, they describe the significant impact Brexit has had on them. Young people in my constituency and across the country continue to face the brunt of such a consequential decision that they had no say in whatsoever. In January last year, YouGov found that over 75% of 18 to 24-year-olds thought Brexit was a mistake. Behind that percentage are real people whose aspirations and ambitions are being held back.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  An application was made recently for a 24-hour gambling casino in Crystal Palace. I, along with Labour councillors, my right hon. Friend the Member for Streatham and Croydon North (Steve Reed) and over 1,000 local residents, oppose this predatory operator opening. Will the Minister join me in calling on the Conservative-run council to listen to residents and block the application?

• 12 Feb 2026 · LGBT+ History Month · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for celebrating and acknowledging the contributions that other Members have made. Graham and Vinny, from Kings Hall Road in Beckenham and Penge, hold a Pride street party every summer, and it gets bigger and bigger every year. Among the entertainment this year, they had the London Gay Men’s Chorus and several cardboard cut-outs of Kylie Minogue, and well over 1,000 people attended. As well as being a day of fun, I believe that it sends a really powerful and important message of tolerance and inclusion. Does the Minister agree?

• 12 Feb 2026 · LGBT+ History Month · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for making that point. When we talk about issues of trans rights, it is so important to consider the very real trans people behind the statistics and arguments. Last year, I met my constituent Hannah, a trans woman, to discuss her experience of transitioning. She told me about the very real impact that the erosion of trans rights would have on her, including the indignity, shame and difficulty it would bring, yet too often, voices such as hers are shut out of our conversation in favour of those who can shout the loudest. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to find mechanisms for voices such as Hannah’s to be given the prominence they rightfully deserve in this conversation, so that all our trans constituents can continue to live dignified lives?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Pharmacy First: Withholding Payments · Hansard source

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  My constituent Raj Matharu runs the brilliant Westchem pharmacy in West Wickham, is CEO of Community Pharmacy South East London, and last year was shortlisted for community pharmacist of the year. I have heard from residents across West Wickham how his pharmacy provides trusted and frictionless access to healthcare and advice across a range of issues. Pharmacy First can both provide a quicker, easier service for patients and relieve pressure on primary care. What support have the Government put in place for community pharmacies, especially in relation to funding?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Next week will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Graham Murray, who tragically lost his life aged just 34 following a road traffic accident. Graham was a stalwart of Beckenham rugby club in my constituency, collecting nearly 150 caps, two titles and a promotion. He was also a beloved friend and family man, and I know that this first anniversary will be a difficult time for many of those close to him, especially his wife Aisling, and their children, Tadhg and Croia, as well as everyone at Beckenham rugby club. At their next home game, Beckenham will remember Graham with a minute’s applause, and some of his close friends will travel to Cork to be with his family. Will the Leader of the House join me in sending condolences to Graham’s family and all those who knew him, and in commending Beckenham rugby club for bringing people together, and for the vital role it plays in our Beckenham community?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Onshoring: Fashion and Textiles · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes fantastic points. The importance of sustainability and the environmental impact of offshored fashion extend into the whole life cycle of our clothes. One of the first meetings I had upon being elected was with Chris Carey’s Collections, a textile recycler in my constituency of Beckenham and Penge, which told me how the widescale proliferation of cheap, imported fast-fashion products with low-quality fabrics was leading to huge declines in its recycling rates and condemning more and more clothes to landfill. Does my hon. Friend agree that when evaluating the feasibility of onshoring, we should consider the whole life cycle of our clothes?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Genocide Risk Assessment · Hansard source

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  From working with the Norwegian Refugee Council, including my constituent Amelia Rule—who is its head of shelter and settlements—I know the vital work that charity is doing. As my hon. Friend has said, though, in January it was banned from operating in Gaza, along with 36 other NGOs and aid organisations. This move is plainly an attempt by the Israeli Government to circumvent international institutions and accountability. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government and the international community should attempt to use all their influence and leverage to push for that ban to be rescinded, so that aid organisations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council can continue their lifesaving work?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Leo Barber from Beckenham tragically took his own life in November 2023, aged just 16, after suffering months of poor mental health. The recent inquest into Leo’s death found that he had been failed by multiple agencies, but that his mental health issues were also linked to screen use and exposure to harmful content online. Leo’s parents, Jo and Chris, have spoken devastatingly about the difficulties families face in protecting vulnerable young people in an online environment that is insufficiently regulated and characterised by addictive features, such as infinite scrolling and forums promoting suicide. Will the Leader of the House join me in welcoming the Government’s recent action to ban smartphones in classrooms, and their consultation on young people’s use of social media, including a possible ban for under-16s—important steps to keep young people safe, and to hopefully prevent tragedies like Leo’s in the future?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Key Stage 1 Curriculum · Hansard source

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  My constituent Julia has been a teacher for more than 20 years. She wrote to me to share the benefits of play-based learning for children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. Given the increasing prevalence of cognitive and language disorders in young children, it is really important that we get this right. Does my hon. Friend agree that, when assessing the benefits of play-based learning, we should carefully consider the experience of teachers, as well as all the academic evidence available?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Melvin Hall community centre has served the community of Penge for over 50 years and was home to incredible community initiatives and charities, such as the Beckenham and Penge Gateway Club, which supports adults with learning disabilities and their families. Sadly, just before Christmas, Melvin Hall closed after Conservative-run Bromley council imposed unjust and unaffordable rent hikes. Along with the fantastic Labour councillors in Penge and over a thousand people from across our community who have signed my petition, I am fighting to save Melvin Hall and keep it in community hands. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on Tory-run Bromley council to ensure that Melvin Hall remains a community space, and thanking everyone who has supported the campaign so far?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Railways Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  As it says in my entry in the register, I am a member of the unions ASLEF, Unison and GMB. [ Official Report, 3 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 2WC.] (Correction)

• 12 Jan 2026 · Social Housing: Damp and Mould · Hansard source

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  Social housing disrepair and neglect is one of the most common issues in my inbox, particularly in Penge, Crystal Palace and Anerley. In one case, a mum in Penge saw her two children develop breathing problems and be forced on to inhalers due to persistent damp and mould. We know that the health impacts of mould can take hold quickly, so can the Secretary of State set out the steps his Department is taking to guarantee the right of social housing tenants to immediate action in such cases, ensuring that the suffering of my constituent and her children is not repeated?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Social Housing: Damp and Mould · Hansard source

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  14. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle damp and mould in social housing.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Support for NHS Patients · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his response. When I was in sixth form at the end of the last Labour Government, I became one of the youngest people in Britain to have a hip replacement. I will always be grateful to the incredible NHS staff who cared for me. But between 2011 and 2024, because of savage Tory cuts, the waiting list for hip replacements at King’s College hospital trust, which serves my constituency of Beckenham and Penge, more than doubled. The Tories left thousands of people waiting months on end, but thanks to record investment from this Labour Government, those waiting lists are starting to fall. Will the Minister commit to continuing that investment in the NHS?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Support for NHS Patients · Hansard source

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  10. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support patients in the NHS.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Barker. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is an important piece of legislation for this Government. Among other things, it will drive higher standards in our schools, put more qualified teachers at the front of classrooms, bring down the cost of uniforms for families and create a new duty to establish multi-agency child protection teams. It is right that the Government are looking to implement the Bill, including all the measures around home educating. I will talk about two things in particular: first, the provisions for children who find themselves between hospital, home and school; and secondly, home educating. I speak not only as an MP on behalf of constituents, but as someone with vast personal experience of educational interruption and learning in non-traditional settings. When I was 13, the day after we broke up for the summer holidays in year 8, I had a freak accident in which I shattered my right hip and did irreversible damage to my back. From that point on, I did not walk for four of my teenage years, and I did not have a full year at school from years 9 to 12. Instead I received a mixture of home education, teaching at the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel in east London and school. When I eventually did return to school, I went back a year, which was not a great experience and was a reminder of why people do not want to wind up in the year below. I know that learning in non-traditional settings does not need to hold children back. There are challenges in delivery, despite the hard work that staff and parents put in, but these can be overcome. Having returned recently to the Royal London, I have seen the progress made in the provision of home education and education on the wards, overcoming many of these challenges. Children are now taught by a dedicated hospital school, with three onsite classrooms at the Royal London, strong provision of information and communication technology and partnerships with organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Portrait Gallery. This morning, before I came to Parliament, I had the pleasure of visiting the Bethlem Royal hospital in my constituency, which is the world’s oldest psychiatric institution, founded in 1247. It has a thriving hospital school that I have had the pleasure of visiting many times. I have also visited hospital schools at King’s and the Princess Royal University hospital, which serve my constituents. I have raised this with the Minister before, and I know she is dedicated and committed to it: we must make sure we reflect the experiences of children who find themselves between multiple settings—hospital, school and home. Often, that can be done in parallel. I can remember being in hospital one week, at home the following week and in school the next. There are challenges in delivering that. However, I hope this Bill will reflect on that, and I know that Minister is very committed to that. I also want to touch on the importance of home educated learning. Given my experience of home education at times, I have been pleased to engage with home educating families in my constituency. That has included individual surgeries with parents and a roundtable with parents and students during UK Parliament Week, which included dozens of families and children—I told Corin, Adelaide, Peter, Harper, Paige and Addison that I would mention them today. Addison is here in the Gallery today with his mother, Penny. During these interactions, parents, as well as children such as Addison, have carefully laid out their concerns with the Bill, including issues around the right to remove a child from school, what constitutes a “suitable education” under the Bill and the administrative burden that the Bill could place on parents. Today, I wish to bring those to the attention of the Minister. First, under the Bill, removing a child from school would create a requirement for local authority consent before placing children in a special school or for those on a child protection plan to be removed from school. The local authority must consider the child’s best interests in that decision. Some children in special schools require complex, specialised care, and so it is right that local authorities ensure they would be best served by being home educated. However, parents are concerned about how local authorities, many of which are stretched thin and have let down parents before, will interpret this requirement. In Bromley, we have a Conservative-run council with some of the highest waiting lists for EHCPs in the country, and I can understand why parents who have tried to interact with that council before would have concerns about it having authority over whether they can remove their child from school. My second point is on the definition of what constitutes a “suitable education”. The Bill requires local authorities to issue school attendance orders in cases where it appears that a child may not be receiving a suitable education. We know that children learn differently. Take Addison, my constituent here today. He is certainly learning through attending this debate, but his family may worry that activities such as this will not be classified as contributing towards a suitable education. That is a particular concern for some children with SEND, who may struggle to learn in a traditional setting but thrive in other contexts. Our approach to education and what we define as being suitable must account for this. My final point on this Bill is its potential administrative burden, something I have raised previously in education oral questions—I thanked the schools Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), for his reassurance then. Many parents worry that they will have to submit large volumes of data as a result of the Bill. The way the Bill requires data to be collected does not square with the realities of home education. Will the Minister reconfirm that it will not be a requirement of the Bill for families like Penny and Addison to report on things such as accounting for Scouts groups in the evening or football activities—things that we would not ask other families to do? I know that has been said in the House previously, but that reconfirmation would be great. I would like to touch on solutions and conclusions, and I hope that the concerns I have raised will be taken into consideration. In particular, on all sides of the House we need to do a lot more work and thinking about how we support the tens of thousands of children who find themselves between hospital and school every single year, and the inequalities and disparities between some hospitals that have lots of resources—such as Great Ormond Street hospital, the Royal National Orthopaedic hospital and the Royal London, where I was—and other hospitals across the country. It is also my belief that none of the issues with the Bill that I have raised today represent innate, fundamental flaws in its logic. Instead, they represent risks in the implementation. There are risks that I, as well as organisations representing SEND and home ed parents, believe can be mitigated through minor changes and strong statutory guidance that considers the concerns of parents. Importantly, the statutory guidance must account for the plethora of different situations that local authorities find themselves in when it comes to SEND, and the different approaches that they may attempt to take. If we are successful in doing this, we can ensure that all children are protected while properly preserving the rights of those who wish to home educate their children, such as those dedicated parents I have in my constituency.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that what has not been conducive to education and preparing children for the best start in life, as I have heard from primary school teachers across my constituency, is the decimation of Sure Start, which provided children with the best start in life?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Families in Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

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  11. What steps he is taking to help reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Families in Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

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  The number of people in temporary accommodation in my constituency soared during the last 14 years. Hundreds of families in Beckenham and Penge are stuck in unsuitable accommodation for months and years on end, and one in 50 Londoners are now living in temporary accommodation. From speaking to fantastic local charities such as Living Well, as well as local schools and NHS staff, I know that the housing crisis left by the last Conservative Government is also a leading driver of deprivation and inequality. Will the Minister set out what her Department is doing to address that?

• 18 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill · Hansard source

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  May I start by thanking the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) for his thoughtful contribution? Ever since the Northern Ireland legacy Bill was introduced by the previous Government in 2019, thousands of innocent victims’ families have waited to see this day. Of the many reckless things the Conservatives did to our relationship with Northern Ireland in their 14 years in government, I struggle to think of a more egregious example than that legislation. It was a direct attack on the Good Friday agreement, it undermined accountability and the rule of law, and it has caused significant pain to thousands of victims’ families. Indeed, in the bringing forward of that Bill, there was no consultation with any victims’ groups or families. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat) referenced the South African truth and reconciliation commission, but a key difference is that that commission put families’ and victims’ voices at its centre. For people across Northern Ireland, the legacy of the troubles is not a chapter in history, but something carried in every family and community to the present day. I know this from my own family. I am a relative of Father Hugh Mullan, one of 11 innocent victims of the Ballymurphy massacre, which took place in 1971—one of the worst atrocities of the troubles. Hugh was a Catholic priest, and was trying to help another victim and offer the last rites when he was shot and killed unlawfully by a member of the Parachute Regiment. He was shot first in the abdomen, and then again in the back as he lay on the ground. What is often missed in discussions of troubles-related cases is that what followed often compounded families’ grief. Hugh was labelled as a gunrunner, and there were attempts to smear him that could not have been further from the truth, but it would take 50 years for the words “entirely innocent” to appear on public record in a ruling by Mrs Justice Keegan. I have had the pleasure of working with victims’ groups right across Northern Ireland, on a cross-community basis, and I want to remark on the words of Sandra Peake, the chief executive officer of the Wave Trauma Centre, a fantastic cross-community charity. Sandra said: “Whatever the previous Government’s intention the result would have been that terrorists who carried out the most egregious crimes imaginable would be able to walk free if they told their story to ‘the best of their knowledge and belief’. They could say that they stabbed John Molloy, an 18 year old, in a frenzied attack, leaving him to bleed to death yards from his home because he was a Catholic. And the state would say, “Thank you and we’ll say no more about it”. A witness saw them laughing and dancing down the road after they murdered John. Thanks to the Legacy Act, they would still be laughing and dancing. What John’s parents, Linda and Pat, were being told”— by the previous Government— “was that they should grieve in private while the evil perpetrators could celebrate in public. And this in the name of ‘reconciliation’.” I have met many victims’ families, and they are some of the best people I have met. In the face of unimaginable trauma, they have led campaigns for justice with immense courage and dignity. They are motivated not by revenge or retribution, but by their love for their relatives and their determination to secure truth and justice. The legacy Act introduced by the last Government denied them all those things, and did so without consulting them. I will finish with the words of Michael O’Hare, brother to 12-year old Majella, who was shot by a solider in south Armagh on her way to church one morning in 1976. I am pleased to see Michael in the Gallery today. He has said: “This is an important day for families like ours, who thought we’d seen the door closed forever on these cases. Majella was just an innocent little girl who didn’t deserve to be gunned down when walking along the road with her friends. We deserve truth and accountability. It’s a huge relief that that is now a possibility again, even if we’ve had to wait half a century. It’s never too late to do the right thing”. Today is about doing the right thing. It is a step forward, and I thank the Secretary of State for all his work, as well as every victims’ group that has been part of bringing forward this Bill.