I receive a lot of standard emails that are pre-scripted by campaign websites and organisations. My team and I read and consider these emails carefully, but given the volume, I am not always able to reply to them individually. I will, however, post my response to issues raised here where I can.

Where it is of a wider public interest, I will also raise it with the relevant Minister and update this page accordingly once I have their response.

Situation in Gaza

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about Gaza. This is an issue I continue to follow closely and raise with urgency.

I have condemned Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023 without reservation. I have equally been clear that the Israeli Government's conduct in Gaza has breached international law, and that the UK must not be complicit in that through arms exports or political silence.

A ceasefire framework was agreed in October 2025, and I welcome the UK's recognition of Palestine that followed. But a ceasefire is not peace. Reconstruction has barely begun, aid flows remain dangerously inadequate, and settlement expansion on the West Bank continues. The work is far from over.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently called for: a full arms embargo on Israel; recognition of Palestine; an immediate and substantial increase in humanitarian aid; and a pathway to a genuine two-state solution. I back all of those calls, and I will continue to raise them in Parliament.

Breast Cancer

I know all too well the devastating impact of breast cancer, not least because my colleague, Clive Jones MP, has faced it himself.

Sadly, the UK is already lagging behind other countries in survival rates for many cancers. Too often, people are losing their lives because treatment comes too late. That has to change.

In April 2026, I joined a constituent at the Lobular Moon Shot Project's silent vigil outside Downing Street, calling on the Government to fund a £20 million research programme into lobular breast cancer, a disease that rarely shows on a mammogram and has no specific treatment. I support that call, and I have written to the Secretary of State urging faster access to new treatments.

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Miscarriage Care

The three-miscarriage wait is not good medicine. There is no clinical logic in asking families to suffer further losses before the NHS offers tests and support that might prevent them.

New research from Tommy's, published in April 2026, shows their Graded Model of Care could prevent over 10,000 miscarriages a year across the UK. I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ask for an update on plans to implement it across England.

NHS Dentistry

Too many people in West Berkshire cannot get an NHS dentist. I hear this regularly from constituents, people in pain, unable to get an appointment or afford private care.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the broken NHS dental contract to be fixed and dental deserts ended. I have raised this in Parliament and will keep pressing the Government to treat it as the crisis it is.

Migrant Care Workers / Fair Visa Campaign

Workers recruited to fill gaps in our care sector should not face deportation for speaking up about poor conditions. The current employer-tied visa system enables exploitation, and it must change.

I support a sector-wide sponsorship scheme and oppose any retrospective extension of the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. The Liberal Democrats have been clear on this. I will continue to press the Government for fair treatment of the workers our care system depends on.

Palantir and the NHS Federated Data Platform

A £330 million contract with a company co-founded by a Trump-aligned billionaire, one who has said the NHS should be privatised, is wrong. Palantir should not hold our patients' data.

The contract leaves the NHS with no software, no intellectual property, and no lasting value for £330 million of public money. My Liberal Democrat colleague Martin Wrigley MP led a Westminster Hall debate on this in April 2026 making exactly that case. A break clause is available from February 2027. The Government should use it.

Factory Farming & Food Security

I share constituents' concerns about intensive pig and poultry farming and the impact of PM2.5 air pollution on local communities. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a Clean Air Act based on World Health Organization guidelines, and I support that.

I have spoken to many farmers in Newbury and West Berkshire who want to transition to nature-friendly practices but lack the support to do so, particularly since the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme was closed and DEFRA's budget cut. I am pressing the Government to inject £1 billion into the Environmental Land Management Schemes to support sustainable, profitable farming without lifting animal welfare protections.

My colleague Sarah Dyke tabled a Food Security Bill in April 2026. I back the Liberal Democrat call for a legally binding National Food Strategy that brings together farming, trade, health, environment, and poverty policy into a single coherent plan.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill / Assisted Dying

Assisted dying is one of the most sensitive issues Parliament has considered in a generation. I have listened carefully to hundreds of constituents, on both sides, and I am grateful to everyone who has shared their personal views and experiences with me.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has now completed its Commons stages and moved to the House of Lords, where it is receiving detailed scrutiny. I approached this issue with compassion and a focus on the safeguards needed to protect vulnerable people.

I will continue to follow the Bill's progress closely and remain committed to listening to constituents as it develops.

Safer Phones Bill

As a father of three, keeping children safe online is something I feel deeply, personally as well as politically.

The Safer Phones Bill completed its passage through Parliament in April 2026, following three rounds of votes between the Commons and the Lords. I voted to support the Lords amendment to raise the minimum age for access to harmful social media platforms to 16, because delay was not acceptable. Children were being harmed, and Parliament needed to act.

The Liberal Democrats support a statutory ban on smartphones in schools, not just guidance, while ensuring discretion for young carers and children who need their phones for health reasons.

I will continue to press for stronger protections, including an independent children's online safety advocate as called for by the NSPCC, and for proper digital literacy education so children and parents are equipped to navigate the online world safely.

Climate and Nature Bill

I am a proud supporter of the Climate and Nature Bill, sponsored by my Liberal Democrat colleague Dr Roz Savage. I spoke in the debate and voted for the Bill's Second Reading.

The Bill matters because it tackles the climate and nature crises together, something previous legislation has failed to do. I'm particularly supportive of the proposal for a Climate and Nature Assembly: a genuine, public-led process for setting our environmental direction.

The Bill is continuing its passage through Parliament, and I will support it at every stage.

Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act has now received Royal Assent. Throughout its passage, the Liberal Democrats pushed for stronger protections for children, including full implementation of the Jay Inquiry's 20 recommendations on child sexual abuse.

No child should ever have to experience abuse, and the law alone is not enough; the Government must now act swiftly to implement what has been passed.

Thames Water - Holding Them to Account

Thames Water serves much of Newbury and West Berkshire, and it has let us down. Sewage in our rivers, spiralling bills, billions in debt, and executive bonuses paid regardless. This is a company that has failed its customers and our environment for years.

I have been pressing the Government to place Thames Water into special administration, giving proper public oversight and protecting bill-payers. I have also called for Ofwat to be replaced with a regulator that actually has the teeth to hold water companies to account.

I will keep fighting on this. Our rivers and our communities deserve better.

Pavement Parking

Everyone should feel safe using our streets, but inconsiderate pavement parking continues to put pedestrians at risk.

I’ve signed an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling for a nationwide ban on pavement parking, and I’ve written to the Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP, to urge action.

You can read the Motion here: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/63557

VAT on Private School Fees

VAT on private school fees came into force in January 2025. This was a contested policy, and many constituents wrote to me about it.

My position was that any additional revenue must be directed transparently into the state school system, including SEND provision, which in West Berkshire remains severely underfunded. I will continue to hold the Government to that commitment.

AI and the Creative Industries

Artificial intelligence must not come at the expense of our world-class creative sector.

I’m deeply concerned by proposals to allow AI developers to scrape creative works without permission or payment. This risks undermining copyright protections and threatens the livelihoods of artists, writers, and performers.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently called for stronger protections for creators and a fairer framework around AI. I’ve written to the Minister for AI and Digital Government urging the Government to uphold existing copyright laws in the training of AI models.

We must support innovation, but not at the cost of creative rights.

Foreign Aid Cuts

Thank you to everyone who has written to me about the Government's decision to cut the UK's foreign aid budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of Gross National Income. I share your concerns.

British aid saves lives. Cutting it at a time of growing humanitarian need, from Gaza to Sudan to communities devastated by climate change, sends the wrong message about Britain's role in the world.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed this cut and are calling for an immediate return to the 0.5% target. I have written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to make clear my opposition and to press for the restoration of our commitment.

Global Plastics Treaty

I have signed Greenpeace’s pledge ‘to support a strong global target to cut plastic production’.

I am strongly committed to reducing the UK’s impact on the environment and believe that one way this can be achieved is by reducing the amount of single-use plastic as far as possible, and when it really must be used, ensuring it is disposed of properly. If we are able to provide affordable alternatives to single-use plastics, we can aim to eliminate the use of non-recyclable plastics within three years.

As a part of reducing the UK’s impact on the environment, I believe that we must adopt techniques to develop a more ‘circular economy’ including cutting resource use, waste, and pollution and maximising recovery, reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing.

Lee Dillon, MP for Newbury