Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment.
I should say, for the benefit of new Members, that this is quite rightly called the Sir David Amess debate, because this was his debate. I remember a poor Minister having to respond to him after a five-minute time limit had been put on speeches but he had still managed to raise 27 topics. It was his absolute dream to have this debate, and somewhere he will be looking on and observing what we all have to say. May he rest in peace. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
We seem to be over halfway through 2025, yet it seems like only yesterday that we came back from the Christmas break. In true British style, the weather cannot decide whether we should have Saharan sunshine or tropical rainfall—all of which makes the tube journey into this place even more of a challenge. It has been a busy few months for Parliament and across my constituency. I have been doing my job hosting residents’ tours and events, speaking in the Chamber, visiting schools and local businesses, piloting a presentation Bill and chairing the Backbench Business Committee and the 1922 committee—and finally, after 17 years, Tottenham Hotspur has won a trophy.
I am pleased that Backbench Business debates have become very popular with Members, and it is encouraging that so many have made applications to the Committee. I would like to place on record my thanks to the Committee and the Clerks for all the hard work they have done over these past few months. We now have a waiting list, and if anyone applies for a debate in the Chamber, I am afraid they will have to wait until 2026 before one will be granted, because we have such a long waiting list. I thank the Leader of the House for meeting me on occasion to discuss the work that the Committee does and to ensure that Back Benchers have the opportunity to raise their own topics.
In the true tradition of these Adjournment debates, I will raise the subject of making Stanmore station step-free. We seem to actually be making some progress, because Queensbury and Canons Park tube stations on the Jubilee line are now on the shortlist to get lifts. That is great news for my residents and cause for some celebration. However, Stanmore station is still not on the list. Commuters there face the choice of climbing 48 steps to the main entrance hall, 16 steps via the car park or 24 steps at the side to the bus stop, or taking the current so-called step-free route, which is 140 metres long and has a steep ramp that even the great Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson could not go up unaided.
Transport for London and the mayor consider Stanmore station to be step-free and will not consider any further work, but I have discovered through a 2017 freedom of information request that there is no legal definition of a step-free station. It is up to each individual train operating company—in this case TfL—to determine what it means. Taken in conjunction with the Transport Committee’s excellent report on accessibility issues faced by disabled people in the transport sector, I am now exploring how we can get TfL or the Government to take action. If we can get a proper definition of “step-free” agreed, we can apply pressure on TfL to de-list Stanmore station as step-free so that it meets the requirements to be considered for a new lift or travelator.
The world has never been so dangerous, and that is particularly true of London. The news that police station front desks will be closing not just in Harrow but across London is incredibly worrying. This comes at a time when knife and street crime are at an all-time high in the capital, with total crime increasing by 5.6% this year alone. Additionally, there has been a 30% increase in gun crime, a 10% increase in robbery and a whopping 82.5% increase in business robbery. The timing of the decision to cut police stations’ resources is another example of the Mayor of London’s impeccable timing. It is important to me and our residents that the desks remain open, because they provide a vital service, allowing victims to report crime in person and to seek safety.
Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)
Will my hon. Friend give way?
Bob Blackman
I will not, because many Members want to get in.
The justification for these “tough choices” is the need to address a £260 million funding gap, yet this is not the right area in which to be cutting vital support. For years, Sadiq Khan has told us how much better London would be with a Labour mayor and a Labour Government, but we now have a Labour mayor and a Labour Government, and London is no better as a result. I have created a petition calling on the mayor to keep Harrow police station fully functioning, and I urge everyone in my constituency to visit my website and add their name to this important cause.
Tomorrow, Barnet’s strategic planning committee will decide whether to approve the Broadwalk redevelopment, which is a proposal for 3,828 housing units across 25 towers, most of which are above 20 storeys high, with the highest reaching 29 storeys. It would demolish Edgware’s existing bus station, bus garage and car park, with no guaranteed replacement. I reject this development in its entirety until a safe, deliverable transport plan can be guaranteed. The plan currently depends on an underground electric bus garage that the London Fire Brigade has objected to, calling it a very serious safety risk with no existing regulations or precedents. TfL has claimed that the alternative—the diesel fallback—is not viable, is uncosted and is not supported by an engineering plan. If the scheme is approved, Edgware could lose its core transport infrastructure permanently. I have created a petition against these plans, which can also be accessed on my website, and I urge everyone to sign it.
We are all very conscious of the escalating situation in the middle east, and my prayers are with all those who have been impacted. The events that have unfolded in the middle east since 7 October 2023 have been unbearable to witness. Israel suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of the Iran-backed terrorists Hamas. Innocent civilians were brutally murdered and hundreds were taken hostage, including babies, children and the elderly. The hostages have been held in appalling conditions, and the accounts given by those released have been distressing and harrowing. Only last week, I welcomed Keith and Aviva Siegel into Parliament to recount their horrific experiences.
As a direct consequence of Hamas’ actions on 7 October and their use of civilian infrastructure to undertake terrorist operations, Palestinian civilians face a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. My thoughts are with the families of those still held hostage and every innocent life lost or impacted by the conflict. I firmly support Israel’s right to defend itself against security threats, but we must also ensure that the civilian population of Gaza is protected.
It is welcome news that the US has facilitated a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which must be upheld to secure regional security. The Government and the Foreign Office must clarify their role in relation to that ceasefire. Iran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, as it is a prolific state sponsor of terrorism with a stated intention of annihilating the world’s only Jewish state. My colleagues and I are clear that the recent actions taken by the United States alongside Israel to degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons programme and military capabilities were indeed necessary. I am concerned that the UK has not given a strong voice on that outcome.
The UK faces an increasingly complex and concerning landscape of malign foreign influence. Iranian influence in particular has been persistent and insidious in trying to harm our civic institutions and challenge our democratic resilience. One of its shocking tactics is exploitation of our charity sector, with such charities having become the nerve centre of the Islamic Republic of Iran on British soil, advancing a foreign policy rooted in regional destabilisation and ideological extremism.
It was revealed by United Against Nuclear Iran—published in The Times—that Labaik Ya Zahra, a UK-registered charity based in my constituency, went to Iran, met senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and signed an agreement with the propaganda arm of the highest military authority of Iran’s regime, the head of which is sanctioned in the UK, pledging to spread the ideals of jihad, martyrdom and resistance in the UK. That is in clear violation of the Government’s foreign influence registration scheme and the National Security Act 2023, as well as violating British sanctions, yet the charity remains open today.
Hostile states are increasingly testing the resilience of our democracy. In the light of the recent Intelligence and Security Committee report detailing the IRGC’s direct involvement in such threats, including plots on UK soil and direct interference in the UK public sector, more than 100 parliamentarians have signed a letter co-led by me and the hon. Member for Bristol North East (Damien Egan) to be sent to the Prime Minister today urging the Government finally to proscribe the IRGC in its entirety. It states that should the Government decide not to take that essential step, they must urgently and immediately put forward for adoption alternative legislative measures as recommended by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall KC to address the growing danger posed by state-backed threats.
It is disappointing that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has stalled somewhat in the other place, with no set date for its Committee. There is a risk that because the smoke-free generation policy in the Bill has an implementation date in 2027, the Bill is not seen as urgent. That is not the case. While we delay, tobacco companies are marketing heated tobacco products in supermarkets, and children are exposed to them. The marketing is working, and children’s awareness of such products is at an all-time high, with 24% of 11 to 17-year-olds knowing what heated tobacco is, up from 7.1% just three years ago. Will the Minister confirm that the Bill is a priority for the Government and that its Committee will begin before the conference recess in the autumn?
The same is true for nicotine pouches. I am sure that many hon. Members will have seen when travelling into London on the tube brightly coloured adverts for these products. Children are seeing them, too, with a record 43% level of awareness among young people. There is currently no age-of-sale limit for those products, so a nine-year-old could legally purchase them. Will the Government put a stop to that madness and urgently schedule a date for peers to begin scrutinising the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was overwhelmingly passed by this House?
This year alone, I have visited 12 schools, and I know that many colleagues will have visited schools in their constituencies. I welcome the Government’s commitment to breakfast clubs for primary schoolchildren, but every primary school in my constituency is unable to provide the space for a breakfast club to take place, so even though they want to implement them, they cannot. I was glad to meet the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), recently to discuss further how we can achieve that.
I am pleased that the consultation has finally closed on the regulations for my Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. I hope that that can be spurred on to the next stages so that we finally see those measures enacted, preventing the countless rogue landlords operating in the sector from exploiting vulnerable tenants. It is my understanding that the Deputy Prime Minister is currently in breach of the law, given that she was due to create a supported housing advisory panel by August 2024. We are yet to see that in action, and she could—literally—implement it tomorrow.
The situation in Bangladesh is really concerning. With the coup that took place and the new regime, we have seen attacks on minorities in Bangladesh increase. I have raised this in the House several times, yet our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not seem to take proper action to call that out for what it is, which is an attack on minorities.
Similarly, we had the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and India’s subsequent counter-terrorism action, Operation Sindoor. I remain deeply appalled and saddened by the barbaric attack on the innocent tourists, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including women and children, Hindus, Christians and a Nepali national. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones, and I continue to stand in solidarity with them and the people of India.
On the response to that, it is good that there is currently a pause and a truce between India and Pakistan; however, that truce is very fragile and there could be a return to war. As someone who has stood with the Kashmiri Pandits and their right to return to the Kashmir valley, and with India’s sovereign right to defend its people and territory, I think it is outrageous that such terrorism, sponsored by Pakistan, continues in Jammu and Kashmir. It is therefore right that we stand in solidarity with India.
Last week, we heard that the Home Office would finally be un-pausing claims relating to Syrian nationals, which I am sure we all welcome. I bring that up because my office has several cases that pertain to Syrian nationals in limbo with the Home Office, awaiting updates and decisions, one of which was first brought to my attention nearly two years ago. Clearly, the Government’s Home Office policy changes have created confusion and delay. May we therefore have an update on when Syrian nationals can expect to have their cases processed so that we can close some of them for the benefit of the individuals? While we are on the topic of the Home Office, once again I pay tribute to the wonderful caseworkers at the Home Office MP account management team, who have been fantastic in dealing with the many cases that my office sends through.
It is said that a week in politics is a long time. Well, the last three years have been transformational in Conservative-run Harrow. We took over the council when it was just 18 months from declaring bankruptcy, with dwindling reserves and corruption in the highways department—a matter that I have raised in the House before. Yet now, it could hardly be thought to be the same organisation. Everyone asks about the state of roads, pavements and potholes. When we took over the council, we faced allegations of corruption and kickback schemes, but now the administration has committed £14 million a year for the next three years to invest in our ageing infrastructure. Furthermore, Harrow was the first London borough to use new machinery such as the JCB PotholePro, otherwise known as Pothole Pete, which can repair potholes in as little as a few minutes. It has been revolutionary, and even though there is more to be done, and many more roads to be repaired, things are heading in the right direction.
Fly-tipping is down 33%, culprits are being fined £1,000 each and the council has launched a wall of shame to deter people and catch culprits. Bin collection rates are heading in the right direction, with fewer missed collections, and for the first time in a generation Harrow has expanded the number of green flag parks, adding to the list Chandos recreation ground in Edgware in my constituency and Hatch End riverside park in the neighbouring constituency. We also began one-hour free parking, the most generous free parking offer in all London boroughs, which has been used millions of times by residents to support our local businesses and high streets. Even though there is a lot more to do, it is clear that Harrow is heading in the right direction as the Conservatives put residents first. I hope that they are returned at the local elections next year to carry on that good work for another four years.
We will all shortly go on our summer recess and Members and staff will take a well-deserved break, but at the beginning of August, I will be hosting my annual work experience programme. I will welcome to my constituency 25 work experience students a week for two weeks and I will teach them what it is like to be an MP and how they can get involved in politics. Over the last 15 years, I have welcomed thousands of young people into the programme, with many going on to work in my office or elsewhere on the parliamentary estate. It is a great way to engage with constituents and the younger generation and to inspire them to get involved and learn about the parliamentary processes.
I shall conclude my remarks by wishing everyone a lovely summer recess and a well-deserved break. I hope everyone can get some rest and recuperation with their family, enjoying good food and good company with their loved ones. I also wish all the staff of the House a chance to get a break from all of us.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
I am sure we can all say amen to that. There are 34 Members seeking to intervene in this debate, and we need to go on to the wind-ups at about 6.30. Work it out for yourselves: that is about five minutes a head. I am not going to put a time limit on at this stage, but it may mean that some people drop off the end if colleagues are over-zealous with their time.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
I recognise that it is a privilege to speak high up the list in this important Sir David Amess debate.
Just over a year ago, we welcomed not only a new Labour Government but the creation of the new Blaydon and Consett constituency. It is fair to say that there was some bemusement locally about our new boundaries. The new constituency spans towns and villages in both Gateshead and County Durham, all with strong identities of their own, but we have plenty in common, from the keelmen on the Tyne to the steelworkers of Consett, and not forgetting the vital role played by our women in our history or our strong mining history. We have a really powerful industrial past and a strong community spirit. My constituents are passionate about fairness and access to opportunity, and they know the real division is not Gateshead or Durham, but whether you are black and white or red and white.
I have had many highlights over the years serving my wonderful constituency, but top of that list has to be securing wave 1 funding for the new hospital in Consett to replace Shotley Bridge. After years of broken promises from the last Government, we are now expecting construction to begin by 2026-27. I want to say a massive thank you to Kevin Earley and the Shotley Bridge hospital support group, and to everyone in the local community for their efforts. That work continues, and we welcomed the Health Secretary to Consett earlier this year to discuss progress. I am grateful to the support group and the trust for working with me to ensure that we get everything in the right place to deliver for people in Consett. There is currently concern about the out-of-hours urgent treatment service in Shotley Bridge. This is an issue I have been raising and I would encourage my constituents to submit to the ongoing consultation, as I will be.
This year, the Government made transformational changes to employment rights, strengthening sick pay and moving towards fair pay agreements in adult social care. In April, the real-terms increase in the minimum wage meant that one in seven workers in the north-east saw a boost to their pay packet. This is what a Labour Government mean to my constituents.
We have had more constituency wins this year. Moorside primary became an early adopter of our free breakfast club programme, Shotley Bridge school received funding for its nursery, and we have had investment for the Oakfields GP practice in Hamsterley Colliery. I welcome Government funding to restore the Tyne bridge, a vital part of our regional infrastructure. Finally, we have also had the launch of the Gateshead safe haven, led by Gateshead citizens advice bureau and North East Counselling, to support people in mental health crisis, and 58,000 children across Gateshead and Durham will now benefit from a mental health support team in their school—an issue particularly close to my heart. None of this would be possible without the work of local people on the ground, so I thank all of them for everything that they do.
If there is one issue that remains high on the agenda for my constituents, it is bus services. After years of deregulation and slashed routes, residents feel unable to rely on our buses. That needs to change. I am proud that this Government’s Bus Services (No. 2) Bill will hand back control to our communities, and I look forward to working with our Mayor, Kim McGuinness, to ensure that that is the case. This year, I have talked to staff at Consett Empire about how we can keep the theatre thriving. I have heard the concerns of staff at Villa Real school about the state of their building, which desperately needs improving. I will continue to raise those issues going forward.
Road safety and speed limits are another major issue for my constituents, and I look forward to working with Ministers on the road safety strategy to resolve those concerns. I was proud to join the Rowlands family from Consett at a ministerial meeting. They spoke eloquently about their son Andrew, who lost his life in an accident involving an uninsured under-age driver. I pay tribute to all the families in my constituency campaigning for change after going through difficult times. Another shout-out must go to Terry Archbold and his daughter Bea from Burnopfield, who have been raising awareness of organ donation following Bea’s lifesaving heart transplant.
It is an honour to have a front-row seat for the fantastic work happening across all our communities in our schools, NHS, shops, libraries, care homes and leisure centres. This year, I have tapped my feet to the fantastic Ryton Singers and Winlaton’s Northern Phoenix brass band, and admired photography by Ryton camera club and Consett in Focus. I have met local environment pioneers at the Crawcrook repair café, the Chopwell regeneration shop, Blackhill Park’s community garden and the Greenside community orchard. That is not forgetting our small businesses, including those who met the Minister when he visited Consett last year. Thanks to all who showed him what our patch has to offer and spoke about their experiences.
I am always inspired by young people in our constituency. This year, we have had visits to Parliament from St Joseph’s in Blaydon, St Mary’s in Blackhill, and Derwentside college, and I hope that more schools will have this opportunity in future. I thank Parkhead, St Thomas More and St Patrick’s in Dipton for opening their doors to me, as well as High Spen and Ryton primary schools for their fantastic local murals and artwork. I got a good grilling from students at Consett academy, and the pupils’ Parliament in Shotley Bridge showed me how democracy is done—Westminster will be in good hands if we put the children of Blaydon and Consett in charge. I thank all the school staff for their hard work. I was pleased to meet headteachers from across our constituency to hear about the issues they face, and they have provided me with insights that I will feed back to Government.
I pay tribute to the fantastic volunteers supporting our community. There are too many to name, but I want to give a quick shout-out to Moorside baby bank, Newcastle United Foundation’s walking football in Blaydon, Consett Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, Derwent Valley car club and Ryton’s Men’s Shed. I can only hope that I can match their passion and commitment for our communities.
Finally, I want to thank my constituency team. Since the election, we have opened a second office in Consett, and they have processed over 8,000 cases. I thank the Doorkeepers and House staff for everything they do to keep Parliament running. I thank my constituents, new and old, who make Blaydon and Consett a fantastic place to be. It is an honour to represent this constituency, and I will continue working every day to ensure that our people have the opportunities they deserve.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
I rise to talk about Lord Anderson’s report on Prevent and the death of our wonderful fallen colleague and my dear friend, Sir David Amess, which was published last week. It is obviously appropriate to make this speech today, in the Sir David Amess Adjournment debate, which is rightly named in his honour. However, it is sad that this speech aims to draw attention to the way in which he and his family have been and are being let down by the Home Secretary and this Government.
The House is well aware that the Sir David Amess family would like a full statutory public inquiry into the death of their beloved father and husband. Last March, they met the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary at 10 Downing Street. They were supported by their former MP Anna Firth, leading London lawyers, and public affairs expert Radd Seiger, all of whom continue to support and help the family on a voluntary basis. At that meeting, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister asked the family to go away and work with Lord Anderson, to see if he could answer the dozens of questions they still have about why the killer slipped through the state’s safeguarding nets. Against their better judgement, the family did just that. They met Lord Anderson, along with their advisers and Anna Firth, in his chambers in the Middle Temple. They provided Lord Anderson with all the questions that they still needed answering, and they waited patiently for his report, enduring several more months of stress and anxiety. Both the Home Secretary and Lord Anderson specifically promised the family that they would see the report first, and in good time, so that they had time to read and digest it, and take advice, before being subjected to the glare of the media. You can only imagine, Mr Deputy Speaker, how deeply distressing the whole media circus is for the family.
Unbelievably, yet again, that did not happen. The family first learned that the report was imminent from an article in The Guardian, and when they received a text from a journalist saying that the report was due to be published soon. Clearly, rather than keep their word to the Amess family, the Government chose quite deliberately to leak the report to the press first. That is an absolute disgrace. The Amess family should have seen the report first, not last. That is a simply unacceptable way to treat any grieving family, let alone that of a distinguished parliamentarian. Once again, the Amess family were bombarded by the media, causing them great pain. All the media wanted, of course, was their individual soundbite, before the family had any opportunity to even read the 170-page report. The Home Secretary should feel thoroughly ashamed. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to apologise to Lady Amess and her family for this latest insult. The Government really need to do far, far, better on how they treat the victims of heinous crimes.
Critically, however, there is now no doubt whatsoever, following Lord Anderson’s work, that there must be a full public inquiry on why the string of failures that led to Sir David’s murder were allowed to happen, and on who was responsible, who will be held to account, and what will be done to ensure that there is no repeat. The Amess family have been told repeatedly by the Home Secretary and successive Ministers that lessons had been and would be learned by Prevent, including the lessons set out in the Prevent learning review, which took place shortly after Sir David’s death and was published earlier this year. Heartbreakingly, Southport happened three years later. The two cases are virtually identical. In both, the killer was well known to the authorities and to the Prevent programme, yet was allowed to slip through the safeguarding net. It seems, therefore, that lessons have not been learned.
The Amess family feel that both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister were paying lip service to their agonising search for real answers when they finally met them at No. 10 in March. The family were assured by both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary that they took the family’s concerns extremely seriously, that they too felt the loss of Sir David acutely, and that they would leave no stone unturned to help the family find the answers that they needed.
I will finish with the words of Katie Amess herself—
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
Before my right hon. Friend finishes, will he give way very briefly?
Mr Deputy Speaker
Order. I think the Father of the House was reaching his peroration. I am fully aware of the friendship between the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) and Sir David, but he will have the opportunity to make his case shortly.
Sir Edward Leigh
In the words of Katie Amess herself,
“Despite Lord Anderson’s review, the vast majority of our questions about Prevent’s failures remain unanswered. We still do not know why basic checks like social media monitoring or verifying school attendance were not carried out before the perpetrator was released from the programme. He was meant to have seven sessions. He had one, over a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, and was then released. That is simply not good enough, yet Anderson skates over it, ignoring the catastrophic consequences that followed for my family, and our country.
Critical records, including minutes from panel meetings and vulnerability assessments, have either been withheld or were incomplete. That does not help any of us. Transparency is essential, yet we continue to face obstacles in accessing these documents.
Other than the killer himself, there has been no accountability for my family. The review revealed alarming gaps in the handling of the killer after he was referred. Unsubstantiated claims were made about his supposed progress, yet no one has been held to account. This isn’t about process, it’s about people’s lives and our right to see that those who let my dad down are held fully responsible.
Key individuals involved in the case were not interviewed, and the Coroner refused to engage with Lord Anderson, having already refused us an inquest. A full statutory inquiry would compel all those involved to give evidence under oath about the failings. My dad gave his all to this country, and yet he, and we, are being denied the most basic of human rights. It feels like they are trying to hide something, to shut this tragedy down.
A statutory public inquiry is the only way to compel witnesses to testify and documents to be disclosed… On behalf of my family, I now call on the current Home Secretary and Prime Minister to do the right thing and to order the inquiry, just as they rightly did for Southport. They told my mother and me and Anna Firth that we could come back to No 10 if we were not happy with Lord Anderson’s review. Well, we most certainly are not happy with it, and I will be asking my team to write to them to request that further meeting they promised us. A public inquiry would honour my father’s legacy by ensuring real accountability and preventing future tragedies.
Lastly, my father dedicated his life to public service. The very least he deserves is a thorough investigation into how his murder could have been prevented. We owe it to him and to every potential future victim to get this right. We have had review after review since my father died. We now call for a public inquiry.”
Let right be done.
Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)
It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to that exceptional and powerful speech from the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh); I am sure those in authority will have listened carefully to his remarks.
I will be very brief. I want to pay tribute to Sir David Amess. An issue dear to his heart that he spoke about frequently was hepatitis patients, and that is what I want to speak about. I hope the House will agree that it is a timely and appropriate occasion, because next Monday, 28 July, is World Hepatitis Day. Sir David Amess was a most powerful advocate for hepatitis patients, and a member of the all-party parliamentary group on liver health. If it is not presumptuous, may I draw Members’ attention to early-day motion 1699, which I have tabled?
I would like to say a few things about this condition. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that disproportionately affects disadvantaged and marginalised communities. It is preventable, treatable and curable. Indeed, the United Kingdom has already committed to achieving the World Health Organisation’s goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health concern by 2030. That would have a huge impact on health inequalities. It would be encouraging if the UK Government were to celebrate World Hepatitis Day on 28 July by reaffirming their commitment to meeting the WHO 2030 target, and if that were reinforced by a comprehensive hepatitis elimination action plan.
Many people do not realise that they have hepatitis C, but if left untreated, it can cause fatal cirrhosis, and even liver cancer. The efforts of our NHS and harm reduction services have led to considerable success in finding, engaging, testing and treating people who are at risk. The UK is within reach of meeting the World Health Organisation’s target of hepatitis C elimination by 2030. That would be a tremendous public health achievement for a Government who are committed to addressing health inequalities and public health issues, but to sustain the success that we have had so far, we must overcome stigma, avoid complacency and support effective efforts and commitments to achieving positive public health outcomes.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
I am delighted to have been called in the debate on the summer Adjournment, which I am very pleased is now traditionally known as the Sir David Amess debate, after our fallen comrade and great friend Sir David.
Following the brilliant speech by the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), all I would say is that this matter is very close to the heart of the Amess family. If it is not possible to have a separate public inquiry, which is what they desperately would like, perhaps, as my right hon. Friend alluded to, the other alternative is to slightly amend the terms of reference of the Southport inquiry so that the matter could be investigated via those means. The additional cost would be miniscule, and the family could have their say. I merely repeat that request.
Perhaps the most pressing issue in Wickford in my constituency is the fate of the old dilapidated Co-op supermarket site. It was purchased several years ago by an overseas developer named Heriot, which singularly failed to find a new tenant. In fairness, it attempted to negotiate a deal with Morrisons, which fell through. It instead tried to negotiate a deal with Asda, which fell through too.
I am afraid that in the recent Wickford Park by-election, the Labour party claimed in its literature that a deal with Asda had been “secured”, and it was thus trying to take the credit. In fact, it turns out that that was simply untrue. I recently received a letter from Mr Allan Leighton, the chief executive of Asda, which unfortunately confirmed that after over a year of negotiations, it had reluctantly decided not to proceed with the redevelopment of the Wickford site. I have to say that that has not enhanced Asda in my eyes.
Nevertheless, back in February Heriot applied to Basildon borough council for planning permission for a new store, but the council repeatedly dragged its feet and failed to determine the application to the point that, I understand, a developer could appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination. It is absolutely vital that that planning application is passed by Basildon borough council in the hope that Heriot can find an alternative tenant, such as Lidl or another supermarket group.
Having tried for nearly four years to achieve that, if Heriot is not able to do so, perhaps the time has finally come for it to sell the site to an alternative developer with more experience, which might have more luck. Either way, I can report to the House that my constituents are thoroughly fed up with the whole drama of the old Co-op supermarket, as am I. For the sake of all my constituents in Wickford, I hope that we can somehow bring this prolonged saga to a successful conclusion and provide them with a new supermarket fit for the 21st century.
Let me end my contribution with a few remarks on so-called devolution and local government reform. This has been a torturous process in Essex, made more difficult by the fact that there is absolutely no public demand at all for the changes. I can confidently report to the House that in 24 years as an Essex MP, I have never once had a constituent tell me on the doorstep that they wanted a mayor of Essex. None the less, Ministers recently wrote to Essex MPs to confirm that they are going ahead with a mayor of Essex, loosely based on the Sadiq Khan model in London, with a related combined authority. That will result in mayoral elections across the whole of Essex in spring next year.
The Government’s proposals would in effect replace the current two-tier system with another two-tier system. At present, we have Essex county council as the upper tier and a lower tier of district, borough and city councils. Under the Government’s plan, that would give way to an upper tier of an elected mayor and a combined authority, with a lower tier of multiple unitary authorities beneath. The third tier of town and parish councils would remain unaffected. However, it is not yet clear whether the Labour Government still intend to press ahead with their plans to create several unitary authorities in Essex—a matter that has led to much consternation and considerable disagreement, not least among the potential constituent authorities themselves.
As of today, there are multiple different potential configurations. Essex county council seems to want three unitary authorities. Rochford district council and some other councils would prefer four. The Labour party appears to be agitating in favour of five. Contrary to the position of its own party, Labour-led Thurrock council has just announced that it would prefer four, the constituent local authorities of which it is yet to reveal. Indeed, at a meeting of council leaders earlier this week, some Labour council leaders were openly disagreeing with each other over all this. The whole process is rapidly descending into a total farce, and having followed this issue closely for many years, I have yet to hear a truly compelling case for why any of these new authorities would genuinely be more efficient. As ever, we are promised efficiency savings in year 5, but as a former Minister, I have to tell current Ministers from long experience that year 5 never comes.
To conclude, I say in all sincerity to Ministers that if they press ahead regardless and impose a solution via ministerial order with no consensus, it will still take a Parliament to implement. In the meantime, local government will almost grind to a halt, and many of the best officers will leave. It definitely will not save the money that has been promised, and therefore the game simply is not worth the candle. If I could offer Ministers in the Department some honest advice, it would be this: pull stumps now while you can. If you must go ahead with the mayor, do that, but drop the unitary idea and let the local district, borough and city councils get on with the job of representing their people, and let us have elections for those councils.
Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)
Children are 20% of the population, but 100% of our future. I see that every time I visit a school in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend. We know that the first few years of a child’s life are crucial, laying the foundation for their overall development. For that reason, I am delighted that Battle Hill primary school in Wallsend is in the initial cohort to benefit from the Government’s expansion of school-based nurseries. That school is in one of the most deprived areas of the ward, and has always done a fantastic job of supporting families. It previously had a Sure Start facility, and as someone who used to be a ward councillor and a governor, I was always proud to say that it cared for children from birth to 11 years. I am excited to say that that is the aspiration once again.
To remain on the topic of our young people, the north-east mayoral combined authority recently approved an £8.5 million investment for the expansion of the energy academy in my constituency. The offshore energy industries along the Tyne are a source of enormous pride. The Tyne is open for business, and the expansion of the energy academy only strengthens that case. That funding will be used to create a new energy campus, tripling the number of students who will be able to enrol each year. The offshore renewable energy sector is set to create an additional 4,500 jobs in manufacturing and engineering along the river over the next decade. It is right that a young person growing up in any of the wards in my constituency should have the opportunity to compete for new green jobs.
However, if companies and local officials are moving the earth to ensure that the jobs and investment are there, we cannot allow obstacles to get in the way. When I say “obstacles”, I mean it in the literal sense; for eight years, I have led a campaign to remove the power cables over the Tyne, which are a barrier to businesses securing work for large renewable energy structures. Last year, the Institute for Public Policy Research identified Newcastle as the travel to work area with the third highest green potential in Britain. However, the current situation puts at risk possible net gross value added benefits of up to £1.2 billion. It has been proposed that the removal of the cables will be completed in 2032. That is too late—the race for green jobs is now.
Over the years, few have championed Tyneside’s industrial strength as powerfully as the Shepherd family, and I take this opportunity to thank them for their tireless work. The employment they have created along the Tyne is commendable, and they have convened some of the sharpest minds in the private sector to help solve some of the biggest problems we face.
I welcome Walker North’s inclusion in the list of trailblazer neighbourhoods announced at the spending review. That area will receive up to £20 million over the next decade to support its renewal, and I look forward to working with the community to ensure that that funding is used where it is needed.
As chair of the responsible vaping all-party parliamentary group, I remain concerned that efforts to reduce the number of smokers continue to plateau. Action on Smoking and Health’s research that 13% of adults in Britain smoke, and that this figure has remained at the same level since 2021, is alarming. Over half of adults who smoke and who would benefit from switching completely to vaping wrongly believe that it is equally as harmful as smoking, or even more harmful. I hope that when the Tobacco and Vapes Bill returns later this year, that misperception about relative harms will not be made worse. I encourage the Government to make clear in other health-related announcements that vaping is a safer option for smokers looking to quit.
I will end on a happy and congratulatory note. I recently tabled two early-day motions celebrating the hard work of individuals who have dedicated their life to public service. The first motion applauds Dame Norma Redfearn after a long and successful life in education and as the elected Mayor of North Tyneside. The long list of achievements in my EDM explains why she is widely known in the north-east just by her first name. Norma’s involvement in the creation of the Greggs Foundation breakfast clubs in 1999, after setting up her own as a headteacher, changed countless lives.
The second motion concerns Gary Kent, who has worked in Parliament for 38 years and has been my researcher for 14. After two decades of Anglo-Irish peace work, he was secretary for nearly 20 years of the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan region in Iraq. MPs used his experience as a cross-party and transnational activist, and the group helped build a stronger Kurdish-British relationship. Such people in public life can inspire others and advance the common good.
Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
Before I begin, may I associate myself with the remarks from the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) in respect of a public inquiry for Sir David?
I will raise an important issue that has been raised on a number of occasions by Members: private management companies, their management of housing estates and the outrageous charges that they make. The land management firm Greenbelt manages the open spaces of Scartho Top in the part of Grimsby that I represent. Many residents of Scartho Top have complained to me about the onerous fees they are required to pay for the upkeep of those public spaces.
The charges exacerbate the existing cost of living pressures that many residents face, and that is not to mention the unfairness of a subset of residents being tied into paying estate charges for public spaces. Some of the charges that my constituents have highlighted include tree works at a cost of £3,110, planting works at a cost of £2,989, site management inspections at £11,664, and the cost for contractors amounting to almost £45,000. As such, on behalf of my constituents, I am calling on the Government to address this unfairness and implement the recommendations highlighted by the Competition and Markets Authority following its study into house building.
As Ministers will be aware, the CMA called on the Government to implement mandatory adoption of public amenities on new housing estates. I note that the Government’s response to the CMA’s study states that while they welcome the CMA’s work, they
“intend to consult publicly on the best way to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end”.
They intend to gather evidence to supplement the CMA report. I understand the Government will be inviting views from a range of experts, and I hope that can be concluded quickly.
The CMA also called for the introduction of
“enhanced consumer protection measures, underpinned by a robust enforcement regime, for households living under private management arrangements.”
These measures would include: increasing the amount of information that homeowners are entitled to receive to understand what they are paying for; introducing a right to challenge the reasonableness of housing management charges at the first tier tribunal in England, or at leasehold valuation tribunals in Wales; and, giving homeowners the right to apply to a tribunal to appoint a manager in the event of a serious failure. The Government accepted those recommendations in principle while highlighting that secondary legislation is required to implement them. Once again, a public consultation would be required.
Finally on this topic, I note that the Minister for Housing and Planning, the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook) made clear in a written ministerial statement on the issue during the winter that we need to act as quickly as feasible to implement these provisions. However, echoing the Government’s response to the CMA’s recommendation, the Minister noted that the provisions need to be enacted and detailed under secondary legislation.
Earlier today, there was an urgent question following the announcement that the Prax oil refinery in my constituency was likely to close, which will have an enormous impact on the local economy. That leads me to return to a subject that I have raised scores of times in the House. If the local economy is to thrive and the Government’s growth agenda is to be met, we must have more transport connections to northern Lincolnshire. The A180, which serves the ports of Grimsby and Immingham, is in an appalling state, consisting of only a two-lane dual carriageway. Its enhancement to make it a full motorway is essential. Access to our major ports is, I believe, still a Government priority—it certainly was when I was a member of the Transport Committee—and I hope that the Government will address this issue, as well as joining my campaign, along with my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough, for the renewed rail connection between Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Market Rasen and King’s Cross.
Martin Vickers
I knew my right hon. Friend would say that.
Finally, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish you and everyone else a very happy recess.
David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
It is an absolute honour to speak in my first Sir David Amess Adjournment debate. Sir David, as we all know, worked tirelessly for his constituents. He set the right example for us all by demonstrating that politics at its best is about service, not spectacle.
It remains the honour of my life to speak up for the good people of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. People in our area have had a tough time of it. It was heartbreaking to see our community hollowed out by 14 years of austerity. Today, however, I am proud to say that the tide is turning. After years of decline, we are finally starting to fix what has been broken. We are giving our young people the best start in life. I recall, long before I became an MP, hearing heartbreaking stories of kids arriving at school hungry. We got to work, and over the past few months we have started to roll out free breakfast clubs at Milton and Greenways primary academies, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting both of them. Breakfast clubs will soon be available at all primary schools in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, and that fills me with pride.
Smallthorne primary academy is doing fantastic work at the heart of the community. For years, parents throughout our area have missed out on opportunities because of the lack of affordable childcare, but now, with a Labour Government determined to ease the burden for families, we have secured funding for a school-based nursery providing much-needed places, and I will be pressing the Government for more school-based nurseries in my constituency.
I am excited at the prospect of returning, this Friday, to a very important organisation that shaped my life and my values: YMCA North Staffordshire. It is where I worked for nearly two decades before I became an MP, and it is where I learned what it means to serve. I cannot wait to go back to open its brand-new youth hub, a place of hope, guidance and opportunity, and a place where young people can see that someone believes in them.
None of the work that I do would be possible without the tireless efforts of the team I have around me. In the past year, we have made more than 200 visits to schools, charities, businesses and residents’ groups, and we have responded to more than 4,000 individual pieces of casework on behalf of local people—for instance, securing a place for a child in Fegg Hayes to go to a local SEND school after the family had been turned down, restoring a £27,000 maternity payment to a mum in Talke after an incorrect deduction, and securing a 19,000 back-payment of pension credit for a Burslem resident who had been waiting for over a year. All that work transforms lives, but there is still so much more to do.
A few months after I was elected, both Moorcroft and Royal Stafford, which had sustained our local economy for many generations, announced that they were closing down. It was a devastating blow to our area and our ceramics industry. Happily, though, there are glimmers of hope. Will Moorcroft, the grandson of Moorcroft’s founder, has stepped in to safeguard the future of this iconic brand. He has protected a skilled workforce and preserved a name that carries real pride across the Potteries. Meanwhile, down the road in Burslem—the mother town of our potteries—T. G. Green has stepped in to produce fine products at the Royal Stafford site.
This is personal for me, because my mum and grandad both worked in the potbanks of Tunstall and Burslem. I know what the industry means to local families, and I have kept my word by pressing Ministers for support whenever I have had the opportunity, including in a Westminster Hall debate that I secured back in March. I am pleased that ceramics is now recognised as a foundation industry in the industrial strategy and that support with electricity costs will come in 2027, but I will continue to raise with Ministers the need for additional support for the sector between now and then.
Meanwhile, too many of our historic buildings still lie empty, decaying and increasingly beyond repair, but with the right support many could be brought back into use. They could be converted into affordable, high-quality homes that protect our heritage, meet urgent housing need and help to sustain our high streets and town centres. Under Labour, we must go further and faster to make that a reality, and I urge the relevant Ministers to proactively engage with me to look at what steps can be taken. I would welcome visits to my constituency so that they can see its potential at first hand.
Finally, I cannot stand here today without paying tribute to Sharlotte-Sky Naglis and her family. Sharlotte was only six years old when she was tragically killed by a driver who was twice the legal limit for alcohol and under the influence of drugs. Since then, her family have shown remarkable strength and determination in their campaign to amend the law on blood testing after fatal road collisions. I have continued to press for the Road Traffic Act 1988 to be amended to allow for blood samples to be tested without consent in the most serious cases where a life has been lost. I am grateful to the Transport Secretary, the Roads Minister and colleagues in the Department for Transport for their engagement on this matter, and I look forward to that continuing.
Our community has known hardship and difficulties, but we are strong. We have been knocked down, but Stokies will never, ever be knocked out. Now, with a Government who finally have our backs, we can start building a better future for every child, every family, every person and every neighbourhood across Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
Order. We are beginning to play “beat the clock”. I understand that the right hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay) has some important information about the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster that I am sure Members will wish to hear, so I do not propose to impose a time limit immediately. After he has spoken, I shall impose a time limit of five minutes.
Steve Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)
Hiding in plain sight, but not discussed in this Chamber since the general election, is the spending of millions of pounds on the repair of this building, with Members expected to commit later this year to spending billions of pounds into the future. The lack of debate or any meaningful transparency comes despite the majority of Members of this House being newly elected last July. Instead, the detailed costs and any vote on options are being delayed until later this year—ironically, they will probably come at around the same time that the House is expected to vote on a Budget, which many people expect to include tax rises. Members of the House, and members of the public, might reasonably ask why the Leader of the House has not held any such debate since coming into office.
This issue speaks to a wider principle. Are decisions best formulated in private when some of the numbers remain uncertain, with reliance placed on internal controls and external advisers giving assurances, or is it better to have transparency—not least on an issue of great public interest? A lesson that, as a Minister, I learned from covid is that it is better to have transparency and an open debate about the trade-offs early than to hold discussions in secret and allow the benefit of hindsight after the event.
Supporting greater transparency has been a theme of my time in the House, whether in my initial four years on the Public Accounts Committee or when as a Minister I overruled official advice to disclose information to the National Audit Office during covid. Since being elected as Chair of the House’s Finance Committee, I have repeatedly raised concerns in private about the financial management of the House and the multibillion-pound restoration and renewal programme, but I feel it is necessary to raise these issues on the Floor of the House today.
Before doing so, I place on record my thanks to Mr Speaker, because I know he cares deeply about taxpayer value—an issue he has championed on many occasions. I want to reassure Members that I will not disclose any information I have received in my role as Chair of the Finance Committee or in a private capacity.
The crux of the issue is that there needs to be a complete reset of the R and R programme. The books need to be open to the public, and we need to bring the public into the debate about how we balance the needs of a world heritage site with modern security, accessibility —for example, for those with a disability—and value for money. Updated costs need to be presented. Currently, millions of pounds are being spent working up multiple options, despite our now being in the fifth year of this work. Indeed, those options are gold-plated, often based on decisions taken by Members who are no longer in the House. There is remarkably little visibility of this issue.
The most recent costs presented go back to 2022, and even then the cheapest option was £8.6 billion to £13.8 billion, with others costing more, and that is without inflation and with no other significant additions. Those costs exclude the work Members will see on the northern estate, which is not part of the R and R programme, yet the public would associate the two, not least because that work is a key part of any decant. We also know that there are precedents for costs increasing massively. If we take the example of the Elizabeth Tower— the most recent example in this House—the costs started at £29 million and finished at £89 million, which is a 209% increase. If we look at this morning’s news, we can see how the costs of Sizewell C have increased.
There are known risks in plain sight. In its first report, the National Audit Office cited changes to programmes as a key risk, yet we know that the sponsor body set up at the start has been scrapped. We know that we started with one option and then went up to two and then three, but with A and B options, so in essence we have four options. Who knows, but there could be a fifth on the way.
The governance is opaque. Let me give the House an example. The key body that oversees the programme has met only once this year and only twice since the last annual report. However, if we look at what is in the public domain, the first paragraph of the annual report says that
“the R&R Client Board and R&R Programme Board will mean sufficiently robust and detailed information will be available to the new Parliament to support decisions on the way forward for R&R.”
We have not debated it once, and the governing committee has met only once this calendar year.
I am conscious of the time, so I will canter through some of the other issues. In short, security is often presented as a reason for not being transparent, but I would draw Members’ attention to the very welcome intervention by Baroness Smith in the House of Lords in her exchange with Lord Hayward about the Carriage Gates, which cost £9.6 million. I am told that they still do not work particularly well. Just last week, this House debated a mistake that was made by an official in the Ministry of Defence, with Members complaining about both the cost to the taxpayer and whether that was covered up. How confident are Members that no similar examples exist?
I simply ask Members: are they aware of the costs of the work on the northern estate, of the trade-offs and how they are being shaped, or of the cost of any delay? How confident are they that when they are asked to make such decisions alongside a Budget, they will have the information they need?
I will finish with one final example. Just as with High Speed 2, hiding something in plain sight involves producing lots of brochures and lots of literature. Colleagues can see that one of the recent quarterly updates states on page 4:
“R&R Surveys…ONGOING…
Budget…ONGOING…
Develop House of Commons…Plans…ONGOING…
Costed proposals…ONGOING…
Invitation to tender…NOT STARTED”.
It includes no meaningful information. Indeed, the annual report has financial information only on the final two pages, pages 29 and 30.
This is not a new issue. Lord Morse, in his 2022 report, noted:
“Parliament has a historically poor reputation for its contract management and commercial acumen.”
I believe issues should be shared with the public, the trade-offs discussed, and Members of this House, particularly new Members, given sight of these issues. I have called repeatedly in private for there to be greater debate. Today, I want to do so on the Floor of the House.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a huge honour to speak in the Sir David Amess summer adjournment debate. My one story about Sir David relates to a late friend of mine, Julian Ware-Lane, who was often the Labour candidate who stood against him in general elections. Sadly, many years ago Julian was diagnosed with cancer and spent long periods of time in hospital. Sir David often visited Julian in hospital to see how he was getting on, which shows us what kind of man Sir David was. On one such visit he discovered that, despite having stood for election in Southend on a number of occasions, Julian had never actually had the opportunity to visit this place. Sir David was incensed —I suppose that would be the right word—and was determined to ensure Julian had the opportunity to visit Parliament. Sadly, Julian passed away before he had that opportunity, but it goes some way to show the sort of man Sir David was. He put party politics aside when it came to humanity and I think that is really important for us all to remember. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
I would like to take a moment to put on record my thanks to the Health Secretary for putting up with my constant lobbying on behalf of the people of Harlow for the future location of the UK Health Security Agency. I am delighted that last week he confirmed that this Labour Government will see it through, securing Harlow’s future. As the Health Secretary said last week, it is no longer a case of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor; it is the Oxford-Cambridge-Harlow corridor. I am extremely proud that it is Harlow and the people of Harlow who will be on the front line of the fight against biological warfare. However, for me it is about much more than that. It is about securing the jobs and careers of the future.
I visit schools across Harlow and the villages very week. From Purford Green to Hare Street, Pemberley to Matching Green, Jerounds to the Downs, Milwards to Harlowbury, St James’s to Holy Cross, I see the incredible potential that young people in Harlow have, and in Harlow College, Passmores academy, Sir Frederick Gibberd college, Mark Hall academy, Stewards academy and Burnt Mill academy, I see the opportunity for that potential to grow. However, for too long that potential has not always been realised. As a former teacher—have I mentioned I used to be teacher?—one of my No. 1 aims is to see that change. I know that the UK Health Security Agency will be a huge part of that, along with the investment that will come with it.
It is an exciting time for our town with this Labour Government: a clear and achievable timeline for a new Princess Alexandra hospital; more police on our streets—I taught one of them. I am pleased that, as part of the safer streets initiative, and after I brought it up in my first question in this House, this Labour Government are tackling the issue of cross-border taxi hiring; and now we have secured the jobs of the future in Harlow.
It is an exciting time for Harlow. Despite the challenges of being a new MP, as I look forward to recess I am still incredibly proud to represent my town and my community, which boasts so many great community organisations and charities: from Rainbow Services to Butterfly Effect, to Streets2Homes and Action for Family Carers—I declare an interest, because I work for both of them—and the Harlow Stroke Rehab Association.
However, I would not be ambitious for my town if I did not want even more for Harlow and the greater constituency. The Health Secretary suggested that I should start lobbying another Department, but I am sure he would recognise the challenges of mental health provision in west Essex. Speaking to my constituent Ken and his wife, Sue, while out door-knocking at the weekend in Harlow, I heard how they felt let down by the current system. I am determined that this Labour Government will address the inequality—the lack of parity—between mental health and physical health.
I am really running out of time, so on a lighter note I wish Harlow Town all the best of luck for the rest of the season. I thank my team, my family, the House staff and everyone who has helped me during my first year in this place. Being an MP remains a huge honour—I would say it is the biggest honour of my life, but if I say that, my wife might divorce me.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
It is an honour to speak in this debate, named after the late Sir David Amess, to whom I wish to pay tribute. I also use this opportunity to pay tribute to the late Ian Gow, one of my predecessors as a hard-working Member of Parliament for Eastbourne, who was appallingly assassinated in 1990, and whose shield is on the door above the entrance to this Chamber. I thank all those involved in keeping MPs and our teams safe today, with special mention to PC Will Bayley, who has helped my team and me to manage some concerning threats to us.
It has been an action-packed first year as Eastbourne’s Member of Parliament. Working with incredible campaigners from across our town and beyond, we have: secured the reopening of Eastbourne district general hospital for births after months of closure; won our campaign for a direct train from Eastbourne to London Bridge and back; successfully led a national campaign to reform the law on domestic abuse; worked with campaigners to save Linden Court day centre for people with learning disabilities from closure; worked with local residents to protect the Sovereign Centre, where I learned to swim, from losing its pools; worked with Government and others to lock in £20 million in neighbourhood funding, which we thought we might lose after the election, to regenerate our town; and much, much more. However, one year in, after taking up more than 11,000 cases for residents, and more than 200 mentions of Eastbourne in the Chamber later, there is still much more to do.
We need to fix our temporary accommodation catastrophe, which has been triggered by a housing shortage that can be addressed only if we build more housing and properly regulate temporary accommodation. We have a particular shortage of three-bedroom homes in Eastbourne, which is causing a huge challenge.
As many other Members have said of their constituencies, we need to address the SEND crisis in our town, because families such as the Wilcocks and hundreds of others are left without the educational provision that they need.
We need Southern Water to get a grip of the foul stench its water treatment works have been emitting across our town in recent months, blighting the lives of residents in Langney Point and beyond. We need a fix to this problem now, not next year, as Southern Water has said. Frankly, the CEO should be denied his outrageous pay rise while this issue remains and until local residents have been properly compensated.
Beyond our shores, in response to the appalling situation in Israel and Gaza and on the west bank, the Government must continue to push for the release of all hostages, urge for aid to be let unobstructed into Gaza, ban arms sales to the Israeli Government, recognise a state of Palestine, and further sanction the Israeli Government when they infringe international law, and that includes sanctions on Netanyahu himself.
It is an honour to have been elected to represent the town that made me the person I am—the town whose teachers believed in me, whose scout leaders challenged me and whose local businesses took a punt on me by giving me my first job. I hope to be able to represent our town for many, many years to come.
As we draw to the end of our time before the summer recess, I would like to extend a very open invitation to Eastbourne to any hon. Member who has not yet booked their summer holiday. Eastbourne is officially the sunniest town in the UK. It has more hours of sunlight than anywhere else in the country—to the disdain of the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Alison Griffiths). I hope that Members will come and sample some of the best of Eastbourne delights.
Josh Babarinde
I will not take the hon. Member’s intervention, unless he is going to confirm my point. [Interruption.] Okay, I will take his intervention.
Adam Jogee
One of the highlights of my first year has been being confused with the hon. Gentleman on several occasions, including being left with his dinner receipt in the Members’ dining room. So, if I do go to Eastbourne, I hope that he will pick up the bill for once.
Josh Babarinde
I certainly owe the hon. Member one, but that is not quite as bad as when I was mistaken for another mixed race Member when I once forgot my pass and was granted a pass of somebody else—who may or may not be the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty). I did not settle the bill left with the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), but I look forward to continuing to exchange stories about mistaken identity in the WhatsApp group—the DEI crew—that we have created. Currently, I think it is 11-5 to me in being mistaken more times than the hon. Member for Huntingdon, but I am sure that there will be many more adventures and shenanigans on that front as time goes on.
I will if I may return to my point in my last 30 seconds. I say to hon. Members that Eastbourne is open for business. It is open for their custom and it is open for their leisure. Our 94 individual beaches await.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
I join colleagues from across the House in paying tribute to Sir David Amess.
Luton is my home and I love it. I want to put on record the work that people in my constituency do to make it such a thriving community. Whether it is people motivated through their faith, such as the amazing Luton Council of Faiths—the churches, the mosques, the mandirs and the gurudwaras, which support people across Luton North—or people’s individual values, our community is motivated by a shared purpose to see a thriving town full of healthy people and a successful future shared by all. We are fortunate to have people who go above and beyond for our town, including Robbie and Lisa Herrick and all those who signed my petition to secure a safer Putteridge Road outside the school, and those of us who are continuing to fight for a speed limit of 20 mph in both directions and improved traffic-calming measures. We have seen far too many examples of dangerous driving in Luton, but especially outside schools.
Then we have the work of the brilliant Chidi and Enitan, who run the over-50s black men forum, giving older black men spaces to meet and socialise across the region, and all the public health benefits that come with that. I really wish them the best of luck when Luton take on Essex at their next table tennis match.
Groups such as Greenhouse Mentoring and Luton Someries Rotary club put the success of future generations at the heart of all that they do—from raising funds for polio vaccinations abroad to working in our town, mentoring children through tough teenage years. The Luton Rotary club had a brilliant result in supporting children through their SATs—seeing an improvement from 58% to 83%.Spending time with these groups is seriously good for the soul. Our bodies—our very, very tired bodies—such as Luton Jets, Luton Town Ladies and litter picks with Kevin Poulton’s ABCD-in-Luton, all contribute quietly but powerfully to our community fabric. They make our town happy and healthy. I have loved joining the litter picks throughout the year and seeing so many young people join in, taking pride in our local environment.
On growth, we have had £5 billion-worth of investment in our local economy in and around Luton—from our airport and Universal Studios to Goodman’s taking over the Vauxhall site. They are the biggies, but I give a shout-out to small and local businesses across Luton North every single Saturday. Many innovative small businesses are part of our amazing community and I have loved meeting every single one of them, including Stylise Autos, and Grand Bazar supermarket which I opened on Leagrave Road. If ever anybody is at my office, they should pop down Marsh Road and speak to Mashud and Maroof at Tamarind Restaurant, and they will make sure you do not go hungry. I have just completed my 200th Small Business Saturday, and I hope that businesses in Luton North know that I am here for them and that I will continue shouting about how good they are.
So far, my team has managed nearly 4,000 cases on behalf of people in Luton North, but still the single biggest issue is the increasingly desperate situation in Gaza, where tens of thousands people have been killed. Israeli forces have destroyed every hospital in Gaza, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency struggle to provide schooling to starving children among the rubble and continued attacks.
Until the international community takes further action, Netanyahu’s pursuit of an ethnically cleansed Palestine will not end, and the horrors of genocide will become a waking nightmare for those still alive to witness it. At the earliest opportunity, our Government must recognise a Palestinian state, extend arms embargoes and ensure that aid safely reaches those who need it. More than this, we need a vision that goes beyond recognition—a vision of building a Palestine and middle east of safety and freedom, free from terror and violence.
Closer to home, pensioners in the UK have had an anxious time, but something that has not yet hit the headlines was brought to me in my last surgery at Warden Hill community centre. Thomas Lee has done the right thing all his life: he saved and paid into a pension to secure his future in later years. However, his contracted-out additional pension scheme was the state earnings-related pension scheme, or SERPS. The scheme ended in 2002, meaning that Thomas and some 2 million like him have lost out. It would be really welcome if any review of the pension system ensured that those like Mr Lee did not continue to lose out.
Like many in this place, my thoughts will soon turn to going home, and as they do, I really wish that Leagrave station had the lifts that it was promised by the last Government. Nearly 2 million journeys are made from that station, and it is high time we had lifts, not scaffolding holding up our broken bridge. There is so much I would have liked to talk about today, in one of the nicest debates in Parliament, but I will not take up more time. I will only say that I feel lucky to live and work in Luton North. I could not ask for better people to work alongside, so let us keep walking down that road together.
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
I am pleased to speak in the Sir David Amess Adjournment debate. One of the highlights of my year is my annual summer surgery tour; I hold over 75 surgeries in towns and villages across my constituency over 10 days. This is in addition to my usual monthly surgeries. The summer recess gives me the opportunity to get to the more remote and isolated parts of my constituency with my Scottish Parliament colleague Rachael Hamilton MSP. There are still a few appointments available, so I encourage anyone out there who would like one to get in touch and book one.
It has been another busy year. I want to focus on some of the campaigns in the Scottish Borders over the last year, and the incredible work of those in the Borders who make our community such an amazing place to live. Access to cash is a huge issue there. Residents in Eyemouth and Selkirk have been left without adequate banking facilities for far too long. I was delighted to present a petition in the House of Commons, signed by over 1,400 local people, calling for new banking hubs to be created. The Scottish Borders need more banking hubs, so that local people have access to the essential services they need. The hub in Jedburgh in my constituency is a very good example. It serves local businesses and residents, and is supported by local staff from the post office.
The Scottish Borders are under attack: there are far too many windfarms, solar farms, battery energy storage units and pylons. The Borders is a beautiful place to live and visit, but that beautiful landscape is being blighted by new energy infrastructure. I have been leading a campaign against these developments, and we formed a group called Action Against Pylons Scottish Borders to lead the campaign in our local communities. I particularly pay tribute to the outgoing chair of the group, Rosi Lister, for all her work in getting it up and running, and for her support in leading this campaign. I also thank the dozens of other residents who have supported this cause.
One of the big, controversial stories in the Scottish Borders in recent months has been the Scottish Borders council’s attempts to shut or mothball several nurseries. Local residents were quite rightly furious about the council’s initial proposals. The decision was wrong and needed to be reversed. I met so many parents who were concerned that their young children would be forced to travel long distances to go to nursery. Many other parents were going to be forced to give up work, simply to look after their kids. It was a disgrace that the council was ignoring the views of so many parents and families across the Borders, but I am pleased that the council rightly saw sense and is reviewing the decision. To make matters worse, the council is now considering a consultant’s report on closing further public services, such as libraries, swimming pools and leisure centres. I am completely against most of those proposals, and will continue to campaign against them.
I pay tribute to volunteers across the Scottish Borders. I started my “volunteer of the year” awards to celebrate the many dedicated and selfless people in the Borders who do whatever they can to help others. I received hundreds of entries, and it is hard to choose who to award, but I will mention a few. Kyle McKinlay, who coaches young teams at Tweedbank Thistle football club, is making a big difference in his community. David Shepherd is involved in organisations including Presenting Coldstream, Coldstream football club and Coldstream bowling club. There are also all the volunteers at Lavender Touch in Galashiels, who provide incredible support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. Their work and support make incredibly difficult times for people a little bit easier.
Finally, I pay tribute to Kelso cyclist Oscar Onley, who at the age of 22 is competing in the Tour de France as we speak. He is truly an inspiration to many young cyclists, not only in the Borders but across Scotland and all parts of the United Kingdom. I have fond memories of Oscar, because when I was training to do my ironman back in 2014, he, at the age of 11, showed me how to cycle up some of the very steep hills in the Scottish Borders. Even at that young age, he demonstrated mastery, and what a great cycling talent he was going to be. I am sure he has a fantastic cycling career ahead of him. I wish him well in the Tour de France over the coming days, and with his future cycling career.
Sarah Hall (Warrington South) (Lab/Co-op)
As we rise for the summer recess, I want to take a moment to reflect on the real work happening back home in Warrington South in our schools, our community spaces, our hospitals and our homes. Parliament may not be sitting much longer, but that does not stop the work at home to deliver the change that our communities voted for last year. In recent weeks, I have visited schools and education programmes for children and young people, including Evelyn Street and Willow Green, and I have had the pleasure of welcoming pupils from St Philip and Barrow Hall to Parliament. Every conversation I have had with teachers, parents and education staff comes back to the same message: we need to get inclusive education right from the start. That means making sure that children with additional needs can access the right support early, and that specialist child and adolescent mental health services are not a postcode lottery.
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on inclusion and nurture in education, and as an officer of the APPG on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I see the national picture. In Warrington, I see the issues every day in the families I speak to, the schools I visit, and the casework that comes through my inbox. I hear from families who are doing everything they can, and teachers who are going the extra mile, but too often they do not have the right support or specialist provision for their young people.
At the heart of everything I do is the simple belief that every child, every family and every constituent should feel safe, seen and supported. That is why I have backed the Government’s plan to expand free school meals to every child whose family receives universal credit—a change that will support thousands of families across Warrington South. With new, free breakfast clubs on the way for every primary school, we are taking real steps to ensure that no child starts the day hungry. That is practical, compassionate and reflects something I hear time and again from parents and teachers alike: children learn best when they are fed, focused and ready to learn. While I am glad to see the Government moving in the right direction, there is still a way to go. I will keep fighting for a system that works for every child, not just the lucky few.
Inclusion does not end at the school gate; it extends to places where communities come together, such as our local leisure centres. Broomfields in Appleton is a much-loved facility that plays a vital role in keeping people active, connected and healthy, but it is ageing and needs serious investment. If we are serious about public health, we must invest in the everyday spaces that make it possible, and repair and refurbish leisure centres like Broomfields. We have seen what is possible when local facilities get the investment they need. In Bewsey and Dallam, we now have a proper community hub—a space that I was proud to help bring forward. Let me be clear: places like Broomfields deserve that same level of care, investment and attention.
When it comes to services and infrastructure, our local hospital matters, but after 14 years of under-investment, my constituents are being let down by a system that is struggling to keep up with demand. In the past, false promises were made. I refuse to do that; I want to be honest with my constituents about the situation we find ourselves in. Securing a brand-new hospital is a complex, long-term challenge. Many of the hospitals in the Government’s new hospital programme that are ahead of us in the queue are not expected to be completed until well into the next decade, so it is clear that this problem will not be solved overnight. Warrington deserves a new hospital; that is why my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) and I will keep campaigning to make that a reality.
At the same time, we have a duty to act now to tackle the immediate pressures facing our local health services, and to make a difference where we can. That is why, a few months ago, at Prime Minister’s questions, I made the case for a new urgent treatment centre in Warrington. Since then, I have had a meeting with the Health Secretary to set out just how transformational that project could be for our town. The plan is practical and ready to go, and has been designed to ease pressure on A&E and improve access to urgent care for residents. It is now with NHS England. I thank everyone involved, especially our brilliant NHS teams, including Nik and Lucy, for their vision, dedication and tireless commitment to improving healthcare in Warrington.
The focus on practical, local solutions does not stop with the hospital; it carries through to the everyday support being delivered in our neighbourhoods. Just down the road, the Bread and Butter Thing at Dallam continues to support families with dignity and care, and in Bewsey, the community shop, which I helped to open, has become a lifeline, offering affordable food and a welcoming space at the heart of the neighbourhood.
Flooding causes real worry in parts of Warrington South. On new year’s day, I was out supporting residents, directly helping people find alternative accommodation, delivering hot meals when the power was out, and launching a fundraiser to support families. The impact of the flooding was devastating, and for many, the recovery is ongoing. Residents of Sankey Bridges, Penketh, Dallam and Bewsey know all too well what it means to live with the constant risk of flooding. That is why I have worked hard to secure over £2 million in additional funding to move the Sankey brook flood risk management scheme into its design phase, and why I will keep fighting for that important scheme.
As Parliament rises for the summer, the work continues. For me, being an MP is not just about what happens in this Chamber, but about the conversations on the doorstep, the support we offer in moments of crisis, and the changes we fight for every single day. I will keep showing up, listening and doing everything I can to make sure that Warrington South gets the future it deserves.
Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this summer Adjournment debate, fittingly named after my dear friend and colleague, the late Sir David Amess. However, it is with regret and sadness that I feel the need to draw to the attention of the House the way in which Sir David’s family has been continuously mistreated. As I have said time and again, including at Prime Minister’s questions, there must be a statutory public inquiry into what happened to David.
Last March, the Amess family met the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary at No. 10 Downing Street, supported by their former MP Anna Firth, who continues to do commendable work for the family and their campaign for justice. As many have noted, particularly my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), the family were petitioned to work within Lord Anderson’s process. Again they tried to do the right thing; again they tried to comply with the Government’s approach; and again, as it turns out, that was a grave mistake.
The Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and, indeed, Lord Anderson, promised to keep the grieving Amess family front and centre of the process. The family were meant to have a guiding—indeed, a leading—role, but that did not happen. Instead, they were kept to the sidelines, and were not treated as being in a unique position; and the media received information before they did. The treatment of the Amess family has been simply outrageous. The process should have been followed more diligently, and the Amess family should have been treated with significantly greater dignity.
Having lost their father and husband, who was a wonderful friend to us all, the Amess family should have been first, not last, in the pecking order. His Majesty’s Government should show some more respect for the memory of our late dear colleague, and as I have said before, there must now be a full public inquiry, not only matching the Government’s words with appropriate action, but ensuring that lessons are learned. From the Government, we must see an urgent effort to establish the full facts, learn the full lessons from the failings of Prevent, and determine what will be done in future to avoid a repeat of such a crime against this House and, indeed, democracy.
The hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde) referred a few moments ago to the late Member for Eastbourne, Ian Gow, a dear friend of mine who was also murdered. He was murdered by an IRA bomb on 30 July 1990, 35 years ago. Ian was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher, and he first introduced me to Mrs Thatcher in 1982. He was cruelly murdered by the IRA in 1990. In the 35th year since his murder, let us remember him as well. He was a great man and a bulldog of a politician—a great British bulldog. We still miss him today.
As Members will know, I am proud of being from the county of Essex, as indeed was Sir David Amess, and if I may, I will take a few moments to say this: Romford is Essex and Havering is Essex, but we have been denied the right to play any part in the discussions about Essex devolution. Essex is our county. It is our historic county. Romford and Havering are geographically tied to the people of Essex, yet we are forced against our wishes to be under the artificial construct called Greater London. I hope that, even at this late stage, the Government will relook at this and give the people of Romford and Havering a chance to have a different form of local government so that we can focus on what is best for our borough of Havering and rekindle the links to our historic county of Essex. I ask all Members to look at the wonderful historic county flags on display in Parliament Square. What a wonderful display it is of the fantastic historic counties of the United Kingdom, in which the Essex flag is the most prominent.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to be able to speak in this afternoon’s debate. May I pay a heartfelt tribute to Sir David Amess? He was a wonderful man. I also pay tribute to Ian Gow MP for his vital work earlier in the history of this country.
I am very proud of our town, and want to speak about Reading and in particular my constituency of Reading Central. It is a new constituency, although it covers almost exactly the same territory that the Reading constituency covered in the 1950s, so there is some history there. It is very much focused in the town centre and the nearby parts of the town. We have had a year of contrasts, and I want to raise a few important points about my constituency and thank many local people for their work in our community.
It is vital that I start with the recent developments at Reading football club. I say an enormous thank you to Rob Couhig for buying the club and helping us out of the terrible trough that we were in. I also thank the Government for their work, including previous cross-party work, on the Football Governance Bill, an important piece of legislation that I believe will prevent any other English club from suffering the dreadful fate that Reading suffered for five years under an irresponsible owner who threatened its very future. I want to thank not only the new owner but the players and fans of Reading who have been through an unimaginable time. It is with great pride that we support our club and we look forward to a better season in the new football season later this year.
I appreciate the pressure on time this afternoon, so I will try to focus my remarks on a few other key issues in our community. One other vital issue for many of my residents, and for me, is the future of Reading jail. This wonderful historic building, which dates back to the 1850s, has been left empty for some years, and I have campaigned for some time, as many colleagues may know, for it to be turned into an arts and heritage hub in memory of Oscar Wilde, who was incarcerated there. It would be the most incredible facility for our town, bringing new opportunities in the arts and heritage to Reading. Indeed, it would also encourage tourism to the town, given that we are the western terminus of the Elizabeth line and very close to not only London but cities such as Oxford and Bristol.
I am pleased that the jail was bought by a sympathetic developer, and I look forward to a successful tender exercise for a new architect and further planning work being carried out.
I am also pleased that in the interim, the jail is being used for filming. If anyone watches crime thrillers, they may notice that some prison interior shots are filmed in Reading jail. That is an indication of just how wonderful the site could be. Back in 2014, there was an incredible exhibition at the jail run by the charity Artangel, in which individual cells were used for installation art, and Oscar Wilde’s poetry was read in the prison chapel. It was an incredibly moving experience. One member of the arts world from London was talking on his phone in front of me as we walked down one of the cast-iron walkways, which looked like something straight out of “Porridge”, and he said the wonderful words, “I’m in Reading. It’s really rather good.” I hope that more people can appreciate our town and understand how really rather good we are.
I would like to briefly celebrate our rivers and wonderful green spaces. There was some great news yesterday from the Environment Secretary about action to tackle pollution in rivers, a huge issue locally in both the Thames and the Kennet, a major tributary, and other watercourses such as Holy Brook, which have been polluted shockingly in recent years. We have also suffered from flooding. However, there is great news of important improvements to parks and riverside spaces led by Reading borough council and in partnership with many other community organisations.
I am aware that I have limited time, but I would like to briefly plug other local heritage, including the restoration of Cemetery arch, a historic landmark in Reading. I pay tribute to our dear friend Nick Cooksey, who sadly passed away, who had been leading the project brilliantly. I look forward to further work on the project. I thank our wonderful voluntary groups and our many small businesses that make us such a vibrant town and the major shopping centre for southern England. I am grateful for the new investment in the town at Station Hill where nearly £1 billion has been spent renovating the area and improving it dramatically, with a super new tower full of business accommodation and several new large blocks of flats in the area, which was once home to a car park.
I want to celebrate our public services, particularly our NHS, schools and police, who do such a wonderful job. I conclude by thanking you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak, and I once again pay tribute to Sir David. This is a wonderful tradition, and I am proud to have contributed.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
It is a pleasure to follow my constituency neighbour the hon. Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda). I can confirm that Reading is an excellent place to do shopping; it is a vibrant city with excellent restaurants and an important regional hospital. I am disappointed that the hospital will not be rebuilt until the 2040s, but we will, like all constituency MPs who circle the Royal Berkshire hospital, continue to advocate for it.
It has been a pleasure to represent over the past year my constituents of Henley and Thame. It has been pleasing to back some local campaigns, but also to learn some of the national significance that those campaigns have, and I would like to speak to two of them. In my hometown of Henley, I have been campaigning to get Marsh Lock horse bridge reopened since it closed over three years ago. There had been a record of inaction, and when I became the MP, I immediately wrote to Ministers, the Environment Agency, Thames Path national trail and many other organisations—basically, anyone who would listen. I am pleased that that work has made progress. In doing that work, I have discovered a lot more about the state of our infrastructure on our rivers—that is, locks, weirs and bridges. We all know the state of infrastructure when it comes to education, health and our roads, but lesser known is the poor state of our locks, weirs and bridges. They are essential infrastructure for river navigation and safety on the river, and if we did not have them, my hometown of Henley pretty much would not exist and would not have a river running through it—or at least there would not be any water in it. I would like to highlight that situation and call on Ministers to continue looking at how additional funding can be raised for the Environment Agency and its vital work there.
The second campaign I have been focusing on is the Thame to Haddenham greenway. Thame and the village of Haddenham are just three miles apart. Haddenham has the train station, and Thame is the major town with shops, schools and many facilities.
The two are not connected by an off-road greenway capable of taking active travel. I have been campaigning alongside residents to get that going. That is why I introduced an amendment on compulsory purchase orders to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
As we know, compulsory purchase orders are readily used for road projects, but they are difficult to use for active travel projects. That is why I called for Government guidance on that. Unfortunately, my amendment was not successful, but I am pleased that Active Travel England will bring forward guidance, including two case studies on how other councils have successfully used CPOs. I am grateful to the Government for pushing that forward. A cycleway between Goring and Wallingford would also benefit my community. Again, I hope that the Government will continue to invest in active travel.
I will touch briefly on another issue that I have been campaigning on: the lack of ADHD services in Oxfordshire. With no adult service commissioned for annual reviews by a specialist, once someone with ADHD who is well controlled on medication reaches the one-year limit, as required by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, GPs are removing prescriptions from them. That is an absolutely scandalous and very dangerous situation for people with ADHD. I urge the Government to move quickly in their task of implementing the recommendations of the forthcoming taskforce publication, to ensure that we are properly treating and looking after people with ADHD.
In my remaining time, I will mention some of the excellent organisations that I have had the pleasure of meeting, including the Men’s Shed in Peppard; the Sharing Life Trust in Thame, which does excellent work as a food bank; the River Tame Conservation Trust; the Riverside Counselling Service; and the Henley YMCA. Like many first-time MPs who spent their summer recruiting officers and doing a lot of admin, I am very much looking forward to this recess, as I am sure all Members are. But rest assured that I and my Lib Dem colleagues will be back in September to continue holding the Government and the official Opposition to account, and I look forward—
Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)
I join colleagues in paying tribute to Sir David Amess, a true champion of his constituency. With that inspiration in mind, and with the summer recess ahead, I want to celebrate just a few of the incredible people and the progress made in Nuneaton.
Nuneaton has the proud legacy of hosting the first legal Lionesses game, so I will start with football. Just over a year ago, our football team, Nuneaton Town FC, had no home, no team and no committee, yet this year they have managed to top the league, achieving promotion with 121 goals. I thank the board, the fans, Ministers and the Football Foundation for their support. I look forward to bringing our club back home.
This past year has shown me the enormous heart and talent of my town. I commend those who supported the George Eliot hospital through the mayor’s appeal. It raised £46,000, which was presented by Mayor Bill Hancox and Alderwoman Sheila Hancox earlier this year. The breast cancer unit will now hopefully move into a new diagnostics centre to continue supporting health in our communities. I thank the dedicated staff at George Eliot hospital, especially Annette Tracey, who retired after 51 years in the NHS, including 45 years in the breast cancer unit. Their work has reduced waiting lists and improved care not only across Nuneaton but across our country.
Mary Ann Evans hospice remains a pillar of our community. It is the proud legacy and final resting place of one of my predecessors, the honourable Bill Olner. I join my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) in celebrating “Cheers to 60” with CEO Liz Hancock, who has selflessly turned over her 60th year to raising even more funds for those vital services.
I am proud that Nuneaton and Bedworth elected its first Nepalese-Gurkha mayor, Councillor Bhim Saru, who is a strong advocate for St Mary’s ward and the Gurkha community as a whole.
Around Nuneaton, we are making good progress on improving job prospects. This year I have visited many businesses, schools and training institutes. Hercules Construction Academy trained more than 1,000 apprentices last month. North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire college’s supported internships are breaking down barriers for disabled people to access good work, and it was a privilege to revisit four of those interns who are now in good work and thriving, their confidence booming. It was an honour to hold the first SEND Parliament earlier this year and to see how the Government can support the expansion of these schemes.
This year, we held our first Nuneaton sports and activities festival, which was a great success, showcasing the role of sports in community cohesion and improving health and wellbeing. Clubs like Nuneaton rugby football club and Nuneaton Taekwon-Do are thriving, with Nuneaton’s George Wright winning bronze at the 2024 European championships.
Like most post-industrial towns, Nuneaton has seen its challenges, but our town centre is now transforming. New college buildings, a food hall, retail units and a leisure hub are nearing completion. The business improvement district is thriving and jumping into action with new wardens and a packed schedule of summer events. We still have issues with crime and antisocial behaviour, which are being tackled by the brilliant officers at Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council, in conjunction with Councillor Nicky King and Warwickshire police. We are seeing the return of designated town centre officers and a summer crime blitz to make Nuneaton the proud place we all need to see.
It has been an honour to serve Nuneaton this year. In the key areas of jobs, health, education and crime, we are making real progress. I look forward to continuing this work and rebuilding our thriving, proud town. I thank my team and the House staff who support Members for all their work, which makes it possible to make the change we were put here to make. I wish them a restful, peaceful and safe break.
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
It is a pleasure to speak in the Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate, which is one of my favourite debates of the year, because it gives all parliamentarians the opportunity to talk about the fantastic places and communities we represent.
We are blessed to have an excellent network of charities in Keighley and Ilkley tackling mental health issues. Andy’s Man Club, Nebula Girls’ Group, AWARE and Missing Peace Wellbeing and Support all do fantastic work. I was privileged to host them recently at a mental health forum in Ilkley alongside Dr Caroline Rayment, where we brought together a range of stakeholders to talk about the challenges facing younger people. I thank Dr Laura Spells, who came along to give hugely compelling and deeply worrying evidence about the damage that smartphones are doing to our young people. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr Caroline Rayment and those stakeholders to tackle the mental health challenges facing our young people.
In Keighley and Ilkley, we like to do things properly. That is why just last weekend it was excellent to attend two standout shows from both ends of the musical spectrum. Beat-Herder is one of the highlights of the UK festival calendar, and it was fantastic to go along and support the independent show created by six lads from Keighley. I want to say a huge thanks to Jamie Foxon and Nick Chambers for organising that event.
At the other end of the spectrum, the BBC definitely has competition, because Silsden Proms on the Farm was a roaring success for another year running. I pay tribute to Stuart Clarkson, William and Eileen Jowitt and their team of 10 volunteers who put that fantastic event together, raising money for Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice and the Silsden Methodist church. I know that many who attended that fantastic music event visited Olive & Green and Isherwoods butchers beforehand to ensure that their picnics were as good as they could be.
I also attended the Oxenhope straw race, which is in its 50th year. For those in the House who do not know about that event—crikey!—it is where everyone gets dressed up in fancy dress and runs down the Worth valley, having a pint or two in the pubs along the way. The event has raised more than £500,000 for local charities across Keighley and the wider Worth valley. I commend Robin Wright and his team for the excellent work that they have done in bringing it together.
Let me say a huge well done to our local Salvation Army, whose victory programme teaches young people for free how to make cheap and nutritious food. I was lucky to meet some of them just this weekend; I had a great chat with many of them about the challenges they face. I say a huge thank you to Imogen Stewart and her team for the work that they do alongside Rachel to provide those teaching sessions for many people across Keighley.
It is vital to give young people the skills to stay on the right path, and that is why I want to say a huge thank you to Switch Hitters boxing club. I particularly thank Jonny Greenwood for getting it going in Keighley. The club is doing excellent work. I attended it, but I did not get involved in the boxing sessions myself—I have confirmed that I will go back with my shorts on so that I can take part. I felt slightly intimidated by some of the lads from Keighley in their boxing gear, but I will go back and give them some support, because sports clubs do a huge job in providing confidence to young people from across Keighley.
Ilkley is lucky to be the official host of Yorkshire Day on 1 August. We were lucky enough to host it a couple of years ago in Keighley, and we will now host it in Ilkley, which will be a huge success for all residents across our area.
I wish all Members across the House a very happy recess. I hope that they will be out door knocking, speaking to as many constituents as possible and advocating as strongly as possible for the things that matter to them at a local level, as I will be.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
It is a great pleasure to speak in this summer Adjournment debate and to remember the star of the show in years gone by, Sir David Amess, whose plaque sits behind us. I also remember today my dear late friend, Jo Cox. Jo and I served together on the board of the Labour Women’s Network, and I often think of her. I know that we are significantly poorer in this place for the absence of her experience and her voice of real moral authority.
I have to say something about the horrific situation in Gaza. Hon. Members may know that I was there in April last year, in my former role as an aid worker. Even as I have been sitting in this debate, I have had an update on my phone saying that 15 people have died of starvation there in the last 24 hours. Since I heard that the Israeli military is now attacking Deir al-Balah, I have been thinking of a lovely former colleague there who has a disabled daughter. Where are they supposed to flee to? The former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says that his country plans to set up a “concentration camp” in Rafah. The noble Baroness Kennedy said just last week that genocide is taking place. The world must stop these atrocities. Our Government have taken important action, but more is desperately needed, and quickly.
Let me turn to my constituency. Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the Burntisland highland games, the second-oldest highland games in the world. It was a pleasure to join the parade behind the Burntisland and District pipe band, to hear the chieftain declare the games open and to enjoy some of the fine highland dancing on display. I congratulate the games committee on a very fine event.
I will continue to work on improving accessibility at Burntisland train station—an issue that I have raised directly with both Network Rail and the Secretary of State for Transport. Frankly, Network Rail needs to get on with it, because the community has been asking for an accessible station for many years and has waited for long enough. We need action to make Kinghorn and Cowdenbeath railway stations accessible too.
In such a beautiful coastal constituency, the work of our lifeboats is hugely important. This year, Kinghorn’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat celebrates its diamond jubilee, and I take this opportunity to wish the crew and the committee enormous congratulations and to thank them for the lifesaving service they provide to our community. They have already responded to 70 shouts this year alone. Sixty years of lifesaving service is an incredible achievement.
Turning to Cowdenbeath, I congratulate Cowdenbeath Rotary club on its centenary, and draw attention to the wonderful mining plaque that was unveiled in Brunton Square on Tuesday. That plaque commemorates Cowdenbeath’s proud mining history and the key role that the area played in powering our nation. Of course, it also commemorates the miners who tragically lost their lives in the pits.
Over in Kirkcaldy, I pay tribute to all those who played such a vital role in organising this year’s inaugural Lang Toun Fest. The work of all involved deserves recognition—they have given the town a cultural, musical, educational and artistic spring in its step in recent weeks, and I am already looking forward to next year’s Lang Toun Fest.
I hope to work with all the organisations in Kirkcaldy that I have mentioned as we provide input and ideas on regeneration to Fife council, which will decide how to spend the Chancellor’s multimillion-pound investment through the new growth mission fund on Kirkcaldy’s town centre and seafront. I am hugely proud that our Labour Government recognise the potential of our town and are investing in our place and our people after years of SNP and Tory neglect. I have created a survey on my website that has already been signed by over 350 local residents, and over recess I will be holding meetings, surgeries, roundtables and pop-up events to hear more from constituents, businesses and community organisations about what they want to see. I will pass their views on to Fife council. At the same time, I promise that I continue to press the Treasury to secure as much funding as possible.
I congratulate Growing Kirkcaldy on being nominated for a Britain in Bloom award for the best town or city centre—the only Scottish town in that category. It makes our town more beautiful, and we will all be holding our breath on 15 August as the two-hour judging walkabout makes its way around the Lang Toun. I wish Growing Kirkcaldy the very best of luck, and I wish every Member here a peaceful recess and thank the House staff for all their support.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
Order. Before I hand over to the Chairman of Ways and Means, I would like to say that this will be my last session in the Chair for the foreseeable future. I thank colleagues for the courtesy with which I have been treated, and thank you in particular for the tributes that you have paid to my friend David Amess. David and I signed on the register on the same day when we came into the House. I am very grateful to you all.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I join the House in thanking you for your work as Chair.
It is an honour to speak in this debate, held in memory of Sir David Amess. His legacy reminds us what it is to be an MP—to show up and champion the concerns of the people we represent. That is the spirit I have carried with me throughout my first year as the Member of Parliament for the brand new seat of Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
Over this year, access to health and social care has remained one of the most pressing challenges. I have heard from a constituent in Berkhamsted who faces an eight-month delay for their NHS appointment; from Katie from Aldbury, an expectant mother who could not get an NHS dentist appointment within 50 miles; and Clare from Harpenden, who cared for her mother with dementia while juggling newborn twins and has been pushed to the brink with little support. It was an honour to welcome the family of Ed Holderness, who sadly took his life at the age of 24—they are campaigning on the importance of mental health care. Locally, I congratulate organisations such as Hector’s House and Youth Talk on their work. We have seen movement on the NHS, which I welcome, but we urgently need proper reform, including prioritisation of mental health and social care work. As I have done throughout this year, I again urge the Government to start cross-party talks on social care sooner rather than later.
The environment demands equal attention. My constituency has four of the world’s rare chalk streams, which are beautiful places—the Ver, the Bulbourne, the Gade and the Lea—yet Markyate sewage treatment works has dumped sewage into the River Ver for almost 5,000 hours in the past 12 months, and around 3,000 of those hours were non-stop. It was an honour to secure my first Westminster Hall debate on tackling sewage in chalk streams. I have met Thames Water to push for action on upgrading Markyate’s sewage works, and I welcomed the Government’s proposals yesterday. I look forward to meeting the relevant Minister to see how those changes can be used to prioritise the upgrading of those sewage works. I thank organisations such as the Ver Valley Society, the Friends of the River Bulbourne, Sustainable St Albans, EcoBerko and Sustainable Tring, which will not let me stop campaigning on these important issues.
Moving on to our high streets and families, small businesses are still struggling, and as someone who grew up helping my mum on the shop floor, this issue is close to home. Many businesses, such as Temptation in Berkhamsted, Threads of Harpenden and Almar in Tring, say that they are still struggling, and many are questioning how they can cope with the rise in employment costs, national insurance costs and rents, as well as other costs. They are struggling, and they are asking, “Will we stay open?” These businesses, as Members from all parts of the House have said, are the lifeblood of our local communities. I urge the Government to rethink some of those proposals and think about how we can support our high streets and small businesses.
Transport is a growing concern in my constituency. We have seen continued cuts to vital services, including to the X5, which connects constituents across Tring and Berkhamsted. While I am pleased that the frequency of Red Eagle services has increased to every 30 minutes —we have worked hard with local campaigners—many communities remain isolated. I will continue that work, but we need more support from Government. Unfortunately, local authorities are struggling to deliver under the current financial constraints. Hertfordshire county council recently outlined grave concerns about the fair funding review, which sees the council face a reduction of £45 million to £55 million in its grant. That is not just a budget squeeze, but a direct threat to those social services and transport services that are delivered to our communities.
On a positive note, I have been excited about the work we have done on science, innovation and technology, especially closer to home. A safer screens tour has allowed me to bring the voice of young people to that work nationally. It was a real proud MP moment when, after I had visited and spoken to two of my local schools—Ashlyns school and Berkhamsted school—they decided to get together and students themselves wanted to campaign on online safety. I urge the Government to listen to those calls for change.
Throughout the past year, my team and I have handled more than 10,000 pieces of casework. It is some of the most enriching work that we do. I have held more than 300 local meetings and raised questions and issues more than 500 times with the Government. Every one of those has been on behalf of residents of Harpenden and Berkhamsted. I thank colleagues across the House for their support, and I especially thank my team, who have helped deliver for local residents as I have found my feet in my first year as an MP.
I hope that my time as an MP reflects the principles I put forward in my maiden speech: to be guided by the values of community, tolerance and perseverance. Most importantly, I thank the community organisations that deliver for Harpenden, Berkhamsted, Tring and my beautiful villages, including the Harpenden Trust, the Swan Youth Project, Open Door, food banks, the Harpenden Money Advice Centre and many others. I wish everyone a fantastic recess as we go back to our constituencies to be refreshed for when we come back in September.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
There are about 16 colleagues bobbing. For me to try to get them all in, I will have to reduce the speaking limit again to four minutes. It may reduce again.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
It is an honour to speak in this debate today. I pay tribute to Sir David Amess, who I never met but whose legacy and values live on.
I start by marking Norfolk Day, which is taking place this Sunday. It takes place on 27 July every year to celebrate everything that makes Norfolk special, from its beautiful landscape to its history and its community spirit. I take the opportunity to say thank you to the community groups and voluntary organisations in Norfolk and Norwich who do so much on this day and all year round. I have enjoyed visiting many of them over the past year and will continue to do so.
Norfolk is not just a county of beauty and tourist charm; it is the driest county in the country, even though it might not be the sunniest, although I might dispute that. We are not just a county of beauty and tourist charm; we are also a county full of innovation and creativity. Great things often arise quietly from Norfolk, be that the first UK Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, our leading naval hero Lord Nelson, or Julian of Norwich, who is thought to be the first woman to write a book in English that has survived. Many great things continue to come from Norfolk, including Alfie Hewett, and Lauren Hemp, who will be playing this evening against Italy for the Lionesses. I am sure Members will join me in sending them the best of luck as they progress in their campaign.
We have an opportunity to maximise the potential of the county further through devolution, and I am pleased that Norfolk is in the devolution priority programme. That, along with local government reorganisation, will enable us to attract more investment, secure more jobs and deliver better services for our residents. With limited time, I will turn to three constituency issues. I am very proud to represent Norwich North.
First, on health, many great things come from Norfolk and Norwich, as I have said, and that includes pioneering health research work. I recently hosted the University of East Anglia in Parliament to showcase its work on prostate cancer diagnosis. That could transform the lives of men around the world. Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is also leading a world-first drug trial to tackle endometriosis. Women’s health is a priority for me, so I am glad to see such pioneering work on my doorstep.
However, we face many health challenges, and the most noticeable is dentistry. We have made some good progress so far, with 21,000 urgent extra appointments allocated to Norfolk and Waveney, but we must go ahead quickly with reform of the dental contract. I have been reassured by what my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary has said about that. I have also been campaigning, along with other Members, to secure a new dental school at the University of East Anglia. I believe that ours is the only region without one, and it is desperately needed, so I hope to hear good news about that soon. I welcome the Government’s investment at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital and in local doctors’ surgeries; after 14 years of neglect, it was badly needed. I also thank everyone who joined our campaign to save the NHS walk-in centre in Norwich, which was, unbelievably, once more under threat of closure. NHS bosses have listened, and have told my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) and me that such plans will not be proposed again. I will keep up the pressure on, among others, the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust for better mental health services.
Secondly, I want to talk about housing. Too many people in my constituency are struggling to get on the housing ladder, stuck on waiting lists or facing soaring rents. I therefore welcome the £34 million that the Government have given our Labour-led city council to unlock Anglia Square, a site that has needed investment for decades and will now be able to deliver many affordable homes and jobs. This comes alongside the welcome Renters’ Rights Bill, which will, among other things, end no-fault evictions. I hope that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will provide more ways in which to hold developers to their promise to provide community infrastructure. In two instances, play parks have not been delivered.
Thirdly, I want to say something about opportunity. In my constituency and many others, special educational needs present a huge challenge. I will keep pressing for the change that we need, including a new SEND school in Angel Road. I thank all the schools that have hosted me, and the children who have asked such excellent questions. We must ensure that every child has a good job after education. That is why I am so passionate about clean aviation and clean energy in our region.
I do not have time to say much more. Let me end by saying that I will keep fighting for the health, opportunities and homes that my constituents need, and by thanking my team and all my constituents for being so brilliant.
James MacCleary (Lewes) (LD)
I speak today in the tradition of using these debates to highlight issues facing constituents. Sir David Amess set a high bar in making the most of his opportunity to champion his constituents, and while we came from different political traditions, I respect the example that he set.
Let us start with road safety. Over the last year, I have raised serious concerns about rural roads throughout my constituency. I have highlighted dangerous junctions on the A27, and recently backed Arlington parish council’s campaign to improve safety on the rural roads around Arlington and Upper Dicker. Elsewhere, communities have been left to take matters into their own hands. Those living along the C7, which runs through Kingston, Rodmell, Piddinghoe, Southease, Iford and Swanborough, have raised more than £20,000 just to fund a feasibility study as part of the “Safer C7” campaign. The fact that communities are having to crowdfund for something as fundamental as road safety speaks volumes. It is a damning indictment of national Government failure to deliver the infrastructure that our villages and rural communities need.
Let me now turn to the issue of housing and planning. Housing remains one of the greatest pressures facing my community. Too many families are stuck in temporary accommodation while genuinely affordable homes remain out of reach. In areas such as mine, we urgently need high-quality housing in which people can actually afford to live. At the same time, we see poor planning decisions and underused sites wasting precious opportunities. I have raised the case of Talland Parade in Seaford directly with Ministers as a prime example of what happens when developers are allowed to bank brownfield sites in town centres to the detriment of communities. I am hopeful that promised new powers in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will give local authorities the powers to act, at last, on cases such as this. We do need new homes, but they must come with the infrastructure to support them, along with proper consultation with local residents and a focus on affordability.
I am glad that my local district council listened to local concerns, and chose not to include the Eton new town proposal in its draft local plan. That was absolutely the right decision. Speculative, large-scale developments of that kind, dropped into rural areas without proper infrastructure or consultation, do not serve our communities. Meanwhile, villages such as Ringmer are being bombarded with a constant stream of individual housing applications, with no investment in roads, schools or healthcare to match. That is not planning; it is placing pressure on communities that are already at breaking point.
Transport provision is key to making planning decisions. I welcomed last week’s news of a direct rail service from Eastbourne to London Bridge, via Polegate, Berwick, Glynde, Lewes and Cooksbridge, which is a step in the right direction for rail connectivity across the south-east, but like many of my constituents in the area I was very unhappy to learn that it would not stop at Plumpton. My constituents deserve better than to be left behind in major transport decisions, and I will be objecting to the rail operator, GTR, and to the Department for Transport in the strongest terms.
Finally, constituents regularly raise with me the ongoing and unacceptable closure of the west beach in Newhaven—the only stretch of sandy beach in our area. Even nearby coastal towns, such as the aforementioned and wonderous Eastbourne, cannot match up to our sandy stretch in Newhaven. Shut off by Newhaven Port & Properties, which is partly controlled by the French authorities, this treasured local space has been out of bounds to residents for too long. I have engaged directly with those responsible to demand answers and to push for the beach to be reopened. This is not just about a stretch of sand; it is about fairness, local pride, and the right of communities to enjoy what should be a shared public asset. Generations of local families have memories of happy summers spent on that beach. They should not have to look back wistfully; they should be able to return to it. We will keep fighting to reopen the west beach—enough is enough.
None of these problems exists in isolation. The issues of road safety, GP access and housing all reveal a deeper failure of governance over many years. I will keep working with my local constituents, residents and campaign groups to get real change on the issues that matter, and to provide genuine representation for residents in Seaford, Newhaven, Lewes, Polegate and every village that I represent.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
A portion of Southend West was represented by David Amess, and I call the new MP for the area.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
It is not lost on me that I have huge shoes to fill in this place, as I stand here representing the constituency that was Sir David Amess’s. I send my thoughts to his wife Lady Julia and all the family, and I hope that we can find a way to give them the answers that they need. This is my second year of contributing to the Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate, and the last year has gone so quickly, but the passage of time has not eroded the memory of Sir David Amess. Many Members on both sides of the House, and many people in my constituency, will never forget him. He is very much missed.
In my constituency, Tony Martin, who runs the Chalkwell lifeguards station, set up a temporary memorial to Sir David, with lots of pictures from his life and his time in Parliament. It was a fantastic temporary display, and I am delighted that over the last couple of months I have been able to work with Lady Julia and some of Sir David’s team to put in place a permanent display on the wall of the lifeguards station. I thank everybody who has been involved in that project.
Of course, one of Sir David’s legacies is that his death led to Southend becoming a city. Every city needs a cathedral, and I have been trying to get one, but it is proving difficult, because Chelmsford has one and there can only be one per diocese. However, I am working with the Bishop of Bradwell to see what we can do about giving special recognition to the historic St Mary’s church, where Sir David had his Southend funeral. I hope that we can get this over the line and that I will get the support of the Church Commissioners in making it happen.
I want quickly to recognise the charity Trust Links, based in my constituency, which turned 25 years old a couple of week ago. Its chief executive officer Matt King and its founder Cheryl Higgins have done absolutely fantastic work in transforming a derelict plot of land in Westcliff into an outstanding project, which tackles loneliness and social isolation through a range of different activities. The staff there work on mental health as well—it is a true example of what the Government want to do in moving from hospital to the community.
We have been struck by two tragedies in Southend over the last couple of weeks. I want to recognise the death of seven-year-old Leonna Ruka, who was killed by a falling tree in Chalkwell park on 28 June. I send my sympathy to her family. On Sunday 13 July, we had the plane crash at Southend airport; again, I send my thoughts to the families of the four people who were killed. I sincerely thank the emergency services, Southend-on-Sea city council and its leader Councillor Daniel Cowan, the airport staff and the airport’s CEO, Jude Winstanley, for everything they have done on both of these tragedies over the last couple of weeks. Most importantly, I thank the amazing Southend community, who have come out, laid flowers and paid tributes to the family. It has been absolutely heartbreaking to see what has happened over the last couple of weeks.
This is the end of my first year as an MP, and it has been an absolute privilege and honour to serve the people of Southend West and Leigh. We have achieved a lot, and there is plenty more to come. I am looking forward to it, and I wish all Members in this House a very happy and pleasant summer recess.
Ben Lake (Ceredigion Preseli) (PC)
It is an honour to contribute to the Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate. I shall limit myself to a topic that is very important for my constituency of Ceredigion Preseli: the future of coastal rural economies. I shall make the case for a renewed emphasis and focus on the redevelopment and regeneration of those economies, not least because that would go a long way to addressing the Government’s aspiration for growth across the United Kingdom, but also because it would help address a demographic trend that already poses severe challenges for the provision of public services in those areas, and that, if left unarrested, could become critical.
Ceredigion Preseli, like many other constituencies, has an ageing population. The trend is particularly pronounced in my constituency. According to the Office for National Statistics, if current trends continue, 30% of the population of Pembrokeshire and a third of the population of Ceredigion will be older than 65 by the year 2040, which is just 15 years away. I need not explain to hon. Members just how challenging it will to not only maintain the vibrancy of our communities, but ensure effective provision of the wide range of public services that any civilised community and society expects.
In a renewed emphasis, focus and perhaps even strategy on rural and coastal economies, the Government would do well to recognise the importance of small businesses to these communities. In Ceredigion Preseli, some 81% of our over 5,500 businesses are classified as small businesses, and have fewer than 50 employees. This is quite typical for rural areas, where small businesses—especially in the agricultural, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors—drive the local economy.
It would be very welcome if the Government looked again at a policy that used to be in place. I was told yesterday by a former civil servant that back in the Tony Blair Government, one stage in the development of any policy in Whitehall was called rural-proofing—a consideration of the impact of the policy on rural contexts. If that had been reintroduced, I do not think we would have had the inheritance tax changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief, which are already causing great concern. According to a report by Confederation of British Industry Economics, it is estimated that 55% of family businesses and 49% of farm businesses are cancelling proposed investment projects in anticipation of those changes. Small businesses in rural and coastal areas need a little bit of hope and confidence from this Government. Rural-proofing as a stage in policy development, and a dedicated strategy for the redevelopment of rural areas, would go some way to restoring that faith.
In the short time I have left, I will touch briefly on the importance of our higher education sector. Universities and higher education institutions must play a critical role in any strategy for ensuring growth across every part of the United Kingdom. In my constituency, some 3,300 jobs are supported by its universities—that is 10% of all jobs—and it is a real concern that we hear so little about universities’ current quandary.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. I am trying my best to get everybody in, so the speaking limit is now three minutes.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
I wish to pay tribute to the late Sir David Amess. I did not have the privilege of meeting him, but his reputation clearly precedes him, as does that of the late Jo Cox. I am a member of the Speaker’s Conference, and we are doing all we can to propose the changes needed, and get the culture shift required to deter and prevent the intimidation of candidates and elected officials at all levels, so that our precious democracy can thrive. That is particularly vital if we are to encourage young people to get involved in our political system.
The doom mongers are wrong about our young people. Far from being a problem, they are our greatest natural resource—one that is often under-utilised, and that we must unleash. I have tried to do this in my constituency, including by holding a “pitch your policy” event. Young people pitched in one minute the one new policy idea or law change that they would bring in. There were then two minutes of questions from the audience, followed by a vote. Some lacked confidence; others came to the event straight from a basketball session—a good illustration of the fact that we need to go to the places where young people are, and listen. I took the winning idea to the Chamber, where the Leader of the House responded to it, and I thank her for that.
We should bring the voices of young people into the corridors of power, because young people are genuinely interested in their communities, their lives, their country and definitely our world. They have excellent ideas to bring to the fore. They are going to inherit the future; we had better encourage them to engage with politics, so that they can be the architects of that future, rather than merely existing in a world designed by generations past, who have, to put it politely, singularly failed to create a world of opportunity for all our young people.
The voices of young people are not being heard enough; the focus is all too often elsewhere. For example, we heard much noise about the alleged attack on pensioners by the Government. If we zoomed out and looked down from outer space, we would see it is actually the younger generation who have been neglected by Governments of all stripes. Young people do not get a triple lock. They should. They are the generation for whom buying their own home is out of reach, and they have far less job security than previous generations.
Earlier in the week, in a social media video, I asked people to leave a comment saying what changes older generations would need to make for the younger generation to have more influence in politics and lead an empowered life. A. McCaslin said:
“We need the same opportunities that the generation before us had. They dismantled the ladder they used to build their lives and then told us to figure it out like they did.”
When people say to me, “I don’t do politics,” my response is, “Well, politics does you. If you’re not involved, you cede the ground to those who understand the power of politics.” I have been proud to be part of a Government who are rectifying that.
Finally, I want to say, in the limited time I have left, a thank you to all Members of this House and all staff. They have shown newbies like me only support and kindness. The right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) epitomises that—a good example from this generation to the next.
Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)
I pay tribute to Sir David Amess.
I wish to speak about a number of transport issues relating to my constituency. Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Rail Minister to Ashford, where we attended the opening of a new career and skills hub for Southeastern. After the opening, I took the Minister on a tour of Ashford International station, and the part of the station left abandoned since Eurostar decided in 2020 that international rail services would no longer stop at either Ashford or Ebbsfleet. Those parts of the station stand ready for international passengers to use once again. It was great to have the noble Lord Hendy reiterate his and the Government’s support for our campaign to have international rail services return to Kent.
In my year in the House, the other transport issue I have raised just as regularly as the return of international rail to Ashford is the deployment of Operation Brock on the M20. I am sorry that it was necessary to present a petition to the House on the subject last week, on behalf of my constituents. It is hugely disappointing that Kent county council and the Kent and Medway resilience forum have introduced Operation Brock once again, and that it will remain in force until at least 4 August.
The recent announcement that the Dart charge will increase from September has disappointed many of my constituents. If we take that together with the tolls now in place for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, the result is that all those routes will now cost more. We should, of course, encourage people to take public transport wherever we can, and I recognise that the charges are in place to manage traffic numbers. However, many of my constituents will have no option but to pay the increased charge, as they have only one route to work available to them.
Potholes are a blight on the roads in my constituency, just as they are in the constituencies of most Members. It is wrong that, as a result of under-investment by the Conservatives, our constituents have been expected to deal with the repercussions of poor roads and the maintenance backlog that has built up. I welcome the fact that the Government are committing additional resources to fix this problem; they are providing £500 million in extra funding for highway maintenance across the country this year, and Kent county council will receive up to an additional £16 million. If those problems are to be fixed, there will of course need to be roadworks, but I plead on behalf of my constituents for much better co-ordination to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum.
I conclude by thanking you, Madam Deputy Speaker, as well as Mr Speaker, all my colleagues and the staff of this House.
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
It is an honour to speak in my second Sir David Amess Adjournment debate, and to speak of my constituency of Carlisle and the incredible Roman dig there that is rewriting our understanding of Britain’s ancient history.
Carlisle—or, as the Romans called it, Luguvalium—was no ordinary outpost. It was a strategic stronghold on the northern frontier of the Roman empire, and served as a key military and logistical hub, guarding the western end of Hadrian’s wall and controlling movement between Roman Britain and the unconquered lands of Caledonia. The city bore witness to the march of legions, the clash of cultures and the daily lives of soldiers, merchants and their families who lived on the edge of the empire. Now, thanks to this dig, nearly 2,000 years later, we are uncovering their stories, one layer at a time.
The Roman dig at Carlisle cricket club has revealed not just one of the most significant Roman bathhouses ever discovered in Britain, but the largest building on Hadrian’s wall, as well as evidence to suggest that the site may have hosted the Roman Emperor Severus in his final years. Since 2021, this volunteer-led community excavation has unearthed more than 4,000 artefacts, from coins and pottery to tiny, delicate gemstones and huge carved stone heads. These finds tell us not just about Roman engineering or military might, but about people—their habits, beliefs, luxuries and losses.
Carlisle’s Roman past is not a distant memory; it is alive beneath our feet. It reminds us that history is about more than kings and battles—it is about communities, resilience and the enduring human spirit, which is exactly what we have heard about in all our communities this afternoon.
I invite Members to join me in thanking all the volunteers involved in the dig, led by the wonderful Frank Giecco from Wardell Armstrong, and all made possible thanks to funding from the Government, Cumberland council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Together, they are not just uncovering Roman Carlisle, but reminding us that we are but fleeting custodians of our communities, and that we should always treat that responsibility with the same pride and respect that Sir David did.
Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)
I join colleagues in remembering Sir David Amess.
I want to acknowledge the death of my father-in-law last month. He was a wise, kind and decent man, and will be missed by us all. I am grateful to all colleagues for the kindness shown to me and my wife, although I do remain very, very cross that I was forced to travel back to this place to vote on the day that my father-in-law died. Members who have been accused of criminal behaviour can vote by proxy, but people with dying relatives cannot. That is off the mark. It is unacceptable, and it must change.
It has been a privilege to serve the good people of Newcastle-under-Lyme over the past year. Being the voice of our community in Parliament is the honour of my life, and I am conscious of that responsibility every single day. In my maiden speech, I made tackling Walley’s Quarry landfill site my No. 1 priority. We ran the cowboy operators out of town, secured the closure notice, and closed the place down. I am grateful to the Environment Agency for the work it has done in recent weeks to stabilise the situation. Our focus must now be on the safe and secure restoration of the site.
The special educational needs and disabilities crisis in Staffordshire has been firmly on my agenda since the election. I have stood with, and up for, the parents and carers who must navigate a broken system every day to get their children and young people the support they need and deserve.
Fixing our roads has also been a real priority. That is why I launched my great potholes survey, empowering local people to help me hold the county council to account. We have seen action on Lower Milehouse Lane in Cross Heath, Pepper Street in Silverdale and Dunkirk in the town centre, but we need much more. I hope that those on the county council, who seemingly watch lots of my speeches in the Chamber, will listen to my call to use the money that this Labour Government have given them to get on with the job.
The events in the middle east are unforgivable and inexplicable. The deaths of innocent women, men and children on our screens are beyond comprehension. I was raised to believe that actions have consequences, so I urge Ministers to do whatever they can to hold the Netanyahu regime to account, to ensure that this war ends and to recognise the state of Palestine. A two-state solution requires two states. It is a simple as that.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend one of Keele university’s graduation ceremonies. I send big congratulations to all the graduates and their families and pay tribute to Professor Trevor McMillan, who is standing down as vice-chancellor. I wish him, his wife Chris and their family well.
I shall keep urging Ministers over the next year to give real support to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. I have made this case before. The Government have got a lot right, so let us get this right, too. We need justice for members of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme as it is long, long overdue, and I urge my colleagues in Government to get this matter over the line.
We need more support for our ceramics industry in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire more broadly. I know from meeting my constituents in local businesses such as Silverdale Bathrooms that there is much more that we need to do. I will keep fighting for local jobs. FedEx, which plans to cut 400 jobs, must change its mind. We cannot lose jobs in our industrial heartlands to affluent communities in the south.
I said to our farmers on Saturday that I have their backs and remain their champion. Happy recess, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Alex Mayer (Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard) (Lab)
Although some people will be hoping for a summer that is hot, hot, hot, many workers will not be doing so, because, although we rightly have legal protections against the cold in the workplace, there is still no legal maximum for heat. I am pleased that Ministers began a process with the Health and Safety Executive in the spring to look at workplace temperatures, and I look forward to a timetable being set for a public consultation. Maximum working temperatures, backed by law, are already standard practice in other countries such as Spain and Germany. But, to be clear, this is not just about stopping work when the sun shines, but about common-sense protections, such as ventilation, rest breaks, cooler uniforms and flexible hours. The climate is changing, and so too must our laws.
Let me turn to another summer matter. As we head into the summer recess, Members across the House will no doubt be thinking about their summer reading lists—I am sure that you might have a few titles lined up yourself, Madam Deputy Speaker. But how often do we stop to think about where those books are printed? A quiet revolution is happening in the publishing industry. Millions and millions of books are being printed in Bedfordshire every single year, yet this has remained a really well-kept secret for some time. That is why I called on Amazon to include the words, “Printed in Dunstable” in every book produced at its Bedfordshire site.
To make my point, I wrote a children’s story myself, about a little book with an identity crisis—he does not know where he is from. He goes all around the country, from Bristol in the south to Aberdeen in Scotland. Like all good stories, it has a happy ending, because the local MP intervenes.
I challenged Amazon to make my story come true, and I am absolutely delighted to be able to tell the House today that, from this week, every book printed by Amazon in Dunstable will say just that—that it is printed in Dunstable. That is a brilliant way to put the town and its people on the map.
Madam Deputy Speaker, whatever you and other Members are reading in the next few weeks—whether it is a biography, a romance, or even a political thriller—I hope that you all have a great summer.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
It is a privilege to speak in this debate in memory of Sir David Amess.
My home town of Blackpool is full of character and resilience. Its people are proud, its communities are close-knit and, despite facing more than a decade of neglect, we remain hopeful for the future. A person does not have to spend long in my constituency of Blackpool South to feel the warmth and strength of our coastal spirit. But as the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods made clear in its recent report, our communities have been asked to bear more than their fair share of the country’s hardship, and nowhere is that starker than in Blackpool South, where we have 34 mission-critical neighbourhoods, which is more than any other constituency in the country. That represents nearly every part of our town, where 97.8% of our population lives, including me and my family. I see the impact of this daily: the exhausted public services, the empty shop fronts, the health inequalities and the frustrations that many feel when they see new developments, new initiatives and new opportunities as being for someone else. I am proud that this Government are working on a new child poverty strategy, which will benefit many of the young people in my constituency, but it must be backed by real, targeted action at a neighbourhood level.
Crime is also concentrated. Over 40% of all antisocial behaviour incidents in Blackpool happen in just three areas. A 16-year-old girl told me recently that everyone she knows in the Claremont area carries a knife and is involved in drugs or gangs, and that it is nearly impossible not to get involved. She says:
“Gangs make you feel like you have some sort of power. That’s the way it is. That’s Blackpool.”
That is not the Blackpool that I know and love. It is the result of communities being left behind and let down for too long.
In areas where we have focused, however, we have seen progress. In the Brunswick ward, thanks to the multi-agency Youth ASB working group there has been a 45% drop in youth-related incidents. The same applies to health. Research from the Centre for Coastal Communities shows that young people in coastal towns such as Blackpool suffer worse health outcomes on almost any measure. This is avoidable. Thanks to local charities such as Counselling in the Community, young people are getting support every day. Organisations like the Blackpool Boys and Girls Club already do vital work with our young people. This summer local boxing champion Brian Rose will be launching Box Park—a free summer boxing initiative in partnership with MaverickStars to stop young people from engaging in ASB in the summer. It is a free event and an initiative I will be taking part in.
We all know where we need to focus and who needs the most help, and we know how to do it: by empowering these places, listening to communities and targeting support where it will have the greatest impact. Blackpool South needs the Government to invest in its future, because when Blackpool succeeds, Britain succeeds.
Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)
It is a privilege to speak in this summer Adjournment debate—named, of course, in honour of Sir David Amess. Sir David understood the quiet power of Back-Bench MPs in this House shining a light on issues that are all too often left in the shadows.
In that same spirit, I rise to speak about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome—a group of rare inherited disorders that affect the body’s connective tissue. Though EDS is officially recognised as affecting around one in 5,000 people globally, the figure is widely believed to be much higher due to misdiagnosis and under-recognition. In the UK it is thought that around 460 people in every constituency are living with EDS, yet it remains one of the most misdiagnosed and neglected conditions in our healthcare system.
One of those 460 people in my constituency is Connor Edwards. I had the chance to meet Connor earlier this year, and his story has stayed with me ever since. A few years ago while mountain biking on Cannock Chase, he was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme disease, but Lyme was only part of the story. It turned out that Connor also had EDS—a condition that affects the collagen responsible for supporting skin, joints, blood vessels and internal organs.
For people like Connor, that can mean chronic dislocations, unbearable pain, neurological dysfunction and craniocervical instability, where the skull becomes unstable and begins to shift on the spine. As a result, Connor’s head no longer sits safely on his spine, and the instability is crushing vital areas like the brain stem and spinal cord. He lives with pain, frequent seizures and a level of disability that has robbed him of the life he once loved—fishing, mountain biking and simply going outside. He told me that he feels that his quality of life has been completely shattered. For a man, like me, in his early 30s to be in this position is heartbreaking. It should not be anybody’s reality in a country as wealthy as ours.
The NHS currently offers no treatment for CCI, and it lacks both expertise and imaging capabilities—for example, the upright MRIs needed to diagnose this condition are not available on the NHS. Connor is now crowdfunding £50,000 to travel to a specialist clinic in Barcelona in the hope of receiving lifesaving surgery that will fuse his skull to his spine. Connor is not alone. According to Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, it takes patients up to 12 years to receive a diagnosis. Access to specialists is patchy at best, and those with the means often turn to private care. Those without the means suffer, deteriorate and navigate a system that does not see them.
Let us be clear: EDS is not rare. It is rarely diagnosed. What begins as a physical health condition can quickly become a mental health crisis. A debate was held on EDS back in May last year, but the Members who spoke so powerfully that day never had the opportunity to meet with the then Minister. That cannot be where this conversation ends. I will be applying to the Backbench Business Committee for a debate on EDS, and I urge colleagues across the House to join me in this effort. Let us make space for the Connors in every constituency.
This is not just about one young man in Cannock. It is about everyone who is waiting not only for treatment but for someone to believe them. Madam Deputy Speaker, may I wish you, all hon. Members, and especially all parliamentary staff, a restful summer break?
Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)
I spent my youth in the grassroots music scene playing in bands and putting on shows with my friends. The music was rough, the gear rarely worked, and if we got one lonely punter who was not a family member turn up we considered that a win.
The DIY music scene was where my journey into politics began, in a hardcore punk band writing songs about our disenfranchisement from the world around us; we were kids expressing ourselves with electric guitars and microphones. Indeed, I often think how many colleagues in the House cut their political teeth in the debating chamber of the Oxford Union and others cut theirs on the floor of the Trades Union Congress. I cut mine in a mosh pit, with a microphone in my hand and music in my heart, covered in other people’s sweat and blowing out my vocal cords, screaming nonsense like, “The nurse will rise.”
When I grew up, a band could release an album and go on tour in medium-sized venues. While they would not necessarily become rich, at least they were able to get by. Today, though, with the proliferation of streaming services and the erosion of the value of ticket and merchandise sales, live acts can barely break even on music streams, and venues are closing. Many acts operate in pay-to-play environments, losing money every time they play.
While pay-to-play is indicative of a failing industry, its existence has long been true in small venues for small bands. But I understand that this year Glastonbury was pay-to-play even for some of the biggest acts. Indeed, The Independent recently reported that one act had spent £80,000 of their own money on a Glastonbury set while smaller acts were offered just £250 to play one of the smaller stages, and not even given enough tickets to cover the whole band. This is a deeply unsustainable system that freezes out all but those with the private means to pay their own way. It is killing our creativity.
Madam Deputy Speaker, have you noticed how in recent years there has been a rise in the number of solo artists and a decline in the number of bands? In my view, the effect is born out of not only a change in music tastes, but simple economics. If a promoter is paying £100 to an act to play, a solo act takes home £100 while a five-piece act scrapes by with a measly £20 each. I had that experience personally—exactly, in fact, the one time that my band were paid anything for a gig—and it did not even cover our train tickets to the city we played in.
As colleagues look forward to the summer recess, I would like to make a request of everyone. Please go and see a band this summer, preferably in a small venue, and preferably a band you have never heard of. Please buy some of their merchandise and tell them they were good, even if they were not—especially if they were not. Without Ellie Dixon, there is no Chappell Roan. Without Not Right there is no Bikini Kill, and without Nurse Joy there is no Red Hot Chili Peppers. Please support the grassroots—it is everything.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
How do I follow that? It is an honour to speak in the David Amess debate. I start by congratulating Falmouth town council and Source FM in my constituency for the opening of the resource project this weekend, which will bring community radio and a community café to everybody in Falmouth. Thank you and good luck to Pendennis Leisure and all those working for a pool for Falmouth. We are trying to get money from the Government grassroots fund and others, and we are looking for a public-private partnership.
Local to that are the docks in Falmouth. We are looking to restore the Falmouth freight rail line, which has been shut for 20 years, to take 77 lorries off the roads on each trip. In Falmouth, we have the docks, Pendennis Yachts and Falmouth Harbour, which all have fantastic expansion plans. We are looking to access the ports fund to make that happen and bring those new jobs to the town.
I am so pleased with what the Government have achieved on water. A scheme was announced this morning to work on the combined sewer overflow at Queen Mary gardens between our two main beaches in Falmouth—at last! I congratulate campaigners including Plastic Free Falmouth Surfers Against Sewage and Goonhavern primary school’s eco club, who have worked so hard for this.
I want to say a little about a group in my constituency who have worked together and formed a support group because they all have endometriosis. David Amess was such a champion for people with endometriosis. We have been working to get training for healthcare workers in that area.
As a Co-operative party MP. I welcome community right to buy, which will be forthcoming in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. I have constituents wanting to rescue a methodist chapel and a pub in Ponsanooth, and the Ship Inn in Portloe. The funding source to go with that would be helpful. I look forward to that being announced.
To continue the co-operative theme, I have been strongly supporting the St Mawes community who have been trying to build affordable housing for their local community, which has been decimated by second homes. I thank Alan Macklin, who has also been involved in the Homes for Ukraine scheme in St Mawes. Falmouth and Penryn Welcome Refugee Families has been doing the same thing.
I thank Simon Fann and the food banks in Truro and in Falmouth and Penryn. I especially thank Simon for making Cornwall a living wage place, which is a fantastic initiative. I also thank the following organisations for helping their communities: the New Beginning Community Association in Malabar; the Friends of Coosebean, the Friends of Daubuz Moor and the Friends of Tregoniggie Woodland, which have been bringing green spaces back to the heart of urban places; and the Truro Loops campaign, which has been restoring active travel routes around Truro. I am a new MP and many of those are very new projects. I hope to be able to stand here next year, the year after and the year after that and say, “We got some of these things done.”
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. I start by paying tribute to Sir David Amess. I did not know him personally, but I am moved by the references to his life from across the House and particularly from the Father of the House, the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh).
This debate, in Sir David’s name, presents me with a fantastic opportunity to do something that I so rarely have the chance to do: talk about Cornwall. First, I will speak of the immense opportunity that Cornwall has in its future, recognised by the Labour Government. It is hard to overstate the economic and strategic value of Cornwall’s vast assets in renewable energy and critical minerals, which are both so clearly fundamental to our economic growth and net zero ambitions. In the UK, we import tin from as far afield as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China and Australia, with all the damaging environmental impacts that come with such imports. Yet in Camborne and Redruth, we sit on the third highest-grade tin deposits in the world, and there is plenty of it. That is not just a statistic; it is a strategic national asset.
We have tin, lithium, geothermal and ground source heat, but we are also blessed with the opportunities of offshore wind in the Celtic sea, onshore wind, solar and tidal energy. From critical minerals extraction under the ground to wind energy off the coast, Cornwall is ready to play its part in the new economy. The task is vast, but the prize is priceless: energy security, which reduces our dependence on volatile international markets; climate action, which secures the materials we need for clean technologies; and jobs and regeneration in our Cornish, Celtic communities, which will bring back high-quality employment to communities desperate to grasp those opportunities. Reducing economic disparities between places comes hand in hand with bringing opportunity to people, not just raising skills but building communities where skills are rewarded.
The renewable energy and critical minerals opportunities are not the only factors that make our land so distinct. Our language, culture and heritage, as well as our economic potential, mark us out on this island. I want to ensure that our language, culture and distinctiveness are recognised, respected and reflected in decisions made at the heart of Government. That includes getting a devolution deal that works for Cornwall and that celebrates our national minority status. Our language, culture and industrial mining heritage are not just things we do; they are who we are, they are part of our landscape and identity, and they have helped define who we were, who we are and, I am certain, who we will be.
I have defined what I strongly believe Cornwall can be, but I want to briefly highlight the barriers that we face. In terms of health equality, we struggle with poor health outcomes and our remote coastal geography, and those health outcomes are connected to poor educational attainment. To that end, I encourage Members to join my Adjournment debate in September on Government support for remote coastal communities.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, which comes at a good time to take stock of my first year serving my constituents in this place. I am extremely grateful to the old hands for their sage advice; however, there is one piece of advice I was given that I am happy to call out as the worst I have ever taken. “Don’t rush into recruiting staff,” they said. “Take some time to work out what you need.” By last autumn, I was buried under so many emails that I thought I would never have time to sit in this Chamber ever again. I therefore appeal to colleagues never to give that advice to new MPs ever again. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]
Once my excellent staff were in place, they worked double hard to keep on top of the new inquiries and to clear the backlog, and I thank them. However, I should politely advise the man who regularly sends me an email that consists of little more than a Daily Express headline and a link, “I am sorry, but we are unlikely to respond to all your emails.”
My constituency is an unusual one. It is one of the largest seats in the country, and it takes in the Solway coast, parts of the Lake District national park, two national landscapes, and villages on the outskirts of Carlisle, Penrith—one of the largest towns at about 15,000—and seven or eight smaller towns, all very Cumbrian, each very different and all pointing to different service centres. If I am honest, it is hard work making sure I visit all my towns and villages. My surgeries and visits take me all over the constituency, but at times it can feel like I am spreading myself very thin. I am sorry if some constituents feel like they do not see enough of me, but I assure them that I am at home in the constituency every week and I am grateful to those living there who reach out and invite me to their events. Meeting Cumbria Young Farmers and attending Maryport carnival have been two of the highlights of my year.
These are strange times politically. One would think that after securing such a huge majority at the last election, MPs like me would be feeling quite upbeat. I am not. Although I see a Government grasping the nettle on a range of issues that appeared to be beyond the political palate of the last Government and a desire to secure economic growth and rebalance how limited public money is spent for the better, and although I know that change takes time, I also see a public who are struggling and angry. When the public get angry, they reach out for forces that feed on that anger and have always fed on that anger. Between the emails from those telling me I am complicit in the murder of Palestinian children or the enabler of Pakistani rape gangs, I receive emails pleading with me not to try and be more like Reform and not to try to outdo right-wing populist rhetoric. While I appreciate the frustrations of those who send me those emails, they rarely suggest an alternative approach. Well, here is mine. We accept that we live in a country that is broken. We acknowledge that there are people living in dire need of—[Interruption.] Am I out of time? No way! I recently met a Minister who was keen to stress to me that so soon after 14 years of Conservative Government, we must not forget that on these Benches we are still the disruptors. I believe that that is a good lesson for all my hon. Friends, especially those on the Front Bench.
Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
It is a privilege to contribute to the Sir David Amess debate. Sir David proudly championed Southend and its people, and it is in that spirit that I would like to speak about Sunderland today. To start, Mrs Ann Blakey, the retiring headteacher of St Benet’s Roman Catholic school in my constituency, has for 20 years worked with love at the heart of that fantastic, warm community school. She is adored by pupils, staff and parents alike, and I pay tribute to her today and wish her a very happy retirement. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all teachers across Sunderland Central for the work they have done for our young people this year, and to wish them a well-deserved summer break.
I said in my maiden speech in October that Sunderland was a city on the up. Well, promise made, promise delivered. It feels like it was yesterday that we were at Wembley watching Tommy Watson score the late winner in the play-off final, which means we are now on the eve of being back in the premier league. Sunderland fans are spending the summer pondering all the big questions. With our embarrassment of riches, who will we start on the right wing? When will Chris Rigg score his first premier league goal? And how loudly will Eliezer Mayenda’s views on Sam Fender echo around St James’s Park? I know that the Minister will not be able to answer all of those key questions, but I hope she will join me in wishing Sunderland AFC well for the new season and in celebrating the passing of the Football Governance Act 2025 to protect the health of our national game, despite the shameful opposition of Reform and Conservative MPs.
Since I was elected, my priority has been investing in Sunderland. There is such a buzz around the city, with cranes in the sky, businesses announcing they are moving jobs to Riverside Sunderland, the new Keel crossing opening and the women’s rugby world cup. Government decisions are bringing further investment, rebalancing council and NHS spending. I will continue to work publicly and privately to bring further investment into Sunderland—in our neighbourhoods, in our music and creative industries and in our public services.
One facility that has received investment, but that we have had incredible frustration with, is Sunderland station. Eighteen months after opening, the facilities still do not work, and it is simply not good enough. I eagerly await the work by Northern and Network Rail to deliver the improvements they have assured me will be made so that the station becomes rather less like an empty warehouse and more like the vibrant hub that our city deserves. With that, I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, all the House staff and colleagues a very happy summer recess.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
It is an honour to speak in this debate in memory of David Amess. Like Jo Cox, he was murdered in a previous Parliament, and I know many hon. Members miss his friendship deeply—may his memory be a blessing.
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket is a beautiful constituency. Members will of course be aware that its namesake, St Edmund, was until the 14th century the patron saint of England. He ruled East Anglia between 855 and 869 AD until he was killed by Viking raiders. They shot arrows into him until he bristled like a hedgehog, then cut off his head and threw it into the forest. However, when they found his head, it miraculously reattached to his body. This was one of his miracles.
It is my hope that when we elect a mayor for East Anglia next May, the new mayor will choose Bury St Edmunds as the site of his new office. Since being elected, I have secured funding for the construction of the much-needed new West Suffolk hospital and saved the Marham Park flyer and the 73 and 73A bus routes, as well as securing £9 million of additional funding for local buses. We have sorted out £11 million for the potholes, and Station Hill in Bury St Edmunds is no longer called pothole alley. We got funding to fix the GP surgery in Ixworth, fixed the dangerous Fishwick corner in Thurston, and opened breakfast clubs in Howard academy and the Priory school.
Free breakfast clubs are particularly important. In Stowmarket, we have the brilliant Food Museum, which is running an exhibition right now called “School Dinners”. I visited last week with my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson). We sampled flan, new potatoes and beans followed by delicious sponge and custard. Free school meals and breakfast clubs will be one of the most important things that this Government do to help working families.
Now we are about to break for our summer recess. All we new MPs have been learning on the job and, as I have just discovered, I have more to learn than many. I wish all my new friends—all 649 of them—a wonderful summer recess and hope that everyone gets a good rest.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)
It has been a privilege to speak in this debate honouring the legacy of Sir David Amess—an MP who tirelessly advocated for his constituents. I could feel how all colleagues who have spoken are also deeply passionate about their communities, and it is a privilege to be part of the debate. Sir David Amess’s Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 was ahead of its time in recognising that action on energy poverty and environmental policy are two sides of the same coin. Today, I want to speak in that same spirit about one of the defining challenges of our time: the climate and nature emergency.
Despite the suggestions from Reform MPs and some Conservatives that policies on the environment are a waste of governmental time and money, residents from across my Guildford constituency have spoken clearly, urgently and passionately about the crisis facing our environment. What is striking is not just how much people care, but how much they believe that the Government are falling short. Sixty-five per cent of Surrey residents do not think the Government are doing enough on climate and nature. Polling by Surrey county council’s resident insight unit shows that climate change and environmental policy consistently rank in the top five public concerns, alongside healthcare and NHS privatisation.
The determination to see action begins young, as was clear when my constituents from Burpham primary school wrote to me recently about their concerns about deforestation and the heartbreaking loss of animals, birds and plants that comes with it. They understand that cutting down trees fuels global warming, destroys animal habitats and wipes out potential medical solutions that could one day save human lives. Tormead school eco club wrote to me about the challenge of sewage pollution in our waterways—one of our country’s most shameful current environmental failures. Although I welcome the pledge to halve sewage pollution by 2030, action is happening far too slowly, but collectively we can do better.
Community actions groups such as Zero Carbon Guildford are doing the kind of work in my constituency that we should back at a national level. Zero Carbon, in work with the Water Rangers and the River Wey Trust, regularly tests our precious waterways to monitor sewage pollution. Nearly 500 residents are trained in citizen science, nine water-testing hubs are now active, and a new community water lab has been opened, in partnership with the University of Surrey in my constituency. That is proof that local people are not just waiting for change; they are making it. But they should not have to do it alone. They tell me that they want the Government to match their urgency. They want visible leadership on nature protection, tougher laws to stop sewage polluting our rivers, green spaces protected from poor planning decisions and support to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run.
On that point, the evidence already shows that insulating and retrofitting homes could slash energy demand by the equivalent of six nuclear power stations. It could cut household bills by a quarter, save the NHS £1.5 billion a year, and prevent nearly 10,000 deaths caused by cold and damp housing annually. This is not just an environmental policy; it is a health and cost of living policy, too. I say to colleagues across the House that if residents are that engaged and schoolchildren are that active, what excuse do we have not to act with a level of urgency matching theirs?
I will end by highlighting one of the most visible ways in which we can lead: by supporting sustainable transport. Residents are asking for better, greener transport options. They want joined-up infrastructure that serves people, not just cars. That is why I am pushing for a new train station in Guildford, and I am calling for the Government’s support to make that happen. Guildford’s residents have been waiting for more than a decade for a decision on that. Given the major housing development taking place locally, the appetite among local businesses and residents for greener ways to travel, and the Government’s commitment to rail travel, I say simply that now is the time. Let this summer recess not be a pause in our work but a call to action for when we return. Let us deliver the cleaner air, safer streets and low-carbon transport systems that communities are calling for. If we do not act, we are not just failing future generations; we are failing this one.
I hope that we have the restorative recess that we all need, particularly those of us who have spent our first year in this place. I say an enormous thank you to all the staff across the House, whether they work for us or help to make the House function. Without them, we would not be able to serve our residents in the way we do. I wish everyone a very good recess.
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)
It is a great pleasure to close the Sir David Amess Adjournment debate on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. Although I did not have the privilege of knowing Sir David personally, I have heard time and again from colleagues across the House about the warmth, generosity and conviction that defined him. He is remembered not only with great affection but with admiration for his tireless commitment to his constituents and the causes that he championed. His ability to weave so many of those causes into these end-of-term debates became something of a parliamentary tradition in itself—and stands as a lasting example of what it means to be a true local champion. That this debate now bears his name feels entirely fitting. It offers Members the same opportunity that he so clearly valued to test ideas, highlight local concerns and give voice to the communities we represent. I have no doubt that Sir David would have listened to today’s contributions with great interest and enthusiasm.
While we rightly pay tribute to Sir David and reflect on his remarkable contribution to public life, we must also acknowledge the difficult but necessary questions surrounding the circumstances of his death, as many right hon. and hon. Members have said. Sir David’s widow, Lady Julia, and their daughter, Katie, who are with us today in the Public Gallery, have shown great strength in their efforts to ensure that meaningful lessons are learned. Sir David’s murderer had previously been referred to the Prevent programme. Yet despite that, he went on to commit an abhorrent act of violence.
In the years since, other cases, such as those in Reading and Southport, have raised similar concerns, as individuals known to Prevent were able to carry out attacks. Those are not isolated incidents; there is a pattern that warrants serious scrutiny, and the Opposition would like to see a full public inquiry into Prevent, bringing together those cases to understand what went wrong and how the system can be improved.
The Prevent programme is an essential part of our national security framework, but it must be effective to command public confidence. Where there are systemic failings, we have a responsibility to address them. As the Government will know, the Amess family do not feel that the recently released Lord Anderson report alone delivers the whole truth, accountability or justice that is needed. It is imperative that a full public inquiry is commissioned, to learn the necessary lessons from the systemic issues that clearly exist. I take this opportunity to ask the Government to commit to a full public inquiry into the failings of the Prevent programme.
I now move on to the fantastic contributions we have heard from Members across the House in this final debate before we break up for the summer recess. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) did a brilliant job of opening the debate. He mentioned Sir David Amess managing to raise 27 different topics within five minutes. In my hon. Friend’s speech, we had the middle east, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, schooling, potholes and crime—near to 27, but no cigar this time.
The hon. Member for Blaydon and Consett (Liz Twist) talked about mining and industry, health and transport. Over the past year, I have seen that she is a fierce campaigner for her constituents, and I join her in thanking the school staff in her constituency.
The Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), spoke with conviction about his friend Sir David Amess. He called out the service failings in the Prevent programme and the poor treatment of Sir David’s family. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response and hope to see the Government take action on this matter.
I thank the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) for his kind words about Sir David. He raised the dangerous effects of hepatitis C and the work needed to eradicate it. My right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), my shadow defence team friend, did a fantastic job of opening this debate a year ago, which I enjoyed attending. He paid tribute to his best friend, Sir David. Having watched my right hon. Friend over the past year, I have learned a great deal. He is a tireless campaigner for his area, and it was brilliant to hear him talk about supermarkets and devolution.
The hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (Mary Glindon) talked about Sure Start, green jobs and the importance of the northern industrial powerhouse. My hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) talked about housing management companies. We all face that issue, especially in my constituency of Exmouth and Exeter East, and I look forward to working with him over the coming years to ensure there is proper accountability.
The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) made the really important point that Sir David Amess showed us that
“politics at its best is about service, not spectacle”—
I will use that one. The hon. Member talked about him and his team making 200 visits in their first year; it has obviously been a very busy year for them.
My right hon. Friend the Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay) talked about the important work he is doing on the renovation of this building. I think we all know that our place of work needs restoration —there are significant fire risks and security risks—and I look forward to that debate happening, so that we can have a national conversation.
I am keen to reference as many colleagues as possible, so I will speed up from a canter to a gallop. The hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) shared a story about his late friend, Julian, and Sir David’s true friendship and compassion to Julian. The hon. Member is a strong voice for his constituents. I do not think I have ever heard him talking about being a teacher, but I look forward to that.
The hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde) talked about one of his predecessors being tragically murdered. He said he has mentioned Eastbourne 200 times this year—the number 200 must be on everyone’s minds at the moment—so I congratulate him on that. The hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) championed local businesses in her area. My hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) talked about the issue of access to cash in his constituency. I am running a similar campaign in my constituency, and I am sure that many other Members who have seen bank closures in their constituencies will be looking for banking hubs.
The hon. Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) spoke about local health services. My hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) spoke powerfully about his dear friend, Sir David Amess, and called for a public inquiry into the Prevent programme. The hon. Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) paid tribute to Reading football club and spoke about the redevelopment of a local disused jail. I look forward to visiting once it is up and running—hopefully not because I have been incarcerated.
The hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) spoke about upgrading river infrastructure. The hon. Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) talked about our fantastic Lionesses and local football in her constituency. My hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), who I have learned a lot from over the last year, talked about children’s mental health services in his constituency. That is another debate that I think we will have to have next year to talk about the links with the mental health crisis.
We have had fantastic contributions from the hon. Members for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins), for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald), for Lewes (James MacCleary), for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson), for Rugby (John Slinger), for Ashford (Sojan Joseph) and for Carlisle (Ms Minns). A really interesting point was raised, again inspired by Sir David Amess, about the fact that we are fleeting custodians of our constituencies. The service that Sir David Amess brought to this House over so many decades is a north star for us all to aim for. I express my condolences to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) on the loss of his father-in-law. I hope that he and his family are doing as well as possible.
We also heard many interesting contributions from the hon. Members for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer), for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) and for Erewash (Adam Thompson)—I look forward to seeing videos hopefully emerging in the coming weeks and months of him rocking out in mosh pits. We heard from the hon. Members for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) and for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), my neighbours in Cornwall, which is the next county along from my constituency.
We heard from the hon. Members for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours), for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) and for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley), who made a fantastic final contribution to the debate. The hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket is a respected surgeon, and it has been really interesting to watch him bring forward health matters and enrich the debate in this Chamber.
Before I close, I place on record my sincere thanks to all those who have supported us in this parliamentary year. I thank the House of Commons staff, including the Doorkeepers, the caterers, the Clerks and the event co-ordinators. Their professionalism and quiet dedication behind the scenes allow this place to function with such efficiency and dignity, and I hope that their work is never taken for granted. I am sure that all Members from across the House will join me in showing their appreciation for everything that they do not just today, but every day.
Let me offer special congratulations to two members of the Doorkeepers’ team who work in Members’ Lobby, Holly Jackson and Vanessa Chapman, who are soon to be married. I know the whole House will join me in wishing them every happiness as they begin their married life together.
I have one final remark: I pay tribute to Paul Kehoe, who is in his 45th year of service to this House. Just like David Amess, that is a true north star for what public service looks like.
That leaves me to wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all colleagues from across the House a very restful and happy summer recess. I look forward to seeing everyone again in the autumn.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Far too smooth. I call the Minister.
Anna McMorrin (Cardiff North) (Lab)
I am honoured to close this final debate of the term from the Government Dispatch Box. As a Government Whip, I do not often have the opportunity to speak in this Chamber, so it is a genuine privilege to be responding for the first time in this way. I am usually the one lurking just out of shot, muttering about speaking limits and timings, so standing here feels just a little risky. I promise I will not abuse that privilege—much, anyway. I am proud to be part of this Parliament, which contains the largest number of women ever elected. We still have a way to go; I am only the 479th female ever to be elected to this place, and it is striking to think that all those women who came before me would not even have filled this Parliament.
This debate has been reflective, respectful, and united by shared values. We have come together to remember what truly matters in public life, and in doing so, we honour the memory of Sir David Amess, a man whose life of service embodied the spirit of this place. He was a parliamentarian whose good humour and deep commitment to his constituents won him respect from all sides of the House.
We have heard some powerful speeches, and I would like to pay tribute to some of them. I commend the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for bringing forward this debate, and in particular for the work that he has done to raise the issue of the plight of the hostages taken on 7 October 2023, and the horrific attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza. Those responsible must be held to account. He raised many other issues; I will not go through them, but I will ensure that the appropriate Ministers write to him to answer his questions.
My hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon and Consett (Liz Twist) is a strong champion for her constituency. She rightly pointed out the importance of bus services to her constituents. Our buses Bill, which I know she is proud of, will allow leaders to take back control. The hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) seeks better transport connections, which is something that the Transport Secretary also has high on her agenda.
The Father of the House, the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), paid an emotional tribute to Sir David Amess, as did the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), and of course my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson). They mentioned the huge impact that events have had on Sir David’s family, and I will make sure that all their comments and suggestions are taken up by the relevant Government Ministers. Our thoughts continue to be with Sir David’s family and friends.
My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) spoke about World Hepatitis Day, which is on 28 July. I pay tribute to him for his campaign to raise awareness of that disease. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (Mary Glindon) championed jobs and opportunities in her constituency, especially the jobs of the future, and those in the offshore renewables sector.
My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) spoke about the real-life impact that a Labour Government are having on young people in his constituency, including through the roll-out of free breakfast clubs. He invited a Minister to visit his town centre, and I know that many would take him up on that offer, myself included. However, he is competing with the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde), who invited us all to visit his wonderful constituency—he is a great advert for summer holidaying there.
The right hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay) raised the important matter of the restoration and renewal of this place. I will ensure that his comments reach the Leader of the House, but many of those issues are matters for the House, rather than the Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) is a huge champion for his constituents, and I am sure that the phrase “Oxford-Cambridge-Harlow corridor” will catch on. I am impressed that my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) has completed her 200th small business Saturday—I offer her congratulations on that mammoth commitment.
Access to banking services and hubs formed a central part of the speech made by the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), and I know that is an interest shared by Members across the House. We are accelerating the roll-out of those banking hubs. My hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) spoke about the importance of inclusive education, and I share her passion. She recognises that having a Labour Government brings that change to young people.
My hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) rightly praised the Football Governance Bill, which would have prevented Reading football club from suffering its fate. We look forward to a better season for them—but not too good when they play against Cardiff. The hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) raised the issue of active travel and its importance to his constituents. I am pleased that the Government are prioritising that.
My hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) spoke passionately about her constituency, and was rightly proud that it was home to the first official Lionesses match. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on her work locally and her campaigns, but also on her ability to speak from her depth of experience about the horrors unfolding in Gaza. Those horrors must stop.
The hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake) spoke with his usual eloquence, and I know his constituency well and understand the challenges his constituents face, as do this Government. I was fascinated to learn of the history of the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) and, through the Roman dig, of its place as a strategic stronghold. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) and his father-in-law, and I offer my hon. Friend condolences on behalf of the Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) rightly mentioned tackling antisocial behaviour, which will continue to be a priority for this Government.
My hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) told us about cutting his teeth in a hard rock/punk band and being in a mosh pit. I am sure that there are similarities we could draw with this place, but I will not even go there. My hon. Friends the Members for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), and for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), rightly boasted of the riches of Cornwall, and my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) spoke of his pride in all his towns and villages, and the struggle to meet and talk to everyone there.
Equally passionate was my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson); I wish Sunderland AFC well for next season. Unless Cardiff seriously up their game, I do not see them in play-offs any time soon. My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) said that free breakfast clubs are a game changer for his constituents, and my hon. Friend the Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer) demonstrated that she is a huge champion for her constituency by ensuring that every book printed by Amazon in Dunstable says that it was printed there. That is commitment, and it is impressive.
I could go on. We have had fantastic contributions. The hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins), my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald), the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary), and my hon. Friends the Members for Rugby (John Slinger), for Ashford (Sojan Joseph) and for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) all paid huge tribute to the work of their constituents and organisations in their constituencies.
I will be brief as I am conscious of time, but if you will indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, there is only one way for a Welsh Member of Parliament to close this debate, and that is by talking about Wales. For the first time in a generation, Wales has two Labour Governments, in Cardiff and Westminster, pulling in the same direction. I can tell Members that it is making a difference. Together we are rebuilding our economy, creating good jobs, driving down NHS waiting lists, and delivering the biggest investment in Welsh rail—£445 million to connect our communities and open up opportunities, including in my constituency of Cardiff North.
When Labour governs at both ends of the M4, the priorities of the Welsh people are not just heard, but delivered. That is the power of partnership. I did say I would not get too partisan, but the contrast is clear; the Tories and Reform are fighting for the next clickbait headlines. I wonder what surprises we will hear over the summer recess. Perhaps it will be the publication of Reform’s first fantasy novel, because that is the only place its funding calculations belong. Perhaps we will have a Tory leadership contest, because we have not had one of those yet this year.
Meanwhile, we are getting on with the job. We have delivered 4 million extra NHS appointments, recruited 3,000 extra police officers, established Great British Energy, recruited nearly 2,000 GPs, stepped in to save British Steel, secured a better deal for the workers of Port Talbot, brought forward a Bill on employment rights, opened free breakfast clubs and banned bonuses for water bosses. Wages have grown more in the first 10 months than in the last 10 years of the Tory Government. There is a lot done and a whole lot more still to do. That is the change we were elected on last year. As President Obama once said:
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time…We are the change that we seek.”
We know that in this place nothing would happen without the myriad people behind the scenes. I express my gratitude to the House staff, including the Doorkeepers, the cleaners, the Clerks, catering, security, broadcasting, Hansard and those in visitor experience, as well as our staff and constituency teams. Mine are sat up in the Gallery today, so I thank them, as well as my mother, who is with them. I also thank the civil servants. All these people come together to help make this place function.
I congratulate two of our wonderful Doorkeepers, Holly and Vanessa, on their upcoming wedding. On behalf of the whole House, I wish them a long and happy marriage. Of course, our thanks also go to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to Mr Speaker and the other Deputy Speakers. As we rise for the summer recess, I offer my best wishes to all, and I hope that everyone will enjoy the best possible summer break.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I call Bob Blackman to wind up the debate.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
We have had a wonderful debate, to which 38 Back Benchers have contributed, and we have also heard three excellent Front-Bench speeches. If I may say so, the hon. Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin) may be looking forward to the reshuffle that, it is rumoured, may take place over the summer; we may hear more of her in the Chamber, rather than outside it.
The House is, of course, rising for the summer recess. Some people think that we are all going off on a long holiday. Far from it: we will all be going back to our constituencies and doing work for our constituents, as is right and proper. We will be giving young people opportunities to serve with us, while we are given opportunities to see more of our constituents. However, I hope that everyone will have a well-earned rest and a proper break. I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and Mr Speaker and the other Deputy Speakers—and, indeed, the entirety of the staff who support us—a very happy recess. I hope we can use the opportunity this summer to do more of the work that needs to be done in this Chamber and beyond to ensure that the House is fit and ready for the visitors who want to come and see the work that we do, but let us have a good recess, let us hope for a brighter future as a result, and let us look forward to coming back in the autumn, refreshed and ready for the political fight.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. As we know, the Doorkeepers know and see everything, and I need to correct the record, because an error was made earlier by the shadow Minister. Paul Kehoe has actually served here for 46 years, not 45.
Let me briefly put on record that I miss David Amess a lot. He would come into my office with a toasted teacake and a cup of tea and check that I was OK. It never occurred to me that I had to check that he was going to be OK in one of his surgeries.
I thank the Doorkeepers, the wonderful Clerks, everyone in the Speaker’s Office, and my fabulous team—in particular, Pavlina Aburn, Alison Dobson and Abigail Curry—who will keep me busy this summer, working in my constituency, just like all other Members.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment.