Valedictory Debate

Baroness Harman Excerpts

Friday 24th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

This is my last speech. The House of Commons records show that I have spoken in this Chamber 9,880 times. [Hon. Members: “More!”] I have to say that, when you discover that the Prime Minister was only two years old when you were first elected, you realise it is time to move on. Every time I have spoken in this Chamber, I have had a profound sense of how important this House is, and what a great honour and privilege it is to be a Member of this Parliament. Through good times and bad, I have felt that great sense of privilege and responsibility to my constituents. The thing about being an MP is that you are your constituents’ one and only MP, and it is down to you to be standing up for them, speaking up for them, and on their side through thick and thin. I thank my constituents of Camberwell and Peckham for being on my side through thick and thin as well.

I pay tribute to all the staff I have worked with over the years. Even my brilliant members of staff cannot calculate how many times I have voted during those 42 years—many thousands of times—but I would say two things about that. First, for the first 15 years, between 1982 and 1997, I voted assiduously every night, sometimes even through the night, and did not win a single vote. Opposition is undoubtedly public service, but we would rather be in government, and I profoundly hope that the person who I hope will be elected as my successor to Camberwell and Peckham, Miatta Fahnbulleh—I think she will make a great contribution to the House—will sit on the Government Benches.

Secondly, I have never voted against the Whip. That is not because I cannot think for myself or because I am stupid or supine; nor is it because I think my party has always been perfect—far from it. Indeed, I fought for change from within my party, but I recognised that I was a Labour candidate. I was elected as a Labour Member of Parliament, and I have been proud to be that, proud to be one of the team of Labour Members in my constituency and all around the country—that great Labour family.

Towards the later years of my time in this House, I have had the great joy of working much more cross-party and of chairing Select Committees. I pay tribute to my colleagues on those Select Committees for the very important work that those Committees do. I also thank the House of Commons staff: the Clerks who do such excellent work, and all those who work in this House, whether that is the security people who keep us safe, the caterers or the cleaners, many of whom are my constituents. They are all part of our democracy, and we should be grateful for their work.

Latterly, it has been a joy and a pleasure to work with women from all sides of the House—I see some of the sisterhood sitting on the Conservative Back Benches. That has been a huge change for the better. Although it was as long as 42 years ago that I first came into this Chamber, I remember so well coming in—I was elected at a by-election—and standing at the Bar of the House. It was just ahead of Prime Minister’s questions. I remember looking at the serried ranks of men on all sides of the House, standing there in my red velvet maternity dress and feeling completely out of place. Of course, I was out of place in a House of Commons that was only 3% women and 97% men. To those people who look back through rose-tinted glasses with nostalgia and talk about the good old days in the House of Commons, I would say that the House is better now: it is more representative. The women who are in this House now—it is now 30%, up from 3%—also know that it is not that we are doing them a favour, letting them be here. They are a democratic imperative, to make this House of Commons representative. They need to have their voices heard; they will not be silenced. They are an essential part of a modern democracy.

People sometimes ask me, “What would you say to a young woman now, given all the difficulties, the threats, social media and so on? Would you really encourage her to go into politics?” I say, “Absolutely, yes. Although it is hard, if you feel that you can make a change—and you can—it is really important that you come into this House of Commons.” At times it has been hard for me, but I do not regret a single day of being here.

When I was first introduced to the House 42 years ago, my husband, Jack Dromey, was sitting up in the Public Gallery, beaming down his 100% support on me, as he always did. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Obviously he is not here today, but my three children are in the Public Gallery, beaming down their 100% support. I am so grateful to them for that.

In a few hours’ time, these Benches will be cleared and the House will fall silent until July. Then, they will be absolutely packed with new, freshly elected MPs from 650 constituencies across Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. Those Members of Parliament will hold our democracy in their hands; they will hold in their hands the future of our country. Now it is time for me to pass that responsibility on to them. So, no pressure.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Harman Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

Of course I can. My Department works with the Heritage Crafts Association and other bodies on the Craft Industry Board set up by creative and cultural skills to support the economic growth of the craft sector. I am also delighted that the craft sector has been chosen as one of the groups in the second phase of the apprenticeship trailblazers and that, at the end of last year, we managed to list at grade I the Queen Street Mill in Burnley, which is a late 19th-century textile weaving mill. I thank my hon. Friend for that question.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

It is the right of each and every child to have the experience of, and opportunities in, culture and the arts, and it is important for our economy too. So it is of great concern that at GCSE, fewer children are sitting art and design. Music is down 9% and drama is down 13%, and we see the same happening in A-levels. How can we nurture the next generation of talent and how can young people fulfil their potential as human beings and engaged citizens, never mind their creative potential in the arts, if they do not have the chance in school? Does the Secretary of State’s assertion that the Government are making great strides to ensure that the arts are a central part of every child’s education not sound increasingly out of touch?

[Mr Vaizey]

I met the Minister for Schools only this week to discuss the success of our cultural and music education plans. We are the first Government to introduce a national music education plan. We set aside hundreds of millions of pounds to create music hubs, to extend the In Harmony scheme and to support the teaching of music in schools. The Secretary of State for Education has, through his own personal initiative, supported initiatives such as Shakespeare in schools and heritage schools, and the Arts Council has its bridge organisations. There is a lot going on in cultural education and in music education, and I urge the right hon. and learned Lady to have a look.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Harman Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is a doughty champion of his constituency. I will do everything I can to come and support the work he is doing to support culture and the arts in his area. We should recognise that culture, the arts and our heritage play an intrinsically important role in all our constituencies. We all have a duty to support them.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

May I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to research, published today by the shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, which shows that the most deprived communities will suffer the biggest cuts to their councils’ spending power? As council funding is even more important for the arts than central Government funding, this will have a massive impact on the arts in those areas, especially as they are the least able to mobilise philanthropy and people have less money in their pockets to spend on participating in the arts. With the lion’s share of Arts Council funding going to London, what will the Secretary of State do to back up councils and support their vital work in trying to ensure that the arts are for all and flourish in deprived, as well as well-off, areas?

[Maria Miller]

The right hon. and learned Lady is absolutely right to say that it is important that every community has the opportunity to appreciate the importance of arts, culture and heritage, and that this is at the heart of the work of the Arts Council. She is right that some, perhaps less enlightened, councils are not investing as they should, and I hope she would join me in encouraging all to recognise the importance of culture and heritage, and support them through these difficult times. I would, however, pick her up on something. We are doing what we can to redress the situation we inherited. Some 70% of the Arts Council’s lottery investment now goes to projects outside London. Sir Peter Bazalgette has made it clear that he will be doing much more on that, but obviously we cannot change overnight the situation we inherited.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Harman Excerpts

Thursday 22nd November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of the freedom of the press, but we must also ensure that there is robust and full redress for victims. Those are the things that we must balance, and that is why I think that it would be entirely appropriate for us to have discussions, whether in the Chamber or elsewhere in the House.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

I agree with Members who have said that this issue is of enormous importance. Like me, the Secretary of State had an opportunity to meet victims of phone hacking and press intrusion yesterday.

The hon. Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale) was absolutely right to say that this is a matter for the House. In that context, may I ask the Secretary of State whether she intends to make a statement to the House on the day on which the Leveson report is published, and also whether she will ensure that the Government provide an early opportunity for the House to debate it? I have already asked for cross-party Front-Bench talks, but this is also a matter of great interest and importance for Back Benchers in all parts of the House.

[Maria Miller]

I thank the right hon. and learned Lady for the opportunity to clarify the position. She and I have already had discussions about this very issue. I hope that we will continue to have such discussions, and that they can involve the other parties as well. My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House will be able to make things clearer in his business statement later today.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vaizey]

Absolutely. We increased the share for the arts and for heritage from 16% to 20%, which means that the arts will get hundreds of millions of pounds more of lottery funding.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

The Minister’s Department is responsible for the arts, which are so important to not only our culture, but jobs and growth. The Government have already cut funding for the Arts Council by 30% and abolished the regional development agencies, which supported arts in the regions. Now, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt) has said, local government, which has always been such an important support for arts locally, is struggling with huge central Government cuts to its budgets. That is set to have a catastrophic impact on the arts in local communities, with some councils set to end their funding of local arts altogether. Will the Minister make an immediate detailed assessment of local government cuts in arts funding and place a copy in the House of Commons Library?

[Mr Vaizey]

It is an honour to answer a question from the right hon. and learned Lady, but I simply do not recognise the picture she paints. The arts are in a very healthy state in this country, as I said. We have maintained significant funding for the arts and for our national museums and heritage. We have substantially increased lottery funding for the arts and heritage. I will, of course, continue to engage with local authorities on this important issue.