Fur: Import and Sale

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I had not planned to speak; I only came to show my support for my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones), but as there is time I will make a brief contribution, with your indulgence, Ms Jardine. It is excellent to see you up there presiding over us; this is the first time that I have spoken in a debate with you in the Chair.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her consistency and tenacity on these issues, and I thank all colleagues for their contributions to the debate. It has not been political, which speaks to the importance of the issue. I note that we have not heard from the two Opposition Front Benchers, but I feel sure that they will approach this debate as all others have done.

I feel as if I am living in a parallel universe and in a previous life, sitting in a room talking about DEFRA, particularly animal welfare, with my hon. Friend, with various stakeholders and campaigners, and with the now shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), who was then a DEFRA Minister. Talk about going back to the future!

I am here to support my hon. Friend, and I support her Bill too. I am from a community in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where—judging from my inbox every week—the vast majority of my constituents could best be described as animal lovers. We have a real opportunity to make a meaningful difference to millions of animals and stop them being forced to endure mental and physical anguish that none of us would wish on our worst enemies.

The good people of our United Kingdom do not support the fur trade. We know that many designers and retailers have got the picture, too. I hope that the Minister will appreciate the significance of her sitting in this debate, because it was her twin, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle)—

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

Right honourable.

[Adam Jogee]

Forgive me, I should have known—two successful twins. My right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston brought back the fur ban while I was in primary school, so it now falls to another Eagle to get the job done and deliver the fur-free Britain that we all want to see.

[Dame Angela Eagle]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Adam Jogee]

I will happily give way to my right hon. Friend.

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I am not right honourable; my twin is, but I am not, just to put that on the record. I thank my hon. Friend for remembering the history, but I wonder whether he can imagine the kind of pressure that I might be under on this issue, subsequently.

[Adam Jogee]

I think this is the first time a Minister has intervened on me. There is a first time for everything, and it is a moment we will not forget, Ms Jardine.

I am the oldest of three children, so I understand the pressures that siblings apply, and my younger siblings both have particular views about the state of the world today and how I might approach some of those issues. However, I feel sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn will continue to hold the Minister to account and will help her to get to exactly the right place to deliver the fur-free Britain we all want to see.

I thank all those who work, day in and day out, on animal welfare issues. Many of them are in the Public Gallery. I see Danielle, Sonul and others, many of whom I spoke to more than my siblings when I worked for my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn in years gone by.

Finally, I thank my hon. Friend again for securing this debate. I am glad that the speeches I wrote all those years ago were put to good use. And I am pleased, on behalf of my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme, to be here today to show my support for this debate, for her Bill and for the campaign to deliver the fur-free Britain we all want to see.