Christmas Adjournment

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish you and yours and all colleagues a very happy Christmas. Christmas is a time for family and friends, merriment and relaxing, but it can also be a difficult time for many: for those who are mourning—it will be the first Christmas for my wife and her family since her dad died in June, so we will be feeling that particularly; for those who work in our emergency services and are on call over the coming days, including the clergy, who are busy doing the Lord’s work at this time of year; and for those serving in our armed forces, to whom we owe a real debt of gratitude. I thank all of them for what they do, both back home in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across our United Kingdom.

Three weeks ago, we celebrated the first anniversary since the closure notice was issued to the cowboy operators at Walleys Quarry. We have seen a real improvement and a tangible difference to the lives of local people, but there is more to do.

Our world faces crises in every corner, and my thoughts at this time of year are with the people of Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza and all parts of the world where there is pain and suffering, not least the good people of Australia as they deal with the disgusting, disgraceful antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi last week.

I welcome the action on the British Coal staff superannuation scheme in the Budget, which was mentioned earlier.

I urge Staffordshire county council—the less said about its former leader, the better—to ensure that it steps up and gives Newcastle-under-Lyme the focus we deserve. It must work quickly and effectively to fix the potholes on our roads, as I heard from my constituent Mark this week. It must improve road safety—I heard from residents in Madeley Heath yesterday about a collision that took place outside a local primary school—and sort the A500 slip road at Audley. That is not to mention the ongoing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities provision.

I thank our farmers in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire for all they do to feed us and tend to the land, and for their contribution to our economy. I have put on record my thoughts about the proposed changes, and they have not changed.

On occasion, it feels like I live rent free in the heads of some Conservative members of Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council—I feel sorry for them if I do; nobody deserves that. I will simply say, as it is the festive season, that it is an honour to represent them and everyone who lives, learns and works in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I thank them for their support for my work.

In the year ahead we must focus on delivery, on providing practical outcomes for families in my community and on ensuring that the promises we make in this place are felt by people in Newcastle-under-Lyme, like Janet and Eric, who visited from Wolstanton just yesterday.

As I prepare to head for my train shortly, I thank my staff for the help they give me here in this place and back home in Newcastle-under-Lyme; I thank my family for sharing me with my constituents and everyone here, and for making this life work; and most importantly, I thank the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme for giving me the chance to serve in this place. Happy Christmas to all.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I am sorry to those who did not get in at business questions today. I have made a note of who did not, so I will try to prioritise them at a later date.

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

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Further to the question from my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams), Staffordshire has been in the news this week not for the skills, smarts and successes of our wonderful people from Newcastle-under-Lyme to Tamworth and from Stafford to Stoke, but for the disgusting, disgraceful and deeply sickening social media posts of the now former Reform UK party leader of Staffordshire county council. Madam Deputy Speaker, what advice can you provide to me and my Staffordshire colleagues on how we can ensure our people and our county are not tarnished by the disgusting views of a fringe minority?

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making his point. It is not a matter for the Chair, but he has made sure that his thoughts are on the record.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I join my hon. Friend in commending Mr Johnson for his selfless act of heroism, and I thank her for raising this important matter. We are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce phone thefts, and I commend Operation Echosteep. We are backing police forces by providing them with stronger powers to tackle this issue in the Crime and Policing Bill.

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

In recent days, a number of women who have been out in Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre have reported being spiked. That is both criminal and evil, and does not reflect the town that I live in, represent and know. I have raised the issue with the Home Secretary and with Staffordshire’s police commissioner. Will the Leader of the House join me in urging Staffordshire police to work around the clock to find the criminals who did this? I urge the Government to do all that they can to ensure that our communities up and down the United Kingdom are safe for women and girls.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sorry to hear about the cases raised by my hon. Friend, and I join him in expressing the importance of this matter. Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. Our mission is to halve levels of it within a decade. The Crime and Policing Bill will introduce new criminal offences for spiking, and our upcoming violence against women and girls strategy will look across the whole of Government to see how we can best protect victims.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As yesterday’s debate highlighted, the whole House cares deeply about bus services and their role in our local communities. This sounds like a fantastic event to celebrate an impressive anniversary and a great deal of hard work to organise it. I am happy to pay tribute to everyone concerned and delighted to hear about the event’s success. It might have been for the anniversary of the Midland Red Coalville bus garage, but it is about celebrating buses and volunteers as well.

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

The forced adoption scandal has outraged people in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and up and down the country. This week I heard from Karen Constantine, who gave birth aged 15 in the late 1970s. She was forced out of education in north Staffordshire and into a mother and baby home in Birmingham, and was pushed to give up her child. Although she did not give up her child and fought really hard against others who tried to force who to, other women were not so fortunate. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on local authorities to preserve and protect all adoption records, so that mothers are able to get the justice they deserve and find their children? Can I also urge him to do all he can to get a formal apology from the Dispatch Box to those women, who so desperately deserve justice?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter and for raising Karen’s case. As he points out, others were less fortunate than Karen. However, these are remarkably distressing and life-changing situations. Such abhorrent practices should never have taken place, and our deepest sympathies are with those affected. We take these matters extremely seriously and continue to engage with those impacted to provide support. We are also improving access to adoption records, including by asking adoption agencies to preserve records for at least 100 years, and I will ensure that the Education Secretary hears about my hon. Friend’s concerns.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

As ever, the hon. Gentleman is a strong advocate for jobs and businesses in his constituency. He knows that this Government are committed to new nuclear power and to the most ambitious nuclear programme in a generation. I am really sorry to hear that the SNP Government are, as ever, likely to set themselves against this new investment and against new job opportunities in Scotland. Frankly, that is a pattern that we are seeing time after time, and I join him in calling on them to look again.

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

It was a very busy summer recess in Newcastle-under-Lyme, with 70 engagements in 34 days; my office was delighted to put me on the train on Monday. One of the highlights was attending the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Newcastle-under-Lyme branch of the Royal Air Forces Association. Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to the branch, its officers and its volunteers for the care and compassion that they show to our vets and their families, and send them a happy anniversary?

[Lucy Powell]

As someone who follows my hon. Friend on social media, I know that he has had a very busy recess, as have many colleagues; I have looked on jealously at many of the visits that people have been doing over the summer recess. I join him in congratulating the Royal Air Forces Association branch in his constituency on all that it does.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Adam Jogee.

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

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I extend my sympathies to you and your family on the recent death of your mother?

Last Sunday, people from across Staffordshire, including many from the heart and soul of our ancient county, Newcastle-under-Lyme, came together at Lichfield cathedral for a celebration of Sir Ian Dudson’s service as lord lieutenant of Staffordshire. Sir Ian and Lady Dudson have served the county, and particularly Newcastle-under-Lyme, very well for well over a decade. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Sir Ian and Lady Dudson for their service to the county and wishing them and their family well for their retirement?

[Lucy Powell]

I join my hon. Friend in thanking Sir Ian and Lady Dudson for all their service to his community and wish them the very best for their retirement.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 15th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I congratulate the right hon. Lady on her persistence in raising the same issue twice in one morning. She is right to do so, because access to train stations and investment in stations is a critical issue to our constituents. I hope that the Secretary of State will come back to her; I will chase that. I think there would be a lot of interest in a broader debate on access to train stations and rail infrastructure in the west midlands and beyond.

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

I am concerned that this week FedEx announced that it is planning to close its depot in Newcastle-under-Lyme. That is bad news for hundreds of workers in my constituency and feels very much like a case of profit over people. It stands in stark contrast to the Government’s commitment to our industrial heartlands. Let us be clear: the site is strategically placed and should prosper. With that in mind, will the Leader of the House join me in urging FedEx to think again and work with me to explore alternatives that will protect my constituents’ jobs and livelihoods?

[Lucy Powell]

I am really sorry to hear about the proposed closure of the FedEx depot in my hon. Friend’s constituency. He is right as a constituency MP to raise that with me on the Floor of the House. Obviously, these are matters for FedEx, but we want to see more investment in jobs and opportunity in his constituency. I will ensure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Post office closures are a really serious matter for this House. I implore my hon. Friend, as the local MP, to stand up for post office services in her constituency, as she is doing today, and campaign for them to remain open. I will absolutely ensure that she gets a ministerial reply about what is happening.

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

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; all good things come to those who wait. Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to my constituents Yvonne Yorke and Jackie Wood from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Sue Jackson from Stafford, and Linda Lock from Stoke-on-Trent South, all members of the Potteries branch of Alzheimer’s Research UK? They have raised more than £15,000 in many different ways, including their “human fruit machine”. Can the Leader of the House assure me and my constituents that conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia will be at the heart of our plans for early diagnosis?

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely. Tackling Alzheimer’s and dementia is at the heart of our early diagnosis strategy. We are determined to expand research and innovation into Alzheimer’s across all areas.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

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

I extend my condolences to the shadow Leader of the House. It says a lot about him that he is here in this place doing his duty today.

Last month, the mayor of the ancient and loyal borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Councillor Barry Panter, tragically died in a traffic accident. Although we were from different political traditions, he and I got on well and he was always very kind indeed to me. Last night, members of the borough council met to pay tribute to Barry. Sadly, the chair did not have enough time to read out my tribute. With that in mind, will the Leader of the House join me and my hon. Friends the Members for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) and for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) in mourning his loss, extend our collective condolences to Barry’s wife Beatrice on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, and give thanks for his noble service to our armed forces, the South Wales police force and our community in Newcastle-under-Lyme?

[Lucy Powell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in passing on the Government’s condolences and pay tribute to Barry Panter for his contribution to public life, both as a former police officer and dedicated public servant. My hon. Friend has served his constituents very well today.

Business of the House

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry to tell the hon. Gentleman that we stand proudly behind our lifting of the moratorium on onshore wind developments, because they are absolutely vital if we are to get the energy security, jobs of the future and lower bills for his, mine and everybody else’s constituents that we so desperately need. I am sorry that he has not had a reply to his correspondence, but we have brought in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which we will debate next week and which ensures that those affected by energy infrastructure near their homes will have other incentives and rights that they might want to consider. I am afraid we will have to keep going further and faster on these issues; that is vital to our future energy security and to lowering people’s bills.

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

Last week, my constituent Liz, from Bignall End in Newcastle-under-Lyme, came to my surgery and shared the story of her autistic daughter, who lives with selective mutism. Liz’s daughter was referred to the child and adolescent mental health services, but the services provided were not suitable for her needs. Can we have a debate on how we can specifically, properly and quickly improve mental health support for children and young people under the age of 18 in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across our country?

[Lucy Powell]

Supporting young people with their mental health needs is urgent and vital to tackling many of the issues we face, not just for the individuals themselves but for many other societal issues. We are bringing additional support for mental health advisers into schools as well as many other issues. My hon. Friend might want to raise that in the debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill next week.