Rural Communities

Ben Goldsborough Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

I think the fact that South Norfolk has a Labour MP for the first time since 1950 goes to show—[Interruption.] This is a key point, to which Opposition Members need to pay attention. I think it goes to show that there has been a huge change in rural representation in this country, and I also think some humility would be welcome.

I want to focus on three main issues affecting rural communities. The first is healthcare—it was not mentioned in the motion, which I think is a bit odd, because we get ill, too—the second is infrastructure and the third, obviously, is farming in South Norfolk.

Let me begin with healthcare. The Government have invested £9 million in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS foundation trust in my constituency, which will make a huge difference for our local economy. It will stop people getting sick and ensure that we have the direct investment we need in our healthcare professionals. Moreover, £1.3 million has been invested in the Cotman Centre, a specialist centre dealing with cancer and prevention. There has also been investment in the health centre in Wymondham, which is in my largest market town, in Long Stratton health centre and in Cringleford surgery. Each of those investments means that my constituents can lead happier, healthier and longer lives.

Then there is infrastructure. Since my election as the first Labour MP in South Norfolk since 1950, I have secured more than £200 million for upgrades to the Thickthorn junction of the A11 and the A47. Norfolk has been waiting years for that to be done. It will directly improve connectivity for constituencies across Norfolk, including that of the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew). There has also been £289 million of investment in broadband contracts, which are being rolled out to villages throughout Norfolk—that will make a huge difference to me locally—and 131,000 houses have now been connected under Project Gigabit.

Farming is very important to me, because as the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson), will know, I have a bit of an obsession with biosecurity in the United Kingdom. We need to take it extremely seriously, and I urge my Front-Bench colleagues to continue their investment, in Harlow and other places, to ensure that our borders are kept safe and that we stop the threat of avian influenza and African swine fever in the United Kingdom. We cannot continue blindly walking down that alley and not protecting our farming industry. We must also look at how we take more action on planning policy as it relates to farming—to reservoirs and broilers, for instance. There should be easy access to development to help our rural economy.

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[Ben Goldsborough]

Would the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Steve Barclay]

Of course; if the hon. Gentleman also wants to give me more time to speak, I will take a second intervention.

[Ben Goldsborough]

Did the right hon. Gentleman read the article in the Farmers Guardian that highlighted that more than 20% of the Conservative Back Benchers did not even bother to turn up to vote on the day?

[Steve Barclay]

The point is that the hon. Gentleman did not oppose it. There was also the opportunity to vote in the Finance (No. 2) Bill—there were two opportunities for the House to vote on it, and one should look at both votes to determine whether people were for or against it. That is a matter of public record. We have had a number of Opposition day debates on this policy and there have been a number of opportunities to vote in the House. People’s voting records, and their records on the family farm tax more broadly, are there for all to see. However, the Government have done a only partial U-turn on that policy, so if the hon. Gentleman wants to show that he is opposed to the tax, he will hopefully support future votes to remove it entirely. We have had only a partial U-turn, so there will still be an opportunity for him to go further.

Of course, the family farm tax is not the only measure. We have also seen the sustainable farming incentive scheme stopped abruptly with no notice to farmers and no timeline for its reopening. We have also seen the farm to fork summit at No. 10—an important opportunity for the industry to have the ear of the Prime Minister—scrapped. We have seen schemes on productivity cut, and my right hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) spoke about a whole range of wider pressures. All that builds on the fact that there was only one paragraph—on page 59—on farming in the Labour party manifesto.

I turn to that paragraph first, because one of the few commitments the Labour party made was that 50% of food procured by the public sector would be locally sourced or produced to higher environmental standards. Given that a number of months have now passed since that manifesto, will the Minister commit to writing to me with a timeline for the implementation of that manifesto commitment? It could make a real difference to helping the farming community.

The second thing I want to highlight is the report of Baroness Batters, who is widely respected across the House and certainly within rural communities. In her report, she makes 57 recommendations. I think it is regrettable that it was slipped out right at the end of the year before Christmas; it is a serious report that merits serious attention, as I am sure the Minister would agree. Given the pressures that colleagues across the House have spoken of, could the Minister update the House on the timeline for the implementation of those 57 recommendations?

Thirdly, I want to touch on a theme that applies to both Opposition day debates today. Last year was characterised by a number of U-turns that the Government were forced to make on policies that the Prime Minister had asked his Back Benchers to speak about—not just on the family farm tax, but on welfare reform, the winter fuel allowance and national insurance, where the previous Budget had triumphed the fact that tax thresholds would not remain frozen only for the 2025 Budget to do exactly the opposite. We can already see a theme here, with a number of U-turns that are pretty foreseeable—one of them from the previous debate on jury trials, where there are widespread concerns. In farming, too, we can see a number of potential areas.

The area I want to highlight in particular is rural pubs, and I commend The Telegraph for the campaign it has launched. I want to speak to the serious concerns that I am hearing from my rural pubs, as I am sure Members of all parties across the House will be hearing. I do not support the ban on Labour MPs from pubs; I do not personally think that is the right approach, as pubs are the heart of our communities and should be places that bring people together. I think the Government are making a serious mistake, and I would gently say to Labour Back Benchers that I foresee that this will be another issue on which they are marched up the hill only for their Prime Minister, under pressure, to change his mind. I think he will do it on digital ID and jury trials, and I think he will do it on rural pubs. We can save people a lot of anxiety if the proposals are changed.