Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)]

7. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Wales.

[Carolyn Harris (Neath and Swansea East) (Lab)]

12. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Wales.

[Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare) (Lab)]

13. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Wales.

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[Jo Stevens]

I do not think the hon. Gentleman can have been listening when I mentioned, in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden), that Plaid has admitted that it will cut the budget for child poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been clear that Plaid would have to make spending cuts or raise taxes to pay for its unfunded manifesto pledges, and at some point before 7 May its leader is going to have come clean on what Plaid is going to do.

[Carolyn Harris]

With almost 170,000 workers in Wales benefiting from Labour’s successive increases to the national minimum wage and the living wage, families across the country—including many of my constituents—will now be better off. Despite resistance from Opposition parties, this Government have shown their commitment to tackling the cost of living crisis and supporting working people. Could the Secretary of State update the House on how those changes and the Employment Rights Act 2025 will benefit people in my constituency and across Wales?

[Jo Stevens]

We promised that we would be a Government for working people, and that is exactly what we have done. Our industrial strategy is set to support tens of thousands of new jobs across Wales. We have provided more employment support to help people get into work, increased the national minimum wage and the living wage, and strengthened rights and protections at work, making work pay, and making it more secure and fairer through our Employment Rights Act. New jobs have been created, alongside better jobs and higher wages, all because of this Labour Government.

Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Carolyn Harris (Neath and Swansea East) (Lab)]

I will be very brief, as I am not attempting to audition for a BAFTA, unlike some colleagues. Neither am I trying to attempt any factional point scoring, as some colleagues have done today. The Prime Minister himself said yesterday that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as our ambassador to the US, so let me ask simply this: can the Chief Secretary tell the House how the Prime Minister has changed the way due diligence and security vetting will be conducted before appointments are announced in the future?

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for what we are doing about violence against women and girls. I agree that this is not about women or men, or boys or girls; it is about both. That is why I was very pleased to bring forward our men’s health strategy, one of the first of its sort, to deal with the challenges that young men in particular, in my view, have growing up, particularly to do with social media, and to go further on the question of suicide, which I know the whole House is prepared to work together on—and quite right, too.

[Carolyn Harris (Neath and Swansea East) (Lab)]

As trade envoy to New Zealand, I visited Eden Park in Auckland last year to hear about the exciting plans to bring the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to New Zealand. Next month, that plan becomes a reality, and one of Scotland and the UK’s greatest military displays will take place in Auckland. That spectacular event is testament to the exciting and successful trading relationship between the UK and New Zealand. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating and thanking everyone who has made it a reality?

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Nia Griffith]

We applaud the work that farmers do—they are vital to our food security. As the hon. Gentleman will know, there are many ways in which we have supported farmers, including the £337 million given to them in the Budget this year and passed on by Welsh Government Ministers to our farmers in Wales. He brings up inheritance tax. I remind him that we are maintaining significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest free.

[Carolyn Harris (Neath and Swansea East) (Lab)]

The Welsh Government’s budget contained over £300 million to support Welsh farmers. Is it not the case that Plaid Cymru and the Tories put Welsh farmers’ livelihoods at risk by voting against the Welsh Government’s recent budget?

[Dame Nia Griffith]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right.

General Election

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)]

Order. Before we continue with the debate, can I bring to everyone’s attention that guests in the Gallery are not permitted to contribute in any way to it? Any Member who speaks needs to stay for the wind-ups. We will have a tight time limit of six minutes per speech. Can I please encourage colleagues to make short interventions? Otherwise, some people will not be able to speak. I call Yasmin Qureshi.

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[Yasmin Qureshi]

On a point of order, Ms Harris. At no time did I say that the individual constituent was being influenced by a foreign—[Interruption.] No, I did not say that. I said that the petition on its own, as it was sold, has been motivated by a number of factors. At no time did I attribute anything to the individual constituent of the hon. Gentleman.

[Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)]

Thank you, Ms Qureshi. Your point has been made and noted.

[Mike Wood]

I think the words speak for themselves, and Mr Westwood is sitting there having brought the petition forward and gained 3 million signatures. The signatures reflect the strength of the public’s dissatisfaction, frustration and betrayal with the Labour Government’s failure to uphold the promises they made during the election campaign.

Political parties are elected based on manifestos that outline their vision and commitments to the public. When those promises are not fulfilled or, worse, are abandoned, trust between the electorate and the Government erodes. Voters invest not only their votes but their hopes for the future in the Government they elect. When those promises are broken, as they so clearly have been here, and when hopes are dashed by the Government going back on the platform on which they were so recently elected, then people have every right to feel betrayed.

People feel betrayed by a Government who categorically promised not to increase national insurance contributions but within months had hiked that tax, threatening wage growth for workers and hammering small businesses in particular. They feel betrayed by a Prime Minister who challenged his predecessor at Prime Minister’s questions to rule out restricting winter fuel payments but within weeks of entering Downing Street had taken those same payments away from 90% of pensioners.

They feel betrayed by a Government who promised not to change agricultural property relief but then scaled back that relief, putting family farms at risk, many of which have been farmed for generations. They feel betrayed by a Government who promised to deliver the fastest growing economy in the G7, but took an economy that was growing faster than other countries in the G7 and turned it into one with no growth at all.

The Labour party knew full well what the situation was before the election, yet it cynically chose not to make its unpopular plans public. They waited until they were in power. Rather than being honest with the public in advance, they ducked the choice and took the easy route instead. Few people will imagine that this petition or debate might lead to an early election. Sadly, it is not going to happen. But the petition is another clear sign of the betrayal felt by so many voters and the collapse in trust and support that the Government were lent last summer.

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[Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)]

Happy new year, Mrs Harris. I appreciate that everyone is looking forward to the final speech—perhaps this will be the final speech before the Front Benchers.

I did not know how this debate would go, so I was very interested to come here to hear what people would say. I hope it has been somewhat useful to people who are not used to being here, including those who, like me, have been here for five minutes. Like many Members here, I was elected in July, and I have a majority of 152, so I know that what I had to say was not universally popular with the all the people I was standing to represent. As the Member for Chelsea and Fulham, I know that I have a lot of work to do to persuade the people of the country that what the Labour Government hope and plan to do is good, and to prove to them in the long run that we should be re-elected.

I know there is a lot of cynicism out there. We attack each other a lot of the time, but I hope we have learned some things today. How many years are we having to make up for? It is 14 years; I thought Opposition Members might have forgotten that. But today we have not really explored the crux of the motion, which is that our manifesto made promises that we have not kept—although a number of my colleagues addressed that very well in passing. My hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson) said that we must proceed on the basis of facts and that, to paraphrase him, we must be decent in doing so.

Other Members said that we are depressing, that we have talked the economy down and that we are bringing the country to a stalemate, so it is useful to remind them of what is good, positive and exciting about this Labour Government, who were brought in to effect change. I will do that in a very boring way: by reading words from the manifesto.

I used to be the deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council in London. I know that nobody believes what is put in a manifesto—it is almost a given that 10 commandments come down, and the manifesto is full of lies—so we used to stick up our manifesto on the wall of the council cabinet chamber, and tick off items as we went along; anybody who came in could see us doing that. So let me tick off a couple of things that have been mentioned today. We said in the manifesto—these are the words, which I appreciate that very few people other than keen Labour candidates such as me have read—that we will

“immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions”

to deal with the massive problem of the cost of rental and the crap quality of many of the places in which people are forced to live. We said that we will

“prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, empower them to challenge unreasonable rent increases, and take steps to decisively raise standards, including extending ‘Awaab’s Law’”—

which is about damp and mould—“to the private sector.” We have done that. We introduced the Renters’ Rights Bill. It was in the manifesto, and we have done it.

[Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)]

Order. Mr Coleman, I remind you that I am the audience, not the Public Gallery.

[Ben Coleman]

Forgive me. Thank you very much, Mrs Harris—I appreciate that reminder. I apologise to those in the Public Gallery for turning my back on them, if I may say that through you, Mrs Harris.

As we are accused of not keeping our promises, I will boringly quote from the manifesto. On new homes, we said:

“Labour will get Britain building again…We will immediately update the National Policy Planning Framework”

to enable us to build 1.5 million homes. We are bringing in the new planning and infrastructure Bill.

We said that we will

“build an NHS fit for the future…Labour’s immediate priority on health will be to get a grip on the record waiting list.”

I will not list all the things we have done; hon. Members can read tonight’s news. We have done masses and masses, including putting £25.7 billion into the NHS from money raised in the Budget. I appreciate that not everybody has liked the way we raised money in the Budget. They do not have to like it—there will always be differences of opinion—but we have taken the money we have raised and put £26 billion into the NHS.

We also said in the manifesto that we would improve inclusivity for children with special educational needs, ensure that

“special schools cater to those with the most complex needs”,

and improve mainstream education for disabled children. Not everybody likes the way we raised the money in the Budget, but £1 million of that money has gone into improving education in mainstream schools for disabled children and children with special educational needs.

We have a problem that people do not have enough money to live on, and the minimum wage is all that many people rely on, so we said:

“Labour will…make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage. We will change the remit of the independent Low Pay Commission so for the first time it accounts for the cost of living. Labour will also remove the discriminatory age bands, so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage”.

We have raised the national minimum wage and the national living wage; that is a pay boost for 3 million people. We said in the manifesto that we would do it and we kept our promise: we have done it. We have asked the Low Pay Commission to end the discriminatory age bands and to look at including the cost of living. We have talked about Great British Energy; we made pledges there, and we have delivered them by establishing Great British Energy. We said:

“Labour will fund free breakfast clubs in every primary school, accessible to all children.”

We are doing that; we are introducing free breakfast clubs. I am sorry to quote from the manifesto at such length.

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[Ben Coleman]

This is where—[Interruption.] I’m sorry; does the right hon. Gentleman want me to answer the question? [Interruption.]

[Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)]

Order. Ben Coleman to resume his speech.

[Ben Coleman]

This is where it turns into politics. By that, I mean that we very clearly promised in the manifesto not to raise income tax or national insurance on working people—that was directly understood—but the Labour party did not promise not to raise the national insurance contributions of employers, which is what has happened. I understand the concerns and problems that has raised; I am simply saying that we have done what we said we would do in the manifesto, and we have not broken our promises. [Interruption.] No matter how much you professional gentlemen who have been here for 20 years yell at me—I have been here for six months—it is simply the case that what is in our manifesto, which I am reading out word for word, is what we are delivering.

I will finish by talking about borders. We said:

“Labour will stop the chaos and go after the criminal gangs who trade in driving this crisis. We will create a new Border Security Command, with hundreds of new investigators, intelligence officers, and cross-border police officers.”

We have already increased the number of enforced returns of those who have committed crimes and have no right to be here; the number is up by nearly 30% on the same period last year. We have also established and invested in the Border Security Command, as we said we would. Hon. Members may disagree with the things that we have done because they do not like them and have never liked them, but do not say that we have not kept the promises in our manifesto, because we have.

[Carolyn Harris (in the Chair)]

Thank you, Mr Coleman. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Thursday 29th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to support veterans with the cost of living.

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

21. What steps he is taking to support veterans with the cost of living.

[The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs (Johnny Mercer)]

The Government have successfully reduced inflation by more than half, which will make the cost of living more affordable for veterans along with every other resident in the United Kingdom. We are also getting support directly to those who need it with the £104 billion cost of living package, worth an average of £3,700 a household. In addition, the Government are providing £33 million over three years to better support veterans.

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[Johnny Mercer]

It is important in this place that we do not misrepresent what other Members say. I very clearly said that service personnel who receive subsidised accommodation should not be using food banks. There is no requirement for them to do it, and that is not appropriate. That is what I have said. I have obviously never said that food banks are a personal choice. This is a real opportunity to come here and ask me any questions at all about veterans’ affairs. I suggest we try to raise the debate and actually improve their lives.

[Carolyn Harris]

With tens of thousands of veterans across the UK forced to rely on universal credit to get by, what is the Minister doing to help veterans in Swansea East and right across the country who are in receipt of universal credit to cope with the increased cost of living caused by this Government’s economic failings?

[Johnny Mercer]

I spend my entire life visiting veterans who consistently raise with me the help that they get. There are plenty of places for them to go to, whether it is the Royal British Legion or others, that have specific grants. On top of that, the Government have put in an enormous package of help for citizens across the United Kingdom of £104 billion. That is £3,700 a household, and that is just for the cost of living. It is an incredibly difficult time for lots of people across the United Kingdom, but I am comfortable that the Government are doing all we can, and we stand ready to do more.

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Wednesday 5th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am sure my hon. Friend appreciates that we need to reduce the bill of housing asylum seekers in hotels and that we need to look at different measures to accommodate them. Of course, I am very happy to engage with him, and I am sure the Home Secretary is too, to ensure we can find a satisfactory solution in his constituency that protects his constituents’ interests.

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

Q6. Last week, the coroner found that the cause of Luke Ashton’s suicide in April 2021 was gambling disorder. Immediately before his death, Luke, bombarded with inducements, placed over 1,200 bets. At no point did the operator intervene. From his previous brief, the Deputy Prime Minister will have extensive knowledge of the harm those inducements cause, so does he agree that the commitments to curb advertising and promotions in the gambling White Paper do not go far enough to reduce harm and prevent more tragedies like Luke Ashton’s suicide?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady will know from our conversations when I was Digital Secretary that I share her concerns about gambling inducements. Indeed, I pay tribute to her for her campaigning on this issue. I think we have a very good set of proposals in the gambling White Paper. That sits alongside the 2019 “NHS Long Term Plan” which committed to 15 specialist units across England by 2024 to support those with gambling addiction. I think we have good proposals in place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

T2. [R] Despite the 11th-hour response to my letter about the hormone replacement therapy repayment certificates, which arrived in my inbox just an hour ago, there still appears to be some ambiguity about what the certificate will cover. In her letter, the Minister says that changes to the drug tariff are being finalised to add “eligible items”, with no indication whether that will cover all HRT products. For the benefit of women across the country and as a matter of urgency, can the Minister please provide a comprehensive list of eligible products?

[The Minister for Women (Maria Caulfield)]

I thank the hon. Lady for her work in this space. I responded to her letter last week as quickly as possible and I am glad she has received the response. I just want to confirm that from April the HRT prepayment certificate will be available to women—at £18.70 for a whole year—saving women hundreds of pounds on HRT prescriptions every year.

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[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

Q15. Exercise is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing, but with spiralling energy costs many venues, such as the Freedom Leisure centres in my constituency, are struggling to cope. While some sectors will receive extra support, the sport and leisure industry will not. If the Prime Minister agrees with me that the sector is vital to the long-term health of our communities, why are his Government not providing it with the financial support it needs to thrive?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course I agree with the hon. Lady that exercise and leisure centres are important. That is why we provided significant support to them during covid and beyond. With regard to energy prices now, the Chancellor set out the new relief scheme that will run after the current one expires. It provides considerable support to all sorts of organisations up and down the country. I am sure it will benefit many businesses and organisations in her constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Damian Hinds)]

I am delighted to hear that result and I totally agree with my hon. Friend on the importance of youth offending teams. They have been a great success since 2010 in reducing the number of under-18s who are locked up. They are fundamental to helping to put young people on a better path and stopping them getting on to the path of incarceration and reoffending.

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

T4.   Women eligible for early release from prison are being denied that opportunity due to the lack of safe move-on accommodation. Many of those women are mothers and a safe home would allow them to re-engage with their children. Will the Secretary of State please look urgently at investing more money and innovation in developing safe community accommodation like that available through the Hope Street Project, to allow more women across the country to benefit from early release?

[Damian Hinds]

We are also locking up fewer women and that is right where it is possible to avoid incarceration. We are investing large amounts of money into an increased accommodation offer. I will absolutely look at the particular project the hon. Lady mentions and am happy to discuss it.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Carolyn Harris Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

As we collectively mourn the loss of our Queen, Elizabeth II, I join others in sending my prayers and condolences, and those of my constituents, to the King, the Queen Consort and the whole royal family. As deputy leader of the Welsh Labour party, I send our condolences to all the royal family.

We all have our own memories of the Queen, and mine stretch back to the 1960s. As a young child, I stood outside my primary school in Brynhyfryd to watch her car drive past. I cannot quite remember the purpose of her visit, but I remember the buzz of excitement among my classmates and how honoured we felt just to catch a glimpse of her.

I also remember the honour of receiving an invite to the Queen’s garden party years before I entered this place. I was heavily pregnant at the time and had no interest at all in going anywhere, but I was not going to miss the opportunity to be part of something so special as Her Majesty’s garden party, because she was special. Her dedicated service for more than 70 years will be remembered forever. She served our country with loyalty, with dignity and with grace. Even as her health began to fail in recent years, her commitment never faltered. She will be missed immeasurably by this country, the Commonwealth and, indeed, across the world, but nowhere more so than among her own family. Our thoughts remain with them foremost at this time.

It was an honour to see her when I was a little girl. It was an honour to be invited to a garden party. It is my greatest honour to pay tribute to her today on behalf of the communities across Swansea East. She served us well and has earned her sleep. Rest in peace our Queen. God save the King and God bless the new Prince and Princess of Wales.