Income Tax (Charge)

Cat Eccles Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell), and for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson), and the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) on their excellent maiden speeches?

To be here in this place representing my home town and the community that I hold dear is an honour beyond words. Stourbridge has a history of electing female MPs and I am proud to be part of this latest cohort—we are the largest number of women in Parliament ever. I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor, Suzanne Webb, who represented the constituency from 2019. She was a vehement supporter of the Justice for Ryan campaign, as was Margot James before her. I will continue to work with the Passey family to get justice for Ryan. I hope that the stricter laws around knife crime that this Government will introduce will ensure that no family has to go through the same ordeal. Before 2010, Stourbridge was represented by Lynda Waltho and formerly Debra Shipley. They are two fantastic Labour women, who were a great support to me during my campaign.

I am Black Country through and through, growing up in Halesowen and later moving to Stourbridge. The town itself was first mentioned in 1255, named after the bridge that crosses over the River Stour. Legend has it that King Charles II hid there from the Roundheads after being defeated in Worcester in 1651.

Since the 1600s, Stourbridge has given its name to glass production; the rich local resources of coal and fire-clay made it the perfect location for the industry. This summer, Stourbridge hosted its last international glass festival, which featured contemporary work by glass makers from all over the world. Stourbridge has long produced sporting, musical and artistic talent, from England football star Jude Bellingham, to Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Pop Will Eat Itself and Robert Plant. One of my priorities during this Parliament is to promote and protect our varied history, heritage, music and arts, and I am already working towards keeping our own glass festival at home in Stourbridge, and celebrating home-grown music with a local festival.

Across the constituency, there is a rich industrial history to discover, with the sky once black by day and red by night from the many factories. Wollaston produced the Stourbridge Lion—the first locomotive to run on a commercial line in the USA. Round Oak Steelworks in Brierley Hill provided employment for thousands of local people and was a world centre for iron making during the industrial revolution. Netherton was the home of Hingley and Sons whose most famous product was the anchor of the RMS Titanic. Lye was famous for the manufacture of nails, anvils, crucibles and fire bricks— the Stourbridge name can still be found embossed in many old bricks.

Linking all these places are the many miles of canal waterways. Once the highway for transporting goods, now it is a tranquil place to enjoy a walk in nature. The Black Country is no longer the heavy industrial power that it once was, but, with the right investment and opportunities provided by this Government, it can thrive once more with modern technology and green industries.

In last week’s Budget, Brierley Hill got a mention, as the Chancellor confirmed funding for the stalled West Midlands Metro extension. This is welcome news as we work towards a joined-up transport system along with West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker. The constituency is also home to the Stourbridge shuttle—the shortest railway line in Europe—running between Stourbridge town and Stourbridge junction. This is where we can also find our most famous resident, George the station cat! George was the perfect mascot for the Save the Ticket Office campaign, which I ran with a local resident last year. More than 5,000 flyers were handed out at the station and Stourbridge had over 3,000 signatures for the Parliament petition—the highest constituency number in the country. I am honoured to be here to see the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill go through the House, which will not only improve reliability and efficiency, but protect our precious ticket offices.

Speaking of cats, it would be remiss of me not to mention Mimi, Penny and Hugo, who, along with my husband, John, help to keep me sane. I understand the value that a pet can add to our lives. I look forward to new animal welfare laws and the Renters’ Rights Bill that will allow tenants to keep a pet.

I am so proud to be making my maiden speech during this Budget debate on the NHS and public services. I welcome the £22.6 billion commitment to frontline NHS services to cut down waiting lists, invest in cancer treatments, and provide additional funding for social care. I am the very first operating department practitioner in Parliament—a milestone for our under-represented profession. We are trained specifically to work in operating theatres across the three key areas of the perioperative environment. We can be found passing instruments to the surgeon during an operation or assisting the anaesthetist with a patient’s airway. With more than 15,000 registered ODPs in the UK, it is likely that Members will have encountered one at some point.

My career in the NHS spans nearly 20 years. I have seen the best of our health service, but, sadly, I have also witnessed it crumble in front of my eyes. The impact of austerity on the NHS is what first politicised me. We saw procurement taken away from clinical staff, vacancies frozen, pay frozen, senior staff forced to reapply for their roles, older staff encouraged to take voluntary redundancy, and many more layers of middle management introduced, removing a lot of day-to-day decision making from clinicians.

During the pandemic, I worked on the frontline in emergency maternity theatres. The early days of lockdown were chaotic, with official advice changing by the day. We were given items that were not fit for purpose, face shields that fell off our faces and out-of-date masks. Sadly, we lost some colleagues along the way, including neonatologist Dr Vishna Rasiah and midwife Salaa Alam.

I hope that the contributions of ODPs during the pandemic will be recognised. So many stepped up and fulfilled roles in intensive therapy units, wards and emergency departments—a true demonstration of the flexibility and skill of our profession. I am pleased that the Government are appointing a covid corruption commissioner to investigate fully fraud, errors and underperforming contracts during the pandemic and to ensure that the country is fully prepared in the future. It is also an honour to be in this place as the covid inquiry is published, so that I can speak up for all the NHS staff whose voices were not heard.

Despite the difficulties at work, I was grateful to be able to maintain my daily routine, unlike so many who were forced to stay at home. When I was not on a shift, I was helping to run the Stourbridge covid support group, with over 100 volunteers who helped more than 200 shielding residents with shopping, prescriptions and friendly phone calls. We made over 10,000 face shields for care homes without PPE and raised over £8,000 for our local food bank. We provided Christmas food boxes for families receiving free school meals. The community really pulled together during this difficult time and many of our volunteers are still in touch with their clients.

When war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022, the community rallied again to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Large shipments of clothes, toys and sanitary products were transported to the Ukrainian border. I recently had the opportunity to visit Ukraine and see for myself what people there are dealing with. There is much to be done to ensure victory in Ukraine and I hope to play some small part in that. I welcome the Government’s commitment to providing unwavering support to Ukraine and to combat Russian aggression.

As we see global conflict heightening, I hope for peace everywhere and that the Government, along with world leaders, can influence change to keep everyone safe. I look forward to working with all colleagues in this House to bring about much needed change—not just for Stourbridge, but for our entire country and the wider world.

[Several hon. Members rose—]