Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill

Claire Hughes Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 1st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

What an excellent and powerful speech to follow. We should all be here to stand up for the dignity of people who need us to stand up for them.

I know what it means to become disabled, because 11 years ago, I developed Guillain-Barré syndrome. It happens to one in 100,000 people. Unfortunately, I ended up totally paralysed for three months, but fortunately I then made a full recovery over the next couple of years. It was an insight into what it is like to become disabled. I went from full health to total dependence overnight and lost the ability to move for three months. Fortunately, I was lucky and I recovered, but I remember those early days vividly and what it was like to suddenly learn to live with a disability. I remember, for example, having to have some clicking contraption, and a hook to be able to grab my socks and get dressed in the morning. That is an example of the extra costs and challenges that people living with disabilities face, as has been highlighted today.

Personal independence payments are a lifeline that enable people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to live independently, participate in society and, crucially, stay in work if they can. Wales will be hit hard by this proposal. In Wales we have higher rates of long-term illness and disability, and in rural areas the cost of living with a condition is even higher. These changes will hit hardest where communities and people are struggling to cope as it is. The Government’s so-called climbdown does not fix this. Delaying the stricter criteria until 2026 does not make the policy fairer; it just creates a two-tier system. From 2026, someone newly diagnosed with a condition will not be entitled to the support that someone with the same condition receives today.

When I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, I was added to a Facebook group consisting of many people who had been struggling to live with the consequences of it, and who talked about how they coped. Clearly the people being added to that group today will be in an even worse position, and that is frankly immoral. If the Government were serious about trying to reduce the welfare bill, they would be focusing on fixing the issues in health and social care and tackling the root causes of chronic ill health, or providing good jobs across Wales. In Wales, where Labour has been running the healthcare service for more than 25 years, 800,000 people, almost a third of the population, are stuck on NHS waiting lists, and more than 9,000 people have been waiting for more than two years to start treatment. That means hundreds of thousands of people are unable to work as normal because they are languishing on waiting lists.

So many people in Wales are not receiving the healthcare that they need, although our welfare system as a whole was built by Welsh politicians, by Nye Bevan and David Lloyd George. In Wales we know how to fight for each other, and we do not forget our roots, but the Government have. It was shameful to see Welsh Labour politicians sitting there on the Front Bench. People in Wales will be disgusted by the changes being made to disabled benefits and PIP payments, which will make life harder for people with disabilities.

[Claire Hughes (Bangor Aberconwy) (Lab)]

On the subject of tackling the root causes of illness and poor health, does the hon. Gentleman agree that the substantial package of mental health support announced by the Welsh Labour Government this weekend, including £5.6 million to tackle the long waiting list for children awaiting diagnosis for conditions such as hyperactivity disorder and autism, is to be welcomed?

[David Chadwick]

I think we all know that a great deal of this is political posturing, and that the Bill will not fix the underlying problems we have in Wales. Many of those problems have been caused by the Conservatives’ closing down of our industries 40 years ago. Wales has been waiting for a response since then, and this is not it. Picking on the vulnerable is what the Conservatives do, but it is not what the Welsh do, and that is why we voted them out last year. I say to Members, “Do not punish people for getting sick. Do not divide disabled people into first and second-class citizens. Do not vote with the Government today.”

“Get Britain Working” White Paper

Claire Hughes Excerpts

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

The reason I am so passionate about devolving responsibility and accountability to local areas is that it is intended to engage precisely the kind of organisation that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned. For instance, I know the various organisations in Leicester but I do not know those in his constituency, so I believe that we need a much more localised system. If he will write to me with the details, I shall be very keen to look at them.

[Claire Hughes (Bangor Aberconwy) (Lab)]

Measures such as the young person’s guarantee, which are already working successfully in Wales, are welcome. Could the Secretary of State tell us a bit more about how she will work with the Welsh Government to deliver on the plan to make work pay?

[Liz Kendall]

As my hon. Friend says, there is already a young person’s guarantee in Wales. The jobcentre reforms will look different in Wales because the Welsh Government are responsible for the careers service, but we want to work with them and with employers to overhaul their approach, to unleash the ideas of our work coaches and free up their time to focus on those who need help the most, and to ensure that our jobcentres become the first port of call, not the last, for employers to recruit their next star employee. We want employers to be much more joined up with local skills support and health support. We will be having those conversations with the Welsh Government, and I am keen to receive my hon. Friend’s input as well.

International Investment Summit

Claire Hughes Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Claire Hughes (Bangor Aberconwy) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech today. I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Ossett and Denby Dale (Jade Botterill), for Congleton (Mrs Russell), for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson) and for Banbury (Sean Woodcock) on their excellent contributions today—my thanks to them all.

It is the honour of my life to have been elected as the Member of Parliament for Bangor Aberconwy, and I offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported me on my journey to this place: to my partner and my two kids, who I will not name—because my entry into the world of politics has already caused them enough embarrassment as it is—to my brother Mike, my sister Pam, my nieces and nephews, and all my friends back home; and to my dad, who is watching from the Gallery today, something that would never have been possible were it not for the incredible staff of Ysbyty Gwynedd, who have saved his life on more than one occasion.

I want to thank my incredible campaign team, my agent Jim Hoey and Ken Stevens. I also pay tribute to the late Councillor Bill Chapman, who is very sorely missed. Without his encouragement much earlier in my career, I would not be here today.

Bangor Aberconwy encompasses the former constituency of Aberconwy, as well as parts of what were Arfon and Clywd West. I thank all three of my predecessors, and their staff, for all their work in the support of local residents. Robin Millar served as the Member for Aberconwy from 2019. I know that his work supporting hoteliers during the pandemic was very much appreciated. David Jones served as the Member of Parliament for Clywd West and served in the role as Secretary of State for Wales during his time here. Hywel Williams served as the Member of Parliament for Arfon and the previous Caernarfon constituency for over 23 years—a Member who was and still is very well respected by the communities that he served.

I also pay special tribute to Betty Williams, who served as the Labour MP for Conwy from 1997 to 2010. She is a real Labour legend who is still remembered with huge fondness locally. If I can be half as good an MP as Betty was, I will be doing okay.

I have listened to many maiden speeches and noted that there is hot competition for whose constituency is the most beautiful in all the land—I am sorry, but game on! Bangor Aberconwy includes the seaside resort of Llandudno, the historic town of Conwy, Betws-y-Coed, Bangor pier, the Carneddau mountains, the Dyffryn Ogwen valley—too many beautiful places to name. I must, of course, mention my hometown of Penmaenmawr, which was the favoured holiday destination of Prime Minister William Gladstone, and my adopted home of Llanfairfechan.

I have noticed, too, that it is customary to elaborate on one’s political roots—childhood memories of being dragged along to party meetings or folding leaflets at the kitchen table—but I am afraid that was not me. Politics was not really discussed in our house. For our family, direct action meant going out with a bucket and torch to rescue frogs. Largely thanks to my mother, my formative years were spent bird watching, pond dipping, bat counting and on long mountain walks. My mum knew the value of our natural world and how vital it is that we protect it. I will make it my mission in this place to do so in her memory.

When I was 11, my mum’s life changed. She enrolled on an access course, did A-levels, then graduated with a degree in botany—no mean feat with three young kids. The fact that she was able to access higher education is testament not only to the last Labour Government, but to the grit and determination of working people in our community.

To understand why is to learn the founding story of Bangor University: 140 years ago tomorrow, on 18 October 1884, Bangor University opened its doors to its first ever cohort of students. Bangor University, the first in north Wales, was not founded by rich benefactors or philanthropists, but quarrymen and farmers who believed in the transformative power of education. They set aside money from their wages every week because they knew then, as we know now, that education is the way to get on in life. Our story is one of resilience and of people who believe in supporting each other.

All across Bangor Aberconwy, you will find incredible people who work hard day in, day out to support others in our community—people like Jaynie Black and the volunteers at Ty Hapus; Ginnie Rogers and the Friends of Mostyn Street; Brenda at Hope Restored; the wonderful women I met last week at Dyma Ni Befriending; Pobl i Bobl; Maes Ni; Hwb Ogwen; our food banks, our churches and our mosques; and our town, city and community councillors. There are too many to mention, but we owe them all a huge debt of thanks. Diolch o galon i chi gyd. [Translation: Heartfelt thanks to you all.]

I am proud to be part of a Labour Government who are firmly on the side of working people. I am proud to be part of a Labour Government who are committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for young people growing up in communities like ours. And I am proud to be part of a Labour Government who understand that tackling the climate and nature crisis is not only the biggest challenge we face, but an opportunity for economic growth.

The subject of today’s debate is this week’s record-breaking international investment summit. Before coming to this place, I spent my career working with start-ups and SMEs, so I know how important economic and political stability is for business. Under this new Government, Britain is truly the best place to do business, and there is huge potential in our corner of Wales ready to be unleashed. We have a proud industrial history; a wealth of talent in science and technology; and wind, waves and mountain ranges. Everywhere you look, you will find ingenuity and innovation, and communities full of pride, purpose and potential.

To finish, I am proud of our past and I am excited for our future. Whether you live in Penmaenmawr or Pwllglas, Bangor or Bontuchel, Conwy or Cerrigydrudion, I will fight tooth and nail to bring investment to our area, while promoting our Welsh language and culture, to make sure that our young people know that these opportunities exist and are for them. There is much to do, and it will not happen overnight, but I hope to do every single one of my constituents proud.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call Jessica Toale to make her maiden speech.