Direction of Government
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(1 week ago)
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The Prime Minister
The hon. Member sounds like he could be speaking from the Government Benches. I got a lot of jeers from the Opposition when I talked about public control earlier this afternoon, but that is precisely what he is calling for, and he is right to do so. It enabled me to reduce bus fares in Greater Manchester, and I do not see why it would not enable him to reduce ferry fares. Bring me a proposal—that is what I say to him. I will look seriously at it, because I understand completely how critical those transport links are to opportunity and growth, both on the island and on the mainland.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I welcome the Prime Minister to his place, and I thank him for the positive actions he is taking, particularly to end rough sleeping by Christmas. Will he join me in thanking the amazing charities and organisations in Southend that do so much good work in this area, including the Homeless Action Resource Project—HARP—St Vincent de Paul, the One Love Project, the YMCA and Off the Streets? Can he give me an assurance that this policy is only the start of solving a problem that can often involve a complex set of individual circumstances?
The Prime Minister
When we think of rough sleeping and homelessness, bricks and mortar is only part of it. In effect, what we are talking about is a journey of recovery. That was the Housing First philosophy that was discussed earlier. It is about giving people a firm base, and then giving them the support to move forward. Every person in my view is capable of recovery. We just need to give them the circumstances in which it can happen.
Fraud Strategy 2026-29
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of increasing fraud protections and the Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029.
It is a pleasure to lead this debate with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris, and I thank the Minister for being here.
Fraud has been spreading like the plague for years, infecting almost every aspect of daily life: online, on the phone, at work or out and about. People do not know who or what to trust. Fraud costs the UK economy more than £1 billion a year, yet sentencing is well below its 2010 level. In 2025, British consumers lost £1.2 billion to fraud—a four-year high.
What does that rise mean? My constituent’s small business in Ilton was scammed out of more than £3,000worth of orders through a credit card scam, wiping out their business. Another constituent’s elderly mother had debts run up by an estranged relative, who used her details to the extent that bailiffs came round. Another constituent was tricked into investing hundreds of thousands of pounds into a building company that then shut down. Lots of constituents have been defrauded out of thousands of pounds by tradespeople for half-done work or work that never actually happened.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. My constituents have similar concerns about the impact of fraud, especially on vulnerable people. I have spoken to the noble Lord Hanson, who has been developing the strategy, to outline those concerns. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the direction in the new UK fraud strategy, the expansion of the “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign and the promotion of proactive policing are good things that should be welcomed?
Adam Dance
They are good things and I will come on to them later, but we do need more support for vulnerable adults and young people—something I will also come on to.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(2 months, 4 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
Last week we had the terrible case of Henry Nowak, which Reform Members sought to exploit. Now we have a very difficult situation in Northern Ireland where families and communities are extremely frightened. What do they do? They try to whip up fear and division, because that is all they have got. The hon. Member talks about stopping the boats. When we passed legislation to help stop the boats, what did they do? They voted against it.
To take those measures, you need money, and the hon. Member has still not properly addressed why his companies have not just aggressively avoided tax but failed to pay the tax they legally owed. His investment company then gave huge donations to Reform. If he paid his taxes, we would have more money to deal with these issues.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising Ryan’s case, the details of which, as he outlined, are very hard to hear. As the father of a 17-year-old boy, I find that particularly hard to hear. No one—no mother—should have to experience what Angie has. I know that she is here with us today, and I very much hope that I can meet her immediately after PMQs.
National Security
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his continued advocacy of FIRS. It is an important operational tool. It is still relatively new—it will be a year old on 1 June—and it is the Government’s intention to bring forward an annual report to update Parliament on the progress that we are making with it. I cannot get into the specific registration of the two individuals that he has referenced, but I can tell him—I think he will know this, because he knows a lot about FIRS, but I say it for the benefit of other Members—that countries are considered separately, and decisions are made on a robust evidence base. I am not able to get into speculation about what further decisions may be made, but those will be communicated to Parliament in the normal way.
On the hon. Member’s second point about our wider resilience, that relates to my Cabinet Office responsibilities, but I give him an assurance that we are working across Government, including with partners in the Ministry of Defence, to guard robustly against the kind of threats that he describes.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for his statement, and for the work that the Government are doing to protect the Jewish community. My thoughts are with all those who have been victims of these attacks, and of antisemitism and hate crime. In my constituency of Southend West and Leigh, we have quite a significant and diverse Jewish community—Orthodox, Reform and Haredi. They are scared and concerned, and my concern after meeting some of those communities over recent weeks is that some do not know how to access the support available to them. Could my hon. Friend give them some advice?
Dan Jarvis
I am grateful for the points that my hon. Friend has raised, and for his reference to the importance of remembering the victims of terrorism. It is an important part of my responsibility that we ensure that we have appropriate support for those who have been subject to terrorist activity. That is why we are progressing, as a priority, work to deliver a new victims hub, which will offer an enhanced service for those who have been victims and their families, as well as developing a proposal to hold a national day of reflection to properly remember all those who have been the victim of terrorism.
On the points that my hon. Friend makes about British Jews in his constituency, I completely share other hon. Members’ thoughts about the unacceptable nature of the threats that we have seen in recent times. It is the responsibility of all of us to stand against those threats. That is an important priority for the Government, as I am sure it is for local authorities and police forces right around the country. If he has specific points of concern about the way that we are communicating information to members of that community, I would be happy to take that up with him offline.
Debate on the Address
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
It is a great pleasure to speak in this debate on the King’s Speech, which set out the Labour Government’s programme for this Session, and I warmly welcome its measures.
I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Bradford West (Naz Shah), and for Harlow (Chris Vince), for their opening speeches. My hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West showed how she had overcome adversity, and tackled head-on some of the challenges that people who look like me and her face in today’s society. There is, of course, no greater champion for their community than my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow—my Essex friend. He lives, breathes and is Harlow, and I thank him for all the work that he does in his community.
This Labour Government have already achieved so much, handing back power to local leaders, supporting local regeneration and growth plans and taking the pivotal step of a new deal for working people. They have also put in place the biggest change to renters’ rights for 40 years, which was particularly welcomed in my constituency of Southend West and Leigh, directly giving greater housing security to our 8,938 renters.
We have seen other significant improvements already: a new Best Start family hub at the Blenheim family centre; three free breakfast clubs in my primary schools; a new, extended nursery provision at Chalkwell Hall infant school; more than £2.5 million of investment into South Essex college to upgrade its campus; and a new youth hub—one of 80 being rolled out across the UK. In addition, the removal of the two-child benefit cap is helping 1,800 families in my constituency and, most importantly, lifting children out of poverty. Add to that the fact that we have brought back into public ownership both our train lines, which will soon be part of Great British Railways, and opened the first community diagnostic centre in our city, which is having a huge impact, providing testing early and late, seven days a week, and getting people diagnosed much quicker.
I have also been thrilled to see more than £2 million of new Government funding to start to transform the futures of children with special educational needs in Southend. This is the start of a breakthrough moment—one that families in my constituency have waited a long time for. I have heard from these families during my “See Every Need” meetings, which bring together parents, school leaders, health representatives and charities to get the changes right. Reports from those meetings have been sent to the Secretary of State for Education and the Minister for School Standards, and I am delighted that local voices from my constituency have been reflected in Government policy.
There remains much scepticism among parents of SEND children as to whether these reforms will actually happen and make a difference to their children’s lives as they have quite simply been let down so many times in the past. However, I am confident that seeing the reforms start to come forward in legislation during this Session through the education for all Bill will help to give parents more certainty that this Government are focused on fixing this situation once and for all.
I welcome the announcement in the King’s Speech of the enhancing financial services Bill, which promises a major shake-up of financial services regulation. As the current chair of the APPGs on fair banking and on open finance and payments, I have a passion for financial services reforms, and I am pleased to see this legislation coming forward. It is important, though, that Government continue to listen to the voices of industry, ensuring that these reforms are appropriate and genuinely designed to fix the challenges the industry faces, and I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for her work in listening to industry to date.
Moving on, conversion therapy and similar practices are appalling. Sadly, I am aware of people who have been subject to some of these despicable acts. I believe interventions intended to change or suppress a person’s sexuality or gender identity are wrong, so I am delighted to see a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices coming forward. The LGBTQ+ community has waited far too long for this ban; after promises made and broken by previous Governments, this Labour Government are finally bringing it forward through the draft conversion practices Bill. It cannot be delivered a moment too soon for our community.
I am grateful for the Government’s water reform legislation, which is set to go even further with the clean water Bill, and I applaud their approach to ban bonuses for water company bosses when companies pollute or fail customers. Since being elected, I have been holding regular water summits, focusing on storm overflows, sewage discharges and bathing water quality as well as many other related matters on which we have called our water company, Anglian Water, to account. I am delighted that the local community has now taken ownership of these summits, proving that they are just as invested in this agenda as our Government are.
My constituency has a diverse and growing Jewish community. I have met with many from the community recently, and they have told me of their fears following the recent rise in antisemitic attacks. I know that they will be particularly assured by His Majesty the King’s specific mention of this in his speech and the Government’s desire to do all they can to stamp out this scourge.
I conclude by touching on the enormously challenging international situation we face. I support the priority that this Government have placed on standing firm with Ukraine, and I stand firmly with Ukraine too after Putin’s appalling illegal invasion. I am also pleased with this Government’s stance on the middle east conflict. I am pleased to see our commitment to a sustained increase in defence spending. The challenges that we face demand that we work together with our allies through international co-operation.
I am glad to see in this Humble Address support for strengthening and rebuilding the ties of trust, trade and friendship with our European friends that were so badly damaged by a poorly implemented Brexit. We will fix them through our European partnerships Bill. The promise of a return of the Erasmus scheme and better opportunities for our young people to live, work and study in Europe is also welcome. A good relationship with our closest neighbour is vital in this uncertain world. It is pleasing, therefore, to see the desire to bring forward primary legislation in this area.
I am excited to see the legislation announced in this King’s Speech unfold, so that we can make even more of a difference to the lives of people in Southend West and Leigh and across the rest of the country. In an uncertain world, I am confident that this Government are now moving at pace to make the country fit for the challenges we face while prioritising hope and renewal for our country.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(4 months, 1 week ago)
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The Prime Minister
We are going to build 1.5 million homes. We are upgrading the rights of renters, because we know how important it is for everyone to have a safe and secure roof over their head. The hon. Member’s challenge to me would have more force if the Liberal Democrats had not abstained on the measures that we are taking to move this forward.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
Oral Answers to Questions
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I am not going to comment on the internal proceedings of the Court. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we support the Court; we are party to the treaty, and there are legal obligations that flow from that.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
In my constituency, we have a cohesive and diverse community, with a significant Jewish population, a thriving Muslim community and many others from various different backgrounds all living together and supporting each other. I was therefore appalled to learn of the arson attack against the Jewish community in Golders Green this week, and was deeply concerned by the outrageous comments of the shadow Justice Secretary, the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy), last week about the community iftar in Trafalgar Square, which were seemingly supported by the Leader of the Opposition. Will the Prime Minister assure me and my worried constituents that he and his Government will do all they can to stamp out hate and hate speech in our communities?
The Prime Minister
I want to say again what a shocking antisemitic attack this was in Golders Green, and to be absolutely clear that an attack on British Jews is an attack on all of us. On Monday morning, I met Jewish community leaders to talk through what we could do on ambulances, on security and on the social cohesion plan. I will also say that I was really struck by the fact that the Jewish community came out last week against the shadow Justice Secretary’s comments; they are standing in solidarity with Muslims who wanted to pray in Trafalgar Square. Equally, at the Eid events we had on Monday, Muslims stood in solidarity with our Jewish community. That is Britain, contrary to what the shadow Justice Secretary said last week, supported by the Leader of the Opposition. That is how far they have fallen.
Middle East
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(6 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
I know that the right hon. Lady’s constituents, and all our constituents, will be very concerned, particularly since there are 300,000 British nationals in the region. We want to make sure that the answer to her question is that we will get them home as quickly and as safely as we can, and we are working with our regional allies on this as we speak.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I thank the Prime Minister for his measured response so far. I have spoken to former constituents and friends who are British expats in the UAE. While they feel confident that the local Government there are doing all that they can to protect them, for clarity, will they too be considered for evacuation by the FCDO should it become necessary?
The Prime Minister
We are working with all our allies to ensure that all those who need our help get our help and are safely and swiftly removed from a region that is dangerous for them.
Trade Negotiations
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Mr Alexander
I can do no better than refer to the Prime Minister’s Mansion House speech towards the end of last year, when he said clearly that we do not want to have to choose between our friends and allies—between dealing and working constructively with the European Union and with the United States.
On the hon. Gentleman’s broader point, it is important to recognise that the United States is our deepest and strongest defence ally. For the past 80 years—we should remember the day on which we are gathering—the United Kingdom has worked hand in glove with the armed forces of the United States to keep the world safe. I saw for myself, in previous conflicts such as Afghanistan, the extraordinary heroism and courage that American service personnel brought to bear alongside British personnel, so it is right to recognise that, as well as taking forward this economic agreement, there is a strong and enduring security foundation to the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. All that said, of course we stand ready to work with the European Union as we look ahead to the UK-EU summit on 19 May.
The hon. Gentleman asks whether there are any conditions. The single biggest concern expressed by many commentators related to SPS, given that that was one of the key agricultural areas on which the previous Government foundered in their negotiations with the first Trump Administration. That was a red line for us in these negotiations—a red line that I am glad to say we have protected.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I thank the Minister, the Prime Minister, Lord Mandelson and all involved in this work for getting the deal over the line. Unlike some Opposition Members, who seem intent on talking down the Government’s positive work and our country, I find the deal really positive. Does the Minister agree that this trade deal, the one with India and the fall in interest rates announced by the Bank of England are positive signs that the Government’s plan for change is working and will start to benefit people in my constituency and across the country?
Mr Alexander
I thank my hon. Friend for his generous roll-call of honour. It would probably do my career prospects in the Department for Business and Trade some benefit if I added the Secretary of State to his roll-call of Lord Mandelson and the Prime Minister.
Of course, the latest cut in interest rates from the Bank of England will be welcomed by hard-pressed families seeking to make their mortgage payments in communities right across the country. As I said earlier, the Prime Minister has commented on today’s US agreement that it is
“jobs saved…not job done.”
The work goes on in relation to sorting out the fiscal mess that we inherited and raising the trend rate of growth, but I hope that both the US deal today and the cut in interest rates will be welcomed in all parts of the House and the country.
Ukraine
David Burton-Sampson Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
On the question of territory, obviously there are discussions to come, but I take the tenor of what the right hon. Member said. On the Baltic states, he is right. Just before Christmas, I was at the joint expeditionary force meeting in Estonia to have discussions with them. I have been twice to the frontline in Estonia, where we have British troops. They feel immediately the threat, for very obvious reasons. I spoke to the Baltic states yesterday morning at some length, and assured them that we need to look again at the configuration when we have meetings of European and other allies to ensure that those states are properly represented, because, for them, the threat is very clear and very near.
David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and the outstanding global leadership that he is showing on this issue. I, too, returned from Ukraine last week after five days, and the one consistent message the Ukrainian people I met gave me—from residents to soldiers, and from businesses to politicians—was their immense gratitude for the leadership and support that the UK has shown since day one of this illegal war. Does the Prime Minister agree that now is the time for us to remain resolute as a House for the sake of the Ukrainian people, and that the 100-year partnership between our two countries is now more important than ever?
The Prime Minister
The 100-year partnership signals the depth of our relationship. I, too, have heard the thanks for our leadership, and I think it is right that I pay tribute to the Conservatives for the leadership that they showed from the very beginning of this conflict, which I was able to follow as Leader of the Opposition.