Rejoining the EU

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered e-petition 749128 relating to the UK applying to rejoin the EU.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward.

I thank Robert McMaster from Reading Central, who started the petition and is in the Gallery, as well as the 111,687 people who signed it, including 199 of my constituents. One of Mr McMaster’s biggest frustrations with Brexit is that it was never defined. It was not about what our future relationship would look like; it was simply about leaving the treaties on the European Union, and our post-Brexit relationship with the EU has left Britain worse off than if we had remained a member. People can feel that, and polling shows that most of the British public now regard Brexit as a mistake.

In whose interest was Brexit? It was certainly in the interest of countries such as Russia that want to see Britain’s influence weakened and Europe fractured. With Brexit, that is what they got. With Russia doing everything it can to provoke further division and war in Europe, this petition is a good opportunity to ask ourselves not just whether we should rejoin the EU, but the much bigger questions of what relationship we want with Europe, why, and how we get there.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents voted to leave the EU because they were bombarded with lies, from the mythical £350 million a week for the NHS that never appeared to the lie that immigration would come down when it actually trebled. Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that the Prime Minister’s announcement of the new national centre for information defence will help protect our constituents from foreign state influence as we consider our relationship with the EU again?

[Tony Vaughan]

My hon. Friend raises a fundamental point. These are very real things that have been known for a long time, but we have not moved quickly enough to address them. I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement about that threat centre, because it is the only way that we can drill down beneath the surface of what is being said online and understand who is influencing our politics.

The answers to those questions about what our future relationship should look like will determine how we secure our prosperity for the future.

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

My constituent Sarabjit partially retired last year. Capita wrongly worked out her pension, and over a year later she has still not got the money she is owed. Another constituent, Inderjeet, retired after 39 years in the Met police to spend more time with her parents, who live abroad, but five months later she has still not had a penny and her mum has sadly died since then. This is affecting real people’s lives.

I know the Minister is new to the job, but I congratulate her on how she has already grasped the nettle on this issue. We have had two virtual surgeries offered to us next week for both those cases, but could she confirm the new deadline we should be working to, in order to ensure that Sarabjit and Inderjeet get the money they are due?

Oral Answers to Questions

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

As permanent teams are formed, and they will be formed, we will ensure that those who live nearby and at a commutable distance are encouraged to apply, and we hope they will do so. There are already some 80,000 civil servants working in the north-west of England, and I think it is a fantastic change, introduced by this Government, that more civil servants and more people from more parts of the country can contribute, at the heart of Government, to building the change that this Government want.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

After 14 years of austerity and “Westminster knows best” from the previous Conservative Government, my constituents in Ealing Southall feel just as left behind and ignored as those in Manchester and Makerfield. Does the Minister agree with me that, if No. 10 North finally makes this country work for constituents such as mine, it will be worth every single penny?

[Dan Tomlinson]

My hon. Friend is totally right that the objective of No. 10 North is to drive good growth in every postcode across the whole country. Too many places and too many communities have been left behind for too long because power and decision making was hoarded in Westminster. Members on the Labour Benches know that the route to growth everywhere is getting it out across the country. Members on the Opposition Benches, it seems, want to keep hoarding power and decision making here in Westminster.

Direction of Government

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My new constituency—in fact, it includes a good chunk of my old Leigh constituency, so I know it well—has been hugely developed over the years, and we have brought through significant new housing. Anyone who visited during the by-election will know that the infrastructure is struggling to cope with the number of houses that have been built in the constituency. All I am saying to the right hon. Lady is that I support taking a balanced approach where there has been significant development, but I do not think that it is sustainable to turn our back on all development completely. It is about a balance, and I will work in this role to find that balance with the right hon. Lady.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

I hugely welcome the Prime Minister’s £422 million investment to end rough sleeping, but in Ealing Southall many of those on the streets have no recourse to public funds, so it is illegal for the council to spend money helping them. Many would go home, but they face delays getting travel documents and from closed police cases being left open. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the relevant Home Office and Housing Ministers meet me to ensure that Ealing Southall is not left behind when it comes to his groundbreaking pledge to end street homelessness?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and we will absolutely work in the way that she has described. The commitment is real, and it is not a temporary commitment. The money that she mentions is, as far as I am concerned, ongoing. “Everyone in” should be and will be the permanent policy of the Government that I lead. I do not believe that we should accept that anybody sleeps rough on a British street at any time, but I also know that if we are to help people on a journey away from the streets, it requires a whole-person approach, with all Departments working together. It can be done and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend on it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. There are excellent examples of job carving for people with complex needs, and we need more of that. We look forward to the report being submitted soon by Sir Charlie Mayfield on what more employers can do to open up opportunities for people out of work on disability grounds, and I think he will have some very interesting proposals.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

The last Conservative Government left so many young disabled people in Ealing Southall who wanted to work consigned to a lifetime on benefits, but at West Ealing jobcentre we are already seeing a difference being made, with £1.3 billion of funding for employment support from this Labour Government. Does the Minister agree that the Mayfield review offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform the workplace to make it more accessible for disabled people?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I agree with my hon. Friend; she is absolutely right. Disengaging from work and learning in early adulthood can do lasting harm to career prospects and wellbeing. We are launching the youth guarantee so that all 18 to 21-year-olds in England, including disabled young people, can access quality training opportunities and apprenticeships or help to find work. I am glad to hear that things are developing so well in her constituency.

Trade Negotiations

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alexander]

As a mere Minister of Trade, I am not sure the Treasury would look kindly on me telling the OBR when to update its forecasts. I am a Trade Minister, not a Treasury Minister, but I have noted the hon. Lady’s observation. She is entirely right that the economic landscape has changed. It is right to recognise that many of the promises that were made in the past about us seeing major trading blocs bringing barriers down have been set aside in recent months and years, and we are seeing major trading blocs putting barriers up. That is why today’s deal is so significant.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister and this Labour Government on achieving not just one trade deal but two historic deals in the space of a week. I am a vegetarian, but many of my constituents like nothing better than a chicken curry on the streets of Southall Broadway. Can the Minister categorically assure the House that this deal will protect our British food standards and, in particular, that chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef will remain illegal in this country?

[Mr Alexander]

First, I am grateful for the catch-all congratulations to the whole Government; it is a sentiment I heartily endorse, and I will ensure it is heard by other colleagues. In relation to my hon. Friend’s substantive point, I can assure her that curries are not just a favourite in Ealing Southall; in most of our major metropolitan cities, there is nothing quite as British as a chicken tikka masala. That is a huge tribute to the 1.9 million people of Indian heritage who live in the United Kingdom and the immense contribution they have made over the decades not just to our cuisine, but to our country. She raises a really important point in relation to chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef. There was a lot of genuine concern before this agreement was reached today, and I can give the House the assurance she is seeking that there is nothing in this deal that compromises the safety standards of either poultry or beef. We were clear that that was a red line, and we have delivered on that red line.

Trade Negotiations

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

I welcome the conclusion of negotiations on what is the best deal that India has offered any country when it comes to free trade. Many of my constituents are part of the living bridge of 1.9 million people of Indian heritage living in and contributing to this country. Can the Minister, at a time of global volatility, set out how Labour’s free trade deal gives the world-renowned clothing and food businesses in Southall the confidence to grow and expand, thereby boosting our local economy?

[Mr Alexander]

It is right to recognise that both producers and consumers stand to benefit in relation not just to whisky, but on a range of consumer goods. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituents in Southall and the extraordinary contribution that they have made as part of that living bridge over many decades here in the United Kingdom. The commercial opportunities in both directions are significant, which is why, I think, we were able to secure the deal today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight this issue. I do not think anybody would countenance the misuse of NDAs, particularly in a case as serious as the one she cited, which is why we are looking at whatever we can do to ensure that they are not misused.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

Q13. After 14 years of a Conservative Government who let fly-tipping increase to record levels across the country, my constituents in Ealing Southall will welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement today that fly-tippers will now face tough action, new technology for enforcement and up to five years in prison. Will the Prime Minister set out what other steps he is taking to help councils to tackle fly-tipping and the difference that will make to communities like Ealing Southall?

[The Prime Minister]

Under the last Government, we saw 1 million incidents of fly-tipping. Under Conservative councils, we see enforcement down and fly-tipping up: look at Tory-led Northumberland, where instances of fly-tipping are up 76%. We are introducing tough powers to seize and crush the vehicles of commercial fly-tippers, who now face up to five years in prison for operating illegally. That is a Labour Government clearing up the mess left by the Conservatives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving public services.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving public services.

[Chris Evans (Caerphilly) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving public services.

--- Later in debate ---

[Hilary Benn]

I share the concern that my hon. Friend expresses about the number of vacancies. The single most important thing that the Government have done is allocate for next year a record sum to the Northern Ireland Executive of £18.2 billion, which is an increase of £1.5 billion. The resources are there, and it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide how they will use them.

[Deirdre Costigan]

I welcome what the Secretary of State has said about public service reform being a shared challenge. Does he agree with me that it is in the interests of patients, both in Northern Ireland and in England, to share knowledge of what works, and best practice?

[Hilary Benn]

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. Indeed, I discussed that with Mike Nesbitt, the Health Minister, when I met him recently. I asked him what support and help we can give him, but we can all learn from each other across the United Kingdom.

General Election

Deirdre Costigan Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris.

I understand that the people who signed this petition feel angry, and a lot of people are angry in my constituency of Ealing Southall. They are angry because their kids cannot buy a home, they are angry because their parents cannot get the hip operation they need and they are angry because, when their car gets nicked or their house gets burgled, the police do not seem to be able to do much about it. But it is clear where the blame for this lies. The Conservative party has been in charge of this country for the last 14 years. It was the Conservative party that did not build the affordable homes we need; it was the Conservative party that ran our NHS into the ground; and it was the Conservative party that drastically reduced the number of neighbourhood police officers on our streets. That is before I even get on to how it trashed the economy, with mortgages going up by hundreds of pounds overnight and a £22 billion black hole in the country’s finances.

I understand that it is easy to get distracted and to start blaming other people for the mess that the country was left in, but that just lets the Conservatives off the hook for the damage they have done to our public services and our economy. As we live in a democracy, on 4 July people were asked to decide what they wanted through the ballot box, and they said that they wanted change. They wanted a break after 14 years of Conservative chaos. I understand that people might want that change to happen fast, and they might want a quick fix. If only we could wipe away all the damage of those 14 years of Conservative misrule in an instant, or even in a few months. However, life does not work like that. Change takes a serious plan, it takes hard graft and it takes time. That is why this Labour Government have launched our Plan For Change, which sets out what we will do to fix the NHS, to put police back on our streets and to build the affordable homes we need. The Budget last year was the first step in how we stabilise our broken economy so that we can pay for it all without increasing taxes on working people.

Most importantly, our Plan For Change gives people the tools to check in four years’ time, at the next election, whether we have delivered what we promised. People will be able to check whether waiting lists have gone down, whether there are more neighbourhood police and whether it is easier for their kids to get on the housing ladder. They will be able to check whether their local school has a free breakfast club, whether there are more qualified teachers and whether their energy bills are based on cheaper, home-grown energy instead of rocketing up every time that Putin sneezes.

What would Brenda from Bristol say about this petition’s call for a general election? I think she would say, “Not another one!” I think she would rightly say, “We should stop wasting our time debating pointless motions and get back to the hard work this Labour Government are doing of fixing the damage the Conservatives have done to our economy and our public services.”