English Devolution

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and for securing a Westminster Hall debate on this very issue. The Government do not accept the one-size-fits-all argument any more than an argument that councillors work in some areas but not others, and that Members of Parliament work in some areas but not others. In the end, when given the powers and resources, mayors can achieve change in partnership with local leaders.

We are not creating super-councils. We are creating a strategic authority that will give power from this place downwards, giving councillors far more power. On how we will do it, I can say that in Lancashire, in our drive to widen devolution across the country, the principle is for foundation authorities; of course, Lancashire has already agreed to a level 2, which, in the White Paper, would be the equivalent of a foundation authority. In that sense, it already has devolution in place.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

The Government say that they want to end the top-down approach. How does that square with a district council such as West Lindsey in Lincolnshire being denied any say in massive solar farms or wind turbines? Will the Minister do me a favour and confirm that his aim is to pass more power back to district councils? Indeed, will he promise that he will not unilaterally abolish them just because we have a new mayor for Lincolnshire?

[Jim McMahon]

It would be a bit rude to diminish the powers of the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire before they are in place, especially as I will move the order enabling the election to happen, and we want them to be a success. We could have taken a different view—it was a legacy agreement that was carried over from the general election—but I recognise genuinely that the leaders there, who are leaders of different parties from my own, worked in good faith to reach an agreement with the previous Government that we felt needed to be honoured. That needs to be the tone of all such conversations. We need to take party politics out of the conversation, which can be difficult to do in this place. Those are not the conversations that I have with council leaders and councillors across the country, who genuinely want to put party politics to one side and to work in the interests of their local community. On the question of power over local planning decisions, if local councils want power, they must have a plan.

Planning Committees: Reform

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

There is nothing more controversial than Governments seeking to bypass local democracy. I saw that with the desire of the last Government to bypass local democracy by imposing a special development order on RAF Scampton, and I see it now with the many applications to build solar farms that are ostensibly national infrastructure projects. The present planning system was largely created by the Labour Government, and has stood the test of time. Can the Minister assure me that whatever he decides finally, we will not degrade local democracy? It is essential that people join a council, and join a planning committee, knowing that they have real powers and are not under the cosh of Government, or plans imposed by Government.

[Matthew Pennycook]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. We have to take steps to fix the ailing planning system that we have inherited. It is failing on a number of fronts, and trust and confidence in it is at a record low. As for the assertion that we have heard, for all the hyperbole from Conservative Members, we are not seizing power from the centre. We are saying to local communities, “Put an up-to-date local plan in place, and when sites are allocated through that local plan, you can be confident that they will be built out in the manner that you have specified. It is through local plans that you get your control.” However, when it comes to the decisions on specific sites, let us ensure, if we can, that elected members are directed towards the most significant and controversial applications, as opposed to some of the minor applications that involve technical reserved matters questions. I have sat on a planning committee; I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman has. In the case of those applications, the initial decision can be re-litigated and revisited, rather than the technical issues being put to us. Let us ensure that those decisions sit in the hands of trained planning professionals, and get planning committee member time focused on the applications that deserve it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

With so much good agricultural land now covered by solar panels, how will the Government incentivise builders to build on brownfield rather than good agricultural land, thus ensuring regeneration rather than imperilling food security?

[Angela Rayner]

The right hon. Member will know that we have already set out a number of steps, including the brownfield passport and the national planning policy framework, and the use of local housing targets to ensure that brownfield is used first and we get the houses that we desperately need. For the last 14 years, the Conservatives failed to meet their housing target every single year. This Government are determined to meet our target.

Employment Rights Bill

Edward Leigh Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My hon. Friend is right. This morning we met representatives from UKHospitality, who said exactly that: the Bill is coming on the back of a number of changes and some difficult times during covid for industries that employ a lot of people, which will be particularly badly affected by this legislation. The Government should think twice about implementing it at this moment in time.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

My hon. Friend mentioned the 302 mentions of uncertainty. It is hard to know how that can foster growth. Let us be honest: businesses are already more highly taxed and regulated than ever before. We all know the reason—the pandemic— and we have to take responsibility for that. Will he assure me that, as a party, we will use this period of opposition to once again proclaim our values as a low-tax, deregulated economy? Otherwise, how will we foster growth in an increasingly competitive world? If we tax businesses more, we simply lay the foundation of a future Labour Government.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I agree. We should be low tax and low regulation. One of the saving graces of this legislation is the detail, although the Bill itself is light on detail: many of the measures will be brought in through secondary legislation, therefore making it easier for a future Government to reverse some of the catastrophic changes.

Holocaust Memorial Bill

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Committee of the whole House
Wednesday 22nd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Peter Bottomley]

My hon. Friend is right. She has the advantage of having led Westminster City Council and will not need reminding that the Government originally said that they wanted their proposal to have the support of the local authority. When they gained the impression that, on merit, the local authority was not likely to give its approval, they took the proposal away from the local authority.

On a number of occasions, the King’s counsel leading for the Government in front of the Select Committee, said that what has been considered by the Committee was not planning permission. He constantly said that planning would be dealt with in the normal way. The normal way is for an application—because the present one has been squashed—to go to the local authority. The Government can, if they choose to do so, call it in if they think that the local authority has got it wrong or it is of national importance. They should not, in this case, have regarded it as of national importance to stop the local authority having the option of considering the interests of local residents, as my hon. Friend has remarked.

Between Vauxhall Bridge and Victoria Street or Birdcage Walk, there is no other large green space open to the public. The Minister will know that. He will have walked around Victoria Tower Gardens as many times as I have. He may also have walked the extra 1,200 yards to the Imperial War Museum, where there is a big park dedicated to peace. Why was the Imperial War Museum not allowed to put forward a detailed proposal? And why did the Government then turn round and say, because it had not put forward such a proposal, it could not be considered?

We all know that massive pressure was put on the Imperial War Museum trustees, and that their chair was made a member of the foundation. I do not think that the Government have approached this in the right way. Let me put the Government’s words on the record. The United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial is seeking

“a prominent location in Central London with significant existing footfall so as to draw in and inspire the largest possible number of visitors.”

Under the present proposals, we will not be able just to walk in. We will have to be cleared by security and that, at times of heightened security, the memorial will either be closed or there will be airport-style security, which is not the point of a memorial to the victims and to the dedication that it should not happen again.

To return to the Government’s words:

“The site will support several features and activities, the number and extent of which will depend on the size of the space available. Sites capable of accommodating 5,000-10,000 sqm of built space for the UKHMF over no more than three contiguous floors will be considered.”

That is not what is being proposed, but the proposal would, in effect, take over about a third of the park regardless. The Government claim that it would be a much smaller proportion, but if we take all the associated parts of the proposal, it would be much more than the Government say.

The final sentence of that section says:

“In order to achieve the maximum benefits for the public, the UKHMF needs to allocate as much of its funds as possible to educational purposes rather than to land and construction and so the site must be highly cost effective.”

The only cost-effectiveness in this site is that the Government believe that they can get it for free. They had not factored in the additional costs of building a box by a river and by a main road, where people are trying to enjoy the park. Some estimates suggest that the park will be basically out of action for up to five years. If the Government say, “You shouldn’t believe that kind of estimate,” I will tell them that for the past 12 months it has not been possible to walk along the river walk in Victoria Tower Gardens because Ministers who are responsible for the state of repair of the Buxton memorial fountain have allowed contractors to barrier it off way beyond what was needed to stop people going over the fountain itself.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

We could have had a fantastic, beautiful, moving memorial—roughly the same size as the Buxton memorial, or the memorial to the abolition of slavery or to the campaign for women’s votes—eight years ago, if only the Government had not persisted with the crazy idea of an underground learning centre in a totally unsuitable location.

[Sir Peter Bottomley]

My right hon. Friend is right, and most people will agree with him, even if their job is to stand up and say something different.

I will not spend much time on the planning permission, because it is not the subject of the Bill. When the inspector’s report was received by the Government and considered, this was the conclusion under the signature of the planning casework unit:

“This decision was made by the Minister of State for Housing in line with the published handling arrangements for this case…and signed on his behalf. In particular, those handling arrangements state that:

‘Christopher Pincher MP (the Housing and Planning Minister) will be responsible for exercising the functions of the Secretary of State under sections 70 and 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act’”

and so on. Who here believes that a Minister of State would, on merit, turn down an application by their own Secretary of State? I will give way to anybody who wants to make that suggestion. It is just incredible. It would not happen.

I will now change tone a bit. During the Select Committee hearings, the Government counsel suddenly switched from saying who the lead designer and architect for the proposal was. The Government’s press notice announcing the winner contained 13 references to Sir David Adjaye, now Order of Merit, four references to Ron Arad, and no references to Asa Bruno. Proper tribute has been paid to Asa Bruno. It is true that he was the one who put a number of points to the inspector. He is recognised as a leading designer, and his obituary, which I refreshed my mind on just now, showed that he was a startlingly good person. However, when the Government announced the lead designer and architect for the proposal, they named Sir David Adjaye, who could hardly be mentioned by the promoters at the Select Committee for reasons that I will not go into now. They are well known and in the public domain.

Let us turn to the points that the Government made to the Select Committee after I raised that issue:

“On 24 January, in a debate on the Business of the House (col 439), Sir Peter Bottomley MP referred to the proceedings at the seventh public session of the Holocaust Memorial Bill committee and suggested that counsel for the Promoter may have ‘inadvertently told the committee things that are contradicted by the facts…’ in relation to responsibilities for the design of the Memorial.”

I was then told that what was said was right. I think that that leading counsel, over and over again, was trying to write Sir David Adjaye out because of the embarrassment to Government. If it was Asa Bruno who was responsible for the Ottawa proposal, so be it, but that was not what Government said seven years ago in public.

I am going to go on fighting this, but not so long this evening, because my colleagues have more to say. I say to those watching the proceedings, “Look into the details of what has happened.” I commend to them early-day motions 711, tabled on 1 May, and 775, tabled on 21 May. In particular, the latter “regrets that the promoter” —that is, the Government—

“has failed to understand the justified requests for a detailed comparison of the present unsatisfactory scheme with the alternatives studied by the Government’s consultants; further regrets the continuing lack of updated costings for capital and recurrent costs; disagrees with the suggestion that planning permission and all other necessary consents were obtained in the usual way; regrets there is no known plan to spend more available resources on education rather than on construction; further regrets that known and growing security restrictions are not being adequately addressed; and believes the promoter is not meeting its obligation to achieve an appropriate memorial at a justified cost in a suitable location, associated with opportunities to learn and to understand the Holocaust and to reduce the likelihood of a repeat of the atrocities of the Holocaust.”

I end with words from the Holocaust survivors who gave evidence at the Committee, who said, in summary, that the proposal is too big for the gardens and too small for its purpose.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bob Blackman]

I thank the Father of the House for that intervention. It is clear that the site was chosen by the commission; it recommended this. The reality is that the development of the planning application followed thereafter, and obviously the impact on the gardens has to be considered. It is right that only Parliament can change the law, and it is right that Parliament should consider whether the unique significance of the Holocaust justifies seeking an exception to the protections it put in place more than 100 years ago.

The proposals for the memorial include sensitive landscaping that will improve Victoria Tower Gardens for every user, and more than 90% of the area of the current gardens will remain fully open after the memorial is built. I understand that my colleagues are concerned about this, but local residents and workers will be able to visit and enjoy the gardens just as they do now. The Holocaust Memorial Bill lifts restrictions in relation only to Victoria Tower Gardens—no other piece of land—and in relation only to a Holocaust memorial and learning centre, and no other form of development. The Bill does not seek to override the planning process, so all the arguments about the use of the park can be properly considered against the benefits of the memorial.

Landscape improvements to Victoria Tower Gardens will ensure that this important and well-used green space, as has been mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Nickie Aiken), is made more attractive and more accessible than ever before. The new development will take about 7.5% of the site. All the mature London plane trees will be protected, and additional planting and improved drainage of the grassed area will increase the overall attractiveness of the gardens. Alongside the riverside embankment wall, new raised boardwalks will be constructed, helping to make the seating more accessible and making it easier for everyone to enjoy views of the Thames. New pathways will link existing memorials and monuments within the gardens, and additional seating will enhance the visitor experience. The playground will be improved. The objective is to ensure that all current uses can continue after the memorial is constructed. All these matters are fully considered as part of the planning process. During his consideration, the planning inspector produced a detailed report with a careful assessment of the impacts on trees, traffic, gardens, playground and all other relevant matters, and then recommended that planning consent be given.

The construction phase of the UK Holocaust memorial and learning centre is expected to last around three years. The project team aims to make phased closures and reopenings of different sections of the park to ensure that as much of the park as possible is available for all users while the work carries on to produce this important memorial.

The learning centre will include a powerful exhibition that will provide context for the memorial and encourage reflection on the relevance of the Holocaust for Britain today.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

From visiting really serious Holocaust museums, as I have done in Washington and Berlin, I know that they are vast spaces. This is a story that takes a huge amount of time and space to explain. The trouble is that the proposed learning centre is really a tiny space, and it simply will not do justice to the horror of what we are talking about.

[Bob Blackman]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that contribution. I am one of those who visited the original Yad Vashem in Jerusalem before it was expanded. Personally, I found the original Yad Vashem even more intimate and poignant than the current Yad Vashem. I understand what my right hon. Friend has to say, but I think this centre will be appropriate for what we are seeking to achieve.

One aspect that has been discussed is security. The learning centre will obviously have entry security arrangements similar to other public buildings in Westminster. I know that the Government—I look to the Minister to comment on this when he contributes to the debate—are working with security experts, agencies and the Metropolitan police to develop the necessary level of security measures. Victoria Tower Gardens will continue to be freely accessible to all. Therefore, the security threats should not be an argument against this memorial; rather, they are an argument for why the memorial is needed in the first place.

As I have said, only 7.5% of the land will be taken up by the memorial at the very southern point of the park. There will still be a clear view of Parliament from all other parts of the park. The Buxton memorial has been mentioned, with concerns about overshadowing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Philip Dunne]

I am afraid I will not give way, because I have already extended the patience of the Chairman.

I will conclude by saying that we have to stop prevaricating and get on with construction. I support the Bill and will not support the amendments to it.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

I know that everybody is glued to their mobile phones about the announcement of the general election, but this debate is important, because we are commemorating the greatest crime in history. I thought my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Northampton North (Sir Michael Ellis) spoke movingly about antisemitism, and I start my speech by saying that I agree with every single thing he said. He said it so well. It was a brilliant speech.

This Bill is tremendously important, but I want to speak in support of my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Nickie Aiken) and her amendment 2. Time is short so I cannot expand on the crimes of the Holocaust, but I want to talk about the detail of what we are debating. Amendment 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster, sums up what I have long been campaigning for. I declare an interest, as a worker here for 41 years. I live about a mile away, as we all do—we all live locally and work here, so we all take an interest.

--- Later in debate ---

[Simon Hoare]

Let me say to my hon. Friend that there is no reason for use of the park to be disrupted. I am afraid that he slightly undermined his argument, because he referred to the memorial at Hyde Park having to be secured. We have had in the past to secure the statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and to safeguard the security of the Cenotaph. There were no learning centres attached to them—they stand merely as memorials. My hon. Friend said that he thought the memorial would not come under attack—for want of a better phrase—or require security measures, and that the risk was only because the learning centre was attached to it. I do not agree.

I do not have a crystal ball, but the whole security strategy will be tried and tested for every single scenario, in the same way as it is in any plan for something with public use; of course it will be, and that is right. It would respond to any scenario thrown up. I would love to be able to give a guarantee that unfettered access will be given to the park 24/7, 365 days a year, but if, in the middle of some heavy protest or something, it is the advice of the police that it be closed in the same way as they might close a road, a shop or a facility, I suggest that it would be folly to ignore that advice.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

Where we are sitting is an armed fortress—we cannot go anywhere without seeing policemen with sub-machine guns. This park has always been completely open. There is absolutely no security. Every gate is completely open; there are no security guards and no wardens. On behalf of the local community, I ask the Government to assure the public that this park will remain completely open as it always has done, and that they will be able to wander in and out of this green space.

[Simon Hoare]

My right hon. Friend raises a valid point. That is absolutely at the kernel of the plans on which this vision rests. It is, of course, a planning matter, and I am not the Minister responsible for the planning process. It is a planning matter to be looked at. I think I have said all I can say on that.

I would like to correct one or two things. There was a review of alternative sites, and the comparisons were published. The Imperial War Museum was included in that analysis process. The square footage of the development represents just 7.58% of the overall surface area of the park; the park is 18,848 square metres, while the development is 1,492 square metres, which includes the memorial. Issues relating to air quality, traffic management, changes in policy and water table, among others, are in the purview of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Derbyshire (Lee Rowley).

It is worthwhile quoting, if I may, an extract from the inspector’s report. As we know from cases in our own constituencies, the inspectorate is independent of Government. The inspector said that

“the development of the UKHMLC proposals since the publication of the HMC’s report”

has been

“very thorough. This has involved site selection, a public architectural competition, and after initial selection, a very detailed preparation of the proposals and their presentation,”

with formal public consideration by Westminster City Council and

“ultimately the more detailed evidence presented before the Inquiry.”

I concur with my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Northampton North (Sir Michael Ellis) that to describe the process as flimsy, or say that Government and others seek to railroad a proposal through within five or 10 minutes of the idea being in somebody’s mind, stretches the definition—

Easter and Christian Culture

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I have to start by congratulating my hon. Friend the wonderful Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher). In the short time he has been in the House, he has proved himself a superb Member of Parliament and has become embedded in his community in Doncaster. I salute his courage in applying for this debate, the third such debate that he has secured. I am not aware of anyone else, in the many years I have been in the House, who has had the courage to promote such debates.

Politicians are naturally averse to talking about their faith. I suppose they think that if they talk about their faith, they may be putting themselves on some kind of pedestal and that, being sinners as we all are, they will eventually be brought down and mocked. But my hon. Friend expressed himself in such a humble, forgiving and self-deprecatory way that nobody could accuse him of putting himself on a pedestal. He was simply trying to make the very powerful point, which too few of us have the courage to make, that Christianity is at the very heart of our nation and its history. So much of what has made us such a great nation and a wonderful place to live is embedded in Christianity. So many of our freedoms relate to Christianity.

Of course, people will criticise the history of Christianity and the way Christians treated and persecuted one another in the past. We all know that, but undoubtedly what has made this nation is the Christian faith. That is not to belittle other faiths; one thing I liked about my hon. Friend’s speech was that he was complimentary about people of all faiths. It is no accident that the great religions of the world—whether that is Islam, Judaism or Christianity—all have the same kind of moral code. In promoting Christianity, he was not trying to downplay the importance and the wonder of all of the other religions.

Our forebears who made this building—I think a lot about this, because I serve on the restoration and renewal board—knew this. When we walk around this building, we see Christian iconography scattered all over it. Only this morning I was showing some visitors around the Robing Room in the House of Lords. The paintings on the walls depict compassion, mercy and forgiveness, all of which are Christian concepts.

My hon. Friend is very courageous. I know that Alastair Campbell once said, “We don’t do God,” and most politicians—certainly those who want to get to the top of politics—are very wary of the subject, but I think it is important that just occasionally there are people of courage such as my hon. Friend who are prepared to speak up.

There is such a rich and different tradition in Christianity. Only yesterday, my hon. Friend was telling me about the evangelical church he goes to in Doncaster, where there is a tremendous spirit. Some people might call it happy-clappy; I would not say that. He told me that his church is extraordinarily successful. The churches that are successful and growing are the ones that are self-confident and, as he says, rooted firmly in the Bible. During their services, they do not necessarily talk about our secular world and how we can make it a happy place, but they root themselves in the Bible.

I come from a Christian tradition very different from that of my hon. Friend. I am not an evangelical; I do not talk about Jesus in the way he does. I am a Catholic. But it is interesting that the successful Catholic churches in this country are those that are increasingly rooted in our ancient Catholic traditions. Many young people are flocking to the Catholic churches that are resurrecting the beautiful ancient mass. They seem to be self-confident. I am not a member of the Church of England, so I suppose it is not for me to offer it advice or even criticise it, but I think that there is a message there for our established Church.

We should be very proud to be one of the very few countries in the world that has an established Church. Above all, we should keep the established Church as established and we should keep bishops in the House of Lords. The Church of England leadership—I make no criticism of the people who are working on the ground—are wonderful people, and I quite understand where they are coming from, but sometimes, dare I say it, they feel that they have to wade in on politics. They have a right to do that, just as I have a right to wade in on religion, but perhaps they need to remember that in this country and in any country there is a tremendous yearning for spirituality.

One of the problems with the decline of Christianity and of faith in general—we have to accept that this is now one of the most secular countries in the world—is that if there is a vacuum, other movements step in and the whole country becomes unhappier and more difficult to govern. In a place like India, even though there are villages with levels of unimaginable poverty, they are not necessarily less happy than we are. In many ways they are happier, because they have that spiritual grounding that so many people in this country do not have.

There is so much of importance in what my hon. Friend says. I do not really want to inject a negative note, but—

[Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)]

It strikes that my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) are describing something bigger and more enduring than much of what we concern ourselves with as politicians. Does my right hon. Friend agree that a dislocation from those eternal and enduring beliefs or values is perhaps giving us a sense of drift or lack of purpose in society today?

[Sir Edward Leigh]

Yes, we have to recognise that there is a sense of drift and pessimism in society. However, this debate is about Easter, which is the great feast of the Resurrection—the great feast of hope. It is wonderful that my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley has expressed himself in such a positive way.

Like my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes), I represent the most beautiful and wonderful county in England, namely Lincolnshire. We have the finest medieval churches in the country: in every single village in my constituency there are wonderful expressions of piety, faith and hope, built hundreds of years ago. I sympathise with the Church of England, which has to maintain that huge structure. My hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley has asked the Government to do many things. I think that even this wonderful Minister may find it difficult to recreate this country as a faith-loving community, but one thing that the Government can do is to help and enable the Church of England to preserve that amazing heritage. In France, for instance, all churches built before 1900 are funded by the state. The Church of England is on its own, which is a tremendous burden. It is to be commended for keeping this wonderful architectural heritage going.

I will, again, make a gentle criticism of the Church of England. I am very much on the side of the Save the Parish movement and on the side of the Church of England putting whatever resources it has into the parish ministry. There is some criticism that in the Church of England, resources are being diverted away from the parishes and into the centre, and too many people are being hired at the centre.

To give one example, the diocese of York is advertising for a racial justice education adviser. The job specification elaborates that the role will cover unconscious bias and diversity training. The concept of “unconscious bias” has no evidential basis in scientific, psychological or medical research. It has been years since the Government dropped it from the civil service. In 2020, the Government Equalities Office commissioned the behavioural insights team to summarise the evidence on unconscious bias and diversity training. Its report highlighted that

“there is currently no evidence that this training changes behaviour in the long term or improves workplace equality in terms of representation of women, ethnic minorities or other minority groups”.

It further pointed out that there is emerging evidence of unintended negative consequences of that training.

I know that the Minister cannot answer on behalf of the Church of England, but perhaps the Government have a role here. We see the Church, quangos, charities, civil society groups and corporations adopting this training. Perhaps the Government can take a lead in enlightening them not only that is it nonsense, but that it can often lead to the opposite of the intended result. Indeed, it may lead to something perverse. I have mentioned one example from the diocese of York, but I am sure that a search of the vacancies posted on the websites of other Anglican dioceses would find many such cases.

I am sorry to make that point; I do not mean to criticise the Church of England, which is a superb institution that is doing wonderful work all over the country. There is, however, a slight tendency at the centre of the Church of England to move in the direction that I have been talking about, which I do not think is central to its purpose of making us a more spiritual nation.

Before I sit down, may I pay tribute to the late Lord Cormack? Christianity, culture and heritage, in any combination, were his lifeblood. He was the founder of the all-party parliamentary arts and heritage group. In the real world, he was a valiant fighter. He co-founded Heritage in Danger in 1974. He was one of the central figures who prevented Hereford cathedral from selling off its magnificent mappa mundi in 1988 to pay for repairs. Lord Cormack was a warden at Parliament’s own parish church, St Margaret’s, across Palace Yard. He served for a decade on the Church of England’s General Synod. His compassion and service were not limited to the Church of England; he was a leading campaigner for Soviet Jews in the 1970s and 1980s, and was granted an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of America.

Next Monday, we will gather at Lincoln cathedral to bid Lord Cormack farewell for the final time, and there could be no more appropriate setting for that great parliamentarian. I know myself from my decade serving on Lincoln cathedral’s council how pressed for resources the great churches of England are. I believe it is vital that the Government, whether through direct heritage funding or via agencies such as the national lottery, support our churches to protect their architectural heritage. Last year we celebrated the 39 different projects in Catholic churches that were funded thanks to Historic England’s heritage stimulus fund, part of the Government’s culture recovery fund. I was pleased to see Lord Parkinson, the Heritage Minister, there alongside the Lord Speaker and our own Mr Deputy Speaker. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales produced a splendid booklet called “Living Stones: A Celebration of Achievement”, detailing all the works completed thanks to that funding.

The important thing to remember about those buildings, whether they are great cathedrals or the tiniest gospel hall, is not the stones, bricks and mortar. As the First Epistle of Peter tells us, we Christians are to be living stones upon which a spiritual house is built. What we have to offer this country is not just an architectural heritage or a service of care and relief for the poor. The resurrection, and the faith built upon it, is the reason for all that. Without that, our history and our heritage is meaningless.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Rosindell]

My hon. Friend is exactly right, and that brings me to some of the points that I would like to make.

Christianity is everywhere around us. We may not be a Christian; there are people who are not Christians, but the Christian culture of British society is everywhere, and to remove that would undermine the foundations of our society. One only needs to think back in history. The Vikings came to these islands a thousand years ago, but it was the Christian faith that united England under the banner of King Alfred and then of King Æthelstan. It is St George who is the embodiment of England, and we will be celebrating St George’s day on 23 April. As chairman of the Houses of Parliament branch of the Royal Society of Saint George, I will be hosting, I hope, an event in Parliament for all Members to celebrate the heritage of England. That includes hon. Friends from other parts of these islands, especially Scotland.

Of course, our national anthem is a prayer itself—a prayer to God. The de facto anthem of England is, of course, “Jerusalem”. It is not officially recognised, but nevertheless I think “Jerusalem” is the hymn that most people sing when we celebrate England, and English heritage and culture. Of course, our monarch is anointed in Westminster Abbey, and our royal motto translates to “God and my right”.

The Bible has transformed the way our civilisation has operated, through law, governance, art, architecture and so many other areas of life. It has shaped the way all Britons—everybody in this country, including those with no religion—think about family, community and morality. It was through the lens of the Christian faith that we were the first nation on the planet not only to outlaw slavery permanently, but to enforce that ban worldwide through the West Africa Squadron.

We do indeed have a proud history, based on our Christian heritage and our Christian customs—long may they continue. But it has not always been quite so straightforward. I have been a Member of Parliament for 23 years. In my second year as a Member of Parliament, there was almost outrage when some local authorities suggested that the hot cross bun should be banned, can you believe? I remember it happening; I think it was in 2003. There was political correctness even then. I think it is probably worse today: anything can offend anybody, and that is dangerous because then we lose our heritage.

I remember that in 2002, we had to table an early-day motion to defend the hot cross bun. I am sorry that my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) has left the room, as he was one of those who signed the EDM. I will remind the House of what it said:

“That this House is appalled at the decision by some local authorities in the United Kingdom to ban hot cross buns from schools; believes the hot cross bun to be a splendid Easter tradition that represents the Christian heritage of Britain; and encourages all schools in the United Kingdom to ignore such politically correct advice from local authorities and continue to serve hot cross buns.”

Only yesterday, I was delighted to enjoy the hot cross buns offered to Members of Parliament in the Tea Room, but I must say to my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley that that little thing, all those years ago, alarmed me—that so many perfectly innocent parts of our culture can be undermined by people who seem to want to take away so much of what we hold dear in these islands, and which our ancestors, our forebears, have fought to defend over so many generations.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point, which I wanted to raise earlier. It is very important that we should defend the right of people to speak their mind freely about religion. So, we should defend the right of Richard Dawkins, atheist, to attack religious people or religions in general. We have got to also defend the right of religious people to have their space, whether it is Orthodox Jews, or devout Muslims, or evangelical Christians. We must also defend the right of people, not just to attack religion or religious people in general, but also to criticise particular religions. There is a sort of dumbing down of debate and people are afraid, increasingly, to express their viewpoint, but in a vigorous democracy there must be this freedom of expression.

[Andrew Rosindell]

My right hon. Friend is completely correct. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand. It is of course right in a free society that anybody can criticise a religion for the teachings that it espouses, but equally, we have the right to believe something completely different and be tolerant to one another in a free society. That is the nature of religion. People do have different opinions; people do have different perspectives. People are raised in different ways; they come from different ancestry. People come from different heritage, different countries, and have other religions. I defend that. That is one of the fundamental things that make us British—that we defend freedom of religion. We should never lose that. We should not be afraid to debate these things or have different opinions, and to criticise people because they have a different opinion. We can discuss and debate, but we must always allow opinions to be expressed. For if we lose that ability to speak freely and to disagree with each other in a polite and gentlemanly way, I am afraid that we lose so much of what our society is about. So, long may freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand together.

Before I conclude my remarks, I would like to say one or two things about my constituency. I was christened and confirmed at the church of St Edward the Confessor, a most magnificent church in the centre of Romford market. Every year we have magnificent Easter celebrations. On Good Friday there has been a march of witness, which I have always attended since being a Member of Parliament. In recent times, we have had open-air services with all the churches within the town centre, led by St Edward’s church, which is the main church in Romford. On Palm Sunday in recent years, a donkey has appeared, making its way through the market square and into the church, as we have gathered for that significant day in the Christian calendar.

I want to pay tribute to the Reverend Father David Simpson, who was the parish priest for the last few years. Having retired two weeks ago, he is now working for the Mission to Seafarers. I pay tribute to his service to the people as vicar of Romford, leading our church and playing such a significant role in the community. I know that hon. and right hon. Friends will wish him well with his future career as he becomes a pastor to seafarers based in Felixstowe, carrying out his mission for the seafarers of our country, and indeed the whole world.

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[Felicity Buchan]

My apologies, Dr Huq—my mistake entirely. I meant the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist). She said that the Government have not given sufficient support for the cost of living. I want to put it on the record that this Government have given more than £100 billion of cost of living support.

Turning to the subject before us, the importance of Christianity, I share the convictions of my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley about the importance of faith as an essential pillar of our society, and I welcome the opportunity to celebrate the role that Christianity has played in shaping and nurturing the world we live in. I agree that we should be immensely proud of Britain’s history and culture. The Government believe that people need to feel strong in their religious identities, and we are ensuring that the voices of people of faith are being heard.

Our country has been built on Christian values. They permeate every aspect of our lives. Values such as respect for others, public service and the rule of law are supported by the overwhelming majority of people in this country. Those values have evolved over time to become an integral part of Britain today. For that, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Church of England and the Church of Scotland—the two established churches in the UK.

The Church has, from the first, been the bedrock of our Christian community. It underpins the spiritual wellbeing of individuals. The Church welcomes each of them into a sustaining community of faith, and it builds around them the cultural and institutional framework that promotes and protects their wellbeing. Those values are not unique to churches and their worshippers; they characterise the core beliefs of all our faith communities.

It has been mentioned that at this time of the year, many religions are celebrating important events. We are in the holy month of Ramadan, and I was privileged to attend an iftar at al-Manaar mosque in my constituency last night. Passover is coming in late April, and I will be visiting a synagogue in my constituency at the weekend. Each of our religions, through the commitment they make to serve their worshippers and in their efforts to build our society, helps to deepen and enrich the lives of all of us.

At Easter time, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection signifies the promise of redemption and rebirth and the forgiveness of sin. So as Easter approaches, I am grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the role of the Christian Church in our history and culture.

I am proud of the United Kingdom as a place where people are free to practise their religion, faith or belief. We should all celebrate the diversity and richness of a society that has welcomed and supported those of all faiths and backgrounds. The latest census tells that the number of Christians living in this country has decreased, but Christianity remains the most prominent religion.

We may think of ours as an increasingly secular state, but the imprint and influence of Christianity on every aspect of our lives is unmistakeable. It is expressed in the very fabric of our buildings—our great churches and cathedrals, the Hall that we stand in today. It shapes the defining landmarks of our calendar—Easter, Christmas, saints’ days and holy days. It defines our working week, setting aside one day of each week to rest and worship; and it has long inspired our artists, composers, writers and poets, whose work enlightens and sustains our lives.

Christianity has shaped this country’s history and we should take this opportunity to celebrate the impact that those inspired by its teachings have had on the work of our Parliament. It was the Christian faith of the likes of William Wilberforce and John Wesley that led to the abolition of slavery. Elizabeth Fry devoted herself to the cause of prison reform. Lord Shaftesbury promoted care for people with mental illnesses. Charles Dickens, driven by his faith to work for a better, fairer, world, called his Common Lodging Houses Act 1851 “the best piece of legislation” that ever proceeded from this Parliament. Florence Nightingale, Charles Spurgeon, Harold Moody, Octavia Hill—all were committed reformers inspired by their Christian faith to drive reform and improve the lives of all.

Faith and belief continue to motivate people to acts of public service and to serve their local communities. As a nation, we continue to be made stronger by the work of those inspired by their faith. The tireless work goes on every day in our communities up and down the country, often without fanfare or fuss, quietly undertaken by those making an essential contribution to the common good. It is right that we celebrate and show our gratitude for this work and ensure that the perspective and voices of faith and belief are heard by Government.

Churches are often centres of community support, providing a range of services, including after-school care, youth clubs, financial advice, and addiction support to name a few. Many provide a safety net for those in need, running food banks or warm hubs, and the pastoral impact of the Church extends further into our society, with the provision of chaplaincy across the public sector, including Church of England schools, which we have addressed, prisons, hospitals and the armed forces.

Christian faith schools, like all other faith schools, also play an important role in our education system, providing high-quality school places for many children from all backgrounds, and choice for parents. Faith schools are some of our highest performing schools and are often popular with parents, whether they belong to the faith or not.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

My intervention is on precisely that point. I do not expect the Minister to give an answer now, but I have had various meetings on this subject. We have had meetings with the Secretary of State for Education, and I know the decision is now in Downing Street. There has been a long campaign to abolish the so-called faith cap, which serves no purpose apart from limiting the ability of Catholic schools and academies to attract new pupils. As I said, I do not expect my hon. Friend to answer now, but can she promise to raise this matter with Downing Street and with the Secretary of State for Education, who I know believes the faith cap should be removed?

[Felicity Buchan]

I will certainly follow up and revert to my right hon. Friend on that. I have many faith schools in my constituency, but I will mention just two: St Mary Abbots Primary School, which has hosted many Afghan and Ukrainian children and made them so much a part of the school community; and Cardinal Vaughan, which is an exceptional Catholic secondary school.

Let me say again that as a Government we recognise the importance of faith and belief across our communities. My colleague in the other place, Baroness Scott, the Minister with responsibility for social housing and faith, continues to champion the brilliant work carried out by our faith and belief communities up and down the country. As hon. Members know, we published Colin Bloom’s independent review of faith engagement in April 2023. In his review, he examines engagement with faith in a broad range of public settings and makes a number of recommendations on how Government can improve engagement with faith groups, both to recognise the contribution of faith communities to our society and to address harmful practices. We are carefully considering the review’s findings and will respond in due course.

I want to pick up on a few points that were mentioned today. Religious tolerance was mentioned, and I want to make it very clear that freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law and equal rights are things that we all strive for and value. The rights that we enjoy in the UK extend to everyone. Any individual or group is free to express views and beliefs within the confines of the law, but we must all behave responsibly and respect one another’s fundamental rights. Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right and one that underpins so many other rights.

Regarding funding for places of worship, I want to be very transparent about the fact that such funding is relatively limited. Successive Governments have followed the principle that it is for faith communities themselves to be responsible for the management and upkeep of their places of worship. Nevertheless, there are some instances of Government support: for example, the Heritage Fund run by the national lottery is a scheme to help to restore buildings so that they can be enjoyed by the wider community. If a place of worship is listed, there is a further scheme called the listed places of worship grant scheme, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, local authorities can now pay small amounts of money for repair and maintenance of local churches where their buildings are being used to deliver services to the wider community.

I want to talk briefly about the Inter Faith Network. I took an urgent question on that a few weeks ago. I want to make it very clear that we value the contribution made by all organisations that are dedicated to bringing our faith communities together in order to strengthen the ties that bind us, and in my own constituency—[Interruption.]

Extremism Definition and Community Engagement

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I met them both in the preparation for the work we have done today. I think it was the case that the independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, whose work is outstanding, said on broadcasts today that he regarded this as an improvement on the existing definition. I am grateful for that support and for the hon. Gentleman’s question, which has given me the opportunity to relay that to the House.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I am worried about this. Will my right hon. Friend reassure me that nothing in this statement will add to the increasing culture, in what should be a free country, of the intolerance of the right to offend? I might be offended if people make extreme attacks on Christianity, but they have an absolute right to do so. People have a right to criticise religious people or particular religions. Equally, Orthodox Jews, devout evangelical Christians with a particular view of the Bible and devout traditional Muslims have an absolute right to say what they believe in a free society, even if it is very unfashionable.

[Michael Gove]

I could not agree more. It is the principle of Milton’s “Areopagitica” that governs my approach towards free speech: ideas should contend on the plain of argument and people should be able to discern good arguments from bad arguments.

All the statement does is to tighten the existing definition. The concerns that my right hon. Friend raises about definitions being used to marginalise speech existed with the previous definition, to an extent. Now, with this tighter definition, along with the fact that the Government will publish the reasons why they choose not to engage with a group, things will be clearer. As I say, this is purely about Government engagement and financing. I know that he, like me, would want to ensure that taxpayers’ money was stewarded wisely.

High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill

Edward Leigh Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 26th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I am inspired to say a few words in this debate, because I want to talk about my home town of Gainsborough, which is directly affected by this issue. Gainsborough is a traditional market and industrial town in north Lincolnshire. It is a small town that suffered from industrial decline in the 1970s. We had a fantastic scheme to redevelop the old factory right in the middle of the town, Marshall’s, which had been decaying for years. We turned it into a fantastic shopping centre, Marshall’s Yard—the whole thing is going really well. We also have Morrisons outside, and Tesco, which has been put up next to Marshall’s Yard.

That is all fantastic, but the problem is that it is sucking life away from the high street and the marketplace. A real issue for our town is that as we develop decaying industrial areas, or have more out-of-centre shopping centres, the inside of the town is decaying. It is a huge issue for all our towns. I have been fortunate enough to work with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and to get £10 million in levelling-up funding for the Gainsborough South West ward, which is directly helping us. In an old town such as Gainsborough, one of the keys is to use heritage. We had many decaying shops, and we put a fantastic amount of work into creating beautiful new shopfronts, which lifts the whole area.

Another point I want to make is that in the marketplace—which, again, has slightly suffered from the fact that the trade is being sucked into Marshall’s Yard—cars are not allowed to park. In France, Italy or Germany, cars are allowed to park in the marketplace, which brings in life. I know we are not supposed to have as many cars in the middle of towns as we used to, but Gainsborough is not London; it is a small town. Bringing in more life is quite important.

To sum all of this up, the Government have to work very carefully with the district councils at a very local level. West Lindsey District Council has a good record of working with central Government to try to ensure that we get development into the town, but I wonder whether having a Mayor for Lincolnshire is going to make a great deal of difference. As the Minister well knows, I am quite dubious about that idea: we are going to have a Mayor of Lincolnshire—a large rural area—as well as a county council, district councils, MPs and Ministers all competing for attention.

I am also worried about the consultation, which all veers towards the idea that we have to have a Mayor. When the Minister replies to this debate—this is one of the reasons I am speaking today—I want him to convince me that when he imposes a Mayor on Lincolnshire, who will need to have a salary and will be based in Lincoln, he is not going to suck power and resources from the really local authorities, the district councils, which are doing all the hard graft to improve our high streets.

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[Jacob Young]

We have already heard examples of how high streets could be defined from my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, but I look forward to such an application to the community ownership fund. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North for his regular plugs for the fund.

Once the Bill has received Royal Assent, we will issue guidance on developing improvement plans. We would, of course, welcome any input on what the guidance should contain from hon. Members or other interested parties. We recognise that it takes time to implement plans and see their impact. At the same time, it is important that the plans are meaningful and that they will not be neglected and left to gather dust. We believe that five years for reviewing and, if necessary, updating the improvement plans strikes the right balance, allowing enough time for them to take effect while ensuring that they remain relevant and central to the renewal and reinvigoration of our high streets. This is very much about local residents, businesses and communities seeing visible, meaningful improvements, but we recognise that that must not come at the cost of overburdening councils that are already under pressure. We will therefore ensure that local authorities have the extra funding they need to deliver the measures in the Bill effectively.

As I said earlier, the Bill builds on the extensive range of support we are already providing to truly level up our high streets, with local people in the driving seat.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

On his point about putting local people in the driving seat, will the Minister assure me that any powers or resources given to the Mayor of Lincolnshire will not suck resources away from West Lindsey District Council, which is the primary promoter of improvements on our high streets?

[Jacob Young]

I was going to come to that, but my right hon. Friend has brought it to my attention sooner. He mentions the landmark devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire and that it comes with a Mayor, but he fails to mention the three quarters of a billion pounds that comes with that deal. I can assure him that we are giving more power and funding to communities like his in Greater Lincolnshire, and I urge him to support the introduction of a Mayor, which will be transformational for Greater Lincolnshire.

We are giving local authorities more support to truly level up their high streets. That support means more money, and we are investing billions of pounds in high streets that are sorely in need of a helping hand to get back on their feet. That includes our £1.1 billion long-term plan for towns—I am grateful to the shadow Minister for plugging that in her remarks—launched in October, which will power ambitious regeneration projects across the UK over the next decade. Through the plan, each town will develop a long-term plan for regeneration based on the priorities of local people, and receive a 10-year endowment-style fund worth £20 million to deliver transformational projects, from boosting the look and feel of town centres to protecting local heritage, as was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, to cracking down on anti-social behaviour. The plan will also establish a new high streets and towns taskforce to provide hands-on support and expert advice on place making, planning and design.

Our new towns unit, which was announced last week, headed by Adam Hawksbee, the Prime Minister’s towns tsar, will ensure that local leaders have the control they need over decision making. This funding comes on top of the £2.35 billion we are investing through our town deals, £830 million in future high streets funding and the £4.8 billion being invested into communities through the levelling-up fund, unlocking the economic potential of communities across the country, like mine in Redcar.

In Redcar, £25 million of funding is being invested through the town deal in regenerating the high street, demolishing the old Woolworths and M&S buildings, and creating a new leisure facility on the high street, as well as rejuvenating our much-loved seafront. Down the road in Eston, some of the £20 million of levelling-up funding we received is being invested in regenerating Eston Square and the precinct buildings. Not long after I was elected, I was given a book about the history of Eston by the former councillor, Ann Higgins. In the book, there was a picture of Mo Mowlam, one of my predecessors as MP for Redcar, meeting residents and businesses at the old James Finnigan Hall to discuss the deterioration of Eston town centre. More than two decades and four Members of Parliament later, we are finally delivering on that.

The funding demonstrates to the people of those towns, and others like them across the UK, that we are keeping the faith with them and delivering on the things that matter most to them. As I updated the House late last year, we have so far invested over £13 billion through all our levelling-up funding streams in regenerating communities nationwide, delivering real change in communities like Bury. I am so pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North plugged the community ownership fund in the way he did. His constituency has benefited from £1.5 million of investment directly into communities there, on top of the levelling-up funding of £20 million for Bury market and the flexi-hall.

Communities in Crewe and Nantwich are benefitting from £37 million through the towns fund and the future high streets fund. I was surprised to hear from my hon. Friends the Members for Crewe and Nantwich (Dr Mullan) and for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) about Labour’s new car parking charges. Sadly, Labour has done the same in Redcar, and I urge my hon. Friends to keep up their campaign on behalf of constituents and businesses in their communities.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) for referencing the investment in his constituency, including in his cinema, and talking about the value of partnership working. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, whose Bill this is, mentioned the levelling-up partnership for Stoke. I assure him that, on top of the other funding that Stoke has already received, Longton remains part of our focus for the partnership.

Funding alone is not enough. To deliver real change, we are giving local people the power they need to make decisions on the ground about the future of their communities. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act introduces high street rental auctions to drive forward regeneration through changes to compulsory purchase powers; provides more flexible pavement licences for businesses; empowers local people to tackle symptoms of decline by bringing vacant units back into use; increases co-operation on regeneration between landlords and local authorities; and makes town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable, helping to attract new businesses to these areas and supporting the creation of new jobs and growth to sustain prosperity in the long term.

We are also making it a priority to get the fundamentals right. Tackling the causes and impacts of antisocial behaviour is key to ensuring that people feel safe, which is why we are using our wider antisocial behaviour action plan, published in March 2023, to make the heart of our towns better places to be. Measures to tackle the visual markers of decline include reopening boarded-up shops, improving the look and feel of public spaces, and giving tired public buildings a lick of paint. This includes the high street accelerator programme that I have the pleasure of leading, which will bring together businesses, residents and community organisations to develop a long-term vision for revitalising their town centre. Each of the 10 pilot schemes we have launched in towns such as Oldham, Scunthorpe and neighbouring Stoke will receive funding of £237,000 over two years to set up the partnership, develop the vision and begin to deliver change.

We have introduced significant planning flexibilities, so that local decision makers can make better use of the buildings in their town centre and ensure that our high streets remain places of social and commercial activity. Permitted development provides the freedom to change more premises from commercial to residential use, so that much needed homes can be created on high streets and in town centres.

Whether we are talking about smarter use of planning levers, getting boarded-up shops back up and running, making our streets safer, or investing billions in our town centres, we are breathing new life into our high streets, with local leaders, local people and businesses who know and love their communities best driving the changes that they know are needed to make a difference. The Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South builds on these significant efforts, and we are proud to support it. Like him, I appreciate just how much it matters to communities of the kind we represent. For them and for communities right across the country, this is about delivering on the commitments we have made to level up growth, opportunity and pride. We are sticking to our plans and staying the course, commencing the measures in the Bill at the appropriate time once the Bill has Royal Assent, and ensuring that local authorities have the right lead-in time and guidance to designate their high streets and create their improvement plans.

I am enormously grateful to my hon. Friend for introducing the Bill and to other hon. Members for their support and contributions during this debate. We are backing the Bill and backing our high streets. I commend the Bill to the House.

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

Edward Leigh Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: a number of the people who have built, operated and retain the freehold on these estates levy service charges for all sorts of things that, in my view, are totally inappropriate. That is why the Bill makes clear that service charges have to be issued in a standardised format, so that they can be more easily scrutinised and challenged. It also makes clear that those charges can be challenged in such a way as to ensure that egregious examples, such as the one the hon. Gentleman has mentioned, will end.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I am not against what the Secretary of State is trying to do, but philosophically there is a reason why the Conservative party has been the defender of property rights. It is to do with freedom and established rights, so it is nothing to do with the ECHR or anything like that. Before this debate becomes just about bashing landlords, what about the Duchy of Cornwall? There are excellent freeholders that have traditionally maintained properties and done wonderful work in ensuring that properties are well maintained and in looking after their tenants.

[Michael Gove]

I quite agree with my right hon. Friend. There are good landlords, and the Duchy of Cornwall has been a stand-out example, as have been the Cadogan estate, the Howard de Walden estate and so on—they are responsible landlords, absolutely—but an individual leaseholder should not have to rely on the good will and the grace of His Grace, as it were, to get the protection they need.

There is no stauncher defender of capitalism and property rights than me, but what has happened is that freeholds have become utterly torn away from the warp and weft of the capitalist system as we understand it in this country, and have become tradeable commodities that foreign entities are using to exploit our people who have worked hard and saved to get their own home. So whose side am I on—homeowners who have worked hard and saved up to secure a mortgage, or shadowy foreign entities that are essentially attempting to rip off British citizens? I am on the side of homeowners.

Levelling Up

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Monday 20th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young]

The right hon. Gentleman is wrong. I shall write to him following the statement on exactly how much UK shared prosperity funding his area has received, and I hope that when I do, he will come back to the Chamber to update the House on the facts of the matter. He asked how much money has been spent since the National Audit Office released the figures in March: £1.5 billion has been spent since then, but I would be delighted to come up and visit the humble crofter’s constituency.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Pardon me for having an unfashionable Thatcherite point of view, but much better than Government, taxpayer-funded levelling up is private sector levelling up. Although I thank the Secretary of State for having released some money for Gainsborough, £300 million of private sector levelling up, namely for RAF Scampton, is at risk in my constituency. Will the Minister meet me after the court case to ensure that, whatever its result, we get on with levelling up? For instance, the roof of the officers’ mess alone will cost half a million pounds. The roofs of the hangars are decaying. The site will not be viable unless private sector investment is unleashed and the Home Office gets on with it.

[Jacob Young]

I would be delighted to meet my right hon. Friend, but one of the key ways to unlock private investment in the Greater Lincolnshire area is to progress with the devolution deal. I shall be delighted to meet him to discuss that further.