Public Order Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

2nd reading
Monday 23rd May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

I thank the Home Secretary for giving way, and I hope she gives way to my Front-Bench colleague, my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), in due course.

I have been listening carefully to the Home Secretary. In the context of this cost of living emergency, the Government are threatening anti-trade union legislation and pursuing voter suppression through voter ID, and draconian anti-protest laws are now being brought in. Will the Home Secretary come clean and admit that this Government know that their economic policies will be increasingly unpopular, so they want to remove everyone’s right to resist and fight back, whether through voting, industrial action or peaceful protest?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman indicated to me that he would like to speak in the debate, and that he would like to speak not at the end of the debate. He has just made half of his speech, which puts me in rather a difficult position, and I hope everyone else will remember that. Interventions are good for debate, but they must be short.

Health and Social Care Levy Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

Committee stage & 3rd reading
Tuesday 14th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon]

I had actually finished my remarks, but I would be happy to take this up with the hon. Gentleman on another occasion if he so wishes.

[The Chairman of Ways and Means (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I have to say I was not quite sure about that. I thought that the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) had finished, but the hon. Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden) nevertheless managed to make his intervention. He may indeed have wanted more, but the hon. Member for Leeds East read the mood of the House very well.

Points of Order

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

Wednesday 21st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Again, I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for having given me notice of his intended point of order, which is similar to that of the right hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Sir Mike Penning). My answer is, of course—consistent as I am—the same. It is not for the Chair to decide which statements come here to the House and which are written. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will seek advice from the Table Office as to how he might take his point further. However, having made his point here in the Chamber, the relevant Ministers will be aware of his concerns, which I suspect are shared by a great many hon. Members in all parts of the House.

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In Prime Minister’s Question Time today, in response to my question about whether the Prime Minister could live on £96 statutory sick pay per week, he said,

“The hon. Gentleman is quite wrong, because everybody who is self-isolating is entitled, in addition to the equivalent of the living wage”.

That is inaccurate. Not everyone who is self-isolating is entitled to the £500 test and trace support payment, as the Government’s own website makes clear. Can you advise me, Madam Deputy Speaker, as to whether the Prime Minister has corrected the record or notified you of any intention to correct the record? If not, what steps can be taken to ensure that the Prime Minister does correct the record on this very important matter?

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for having given me notice of his intention to raise this point of order. As Mr Speaker has said from the Chair many times, and as I have said myself, we are not responsible for what Ministers say at the Dispatch Box —that is up to the Minister—and of course one person’s interpretation of statistics can often be different from another person’s interpretation of statistics; indeed, there can be as many interpretations as there are statistics.

The hon. Gentleman clearly disagrees with the answer that the Prime Minister gave, and I am sure that he will find a way of asking the question again. As with any other Minister, if the Prime Minister has been mistaken in the facts that he laid before the House, then I am sure that, by my saying this now, those around him will be aware that the suggestion of a mistake in fact has been made and he will take the earliest opportunity to correct it, which of course would be the honourable thing to do. But if the Prime Minister does not believe that he is mistaken in fact, the hon. Gentleman will have to await the next opportunity that he has to raise the matter again, which I am sure he will do.

Bills Presented

Judicial Review and Courts Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Secretary Robert Buckland, supported by Secretary Priti Patel, Michael Gove, Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary Thérèse Coffey, Secretary Gavin Williamson, Secretary Robert Jenrick, Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg and Chris Philp, presented a Bill to make provision about the provision that may be made by, and the effects of, quashing orders; to make provision restricting judicial review of certain decisions of the Upper Tribunal; to make provision about the use of written and electronic procedures in courts and tribunals; to make other provision about procedure in, and the organisation of, courts and tribunals; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 152) with explanatory notes (Bill 152-EN).

Button Batteries (Safety) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Jo Gideon, supported by Sir John Hayes, Robert Halfon, Edward Timpson, Dr Caroline Johnson, Holly Mumby-Croft, Andrew Selous, Munira Wilson, Siobhan Baillie, Dr Kieran Mullan, Dr Luke Evans and Dame Andrea Leadsom, presented a Bill to make provision about the safety of button batteries; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 September, and to be printed (Bill 153).

Local Electricity Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

David Johnston, supported by Peter Aldous, Hilary Benn, Sir Graham Brady, Simon Fell, Patrick Grady, Wera Hobhouse, Ben Lake, Clive Lewis, Selaine Saxby, Mick Whitley and Jeremy Wright, presented a Bill to enable electricity generators to become local electricity suppliers; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 December, and to be printed (Bill 154).

G7 and NATO Summits

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Brilliantly brief.

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

With coronavirus, none of us are safe until everyone is safe. The world needs over 11 billion vaccine doses to end the pandemic, but the G7 vaccine offer falls well short and leaves billions of people without protection. To ramp up vaccine production needs a temporary waiver on intellectual property, so that all countries can access the technology. President Biden supports that, more than 100 other countries support that, but this Prime Minister is one of the people blocking it. So is not the Prime Minister putting the interests of profit-hungry pharmaceutical companies ahead of the lives of millions of people?

Finance (No. 2) Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

2nd reading
Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

The coronavirus crisis has not just been a public health emergency; it has been a social emergency as well—a social emergency worsened by the Government’s catastrophic handling of the crisis, which, as the Office for Budget Responsibility says, led to one of the worst economic downturns of any major economy.

Of course, for some, the pandemic has not been half bad—in fact, it has been a very good crisis for some. Serco and the like have been able to use the crisis to get their hands on contracts that should have been in the public sector, and boosted their profits. We have seen how contracts worth billions have been handed over to those with political connections to top Tories, and the Greensill case involving the former Prime Minister is no one-off—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is not here in the Chamber and so is not getting the atmosphere of the debate, but no matter what the rules are, this debate is about the Finance Bill. It is only about the Finance Bill and matters within the Finance Bill, which is pretty wide-ranging. The hon. Gentleman appears to be making a speech that he might wish to make tomorrow. Could he please stick to the Finance Bill today?

[Richard Burgon]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The example I have just given is one of how our system works, and I would argue that that is entirely relevant to the Finance Bill, because while the super-rich have been able to profit from the crisis, the Government have washed their hands of others who needed support. Just this week, millions relying on legacy benefits such as employment and support allowance for disabled and sick people got a pathetic 37p increase in their benefits. What a snub, especially after already being refused the £20 additional payment that went to those on universal credit. With that 37p increase, the Government are deliberately punishing disabled people. It is yet another example of how they seek to make the vast majority pay for one of the world’s deepest economic collapses.

I will vote against the Bill because it fails to give NHS staff the proper pay rise they need, because it cuts the pay of millions of public sector workers and hands billions in giveaways to mega-corporations such as Amazon, many of which have done very well out of the crisis, because it leaves many of the lowest earners facing tax rises and because later this year it will cut social security payments for people who really should get much more help. I will vote against the Bill because it serves the few and not the many. This crisis has not only shone a spotlight on the deep inequalities in our society but widened them. We should be coming out of it with a more equal society, but, to help us do that, where is the tax on the companies that have made super-profits during the crisis? Where is the one-off tax on the super-wealthy as other countries are doing? I will vote against the Bill and table an amendment calling on the Government to take measures for a super-tax on the super-rich. We need to start to build a society that serves the many, not the few. That is what the Bill should be about, but it is no surprise that, with this Government, it is anything but.

Wage floor to the furlough scheme

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Petitions

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

The Government currently instruct people to stay at home, but too many simply cannot afford to do so. Ensuring that no one on furlough is paid less than the minimum wage is the least the Government should do, though they should do much more. The following petition is about ensuring that this crisis is not paid for on the backs of low-paid workers. I present to the House of Commons this petition of residents of the United Kingdom, alongside a corresponding petition online, which has gained more than 15,000 signatures on the subject of introducing a wage floor to the furlough scheme.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,

Declares that no-one should ever be paid less than the National Minimum Wage; further declares that the Government’s furlough scheme is leaving millions of low-paid workers on less than this basic minimum pay; notes that new official figures show that over two million workers have been paid less than the National Minimum Wage this year; further that this is nearly five times as many workers as in 2019; and further declares that this crisis should not be paid for on the backs of low-paid workers.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to introduce a wage floor in the furlough scheme to ensure that no worker is paid less than the National Minimum Wage.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002648]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I am now going to suspend the House for a few minutes so that the Chamber can be prepared for the next item of business.

Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion & Programme motion: House of Commons & Ways and Means resolution & Ways and Means resolution: House of Commons
Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

Today, with this Bill, the Government are seeking to grant themselves powers to reshape our immigration system, with little scrutiny and with little regard for the rights of people who, sadly, they dismiss as low-skilled simply because they do not earn a high salary. These Government plans are built on the right-wing neo-liberal myth that people’s salary determines their skills and their value. Well, the coronavirus crisis has shown all of us whose work actually is essential to keeping our society running, and many of those workers earn far less than the Government’s proposed salary threshold of £25,600. Let us be clear: workers earning under the threshold are not low-skilled; they are low-paid. All of us have a moral responsibility to recognise their contribution, and not to introduce rules that restrict the rights of low-paid workers even further, because it will be our communities, and often the most vulnerable members of our communities, who will pay the price for this.

Our care system is facing an unprecedented crisis, and our Government, shamefully, are seeking to make it harder for careworkers to come to this country to contribute. The founder of our national health service, Aneurin Bevan, once remarked that we could manage without stockbrokers, but we would find it harder to do without miners, steelworkers and those who cultivate the land. The 21st-century equivalent is that our society could cope a lot longer without hedge fund managers, fat-cat landlords and billionaire tax avoiders and tax evaders than we could without bus drivers, bin collectors, supermarket workers, carers and other low-paid workers who under these rules will face tougher restrictions than the top earners.

Our approach to the Bill today cannot be divorced from the record of this Government over the past decade. This Government, with their hostile environment, have used their narrative on immigration as a way to scapegoat one part of the working class for problems the working-class as a whole face due to austerity, cuts and free market fundamentalism. This Government are wilfully scapegoating migrants to let off the hook those who are really responsible for the economic failings of the past decade.

Just the other week, an NHS physician in my constituency who came here from Egypt wrote to me distraught because, as he put it to me, if he were to die in service of our NHS due to coronavirus, his dependent family would be booted out of this country. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) said, the Government have shifted on this, but they should not have had to be asked in the first place—and why can they not extend that change in position to careworkers?

How can we trust a Government who oversaw the hostile environment? How can we hand over powers to the Government to create a new immigration system with far less scrutiny than previously? How can we trust that there will not be a second Windrush crisis affecting many thousands of EU citizens who came to make their life here but have not yet been granted settled status? How can we trust that, under political pressure, the Home Secretary and this Government will not make immigration policy that is designed not to serve the interests of working-class communities or diversity, but to chase headlines in the right-wing newspapers?



I was one of the sponsors of a reasoned amendment tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy). It was not selected, but I nevertheless want to reiterate demands made in it. I want the Government to think again about this immigration Bill. We need the Government to think again and to protect the rights of British citizens to live, work and study in other EEA member states. We need the Government to think again and grant EEA citizens currently living here in the UK automatic permanent settled status. We need the Government to reflect long and hard on the history of the Windrush scandal and of “Go Home” vans touring estates, making a hostile environment for people in our communities. The Government need to reflect on that. They need to reflect on who really contributes to our society.

The Government also need to reflect on the need to end the scandal of indefinite detention, which makes us, in a very shameful way, stick out like a sore thumb in Europe—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman has exceeded his five minutes. We now go to Dr Jamie Wallis in Bridgend.

Finance Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Richard Burgon

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons & Programme motion & Programme motion: House of Commons & Ways and Means resolution
Monday 27th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

The coronavirus pandemic is the greatest crisis that most of us have ever lived through, so the values of solidarity, co-operation and support for—[Inaudible.]—are more important than ever at this critical time. In his March Budget speech, the Chancellor said that we were entering this crisis from a position of economic strength; for millions of people, that could not be further from the truth, and nor was it the case for our public services. A decade of austerity and a 40-year period dominated—[Inaudible.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I hesitate to interrupt the hon. Gentleman—I do not know whether he can hear me—but the sound quality is very bad. Let us try again to see whether it improves; if not, I will have to move on to the next speaker and come back to the hon. Gentleman.

[Richard Burgon]

A decade of austerity and a 40-year period dominated by marketisation, deregulation and privatisation has left us less prepared to deal with this crisis—[Inaudible.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. To be fair to the hon. Gentleman, I am going to interrupt him, because the House cannot properly hear what he is saying. I judge it would be better if we could come back to him later in the proceedings.