Budget Resolutions

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Monday 1st November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

This was a Budget that let down Birmingham and Erdington. The Government have made big promises to the country over the past two years with the rhetoric of levelling up, building back better and a high-wage, high-skills economy. The gulf between the rhetoric and the reality grows wider by the day, however.

Let me say why levelling up matters to the people of Erdington. A man who gets on a train at New Street and gets off at Gravelly Hill or Erdington is likely to live seven years fewer than he would if he continued his journey to Four Oaks in leafy Sutton Coldfield. The fact that such a grotesque comparison is possible in modern Britain is nothing short of a scandal. That is why it is so important for the Government to fulfil their promise to invest in communities such as Erdington.

Last week the Government released details of the successful bids for the levelling-up fund, and Erdington High Street submitted a bid to the fund. Like so many others across the country, Erdington is a proud community, and proud of its history as a thriving working-class community, but sadly the high street has fallen into decline, with big names leaving one by one and empty shopfronts left behind. Working with Birmingham City Council and all the key local stakeholders, the local community decided to turn that around. They submitted a comprehensive and ambitious bid to the levelling-up fund, underpinned by a solid business case and significant private sector investment. Part of the high street bid was £43 million in match funding alone, nearly double the amount of funding provided to the three other bids that Birmingham had made to the fund. However, the answer from the Government was no: there would be not one penny from them for the redevelopment of Erdington High Street.

That decision is inexplicable and outrageous. Erdington is the fifth most deprived constituency in the country. What planet are the Government living on, if levelling up means nothing—not a penny—for the most deprived communities in Britain? If it is to mean anything, surely it requires the Government to support the Erdington High Street bid.

Following the contributions from my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne), let me say this. The Government talk about a new era of optimism. What about schools and young people? We know that 42% of children growing up in Birmingham are growing up in poverty. Kevan Collins, brought in by the Government, warns of serious long-term consequences—scars as a consequence of the Government’s letting down the children of Birmingham and Britain. As for a new age of optimism more generally on the economic front, let the Government use those words to the families who will have to pay an additional £3,000 in tax. Two thirds of those paying national insurance will still have to pay the full whack.

The idea that what the Government did in the Budget was somehow to listen and learn and react to the people of Britain and their legitimate concerns could not be further from the truth. The simple reality is that we have slow and anaemic growth, an economy that is not firing on all cylinders as it needs to be to achieve recovery, and grotesque unfairness. When the Government talk of levelling up, I am afraid that there is a belly laugh from the people of Erdington, who feel badly let down.

Fire and Rehire

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Tuesday 27th April 2021 Westminster Hall

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Murray. George the gas man was a good friend of my dad when I was a kid. I learned through him, and saw subsequently, that gas workers were and are skilled, trusted, doing an essential job, keeping our communities safe. Theirs was historically a good, secure job, not least because of the history of strong trade unionism.

In 1889 Will Thorne founded the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers—now the GMB—that fought against the shameful treatment meted out to workers in Victorian times. Generations fought to consign such treatment to history, including my union, Unite, asserting the dignity of labour.

The history of the gas industry is also one of trade unions acting as agents of change, managing sometimes difficult processes of change, seeking negotiated outcomes. Gas workers also fought for their country. The Hollyfields Sports and Conference Centre in my constituency has a barrier on which are written the names of 250 workers who died fighting for their country in the first and second world wars.

In 21st century Britain we see a throwback to Victorian times, to the kind of treatment meted out to workers that we thought was history. Paul Vowles of the GMB from Birmingham has said of the 350 members who have lost their jobs that,

“They were salt of the earth, doing a good job, now ending up out of work.”

British Gas could have negotiated an outcome. It might have been difficult, but they could have done it. They chose instead to use fire and rehire, like too many employers in the current climate. The TUC estimates that one in 10 workers have suffered from such treatment or the threat of it. Even worse, some of the employers benefiting from Government support through the covid crisis are the same employers taking advantage of fire and rehire, which is utterly contemptible.

It is clear that the GMB and Unite stand ready to negotiate a solution but the company is not interested. We have to bring home the human consequences. Chris O’Shea, the chief executive, says,

“You’ve got a duty to make your colleagues’ lives as easy as possible.”

Tell that to the single mum who complains of chest pains and says,

“It makes me feel sick that I am nothing more than something on the bottom of Chris O’Shea’s expensive shoes.”

Tell that to the gas worker who every single day during lockdown worked for the Trussell Trust, delivering to the elderly and vulnerable.

In conclusion, what we thought we had consigned to history now haunts the world of work. I say this to the Minister: warm words have been issued in relation to fire and rehire, but the time has come for the Government to act, including in the Queen’s Speech.

Local Government Finance (England)

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Knowing something of his constituency, I think it is the perfect example of a part of the country where there is great affluence, but also significant pockets of deprivation. We need to ensure that funding for local authorities that provide public services is based on the actual needs of the community, not a formula dreamed up many years ago.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Forty-one per cent. of children in Birmingham are growing up in poverty. Nearly half a million Birmingham citizens live in some of the most deprived areas of Britain. Birmingham is on track for £784 million-worth of cuts to its budget. Its workforce has been cut in half. Children’s centres and youth centres are closing, with catastrophic consequences for the city. The Secretary of State referred to the Local Government Association’s assessment of the fair funding review on social care funding. Is it not the case that its assessment is that the current direction of travel will see money channelled from high-need areas such as Birmingham to lower-need areas like Surrey and Buckinghamshire?

[Robert Jenrick]

That is not the view of the LGA. After the Labour party issued a press release suggesting something along those lines, the LGA gave the clarification that it is impossible to speculate because we have not published the figures; we have not published our consultation. So with great respect to the hon. Gentleman, he will have to wait until—[Interruption.] Well, it was the Labour group on the LGA. I am not going to base my views on the press releases of the LGA’s Labour politicians; I am going to base them on the reality of what we intend to bring forward in future.

On the serious point that the hon. Gentleman raises, we will be consulting in the spring, and that will address issues important issues such as that. I hope that he, Birmingham City Council and others who take an interest in these matters will participate in that consultation. We will of course listen to his views as we bring forward a better settlement that attempts to work for all parts of the country. The settlement that we are voting on today is a good settlement for Birmingham. It provides a 6.4% increase in funding, or £27 million additional funding, for social care.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate today on behalf of my party, and to have the opportunity to stop and reflect, as we all must do. The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is “stand together”. Those of us in this House who have been a part of these debates in the past are particularly aware of why that is so important. I think hon. Members also agree that we owe a debt of gratitude to Karen Pollock and her team at the Holocaust Educational Trust for their excellent work, which influences so many people and does so much to increase awareness and an understanding of why we need to stand together.

I am very fortunate to represent East Renfrewshire, which is home to the majority of the Jewish population in Scotland. We, as an area and as a country, are so much the better for the rich diversity of communities like mine. Our Scotland is, and must be, a Scotland for people of all faiths and none—a home for all of us. The theme of the debate today has to be a stark reminder to us all that we must all challenge antisemitism wherever we see it—standing together, standing up against hate and speaking out.

That made me reflect on some of the people I know in my own community who are known and admired for the immense work they have done on holocaust education to ensure the next generations, those coming after them, understand exactly what happened and what can happen when we do not stand together against hate. I was fortunate to meet Ingrid and Henry Wuga when they visited a local school to talk to the young folk about their experiences of the holocaust. They are amazing—I am sure the House will join me in congratulating Ingrid Wuga, who was recently awarded the British Empire Medal—and a huge influence on everyone they come across. These are the voices we need to listen to.

It is so important for our young people in particular to hear that kind of testimony, so that they know what went on. A holocaust does not just suddenly happen: it builds up gradually and bit by bit. Intolerance and hatred become the norm, and they grow. So our language and our actions matter. We need to be very clear about that and about the responsibilities we have in this place. We must stand together. We must influence others to do so and we must call out hatred wherever it exists. It cannot be allowed to grow and fester unchallenged.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady is making a very powerful speech. Does she agree that those who fan the flames of hate and antisemitism, who engage in conspiracy theories and who deny the greatest crime in human history, which was the holocaust, are themselves a disgrace to humanity?

[Kirsten Oswald]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I will come on to talk about education, which is really important in making sure that people are aware. That is why education and an understanding of history matter so much. It is why projects that allow us to capture the testimony and the voices of survivors are so important, too. I visited the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre at Garnethill a while back, and was struck by the huge value of that facility. I encourage anyone who can to visit and increase their own knowledge and understanding. It is a remarkable place.

Building Safety

Jack Dromey Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick]

The expert advice that we received said that ACM should be the priority of Government. That is why my predecessors announced the £600 million remediation fund for ACM on high-rise buildings. The testing results, which I will publish next month, confirm that decision and make it clear that ACM is significantly more dangerous than any other substance. That has rightly been the focus of taxpayers’ money in terms of grant, but there may be other ways forward to assist those leaseholders trapped in other types of buildings.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

Before Christmas, two tenants from a Stockland Green tower block in my constituency asked me why it has taken the best part of three years for the Government not to come up with one single penny towards making safe the 213 tower blocks in Birmingham, which include 10,000 households. They were right, because despite the warm words and promises made at the time, not one penny has been forthcoming. Will the Secretary of State personally look again at the request by Birmingham City Council for the necessary financial support to complete the task of making safe those tower blocks?

[Robert Jenrick]

I am happy to review that once again, but as I said in response to previous questions, we have provided £600 million of funding to ensure that properties in the private and social sectors are remediated as swiftly as possible.