Renters’ Rights Bill

James Naish Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this important debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Alex Baker) and the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) on completing their maiden speeches. As the House will hear in a moment, I am used to being third, so this is an appropriate time to speak.

I have the honour of representing Rushcliffe in the south of Nottinghamshire. In these quarters, Rushcliffe is known for one thing: Baron Clarke of Nottingham. If politics were a beauty contest, Ken Clarke was Mr Rushcliffe for 49 years before being ennobled, despite remarking in his own maiden speech in 1970 that the constituency was a marginal. I am not sure that is how the local Labour party saw it for the next 54 years. During the campaign, though, my local campaign team—ever the optimists—actually knocked on Baron Clarke’s door, and he graciously invited us in. We chatted about various local issues before he unsurprisingly concluded that he would still be supporting the Conservatives at the election. At that point, his daughter helpfully piped up from the next room, “Remember, Dad, you’re in the Lords—you can’t vote any more”, condemning his party to one fewer guaranteed vote. I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of one of the great characters of this House. His pro-European views resonated strongly with the constituents of Rushcliffe, the only constituency in the east midlands to strongly support remaining in the EU. I will therefore endeavour to work closely with the Government to deepen ties with our European friends, neighbours and allies, as we must.

I also pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, Ruth Edwards, who served on several Select Committees. She was passionate about the rural environment, chairing the all-party parliamentary group on geographically protected foods. She also fought hard for the east midlands freeport and championed a network of safe spaces for domestic abuse survivors. I sincerely hope that Ruth is enjoying her time away from this House in what can only be described as her own personal zoo—the farm that she shares with a Labrador called Clemmie, chickens, bees, donkeys, a tortoise called Geoffrey, and three alpacas.

Like Vera, Florence and Coco the alpacas, I was lucky enough to be born part of a trio, the youngest of triplets. While the House of Commons Library is not 100% sure, I am likely to be the first triplet to stand in this place. Having spent my whole life sharing birthdays, cards, parties, exam results days and much more, it is nice to achieve something unique that is not shared with anyone else in my family, including a well-known podcaster who seeks to stay relevant by disagreeing agreeably.

I thank the people of Rushcliffe, especially the 73.2% who voted—one of the highest turnouts in the recent election. Since being elected, I have met representatives from our three great sports venues: Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, Trent Bridge, and the National Water Sports Centre. I have made several visits to the site of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, the last working coal-fired power station in our country, which closed last week. Such was my commitment to visiting the site that on one occasion, running late, I decided not to fill up as I passed a garage, only to lose power three miles later as I was driving up the A453. I blocked the left-hand lane for an hour while waiting to be rescued—not the best place to be seen as the new MP for the area. Having worked in delivery in the energy sector for most of the past decade, I strongly believe that the advanced, clean, green energy agenda, through which we can build the technologies of the future, offers huge economic potential. I hope to speak regularly in this House on those topics.

Moving on to this debate, I draw the House’s attention to my registered interest in a property from which I receive a rental income. Only last weekend, I saw a comment online from a lady who moved to my constituency with six-year-old twins. She posted anonymously on a community Facebook group about a leak into her flat: “It’s one excuse after another, and nothing has been done for six months. For the past three weeks, my children have been ill as a result. Please, I need help and advice on what to do.” She told me that the stress was causing high blood pressure and had resulted in changes to her routine medication. That demonstrates that a person’s living conditions can have much broader implications for their health and wellbeing. I therefore welcome this Bill and its many provisions to promote longer-term secure tenancies, but as a former council leader, I encourage Ministers to consider how local authorities can be best resourced to take on extra enforcement work—a point already touched on.

It is an honour to represent the people of Rushcliffe, and I will seek to serve them as best I can for as long as I am in this House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Hopefully, the Government Whips will know that the correct, elected triplet is in the Chamber and voting.