Council Housing

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Joe Morris

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

Sir Jeremy, it is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship.

Across the span of one of England’s largest constituencies, housing, or the lack of it, is one of the main drivers of people coming to my constituency surgeries. It is one of the main drivers of people in desperate need of a place to call home, as my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) has just movingly set out. It is an issue that needs to be taken far more seriously, not just in this place but across the country. The particular lack of access to affordable and social housing in some of our most rural communities is something that has escaped much of the national debate in recent years.

Unfortunately, I must say that the Morpeth Conservatives, who run Northumberland county council, are currently engaged in what I can only describe as an ongoing misinformation exercise about the impact of trying to provide more housing. It is very clear to me that what is needed across Northumberland is appropriate development of the homes that are needed to allow people to build lives and communities, and to keep those communities together and functioning, but also to provide long-term stability to young people growing up in those communities, so that they know they will be able to have a life where they have grown up, should they wish to, rather than growing up with their noses pressed against the windows of communities that they will never be able to be part of because they cannot get a home there.

I will not keep colleagues’ attention for too long, but the crucial thing, from where I stand, is delivering those homes in areas where people can have access to them, where they can be rented at a reasonable rate, and, crucially, ensuring that they are not removed from circulation but are accessible to local people, so that those people can work in the pubs, shops and businesses that keep the lifeblood of our communities moving.

Without that, we will continue to see younger people forced out of rural communities, forced to leave their families and unable to care for their elderly relatives. That is something that comes up far too often—time and again—in my regular constituency surgeries.

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

I thank the Back-Bench speakers for their co-operation and discipline. We now come to the Front-Bench speeches, beginning with the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Relationship Education in Schools

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Joe Morris

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Joe Morris]

It will probably not surprise my hon. Friend to know that I have seen everything that Gareth Southgate has said since he left being England manager. My fiancée had to talk me into taking down a mocked-up Time “Man of the Year” Gareth Southgate work of art, shortly after she moved in—I think I am getting dragged slightly off course.

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

Order. I am going to save the hon. Gentleman from himself. I remind him that we need to proceed to other speakers, so I ask him to draw his remarks to a close.

[Joe Morris]

I will shortly wind up. I am pleased that progress is being made in putting specialist rape and sexual offences teams into every police force, and with improving how domestic abuse is processed in 999 handling. It is a matter of culture. I congratulate the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell again on bringing forward this important debate, and allowing all Members to discuss how we tackle this emerging, growing and potentially endemic problem.

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

I will try to call the Opposition Front Benchers, who will have five minutes each, from 5.08 pm, and then the Minister after that. I am afraid we can therefore no longer allow four minutes per speaker if everyone is to get in; speeches that last nearer to three minutes will help. I ask all colleagues to adhere to that.