General Election

Jim Dickson Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate, and I very much thank those behind the petition who are here to listen to the debate. I know from the emails that I have had from Dartford residents who signed the petition that those residents have real concerns about some of the tough decisions that the new Government have had to make. I absolutely hear what they are saying to us.

As other hon. Members have said, the petition is also a sign that many people across this country have seen their faith that politics can bring positive change diminish altogether. That is extremely unfortunate and we need to rebuild that faith. It is hard to argue that people are wrong to lack that faith, however, given the legacy of 14 years of Conservative Government. The basics of government went uncompleted, especially over the last decade, when far too little infrastructure was built and a coach and horses were driven through public services and the public finances, leaving both in dire straits.

In my constituency of Dartford, the plan for a new lower Thames crossing, first proposed in 2009 by the last Labour Government, saw far too little progress and has still not been built, leaving my constituents facing growing traffic chaos. The current crossing continually operates over capacity, struggling every day with 50,000 more vehicles than it was designed for. Yet, as far as Dartford residents can see, nothing has been done to make their lives better.

It is instructive that some hon. Members present believe that the £22 billion black hole in the public finances that we identified on assuming office is an underestimate of the problem faced by our new Government. I urge Opposition Members to honestly consider whether they can defend the record of the last Government: a decade of growing NHS waiting lists—even before the pandemic—and stagnating living standards. The last Government never saw a crisis that they could not make worse. The asylum system was broken, but they passed a law that stopped the processing of applications, leaving thousands in permanent limbo, with only a vague hope that the £700 million Rwanda scheme would fix anything.

If we are talking about broken promises, the last Government pledged many times to bring NHS waiting lists down and instead they grew and grew, with no resolution to the strikes that were making them worse. The last Government set a target of 300,000 new homes a year and yet, in a desperate attempt to appease their Back Benchers, they made changes to the national planning guidance that led to the supply of homes falling through the floor. Is it any wonder that people have doubts about the ability of any Government, or the ability of us as elected Members, to deliver positive change for their lives?

Yet, like other hon. Members who have spoken in this debate, I remain hopeful. Yes, democracy can seem slow and change can seem incremental, but I have faith in this Government to deliver the change our country needs and to prove that people’s votes at the ballot box can lead to better lives across our country.

We set out our plans in our manifesto, which was intended to be for the full length of this Parliament—let us not forget that—and we have recently announced, in our Plan for Change, that we will make changes for this country. Unlike the last Government, we will build the homes that families across this country so desperately need. In Ebbsfleet, in my constituency, a further 10,000 homes are planned over the next decade.

We will get the NHS back on its feet—today’s announcements were enormously encouraging—so that those neighbourhoods most in need will see a reduction in waiting lists, so that we see a health service that has the capacity to support all our residents, and so that in my constituency of Dartford, our Darent Valley hospital will have the capacity it needs to treat my constituents. I believe that we will build the infrastructure that our country needs for the 21st century, and I hope that in this new year the lower Thames crossing will also get the go ahead, and that we will also see investment in home-grown clean energy that will bring with it jobs for the future.

At the end of this Parliament we will be rightly judged as to whether we have delivered on our manifesto, improved lives and set the foundation of our future prosperity. That will be the time for electors in Dartford, and across the country, to make their choice of a future Government, not now.

G20 and COP29 Summits

Jim Dickson Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to applaud anybody who is taking on the fight against hate crime in all its forms. I think one of the sad features of the last few years has been the rise in hate crime in all its forms. I think all of us have a responsibility—a duty—to do everything we can to reduce hate crime, so I am very happy to applaud anybody involved in that, including in the hon. Member’s constituency.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

I associate myself with the tributes to Lord Prescott, and send my condolences to his family.

I very warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, particularly on COP. As Members across this House have acknowledged, it is great to see the UK showing international leadership on action to combat climate change once more. Given this Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, can the Prime Minister tell us how Great British Energy will result in lower fuel bills for my residents in Dartford, Ebbsfleet, Swanscombe and Greenhithe, as well as for those across the country?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. Great British Energy, which will be publicly owned, will drive forward on renewables, towards clean power in 2030. We have to make up time, because of the slowness of the Conservative party, but we are determined to do so. This will be measured in energy independence—so that Putin’s boot will not be on our throat, as it was in recent years—in the jobs of the future, and in lowering energy bills.

Income tax (charge)

Jim Dickson Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to rise as Dartford’s first Labour MP for 14 years to welcome the first Labour Budget for 15 years. But before I do so, I pay tribute to those who have made their maiden speeches this afternoon; they have been inspiring and personal, and Members have talked about their journeys and lovingly about their constituencies. I thank Members for those, and congratulations on them.

Dartmouth, like much of the country, is at a crossroads after more than a decade of Conservative failure, with our economy stagnating and our public services broken and unable to be the safety net that my constituents need. Labour Members were elected on a promise of change, and yesterday’s Budget delivers that with a hugely welcome focus on investment to get our economy moving, setting the foundations for growth and beginning to fix our schools, our hospitals and our broken roads.

It is astonishing to hear Conservative Member after Conservative Member say how they wish to see public services improved in their constituency, without willing any means to pay for it. The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), for example, seems to want European levels of public service on American levels of taxation. That is not possible, but this Government are achieving European-level public services supported by European-level taxation, borne by those with the broadest shoulders.

The Chancellor is absolutely right that we must grow our economy. Nowhere is this truer than in the Thames estuary, which has the potential to be one of the UK’s engines of growth, with 1.3 million new jobs, 1 million new homes and £190 billion-worth of additional value added by 2050.

In this Parliament, I hope to work with MPs on both sides of the House and from across the estuary region, as well as with Ministers, to make real progress. Work is already under way on establishing an all-party parliamentary group on the Thames estuary, which will work with Ministers on the fair growth agenda set out by the Government-sponsored Thames Estuary growth board.

For the small number of people who have followed my short parliamentary career to date, it will come as no surprise to learn that I believe that a key shovel-ready piece of infrastructure, the lower Thames crossing, will be crucial to our investment in the estuary. Currently, we have only one road crossing of the Thames east of London, at Dartford—a single point of failure that can not only block crucial freight movement across the country but make the lives of Dartford residents a misery due to the gridlock. This project could start very quickly, with the planning process already undertaken and a delivery team already in place. In short order, it would create jobs across the local area and help us to unlock the largest bottleneck in the UK. I look forward to working with the Chancellor and her colleagues across Government to secure the necessary finance to get this project started.

Dartford is lucky to have a district general hospital at Darent Valley, where the staff work with dedication every day to support our local population. However, after 14 years of Conservative government, waiting lists are far too high and the accident and emergency unit lacks the capacity to see people quickly. The latest figures indicate that more than 26,000 residents are awaiting treatment, with more than a third waiting longer than 18 weeks. The Chancellor’s announcement of £25 billion over two years for the NHS, to cut waiting times through extra elective appointments and additional capacity, should help to bring down these waiting lists.

The recent Darzi report on the NHS highlighted the need to be far more creative in how we keep people healthy over the long term by building prevention into the system. I hope that Ministers will recognise the opportunities for people to get involved in community activities that help them to lead more active, healthy lives, as emphasised in this Budget. There is more work to do on tackling health inequalities, as these opportunities are not evenly spread across the country.

On the subject of prevention, I particularly welcome the proposal to review the sugar tax, and to consider its extension to milk-based drinks. I would like to see this consideration extended to other products, including foods that are high in salt, fat and sugar. An obese nation cannot be a healthy nation.

I finish by touching on an area of personal importance to me. Six years ago, my mother was diagnosed with dementia after her memory began to fail. I am proud that, thanks to the NHS, she has received high-quality care and continues to lead a high quality of life. As a former local government cabinet member for health, working across NHS and council boundaries, I know that is very often not the case. We can make life better for those who, like my mother, are diagnosed with dementia by ensuring early and accurate diagnosis, so the condition can be better managed, with the right treatments, and those who have been diagnosed and their families can prepare for the care they need. I hope Ministers will use the extra investment to look at how we can make that happen within the NHS.

Dartford residents will welcome two other sets of critical measures in the Chancellor’s speech. Like colleagues from across the House, I know from my many conversations with parents of children with special educational needs how inadequate and broken the provision is, across the UK and in Kent. On top of the significant increases for schools and further education, the new £1 billion announced yesterday will add resources to the review of SEND announced by the Secretary of State for Education.

I also welcome the steps the Chancellor has taken to tackle crime and to make people feel safer on our streets. Across the country, our sense of security has been eroded, with levels of antisocial behaviour and shoplifting that are far too high. This Budget will put us on the road to delivering our manifesto pledge to boost visible neighbourhood policing, with 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and police community support officers.

As other hon. Members have said, for too long we have tolerated high levels of shoplifting in our town centres. Thanks to the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting introduced by the previous Government, retailers and staff live in fear of the individuals and organised gangs that target them. The additional funding to tackle that and provide more training to our police officers and retailers will help stop shoplifting in its tracks.

It is clear that the problems we have inherited from the previous Government are substantial, but the Budget has laid the foundations for us to begin to tackle them. Steps to boost public investment, cut NHS waiting lists and fix our schools will be warmly welcomed by Dartford residents, and show that the new Labour Government are on the path to delivering the change our country voted for.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Dickson Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue. We are all grateful to our veterans for their service in protecting our country. I understand the value of the Veterans’ Orthopaedic Service and the support it provides for veterans. We are committed to ensuring that veterans receive the employment, mental health and housing support they need. The upcoming Budget will set out the changes we will be making.

[Jim Dickson (Dartford) (Lab)]

Q7. After 14 years of failure by the last Government to renew and grow the UK’s infrastructure, does the Prime Minister agree that additional investment is needed to kick-start economic growth, and that—[Interruption.] This is the important bit. Does the Prime Minister agree that investing in a new lower Thames crossing to relieve Dartford residents from the gridlock caused by overcapacity at the Dartford crossing, thereby boosting the north Kent and UK economies by £40 billion, would be an excellent starting project?

[The Prime Minister]

I am really pleased that, under this Government, Britain has already secured £63 billion-worth of investment, which will be measured in tens of thousands of jobs. Our No. 1 mission is growth, and my hon. Friend will be hearing a lot more about that in a few minutes’ time.