Coalfield Communities

Jo Platt Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)]

First, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) on securing the debate. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) for all the hard work he does for our coalfield communities.

My now older children groan whenever I mention the industrial revolution. They grew up hearing about it, because I always thought it was very important for them to understand their place. I could not think of a better place to raise them than the constituency of Leigh and Atherton. Its rich history is rooted in coalmining and textile manufacturing. That is probably one of the reasons why, between the times when I have been elected, I stayed in Leigh and regenerated one of our redbrick giants, Leigh Spinners Mill, to create a space for businesses and enterprises to thrive. If we are talking about regeneration, preserving historical structures is vital. They form part of our identify and help us to maintain a connection with the past.

However, there is no denying the impact of decline and the loss of industry on our towns. Industries have not been replaced, and communities are still grappling with the consequences. Our high streets, once bustling, are now burdened with vacant, decaying buildings with absentee landlords. Our road networks, originally designed around our factories and mills, struggle under the weight of increasing traffic and congestion.

As the chair of the Labour MPs group on local growth funding, I work alongside colleagues from across England, Scotland and Wales, many of whom represent some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country. We are firmly committed to supporting the Government’s plans to reform local growth funding, especially after the failure of the previous Government’s policy. The Labour MPs group, in collaboration with the Industrial Communities Alliance, presented an ambition statement, which outlined key proposals for the upcoming spending review. Among the proposals is a call for funding allocation formulas that more accurately reflect the true needs of our communities, and a call for greater devolution of power to local leaders. After all, we have already made significant strides with our Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and the long-awaited bus reforms.

The proposals are relevant not just to former coalfield areas like mine; they speak to all disadvantaged parts of our nation. Funding must be allocated fairly and based on need, not through a competitive bidding process that disproportionately benefits already affluent areas. Local growth funding must have one clear and overarching focus: economic development, regeneration and connectivity. I am under no illusion that a large financial institution will rock up to Leigh and create thousands of jobs—that is not going to happen—so how do we focus on connecting to areas where growth is happening, and how can we better support the businesses that we already have in our towns?

I am fully committed to the Government’s growth strategy, and am grateful that we now have a Government who are bold in their ambition to get this country working again. The Government have a unique opportunity to correct past injustices, invest in our future and build prosperous new industrial areas.