Representation of the People Bill

Debate between Joe Morris and Chris Vince

Report stage & 3rd reading
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

I thank the Government for, in particular, the proposals on 16 and 17-year-olds. I spent my summer conducting about 80 events across my constituency, meeting some of my youngest—and some of my oldest—constituents, and regularly hosting work experience students in my office and sixth-form surgeries at the schools in my constituency, and I have generally found more political maturity and wisdom in sixth forms than in the Northumberland county council Conservative group.

[Chris Vince]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, which enables me to welcome my two work experience students, Maja and Stacey, to the Gallery. I am sure they are enjoying his speech.

[Joe Morris]

I am very glad to have set up my hon. Friend for that.

I want to speak about money in politics, particularly with reference to new clause 17, tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration. It has been clear to me, not just over the summer but when I have spoken to voters since my election and beforehand, that the influence of money on politics is increasing. That is undermining faith in our democracy; it is an assault by algorithms on our democracy itself. The figures that were chucked around historically now seem relatively parochial. What we are seeing is a complete and utter oligarchic takeover of our voting system by those with the very deepest pockets. I hope that when she winds up the debate, the Minister will explain what more can be done and how the Government will work constructively, as the Bill progresses through the other place, to tighten the safeguards that are already in it. I sense the amount of disquiet in my inbox from people who think that more must be done in the Bill to guard against the influence of money in our democracy, and particularly to guard against the role of the international social media platform owners who are poisoning the very lifeblood of democracy. Indeed, we all read the conspiratorial narratives that often appear in our inboxes.

I know that new clause 31 is not in scope, so I will not major on it. Suffice it to say that it is the people who are losing faith with politics who feel the most disenfranchised, and we owe it to them to have a national conversation about how we can reform our voting. Let me end by pleading again with the Minister to provide more clarity on the pace of tackling the influence of money in politics and by again welcoming the Prime Minister’s commitment to electoral reform.

Farming and Inheritance Tax

Debate between Joe Morris and Chris Vince

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Joe Morris]

The hon. Member is welcome to come and take a look at my diary at some point. On the Saturday after the Budget, I went to a farm. On the second Saturday after the Budget, I went to a farm. I then met with NFU members at my office in London. Believe me: Labour Members work their constituencies a lot harder than Tory Members.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I hope that my hon. Friend sees me as a fellow Labour MP who works his constituency hard and speaks to residents. Farmers tell me that they are concerned about rural crime. We can all agree that something that DEFRA has got right under the Labour Government is tackling rural crime, and the rural crime strategy in particular. Do farmers speak to him about that, as they do to me?