Easter Adjournment

Jon Pearce Excerpts

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jon Pearce (High Peak) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to speak in the Easter Adjournment debate. The matter that I would like to raise before we adjourn is the importance of the devolution and local government reform being spearheaded by the Government.

Labour’s plan to simplify structures, cut duplication, reduce waste and slash costs, while giving local leaders the tools they need to deliver growth for their areas, raising living standards in every part of the country in a way that is directly accountable to residents, is welcome and long overdue. To understand why devolution and reorganisation are desperately needed, we need look no further than Conservative-led Derbyshire county council. Almost every step of the way, that council has failed to deliver for my residents in High Peak.

Derbyshire Conservatives have all but taken the council to bankruptcy. On their watch, Derbyshire has the ignominy of having been dubbed the pothole capital of the UK by the RAC. Children with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, have been shamefully let down. Derbyshire county council’s damning Ofsted report found widespread and systemic failings. Older people in our communities have been left distraught by plans to close our care homes and day care centres. Indeed, Queens Court day centre in Buxton was closed last week with no notice.

With such a record, it is no wonder that, in the immediate aftermath of the Government’s announcement for local government reform, the Derbyshire Conservatives tried to cancel the local elections and put in a proposal for a council covering the whole of Derbyshire and its 800,000 residents. I am glad that the proposal was rejected by the Government, and that the council’s plans to cancel the local elections in May were refused. Derbyshire Conservatives can run from the voters, but they cannot hide.

I say that High Peak is unique because it sits in the middle of three regions with huge economic potential, but rather than being an asset to our area, that position means that we have all too often been overlooked. The call from the Government to reorganise should have been met with creative thinking, through the lens of what is best for our area. I have listened to students in Glossop who go to college in Greater Manchester, and their families; to commuters in New Mills who want better transport links; to older people in Buxton whose Derbyshire identity is what matters most to them; and to the people in Hope valley who look to Sheffield for jobs and healthcare.

I am backing Labour-led High Peak borough council’s plan for a north Derbyshire unitary authority, and the plan of East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward for a peak partnership that brings together the combined authorities of Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, which is in the interests of High Peak. I hope that, as both proposals are developed over the coming months, they will help us to address the unique, varied and economic public service needs of all our communities, including the Hope valley line, Snake pass, the extension of the Bee network, and better and fairer access to Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire hospitals and further education.

In the proposals for a north Derbyshire unitary authority and for the peak partnership of three Labour mayors, we have the building blocks to make life better for the residents of High Peak, with more integrated transport, jobs and investment, and improved access to healthcare and education. The crux of that reorganisation speaks to the heart of the Government’s mission to drive economic growth and deliver opportunities for all.