Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the plan for jobs in supporting people into work.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Simon Clarke)]

The success of our plan for jobs is playing a key role in growing the economy and spreading opportunity across the country. The Government protected 11.7 million jobs in the pandemic through schemes such as furlough, and of course we moved millions of jobseekers into work and supported young people through programmes such as kickstart and our apprenticeships offer.

[Lee Anderson]

Businesses in Ashfield are telling me that they are struggling to recruit young apprentices, even though they are offering top wages and education up to degree level. I am doing my bit by hosting an apprenticeships fair, but what more can the Government do to ensure that the young people in my area know that there are great, well-paid apprenticeship schemes available, so that they can have a fantastic career on their doorstep—and maybe a career in catering?

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that it is an important message, which this whole House should send out, that apprenticeships really matter, that going to university is not the only way to succeed, and that people can earn and learn at the same time on our great apprenticeship courses. I believe my right hon. Friend the Chancellor visited Caunton Engineering in my hon. Friend’s constituency to promote apprenticeships, and of course I wish his apprenticeships fair every success.

Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Appointment

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Monday 7th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I do not know what the hon. Member means. What I do know is that the Government are delivering on our manifesto promises, as I said. He must recognise that there will be increased transparency and accountability because an elected Member of Parliament answerable to this House will be chief of staff at No. 10.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

We are making changes at No. 10, and still that lot over there on the Opposition Benches keep moaning and whining. Does the Minister agree that if they want to have a say in who works at No. 10, they should do something they have not done in 20 years—win a general election?

[Michael Ellis]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right.

Household Energy Bills: VAT

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

Now then, if Labour Members really wanted to help the poorest people in society, they would not come to this House with a motion to cut somebody’s bill by £61 a year. There were Labour MPs drinking in the Terrace bar last night who spent more than that on a round of drinks.

Do I want VAT removed from our energy bills? Of course I do. Everybody does. That is why last week I signed a letter to the Chancellor, asking him to cut the VAT on bills. I also want the removal of levies on domestic energy, which are nearly a quarter of an electricity bill. That sort of saving is a real saving, which would make a real difference to the people in Ashfield and Eastwood, but of course there is not much of an appetite for that in this place as we strive to be net zero in record time.

No one disagrees with what we are trying to do to save the planet, but a lot of us are sat here on over 80 grand a year—and some people have second jobs—and we are telling poor people that they must pay more to heat their homes. Frankly, when it comes to heating homes, people do not care where their gas or electricity comes from, in the same way as they do not care where their petrol or diesel comes from when they go to fill up their cars. All people want is to be able to afford their bills—that is all.

Labour Members are trying to play politics with people’s lives so that they can get a cheap social media clip saying, “The nasty Tories are voting against a cut in VAT.” They rely on the great British public not knowing how the process works in this place. It is a pitiful way of conducting themselves.

Let us be honest, this is not a vote to help poorer people pay their bills. It is a vote to take over the Order Paper so the Opposition can return us to the disastrous days of a few years ago that almost cancelled Brexit. There is no doubt that people are struggling and the cost of living is increasing with the increase in fuel prices, but who is to blame for that increase? We cannot just blame the pandemic, as we are all to blame. Successive Governments have never taken this seriously. We closed all our pits and we do not produce gas like we used to. Both Conservative and Labour Governments, let us be honest, have ignored this for years.

I see Labour Members shaking their heads, but they are not really interested in helping people in places like Ashfield, which has been ignored for decades. Ashfield has had no investment at all, but so far under this Government we have had £70 million, two new schools coming and hopefully a new railway line. We have millions of pounds coming to Ashfield, and what is Labour’s answer to levelling up Ashfield? A saving of £1 a week on energy bills. That is absolutely disgraceful, and Labour Members should hang their head in shame.

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[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I struggle to believe what we are seeing from the Labour party today: a party that has repeatedly opposed Brexit and did everything it could to try to stop us leaving the EU is now proposing something that would have been impossible had we remained in the EU. We see right through these underhand attempts by the Labour party to subvert democracy and take over control of Government time. The reality is that, yes, our constituents across the country are feeling the pressures of inflation and increased energy costs, but this is not just a UK issue; this is an issue faced by the global economy as we emerge from the pandemic, as well as a result of the actions of adversaries, including Putin’s Russia, which are ramping up global energy costs in an attempt to prop up their own domestic failings

The challenges of the cost of living faced by my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent South are nothing new. For decades the neglect of our city by the Labour party has seen wage levels remain far below the national average. It is only now that we are starting to see things change, with wage levels increasing with a resurgent Stoke-on-Trent economy.

[Lee Anderson]

My hon. Friend is talking about the deprivation and years of neglect in his own patch in Stoke; does he agree that that pattern was repeated all over the country in the north and the midlands and that we are finally putting it right?

[Jack Brereton]

I absolutely agree. We are seeing that right across the north and the midlands, in towns and cities that were neglected for decades by the Labour party, including Stoke-on-Trent, and which are now growing faster than most other UK cities. According to Office for National Statistics figures, in the last decade the average weekly pay in Stoke-on-Trent has risen by more than £125 a week. That is due to the policies of the Conservative Government: increasing the national living wage, cutting tax for the lowest income families and freezing fuel duty repeatedly. That is the only way we are going to get out of this cost of living and energy price crisis: continuing to see people’s wages rise and ensuring people take home more.

Government can put off the inevitable cost increases, but for how long? What is being proposed today would only delay them, as this is a global trend of increased energy costs that shows little sign of reversing. This measure would also not focus enough on those who need help the most, and given that cost increases are not just being seen in electricity and gas prices we must take broader action to ensure that people are able to earn more and are better able to cope with the pressures of increased costs of living. The only way this is achieved is through helping people to increase skills levels and take on better job opportunities, and getting more people back into meaningful work through schemes such as kickstart and the lifetime skills guarantee that this Government are focused on delivering.

After decades of decline under Labour, Stoke-on-Trent is a city with renewed confidence, and not only have we seen wages go up, but we have seen record numbers of people in work. The number of jobs available in the city over the last decade has increased by around 17,000 and the number of workless households has almost halved, such was the legacy of a Labour party that condemned people to a lifetime of worklessness and benefits, with hopes and dreams lost. We as Conservatives are determined to reverse that by delivering on the Government’s levelling-up agenda and rebalancing opportunities for our whole country, which has recently seen us secure £56 million for Stoke-on-Trent from the levelling-up fund. It is through these actions that we will see people rising out of poverty and address the cost of living challenges we face.

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[Ben Bradley (Mansfield) (Con)]

The debate on the cost of living and energy bills is obviously very important and pertinent, and I hope and trust that it is going on in the corridors of this place all the time, because it is a matter of huge importance to my constituents.

It is clear that cutting VAT on energy bills is one option to consider. The last I understood, I think it was the Prime Minister who said last week that it was under active consideration. There is obviously a decision to make on how targeted and effective that support might be. Clearly, such a measure would reduce energy costs, but it would mean spending taxpayers’ money on cutting energy bills for a lot of people who are not struggling and do not need that support. Indeed, it would be a tax cut for all of us in this room, despite the salaries that we are paid.

We have a duty in this place to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent in an effective way and where it is most needed, so it is understandable and right that the Government will want to consider a whole range of measures to ensure that they come to the most effective conclusion both in targeting that support and for cost-effectiveness for the taxpayer. There are other options, including some of the green levies on bills, which have been discussed already, that make up a higher proportion of many energy bills than VAT. While it is true that the long-term answer may be investment in sustainable energy production, in the short term it makes bills more expensive. Reports from the TaxPayers Alliance in recent weeks suggest that the burden of those green taxes is likely to rise by as much as 40% in the coming years, and that will have an impact on the cost of living.

[Lee Anderson]

My hon. Friend is most generous with his time. We talk about the green levies, which affect poorer people the most in society, and we talk about cutting VAT, which will benefit the most wealthy in society, such as people in this place earning £80,000 a year. Does he think that that is unfair?

[Ben Bradley]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and he is absolutely right to say that many of our constituents who are ably described by Opposition Members as struggling to pay their bills would I am sure prioritise paying those bills and putting food on the table, rather than paying green levies on their energy bills for some future that they may or may not see. We know that that may be a short-term solution, but this is a short-term problem that we need to tackle now, and those levies are not helping people put food on the table tomorrow and to pay their bills tomorrow. We do need to think more about this than just to chuck an answer out there that may seem all right on social media, but actually relates to something in the region of about £1 or £1.10 a week for such constituents. It is certainly not the answer.

It is clear that there is an awful lot of work to be done, but there is already a lot of work being done to support people in need. We have had the list already from Conservative colleagues. There are warm home discounts, winter fuel payments, cold weather payments, winter support grants—it goes on and on—so let us not pretend that the Government are not acting on this. We know that these are tough times for a lot of people, but through covid, uncertainty, inflation and rising costs, the Government have acted, and they will act further and will help.

That debate is a legitimate and important one, but this is not that debate. The bit of the motion that may pass many of my constituents by—on the surface it is dry, internal administrative stuff, but it is actually really important to recognise this—is that it does not just ask the Government to tackle the cost of energy bills, but seeks to take us back to a time in the midst of Brexit negotiations when the Government lost the ability to control the business of the House through such a motion. The chaos that surrounded that whole scenario, with the damage that that process caused at the time to our Brexit negotiations and the illegitimacy of the premise that elected Governments should no longer decide what laws they introduce, was of absolutely no help to anybody. In fact, it made a mockery of this House and its procedures, and undermined both the democratic outcome of the referendum and the democratic outcome of the preceding general election, because it is of course Governments who are elected to make laws, not the Opposition.

This Opposition day debate does not just ask the Government to remove VAT; it asks the Government to give up control of the legislative agenda. It means we would just forget the measured consideration of which of the measures I described earlier might have the best impact and value, and instead allow the Opposition to set the agenda and timetable, and to legislate. That is not how Parliament works and it is not how democracy works. We have been there and tried that, and it was wrong at the time and it is wrong now. Sadly, the Opposition have turned what is otherwise a reasonable debate into something wholly unacceptable. If Labour Members’ answer to the rising cost of living is to knock a quid a week off energy bills and tell people it is a silver bullet, I think they need to go away and think harder, as the Government are doing, about how we genuinely support people in need.

Conduct of the Right Hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I will come on to the “Ministerial Code” because it is, sadly, highly relevant to this debate given the appalling way in which it has been treated by the Conservative Government. Indeed, the overall Conservative attitude, that rules simply do not apply to this Prime Minister or his Government, is genuinely dragging our politics through the gutter. I see that the motion references the sixth principle of public life—honesty—but I would have referenced the other principles too: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness and leadership. On those principles, the current Prime Minister is, unfortunately, falling short, the Conservative Government are failing to get a grip, and working people are paying the price.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

The hon. Lady talks about honesty and integrity. Could she please confirm how many Labour MPs have ended up in the nick over the past 10 years?

[Anneliese Dodds]

The major difference between my party and the hon. Member’s is that wherever we in the Labour party see rules being broken and inappropriate action, we act against it. We do not try to change the rules and stitch up the system for our friends—that is the major difference.

In my reading before this debate, I came across quite a curious piece that I am sure many Government Members will have seen: the Prime Minister’s foreword to the “Ministerial Code”. It commits the Government to upholding—I am not making this up—

“the very highest standards of propriety”.

The principles of public life are lauded as “precious” things that

“must be honoured at all times”—

that, from a Prime Minister who tried to rip up the standards system to save one of his friends who was found to have engaged in an egregious case of paid advocacy by the Committee on Standards.

The foreword also states that there should be “no bullying”—that, from a Prime Minister who refused to sack his Home Secretary after an independent adviser on standards found that she had broken the ministerial code because her approach to staff had

“on occasions... amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying”.

The foreword states that there should be “no harassment” —that, from a Prime Minister who imposed a three-line Whip to keep one of his MPs in Parliament after he was found by an independent panel to have sexually harassed a member of staff.

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[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

On this happy St Andrew’s Day I have had haggis, Irn-Bru and an SNP debate; I can recommend two out of the three any time of day.

Since arriving here in Parliament in 2019 it has always struck me that the SNP is just a one-trick pony, ignoring its own failings on health, education and the economy to put its own selfish case forward for independence. But it is losing the argument—we know that by the poll results—so SNP Members have adopted a new tactic: to besmirch the good name of our great Prime Minister. Maybe they should tell us where the missing £600,000 is and explain why senior members of their party stood down from its national executive committee earlier this year. Their own MPs are asking difficult questions yet the leadership remains silent. Maybe they should apologise to the people of Scotland for the state of their education system, which is failing thousands of Scottish children while they bang on about leaving the Union and rejoining the European Union. Maybe they should explain to the people of Scotland why, despite being in power for 13 years, they have the worst health statistics in the world. Frankly, they should be ashamed of themselves, instead of wasting parliamentary time on a pointless debate that will achieve nothing, and they should explain why after 13 years in power Scotland is going backwards.

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[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I am sure the hon. Lady will understand that I am not responsible for what the hon. Gentleman says. I am sure—[Interruption.] Order. I am sure that if he feels he has said anything that is incorrect, he will want to correct the record.

[Lee Anderson]

I might make a slight correction here: perhaps I should have referred to the drug deaths, which are the worst in the western world.

What we need to chat about is the Westminster leader of the SNP, the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), who has been very quiet about the £270,00 he has rinsed from outside earnings since he was elected to Westminster in 2015. It would take the average worker in Scotland 11 years to earn that much money yet he stands over there every single Wednesday talking about poverty when his greedy snout is firmly in the trough; and remember this is on top—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

No, no: it was made very clear at the beginning of this debate that we were not going to insult each other. The motion is about the conduct of the Prime Minister so perhaps we can take the temperature down a little.

[Lee Anderson]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am just trying to create an argument and my closing comments will back up what I am saying now.

The right hon. Gentleman has not even apologised for the drunken loutish behaviour of his own MPs who during a trip to Gibraltar just a few weeks ago were spotted staggering around—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman must resume his seat. He is straying a long way from the motion. He is also referring to certain Members; I do not know whether they are here or not, but he should have notified them if he was going to refer to them. I suggest he resumes his speech and bears in mind the points I have made, because I would hate to think the public were looking at us and thinking that this has just become a slanging match.

[Lee Anderson]

rose—

[Owen Thompson]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Member is making clearly erroneous accusations against Members that are simply not true; I ask for your guidance on how the Member can remove those comments and correct the record.

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[Lee Anderson]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am going to apologise to the SNP, and we can clear this up straightaway. I apologise about the Gibraltar comments. I have spoken to some of my constituents who would like to see some of the MPs breathalysed next time they get off an aeroplane in Gibraltar. That will clear it up straightaway.

Now, all this nonsense from the SNP is in sharp contrast to our Prime Minister, who has got Brexit done by leaving the EU, delivered a £36 billion package to sort out the national health service and social care, delivered the fastest vaccination—

[Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend not think it was a bit rich for the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows) to start talking about public spending in constituencies served by Conservative Members when we have some of the poorest constituencies in the country voting Conservative these days because the working people trust this Prime Minister?

[Lee Anderson]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his sensible intervention. I only have to look at my constituency, Ashfield, one of the poorest in the country, and at neighbouring Bolsover, Don Valley and Rother Valley—all those places have had millions of pounds of investment. The Prime Minister has also launched our plan for jobs, helping people get back into work. We are cutting taxes, we are boosting wages—we are helping working families.

I am going to stop picking on the SNP, because I want to talk about the massed ranks of the Labour party. I am struggling to see them at the moment. Despite pretending to be bothered, they could not be bothered to turn up today. They seem to think that there is a war raging in France at the moment and that it is acceptable for thousands of illegal migrants to cross our channel every single day. They really need to get a grip.

Another sign that the Labour party has lost the plot is that it wants to replace our armed forces with “human security services”—a shift from the classic armed forces to a gender balanced, ethnically diverse human security services tasked with dampening down violence. Imagine that, Madam Deputy Speaker: a peace-loving British tank—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. This is a motion about the Government. I am afraid the hon. Gentleman needs to bring his remarks to a close. I want him to resume his seat. I call Wendy Chamberlain.

Ministerial Code/Register of Ministers’ Interests

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

The National Audit Office found no evidence that Ministers were involved in any decisions around emergency PPE procurement—or in the procurement of ear pods at £250. Does my right hon. Friend agree that if the Labour party had spent more time helping us fight the virus rather than banging on about wallpaper and the procurement of PPE, it could have gained back some trust from the British public?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. It is perfectly legitimate for any Member of this House to raise issues around how we hold people to account and how we scrutinise things, but he has characterised how this is being presented, and he will know from his constituents that the public take a dim view of it.

Government's Management of the Economy

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con) [V]]

Another Opposition day debate, and another chance to remind the Labour party exactly why it is in opposition. The British people do not trust them on the economy. They do not trust them on the NHS, immigration, defence, Brexit and law and order, and the last four general elections have proved that.

We have an incredible record since 2010, with record employment before covid, the national minimum wage reaching new highs, and income tax payers £1,200 a year better off. There are fewer children in workless households and fewer families in poverty. The list goes on and on.

Locally, for residents in Ashfield and Eastwood, it gets better. Since being elected, I have managed to secure £6.2 million through the future high streets fund and another £1.5 million from the accelerated towns fund. We now have funding to get us through to the second round of the Restoring Your Railway fund, which could see train passenger services return to Selston for the first time since the 1960s. On top of that, I am currently working on a multimillion pound bid with Broxtowe Borough Council to ensure that the forgotten town of Eastwood finally gets its fair share of investment.

That is in sharp contrast to Labour’s record in Ashfield, and I will tell the House why. In 2005, King’s Mill Hospital in Ashfield was given away by the then Labour Government on a disastrous PFI deal. The hospital was rebuilt and should have cost about £300 million, but thanks to the financial incompetence of the Labour Government, the PFI now costs £1 million a week and the total cost of the hospital could be £2.5 billion. You do not need a degree in hindsight to know that was a bad deal from the start, but if the shadow Chancellor can guarantee that Labour’s British recovery bonds will provide a £2.5 billion return on a £300 million investment, let me know, as I am sure my residents will snap them up.

Labour’s incompetence is staggering, and I half-expect to see the shadow Chancellor and other shadow Front Benchers go to market one day and return with five magic beans, because their economic policies are like fairy tales. They make great bedtime reading for anyone under five, but no one else believes them.

Three years ago, while still a Labour councillor, I was asked in a Labour group meeting if I had read up on the economics of Karl Marx. I said, “No.” I was then told to join the Tory party. I took their advice, and now I am their MP. That’ll teach them.

Finally, socialism is a nice idea, but it is just like Labour’s Front Bench: it has never worked, it never will, and no one takes it seriously.

UK-EU Future Relationship Negotiations and Transition Period

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I can give the hon. Member those assurances. Sometimes, people say that we should not be holding out on these issues, that this is a small contributor to the economy or that it has got some kind of talismanic status because of what went before many years ago, when we first went into the EC. It is not because of those things. This is an incredibly important part of the economy, but also of our communities and our identity as the United Kingdom, and we will not compromise on that. We are a sovereign nation, and these are our waters. We have plans for a resurgence of these industries, and he has my assurances that the Prime Minister will not compromise.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

Exactly a year ago today, I was banging on doors in Ashfield telling people we were going to get Brexit done, and we are getting Brexit done, but there has been some speculation over the past few days regarding Brexit negotiations, which has led to a number of Ashfield residents contacting me with their concerns. Could my right hon. Friend please assure the residents of Ashfield and Eastwood that we will regain control over our borders, laws and fisheries, and our economic and political independence will be restored?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I hope that if the EU negotiating team have not heard the resolve of Members on these Benches this afternoon, they will have heard the resolve of my hon. Friend’s constituents. It is absolutely right that this has been confirmed not just in a referendum, but in a general election, giving a very clear mandate about what the British people expect us to deliver on. As we enter the final stages of these negotiations, I hope that is well understood by the other negotiating team, and the sooner they come to terms with that and the Prime Minister’s resolve, the sooner we will be able to get a deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jesse Norman]

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

[Steve Barclay]

The Economy

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

There is support in place for local authorities, through the NHS, for any response in areas of tightened restrictions, whether for community information or enhanced testing. Recently, we outlined a self-isolation incentive payment of up to £500 and a business grant support scheme for businesses that have been ordered to close. The Government remain committed to levelling up in every part of our country, as outlined in our ambitious plans to invest in infrastructure in every part of our country.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

The eat out to help out scheme was a massive success in Ashfield, with 53,000 meals served. The scheme saved thousands of jobs and kept hundreds of businesses open. However, my wife is not happy with the Chancellor, because I put a stone on in weight in August, which meant I needed bigger clothes. Jono Edwards, who owns the world-famous Junction Bar & Restaurant, is very happy with the Chancellor. Jono tells me that without the Chancellor’s support his bar would have closed and his staff, who are like a family to him, would have lost their jobs. May I pass on my thanks to the Chancellor from every single pub and hospitality business in Ashfield for extending the 5% VAT cut until next March? Jono Edwards, Dame Margo and Donna at the Junction pub will be very happy with this great news.

[Rishi Sunak]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I am glad that our initiatives have made such a difference on the ground to people in his constituency in protecting jobs, as I am sure they have elsewhere. I very much hope that I can come to visit him and Jono and his team at the Junction pub in the near future, and I wish them every support through the next few months. I hope that the measures we have put in place today will ensure that they continue to thrive in the future.

Covid-19: Future UK-EU Relationship

Lee Anderson Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

First, I reassure the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) that I will not mention the “Kama Sutra”, so no upset caused there. [Interruption.] Oh, sorry—I just did.

I welcome the Minister’s comments about the importance of sticking to the deadline and our promise to the British people. The Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, of which I am a member, received evidence relating to the effect of covid-19 on the negotiations. The negotiations are progressing and intensifying, but no amount of extra time will resolve the sticking points. The European Union is refusing to follow its own precedent and incorporate terms that it has accepted in other trade deals. The Select Committee’s report spoke of the possibility that covid-19

“may focus minds on arriving at a timely deal.”

I hope that causes the EU to recognise that its position is unreasonable and accept its need to compromise.

The report also highlighted the importance of giving certainty to business. The SNP’s motion would only give way to months more of uncertainty. It is reckless and acts as a thin veil for the party’s desire to cancel the decision taken by the United Kingdom in 2016.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that four years is enough time to have negotiated a deal with the EU?

[Mark Eastwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that really important point. We have moved on now, and there is no more time for dither and delay. We need to move on.

It is hardly surprising that the SNP called this debate, given its form for disregarding referendum results. Fifty-seven per cent. of the people of Dewsbury, Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale voted to leave the European Union. I was proud to campaign for a truly global Britain to take back control from Brussels and reclaim our independent trade policy. During the last general election, the spectre of the Brexit party risked splitting the leave vote and allowing the Labour party to hold the seat. Imagine my relief when my Labour opponents, in their infinite wisdom, published election leaflets branding me as the Prime Minister’s chum and a no-deal Brexiteer. I would like to thank the Labour party for its gleaming endorsement, without which I probably would not be standing here today. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The fact that the Labour party thought those leaflets would hinder my chances rather than endear me to the electorate just shows how out of touch it is.

I echo my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Jacob Young) in asking where Labour Members are today. Where are they? Looking at the sparse Labour Benches, there is little sign that anything has changed. It is deeply worrying that the Opposition could muster only one Back-Bench Member to speak in this debate—[Interruption.] And I am not sure where the hon. Member for Croydon Central (Sarah Jones) is. I want to offer Labour Members—who are, hopefully, watching or listening in their offices—some genuine advice: listen to the British people and accept the result of the referendum and the enormous benefits of being an outward-looking nation. They should unanimously oppose this motion. By doing so, perhaps they would get a little bit closer to reconnecting with their traditional voters.

I must confess that I am not, in fact, a no-deal Brexiteer. That is not to say that we should be fearful of a no-deal Brexit, given adequate preparation. However, I am optimistic that the Government will secure a deal that works for the whole United Kingdom. They are on track to deliver a deal that protects our legal autonomy and takes us out of the single market and the customs union. We will then be able to secure the vast boons of trade deals with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Japan. My constituents have no desire to dither and delay, and nor do I. I will be opposing the motion with a spring in my step.

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[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Con)]

This debate has nothing to do with covid or the negotiations with the EU. It has more to do with the Opposition once again refusing to accept democracy. Of course, Opposition parties have form in refusing to accept the democratic will of the people. Let us remind ourselves that we voted to leave as the United Kingdom—not as Northern Ireland, not as Scotland, not as Wales, not as England. Look at the Conservatives—we are the 109s, and we are here because of the Opposition’s reluctance to accept democracy. Most of us are from leave constituencies, and we were voted in because of the Opposition. That is a fact.

On 23 June 2016, my phone did not stop ringing. People all over Ashfield were ringing to ask where they could go to vote. They were people who had never voted before; people of all ages who wanted their voice to be heard. When the results came in the next day, the same people called me again to say that their vote really did count. The referendum result went a long way towards restoring confidence in democracy in left-behind areas like mine—the same areas that the Opposition told us would suffer if we left the EU. In Ashfield, our pits, factories and swathes of manufacturing industry have vanished over the past 40-odd years, and during the same period we have been part of the wonderful EU. People in Ashfield cannot see the benefits of being in the EU, and no one has ever explained it to them—I wonder why? Perhaps the Opposition do not realise that in places like Ashfield they cannot threaten us any longer.

[Alyn Smith]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Lee Anderson]

No, I will not. The Opposition cannot tell us that we will suffer, lose our jobs and homes if we do not listen to them. We have suffered in the past, we have lost jobs, seen our area decline and be ignored, but we are fighters in Ashfield and we are coming back stronger. For the first time in decades we have hope, we know we can make a success of things, and we know that Ashfield can once again become a force to be reckoned with in a UK that is not controlled by the EU. But four years later, the Brexit blockers—

[Alan Brown]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Lee Anderson]

No, I am not giving way.

But four years later, the Brexit blockers are still at it. The majority of people in Ashfield and the first-time voters are not happy with them. Even the remain voters are not happy with them. We are all democrats and we should respect that. My voters were not happy with the Labour party last December when the people of Ashfield voted me in, and many of my colleagues across the midlands and the north. Just after the election, Labour started knocking on doors in Ashfield to ask why its voters had left it. I was sort of hoping that there would be more Labour MPs here today, but perhaps they have some extra guidelines on social distancing—that is probably why they are not here. Imagine ignoring your core voters for four years and then telling them that they did not know what they were voting for, or that we should have a confirmatory second vote, and then telling them that no one voted for a hard Brexit, a no-deal Brexit or any other type of Brexit. The people of Ashfield voted for Brexit, deal or no deal. The fact that the SNP is now using covid as another excuse to prolong the agony just shows how low it is prepared to sink. But we still do not know what the Labour party’s policy is on this—perhaps in a couple of years’ time Captain Hindsight will tell us all.

The good news is that I have some oven-ready advice for the Labour party. It needs to start knocking on doors before an election and actually asking people what they want rather than telling them what they should want. It was easy for me: I asked the voters, “What do you want?”, and they answered, “Get Brexit done.” I promised to get it done, they voted for me, and here I am, eight months later, after decades—

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Lee Anderson]

No, I am not giving way.

Here I am, after decades of Labour MPs in Ashfield and after four years of Labour telling the people of Ashfield they did not know what they were voting for. Yes, I am here, and I am sticking up for people in Ashfield. The same Opposition parties keep ignoring my people, but that will not go on for much longer. The Labour party still does not get it. It does not understand its own voters in the midlands and in the north. The SNP is a bit smarter than the Labour party: it does not really want to be a part of the EU, but sees continued membership as a way of forcing independence and splitting up the Union. But have no fear—I will be waving my Union Jack at midnight on 31 December to celebrate the United Kingdom finally getting to make its own way in the world, and I hope that the SNP will be joining me.