Royal Mail: Performance

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate the hon. Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) on securing this vital debate. I want to make three points about Royal Mail performance that are of particular concern to my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife, and particularly in the town of Glenrothes.

Despite the fantastic efforts of our local postal workers, there have been significant delays in my constituents receiving mail, particularly over the Christmas period. A major factor in this is the understaffing of our delivery offices. Royal Mail is recruiting additional staff to address local pressures, but it is vital that there is action on recruitment and retention in the service for the longer term. Royal Mail must work with CWU to address the issue of its contracts creating a two-tier workforce.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Two-tier contracts have been raised in my constituency, with new employees being brought in on poorer terms and conditions. Moreover, the backlog has increased because, when people come back from sick leave, their overtime is cut, which causes real issues in building the backlog and causing staff members to come back to increased workloads. Does my hon. Friend agree that we cannot fix Royal Mail’s problems without fixing these two-tier contracts?

[Richard Baker]

My hon. Friend is completely correct, and as always makes the point eloquently. It is vital that Royal Mail management listen to her and CWU.

The hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) was absolutely right about hospital appointments. Appointments letters arriving on the day of the appointment or after the appointment has taken place causes huge distress, as well as inefficiency for our local health services. Unfortunately, in Scotland, we do not have the NHS app enjoyed by colleagues in England, so these deliveries are all the more important, particularly for older people. They are not being prioritised—they are not being sent first or second class, but via an economy method. Royal Mail provides a barcode to prioritise deliveries, but it is not clear that has always been used; I am pursuing that with NHS Fife.

Finally, tougher targets are being set for Royal Mail in the years ahead, and I want to seek reassurance from the Minister that he will work with the Royal Mail and, crucially, the CWU to improve the vital service that the Royal Mail provides—not least with the forthcoming elections in Scotland, in which we will look to Royal Mail to deliver postal votes and electoral communications on time—so that our constituents can have confidence in this vital public service in the coming years.

Social Enterprises and Community Ownership

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh—a different Leigh—and Atherton (Jo Platt) for introducing this important debate. Like her, I am low-key obsessed with towns, so it is a genuine pleasure to speak on the subject.

When we talk about ownership, what we are really talking about is power: the power that communities have over the places they live, the services they rely on and the futures that they want to build. Nowhere in my constituency is that clearer than in the story of a pub called the Oxleathers. In 2023, thanks to the efforts of Highfields and Western Downs community group, the Oxleathers was registered as an asset of community value. That is not an obscure, technical planning designation. In reality, it is an incredibly powerful tool. It means that the community stood up and said, “This place matters to us.”

[Patrick Hurley]

I neglected to declare an interest in my capacity as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the social, co-operative and community economy. Does my hon. Friend agree that all Members at this debate should attend the annual general meeting of the all-party group on Wednesday 25 March at 5.30 pm? Sadly, it will not be in a community pub, but in Room N in Portcullis House.

[Leigh Ingham]

I encourage everyone to attend that meeting.

[Sir John Hayes (in the Chair)]

I am discouraging interventions generally, but that was delightful. Carry on.

[Leigh Ingham]

The Oxleathers is not just a pub; it is a social hub in one of the most deprived areas of Stafford, hosting community events and bringing neighbours together. We do a great local quiz there, and it provides a space where people who might otherwise feel isolated can connect with others. That really matters, because when we talk about regeneration, growth or economic development, we can overlook the simple truth that communities are built around places where people come together. It is those assets that have disappeared over 14 years of austerity. Community enterprises are social infrastructure. They create pride in place, belonging and resilience.

Across Europe, energy security is becoming one of the defining challenges of our time. The events unfolding in the middle east show us how exposed households and businesses are to fossil fuel markets. I want to share an international example that I find interesting. Over the past decade, Spain has invested heavily in renewable energy and community-driven regeneration. That shift has helped to reduce the influence of gas prices on electricity bills and has made the country far less exposed to the volatility of international energy markets. That makes a massive difference, because when communities generate their own energy, they not only reduce emissions but gain control.

That exciting opportunity is now emerging in Highfields and Western Downs, because the Oxleathers—the same community asset that has been saved by local residents—is now likely to play a key role in a community solar energy plan for the area. That community has some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in Stafford. For us, community energy offers a different path. Imagine a local pub, already the heart of a neighbourhood, becoming part of a local energy network where solar generation helps to power community facilities and local ownership means that the benefits stay local. That is what social ownership can do.

We are talking about giving communities the tools to shape their own economic future. If we want towns and villages across the country to thrive, empowering communities through social ownership must be at the heart of our approach.

Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) for securing this important debate on a topic that needs a greater light shining on it. I find the debate similarly emotional, having worked with women and girls throughout my career to help them find their voice. The matchgirls used their voice to uplift so much more than just their own fight; they inspired a movement behind them. I do not think that the dockers would have gone on strike the following year without the inspiration of those young women and girls, so I thank my hon. Friend deeply for bringing forward this issue today. I will be incredibly brief, because she has covered everything that needs to be said in great detail.

Without the matchstick girls, we would not have the labour movement and the Labour party that we have today, so their legacy lives on strongly. I am really proud that young people from my summer school have been in the Gallery today. I am doing my first summer school, because one thing that really mattered to me when I got elected was making sure that the door behind me was open for working-class girls and boys. What really matters is that they saw the best of this place today. They were able to witness proceedings in the Chamber, and they were able to speak to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and hear what someone who had a modest upbringing was able to achieve in life. That inspiration comes directly from the matchgirls, some of whom were as young as 13, who went on strike in a really brave move. They risked so much—their jobs, their pay and their safety—but they were not just fighting for better pay. It was about dignity, and it was about justice for their future and for us, so I thank them deeply for keeping their resistance alive.

Every time any of us speak in here, cast a vote or try to challenge an injustice, we do so not just for today, but for those who will come after us. I think particularly of the members of my summer school, some of whom are just learning about politics and what their voice can achieve. They are spending a week devising a campaign that can change their community, which is my constituency of Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages.

In closing, I would like to say that if we keep fighting for fairness, we can change the world for today, but also for those who come after us. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow for securing this debate.

North Sea Energy

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

Our manifesto was clear that we would not issue new licences, we would not revoke existing licences, we would manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan, and we would ban fracking. The consultation is about the detail behind that. There are some complicated issues that we need to unpick, which is why we are having the consultation, why we welcome everybody�s views, and why I hope the hon. Lady will add her voice to it.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

We are in the midst of yet another fossil fuel price spike, caused by our overreliance on international gas markets. Despite my constituency of Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages being landlocked and quite far from the North sea, I am very proud to have GE Vernova�s largest UK base there, supporting over 1,700 jobs and providing some of the technology for over 30% of UK electricity. Does the Minister agree that there is only one solution to the price spike: to get off fossil fuels and move on to clean home-grown power here in the UK?

[Sarah Jones]

I welcome my hon. Friend�s question. What GE Vernova is doing and the jobs it is providing are incredibly important for her community. We will continue to encourage growth in that sector and beyond through our industrial strategy with its eight sector plans, one of which is clean energy. These things are all connected. We can grow the economy and deliver clean energy, and we can do it together.