Petitions

Debate between Liam Byrne and Cat Smith

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)]

I rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents, specifically those who are members of the University and College Union, Unite and Unison, whose representatives I met recently. In that context, I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. My constituents are concerned about potential job losses at Lancaster University, and the petition states:

“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take immediate action to ensure universities are supported to ensure security of employment for staff and a high-quality learning experience for students.

And the petitioners remain, etc.”

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents of the constituency of Lancaster and Wyre,

Declares that Lancaster University is currently considering a series of staff redundancies, initially voluntary, which could see the University lose around 450 jobs, with compulsory redundancies not ruled out. Staff trade unions, UCU, Unite and Unison, are consulting with their members and are concerned about the job losses as well as the impact on the wider area with the Lancaster District benefiting from having a successful university in its footprint.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take immediate action to ensure universities are supported to ensure security of employment for staff and a high-quality learning experience for students.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P003100]

[Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)]

I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of the Castle Bromwich ward in my constituency. It calls for Solihull metropolitan borough council to take action on the increasing number of parking violations in the area of Castle Bromwich infant and nursery school, where over the last 12 months parking practices have deteriorated. This is extremely inconsiderate: it is blocking residents’ drives and destroying the grass verges, and it is incredibly unfair on those who live locally. To make matters worse, when parking wardens visited they told the school staff that they were limited in the enforcement action that they could take because one of the “No parking” signs on Hurst Lane had fallen down. Most crucially, however, dangerous parking poses a serious safety risk to the children who have to cross the road with very poor visibility because of the selfish parking.

The petition states:

“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Solihull Borough Council to increase the frequency of parking enforcement around the school at drop-off and pick-up times, and to reinstall”

the road safety signs

“on Hurst Lane North to deter cars from parking illegally.

And the petitioners remain, etc.”

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents in the Castle Bromwich Ward of the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North Constituency,

Declares that the scale of parking violations around Castle Bromwich Infant School has worsened significantly in the last 12 months, with cars parked illegally over drives, pavements, and double yellow lines.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Solihull Borough Council to increase the frequency of parking enforcement around the school at drop-off and pick-up times, and to reinstall a road sign on Hurst Lane North to deter cars from parking illegally.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P003101]

Elections Bill

Debate between Liam Byrne and Cat Smith

Report stage
Monday 17th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith]

Has my right hon. Friend read the transcript of our Committee hearings? I hope that the Minister has had a chance to read the Russia report, because it is imperative for all of us to be well aware of the security threats that face our democracy.

[Liam Byrne]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The point is that I can raise questions here that warrant further investigation—questions about, for example, Lubov Chernukhin, the model of generosity who has given the Conservatives £2.1 million, £1.9 million of it after her husband Vladimir—the same Vladimir who was appointed by Mr Putin’s deputy chairman of Vnesheconombank—received money from Suleiman Kerimov. This was a man who was later sanctioned by the United States Treasury, and not only for being a Russian Government official: he was arrested in France for smuggling in hundreds of millions of euros in suitcases.

Then there is Mr Temerko, another honourable man, who has donated £1.2 million to the Conservative party. I am told that the Prime Minister’s whiff-whaff bats are on the wall of his reception room. The only slight issue is that Mr Temerko is the man who used to operate at the very top of the Russian arms industry, with connections high up in the Kremlin—but, of course, Mr Temerko is an honourable man. He works with another honourable man, Mr Fedotov, who is a key shareholder in Aquind Ltd, which, The Guardian reports, has donated £700,000 to the Conservative party, along with another firm. This is, unfortunately, the same Mr Fedotov who, according to the Pandora papers, has revealed that his fortune was made through an offshore financial structure in the mid-2000s, at about the time when it was alleged to have been siphoning funds from the Russian state pipeline company Transneft. But, of course, Mr Fedotov is an honourable man.