Budget Resolutions

Margaret Mullane Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Margaret Mullane (Dagenham and Rainham) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the final day of the Budget debate. It is a Budget that this Government can be proud of, a Labour Budget, a Budget that will deliver fresh hope for the future, and a Budget that will put £100 back into the pockets of 44,430 households in Dagenham and Rainham. Though the council tax rebate of £100 to help with energy bills might not sound like much, with the energy bills breathing space scheme, coupled with the Government’s other measures, such as no VAT on electricity till July ’27, the abolishing of standing charges on gas bills and capping new levies on energy bills at 0% until 2030, we are taking action to reduce household energy debt in every postcode. With such a focus on making utilities affordable, I cannot help but feel hopeful that the failing water companies who extort us for resources will one day be brought back into public ownership, finally ending the race to the bottom that Thatcherism started, where profit margins and shareholder bonuses are put above quality of service and the people that rely on it.

Speaking of services and the fresh hope that last week’s Budget set out, I wholeheartedly welcome the move to finally open up Stratford International, providing Eurostar access in east London. I have no doubt that this investment will provide a much-needed boost to the local economies in some of the most deprived areas of the capital. While that gives my constituents easier access to Europe, those living at Beam Park in the south of my constituency are still waiting for the train to Fenchurch Street. In fact, those residents are still waiting for the train station, which was promised to new homeowners and renters by the last Conservative Government, only for the plug to be pulled and promises to be broken. My helpful suggestion is that perhaps we should ask the last Government to own that decision. Despite the absence of an announcement that would deliver for Beam Park, I remain tenacious in my pursuit of the vital infrastructure that my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham were promised, and I very much hope, given the renewed focus on transport in London, that the £13.9 million shortfall to deliver this station can be found.

While my campaign for Beam Park station continues, my campaign to deliver a new and expanded emergency department for the Queen’s hospital in Romford, which serves my constituents, has been won, thanks to this Labour Government. We campaigned for £35 million and this Labour Government, ahead of their landmark Budget, awarded the Barking, Havering and Redbridge trust £42 million to redesign the accident and emergency unit at Queen’s hospital. The party that built the NHS is now ending corridor care and delivering an NHS that is fit for the future.

On the subject of health, it would be remiss of me not to mention environmental health, not least because of the Rainham volcano, a burning historic landfill that blights the health of the community in part of my constituency. Given the sheer scale of historic landfills in the country, I was disappointed not to see reinvestment in the Environment Agency to help these problems, but I am hopeful that, as the Government transform Britain, I can continue ticking off my pledges from 2024. If any Ministers are listening, I have covered my wish list in this contribution.

As the Member of Parliament for a working-class constituency often described as London’s red wall, I was overjoyed to hear the Chancellor unveil plans to deliver paid paternity leave for self-employed workers. I am honoured to serve under my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) as deputy chair of the all-party parliamentary group for tradespeople, and I know that this policy will give fresh hope to the plumbers, electricians, brickies and other tradesmen who will benefit from paid paternity leave from April 2029, giving self-employed dads the opportunity to be at the start of family life when it matters most. This is a real win for the work of the APPG, and it will make a tangible difference to family lives in Dagenham and Rainham, which is home to thousands of tradespeople and small business owners.

I will bring my contribution to a close very simply, as I started. This was a Budget the Government can be proud of: a Labour Budget that delivers respite for today and fresh hope for the future.

Backing Business to Create Economic Growth

Margaret Mullane Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Margaret Mullane (Dagenham and Rainham) (Lab)]

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on backing business to create economic growth. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to removing the barriers to growth in all corners of Britain. With all the hubbub of the last week, it may have escaped the attention of many that GDP grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026—the highest level of growth across the G7. Although that is positive, it needs to mean more than a percentage point on a graph for communities like the one I represent in Dagenham and Rainham. Small and medium-sized enterprises in seats like mine form the backbone of the local economy and play a vital role in delivering infrastructure, which is why I welcome the announcement of the small business protections Bill, on late payments. This legislation represents a historic moment for small companies, who often suffer at the hands of big business and because of poor payment practices. It is my hope that the legislation outlined by His Majesty last week will support more free-flowing supply chains across the country.

Speaking of supply chains, these are exciting times for growth in Dagenham and Rainham. The lower Thames crossing project is playing an integral role in bridging the gap between small and medium-sized construction companies and large national infrastructure projects. I spoke at the lower Thames crossing roadshow in Rainham recently, and it was encouraging to see so many local and family-run companies being awarded contracts and opportunities to upskill their staff.

Although my seat did not become the new home for London’s three historic markets of Billingsgate, Smithfield and New Spitalfields, I am still working closely with the City of London, and partners across the south of my constituency, such as the Thames freeport and Ford UK, to determine a new legacy for Dagenham and Rainham. However, “new opportunities and investment” cannot translate into more datacentres springing up across our brownfield sites, draining resources, contributing to the urban heat island effect, and offering very little in terms of jobs for local people. Artificial intelligence, for all its advancement, cannot be all we have to offer the world, and as the steel industry nationalisation Bill progresses through this House, I hope that it will pave the way for a resurgence of British manufacturing excellence and industry.

I stood for election on a platform of bringing back jobs that people can raise a family on. That is what the people of Dagenham and Rainham want and deserve, and that is what I am determined to deliver, under a Labour Government, so imagine my joy when His Majesty and our Government set out a plan for apprenticeships, beat the drum of education for all, and painted a vision of a place where every child succeeds and is not held back by poverty, special educational needs or a lack of respect for vocational education. Growth does not work when we all pull in different directions. It works when we deliver opportunities on the ground to everyone, everywhere. That is the mission of this Labour Government, and it is my personal mission to ensure that my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham thrive.

Royal Mail: Performance

Margaret Mullane Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Margaret Mullane (Dagenham and Rainham) (Lab)]

I think that we would be hard pressed to find an MP or member of the public who does not support their local postie. We know their value, and they were considered the fourth emergency service during the pandemic. What a shame that we did not hold on to that mantle for them as, if we had, I suspect that the service would be much better today.

We have heard a lot about two-tier delivery in Parliament and across the media in the past week. Prioritisation of parcels means that days and days of urgent mail is often left in the sorting office. Despite dedicated posties requesting overtime to clear backlogs, the message from Royal Mail management is clear: they want the service to fail. They are making the job harder for staff on the ground by freezing overtime and forcing unsustainable workloads, and we are seeing a managed decline of a treasured British institution. Since 2022, worse pay and drastic watering down of terms and conditions have seen 27,000 new employees leave in the first year. The Royal Mail used to be a job for life.

I have an excellent relationship with the posties in the CWU east London postal branch and in my own constituency in Dagenham and Rainham. That is due to the late Lee Waker, a councillor who was a dedicated postie and a CWU political officer—a legend.

Last year, Ofcom concluded their assessment of postal service reforms. It announced that the specification for the universal service obligation will change, and referenced letter decline as a key driver. Tell that to the millions of people waiting for medical appointments or facing late fees, which hon. Members have mentioned. If things do not change, we might be telling people that their postal vote was not counted because Royal Mail bosses have delayed people’s votes—their democratic right.

Royal Mail need to listen to the CWU and to Government. I want to say in the strongest possible terms that this is not the fault of our posties; they pride themselves—

[Derek Twigg (in the Chair)]

Order.