Future of the UK Constitution and Devolution

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Wednesday 8th March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Bim Afolami (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the future of the UK constitution and devolution.

It is a pleasure to open this debate in Westminster Hall. Members may or may not know this, but the Minister is a keen historian—he was in gainful employment before he came into politics. The great thing about this debate being in Westminster Hall is that this is the site of the 1265 Parliament, where Simon de Montfort made his name. I do not want to give a history lesson, least of all to the Minister, who knows the history much better than I do, but that Parliament was noted because it was about the relationship between the localities and the centre, and the powers of the Crown, Parliament and the magnates—barons and others—not just taxation. Although money and tax matter hugely—indeed, they are largely the story of how Parliament developed—other things matter, too, for the health of this United Kingdom. I refer, in particular, to the relationship between local areas and regions and the centre, and I want to address that this afternoon.

The millions of people watching this debate may think to themselves, “What is the point of debating something like the constitution and devolution?” These things change quite slowly, so why should we give up our time to think about and debate them? There are two big reasons why this debate matters, particularly now. First, it will surprise nobody in this Chamber or the House that our Union and our constitutional arrangements, including the relationships among and within the four nations of the United Kingdom, have been under strain in recent years, and that has had all sorts of political consequences. It is important that we find better ways of working together as four nations and within our nations. That is the first reason: it is important for the health of our country in its most fundamental sense that we debate this issue and come to a broad agreement.

The second reason is the economy, on which we have numerous debates; we have interminable discussions about inequality, levelling up and regional disparities. Although Members on both sides of the House, quite responsibly, sometimes have competing visions about how best to address those problems, we all share an understanding that we need to address them. Governance —how this country is run and works—is as central to the economic future of this country as decisions about tax, regulation and public spending.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making such a powerful opening speech. I have just come from a meeting with Cheshire and Warrington business leaders, and they echoed exactly what he says. Their frustration is that they have made a plea for a devolution deal for Cheshire and Warrington but have not yet had a reply from Ministers. We agree, and there is an appetite out there.

Civil Service Impartiality

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

My hon. Friend is correct. Clearly, Sue Gray has access to a lot of information, but that does not mean she would put that information to ill use. The ACOBA guidelines talk about sensitive information and how someone can avoid the perception that they have been put into a difficult position in those circumstances. ACOBA obviously has a job to do.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Which bond of trust or aspect of impartiality was broken when Sue Gray was a senior civil servant—the same Sue Gray who was praised by the Government as being almost the best thing since sliced bread? What is the problem or issue now?

[Jeremy Quin]

We are conducting analysis to find out the facts that led up to the resignation of Sue Gray and to ensure they can be set out. It would help dispel concerns, worries and problems if the Labour party could simply set out the facts itself. There is no reason why it could not do that today.

Procurement Bill [Lords]

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 9th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will allow me to make some progress. If I give two chances to every Member, we will be here for a much longer time.

There are currently hundreds of procurement regulations spread over four different regimes for different types of procurement. We will consolidate them into a single regime. This will remove duplication and create one rulebook that everyone can understand and use, with sectoral differences only where absolutely necessary, such as for reasons of defence or national security.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Which line in the Bill will prevent, say, a future landlord who has a close relationship with a future Minister from securing a contract worth millions of pounds for personal protective equipment, or prevent someone who produces underwear, who happens to be in the other place, from securing a contract via a conversation via a VIP lane? Which line in this Bill will close that down?

[Jeremy Quin]

If the hon. Gentleman has not read the Bill, I recommend that he does so. There is a lot of it, but it is a good read and he will find it has a range of measures to ensure transparency at the heart of our procurement. I do not accept the premise of his question—if his question has a premise—that previous procurements were incorrectly awarded; far from it. If he wants to see a Bill that enhances transparency, that ensures there are always proper procedures in place to address conflicts of interest and that ensures the best propositions win tenders, he will support the Bill this evening, as I hope the rest of the House will.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Katherine Fletcher]

Not only will I be listening to the Adjournment debate, but I have the joy and honour of responding to it. I should imagine that once we have concluded today’s urgent question and tonight’s Adjournment debate, the day 105 update from my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) will be an absolute bumper edition.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

The Minister and I share one thing in common: our birthplace is the city of Manchester. Peel has a considerable presence in Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and in Cheshire where my seat is. What leverage have the Minister and the Secretary of State used to ensure that Peel is effectively around the table to help our good colleagues in the likes of Doncaster? It really would make sense for this place to be at its best and to work together right across the piece with all parliamentarians and stop the partisanship.

[Katherine Fletcher]

It is always good to have two Wythenshawe people having a bit of a chat across the Dispatch Box. I agree that we are better in this place when we work together and are not partisan. On the exact details of the meetings and engagements with Peel, I will probably have to write to the hon. Gentleman because that is within the aviation Minister’s responsibilities. I note, however, that Peel services his constituents in Cheshire within the Liverpool Airport framework. There is a positive sign for the future if that can be replicated elsewhere.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

On behalf of my constituents in Weaver Vale, I pay tribute in this period of mourning to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her remarkable and constant presence was signified by duty, public service and selflessness. That is a lesson for each and every one of us in this Chamber and beyond. Those 70 years of public service, commemorated by her platinum jubilee, have touched every part of our communities, the nation, the Commonwealth and the globe. They gave a sense of permanence, stability and constitutional leadership, with neutrality towards this political sphere.

Queen Elizabeth II was a reassuring constant, as right hon. and hon. Members have said, and that was an enduring feature in times of transition and of war. She was also a figurehead in times of celebration, including when the Runcorn shopping city centre was opened in my constituency in 1972, and I remember the commemorative mug and 50p coin that I received, as well as the fun street parties, to mark the silver jubilee in 1972. As an 11-year-old boy, I really appreciated that, and I still do to this day. More recently, her reassuring compassion was evident in the dark times of the covid pandemic.

We now enter another historical transition, while we mourn the loss of the late Queen Elizabeth II. I and my constituents send our deepest sympathies to King Charles III and the royal family. God bless them all. May the late Queen Elizabeth II rest in peace.

UK Energy Costs

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dame Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

I start by saying: may God bless our Queen. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]

I sincerely welcome the announcement—it is fantastic that we have seized the massive problem that is facing us—which will give relief to so many households and businesses who have been terrified by the prospect of what was to come. I am convinced that that reassurance will be greatly pleasing to them.

I want to take a couple of minutes to talk about some really low-hanging fruit that I do not think we have made enough of yet. With energy prices where they are, we as a Government could do a lot more. We could, for example, go house to house—through energy suppliers; not as Government officials—to assist people with looking at how they can reduce their energy bills. There are many practical ways and great ideas for doing that, not least of which are turning down boiler thermostats—people should not do that themselves at home—to make more effective use of energy and turning down the hot water tap pressure. Those things are really low-hanging fruit that could be done tomorrow, and forecasters suggest that they could save up to 10% off energy bills.

Most important of all is insulation. Current energy prices are a game-changer for insulation. Recent research suggests that £1,000 could pay for basic cavity wall or loft insulation for the average household and that the sector could insulate up to half a million homes this winter and 1 million homes next year. That could be cost-neutral to the Treasury as it would not be paying the excess for the price cap. With energy prices at current levels, it is worth looking again at massively ramping up household insulation.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Member give way?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

I will not give way because there is so little time.

Finally, as Business Secretary and then as chair of the 1922 Backbench committee on business, energy and industrial strategy, so many businesses have said to me, “We cannot get a grid connection for our solar panels, so there is no point in doing it.” I would say to them that, with energy prices where they are, they could get themselves a battery and have some internal energy independence. Many businesses should be looking at that. The Government’s role should be to provide advice through the energy suppliers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Green (Bolton West) (Con)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, which set out two broad areas. First, we have the immediate support that she will give to so many people around the country as well as to businesses. Like many hon. Members—perhaps all hon. Members—I have had many constituents getting in touch to say how concerned they are about the cost of energy now and how fearful they are about the cost of energy this coming winter. The decisive action that she has taken is therefore incredibly welcome.

Secondly, I would like to highlight the Prime Minister’s longer-term vision. Much of the current problem is caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and the Russian army. However, we can also look back to the oil crisis of the 1970s and see that if we are dependent on foreign sources of energy for heating our homes and powering our industry, we will always be in a vulnerable place. I therefore welcome her ambition for the United Kingdom to be a net exporter of energy by 2040. That is a hugely positive ambition for the United Kingdom, for our industry and for the sector.

I would like to emphasise that nuclear needs to form a key part of the United Kingdom’s energy sector. It is reliable baseload energy that we can depend on come rain or shine. In the north-west of England, right across the three counties of Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, there is huge talent in the sector, and by investing in that and giving the sector more security, we will protect and secure those jobs. I think also of the Springfields nuclear fuels plant near Preston. We need security for that plant to ensure that it can maintain itself and maintain its staff, the skilled engineers and skilled apprentices, on that site. We need to secure that site and many other places in the north-west of England. Warrington and the wider area also has an enormous wealth of talent.

[Mike Amesbury]

Does the hon. Member share my concern about one of the announcements, on fracking? I am quite confident that my community will not accept it. I know the hon. Member’s constituency of Bolton West and the beautiful rural idylls surrounding it. Does he feel that it will accept it?

[Chris Green]

The Prime Minister is committed to respecting the views and values of local communities, and I support that. However, in the short time I have in which to contribute I am trying to focus on nuclear energy.

We want that commitment in the north-west but also in Hinkley Point C, which is a phenomenal site and a phenomenal investment in our United Kingdom. I want our commitment to nuclear energy and the phenomenal workforce at the Hinkley Point C site in Somerset to go on to the next nuclear project and a whole series of nuclear projects, whether full-scale nuclear reactors or small modular reactors. There is huge potential and ambition, which the Prime Minister will set out and the Business Secretary will give more detail on. That is immensely positive for so many different parts of our country. I also particularly welcome the location of Rolls-Royce SMR headquarters in the city of Manchester.

Extreme Heat Preparedness

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 18th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

The hon. Lady is living in an alternative universe, as this is the Government who legislated for net zero and who fought tooth and nail at COP26. How short memories are about what we saw at that global conference in Glasgow, where my right hon. Friend the COP26 President fought tooth and nail with some of the world’s biggest polluters to keep 1.5° alive. When we have these debates in the Chamber, I wish at least some credit were given for the work that has been done, at the same time as challenging us on the work we are doing.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

If maximum indoor temperatures are good enough for workers in the United States, Germany and Spain, why not have those protections for British workers?

[Kit Malthouse]

Employers already have an obligation to make sure temperatures at work are maintained at a reasonable level for the circumstances. That will vary from workplace to workplace, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman will know as a working man. There is a lot we can improve in our work and employment regulation but, at the moment, the law is pretty specific about where responsibility should lie.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

We are always looking at these matters. The Department for Work and Pensions reviews the forecasted telephony demand and plans its resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. All DWP customer telephone lines are freephone numbers. Separately, I should say that the DWP is digitising key parts of its service to increase efficiency.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

13. What assessment he has made of the value for money of the use of funding from the public purse on focus groups.

[The Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency (Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg)]

I am quite surprised by the answer that I will give to the hon. Gentleman, because listening to citizens and understanding their views from focus groups is more useful than I had thought. Focus group insights helped to drive the extraordinarily high levels of public engagement throughout the covid-19 pandemic. More than 80% of people were aware of key behaviours to keep safe and reduce transmission, and up to 82% said that they trusted the information in our advertising, so although I personally have always been suspicious of focus groups, they showed their value in helping to get the message across during the period of covid.

[Mike Amesbury]

This week we heard from a voter who had had the unfortunate pleasure of attending one of the focus groups organised by the former Chancellor. He was seething that he had been duped by the former Chancellor’s PR machine. Can the Minister explain how many more Government Departments are using taxpayers’ money for party political propaganda? Surely that is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It would be quite wrong to use taxpayers’ money for party political processes. Focus groups do not do that; they are focused on how Government policy is presented to the voters. However, if the hon. Gentleman has evidence of malpractice, he should always bring it forward to the full attention of the House.

Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests Resignation

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I think the House will forgive me if I do not take lectures on moral probity from the Scottish nationalists. One needs only to google the SNP to have whole list of those incidents.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

What is it that is so unethical about this law-breaking, rule-breaking Prime Minister? Is it not about time he resigned?

[Michael Ellis]

I realise that it is challenging, but if Labour Members wish a change of Prime Minister, they ought to try to win a general election; they are not going to be able to do it.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady very much and repeat the apology that I have given.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has broken the law—guilty as charged—that many people up and down our shores abided by. They never had the opportunity to say goodbye to loved ones. The Prime Minister also misled the House over and over again and misled the public over and over again. Does he believe in the ministerial code? Is it worth the paper it is written on?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me repeat my apologies for what I got wrong and what went wrong in Downing Street and also my explanation for why I have spoken as I have in this House.