Nigel Evans
Main Page: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley) Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment
Nigel Evans Excerpts
Paul Howell
I can only agree about the need for that information. I drive around an industrial estate in Aycliffe that has 10,000 jobs and lots of boxes in it. Behind each one of those boxes, there are so many different careers and opportunities. Getting visibility of that is absolutely crucial.
I am pleased to say that a north-east mayoralty has been created, covering the area from Newton Aycliffe, in my Sedgefield constituency, all the way through Northumberland to the Scottish border. The area has been allocated one of the investment zones, and I hope it will position itself as an arc from Sedgefield to Blyth, recognising innovation and science throughout the north-east. Attracting the right prime to support that should be a critical part of the role of the new metro Mayor, when they are appointed. That prime could then be a key platform for building career paths and educational pathways for the north-east’s students.
Students need to know about how such pathways can lead to great careers. When it comes to communicating opportunity, role models are a great tool. One of the best role models I have come across is our new chancellor of Durham University, Dr Fiona Hill. With her story, from the back streets of Bishop Auckland to Washington DC, or, as she calls it,
“from the coal house to the White House,”
Fiona is committed to supporting social mobility and I could not be more supportive of what she is trying to achieve.
While highlighting extraordinary stories like Fiona’s, we need the breadth of opportunities to be visible too. We need to shine a light on and support the extraordinary businesses and research in our area, because that will inspire people to apply. It is through personal application that opportunities arise. In my youth, there was a golfer called Gary Player, who said:
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
We need to inspire our young people to work hard and get lucky.
I conclude, as most Members have done, by thanking you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and the members of Mr Speaker’s team for their service, and I thank the people around this great place for everything they have done to make our lives easier. I thank my team—David, Maggie, Doug, Hannah and Jonathan—and, as always, my family and friends. My wife is in the Gallery; the biggest thanks go up there. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I wish everybody a happy recess.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Thank you, Mrs Howell. I intend to do the wind-ups no later than 4.30 pm, and they will be eight minutes, 10 minutes and 10 minutes, followed by two minutes for Mr Mearns to wash up completely. Members can do the maths themselves as to how much time they will leave for the person who is last.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. Before you do that, could you finish by 3.50 pm, please? I am introducing an eight-minute limit.
Robin Millar
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was going to say that the opportunity to contest those ideas and the crucible for doing so is here in the UK.
What then of the future? Leadership is looking within, looking up and looking ahead. We have done that through the darkness of world wars, conflict and suffering. We have responded to the threats of a pandemic and war in Ukraine. We have led. We have seen beyond the boundaries of the EU that we were constrained by.
The first part of any plan for this country must therefore be a collective response, together as a United Kingdom. We are not preparing for the last war or for old customers; AUKUS and the CPTPP are all about responding to the future and the opportunities and threats there. What better testimony is there than the fact that we are the most attractive country in the G20 amongst 18 to 24-year-olds?
A nation does not define itself through introspection, but through action. As we emerge from the storms of recent years, we British find ourselves once again the authors of our own distinctive story. As with the Britain of previous ages, the story is likely to offer fresh sources of collective pride, beauty and dismay. We will write this together with the values we defend and the words that we speak. I will finish by calling on the Minister to bring the Minister for the Union—the Prime Minister—to this House to lead a debate on the state of the Union, a story that is important for us all to hear.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
There is now an eight-minute limit. Any interventions will eat into the time of the person who is last.
Anna Firth (Southend West) (Con)
I begin by thanking you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and Mr Speaker’s whole team for all your support this year. It has been much appreciated. Speaking in the second Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate is a huge privilege for me. It is wonderful to hear so many warm wishes and memories, which I know are of great comfort to Lady Amess and the whole family.
Many people have said to me, “When is a plaque going to go up in this Chamber to commemorate Sir David?”. I am delighted to tell the House that that plaque has now been designed. It is nearly ready. I know we are not allowed to use props, and I will not, but I want to tell the House that if anyone wants to come and see the plaque, it is extremely beautiful. I have a copy on the Bench here. The motto says, “His light remains”, which I think is incredibly apt. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
I must start by saying how delighted Sir David would have been that the Boundary Commission has decided not to break up his beloved Southend West constituency, and I am delighted that I will continue to represent the people of the Eastwood and St Laurence wards. I look forward to adding the people from St Lukes ward.
Our new outstanding sports reporter at the Echo, Chris Phillips, recently played tennis for 11 hours non-stop to raise money for South East and Central Essex Mind, raising £12,000. That takes his total fundraising to more than £100,000. He is a community hero.
It is also wonderful to know that Leigh-on-Sea will be recognised in our constituency name. It was, after all, named in the Domesday Book. I must declare an interest, because it is where I was born.
Next, I must highlight our great success in the May elections. Sir David would have loved the fact that we now have 14 Conservative town councillors—a comfortable majority on Leigh-on-Sea Town Council—and that we took back control of Southend-on-Sea City Council with two new Conservative councillors, including the excellent Owen Cartey in West Leigh, who happens to be my councillor.
I am also delighted this year to welcome as mayor Councillor Stephen Habermel of Chalkwell, with his chosen charities Havens Hospices and the incredible, awe-inspiring Music Man Project, which some Members heard playing brilliantly again last night in College Green. They recently played at No. 10, and there was not a dry eye in the house. They are soon to come to Parliament.
People often ask me, “What have you been doing for our constituency? What are your priorities?”. My first priority this last year has been to make Southend West safer. I am delighted that we now have 83 more police officers, three new sets of knife detection poles and new CCTV cameras in Old Leigh. Our pioneering Operation Union is not only being repeated this summer, but being rolled out nationwide. Thanks to the inspirational Julie Taylor, we have bleed kits available in ever more pubs and clubs.
I am particularly delighted that by working with the brilliant local policeman, Inspector Paul Hogben, our Conservative police and crime commissioner, Roger Hirst, and the Home Office, we are soon to ban nitrous oxide, and zombie knives in all their forms will soon be completely outlawed in private places. That will make Southend safer, and that is much to be commended. I must also commend Eastwood Academy which, through me, fed into the recent Home Office consultation.
That is not all. Making Southend West healthier has also been a top priority, and with the support of this Conservative Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Sir James Duddridge) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), we have secured the delivery of more than £8 million for a reconfigured A&E department at Southend University Hospital, more than £1 million for a new active discharge lounge, 11 new ambulances and 111 new ambulance staff. With other south Essex colleagues, we have finally secured from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care an absolute promise that the remaining £110 million pledged to improve our local hospitals is secure, and we await an updated in-scope business plan.
I pay tribute to the work of those from the Lady McAdden Breast Cancer Trust who, with their knitted knockers, will be returning to Parliament during Breast Cancer Awareness Week this autumn. Thanks to the work of Sam Batstone, we now have free suncream dispensers along some of our beaches. Working with Chalkwell Lifeguards, I have sponsored one of them myself, and I thank Philip Miller, the CEO of Adventure Island, for sponsoring another.
I thank everybody who works so hard in our NHS in Southend West for the incredible work that they do. That is one of the reasons I am campaigning for a dedicated NHS medal to recognise their outstanding service, just as we already have for the police, the Army, the Post Office and the fire service.
Of course, that is not all. My third priority has been to make Southend West wealthier, so I am delighted we kicked of the year by being given the pier of the year award. I know the pier is not in Southend West, but as many Members know, Sir David strayed right across Southend in this place and in his patch. Southend is already home to incredible music, theatre and arts, which is why I want to see us finally become a city of culture in 2029. I have been to at least 50 productions in the past year alone, including by the brilliant Love2Sign choir, the Southend Operatic and Dramatic Society, Leigh Orpheus, Cantare, the Show Choir and the Eastwood Chorale, to name but a few. We have an incredible seaside and underwater heritage, including the London shipwreck. We have five blue flag beaches—the most anywhere in the east of England—and the biggest ferris wheel in the south-east. We have had eight seaside awards, and we have a growing number of octopuses, dolphins, porpoises and seals.
Of course, no city can prosper without a thriving local economy, which is why I was delighted to spearhead a new banking hub at Leigh Broadway, and to help our fishermen—Osborne’s, Deal’s and Fruits of the Sea—to negotiate their new fishing licences. We must have a transport system fit for a city, and with this Conservative Government, that is exactly what we are going to get. We now have a new bus route, 12 new state-of-the-art trains, with contactless ticketing coming, and upgrades to the A13. I have been very clear that we must not lose any of our ticketing staff at any of the stations in my patch.
There are heroes everywhere in Southend West, which is why I have had to launch a community heroes scheme, alongside my local papers, the Echo and the Leigh-on-Sea News. I thank and pay tribute to their editors, Chris Hatton and Mike Guy, for their support in making this happen. Already nominated by the community, we have had community heroes Jill Allen-King, Chalkwell Lifeguards, the Love2Sign choir, Anne Thurgood, Sharon Gatland, Brenda Barnes, Claire Harper, Steve Ellis, Jack Venturini, David Dutton, Bob Haze and 14-year-old Maryse Fisher, with many others to come.
Of course, that is not all. In time-honoured fashion, I must also recognise the work of the Bluetits, Southend Against Sewage and all 29 of our local headteachers. With 28 of our 29 schools being good or outstanding, I welcome wholeheartedly the £78.6 billion of record funding for our schools.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. Sorry, but we have to leave it there. Thank you very much, but in Sir David’s inimitable style, you got a lot in there.
Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)
First, may I align myself with all the tributes to Sir David Amess? His was a life unfairly cut short, but his memory will live on forever. Through you, Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank all the staff: the Clerks, the Doorkeepers, the Speaker’s team—everyone who keeps democracy alive behind the scenes; it is hugely appreciated.
Thanks is the theme of my speech, which I will do my best to give as quickly as possible. When I stood for election in 2019, I had a series of key pledges, and I am pleased to say that, this year, I will deliver on every single one of them. While many politicians like to take all the credit for themselves, I know that this has been done through teamwork, and with the support of others. That is why I want to spend my time thanking the people who made fulfilling the pledges possible.
The first pledge was perhaps the most prominent: securing the funding for Watford General Hospital. My thanks go to the leadership team at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, including—but not exclusively—Matthew Coats and Phil Townsend, who have been phenomenal in making sure that the plans were achievable and ambitious, and that we secured the funding. They have helped me be an absolute pain in the neck to Ministers, from the Prime Minister down, every single day, so that they knew what we wanted, and we were able to achieve it.
I came into Parliament with a challenge to tackle the stigma around mental ill health. I launched an initiative to train 1,000 people in mental health first aid awareness; I would love to go into much more detail on that, and the work that I am doing. I give particular thanks to the team at Watford and West Herts chamber of commerce, especially Chris, Saffron and Lee, who have been phenomenal in making sure that we are hitting that target. I have good news coming on that later in the year, but I do not want to jump too far ahead on that.
On the national scale, there is my work on the First-Aid (Mental Health) Bill. I am also trying to encourage the Government to look at how we could change the rules to ensure better parity between physical and mental health in the Health and Safety Executive guidelines. I have been very grateful to the Ministers who have met me to discuss that; to those across the UK who are tackling suicide prevention; to the team behind Baton of Hope; to the team who worked with me on the “Where’s your head at?” campaign, for which I am proud to be an ambassador; and to Dr Alex George and Chris Murray, who have been phenomenal this year. They have really helped and supported me, and driven me forward to deliver on my promises.
I said that I wanted to tackle rough sleeping. I am pleased to say that, over the past three and a half years, I think around £5 million—possibly a bit less or a bit more—for this issue has gone to Watford. I have really fought for that and worked with Government to achieve it. It meant that, in Watford, we went from having 70 to 80 people on the streets every night over decades, to zero at one point in the past couple of years. I think we are at around five to 10 people now; one person on the streets is too many, so we need to make sure that we support them.
Yes, I could get the Government funding; I could get support for the issue, and push and champion it; but really, this action was sparked by a gentleman called Matthew Heasman at New Hope UK, a fantastic local charity, and Rob Edmonds. Matthew got me involved from day one of the pandemic. He helped me to get the Government to make sure that we could get everyone in and that has continued. The team at One YMCA have been phenomenal in making sure that we deliver on that and have a process that really supports people; Guy Foxell and Mark Turner enabled that.
Outside Watford, there are, sadly, still more rough sleepers. So I am working with Hand on Heart, which is a fantastic charity that works from Watford, to support others in other constituencies. On business, I would love to go more into the list of businesses that I have visited, but the big one for me was making sure that we supported our hospitality sector. Last year, there was a risk to Pryzm nightclub, which I held a debate on in this Chamber and I also presented a petition on it. The nightclub was saved, thanks to the work that I did with the team there, who were phenomenal, especially David Vickery; they were incredible. The reason that work was so important is that it supported our night-time economy. It protected our taxi drivers, making sure that they had people to drive home every night. We have about 1,500 to 3,000 people coming into Watford just to use the night-time economy, and Pryzm nightclub is at the heart of that. Even one of our own Doorkeepers met his wife there, so there is definitely a Westminster link there. Also challenging from a business perspective was making sure that we continued to fight the nonsense from the Mayor of London around ULEZ, because that will cost my constituents a lot of money, especially those who are struggling.
On tackling crime, I am pleased to say that, thanks to the work with the local police and our police and crime commissioner, we have a new police station coming later in the year, which is fantastic news. Our current police station is in a place called Shady Lane, so I am a bit upset that we are losing the Shady Lane police station, but the new one will be much more modern and suitable for our fantastic new police officers and our fantastic team.
I would also like to formally welcome our new police chief inspector, Andy Wiseman, and all of the new police officers who were secured across Hertfordshire—more than 300 extra police officers, I think, which is fantastic. I also thank them for the support that they have given me when I have been out on dawn raids. There is always a bit of a panic when they say the address that the police are going to raid, because there is the worry that your house will be mentioned. Thankfully, that has not happened so far. It has been phenomenal going out with the police, often in the middle of the night, to see what they do to keep us safe and to make sure that, behind the scenes, the bad people do not get away with what they want to do. It is incredible work.
I wish to thank everyone, including students from various schools, who have been part of Dean’s green team, working on the environment. One of the big pledges that was made during the election was to end the use of single-use plastic. I know that that is coming through later this year, which is phenomenal. The Environment Act 2021 and all the work that was done at COP26 have been so important for all of us around the world, but especially for my constituents in Watford, who are very caring about our local environment.
I have previously talked a lot about our local community and the charities that do so much. They include One Vision, Watford Workshop, Community Connect, Step2Skills, Alternatives, the Random Café, Watford Women’s Centre and Watford Interfaith Association. There are so many I could list. They are all phenomenal, but what they are really good at is working together. That is what is so important. As we look at community, it is about the threads that combine us into a tapestry of the story of our town and our community. We also have every religion in Watford—it is one of the wonderful things about our interfaith community. I will not mention any of the faiths now, because I know that I will miss out about five as I try to rush through my points.
If I may, I will encourage all to watch “Mission Impossible”. It is a bit of a turn-off, but I said at the start that this was an impossible mission for me. During the pandemic, I was very proud that “Mission Impossible”, which is in cinemas now, was partly filmed in Leavesden. I helped to change the rules with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office to make sure that film doubles could change, so that Tom Cruise could go around the world and get the rest of the world to follow our rules, which meant that the film could be filmed and be in our cinemas today. That was a massive change, and I thank the team in Government at the time for enabling that to happen.
As with everyone else, I could not do this job without my team. We have worked on more than 20,000 cases. I thank Tory, Michelle, Jane, Abby, Imogen and now Jonathan for all their hard work. The surgeries that we hold and the work that we do behind the scenes are just phenomenal.
My final thanks go to two people, without whom I could not do this speech: my parents. It is their emerald anniversary today—55 years. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.
Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)
I start by remembering our dear friend, Sir David Amess, who was a personal family friend as well. He took a day trip to Hyndburn just after I was elected to visit the grave of my predecessor, Ken Hargreaves. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, we are not always blessed with beautiful weather in east Lancashire. However, Sir David turned up with a bag of 15 candles for us to light at Ken Hargreaves’ grave. After about 15 minutes of attempting to light the candles in the pouring rain, Members can imagine that it was becoming rather frustrating that Sir David was not giving up. Eventually, though, he did, and we ended up at the pub and getting his dog of the day captured from the Ossy Con club in Oswaldtwistle.
Our duty in this place is to our constituents who elect us. For some, the cut and thrust of parliamentary politics seems alien. The atmosphere can sometimes be fraught and the debate is always robust. But as I prepare to return to my constituency of Hyndburn and Haslingden, I am reminded of all the good work that we can do in our privileged position as Members of Parliament for our constituencies and our constituents. In that spirit, I wish briefly to mention the debate I led in Westminster Hall yesterday on hyperemesis gravidarum, a cruel condition that affects pregnant women, including a constituent of mine, Jessica Cronshaw, who sadly passed away after suffering with HG at 28 weeks pregnant with her beautiful baby Elsie. It reminded me of the vital work that we do here and will hopefully be the starting point for change for all HG sufferers.
When I was elected in 2019, I was 24 years of age and suddenly found myself representing my home town here in this place. People often told me that I was fighting an uphill battle and that our area was down and out after a decade of managed decline at a local level. I wanted to change that perception and to provide people who had given me so much during my upbringing with some hope for the future. Now we see the wheels of change in motion in Hyndburn and Haslingden. Although there will always be merchants of doom who trade in complaining but provide no solutions, progress has indeed been made. Earlier this year, we received the news that we had been successful in securing £38 million of levelling-up funding. This historic investment will go a long way to rejuvenating Accrington and incorporates a vision to create more social, cultural, heritage and work space, linked up with our railway station to provide an economic jumpstart for our town. We have also seen investments such as the Clayton community hub and shared prosperity funding to create a vibrant space in Haslingden market.
In Rishton and in Haslingden, two secondary schools are being rebuilt through the schools rebuilding programme, and our further education college is now an institute of technology rolling out T-levels for young people. Such seven-figure investments will ensure that families in Hyndburn and Haslingden can rest assured that their children and grandchildren will be given the best possible start in life. Coupled with the news earlier this week that Hyndburn and Haslingden will receive its highest ever amount of education funding through the national funding formula, it is fair to say that our children and young people will be equipped with the skills they need for the future.
To capitalise on greater investment in our economy and in education, we need jobs. I have been working with great local companies and business groups on increasing the number of apprenticeships in Hyndburn and Haslingden so that we have more high-skilled and well-paid jobs in our area. But life is not just work. Hyndburn and Haslingden is a beautiful constituency with rolling green fields and many active grassroots sports clubs.
I have been working to improve our parks and green spaces so that everyone can enjoy them, and yet again we have received Government support for that. The news that incidents of fly-tipping are coming down is welcome, and the fact that our council now has increased powers to fine fly-tippers up to £1,000 means we can do more to deter those who would harm our environment. Whether it is cricket, football, rugby, boxing or tennis, I have been working to support my local grassroots clubs so that they can improve their facilities and widen participation, because sports are so important not just for mental and physical health but in providing people, young or old, with a social opportunity.
I return to the point that I made at the start of my speech: in this place we can push for positive change, which is what I try to do here every day for my home because, after all, I have lived there all my life and I want to see the place thrive. There is always more to do and more that I want to do to ensure that we can continue to make strides forward across all towns and villages in Hyndburn and Haslingden.
Finally, I reassure my constituents in Oswaldtwistle and beyond that, as their local MP, I will do everything in my power to make sure that the Civic theatre is reopened after the parent company recently went into liquidation. As many know in Hyndburn and Haslingden, I am an Ossy girl born above the lamp—a Gobbiner—and much of my love for musical theatre started on that very stage, through Moor End Primary School choir and the youth drama group Sparks.
I pay tribute to my fantastic team in Hyndburn and Haslingden and here in Westminster: Alex, Caroline, Stacey, Jo, Steven and James—who is graduating today, so a huge congratulations to James on graduating. Sadly for those on the Front Bench, I will return in September more determined than ever to bring more investment and to deliver more reforms for my Hyndburn and Haslingden constituency. I am sure Ministers are happy they will have a break from my East Lancs accent pushing for change, but I urge them to keep pushing forward with the levelling-up agenda that this Government promised to deliver, so that constituencies like mine that were long forgotten can build on the progress we have made. I thank everybody in the House and hope everybody has a lovely summer recess.
Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)
It is a pleasure to take part in the David Amess debate yet again.
It is about 10 or 11 years since the Humber was christened the energy estuary, and we have extensive schemes in development. If the country is to achieve its reductions in CO2 emissions, it has to focus on the Humber, which apparently is the densest cluster in the UK. Zero Carbon Humber is a consortium of major companies that are working towards carbon capture and hydrogen projects. We also have a project for sustainable aviation fuel and a green energy terminal at the port of Immingham, which, as I have said many times, by tonnage is the largest port in the UK.
I was privileged last Friday to go to the official launch of the Humber freeport. It is about seven years since I went to the launch of the freeport project here in Parliament, when a young thrusting Member of Parliament —who happens now to be the Prime Minister—presented a report with the idea of developing freeports. I saw the advantage of that to my constituency and established the freeports all-party parliamentary group to push the Government in that direction. I am delighted that that policy was adopted, and the freeport in the Humber is now established and open for business.
Another thing that would make the area even more attractive to potential investment is the conclusion of the Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal, which has been in and out of various Ministers’ files for a number of years. It is crucial if we are to get the best advantage, particularly for the north of Lincolnshire, but the benefits will spread throughout the county.
We were fortunate to have been successful with two levelling-up bids. One was for the Cleethorpes masterplan, which details the further regeneration of what I have said many times is the premier resort of the east coast. The other was for various projects surrounding transport in Barton-upon-Humber, particularly the crucial Barton relief road. Barton has benefited greatly from the reduction in the Humber bridge tolls—an early campaign by myself and my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy)—but Barton is expanding and, like most market towns and villages, has had to take far too many housing developments without the associated public services to support the new residents. I urge the Government, as other Members have this afternoon, to focus on planning system reform so that development runs in tandem with the extension of public services, which are so essential to any community.
As I turn to my final topic, I am delighted that the Rail Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman), has entered the Chamber. As he might expect, I am going to talk, as others have today, about ticket office closures, which is one of those issues that has come to the fore. Every now and again, all Governments and councils make what seems like a routine decision and then it suddenly comes back to bite them. I suggest to the Minister that this might be one of them and that it needs some further consideration.
The rail sector has done much in recent years to assist, in particular, blind and disabled people, and it is those people who are most up in arms about this project. Compromises are surely available. May I suggest one? Perhaps, before implementation—and I hope that implementation is delayed, preferably long delayed—we could at least know where the staff will be redeployed and the hours for which they will available at the station. There are 10 railway stations in my constituency, and only one, at Cleethorpes, has a ticket office. The objection from North Lincolnshire Council, which has been sent to the Secretary of State, says:
“The Council has previously worked in partnership with TransPennine Express to refurbish and upgrade the ticket offices at Cleethorpes and Grimsby Town train stations. The Council’s financial contribution was made through the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme. If the ticket offices are closed… North East Lincolnshire will not experience the anticipated benefits from the Council’s …contribution.”
Yet again, public money has gone into improving a facility that, only a short time later, is closed. This is economic madness. I urge the Minister to reconsider and to take particular note of the objections that are coming from disabled groups, who are passionately opposed to these developments, and I urge the Government to delay their implementation.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
We now come to the winding-up speeches. My guidance is for each speaker to take eight minutes.
Marion Fellows
No, I will not. [Laughter.]
I thank my staff for putting up with me and my demands on them, but most of all I thank them for the work they do for folk in Motherwell and Wishaw. We all know in this place that we are only as good as those who work for us, and I am quite good—in fact I think I am very good—because of the work they do for me.
Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for your forbearance and for allowing me to talk about the best place and the best constituency across the UK, Motherwell and Wishaw.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
And we all thank the hon. Lady for not taking that intervention from Gavin Newlands.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
It is an immense pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), who made a very good speech.
I join other Members in paying tribute to our late colleague Sir David Amess, who is rightly honoured in the title of the debate. He remains much missed in these debates, in which he was such a fixture—he really did own them—and in the day-to-day life of Parliament. I heard what the hon. Member for Southend West (Anna Firth) said about the plaque that will be appearing in this Chamber, which we look forward to seeing. I also want to remember Jo Cox, who was honoured in the Jubilee Room just a few months ago at an event organised by her sister, my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Kim Leadbeater), with her parents in attendance. Our thoughts very much stay with her, too, at these times when we remember colleagues.
On the Opposition Benches, we send our best wishes today to the family of Margaret McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh of Mitcham and Morden, following her funeral yesterday. Margaret was Labour’s first general secretary and later a much respected peer. She was an exceptional general secretary, organising Labour to victory in 1997, and she was an inspirational boss to me and taught me so much as a young election organiser. She set the standard—a very high and exacting standard—for us, to which we still aspire today. She was a Labour organiser’s organiser. I know she will be missed by everyone, especially her sister, my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh); our heart goes out to her. I know that today she would be urging us hard to get out the vote in the by-elections, so we wish good luck to all our candidates and teams who are working so hard. Please vote Labour today!
I apologise to the graduates of the University of South Wales in Newport, who I was meant to be joining this evening to celebrate their graduation. I am sorry I cannot be with them, but I send them huge congratulations.
It is a pleasure to respond to this debate for the Opposition. These debates are always a great opportunity for MPs to raise a whole range of issues that matter to their constituents, demonstrated most ably by the Father of the House, the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley), in his speech about his constituent, and repeated by many others. It is too difficult to mention all the points raised by so many Members today, so I would like to use this opportunity to raise some issues close to my constituents’ hearts.
I was struck by the reflection of the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) on the emotional attachment that we often feel to individual constituents’ cases. In my case, it would be the Smith family, who I met many years ago and who were hugely impacted by the contaminated blood scandal. More recently, my constituent Mike Hermanis, a Falklands veteran, brought colleagues to the House to talk to me and other MPs about their pleas to have documents from the inquiry into the bombing of the Sir Galahad unsealed. I was deeply moved by his story—that of a young man of 19 from Newport East who has spent most of his life seeking answers to what happened in the days leading up to that bombing. The story of what happened is documented in Crispin Black’s book “Too Thin for a Shroud”, which sheds new light on the events of 8 June 1982, and I would recommend that book to all Members. I look forward to working with colleagues across the House—there is much interest in this—to support him in achieving the closure he seeks, alongside other Falklands veterans.
As the first Member to hold a debate on e-scooters and e-bikes, and on behalf of my constituents and those who raise their antisocial use constantly, may I urge the Government to bring forward a transport Bill or some other legislation to update the law properly to regulate their use? This has been drawn out for far too long. The legislation is clearly lagging behind both their sales and use.
I also offer my massive congratulations to Maindee Primary School, Positive Futures, Community Youth Project Newport and other partners who work with young people in Newport East and across our city on winning the national partnership of the year award at the Levelling the Playing Field scheme awards earlier this week. They are a group of incredible community volunteers, teachers and role models who are a force of nature and deserve every recognition.
This debate is also a chance to reflect on the Government’s record this term. I will just say a few things—there is certainly a lot of material to go on. This is the Government of economic mismanagement, a Government of low growth and high taxes who have failed our industries and our constituents. From the Tory mortgage bombshell that is hitting so many of our constituents hard—[Interruption.] It is true, including those 8,500 residents in Newport East who will be paying around £2,300 more on their mortgages, and the hundreds of thousands of others across the country who are struggling due to this Government’s disastrous mini-Budget last autumn. I would just like to quote a youngster from Somerton Primary who wrote to me:
“I’ve been trying to think of ways to help my mum, but she tells me not to. She works extra hours. I am terrified. I get really worried we might lose our house.”
There is no hope with the Conservative party, and while I could go on, in reality, we just need a general election.
Excellent contributions have been made by Members from across the House today, including those made by the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns)—we thank him for his work. He packed a lot into his speech, above all his love of Gateshead and the importance of strong trade unions, and quite rightly highlighted the Government’s woeful record on the asylum system. Ten years ago, 90% of asylum cases were decided in six months; that figure is now 10%. The backlog was 19,000 under the last Labour Government; it is now estimated to be 166,000.
My hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), who is fiercely passionate about Swansea East and the communities beyond, is a force of nature on the menopause. I particularly praise her for the Everyone Deserves campaign, which targets holiday hunger during this cost of living crisis. That gives me the opportunity to give a shout-out to parliamentary friendships, which sustain us all in our role. I am lucky enough to have her as one of mine.
I sympathised with the arguments that the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) made about secondary ticketing. He makes very good points—I say that as the mother of a Swiftie who has been through various traumatic times.
I thank the right hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) for making some really important points about Bosnia. It is important to highlight that topic, and I hope his arguments were well heeded: he speaks from a position of deep knowledge and experience.
The speech of the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Holly Mumby-Croft), in which she mentioned steel, allows me to say yet again in this place—as the hon. Lady did—that we need our steel. We need this Government to step in and do what they can, as other countries are doing across Europe, working in partnership to transition that vital industry and to do so swiftly.
Da iawn, as we say in Wales, to my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) for giving a traditional David Amess speech by ably demonstrating her love of her constituency, and by making some really important points about the need to protect private renters and her campaign to ban plastic in wet wipes.
The hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) mentioned policing, which allows me the opportunity to reiterate how important community policing is, how we are still suffering from the cuts that the Government brought in—some 40% was cut from the budget in Gwent under Tory Home Secretaries—and why we really need Labour’s neighbourhood policing plan.
Finally, the hon. Members for Wantage (David Johnston) and for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) mentioned work experience. I have had the huge pleasure of welcoming Bryn, Rachel, Amanda and Tom this summer; I do not know whether I put them off politics at all, but I have really enjoyed having them.
I thank everyone who has participated in today’s debate—I think we are all still recovering from the shock- horror moment when the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) revealed that he would be intervening, rather than taking part. Like other hon. Members, I take this opportunity to wish everyone who works in this place a happy and restful summer recess. There are too many roles to mention here, but I am going to make the mistake of mentioning just one by saying a particular thank you to our Doorkeepers, whose random acts of kindness—they know who they are—sustain many of us who spend a lot of time in this Chamber.
I would also like to thank all those staff who work tirelessly in our constituency offices up and down the country, including my own team. Like the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), I am so grateful to them for putting up with me—not least Dan and Elaine, who have moved on to more exciting things, but also Kath, Sarah, Emma, Gardha and Poppy. Poppy has been lent to us this summer by Yale; she has worked very closely with the Sutton Trust, which I think we should praise in this place, to be able to go to Yale, and she is back helping out in Newport East, which is wonderful.
To all Members of this House, happy working recess—for it is indeed a working recess. Diolch yn fawr, and hwyl fawr, Mr Deputy Speaker.
Ian Mearns
I think I am subject to another Government cut here, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] This has been a wide-ranging and well-supported parliamentary event, with an oft-repeated theme of ticket office closures, and I am glad that the rail Minister has been here to reflect on some of that. It has been a fitting tribute to the memory of Sir David Amess, and I also need to mention the Member who was not here but who was—the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).
Mr Deputy Speaker, to you, right hon. and hon. Members across the House, and all the staff who work tirelessly to support the functions of the House and keep us safe, I wish a fantastic and well-deserved summer recess. I wish Members safe journeys back to their constituencies, homes and loved ones.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Before everybody disappears, I just want to say that the spirit of Sir David Amess and his light absolutely shine bright on our proceedings. We all miss him greatly. We all have great memories of Sir David, and his spirit remains here.
I thank all my staff, because they at the frontline and take a lot of the flak before it gets anywhere near us, so we are grateful for them. All the staff who work here, from the Clerks to the cleaners, from the secretaries to the security, make sure that our democracy works as well as it does.
I want you all to have a superb recess. As president of the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Show, I look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to the Ribble Valley tomorrow and over the weekend, demonstrating how important rural agriculture is to this country. Have a great recess everybody.
Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Today, by written ministerial statement, the Government made their response to the Kirkup inquiry into avoidable baby deaths in East Kent. The work on that matter in this place has been led by my right hon. Friend the Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale), so I want to put on the record, on behalf of the whole east Kent community, our thanks to him for everything he has done to drive this important issue forward. I also thank the Richford family and all those who have shared their grief and their loss so that other families may not be affected by such a tragedy.
As the announcement was by written statement, I would be grateful, Mr Deputy Speaker, if you could advise whether the Government have indicated their intention to bring to the House the matters included in that statement, including a new national body for maternity safety, which I think would be of great interest to the whole House.
I also add to your comments, Mr Deputy Speaker, and thank you, the other deputies, Mr Speaker, the Speaker’s team and the House staff for looking after us all so well this parliamentary term.
Mr Deputy Speaker
I thank the hon. Lady for her point of order. I have not been notified that there will be any further statements today, and we have fairly well run out of time. However, I am sure that there will be many more opportunities for this and other issues to be raised when we get back in September.