Business of the House

Paul Waugh Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

There is always a great competition in these sessions for the most beautiful constituency, but I can confirm that Buxton and many other parts of my hon. Friend’s constituency are indeed beautiful and well worth a visit. I join him in congratulating Explore Buxton, and encourage those who want to have a lovely day out to go to Buxton.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

Rochdale is the historic birthplace of the co-op movement, so it is fitting that we will host the UK Co-op Congress 2025 this weekend. There is an impressive array of speakers, including Steve Coogan, Patrick Grant, my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes), and the Leader of the House herself. As we celebrate the International Year of Co-operatives, will she join me in paying tribute to representatives of the Co-operative Union of Palestine, whom I met in Ramallah earlier this year, for all their heroic work in keeping communities together—against the odds—in the west bank and Gaza?

[Lucy Powell]

I am really looking forward to coming to my hon. Friend’s constituency tomorrow to speak at the Co-op Congress. I am not sure whether the attraction is me or Steve Coogan—I am pretty sure it is Steve Coogan. I join my hon. Friend in thanking co-operatives for their work, including the one in the west bank and Gaza that he describes. It just shows that when we come together and work in a mutual way, we can really tackle some of the big problems that the world faces.