Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Waugh and Ed Miliband

Tuesday 7th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)]

7. What steps he plans to take following recent weather events to help tackle climate change.

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

The heatwave last month saw the maximum all-time June temperature record in the UK set at 37.7°C, 2° higher than at any time since records began. Without human-induced climate change, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists has found that this 2026 European heatwave would have been virtually impossible. The climate emergency is real, and it is here. As we face these facts, this Government will continue to follow the science, to protect current and future generations.

[Paul Waugh]

Last week in Rochdale, I attended a community screening of Chris Packham’s “National Emergency Briefing”, and one of the most chilling lines in that entire documentary was that today’s extreme weather is the coolest and most stable weather we will experience for the rest of this century. In other words, the recent extreme heatwaves, floods and wildfires are going to get much, much worse without real action. Does the Secretary of State agree that this Labour Government have a strong record in just two years of gripping this emergency, but there is much more we can do to prevent the damage caused by climate change to our health, our economy and our national security?

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend articulates the position incredibly well. This is an emergency, as I said. We have seen in the last few weeks the way it affects our transport system, our education system and, indeed, health. The figures on deaths from heat-related episodes are really chilling. The UK Health Security Agency estimated that there were 1,504 heat-associated deaths in England last summer, 1,311 in 2024, 2,295 in 2023 and 2,985 in 2022. That is why it is so important that we act.

Local Power Plan

Debate between Paul Waugh and Ed Miliband

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

We are right into the nerdery here—and it is really important nerdery. My hon. Friend makes an essential point about the ability to sell this power back into the grid. I assure him that we are working on this with Ofgem to improve the offer to local community groups, because it is an essential part of ensuring that economic value goes to groups, including those in his constituency.

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

Rochdale is the birthplace of the co-operative movement, so we know what happens when local people come together to take back control when there has been a clear market failure. That is one of the many reasons I am proud to be the Labour and Co-operative party MP for Rochdale.

The Secretary of State rightly talked about the shift from community benefit, which is crumbs from the table for the big energy companies, to community ownership, and how this shift can sustainably lower bills for community groups and community buildings. Does he agree that the local power plan is all about power to the people—not just in the sense of clean energy, but communities having the power to determine their own bills and future?

[Ed Miliband]

Power to the people, indeed—it is a great slogan. I really do share my hon. Friend’s sentiments, both about the co-operative movement and Rochdale’s pioneering place in the movement, which is so important in our country, and about the shift in thinking about ownership that this plan represents. We want to move from the idea that this always has to be done by the big multinational companies, which are privately owned, to a different way of thinking. Yes, those bigger companies will continue to play a role, but why shouldn’t local people be able to come together and own their own energy? That whole principle was founded in Rochdale, and this plan will help the doubling of the co-operative movement that this Government are committed to.

Nuclear Power: Investment

Debate between Paul Waugh and Ed Miliband

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

It is really important that there is a four-nations approach to the supply chain contracts; that is something I am very keen to ensure. There will be thousands of contracts in the supply chain, with huge opportunities for Northern Ireland, and I am determined to deliver them.

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

Andy Burnham’s Atom Valley mayoral development zone for advanced manufacturing will be based in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury, and it is so named in honour of Ernest Rutherford’s groundbreaking research at the University of Manchester on splitting the atom. Does my right hon. Friend welcome the fact that today’s huge public investment in both nuclear and nuclear fusion will rely on precisely the kind of cutting-edge research that will be done at the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre in Rochdale?

[Ed Miliband]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on that question and on the new centre, which is incredibly appropriately named. We should celebrate our history on these issues, and the way to honour our history is by building the future for nuclear—that is what today is all about.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Waugh and Ed Miliband

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

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

21. What steps he is taking with his international counterparts to tackle climate change.

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

This Government believe that we can only ensure climate security for further generations in the UK if we lead globally. That was the message of the Prime Minister at the United Nations General Assembly with our world-leading 2030 clean power plan, no new oil and gas licences, and playing our part in reforming the global financial system. Next month I will be attending the COP29 talks in Azerbaijan to stand up for Britain’s interests.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend did very well, and I agree with him. Part of the problem with the last Government—I do not doubt that there were people making good endeavours—is that when we do something different at home to what we preach internationally, such as say we are going to power past coal by opening a new coalmine, people say, “Well, you are saying one thing and doing another.” Consistency is the absolute foundation for global leadership.

[Paul Waugh]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to our international obligations, whether that is clean power lines or our own strong domestic climate policies that will help areas such as Rochdale, with billpayers in recent years facing the grim possibility of high bills. This will make a huge difference, and the obvious comparison with the previous Government is there for everyone to see. Will he outline to the House what further steps he is taking on the global stage at both COP29 and COP30 to increase our global reach on climate?

[Ed Miliband]

I will say one thing in particular to my hon. Friend. The Prime Minister said at the United Nations General Assembly that we will be unveiling our nationally determined contribution—our target for 2035—at COP29. We are doing that because the danger is that the world settles into a low-ambition equilibrium when it comes to tackling these issues. By having a 1.5º aligned target, we hope to set a good benchmark and a good example for the world.