Debate on the Address

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)]

It is a real honour to speak in this debate on the King’s Speech and to follow the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley). I thank her for her thoughtful and considered speech. I commend the three new Members on their maiden speeches. Each was individual and different, but heartfelt and completely appropriate. Well done to all of them. The good news is that they have now achieved that and got it out the way, so they can get on with the rest of the job. It is also a real privilege to speak as the first Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Newport West and Islwyn. As I said in my acceptance speech on 4 July, it is an honour to represent the constituents of the new constituency, which includes the former seat of Lord Neil Kinnock, Don Touhig and, of course, my immediate predecessor the late great Paul Flynn.

I am very pleased that our new Labour Prime Minister set out so clearly that this Government are here to serve the country and not be self-centred or self-serving. We in this House are public servants. We should do all we can to ensure that we represent the people who voted for us, and those who did not, to ensure their voices are heard in this place of power. We must work to ensure the best outcomes for all of them. The King’s Speech is full of details of legislation to be laid in the coming months and I am excited to see it unfold. We can start to make a difference to people’s lives in Newport West and Islwyn, across Wales and the rest of the UK.

As a former trade union officer, I am so glad to see that the new deal for working people will be brought forward to ban exploitative practices and to enhance employment rights. We need to end the terrible practice of fire and rehire quickly, and the use of zero-hours contracts. It is so important that people are paid fairly and that work is rewarded. But we also need a safety net for those who are not able to work and need support, sometimes for a short time, while others need longer term support.

Legislation to reform rail franchising will be most welcome, especially by people like me who travel on the trains on a weekly basis. We need to ensure that there is fair investment across the rail network, and that passengers get a fair deal on tickets and get to their destinations in comfort and on time. I look forward to the establishment of Great British Railways in due course.

I am also looking forward to the introduction of Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company which will be based in Scotland. I have to say gently to the Government that I am sure we could have had it based in Wales, but I will leave that debate for another day!

I also welcome the measures to strengthen community policing, deal more effectively with antisocial behaviour and improve victim support. I have worked with a number of women in my constituency who have suffered domestic abuse for many, many years. I want to ensure the police learn from their stories, and that any potential victims in the future have their issues addressed and their lives made safer as quickly as possible.

I am also pleased to see included a Bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes, and, most importantly, to impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes. As a former physiotherapist like my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell), I am extremely concerned that people across the UK are still dying from cigarette-related conditions. I have treated patients who had irreversible changes to their lungs and other conditions directly due to smoking. The evidence of the link between nicotine and poor health and premature deaths has been very clear for many years now, but we also know that the longitudinal evidence on vaping has not yet been undertaken fully. We need to be cautious about the use of vapes, in particular the easy way that children and young people are able to obtain them. The addictive nature of vapes is well known. I have spoken to local school teachers who find that pupils are having to leave lessons, or even exams, to vape. That is so disruptive to the individual pupil and the whole class. It would be good to ensure safety and limit access to vapes. That legislation cannot come soon enough.

I must also mention the plans to reform the House of Lords, as my predecessor Paul Flynn spent many years calling for that. He would be delighted to hear this news and would immediately start asking when! He would be gratified to hear that the abolition of hereditary peers will be achieved within the first term of this Parliament. I look forward to learning more about these constitutional reforms and how the other place will continue to scrutinise the work of this Chamber, because that is very important. Its role has been so vital in recent months and years, as we witnessed in the last Parliament.

It would be remiss of me not to mention some areas that were not mentioned in the King’s Speech. The right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale), and many Members of this House, are very well aware of the importance of animal welfare. I have hundreds of emails on this vital topic every month. I must admit I was disappointed not to read of any animal welfare legislation, such as the banning of hunting trophies or puppy smuggling, the introduction of a kept animals Bill, and the tightening up of the rules around trail hunting in the King’s Speech. I gently ask my Front-Bench colleagues to ensure that these important pieces of legislation are brought forward in this Parliament. I am happy to be reassured that not everything makes the final cut in the King’s Speech. You can rely on me, Mr Deputy Speaker, to speak out on animal welfare, because animals cannot.

There are so many other aspects of the King’s Speech that I would like to commend, but I am very conscious of others wanting to speak. I support the planned legislation and I urge my Front-Bench colleagues to begin their work straight away to bring hope to people across the UK and to make this country a place fit for the 21st century—safe and prosperous, and where people are proud to live and raise their families.

Steel Industry: Wales

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 21st February 2024 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Sir Gary. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words in this debate, and to acknowledge the contributions by my colleagues who are expert in this area. I wish my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Christina Rees) a happy birthday, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) for bringing such an important debate to this place today.

Last Saturday, as my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden) has already highlighted, I had the honour of marching through Newport city centre in solidarity with steelworkers from Llanwern. The strength of feeling among steelworkers and their families, and the wider community across Newport and south Wales, cannot be overstated. My home town of Newport was built on steel, and we all know someone who works in Llanwern, whether they are family, friend or neighbour. We are here not just for the steelworkers of today, but for the steelworkers of tomorrow. We all know far too well in south Wales that once these sorts of industries are closed down, it is very unlikely that the skilled, decently paid jobs they provide will ever return.

Alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East, I made a promise on that march last Saturday to stand up for the steelworkers and ensure that their fight on the production lines for the future of the industry is heard loud and clear here in Westminster. It is vital that we fight for them and all our communities. Wales’s future depends on those of us here speaking out and protecting our steel foundations, whether they are at Llanwern or Port Talbot steelworks, or at suppliers such as Island Steel or recyclers such as Sims Metal in Newport West. Our country relies on the steel industry, and this Conservative Government, with their five Prime Ministers in 14 years, have let them all down.

I do not have time to list all the ways in which this Tory Government in Westminster have endangered the future of steel in Wales, but I will highlight just a couple. Island Steel, a smaller supplier that employs 100 people at Newport docks, regularly finds itself hampered by the current quota system, which locks it out of business. That is yet another example of this current UK Government being unwilling to engage with industry or even to make an effort to understand the impact of their indecision and lack of strategy.

Another area in which I have little faith in the Tories at Westminster is their negotiations for a trade deal with India. In principle, we would all welcome a deal, but the one negotiated by the current Government is years overdue and their record on trade deals is not encouraging. They have repeatedly and consistently sold British workers short and undermined vital environmental and workplace standards that we value here in the United Kingdom. The Labour party believes that trade deals should not seek to undermine our core values, such as workers’ rights, environmental protections and fair trade. The long-overdue deal, of which we still do not have the final details, must ensure access for UK manufacturing or it will be yet another bad deal authored by the Tories and will strike another hammer blow to the prospects of our domestic steel industry. We have had a catalogue of failures and bad, short-sighted decisions from this Conservative Government. They have degraded and endangered the UK steel industry.

I do not want to end on a negative note; after all, this is a debate about the future of steel, not the past. There is hope for steel, because a UK Labour Government led by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) would start by earmarking up to £3 billion for investment in green steel alongside the industry. We must retain our strong and viable steel industry because our automotive, defence, renewable and construction sectors depend on it. The next Labour Government will work with, not in opposition to, our steel trade unions. As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) said, we will build a bridge—not a cliff edge—to a just environmental transition using a blend of technologies. We will not leave anyone behind. We saw what Margaret Thatcher did to our miners in the ’80s. That will not happen on our watch.

Decarbonisation cannot and should not mean deindustrialisation, as we know that that increases costs and pushes the environmental burden on to developing countries. With a Labour Government in Westminster working together with a Welsh Labour Government in the Senedd, we will ensure that steel production continues to play a key role in the growth and prosperity of Wales, for our economy and our people.

Protecting Steel in the UK

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

It is good to participate in this debate, but it is not good to recognise the thousands of job losses coming down the track and the devastating effect that will have on our local communities. We cannot underestimate the anxiety and anguish caused by this callous announcement by Tata, and the lack of thought by the UK Government in just going along with it. It is not just about the direct job losses, but about the thousands of other workers and families involved in the supply chain of the steelworks in south Wales.

This announcement is a massive blow for everyone across Wales and the UK. It is all the more frustrating, because we know that this decision to shed 2,800 jobs is completely avoidable. We know that the steel industry has to decarbonise, and we must achieve our goal of net zero, but we do not have to do it overnight. We can transition to green steel. Decarbonisation cannot mean deindustrialisation. The route to green steel involves a mix of all the available technologies, not just electric arc furnaces. We will move towards our goal of net zero, but in partnership and co-operation, leaving no one behind. That is the fair way; that is Labour’s way.

In contrast, this Government are so deaf to the problem that the Prime Minister would not even answer the phone to the First Minister Mark Drakeford when he rang to discuss the proposed job losses. That tells us volumes about how ready to listen this Government are. As we are talking about Government responses, will the Minister meet the unions? I believe that the last meeting was way back in May 2023. It would be good to have a commitment from the Minister.

There is also a knock-on effect, because while we are mainly concerned with jobs in Port Talbot today, there will be an impact on its sister site Llanwern in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden). Many people in Newport West work in Llanwern, and let us not forget the other steel companies, such as Island Steel and Sims Metal recycling, which are also suffering because of a lack of coherence and strategy from the current UK Government. It is unbelievable.

Like all the speakers on the Labour Benches, I pay tribute to the union representatives here in the Public Gallery today, and I thank them for their diligent and proactive work. I call on the UK Government to engage with them and work with Tata to ensure that the UK retains its steel production capabilities and that our automotive, defence, manufacturing, construction and renewables industries can procure and use our own British steel.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

To start the wind-ups, I call the Opposition spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 6th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

6. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of the autumn statement on households in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (David T. C. Davies)]

I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues regarding UK Government support for households in Wales, so I was absolutely delighted that in the autumn statement the Chancellor announced a 9.8% rise in the national living wage, providing an extra £1,800 to the annual earnings of full-time workers.

[Ruth Jones]

We are all thinking of the lovely Glenys Kinnock and her family, especially my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock), at this sad time.

The number of emergency food parcels distributed by the Trussell—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. Does it occur to hon. Members when they are conversing in a normal speaking tone, rather than whispering, while a Member is asking a question that it is really rude and discourteous?

[Ruth Jones]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The number of emergency food parcels distributed by Trussell Trust food banks in Newport West is on the rise. In 2018, the number of parcels distributed was 1,971. In the same period this year, over 3,000 were distributed to families. There was nothing in the autumn statement that would make that situation better. Why not?

[David T. C. Davies]

With respect, I disagree with the hon. Lady. The fact that inflation has been halved will be of benefit to anyone receiving food parcels. The fact that there has been a cut in national insurance will be beneficial for people. The fact that there has been an increase in the living wage will be beneficial for people. The fact that pensions and benefits are going up in line with inflation is going to be beneficial for people in her constituency. What is not going to be beneficial for her constituents is the Welsh Labour Government wanting to spend over £100 million creating extra Senedd Members.

G7 Summit

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Monday 22nd May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

Many people in Newport West have been eagerly waiting for the Government’s semiconductor strategy, including 600 hardworking employees at Newport Wafer Fab. After three years of waiting, rather than coming to this House, the Prime Minister made the announcement in Japan on Friday last week, avoiding parliamentary scrutiny yet again. That is unacceptable in my view. How can we expect effective research and development to be carried out within the semiconductor industry, as trumpeted by the strategy, without well-funded domestic manufacturing capacity?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady may have missed the £1 billion of investment in the UK semiconductor industry contained in the strategy, and the fact that it was welcomed by leading companies from the sector. It has taken the right amount of time to get the strategy together, because it is the right strategy for Britain. Every country has different strengths, and every country plays a different role in the supply chain. We are focused on what we do best, which is in compound semiconductors, as the hon. Lady will know well from south Wales, but also semiconductor design and intellectual property. Those are the strengths we are investing in, which give us leverage in a large global supply chain. That is why the strategy was warmly welcomed, and is the right strategy to strengthen our security.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can indeed give my right hon. Friend that assurance. She is absolutely right: we must protect our green belt and we are adopting a “brownfield first” strategy. I am pleased that we had a record number of new homes built in the last year, but it is important that we build those homes in the right places.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

Q11. While we welcome the new Prime Minister to his place, we remember that lawbreaking was the order of the day in Downing Street during the pandemic. We will never forget that the current Prime Minister was fined by the police for attending a birthday party hosted by his next-door neighbour. As both a witness to and a participant in that lawbreaking, if he is called to give evidence to the Privileges Committee’s investigation into the former Prime Minister, will he fully co-operate?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, and I addressed these matters earlier this year.

Early General Election

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Mundell. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in today’s important debate on e-petition 619781. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) for speaking so well and giving voice to so many concerns felt by me and an increasing number of my Newport West constituents.

The state of our nation is far from strong, and it is important that we recognise that the challenges and obstacles faced by the people of our United Kingdom have been caused by the Conservative party and our Prime Minister. This is a Tory crisis, made in Downing Street, and being paid for by working people in Newport West and across the country. This 12-year-old Conservative Government have crashed the economy through enormous unfunded tax cuts; they have left people worried as they face higher mortgages and soaring costs, and have done nothing to show they understand how serious the situation is.

On Friday, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng) was fired by the Prime Minister, who is his ideological bedfellow. They were in lockstep over every key element of Government policy announced since 6 September 2022. We do not simply need a change of Chancellor; we need a change of Government and a general election.

Of course, Government Members, if they were here, would say that His Majesty’s Opposition have to call for an election—it is what we do; that is our job—but we are beyond simply saying it for the sake of it. Indeed, The Sunday Times editorial yesterday called for a change of Prime Minister and a general election, and I quite agree. I feel sure that the Leader of the Opposition, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer), stands ready to lead.

Our nation is in peril. Our people, from Scotland to Wales and from England to Northern Ireland, are having to decide between heating and eating. Now, with rising mortgages, people across the nation face losing their homes. We are in a disgraceful situation, and not one word from any Minister in this Government reassures me that they understand the challenge before them. They also do not understand the scale of the change required, or the fact that if we do not stabilise the markets through sensible policy decisions we will push our people not just to the edge, but over the cliff.

I was not elected to this place by the people of Newport West to stand by and let this reckless, out of touch and inward looking Tory Government get away with destroying the lives of tens of millions of people. That is the situation we are in, and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North made clear, that is why we need a general election. The petition we are considering today has more than half a million signatures; indeed, as my hon. Friend said, there are 630,000 signatures and the number is still increasing. As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to give voice to people’s fears, worries, concerns and demands.

I asked one of my constituents, Amanda Bayliss, who lives in Caerleon, for a quote for this debate and she said:

“Dear Ruth, I am appalled and devastated by the actions of this current government. I’m genuinely worried and afraid for my future and that of my children and grandchildren.”

She went on to say that this

“government must be stopped at all costs before there is nothing left of this country, and we reach a point of no return.”

It is not just Amanda in Caerleon; across Newport West, I am accosted by people in the supermarket or on the street, and yesterday even in church, who say, “For goodness’ sake, Ruth, get rid of this Government”. I have to tell them that I do not have the power to do so.

This petition shows the strength of feeling across the United Kingdom. Our United Kingdom is living through a moment of profound change. It needs a Government who can deliver an economy that works for everyone, delivering the jobs and growth of the future. In recent days, we have been reminded of how working people have been left counting the cost of 12 years of Tory Government. The Conservative party’s failure to grow the economy has resulted in stagnant wages and broken public services.

The Labour party has a serious plan for growth and wants to see all our nations and regions benefit from and contribute to the growth and jobs of the future as we deliver net zero. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt), is now the de facto Prime Minister, without a single vote being cast by a single person.

We know now that the Prime Minister believes in the failed trickle-down ideology of the past, which has locked Britain out of growth and which will never deliver for working people. My party will deliver for working people, as it is already doing in Wales; Labour, under First Minister Mark Drakeford, is delivering for the people of Newport West and for people across Wales.

Here and in Wales, the Tories are the party of vested interest and their time to go has come. That is why we need a general election, and when it comes Labour will deliver the fairer, greener future that this country deserves.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to say a few words today. It is a genuine honour for me to speak in this important debate on behalf of the people of Newport West to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. I want to echo the sentiments expressed by Members on both sides of the House; I was inspired by—and enjoyed listening to—their elegant, witty words and the stories about the Queen that they have shared with us, and I am very grateful to them.

By any measure, Her late Majesty was one of a kind. She led, she served, she cared, she inspired, she comforted, and she challenged. Queen Elizabeth will be irreplaceable, and we were lucky to have her. Hers was a life well lived. From travelling to all parts of our world to serving as our most long-standing Head of State, she made history, and she was our present for so long. It does not matter whether you are a royalist or a republican, Madam Deputy Speaker: we can all recognise the Queen’s dedication, integrity, compassion and sense of humour, and acknowledge her lifetime of extraordinary service to our country, of commitment to the people of Wales, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and her calm, strong and stable leadership.

I have heard many stories about the visits that the Queen paid to our area in south Wales and to my Newport West constituency, such as her visit to St Woolos’ Cathedral in Stow Hill. At the official openings of the Assembly of Wales, now the Senedd, the former Assembly Member for Newport West and Presiding Officer, Dame Rosemary Butler, welcomed the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Cardiff Bay, the home of the Welsh national Parliament.

Today I want to give voice to the many people who live, learn and work in Newport West, who mourn Her late Majesty’s passing and who, through me as their Member of Parliament, extend their condolences to the King and the royal family. In particular, I want to mention a message that I received from Mubarak Ali on behalf of the Islamic Society for Wales:

“At this sad time we all share our grief and tears with members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth will be greatly missed. Rest in peace in heaven, your majesty. Thank you for your love and dedication for our country and the world.”

In 1944, the then Princess Elizabeth made her first visit to Newport. My 87-year-old mum and others of her age remember that visit and the boost that it provided during the difficult war years. In 2002, to celebrate the Queen’s golden jubilee, Newport was granted city status. It was a moment of immense pride for our city. Again, Her late Majesty was there to celebrate with us, and I must admit that I was very proud that my four-year-old daughter Elinor was one of the first to give Her late Majesty a posy of flowers as she arrived in the city centre—#proudmum.

We politicians come and go, but Her late Majesty endured and was a constant for all of us. As we move into a new world, with a new monarch and a gaping hole in our national life, we give thanks for the life of Queen Elizabeth II, mourn her loss and send our prayers, condolences and love to the royal family, the country, the Commonwealth and the world that she has left behind. May she rest in peace.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

As my hon. Friend knows, support is being provided to help households. In particular, the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 pounds of support. Of course, we also need to look at further energy-efficiency measures, and I am sure the new Prime Minister and Chancellor will look at all of that.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

T7. Yesterday, a court found that the Government’s net zero strategy was unlawful because it included only 95% of the emissions reductions required to meet the sixth carbon budget and did not include the detail required to enable Parliament to properly scrutinise it. What will the Minister do to rectify that, and which aspects of the strategy will he strengthen now?

[Alok Sharma]

As I said in response to an earlier question, the net zero strategy is not what has been quashed. Obviously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will look to respond to the judgment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

We all share the hon. Lady’s deep concern about the impact of energy prices on all citizens across the UK. As she knows and as I explained earlier, the Government are taking urgent and significant steps to help to alleviate that. In the autumn, there will be a £400 rebate on every electricity bill across the land to assist with those costs. However, as she knows, we are subject to a global energy market and we are working hard to see how we can be less vulnerable to those fluctuations and create more energy self-sufficiency.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

T9.   The news that Ministers who resigned last week will receive nearly £17,000 in severance pay has outraged the people of Newport West. Nowhere in the real world do people get such amounts of money for resigning a job, no matter how sensible the decision might be. I have a long list of things we could do with that money in Newport West, so will the Minister make time to meet me next week to discuss it?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mrs Heather Wheeler)]

I am afraid the hon. Lady should have listened to the answers given at the urgent question the other day—[Interruption.] That is absolutely fine, thank you very much. She can read Hansard; we went into great detail. It is a matter of statute.