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.