Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands

Debate between Samantha Niblett and Leigh Ingham

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. It is bitterly disappointing that Reform could not be bothered to field a single MP to come and stand up for the east midlands in this debate about productivity and economic growth in the region. People need to be careful what they vote for if they want people who will stand up for them.

The east midlands is my home, and I am proud to say that there are Members of Parliament present who represent places that my family and friends live, which is wonderful. We have always been a region of makers, builders and innovators. Our communities were forged in the industrial revolution, and in South Derbyshire they were built on coal and clay. In fact, it is still possible to buy the iconic TG Green blue-and-white-striped Cornishware. I think almost every grandparent had one of the famous mixing bowls, which are brown on the outside and white on the inside.

Across the constituency, we have businesses innovating, creating jobs and driving growth for the wider regional economy. At the heart of that is advanced manufacturing, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK in Burnaston remains one of the most significant automotive plants in the country, supporting more than 3,000 jobs and anchoring a wider supply chain across the region. South Derbyshire is also well placed to benefit from the opportunities created by the east midlands freeport, which aims to attract high-value industries and businesses that are focused on science, technology, engineering and maths.

A strong skills pipeline will be essential to that success. We need our two new schools—New House Farm and Spencer academy—and I hope that my letter to the Department for Education, which contains data and evidence demonstrating why it must ensure backing for the schools, is taken heed of. We await a decision. I was delighted to attend the opening of the green skills academy of Burton and South Derbyshire college, which is driving sustainability in construction and retrofit and teaching people how to install heat pumps and solar panels. That brings me to the fact that we have more than our fair share of planning applications for battery energy storage systems and solar farms, which helps us make the case for the importance of having a local area energy plan.

Our economy is driven not just by large global employers; small and medium-sized enterprises across South Derbyshire are also innovating and creating opportunity, and I am forever grateful to our farmers for feeding us. South Derbyshire contributes strongly to the region’s visitor economy too: National Trust’s Calke abbey attracts visitors from across the country and Mercia marina is the largest inland marina in Europe. Our district is one of the fastest growing in England, with significant house building and population growth but without the infrastructure to support it. I am supporting local councillor David Shepherd to try to secure a GP in Stenson Fields.

Transport remains a connectivity challenge for us. Our largest town, Swadlincote, has not been served by a railway station for quite some time. The reopening of the Ivanhoe line, as championed by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack), would reconnect our communities, support local businesses and help people access jobs and education.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

I want to out myself: I am a west midlands MP, not an east midlands MP. But what my hon. Friend is speaking about is a structural failure of transport across the east and west midlands. The east midlands receives 54% of the UK’s average transport spend per head, which is the lowest of any region or nation in the country, but for rail that figure is 40%. As I often say, I can get from Stafford to London in about an hour and 10 minutes, but if I want to get across to one of the other east midlands cities—Derby, Leicester or Nottingham—the picture is completely different. We have built excellent lines up and down the country, but the lack of lines across the country is really holding back the development of the wider region. Does she agree that to maximise growth in both our regions, we have to invest in rail from east to west?

[Samantha Niblett]

I could not agree more. Reopening the Ivanhoe line would not only give us access to Burton, Coalville and eventually Leicester, but enable onward journeys to bigger cities including Birmingham and London. I support the case that my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby) made for a direct line to Manchester, too.

Through the work of Mayor Claire Ward, we have a real opportunity to unlock the potential of some of our region. South Derbyshire already has the ingredients for success: world-class manufacturers, innovative engineers, ambitious entrepreneurs and strong communities. What we now need is investment that matches that potential. Let this debate be a rallying cry that when we invest in South Derbyshire and the east midlands, we invest in one of the most dynamic and productive parts of the country, with communities ready to grow, ready to innovate and ready to help drive the region’s and the country’s future prosperity.

Animal Welfare Strategy for England

Debate between Samantha Niblett and Leigh Ingham

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Samantha Niblett]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who I know is a big animal lover herself—we certainly have that in common—that the welfare strategy will tackle those concerns. I will address some of those points later in my speech.

We have a moral duty to safeguard animal welfare, and most people agree with us, so I warmly welcome the Labour Government’s recent animal welfare strategy. What a wonderful Christmas present it was for so many of us. The strategy sets out clear ambitions, to be achieved by 2030, on improving the lives of companion animals, wild animals, farmed animals and animals overseas. It commits to addressing loopholes around breeding, to banning snare traps, to delivering on our manifesto commitment to ban trail hunting and to introduce standards for the humane killing of fish.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

I feel the need to say that, like 52% of the population, I am a dog owner myself—I have the wonderful Nico Ingham—and I was so pleased to see that the Government will consult on introducing a registration scheme for dog breeders to get rid of dodgy breeders and puppy farms, which many of my constituents in Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages have written to me about. Does my hon. Friend agree that the strategy is a crucial first step towards a kinder future for dogs throughout the country?

[Samantha Niblett]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that it is a crucial first step. I cannot understand how anybody in all good conscience can run a puppy farm, but I understand how some people have the wool pulled over their eyes to buy from one. If we take away puppy farms as an option, those people will not be tricked.

The scale of this issue is vast. There are an estimated 35 million pets living in the UK, with the pet care market worth £8.2 billion and forecast to grow by 7% annually. At the same time, there are around 150 million farmed animals in England at any one time, comprising 22 million cattle, sheep and pigs and 133 million poultry. The livestock sector contributes £20.1 billion to the UK economy, thanks to the hard work of our farmers. While strengthening animal welfare standards here in the UK is vital, this must go hand in hand with Baroness Batters’s report and with genuine partnership working with farmers, who are already driving standards upwards. Crucially, we must ensure that they are properly supported and paid for this work.

I welcome the Government’s decision to transition to non-cage systems and to consult on phasing out enriched colony cages for laying hens. I support Compassion in World Farming’s “End the Cage Age” campaign. Cages severely restrict hens’ movement, preventing them from running, flapping their wings, dust bathing and foraging—behaviours that are fundamental to their welfare. At my most recent coffee morning in Burnaston, it was good to speak about farming again with my constituent Angela Sargent, this time about her concerns regarding salmonella in eggs from imported caged birds. I never buy eggs from caged birds, but I fully appreciate that not everyone can afford to make that choice and must take the cheapest option available.

This issue also has serious implications for British farmers, who are placed at a competitive disadvantage by the tariff-free import of eggs from caged Ukrainian hens. The same point applies for meat imports.