Social Cohesion Action Plan

Debate between Steve Reed and Kirsty Blackman

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend is right to say that the response of the official Opposition was disappointing, because it implied that they have learned nothing since their historic election defeat a year and a half ago. Pride in Place—£5.8 billion distributed to almost 300 constituencies—will give some of the most held-back communities in the land up to £20 million each, and local people will choose how that money is spent. Whatever the demographic make-up of individual communities—be they more or less diverse—that will bring local people together to make decisions for themselves. The restoration of power to communities will help to build resilience within them, for whatever challenges we may face.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

Does the Secretary of State believe that echoing Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech strengthens community cohesion?

[Steve Reed]

That did not happen.

Grenfell Tower Annual Report

Debate between Steve Reed and Kirsty Blackman

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

I am aware of what happened in my hon. Friend’s constituency recently, and how worrying it has been not just for the people living there, but for people right across the country. Just as with what happened at Grenfell, it attests to the fact that the building safety regulations and system in this country were inadequate to meet the public’s expectation, which is rightly that their homes should be safe. We have today published the construction products reform White Paper, which I hope she will take the opportunity to look at. It outlines some of the changes that we will make to products themselves. We will also continue to work on other aspects of building. The independent panel on building control, chaired by Dame Judith Hackitt, is due to report shortly and will make further important proposals on how to improve the system.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

Nothing can ever undo the harm caused at Grenfell. I was in Parliament on that day, swearing in, when we saw everything that had unfolded. Nobody in my city of Aberdeen can ever get over the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988, but the resulting safety case produced by the Cullen inquiry meant that we had a much safer North sea and such a tragedy could never happen again, which brought people some solace. Will the Minister join me in urging stakeholders in Scotland to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on fire safety guidance, as we update the Scottish building standards to ensure that that guidance is as good as possible and all those working in that area can comply with it?

[Steve Reed]

I am happy to support the hon. Lady’s call for all affected stakeholders to feed in their views to the inquiry, be they in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland. The legacy of Grenfell and other tragedies, such as the one she refers to, should be greater safety from fire for everybody.

Electoral Resilience

Debate between Steve Reed and Kirsty Blackman

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

I am always happy to receive invitations to appear before inquiries of that level of importance. The terms of reference will be laid in the House of Commons Library today—indeed, they may already have been—and I refer to my earlier comments on social media.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

In terms of looking at political finances, we are supportive of the review, and I thank the Secretary of State for announcing it today. Donations made to political parties are one thing, but donations made to either candidates or politicians are another thing and can be considered slightly differently. Can the Secretary of State confirm that this will be part of Rycroft’s review and that he will look specifically at donations to main political parties that are made outside the normal electoral cycle?

[Steve Reed]

I welcome the hon. Lady’s support for the review. The circumstances she describes will be in scope. We need to look across the piece to ensure that the safeguards we have in place against foreign influence on our democracy are robust at all levels, all tiers and all elections.