Sale of Fireworks

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Nearly two hours into this debate, I am pleased to have the chance to speak. The fact that so many have spoken shows just how much this issue matters to our constituents. I thank the 497 people in my constituency who signed the two petitions, showing just how much this matters to Bournemouth East.

In preparing to speak today, I was struck by what some colleagues have noted: it feels like we have been debating this for a very long time. In fact, as far as I can tell, the first time that Parliament debated fireworks legislation was in 1697. The first regulations to support the public use of fireworks were in the Gunpowder and Fireworks Act 1860. As one who can be frustrated by the pace of change in Parliament, I was a bit concerned that it took just 56 calendar days to get that piece of legislation through, from the First Reading in the House of Commons to Royal Assent. We might be able to learn something from our colleagues way back in history.

In thinking about what my constituents have told me about fireworks, I am struck by the words of Sandra in Muscliff, who described some of her evenings as resembling living in a warzone. Carl, who lives in Townsend, told me at my surgery appointment at Boscombe library the other week about his and his wife’s cat Chester, who suffers significantly during noisy fireworks displays, to such an extent that he has blood in his urine, which is horrible to hear. Carl was asking what more can be done about the intensity and frequency of fireworks, and echoed an awful lot of views that I have heard from my constituents in doing so. I think also of Jeanette Shepperd, who lives in Pokesdown, who has called on me to represent her call for a limit on fireworks, particularly on the Bournemouth fireworks display, which happens annually in Litterdown, where there can be loud and unpredictable displays not just on that evening, but on the days leading up to it.

There are also people on the other side of the argument, such as Gayle on Beaufort Road in Southbourne, who is very clear that she wants a live-and-let-live approach. James in Queen’s Park says that his “very, very beautiful dog Penny”—those are his words as well as mine—has never been bothered by fireworks. That tells us that we need to find a balance, between safety and welfare on one side and the ability of constituents to enjoy coming together and have happy experiences on the other. Let’s face it, our country has been denied many opportunities to join together and to feel a sense of hope and happiness for a long time.

As an animal lover, I have been calling on the Government to do more. I have been calling on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council in my area to regulate fireworks displays better and, crucially, to enforce existing rules more effectively. There is no point in making regulations if they are not enforced, and we should remember that we do have means of enforcement. The last Labour Government introduced the Fireworks Act 2003 and the Fireworks Regulations 2004, which were about restricting the antisocial use of fireworks. It has been said very well today by a number of colleagues that we are not against people being sociable, and we are not against the social use of fireworks; we are against the antisocial elements, the excessive noise and duration, the significant intensity, and the fact that we do not have reserved days for fireworks, but they happen throughout the course of the year.

I and many colleagues recognise that when one person’s actions cause harm or distress to others, and when individual freedoms come into conflict, we must always consider whether the balance is right. When it is not just the owners of pets, but the beloved pets themselves who bear the consequences, all of us feel the very great need to be compassionate towards them, but this is not just about pets. As we have heard, it is also about veterans, who are triggered as a consequence of hearing loud fireworks displays. It is about pensioners and it is about shift workers; it is about a spectrum in our society.

If the Government move forward with a limitation on the quality, duration, hours and noise of fireworks displays, that would be very much in keeping with our new animal welfare strategy. One of the best things that this Government can do as part of that strategy is to look at this issue again, bring forward the legislation that will finally protect animals, and make sure that we have more cohesive societies and a reduction in antisocial behaviour.