Great British Energy Bill (Third sitting)

Uma Kumaran Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 10th October 2024 Public Bill Committees

[Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)]

I want to join in the conversation about community energy, which I know is very important to the county that the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire and I share. Lots of great initiatives are going on there. Having read the amendments and thought about them this morning, I am deeply encouraged by the comments that the Minister and Juergen Maier made in our session earlier in the week.

I think I am the only Co-operative MP here—[Interruption.] I can see my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar indicating that she is one, too. As someone who has worked in the co-operative energy sector for much of my adult life, this is the first time in many years that I have seen a Government genuinely committed to community energy and working with the mutual sector to deliver that. I am proud of the work that the Co-operative party and the Labour party have done to bring forward GB Energy and work with the co-op sector.

In recent weeks, as we have prepared for the Bill, I have met Central Co-op, Midcounties Co-op, Unity, Greater Manchester Community Renewables, and a range of agencies that are fully behind the Bill because they see the power of it. The scale of the Government’s ambition is clear. The Secretary of State himself has said that the local power plan will deliver the biggest expansion of community energy in history. It would also be remiss of us to consider the amendment without acknowledging the local power plan, which is part of GB Energy’s founding statement, which includes a clear commitment from the chair, Juergen Maier:

“We will be investing in community-owned energy generation, reducing the pressures on the transmission grid while giving local people a stake in their transition to net zero.”

The local power plan is also listed in GB Energy’s three initial priorities.

Although I sympathise with, and support and wish to work with, the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on community energy in Cambridgeshire in the localities that we operate in—it is really important that we keep a focus on that—this is a Bill that will transform our energy. The co-op movement is behind it and communities are behind it. It is important that we drive the Bill forward, so that it enables the local power plan, rather than—as it is almost the festive season—treating it like a Christmas tree, which is what I worry some legislation can become like. There are so many baubles that we could put on this legislation, when we should let the majesty of the tree speak for itself. We should get on and pass it, by Christmas or in six months or however long it takes. Community energy is coming, and we do not need an amendment to tell us it is on its way.

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

It is really good to see this cross-party support for community energy. I am sure all Members here today can speak to brilliant innovations in their constituencies. I have one in my constituency of Stratford and Bow, Community Energy Newham: its vision, very much like that of the Government, is to provide clean, affordable energy to homes and public buildings across the borough of Newham.

As we heard extensively on Second Reading, GB Energy will be owned by and for the British people, to help to promote energy independence, as well as to maintain Britain’s standing as a global leader. I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire. The Bill has already baked in the fact that community energy will be possible. We heard extensively from our witnesses that if the Bill does not give GB Energy the ability to innovate and advance, or to be flexible, there may be constraints in the years ahead. That is why we do not need the amendment.

Community Energy Newham is looking to provide our local library with a cleaner source of energy. As I said, many Members have exciting projects in their constituencies. That is why it is so important to maintain this cross-party support for the Bill and get it through as quickly as possible, so that not only our constituents but the whole country can benefit from Great British Energy.

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

I rise to reinforce not just the evidence that we heard from the Minister and Juergen Maier about the commitment to community energy, but the evidence we heard from private companies about foreign Governments that are willing to allow communities and municipalities to take a share in community energy.

None of what is in the Bill or what GB Energy proposes will happen without communities being involved. Communities will have to be involved at every stage —in generation, in transmission and in the purchase of the energy—otherwise we will find ourselves fighting communities every step of the way. It is vital that communities are involved. They are not just knocking at the door; they are taking over.

My constituency, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, has the largest number of community-owned windfarms in the UK. They serve as a template for what could happen across the rest of Scotland and Britain if communities are engaged and take on the challenge of producing their own power.

I was delighted with what the Minister said in the evidence session on Tuesday: GB Energy will be there to enable and help communities to get on the grid, get over the planning obstacles and the legal and financial obstacles that are sometimes in their paths. I think we should allow GB Energy to be set up and to get on with its business, and to enable communities to be engaged and involved not just in the production of energy, but in earning and reaping some of the profit that we will see from the wealth of wind.

Great British Energy Bill (First sitting)

Uma Kumaran Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 8th October 2024 Public Bill Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)]

I am also a member of the GMB.

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

I am also a member of the GMB.

[Olivia Blake]

I am also a member of the GMB.

--- Later in debate ---

[Harriet Cross]

In that respect, we would still need fossil fuels—oil and gas—going forward to help the transition.

Juergen Maier: Of course, yes.

[Uma Kumaran]

Q Welcome, Mr Maier. It is good to hear your reassurances about communities being kept at the heart of this. You have told us about renewables, about offshore and about clean energy. As we have heard, it is a short Bill, but I would welcome your thoughts on what the Bill tells us about the objects and the strategic priorities of GB Energy and whether, in your view, it gives you enough detail to carry out your work.

Juergen Maier: It certainly gives me a very clear direction, along with the framework document that we will develop together with the Secretary of State and the Minister. The short answer to your question is that it is pretty clear. The purpose is clear, and that is the most important thing: the purpose, at the end of the day, is that we will accelerate the amount of clean renewable energy that we put on the grid, and that we will create as much prosperity and as many jobs through it as possible.

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Q Welcome, Mr Maier. The main thing for me is the public accountability of GB Energy. You are very clear that the Bill gives you strategic direction. How do you feel that it also provides for public accountability for the money being invested or co-invested?

Juergen Maier: We are seeing pretty good evidence of that right now, aren’t we? At the end of the day, this is now a pretty well-established model for being absolutely state-owned and independently run. “Independently run” means excellent governance, and obviously as start-up chair I am going to ensure that that is the case. That does not all need to be in the Bill, because we know what it means. We have the Companies Act 2006 and numerous Acts about how good governance works. We will ensure through our board and our non-executives that there is proper governance, and of course there will be many opportunities for reviews by the Secretary of State and ultimately for the usual sort of public scrutiny.

--- Later in debate ---

[Wera Hobhouse]

Q Good morning. I want to come back to clause 5 of the Bill, which is about the statement of strategic priorities. Most of what I have heard this morning is that we are a bit worried about there not being enough detail on certain things. Should there be more detail about the strategic priorities in the Bill, such as job creation, or should there be a precise timeline for when we can actually expect that? The whole purpose of the Bill is to speed up all that energy transition, and currently we do not know when we will see a statement. Is it important that we actually get some timelines in the Bill?

Mike Clancy: The simple answer is yes. The longer there is a concept phase, albeit a positive concept phase, the more that we are talking about a multiplier effect from GBE in many respects. If GBE is delivered, starts to operate and gives confidence to the direction of energy policy, other investors will see this as a serious proposition and therefore we will be engaging in this huge process of energy transition.

As I said just a moment ago, it also means that talented people can see a future. We want to be part of that. So, within the process of parliamentary drafting, the more that we have a clear set of objectives—actually differentiating it as a public entity and setting the tone for what you want from energy assets in the future—the better, because that will give that confidence. That also has a knock-on effect for the confidence of private investors in other parts of the energy environment.

[Uma Kumaran]

Q Thank you both. I really welcome hearing the views of trade unions in this session, especially about keeping workers at the heart of this. Do you think that GB Energy can help to drive the demand for skills and apprenticeships and prepare our workforce for a just transition?

Mika Minio-Paluello: There is a lot of demand at the moment, and a part of the challenge is a significant lack of supply. Part of the reason for that lack of supply is that there is a lack of investment. We as a country have not invested into our workforce sufficiently over time, which is why you get into a situation where different sectors effectively end up poaching people who are most in demand.

GB Energy provides a mechanism as part of solving that. It will not solve it as a whole—the Government have other plans as well to try put that investment in— but it can have a significant role in going, “Yes, here, we are going to provide that long-term investment directly.” Also, clearly, GB Energy will be partnering with the private sector. In that co-operation, it can then say, through its procurement powers, “Okay, in our joint project on this big offshore wind farm, we are going to require the supply chain across the board to be investing into apprenticeships, whether that is one, two or three tiers down,” so that we get that overall growth. It therefore can play a significant role there.

Mike Clancy: I have already touched on this. It might sound strange, but we probably have a bit of a mission at present because of the constraints applied by the previous Administration to remove our members in technical occupations in the energy field from the public sphere, because the labour markets that they operate in reward better in the private sector. The private sector is in a war for talent in this area because, in this country, over the many decades, we have not valued STEM skills and engineering. I speak as a humanities graduate who is always in awe of people who actually go to institutions and learn things that matter and are then applied for the health of the nation.

We have to start with valuing STEM—valuing it on a diverse basis, ensuring that the workforce reflects our diversity objectives more generally—and having a clear understanding that, even within Government, there can be an element of robbing one to pay for the other, such as with defence and aviation. Lots of areas need these STEM skills, which are then easily transferable into digital skills, and there are better salaries for some of those elsewhere.

If you want to deliver that promise about high-quality jobs, you really have to think and have a labour-market strategy for GB Energy that works in this competitive context at all levels—from apprenticeship, through to technical, through to engineering and even through to doctoral level. Again, in terms of the direction and objectives of the Bill, it is about being an exemplar for the entire energy sector in relation to the skills matrix, with how people are employed and the diversity objectives that any public company should have. That is what the Bill should try to address in sufficient detail.

[The Chair]

Order. Just a reminder again that we are talking about what is in the Bill—not blue-sky thinking about what GB Energy might do and that kind of stuff.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine Fookes]

Q Welcome to the participants. My question follows on beautifully from Shaun’s comments around community. How do we think that GB Energy can accelerate and drive investment in the development of community enterprise and community energy?

Shaun Spiers: One thing that is necessary to say is that this is a major part of the transition and a priority of the Government. That was the case for periods during the coalition, when there was a really vibrant community energy movement and a sense in which people were coming around to supporting renewable energy—which otherwise they would have opposed—because they could see they had a financial stake in it but had also been engaged in developing it. What snuffed that out had more to do with planning issues than with investment, but there are ways in which GB Energy can pump-prime some of the investment.

I am trying to think back to the community energy manifesto we put together in 2018. I cannot think of any specific things, but I can write to the Committee, if that is helpful. There are specific financial incentives that would help get this off the ground. To be honest, though, communities across the country were really keen on community energy. It was a vibrant movement and could be again, with the right political framework as much as investment.

[Uma Kumaran]

Q Thank you, panel. We have been hearing a lot today about the mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower, moving away from fossil fuels. I want to touch on something that Shaun, Marc and Ravi have all mentioned, about leadership, ambition and innovation. In your view, does the Bill give investors increased confidence to invest in the UK in the energy sector?

Ravi Gurumurthy: You have to think about this as a whole package. If you have absolute clarity and conviction around the 2030 decarbonisation target and the pathway beyond that, and if you translate that intent into a strategic plan—with clarity about the technologies and their location through the NESO—and if you then have an enabling, activating agency like GB Energy clearing away some of the barriers, then the combination of that overall ambition, that plan and GB Energy does I think hugely accelerate investments into the sector. But you have got to do all three.

Marc Hedin: I think that is right. I think there are two key components here. One is identifying gaps in the market, where Great British Energy can provide a lot of value and can reinforce confidence from investors, and thinking hard about where it makes sense for Great British Energy to invest. We have mentioned points like local power plans, innovative technologies. I think there is a range of areas in which it makes a lot of sense for the state to co-invest through Great British Energy to develop those industries. The last point is around supply chain, to really support the whole energy transition.

Shaun Spiers: I agree with that. This is a part of a bigger picture. We keep coming back to the scope of the Bill. The Bill, in its objects, talks about

“measures for ensuring the security of supply of energy”

One area that really has not been given sufficient attention is critical raw materials, where we import 100% and then we export 100% for recycling elsewhere. There are 37 lithium recycling factories in the EU but none in the UK. This is the sort of industry that Great British Energy could help pump-prime, if that is seen as within its scope.

[Stephen Flynn]

Q Again, you have spoken very eloquently about the opportunities that may or may not exist under GB Energy, particularly with regard to the risk appetite that needs to be there. You have perhaps delved into some areas in relation to planning and Crown Estate; where they sit within the devolved competency of the Scottish Parliament. I will not ask you to comment on that because that would be deeply unfair, but what you and others have done is delve into the strategic priorities and what you think they could be. Do you think it is helpful or unhelpful that at this juncture we do not have a full understanding of what those strategic priorities are, given that the Bill is going through in its current form?

Shaun Spiers: I think the more that can be done to set out the strategic priorities, the better. I do not think it necessarily needs to be in the Bill. The explanatory statement and the introductions and so on I think do give a reasonably good steer on what the strategic priorities are, but obviously this body is being set up at pace. The more clarity there is on what it is going to do, the better. I would not set unreasonable expectations of a body that is being set up really quickly, with a pretty clear short-term aim of 2030 power decarbonisation and of supporting that. However, in the longer term the priorities clearly need to be set out.

Ravi Gurumurthy: The NESO will be producing its plan in October, and you have then got the next carbon budget in February, so the actual pathway to 2030 and to 2050 will start to become even clearer in the coming months. It will need to be flexible, however. There will be technologies which emerge that shift our sense of what to focus on. You need priorities, but you do need quite a lot of flexibility in this system.

Marc Hedin: I made the point, I think, at the very beginning that we need a very flexible scope because there will be challenges to the energy transition. We need room to adapt. If this vehicle is to facilitate the energy transition, we need that scope to be relatively broad. I did mention a couple of safeguards, more like accountability, and I think that is still reasonable to ask. However, in terms of strategic priorities, I think the scope is broad enough and makes sense.

COP29: UK Priorities

Uma Kumaran Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) for securing this timely debate. There seems to be an Ealing bias at the top. I look forward to working with her and others across the House as we tackle one of the biggest challenges of our time. I look forward to supporting the Government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower, and ensuring that tackling global climate change is a focus for this Parliament. In my previous role, before I came to this place, I worked internationally with cities around the world to tackle climate change, using science-based action.

My remarks will be restricted to setting out the need for the Government to prioritise making progress on phasing out fossil fuels at COP29 this October. It was a privilege to be at COP28 last year, alongside other hon. Members in the Chamber, including the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse). I welcome the Minister to her place. She was not a Minister at COP28 last year, so it is great to see her in position now. We were there to see at first hand the breakthrough moment for ending the fossil fuel era. Nearly 200 countries made an historic commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. For the first time ever, language on fossil fuels was mentioned in the final United Nations framework convention on climate change negotiating text. However, since COP28, there has been little progress in this area. Negotiations on the topic stalled at Bonn and, instead of generating momentum on delivering this pledge, the COP presidency, Azerbaijan, has made little reference to it beyond reiterating the original commitment. That should not be a major surprise to us, not just because global climate-negotiation spaces are often undermined by the presence of the oil and gas lobby, but because there has been an absence of genuine political leadership by countries, including our own—until recently—on this issue.

Just weeks after the United Arab Emirates consensus was signed, the previous Government issued new exploration licences to max out North sea fossil fuel reserves, with an attempt to ram legislation through Parliament to grant annual licensing for oil and gas. Just when the UK should have been increasing global ambition on moving away from coal, oil and gas, that Government were undermining confidence in the COP28 agreement and losing trust and credibility among key partners on the world stage.

More than half of the global population lives in cities, and urbanisation is accelerating rapidly due to climate-induced human migration, economic growth and demographic shifts, but many cities around the world are at the forefront of the triple challenge of tackling the climate crisis, building social licence and acceptance for climate action, and fighting the rising climate denial that is fuelled by vested interests.

During the last COP28 negotiations, the G77 president noted that new UK fossil-fuel drilling licences would contribute to failure of the COP28 agreement. The world cannot afford for this agreement to fail. We need Governments in each corner of the world to step up before and at Baku for success to be achieved. It is therefore an immense pleasure to see the reset that this new Government are leading. In under 100 days, the Labour Government have lifted the ban on onshore wind, introduced legislation to establish GB energy, acknowledged that the last Government’s approval of the massive Rosebank oil field was probably unlawful for failing to consider the climate impact and, just last week, secured 131 new clean energy projects to power 11 million homes—the most successful auction round ever. This change in domestic policy is helping to restore faith in the UK as a Government and as a climate leader that others can rely on, and it is providing us with new leverage to generate further ambition from others in phasing out fossil fuels at COP29 and beyond.

There is always more room to be bold. I encourage the Government to consider positive steps that would not just support the delivery of UK climate targets, lower household bills and boost energy independence, but support workers and accelerate a just transition away from global fossil fuel production at a time when climate change presents a code-red emergency for the planet.

First, we must end new oil and gas licensing. The 2024 Labour manifesto was arguably the most ambitious climate and clean energy manifesto that any Government have ever been elected on, and I am proud that it includes a world-leading promise which, when realised, will make the UK the first producing nation in the G7 to end exploration for new oil and gas. That is a huge and important first step on the path to ending oil and gas expansion and aligning the UK policy with meeting the 1.5 goal.

I understand that the Government will soon be consulting on how to implement that position, and it is my hope that they will lock it into law through a legislative ban. That would send an unmistakeable message that new fossil fuel projects are not welcome, provide much-needed certainty for the industry, and ensure that the move has longevity, surviving long into the future.

Secondly, we must engage in a just energy transition. The just energy transition is well under way, and the number of jobs supported by oil and gas have halved over the past decade despite hundreds of new oil and gas licences being issued in that period. Workers and communities were let down by the last Government. The transition must be managed fairly. To provide workers with certainty, we cannot pretend that new licences will provide them with secure employment. It is critical that we put them at the heart of the journey towards a clean-energy future. Unions, workers and communities must have a voice in the transition, and they are right to demand a detailed, coherent plan that uplifts their concerns and ensures that they benefit from the transition to renewables.

The UK can lead the way in delivering an energy transition that is just and fair for the workers and communities dependent on oil and gas if it puts those workers and communities at the centre of transition planning. If done successfully, the UK’s efforts to move away from fossil fuels can be a model for other coal, oil and gas producers—and if other countries adopt it, then this must be popular. Putting fairness at the heart of the journey is not only the right thing to do but key to making that happen

By the same token, the UK must work with climate-vulnerable countries to ensure they have the financial resources, technical expertise and ability to fairly transition. Indeed, some of the cities in the global south are absolutely leading the way in the best and fairest just transitions the world has ever seen. That is why supporting the adoption of a new collective quantified goal for finance is crucial at COP29.

Thirdly, the Government must include commitments to phase out fossil fuel production in its updated nationally determined contribution. The final thing for the Government to consider at COP29 is working more closely with others to put cities at the heart of the just transition. Cities are leading the way in climate ambition around the world, and they are reducing omissions at a faster rate than their respective national Governments. They are the doers, greening housing, planning, transport and waste, and preparing for the impacts of climate change. According to the Local Government Association, local climate action can achieve net zero for half the cost of a national approach, and deliver three times the growth in jobs, skills and health benefits. London has been a world leader, and has been acknowledged by the United Nations and the Secretary-General not only for its action but for its ambition.

At COP28, 72 Governments recognised the transformative potential of collaboration between national and local Governments by joining the coalition for high ambition multi-level partnerships, known as CHAMP, committing to integrate cities into their national climate planning and strategies. That is how crucial the next round of climate targets and NDCs will be in 2025. I hope the UK will consider joining CHAMP and following the number of Governments around the world working with their cities—as soon as we bring Britain back as an international climate leader.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

I will call the first of the three Front Benchers by 10.28 am, and I want to allow Deirdre Costigan time to sum up. The last two Back Benchers were not on the list that was submitted to the Speaker’s office, but if they stick to five minutes each, everyone will get in.

Great British Energy Bill

Uma Kumaran Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech with my parents and husband in the Gallery today. I congratulate the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis), who gave an impassioned speech showing how deeply she cares for her community, its heritage and in particular the history of caring for refugees. She spoke so lovingly of her late parents.

It is the honour of my life to be elected as the first ever MP for Stratford and Bow. I was born in east London, and I have lived in Stratford and in Bow. I studied at one of our brilliant local universities, Queen Mary. To go from local student to local MP in 20 years has been quite the homecoming. Not getting our declaration result until nearly 6 am really did bring back memories of stumbling home from uni.

I pay tribute to the force of nature Lyn Brown, who served her home West Ham as the Member of Parliament for 19 years, and for a total of 36 years of selfless service to communities in Newham. A true east London girl, her guidance and support have been invaluable. I have no doubt that her contribution to the east end and public life will continue. I also inherit Bow from my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali). She is another trail-blazer, as the first Bangladeshi-origin woman elected to Parliament. She has inspired a generation with the promise of what is possible.

Although Stratford and Bow is a new parliamentary constituency, its history is old and rich. The Woman’s Hall at Old Ford Road in Bow was home to Sylvia Pankhurst and Norah Smyth and the headquarters of the East London Federation of Suffragettes from 1914 until 1924. It was the beating heart of the east end suffrage movement, and the home of the matchgirls’ strike and the largest union of women and girls in the country. Every corner is filled with the history of the struggle for women’s rights and for our voices to be heard; a history that I will work every day to honour. As a proud grand- daughter of a trade unionist and a member of the GMB union, I go forward in their memory and will continue to fight for working people.

Parts of my constituency have been represented by illustrious political figures including Charles Key, Keir Hardie, Lansbury and Clement Attlee, who led the Labour Government that created our beloved NHS—so no pressure on this new Member. Our stunning Victoria park with its breathtaking canals opened to the public in 1845 and became the people’s park: a centre for political meetings and rallies with speakers such as William Morris and Annie Besant.

It is not just political history that we are blessed with in Stratford and Bow. I am sure that many hon. Members in the Chamber love nothing more than going home after a long day sitting in the Chamber and putting on their favourite grime playlist. They can thank Bow for playing an integral part in the origins of grime music, with Roman Road and its once-beloved record shop producing artists and crews such as Roll Deep and Skepta to name just two. Over in Newham, we have our top boy Kano.

I can see that I have completely baffled some hon. Members—[Laughter.] For those whose tastes are a bit more retro, we are also home to ABBA Voyage. My constituency is a place where people can come and spend their money, money, money in some of our brilliant local and international businesses. Of course—it cannot be missed—sitting at the heart of my constituency is the London stadium: a place of joy and wonder from the 2012 Olympics and some of our most wonderful sporting achievements. As this generation of Team GB Paralympians competes in Paris, I send my wishes to them.

The ability to bring people together that sport possesses is like nothing else, so it is a privilege and honour to be the Member of Parliament for the greatest club in world football—sorry, Keir—West Ham. As a Hammer since 5 July—[Laughter]—I am proud to be forever blowing bubbles. I know that there are several Hammers fans on the Government Benches and throughout the parliamentary estate—probably more of us than Members on the Opposition Benches.

Stratford and Bow is a wonderful, vibrant and diverse constituency, and our current heritage lives up to that history. Forest Gate is the home of independent cafes and shops and Forest Gayte Pride, overlooking the nature and beauty of Wanstead Flats. There are the bustling shops of Green Street serving communities throughout east London, alongside mosques, temples, synagogues, gurdwaras and churches. It is a place that is truly representative of the rich tapestry of cultures and people that make up our great capital city, London.

People from all over the world have come to Stratford and Bow to make the UK their home. My constituency is a prime example of Britain at its best, with pearly kings and queens, and white, European, Indian, Bengali, Pakistani, Chinese, African, Asian, middle eastern, Caribbean communities and more living side by side and working together to make a better society for everyone. Wherever someone is from, they are welcome in Stratford and Bow.

I am proud, too, to have origins as an east London girl born in Homerton hospital, but I was born here but by fate. I am the daughter of Tamil refugees and the child of a community that knows what it is like to endure prejudice and persecution. My parents, proud and patriotic British citizens, came to Britain over 40 years ago, but they did not simply come here; they fled for their lives, forced to leave behind everything and everyone they knew and loved, torn from a good and prosperous life in their prime to start from scratch in an unfamiliar country, working multiple jobs day and night to give me the chances that were taken from them.

Britain welcomed my parents with open arms so that they could rebuild their lives and flourish, and it was the east end that they first chose to call their home. This is the London that I know and love, and it is the story of Britain and British values at its best: outward looking and compassionate; a country where people can work hard and triumph. Mum and dad, thank you for everything: your endurance and your will to succeed—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] You are part of the success story of Britain, and that is a story that can be found in every corner of Stratford and Bow and in every part of Britain, with the hope and aspiration for a better tomorrow that all parents have for their children and the dreams of a safe and secure life.

It is that hope and determination to fight for a better future that this Labour Government will work hard every day to deliver. Whether the people of Stratford and Bow were born here, came here in search of a better life or just moved to the best bit of London—whatever their start in life—I will ensure that their voices are heard and valued. I pledge to work day in, day out to tackle the root causes of poverty, to fight for more police on our streets so that women and girls feel safe to walk home at night, parents do not have to worry about knife crime and young men are not having to look over their shoulders when they walk home after dark, and to fight for an NHS that is here for us in our time of need, where patients can be seen in wards, not corridors.

Delivering my maiden speech during the GB energy debate is apt. Climate change remains one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we must redouble our efforts. Before I came to this place, I worked internationally on climate action with cities around the world, the United Nations and civil society to help stop our world going past the point of no return and ensure that generations who come after us have a world that has not been destroyed because of our failure to act or our fear of being bold.

I feel deeply the responsibility that I have to repay the faith that the people of Stratford and Bow have placed in me and the duty that I have to be their voice here in Westminster. I will work every day for that and for the values and pledges that I was elected on. Thank you.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call Tom Morrison to make his maiden speech.