Alan Campbell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s experiences, particularly at a time when we are marking the 10th anniversary of the death of our friend Jo Cox. This House has marked that anniversary in a particular way and talked about civility in politics. I am very disappointed that such comments were made in the first instance, but also that that has not been followed up. I hope that the council hears the hon. Lady’s words and that it acts: it has been a while and it needs to get on with it.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her diligent campaigning on this matter. The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that workplaces are safe in the modern world, and we have committed to look at how to modernise health and safety guidance for extreme temperatures as part of that. The Health and Safety Executive is reviewing the approved code of practice for workplace regulations to ensure that it is fit for purpose. At the appropriate time, I am sure that the relevant Minister will want to update the House.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating her local team and club on an outstanding achievement. Local football clubs—indeed, local sporting clubs—play such an important part in our local communities. On this occasion, not only will they celebrate their success, but I am sure they will be watching the television, looking at the performance of their national team and maybe even dreaming that they may be part of that in the future.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Let me be clear: no one should receive care in a corridor. The situation we inherited is unacceptable and undignified, and we are determined to end it. That is why, for the first time, we are publishing the data to show where problems are greatest and to ensure that trusts get the support they need. We are also taking action, investing £450 million to expand urgent and emergency care services. Although there is still a way to go, ambulance response times are now the fastest they have been in five years. The hon. Lady asked for a debate. The Health Bill has just gone into Committee— I think its first sitting is today—so I am sure there will be ample opportunity, both in Committee and when the Bill returns to this House, to debate the matters she raises.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise this matter. Alongside our action this week on social media, we are also giving every child greater access to a range of opportunities, including in nature, through the “Every Child Can” programme. I encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall debate to hear from the Minister about what more can be done.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter, which has caused some concern after the reporting on it. Dartmoor ponies are an important part of Dartmoor’s heritage and are important in supporting its habitats. Natural England is not recommending a cull—I do not believe it is in its power to do anything about that anyway—and let me put it quite clearly on the record that the Government would not allow one.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  It is good to see the right hon. Gentleman in his place; I would have thought that No. 10 was a rough place to be, but it sounds as though he has been in the wars more recently, although perhaps of a different nature. He is right to raise this matter on behalf of his constituency. I know his area well; it is a very beautiful part of the world, and I understand the concern that people there have. I offer my congratulations to Councillor Thompson and the local people on raising their concerns. Whatever the outcome, it is important that local people have their voices heard, because it is very much part of their heritage.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We certainly recognise the impact of closures on communities and their access to essential services. I hope that even at this late stage, an alternative site is found. This week, we opened a call for evidence as part of the access to banking services review, and I urge my hon. Friend and other Members across the House to contribute to that and to make their voices heard. Should she wish to follow up on the specific local example in her constituency, I would encourage her to apply for an Adjournment debate.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises a concerning matter. The law is clear that workers should receive the payments to which they are entitled. We are committed to strengthening enforcement options and, as she alludes to, the Department for Business and Trade and the Ministry of Justice have set up the dispute resolution system taskforce to provide insights and to feed back on longer-term system reform proposals. I will ensure that she receives an update on that work.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to Councillor Sunderland’s work and send condolences to her friends and family. She and I may not have shared a political point of view, but we certainly respect people who serve their local communities. It sounds as if the Great Knaresborough bed race is something to behold. I will raise the matter with a Minister, and if the hon. Gentleman wants a meeting with the relevant Minister, I will help him to get one.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  It is heartening to hear of the success of schemes to ensure local people have access to local services. I certainly pay tribute to everyone involved and thank them for making it a success in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady talks about the matters that Ofcom is looking into, such as nudity and social media, and I am sure she shares the view that those are important. They are the first step that the Government are taking to address a wider issue. On the success of Ofcom, or lack thereof, she could seek an Adjournment or Westminster Hall debate, where she could make these points directly to the Government. It is important that Ofcom does a good job, and if it is being given important jobs to do, it must do so with the confidence of this House.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Let me join the deputy shadow Leader of the House in sending our best wishes to the man who was injured in the Belfast attack; we wish him and his family well. Let me also place on the record our thanks to and support for the brave police officers and the wider community, who have shown incredible bravery in the face of such intimidation. I want to start by mentioning some of the anniversaries that will take place before the next scheduled business question. Next Tuesday marks 10 years since the murder of Jo Cox. Jo was a relentless campaigner for equality, human rights and social justice, and a powerful champion for the world’s most vulnerable and marginalised. Members will have the opportunity to pay tribute to Jo and her long-lasting legacy in this afternoon’s debate, and I hope they will take the opportunity to do so. This Sunday will mark the ninth anniversary of 72 people losing their lives in the Grenfell tower fire. I know that the thoughts of the whole House remain with the families of those who died in the Grenfell tower fire, the survivors and the wider community. Let me turn to matters that have been raised with me previously during these sessions and report back on progress that has been made. An issue that has been raised frequently is driving tests, so Members will be pleased to see this week that further changes have been made to how and where driving tests can be booked. This is a final step in a series of changes that we are taking to make it easy to get a test and to stop the exploitation of learner drivers by online bots and reselling. Similarly, a constant theme in these sessions has been the state of our roads and the plague of potholes. This week, we have unveiled new rules to get potholes fixed. Councils will be required to reveal exactly how well they repair their roads, thereby letting the public hold them to account. Long-term preventive repairs will be prioritised over costly patch-up fixes, saving motorists hundreds of pounds a year on pothole-related repairs. Last week, the Modernisation Committee launched a new opportunity for Members to directly shape the work of the Committee by pitching ideas for what we should do next. More information is available on ParliNet, and I strongly encourage Members to take part and share ideas. As the House will know, the world cup kicks off today, and I am sure the whole House will join me in wishing England and Scotland the very best of luck. Members will be pleased to know that pubs across the country are set to benefit from extensions to licensing hours and special screenings. As I have said before, England has only ever won a world cup under a Labour Government; I expect that theory to be tested in not just this world cup but the next one. Let me turn to the remarks of the deputy shadow Leader of the House. He talked about the importance of the common ridings and festivals, and he is absolutely right that events such as the Borders common ridings are a reminder and a display of local identity and community spirit that have endured for centuries. I am pleased that he is able to attend and take part in such events, and join him in wishing all those taking part an enjoyable season. The hon. Gentleman says he will be at the Selkirk common ridings, which I believe takes place tomorrow. It commemorates the town’s last and only survivor of the battle of Flodden in 1513. I hope the weather is better tomorrow than it was on the day of the battle. The hon. Gentleman raised two substantive points, the first of which was on standards in public life. I absolutely agree with him that it is important that the public get the answers they deserve when there are scandals like the one we have seen north of the border. I encourage people to be open about what has happened. If the authorities need to carry out further investigations, it is right that they do so. Not surprisingly, in the context of next week’s by-election, the hon. Gentleman talked about the important question of oil and gas. Let me point out two things. First, this Government are absolutely committed to new clean energy and to energy independence, and we will bring forward measures on the latter shortly, but oil and gas will continue to flow for many years ahead as we make the transition. The international situation has again underlined the importance of that transition. Finally, we should be concerned about what happens to jobs in the transition, but I gently point out to the hon. Gentleman that in 14 years of Conservative Government, 70,000 jobs were lost in oil and gas. I am sure that the voters of Aberdeen will want to bear that in mind.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am aware of the high level of interest in this matter and of my hon. Friend’s long-standing campaigning and commitment on these issues, and I pay tribute to her for that. As she knows, established mechanisms are available for Members to seek debates, including, as she has alluded to, praying against particular measures. I am sure she will want to press further on this matter through the usual channels, as well as through the other ways in which matters can be discussed in the House.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Gentleman showed last week, he is very keen—I understand his keenness—to say what happened at the local elections in his patch and to mention the Reform victory. But as I pointed out to him, he should get his campaigning shoes out, because Reform councillors sometimes discover that they do not want to be councillors or that their local authority decides that they are ineligible to be councillors. Collectively across the country, they usually underperform and let people down. I congratulate Reform on its success in the local elections, but I advise the party to prepare for by-elections, as we are seeing elsewhere in the country, particularly when local residents find out what it has done. The hon. Gentleman made his point about Greater London last week, and nothing has changed between then and this week. His area is still part of Greater London. If he wishes to campaign, that is a fair thing to do—I know he did so when he sat on the Conservative Benches. He has campaigned in order to get an independent voice, and I know that he will always be an independent voice for his area, but it is still part of the same set-up. The wider point is that it is very tempting to go down the route of the politics of division, but it is not very helpful. I would urge caution.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Access to good parental leave is vital to create those initial family bonds, and I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to the House, especially in relation to our brave Navy personnel. I am aware that the question of increasing paternity leave is currently being reviewed within the Ministry of Defence, and I will make sure that the relevant Minister has heard her contribution and gets back to her with a response.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to bring this matter to the House today. It often takes tremendous courage for victims of domestic abuse to seek help. She is an assiduous campaigner for the implementation of a formal domestic abuse policy for all Parliament offices, and I certainly join her in that regard. She may wish to raise this specific matter with the Members’ services team, who provide Members’ offices with best practice safeguarding advice.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this matter—she is a champion for sports and inclusion—and I am sorry to hear of the experience of some girls in her constituency. The Government are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality grassroots sports facilities, which are such an important part of our local communities, and we are investing £85 million in those facilities to increase participation, particularly among women and girls. That includes providing funding for clubhouses and changing rooms, and I hope that clubs will pay attention to that and make it a success. I encourage my hon. Friend to raise this matter at Culture, Media and Sport questions next week.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I welcome the approach of my hon. Friend’s local council, because the Government share the ambition of wanting to see more empty homes brought back into use. Local authorities have access to a range of powers and incentives to bring empty homes back into use, including grant funding, and levers to take ownership of a property. We have also implemented high street rental auctions, bringing long-term vacant high street properties back into use. In the King’s Speech, we announced legislation to bring further reforms to housing, including the improvement of the stock of social housing. I look forward to the Government working with his local council and other local councils to take this issue forward.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises a deeply concerning matter. Local agencies already have strong powers, including public spaces protection orders, to address persistent antisocial behaviour and protect communities, and it is for those local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate. I hope, however, that they will have heard what my hon. Friend has said today as he quite rightly stands up for his constituents. We have also strengthened penalties for breaches of PSPOs through the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  There has been no change in this Government’s position, and therefore there is no need for the statement that the hon. Gentleman is asking for.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I certainly join the hon. Lady in wishing Scotland well in the world cup. On the cost of attending for fans, the Prime Minister—himself a keen football fan—has already raised his concerns. The hon. Lady raises an interesting question about international action on the matter, and she may wish to do so again at Culture, Media and Sport questions on 18 June. On the important question on energy bills, I should point out that the Government are taking action. We have frozen fuel duty for the rest of the year. We are delinking the price of electricity from the price of gas, which will protect many households and businesses from gas price spikes, and we are extending and expanding our scheme to recoup excess profits made during periods of high gas prices. There is also extra support, particularly £53 million for heating oil for rural communities. However, we keep these matters under review. The Chancellor takes a keen interest in them, and where we can further support people, I am sure the Government will want to do so.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his work campaigning on this issue. The safety of NHS staff is non-negotiable. There are clear legal duties on employers to ensure that healthcare workers handling hazardous medicinal products are properly protected at all times. I understand that the Health and Safety Executive is actively reviewing whether any further action or clearer guidance is needed, and I am sure that the Department will come forward with an update on that at some point.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the work of his Committee and for the strong leadership that he shows. He has announced an impressive list of debates, underlining the importance of his Committee’s work. He mentions—as I did when outlining the business—the fact that there is a topic yet to be decided on 18 June. We will obviously publicise that in the usual way as soon as possible. On the hon. Gentleman’s substantive question about Kashmir, India and Pakistan are both long-standing important partners of this country, and our long-standing position is that India and Pakistan should find a lasting political resolution on this issue, while respecting the wishes of the Kashmiri people. The Government encourage both nations to engage in dialogue and to pursue lasting political solutions to support regional stability. I will draw his remarks to the attention of the Foreign Secretary, because this is an important matter.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The business for the week commencing 15 June will include: Monday 15 June—The Chairman of Ways and Means is expected to name opposed private business for consideration, followed by a debate on a motion on NHS dentistry. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 16 June—Remaining stages of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill. Wednesday 17 June—Consideration of an allocation of time motion, followed by all stages of the National Security (State Threats) Bill. Thursday 18 June—General debate on the infected blood compensation scheme, followed by a further debate, the subject of which has yet to be confirmed. The subjects for these debates are determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 19 June—The House will not be sitting. The provisional business for the week commencing 22 June includes: Monday 22 June—Remaining stages of the Armed Forces Bill. Colleagues may also wish to be aware that on Monday 29 June and Tuesday 30 June the House is expected to debate estimates.