Alex Mayer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 22 Oct 2025 · Heathrow: National Airports Review · Hansard source

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  Regarding the new airports national policy statement, can the Secretary of State clarify whether “airports” is in the plural? If so, will she be looking to change the planning process so that it can take into account the cumulative environmental impact of different airport expansions around the country?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  As Britain faced peril in world war two, Winston Churchill took a radical step: he changed the clocks to shift extra daylight into the evenings. As the clocks go back this weekend, will the Prime Minister take a look at the evidence on trialling Churchill time again to cut carbon, reduce bills, improve road safety, boost the hospitality industry and be the Prime Minister who will brighten up all our lives?

• 20 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  A new school has been in the offing in Bidwell West for almost a decade now. The independent council promised me that places would be available from September 2027, but now appears to be backtracking. Is the Minister willing to meet me to discuss the obvious concerns of parents, many of whom moved into the new build estate because of the promise of a brand-new school?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Tree Maintenance: Guidance to Local Authorities · Hansard source

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  With so many new-build estates that are home to young trees, where watering and aftercare are so essential, does the right hon. Member agree that any new guidance should have a large section with a focus on early years for trees as well?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Sadly, last week in my constituency there was yet more flooding. This follows on from a very dry period and the hottest summer on record. Clearly, the weather is changing. Would the Leader of the House consider bringing forward a debate on building resilience to more extreme weather events, as he makes the political weather?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source

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  I strongly believe that a regional geography is the right scale to make substantial public transport improvements. That is why I back this Government’s devolution agenda as the right approach to improving transport. The real inequality of the future will not be north versus south or urban versus rural, but between those areas that have well-respected, ambitious mayors and those that do not. For the sake of passengers, I hope that the Government move swiftly to fill in the gaps on the devo map, even if there is not complete consensus. Inequality in transport is already linked to some extent to governance. In the past, larger areas had passenger transport executives, and that gives them a head start, as more power heads to strategic authorities. I still believe that the Government could go further to encourage the creation of more executive bodies to co-ordinate transport regionally. I also remain concerned about the highways-transport split. I very much welcome clause 25 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which will allow mayoral combined authorities to take on civil enforcement of traffic contraventions, but we could go further. Fundamentally, the same organisation needs to be responsible for the bus, the bus lane and the bus stop. We also need to think differently about geography. From the Victorian radial rail network through to modern motorways, there has for too long been an assumption that all roads and rails should lead to London, but we cannot just think north to south; it must be east to west too. That is why I warmly welcome the £2.5 billion commitment to East West Rail to rebalance decades of under-investment in cross-country links. I will continue to call for the expansion of the Luton-Dunstable busway to Leighton Buzzard and on to Bletchley, linking it into East West Rail. The Minister will be delighted to know that my final question is a train question, rather than a bus question. I am keen to hear from him about plans for Great British Railways within regions. Does he believe that the current Network Rail regions are the right ones to build on as we move to GBR, or does he believe there are other opportunities and shapes other than triangles? We must always see transport as a driver of growth. In order to build thriving networks, we need a relentless focus on growing passenger numbers, which we can all do, as we know that September is Catch the Bus Month.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Does the Minister agree that extending the Dunstable-Luton busway on to Leighton Buzzard and then Bletchley would be a real boon to more fully link the area into the Oxford-Cambridge growth area?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  My amendment 66 and new clause 46 are not intended to change Government policy, nor to bind the hands of locally elected mayors or transport authorities—quite the opposite. Amendment 66, which my hon Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), the Chair of the Transport Committee, talked about some considerable time ago, would require local transport authorities to set out a clear, transparent formula for calculating whether a service is socially necessary and then to use that formula in deciding how funding is allocated. That reflects recommendation 53 in the Transport Committee’s “Buses connecting communities” report.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Neurodivergent People: Employment · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) on securing this debate. Our workplace, culture and society thrive not when everyone thinks alike, but when talent, creativity and difference are allowed to shine through. There is strength in diversity. Although many debates on neurodiversity understandably focus on those furthest from the labour market, I would like to focus my remarks on those who do work who do not have a learning disability, but who, as society, we absolutely need to support to keep working. The recommendations of the Buckland review were about transforming employer behaviour and workplace design to ensure inclusivity. I often find that people seem to think that that just means a knee-jerk reaction from an employer—“Have some noise-cancelling headphones, and then we are covered”—but it has to be much more than that. I think that there are a lot more autistic people in the workplace than is suggested by any of the statistics that have been quoted in this debate. King’s College London published research yesterday that said that 89% of autistic adults aged over 40 are living without a diagnosis, so simple tweaks in the workplace could help both those who are diagnosed and those who are undiagnosed. As we have heard in this debate, such tweaks could also help many neurotypical people. It is particularly important to make job adverts a bit less woolly. That would ensure that every applicant understands what is actually required. Designing the option of quieter spaces with softer lighting can create calmer, healthier and more productive workspaces, and in a modern world where people are popping off to do Zoom and Teams calls all the time, organisations need those quiet spaces for everyone. Flexible hours, remote working and no expectation of going to the pub after work can be much more inclusive all year round. That is not to minimise the experience of people with autism. I firmly believe that the Equality Act is vital, and potentially more so for women with autism than men, because workplace norms are gendered. A blunt male colleague may be described as being straight-talking, efficient or assertive, whereas a woman in that circumstance is far more often judged to be rude and abrupt. Human resources studies show that women are much more likely to receive criticism about their tone or communication style. I sometimes worry that our debates focus a bit too much on misery rather than success and happiness—I am not just talking about this debate; I think it is a matter right across this place—and I do not want any child who has received a diagnosis to think that they cannot go on to have a really successful life, so it is really important that we highlight those positive role models. They can be a Lioness. They can be an author. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) pointed out, they can be a politician like him or like me. Many of us grew up watching Chris Packham on “The Really Wild Show”. These conditions make people who they are—passionate, knowledgeable and observant. In a survey of silicon valley professionals, 30% believed that they may be on the autism spectrum. Some argue that Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci or Mozart were neurodivergent—Elon Musk, too; I am not sure whether he fits anyone’s definition of happiness, but he certainly sees the world in a different way. Neurodivergent minds can excel to drive innovation. We succeed as a society when we embrace the talents of all. If we all did everything the same, frankly, nothing would change, and I think life would be very, very dull.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Living Standards: East of England · Hansard source

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  Continuing on the theme of averages, as council areas get bigger, the averages are skewed a little. Within my area, which is already in a large unitary authority, life expectancy can vary by up to eight years. If the Government say, “Hooray! The council area is getting a Best Start family hub!”, I ask, “Where?”, because it could end up in a leafy village or in an area of deprivation. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to redouble our efforts to find pockets of deprivation, and perhaps use artificial intelligence as a new tool to do so?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  Although some people will be hoping for a summer that is hot, hot, hot, many workers will not be doing so, because, although we rightly have legal protections against the cold in the workplace, there is still no legal maximum for heat. I am pleased that Ministers began a process with the Health and Safety Executive in the spring to look at workplace temperatures, and I look forward to a timetable being set for a public consultation. Maximum working temperatures, backed by law, are already standard practice in other countries such as Spain and Germany. But, to be clear, this is not just about stopping work when the sun shines, but about common-sense protections, such as ventilation, rest breaks, cooler uniforms and flexible hours. The climate is changing, and so too must our laws. Let me turn to another summer matter. As we head into the summer recess, Members across the House will no doubt be thinking about their summer reading lists—I am sure that you might have a few titles lined up yourself, Madam Deputy Speaker. But how often do we stop to think about where those books are printed? A quiet revolution is happening in the publishing industry. Millions and millions of books are being printed in Bedfordshire every single year, yet this has remained a really well-kept secret for some time. That is why I called on Amazon to include the words, “Printed in Dunstable” in every book produced at its Bedfordshire site. To make my point, I wrote a children’s story myself, about a little book with an identity crisis—he does not know where he is from. He goes all around the country, from Bristol in the south to Aberdeen in Scotland. Like all good stories, it has a happy ending, because the local MP intervenes. I challenged Amazon to make my story come true, and I am absolutely delighted to be able to tell the House today that, from this week, every book printed by Amazon in Dunstable will say just that—that it is printed in Dunstable. That is a brilliant way to put the town and its people on the map. Madam Deputy Speaker, whatever you and other Members are reading in the next few weeks—whether it is a biography, a romance, or even a political thriller—I hope that you all have a great summer.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to hear that my hon. Friend gets to visit lots of primary schools. During the debate I have heard about so many schools all over the country. However, the people of Bidwell West, in my constituency, are still waiting for a primary school. It was promised in plans and brochures when they were buying their new homes more than a decade ago, but it still has not arrived. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is so important for councils to work constructively with the Department for Education to ensure that these promised schools finally open?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  I welcome that, through Best Start, Central Bedfordshire is getting funding for a family hub for the first time. Will the Secretary of State explain how this will be linked to areas of deprivation and urge the independent council to look closely at the statistics that show that places such as Dunstable and Houghton Regis are the areas where children do not get the best start in life at the moment?

• 25 Jun 2025 · Department for Transport · Hansard source

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  I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate to take place. I very much welcome the investment in transport—especially public transport—in the spending review. The commitment is really clear; for example, there is £2.3 billion for the local transport grant, which will support local transport improvements such as bus lanes, as well as £616 million to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure and £2.6 billion to decarbonise transport, which is all very important. Investment in public transport, particularly in buses, brings multiple benefits. First, it reduces congestion.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Department for Transport · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I know she is normally a champion for trains in her constituency, so I welcome her branching out into buses. The Campaign for Better Transport says that £1 of investment in buses brings £4.55 in benefits, and I am absolutely up for that. While we are on the subject of better buses, where we have good public transport, such as busways in my constituency, people come to them. That is why I back the campaign to extend the Dunstable busway west towards Leighton Buzzard and then ideally on to Bletchley. In her opening remarks, the Chair of the Transport Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) talked about fees, particularly for driving tests, which we have been discussing in Committee. Will the Minister consider looking at fees as a way to change behaviour? I have been contacted by constituents who have been told they will have to wait up to nine months to get a driving test slot, which is utterly ridiculous. People are putting their lives on hold for such things. One issue we found when we gathered evidence in the Committee is that people are booking up tests, regardless of whether they are ready to take a test. As my hon. Friend said, it is cheaper sometimes to book a driving test than to book a couple of lessons, and that cannot be right. I cannot imagine any Government out there would relish putting up the price of a driving test. The hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) was challenging us to find policies that are both popular and free, but we could think about driving tests a little bit differently. For example, how about putting up the fee, but giving everybody one free go at it? Basically if someone passes their driving test, they would get a refund. That would encourage everybody to only go for it when they really thought they would pass. We could probably make it cost-neutral, and it would free up slots, because only those who thought they were definitely ready would go for it, and it would be offset by putting up the charges for everyone who fails again and again. That probably would not have done me any good; I failed my driving test about five times, but I eventually managed it. Moving on, local roads make up 98% of the road network and carry 60% of all traffic. Every journey, however it starts—whether by foot, by bike, by bus or by car—starts and ends on a local road, and local roads are managed by highways authorities, but highways authorities are not always transport authorities. This will become an increasing issue as the Government roll on with their devolution agenda, which I welcome, and more strategic transport authorities are established. With buses, for example, whether it is an enhanced partnership agreement between a local transport authority and a bus operator, or franchising carried out with a transport authority that is not the Highways Authority, there are things that it is difficult for the transport authority to do to keep a bus running on time, because that is dependent on the road on which it is running. As we all know, roads can be blocked by roadworks, they can be in a poor state of repair and a bus lane can be obstructed, yet a stand-alone transport authority does not have control over any of that. Such authorities do not manage the planning system, do not collect the community infrastructure levy, do not own the bus stops and do not get any cash from bus lane enforcement—none of that comes their way. However, they are the authorities expected to get on with delivering the funding, such as the £15.6 billion transport for city regions settlement. May I ask the Minister what lessons have been learnt from CRSTS in respect of delivery? I am thinking especially of any blockages that may have been encountered because of the split between transport and highways, and indeed the lack of passenger transport executives or their equivalents. I have talked to other Ministers about that, but I am delighted to see this Minister on the Front Bench, and it would be interesting to hear anything from him on the subject of passenger transport executives. As I have said before, we could have a much more cost-efficient system. The Government are rightly bringing track and train together, and I think we now need to have a conversation about bringing bus and bus lane together.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates · Hansard source

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  It does not seem very long since we were last here talking about eggs and chickens, although I imagine it would feel much longer if we were stuck in a cage only the size of an A4 piece of paper. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to learn lessons from other countries, including Austria and Luxembourg, because our hens need as good and better standards?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Bank Closures and Banking Hubs · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Animal Welfare in Farming · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) on securing this debate. I last spoke about eggs in a debate just before Easter, but eggs are not just for Easter; they are for all year round. As other hon. Members have already said, we are still in a situation where the space that many hens have to live in is the same size as a piece of A4 paper. That is just not good enough. Such cages are known as “enriched cages”. The marketing people really earned their stripes that day, because I think that if we started calling them “confinement cages” we would go a long way towards stamping out this horrible practice. I am very keen to hear from the Minister about the recent EU reset, because some of our European friends and neighbours already have better standards than us; indeed, some of them, for example Germany, are thinking of introducing even higher standards. Does that mean that there is now a real need for us to catch up? I would be keen to hear the Minister’s views. I am also concerned about the welfare of lobsters—the first time that lobsters have got a mention today. I did a bit of googling last night and found out that it is possible to buy fresh lobsters on the open market. The advertisement that I saw said: “Upon receipt of delivery, store your live lobsters in the fridge until ready to cook. Lobsters can be boiled, poached, grilled or barbecued.” Imagine that referred to any other kind of animal. Imagine saying, “A live chicken or lamb will arrive; put it in the garden and then, as an amateur, smash its skull in and boil it alive.” Is that the kind of situation that we want to see, in a country that talks about being a nation of animal lovers? I would be keen to hear from the Minister whether that is something that he wants to get his claws into.

• 2 Jun 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. I think buses are brilliant, so I am delighted that this Bill is coming forward on 2 June, because, as you said, it is my birthday. I thought it was the Minister’s way of wishing me many happy returns—and singles also! For too long, buses have been in decline. It is great that the Minister has been clear for months that he wants to fix that and that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. December’s guidance on varied franchising approaches was excellent, and I welcome how the Bill simplifies franchising, as well as the Government’s review of enhanced partnerships and the plans in the Bill to strengthen them. We need—and I believe that this Bill will help to deliver—tailored, practical options that can work for people in every kind of town, village and city. We can already see some EPs delivering that change, with real, substantive control over network design. From 24/7 routes in Portsmouth and a 50% zero-emission fleet in Leicester to profit-sharing arrangements and repainted buses that build identity and loyalty and encourage interchanges, EPs already encourage innovation and partnership. In the west of England, “birthday buses” offer residents free travel across 500 square miles throughout the whole of their birthday month. That is a great gift and, more importantly, a successful scheme that targets non-bus users in order to embed long-term behavioural change. That happened without the need for new legislation, but with the need for vision. I will always call for greater public investment in buses, but I am realistic about the economic pickle that we have been left in by the Conservatives. If we want sustainable networks, we have to grow farebox revenue. The Department’s bus service improvement plan guidance is absolutely spot on here, correctly making the vital point, in line with the national bus strategy, that: “Almost all social, economic and environmental objectives for the role of the bus…can be boiled down to the simple, practical and measurable objective to grow bus patronage.” With that in mind, might I suggest the odd tweak to the Bill to better reflect that spirit? We have talked about clause 1 and the purpose of improving “performance, accessibility and quality”. That is good, but my constituents certainly want quantity as well as quality. Perhaps “availability” could be added to focus minds on growing patronage. Clause 11 has some fantastic language about consulting disabled “users or prospective users” of buses. I think the term “prospective users” could be deployed elsewhere—for instance, the Transport Act 2000 requires consultation ahead of franchising with only “those representative of users of local services”, not prospective users. Clause 30 gives the Minister powers to set standards for bus stops to improve safety and accessibility. That is great, but why stop there? Would the Minister not also like to have some standards aimed at increasing ridership? According to the Campaign for Better Transport, poorly maintained bus stops and bus shelters put off 23% of people from using buses. I have looked at clause 23, on grants. I wonder whether local transport authorities could be incentivised to design grants to increase passenger numbers? It is clear that we need a virtuous circle of more passengers and more fare income, not the spiral of decline that we have seen previously. That brings me briefly to socially necessary routes, which are important but mainly unprofitable. I absolutely agree with the Minister that the new list he is introducing will bring some certainty, but I wonder whether alongside that list, LTAs could also be required to produce a transparent and ranked formula for how they calculate whether a service is socially necessary, which they could use in turn to allocate funding. That would rightly give local leaders flexibility, but would also allow residents to see what is being prioritised and why, and where the cut-off for taxpayer support lies. If we also included the number of journeys in that formula—if that was made a criterion—it could allow residents to save a bus by using it. It would prevent lists from becoming fossilised and reduce the risk that those who shout loudest get the better services, with funding determined by data, not decibels. Fundamentally, LTAs should not be pigeonholed as a place of sticking-plaster solutions; success will lie in a network-wide approach. Finally, I know that the Minister does not plan to create any new passenger transport executives, but I believe that—just as we are bringing track and train together—there is a real case for bringing bus and bus lane together, particularly as more strategic transport authorities are created. This is a really good Bill, and I think it is a great birthday present.

• 21 May 2025 · Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 21 May 2025 · Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for giving way. Does she agree that it can be a particular problem when remote areas become new-build areas, yet are completely lacking in any mobile or broadband infrastructure? Some telecom companies say that they are not fully involved in the planning aspects, yet they can fully see the houses going up. Does she agree that this issue ought to be looked into?

• 15 May 2025 · Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  I think we need a mix, but we cannot rule out using solar panels on large chunks of land. When the Minister came along to visit our solar farm in Eggington, he not only met the sheep, but saw that some of the land around the panels has been transformed into wildflower meadows. In my constituency, AW Group —the people with the turbine—is branching out into solar. In the next couple of months, it will build another solar array and again put in wildflower meadows. Those meadows are so important for biodiversity in our country, as our pollinators and other insects face real problems. I learned on my visit that solar farms can also be useful to some of our ground-nesting birds, which find shelter and sanctuary underneath the solar panels. In essence, I just wanted to say that I really welcome what the Government are doing. I welcome what they did yesterday; the new rules make it easier for some of the smaller amounts of power generated from solar panels to be linked to our grid. I urge the Minister to go full steam ahead on this, and to make sure that our solar industry has a really bright future in this time of biodiversity and climate emergency.

• 15 May 2025 · Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  Thank you for calling me so early on, Madam Deputy Speaker, at the sunrise of the debate. I believe there is not only a climate and biodiversity emergency, but real insecurity in our energy market. That is why I absolutely back the Government’s plan to triple our solar capacity and reach the clean power target by 2030. We need to look at the whole gamut of renewable energy out there, including tidal—although perhaps not so much in Bedfordshire—wind and solar power. I am very lucky that my constituency is home to the joint tallest wind turbine in the country, an honour I share with my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones). When I visited, I suggested that we put a Union flag on top of the one in my constituency so that it would be the tallest, but there was no agreement to that—never mind. My constituency is also home to a solar farm in Eggington, as the Minister knows, because he visited it with me. It produces enough power for 2,000 homes every year. What is interesting is that as well as producing that clean, green power, it retains an agricultural use; as the Minister may remember, there are also sheep grazing between the solar panels, nibbling at the grass.

• 14 May 2025 · Glass Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) on securing this debate, although I fear she is not going to agree with what I am about to say. Glass is one of the most used materials in the world—we have used it for thousands of years. In ancient times, glassmaking was viewed as mysterious and magical. It is a really special product and we use a lot of it in this country. I think that the extended producer responsibility is the right way to go. We are talking about recycling, reusing and reducing. There is a business in my constituency called ecoSIP, run by a man called Alex Taylor. He is a supporter of the EPR scheme; I suspect that the Minister will be pleased that there is a business that does support it. He wrote to me and said: “We are supporters of the EPR scheme. We believe it forces companies to take responsibility for the emissions and waste that they create, and provides incentives to decarbonise.” He is part of a UK-led green packaging revolution. It is happening in Leighton Buzzard, but also across the east of England—in Ipswich, for example—and right across our country. EcoSIP is on a mission to decarbonise the drinks industry with lightweight, low-carbon packaging. I have been to visit and I have seen the little packages used for its wine. Each pouch uses just 2.5 grams of material. Its packaging uses 90% less CO 2 than glass, yet the wine inside tastes just as good. We need to take that on board, not least because we are in the midst of a climate emergency.

• 14 May 2025 · Glass Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  I am absolutely aware of Frugalpac in Ipswich. The east of England, where I am from, is leading the charge. These modern green manufacturing organisations face certain issues. I urge the Minister to talk to other Departments as well, not least about the Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order 1988, which I am told makes it illegal to sell 125 ml portions, which is what an average person would normally order as a glass of wine, in this modern packaging. There is stuff to be done, but luckily that is not a DEFRA thing. There will always be a role for glass. It looks pretty—there is a bottle of it here. I love my Bonne Maman jars. We are never going to be able to turn an ecoSIP container into a candlestick holder. But we have to crack down on waste and boost recycling. The extended producer responsibility is an important first step, not least because it will also create 21,000 jobs and put a £10 billion investment into recycling, which is really welcome. In conclusion, I urge the Minister not to bottle it and to make sure that she goes full steam ahead.