Anneliese Midgley MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Apr 2026 · Victims and Courts Bill · Hansard source

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  I want to focus on one of the flagship measures in the Bill: clause 1, headed “Power to compel attendance at sentencing hearing”. This law has been fought for—and will today be won—by my constituent Cheryl Korbel. It will compel convicted criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, and will ensure that there are meaningful consequences if they refuse. Where I am from, we call it Olivia’s law. For me, today is all about Olivia, Cheryl, and Antonia, her cousin. This has been some journey for Cheryl—one that began in unimaginable circumstances. Cheryl’s daughter Olivia was nine years old when she was murdered in her own home by a stranger with a gun in August 2022. The murderer, Thomas Cashman, fired a bullet through the door of Olivia’s home. It passed through Cheryl’s wrist before hitting Olivia in the chest and ending her life. To lose a child to murder in your own home, while you are trying to protect them, is a burden no parent should ever be asked to bear, but Olivia’s murderer remained in his cell, and refused to face the court, to hear Cheryl’s words, or to look her in the eye. It was the act of a coward. Since then, Cheryl has been fighting for that injustice to end. I first met Cheryl and Antonia when they came to my first surgery as their MP. Since that day, we have stood side by side. We have worked to turn this campaign into law. We raised the matter with Ministers, and took it to the Prime Minister. It is fair to say that Cheryl and Antonia have been to the House of Commons so often that they have met most of the Cabinet and half of the parliamentary Labour party. On Second Reading, Cheryl allowed me the privilege of reading her victim impact statement in the Chamber. I did that because her words carry more power than anything I could possibly say, and I wanted them to be heard by the world. Olivia’s murderer, Thomas Cashman, refused to hear those words. I would like to read a few words from the statement today: “My nine-year-old Liv was the light of our lives, our beautiful, sassy, chatty girl who never ran out of energy. She was a character, she was my baby…She will never get to make her holy communion, wear that prom dress or have a sweet 16th birthday, walk down the aisle with the man of her dreams or become a mother of her own children. All that promise for her future so cruelly taken away. Now I have to drive to the cemetery to be close to my baby daughter…telling her I miss her smile, her kisses, her cuddles, her voice.” Cashman should have heard those words, but he could make the choice not to. That is the injustice at the heart of this matter, because Cheryl did speak. She found the strength to put into words the love that she has for her daughter, and the devastation that she has to face every single day. Today, we ensure that turning away and hiding is no longer an option. I thank the Government, especially the Minister, for listening to Cheryl. I know there were times when Cheryl thought that this day would never come; well, Cheryl, it has. Cheryl and I are two peas in a pod. We have both just turned 50; she turned 50 on Saturday—happy birthday! We are both from council estates in the same part of town. We both had working-class upbringings, and families who did not have much, but worked hard and gave us everything in love. That matters, because it speaks to who Cheryl is. She is someone who lifts people and brings warmth and strength to others, even in her darkest moments. Alongside her has been her remarkable cousin, Antonia. Together, they have been relentless; they have taken unimaginable grief and turned it into change. Because of both of them, victims’ voices will be heard. This law is Cheryl’s achievement, and it is Olivia’s legacy. We honour her and all the other campaigners and victims who fought for this law, and I am properly proud that it is a Labour Government delivering it.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Waste Crime: Knowsley · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. I pay tribute, once again, to my hon. Friend for the work that she has been doing with me on that specific site in her constituency. She is right. In a moment, I will move on to another site with major issues, but where the Environment Agency did move swiftly, which has made such a difference. I absolutely agree with her. I do not want my constituents in Kirkby to face another summer with this stench and smell. Summer is something that we should look forward to, but they are going to be dreading it. I will move on to the next waste dump, which I have briefly mentioned. Late last year, between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of waste was illegally dumped just off the M57 and East Lancs Road. That is enough to fill more than 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and it is one of the largest illegal waste sites in the country. If those roads had to close because there were any issues or problems from that waste dump, 800 businesses could be affected, with 20,000 employees struggling, or not able, to get into work. These sites show that there has been a failure throughout the system. Taken together, they send a message that Knowsley is being treated as a dumping ground, and that is impossible for me and my constituents to ignore. We can see what is happening across the country. The Government have rightly stepped in to support the clean-up of illegal waste sites, first in Oxford, and now announced for Wigan, Lancashire and Sheffield. That is great, but what about the dumps affecting Knowsley? I am sure that the Minister will understand why my constituents and I see that as unfair. It is not right for my constituents and struggling local authority to have to pick up the tab for outright criminal behaviour.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Waste Crime: Knowsley · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of waste crime in Knowsley. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I am really pleased to have secured this debate on waste crime in Knowsley. I know this is something that my hon. Friend the Minister cares deeply about; she has met me to discuss this issue many times, and I am grateful for her genuine and meaningful engagement with finding solutions. As the Minister knows, waste crime is a national scandal, and it is felt acutely in parts of my constituency. It is important to call it what it is: serious criminality on an industrial scale. Some 38 million tonnes of waste are dumped illegally every year. What does that look like? It is enough to fill Wembley stadium 35 times over. The cost to the taxpayer is more than a billion quid a year. The scale of this is enormous, and it is often tied to organised crime, money laundering and modern slavery. It is seriously damaging communities such as mine, but unfortunately it is thriving. When The Guardian describes it as the “new narcotics”, I have to agree. I know the Minister understands this, which is why I know she and this Labour Government will tackle it head on through the new waste crime action plan, which I strongly welcome. I look forward to hearing in her response how this plan will help people in Knowsley, where we have two major sites of concern. The first site is what I have named the “Simonswood stink”. Although it is just over the border in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton)—I thank her for her work and support on this—it primarily affects my constituents who live in Kirkby. It is completely out of control. While the people of Kirkby, my local Labour councillors—and, indeed, those across Knowsley—and I have been campaigning consistently on this, I must say that the Reform-led Lancashire county councillors and council have been beyond useless and have done absolutely nothing on this matter, on a site in their local authority jurisdiction. People in parts of Kirkby are living with thick dust and a foul stench day in, day out. They tell me about issues with their health—nausea, headaches, respiratory issues and throwing up. Kids are missing out on education because schools sometimes have to shut for days due to the dust and smell. Even when they are in school, they are sometimes not allowed to play outside because of it; they are cooped up. Home life is severely affected as well. Doors and windows cannot be opened, gardens cannot be used, and washing cannot be hung out without being coated in thick dust. Cars that are washed are almost immediately covered in a thick film of soot. Maria is really worried about her 10-month-old granddaughter’s health. She has a respiratory tract infection, and Maria is anxious that the site is making it worse or may even be the cause. Michelle has told me that since moving to the area, she has had constant nausea and headaches from the smell. Gina says it has given her child a persistent sore throat, while Joanne and her husband are having breathing problems. Hon. Members should see the photos that people send me and post online. When I am out and about in that part of the constituency campaigning, I see homes, streets and cars covered in this absolutely shocking thick dust. Hon. Members should see the size of this waste dump. It is not meant to be more than five metres high—that is a joke. It looks like the Welsh mountains. This has been going on for years. I have been campaigning about it since I was elected—holding specific surgeries on the matter, promoting petitions, raising visibility with posters and stickers, meeting Ministers, asking questions here and pushing the Environment Agency to address it—but I am getting really fed up. I am really frustrated because the progress is just far too slow: nothing seems to be happening. People are living with this on the daily. I do not want them to go through yet another summer of this, which is when the stink and the dust get worse.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Waste Crime: Knowsley · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree: this matter affects us across all our constituencies. In the action plan, I have read about some good measures, but they need to be put into action. I am sure that the Minister will go into that in more detail. I finish with four questions for the Minister. First of all, will she look at whether Knowsley could receive the same level of support as other areas that have been cleaned up following Government intervention? Secondly, will the Government ensure that struggling local authorities are not left to pick up the bill for large-scale organised waste crime? Thirdly, what will actually change to ensure earlier intervention, so that no community has to endure what a number of my constituents are living with now? Finally, what will the consequences be for the criminals, so that this is just not worth it for them? My constituents deserve better. They should not have to live like that. They should not be breathing this in, cleaning it off their homes, missing out on education or reorganising their lives around it, and they should not feel like they are being overlooked or left behind—but right now, that is exactly how it feels to us. That is not acceptable.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  After 14 years of the Tories and coalition Governments, councils like mine in Knowsley were cut to the bone. When I was elected, my constituency was the third most deprived constituency in the country—we did not just experience pressure; we were absolutely stretched to breaking point—and deep and sustained cuts went hand in hand with a huge and rising demand for services. That is the legacy the previous Government left behind: unfair, fragmented and underfunded, and stacked against places like mine. I welcome that the Labour Government are taking a fundamentally different approach, and one that sees local councils as part of the solution to rebuilding Britain, not part of the problem. It marks an important change, far from the days of the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), boasting at a summer garden party in Tunbridge Wells about changing funding formulas to divert public money away from deprived urban areas like Knowsley; those days are over. Instead, areas like mine—those hardest hit by historic funding cuts—will see greater investment, based on need and deprivation. I thank the Secretary of State and the Minister of State for listening to me, to my colleagues in this place—including my hon. Friend the Member for St Helens South and Whiston (Ms Rimmer), who is in her place next to me—and to all those across the Liverpool city region, as well as to my council’s representations on the provisional settlement consultation, which would not have met the challenges we face in Knowsley. It was absolutely right that they engaged with us constructively and worked to address issues that would have left Knowsley struggling. In Knowsley, after being battered by the Tory and coalition Governments and austerity for so many years, the pressures we face remain very real. People really need to feel better off in their everyday lives, with improved public services, children’s services and adult social care. They really need to feel the benefit of a Labour Government to truly demonstrate that austerity is over. We need to more, and I echo the words of so many of my Labour colleagues about the regressive nature of council tax. Labour Governments invest in and improve lives in communities like mine: youth provision that gives young people safe places to go; positive role models and real opportunities; better support for the children who need it; help for families who have too often been left fighting the system alone; community spaces and parks, so we can feel pride in place and in where we live; and living high streets, libraries, leisure centres and more. I know the Government are committed to doing that for Knowsley and I know that progress takes time, so today I celebrate, but tomorrow—it will be no surprise to the Minister to hear this—I will fight again for better still. I want to pay heartfelt tribute to Knowsley’s council leader, Councillor Graham Morgan, who was first out of the traps on what we needed. He has been relentless throughout the consultation, making the case for not just my borough but the whole of the Liverpool city region, standing firm to ensure that the settlement is fairer. His persistence and counsel, along with that of colleagues across Knowsley, gave me the arguments and evidence I needed to stand up for our community in this place. It was true teamwork in action—the benefits of Labour MPs and a Labour council working together. I also want to put on the record the work of our metro mayor, Steve Rotheram. He, too, fought for a fairer settlement for our city region with passion, clarity and determination. This is the start of the road to a brighter future for Knowsley. Today marks a clear turning point from austerity, instability, cuts and neglect under the Conservatives to investment, fairness, partnership and certainty under Labour. I welcome the change of direction, but I will continue to fight for more and for better every single day for my constituents.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  After 14 years of Conservative austerity, councils like Knowsley have been left on the bones, with deep cuts and rising demand. I know that this Labour Government are committed to fixing a broken system and to funding councils based on their need. However, in Knowsley, where deprivation is driven by low incomes, the provisional local government settlement does not meet the real pressures that we face, so will the Leader of the House ensure that the concerns of Liverpool city region MPs, the mayor and council leaders are given serious consideration and lead to action so that the final settlement benefits constituencies like mine?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister consider enabling all local authorities in the most deprived areas to have an above-average increase in core spending power in each year of the local government multi-year settlement, including in Liverpool city region?

• 3 Nov 2025 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill · Hansard source

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  That day in April 1989 will never leave us. Fans went to the match and never came home. They were not lost; they were unlawfully killed. Authorities protecting themselves; decades of denial, distortion, and lies; a press slandering the dead and the grieving; a cover-up and systematic failure of the state that cut deeper and lasted longer than anyone could have imagined—and still not one successful prosecution. That is why we are here today. That is why the families and survivors continue to fight. We have all seen their courage and determination, and I cannot express what it means to be in this place with so many members of the Hillsborough families with us in the Chamber today. One of them is Margaret Aspinall, from Huyton. She has asked me to say some words on her behalf. She has repeated many times to the Prime Minister and the Attorney General that the group wants the Hillsborough law to be delivered in its entirety, with no changes or watering down. That will create a system that is so much fairer for families who have lost a loved one in a state-related death. Today, it is the perpetrators who get the help, while the victims get a massive cover-up. It must never again be a one-way system. Delivering on that promise means delivering the Hillsborough law in full. That means imposing duties on chief officers, rather than corporate bodies. This matters, because the duty should have been on the chief constable, Peter Wright, rather than on South Yorkshire police. Requiring proof of harm makes the “misleading the public” offence impractical and ineffective. Delivering the Hillsborough law in full also means bringing forward an amendment to deal with combined and local authority inquiries. Without such an amendment, the result could be the intelligence services failing to properly provide the full facts to inquiries. We must avoid what the King’s Counsel to the families of those who tragically lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attack called “institutional defensiveness” and a lack of candour from MI5. As this Bill progresses, the families and Members of this House will continue to watch, in order to make sure that the Hillsborough law is exactly what this Government deliver. Margaret’s son, James Aspinall, died at Hillsborough aged just 18. She was forced to accept 1,200 quid, which was supposed to represent compensation for James’s life—1,200 quid for the life of her son. She was forced to cash it against her will because she could not find the money to pay her share of the families’ legal costs. As she has said, “Making a mother, like myself, accept a pittance to fight a cause. The guilt of this has lived with me for years.” Such practices have not stopped; since the Hillsborough verdict, other families have been made to beg for legal aid. Charlotte Hennessy is a constituent of my right hon. Friend the Member for Alyn and Deeside (Sir Mark Tami), who as a Government Whip does not have the opportunity to speak today and tell her story. Charlotte was just six when her dad, Jimmy Hennessy, went to the match and never came home. Jimmy was 29. He was a plasterer, a man of morals, a mod—he looked good—and a respected family man. For 23 years, Charlotte was told that he died of traumatic asphyxiation. It was not until 2012 that she learned the truth. Her dad was found alive on that pitch. A police officer testified that he felt life and gave him CPR. Jimmy was carried to the gym, where he was supposed to receive medical support. He was declared dead, but he was not dead; he was still alive when he was zipped into a body bag, and he vomited inside it. The pathology report was false: Jimmy did not die in the crush, but from inhalation of his own gastric contents. Can you imagine dying like that? Can you imagine knowing that your dad died like that? Charlotte has told me about the agony of living with an official lie, but she has fought to piece together her dad’s truth. She told me: “A Hillsborough Law, with a duty of candour, is imperative. It must stop corruption and prevent any other family from going through” the pain that her family went through. It is right that the Government have attempted to match the courage of the families and to be bold, but Hillsborough is not a one-off. Again and again, the state fails those who need the most protection. There must be justice for the 97, but also for every family who have faced the same nightmare, or might face it one day. We cannot let them down. This Bill must be delivered in full, with no watering down. I look forward to the Minister promising, as the Prime Minister has from the Dispatch Box today, that this Bill will be the Hillsborough law—that it will be strong enough to protect every victim of state failure and finally deliver justice for the 97.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Higher-level Learning Target · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her response. In Knowsley, while we are making progress with work from the council and organisations such as the Brilliant Club, we still fall below average for young people going into higher learning. Barriers remain to continuing education, and to developing skills for good jobs and good lives. Will she meet me to discuss how we can improve that?