Catherine McKinnell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Jun 2026 · Social Media Ban for Under-16s · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her statement today and for the leadership she has shown on this issue. A mother stopped me as I boarded the train today. She was beaming and she just said, “Thank you so much. This is going to make such a difference to my 13-year-old boy’s life.” I think there are many parents who will sleep a lot easier tonight knowing that help is coming. Does she agree with me that this is not the end of children’s life online? That will still exist, but this is a huge shift of power away from tech companies back towards children and their families, to make sure that their lives can be productive and constructive, and can include being outside with their friends as well?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I share those concerns, as I know does the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt). We have cross-party interest in making better use of those resources. I thank the Chancellor for her comments about the infected blood contamination scheme, which is proudly delivered from my constituency in Newcastle upon Tyne North. The team there are incredibly proud of the work they are doing, and they will be proud of the announcement that the Chancellor made today. Working people in Newcastle are feeling worn down by the cost of living. We know that everybody is feeling the squeeze—it is relentless and it is grinding, and I know the Chancellor knows that too, and has sought in the Budget to deliver on that promise of a better life for a hard day’s work. Many measures in the Budget will deliver that, such as the freeze in rail fares, extending the bus fare cap, measures on fuel duty, frozen prescription charges, and the cut in household energy bills. I also know that the Chancellor cares deeply about children trapped in poverty, too often in families that are working hard and doing their best. I saw those stories at first hand on the Government’s child poverty taskforce. The driving force behind the crisis is the two-child limit. In the north-east alone, tens of thousands of children living in poverty will be lifted out of that by today’s announcement. The limit is both economically foolish and morally wrong, which is why charities and businesses in the north-east have been calling for it to be scrapped. Poverty comes at a price—a price in NHS bills, educational failure, and wasted potential. I strongly welcome the Chancellor’s decision to scrap that limit today.