Chris Vince MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 20 Nov 2025 · Great British Railways: Passenger Consultations · Hansard source

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  May I welcome the extension of contactless payment to Harlow Town, Harlow Mill and Roydon railway stations in my constituency? That is making travel simpler and ensuring the best value for passengers. How will the Minister ensure that GB Railways continues to ensure that passengers are at the heart of decision making? Will he personally join me in my campaign to ensure that there are less cancellations of trains to Roydon station in my constituency?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Great British Railways: Passenger Consultations · Hansard source

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  7. What steps she is taking to ensure that Great British Railways holds consultations with passengers.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) for bringing this really important debate to the House, and I join other Members in paying a massive tribute to her constituent Philip for the incredibly positive work he has done in the wake of an unspeakably devastating event. I thank him so much. I pay tribute to Members on both sides of the House who have spoken in the debate. I want to say to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) that the world is a much, much better place because he is part of it, but I know how mental health works, and I want to say that if he ever feels that it is not and wants someone to speak to, he can come and speak to me. However, it works both ways, and I would also appreciate that. According to the 2024 health and wellbeing report commissioned by Harlow council, the suicide rate in Harlow is 16.3 people per 100,000, which is higher than the Essex average of 12.6. Suicide is a significant issue for my constituents, and I am aware that Harlow Mill station in my constituency is one of the biggest blackspots for suicide in Essex, as I have previously discussed with Greater Anglia staff. I join the hon. Member for Richmond Park in calling for a national campaign to tackle the stigma of mental health, specifically by talking about suicide. I also join the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) in thanking my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters), who spoke about his personal experiences of mental health in PMQs today. That is so important. As many Members on both sides of the House have said, it is important that people do not suffer in silence and feel confident to talk about their struggles with others. It is also important for their friends and family to have the confidence to ask the question, “Are you all right?”, sometimes several times—we must feel that we can check on each other. I hope that hon. Members will appreciate from my opening remarks that they can always ask me that if I look like I need to be asked. This seems a strange point to make, but I want to talk about 28 November 2011—I am glad there are two Welsh MPs in the Chamber today. I woke up to the news that one of my footballing heroes, Gary Speed, had taken his own life, and it really shocked me. I was shocked again this morning when I read that he was the same age as me when he took his own life: 42 years old. Gary Speed was a hero to me, and I think he was the greatest Welsh footballer who ever lived—although I am sure some would argue with that—so when I talked about mental health to a class of mine, I spoke about him. What was particularly shocking about the news was the fact that the very morning that Gary took his own life, he was on television as a pundit talking about a football match. Anyone watching that had no idea that he was suffering from mental health issues or that he was going to take his own life. It is important to recognise that people suffering from mental health issues or potentially suicidal thoughts do not have a badge that tells other people that. It is not necessarily obvious; in fact, there may well be no external sign that that is the case. I realised this morning when I was writing this speech that it is a year this month since a friend of mine, Matt Parsons, took his own life. He was one of the many people I used to talk to at Harlow Town football games. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge about “Doctor Who” and “Neighbours”, which is why we got on so well. It came as a huge shock when Matt took his own life. Every life lost to suicide is one life too many, and I often reflect on what I could have done, or whether there is anything that I or others could have said, to prevent that happening. I wanted to reflect on that, pay tribute to Matt and mention him in this place. The hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart), who is no longer in her place, mentioned social media. It is fair to say that social media has its part to play, and it is important to reflect on some of its dangers. Only recently, I spoke about the dangers of the glorification of drug taking on social media. The hon. Member for Strangford mentioned the terrible videos about how to take your own life, which is absolutely awful—I am as shocked as he is about that. There is also a place for social media to be part of the solution, and I hope the Government will consider that when we look at a public health campaign on the stigma of suicide and talking about suicide. I also pay tribute to groups in my constituency. We have talked a lot about farming, so I want to pay tribute to YANA—You Are Not Alone—which is a farming charity that offers mental health support and is based partly in my constituency. I pay tribute to Harlow men’s shed, Hatfield Heath men’s shed, Mind in West Essex and the Young Concern Trust, which provides counselling for young people. I declare an interest because I am one of the trustees there. I also pay tribute to Butterfly Effect Wellbeing, Roots to Wellbeing and many more. There are so many good people in my constituency and across other constituencies who want to support people suffering from mental ill health. I pay tribute to what they do. As the hon. Member for Richmond Park said, it is incredibly powerful when people who have suffered such devastation —we have one such person in the audience today—turn that into a force for good, so I thank them for that. The Labour Government have committed to recruiting 8,500 extra mental health professionals, improved infrastructure and improved training. Will the Minister talk more about that and about the substantive point, which is ending the stigma of talking about suicide and potential suicide thoughts? Finally, I thank the hon. Member for Richmond Park again for securing this important debate. I hope the honesty with which Members on both sides of the House have spoken will help to challenge that stigma, and I hope we can continue to do more.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

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  I apologise for that; it happens to me a lot as well. The hon. Gentleman mentioned carers. That is particularly important because tomorrow is Carers Rights Day. I worked for a charity that supports young carers and we have seen an increase in the number of young carers supporting people with mental health issues. There should be recognition of carers, including young carers, so I thank him for mentioning them.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

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  That is a really exciting initiative. Is there scope for it to be extended beyond premier league clubs to lower-league clubs, down to Harlow Town? If it is successful, will the Minister talk to the English Football Association about lower-league clubs taking part?

• 18 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T10. I welcome the investment in Roydon primary school—a fantastic primary school in my constituency that I had the pleasure of visiting earlier this year—for solar panels on its roof. Can the Minister talk about the difference that will make in bringing bills down, and about the potential educational impact for young people learning about sustainable and green energy?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Immigration Removal Centre Contracts · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his previous answer. Does he agree that the main cause for the asylum backlog was the fact that, under the previous Government, decisions fell by 70%? What reassurance can he give my constituents in Harlow that this Government will tackle the issue we have inherited?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Budget: Press Briefings · Hansard source

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  I promise the Chamber that I will not repeat any of the stories about my mum’s career in His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. However, the Minister will know that I take tax evasion very seriously. He will be aware that it costs the Treasury billions of pounds each year. I appreciate that he cannot speculate on what will be in the Budget, but will he commit his Department to looking seriously at how we tackle tax evasion, with serious investment in HMRC?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I am not on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, but I can tell from hon. Friend’s passion that she is an excellent Chair. The use of temporary accommodation, which we have discussed before, costs local councils millions of pounds every year. Does she hope that the Bill, and the fast tracking of social and affordable housing that she talks of, will help to tackle that issue and bring down bills for local councils?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement. It falls to me, the only Essex MP in the Chamber, to put on record my thanks to Roger Hirst, police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex. I had the pleasure of standing against Roger in two elections, and although our political views may differ, he has always been really dedicated to supporting the police and tackling crime in Essex. I thank him for his service. He would want me to ask the Minister about a fairer funding formula for Essex. Specifically, what difference will the decision make to residents in my constituency, who are concerned about an historical lack of neighbourhood policing?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind intervention. I like the fact that, even in a debate about tax in which we have opposing views, we have been able to come to some sort of consensus—my speech has already done its job, one might argue. The answer that I thought of giving the right hon. Member for Braintree about tax was that I would love residents in Harlow, particularly those in low-income families—23% of under-16s in Harlow live in low-income families—to pay less tax. However, we have seen underfunding in our local services, with the hospital and schools falling apart, and roads that frankly look like the surface of the moon. If we were to live in a low-tax haven—I do not suggest that all Opposition Members say we should—it would lead to those local services suffering, and it is those lower-income families who cannot afford private healthcare, private schools, or to get their car fixed every time they go over a pothole, who would suffer.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. So I cannot talk about my father’s and grandfather’s experiences— [ Interruption. ] No, okay.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I thank the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for opening it. As Members will know, I take any opportunity to speak or to intervene, but a couple of weeks ago I missed an opportunity when the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly) asked whether any Labour Members wanted to lower taxes. I have two excuses for not intervening on that occasion. The first was that I had only just walked into the Chamber, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) has found, someone cannot intervene if they have only just walked in. The second reason I did not intervene on the right hon. Gentleman was that I have to declare an interest when it comes to tax: I am the son of not one but two of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs tax inspectors— [ Interruption. ] I know; I am turning into the Prime Minister and talking about what my parents did for a living. I am also the grandson of an HMRC tax inspector, so I have to declare an interest as I would not be standing here if it were not for tax.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for again mentioning that I cannot say “renationalisation”—well, apparently I can; I just cannot say it when we are on “BBC Look East” together. I stood on a manifesto to ensure that I got investment into my town, and I am delighted that this Government have promised, for the first time, a realistic and fully funded timetable for a new hospital for Harlow, with a guarantee that Harlow will be the home of the UK Health Security Agency—I appreciate that I am now turning into a party political broadcast. My priority is to ensure that every young person in Harlow has the best possible opportunities, and I know that that is what this Government will do. I know that difficult choices need to be made by the Chancellor, and I will not pre-empt the Budget—Opposition Members will not be surprised to know that, as a humble Back Bencher, I do not know what the Budget says. I mentioned that my mother was an HMRC compliance officer, and I thank the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer) for paying tribute to her. I asked my mother to talk to me a little about what she did at the Inland Revenue, and later at HMRC. She said, “I will write a couple of bits down for you.” Hon. Members will be pleased to know that I am not going to read out the four pages that she wrote, but I will give a few selected highlights. I will miss out the bit where she says, “Hello Darling, thanks for asking”, but she wrote that she joined the Inland Revenue as an inspector of taxes in 1975—I thought that was very honest of my mum. That was pre-computers, and she was “manually calculating assessments, processing returns and issuing code numbers, i.e. PAYE.” Apparently it took 18 months of training to do that, and she successfully passed the exam, as hon. Members will have gathered. If we fast forward, she took a career break—if hon. Members are wondering why she took a career break, I am standing right here. She initially worked at the national insurance organisation, until that merged with HMRC. Her role was to help people with gaps in their national insurance records—basic investigation work and contacting employers. In 2003, she “returned to HMRC ‘proper’—to employer compliance investigation team.” He job was to visit employers and check their records. Very positively she found that “most companies were compliant, but they made mistakes.” There was a scheme—this is something I would suggest to the Minister if he was in his place—that ran courses to ensure that businesses got it right. That could be really important. When we talk about tax evasion, there are people who do that on purpose, but there are also some who just need that help and support. At compliance reviews, my mother also checked that foreign employees had the right to work in the UK. She was subsequently promoted to regional manager—well done mum—where she managed 100 staff and eight managers who were below her. Her team met taxpayers face-to-face in their offices, or in their homes if they were vulnerable, and they “helped people complete tax returns, claim allowances, and ensure they paid the correct tax.” They also administered what were then child tax credits. She was also “able to authorise hardship payments in this context.” Sadly, in 2014, 20,000 staff in HMRC customer services were made redundant, and as Members across the House will know, that included my mother—[Hon. Members: “Ahh!”] Thank you. HMRC decided that customers—that is taxpayers—should telephone for assistance, but telephone staff were not given 18 months of training, and if people could not get through on the phone they were told to go online. Across Essex, there were a number of cuts to local offices, including in Chelmsford, Witham, Colchester, Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford—that’s not in Essex—and Hertford.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  The ultimate point here is that an estimated £5.5 billion was lost to the Treasury in 2022-23 as a result of tax evasion, and an estimated £6.6 billion was lost in 2023-24. What impact does the Minister think the previous cuts to HMRC will have on the amount of revenue collected, based on the current taxation rules, which were also agreed to by the Conservative party? How different would the amount in the coffers be if those cuts to HMRC had not been made? Will he consider that fact in the Budget and look at how we can support HMRC to ensure that we collect the correct taxes? Let us talk about the tax that should be collected but is not being collected because of the starving of funding for HMRC. From personal experience, I know that my mum and her colleagues made money for the Government. I appreciate that I went a little bit off topic, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I hope you understand the point I was trying to make. To reiterate what my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said in his opening remarks, the Budget will be set on 26 November, which is why we will vote down this motion.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  No, I have finished my remarks.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman—I had not thought to do that, but I will do so. I am sure my mother will appreciate that I am having that conversation. I briefly spoke to the Chancellor before this speech, to let her know about my mum’s circumstances. I just put that on the record, and I thank the hon. Member for his intervention—

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  I will, as long as the hon. Gentleman does not ask me about renationalisation.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Drug Dealing on Social Media · Hansard source

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  Sadly, the glamorisation on TV of drug taking is not a new phenomenon, but I particularly worry about the nature of the internet and social media, and about the short clips that people watch in which the true consequences of drug taking and drug culture are not really shown properly. What can the Minister do to use the internet and social media for good, and show young people in my constituency the dangers of drug taking and drug culture?

• 11 Nov 2025 · Managing Repeat Offenders · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the hard-working police officers and Probation Service workers in my constituency of Harlow, which, as Members will be aware, is on the Essex-Hertfordshire border, so I recognise some of the issues that the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) just mentioned. What work is the Minister doing with probation services in areas, such as Harlow, that suffer from this problem to address this issue readily and ensure that everybody is treated fairly, no matter their geographical location?

• 11 Nov 2025 · Prisoner Releases in Error · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for the manner in which he has delivered it. The wrongful release of prisoners is of huge concern to my constituents. I echo the comments made by colleagues across the House that, ultimately, the people who really suffer are the victims of such terrible crimes. Having previously worked for a homeless charity in Harlow, I saw a number of prisoners who were released on a Friday, and who would come to us on a Friday afternoon at about 5 o’clock with nowhere to go. Does the Secretary of State agree that when we release people from prison, we should make sure that they have somewhere to go? If they have to declare where they will go after their release, we might be able to avoid some of the mistakes.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Fresh and Nutritious Food: Inequality of Access · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a really passionate speech and is clearly a strong advocate for his local community. In my local community, we have areas that are very much isolated, in the way he describes. I pay tribute to the Uttlesford mobile food bank, but he is right to say it cannot just be about charity. Does he think that the community ownership model championed by the Co-op party—I should declare an interest, Mr Mundell, as a member of it—is one of the potential solutions?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Curriculum and Assessment Review · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. As a former teacher, which I may have mentioned a few times in this place, I broadly welcome this curriculum review. I also welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to supporting teachers through this change. When the previous Government for some random, unknown reason decided to change GCSE grades from letters to numbers, teachers got very little to no support or resources. Can the Secretary of State guarantee that that will not happen on this occasion and that she will do what she can to support teachers through this change?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for giving way. This is a friendly intervention. She is a pro-European. Is she pleased that IKEA, a brilliant Swedish company that invests heavily in this country and has a fantastic business model, is pro the Employment Rights Bill? Will she push her colleagues in the Lords to get it through and on to the statute book?