Connor Naismith MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the new Bill put forward by the Government. I only wish that Conservative Members had expressed as much interest and passion in this subject as they did yesterday when it came to defending tax breaks for private education. Politics, as they say, is about priorities, and the priorities of this Government are clear. In my constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, I have been deeply saddened by the number of constituents I have spoken to who are affected by this policy area, and shocked at some of the individual stories I have heard since taking office. Being able to rent in comfort and stability is a luxury for many of my constituents, which is why I support the ending of section 21 no-fault evictions. According to reports in Cheshire East, we have seen 74 accelerated repossession orders made this year alone, with 15 having been completed. One of the first cases that I dealt with after becoming an MP related to this matter. My constituent Kerry, a single mother of two young children, had been threatened with no-fault eviction and was on the brink of homelessness. She was able to find accommodation with the support of my office, but this issue is neither isolated nor uncommon, as we have heard from many Members today. These are the real, lived consequences of 14 years of Conservative failure. I am immensely proud that this Government are willing to take action where the previous Government dithered and delayed. Had the previous Government enacted their proposals rather than bowing to the interests of their lobbyists, many vulnerable people across the country could have been spared both the mental and physical toll. The Bill also applies Awaab’s law and introduces a decent homes standard for the private sector. In 2022, 32% of private rented sector homes in the north-west would have failed the decent homes standard, the highest proportion of any English region and higher than the English average of 21%. Around 21% of those homes in the north-west contained a category 1 hazard, which is higher than the English average of 12%, and around 6% of rented homes contained damp or mould. This is nothing short of a crisis. The previous Government completely failed renters in my constituency and across the north-west of England. They failed, and they have left it for this Labour Government to make the right decisions so that we change people’s lives for the better. I believe that all the Government’s proposals—ending no-fault evictions, strengthening tenants’ legal protections, implementing the decent homes standard and establishing a database for the sector—are important and sensible policies. They will be truly lifesaving in some cases, so I will be glad to vote for them.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

  More

  You might imagine, Madam Deputy Speaker, that members of the Conservative party would understand how out of touch they are on these matters, given that they were so roundly rejected by the electorate in July. However, unsurprisingly, they have demonstrated perfectly that nothing has changed, and it is business as usual as they leap to the defence of tax breaks for private education. This Government believe in equality of education for all our children, and this policy is designed for the betterment of 93% of the UK school population. Only 7% of children in the UK go to a private school—a far smaller proportion than in the most recent Conservative Cabinet, 65% of which, it is believed, were privately educated. Perhaps that tells us something about why we are debating this matter today. Conservative Members campaigning against the Government’s policy couch it as an attack on the aspiration of hard-working parents. Perhaps they need to be reminded that the warehouse workers, cleaners, shop workers, carers, nurses and teachers in my constituency are also aspirational for their children. They work just as hard to provide the best opportunities for their children. It is offensive in the extreme for the Conservatives to suggest otherwise, and to suggest that they are less deserving of support from this Government. I accept that a consequence of this decision may be that some people will no longer be able to send their children to private school, as schools might choose to recoup the cost of VAT through increases to fees. However, we should acknowledge the fact that private schools have implemented above-inflation increases to their fees year on year in recent times—over 20% in real terms since 2010—and this has had a minimal impact on children moving into the state sector. I say directly to parents: should our ambition not be that they could send their child to a fantastic state school that has the teachers and resources it needs to deliver the education their child deserves, and where they can excel both academically and culturally by mixing with children from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that reflect the society in which we live? The Conservative party was quite keen to promote and exacerbate a two-tier approach to the education of our children during its term in government—a system in which it is only state-educated children who have to accept tough choices and shoestring budgets. We have schools where the ceilings are propped up by scaffolding, schools where teachers are forced to buy basic school supplies out of their own pay packets, and schools where the workload and conditions have become so dire that teachers are leaving in droves. I am delighted that we now have a Government who do not believe that state schools alone should be asked to make difficult choices—a Government who will end the tax break for private schools and invest the £1.3 billion that that choice will generate into our state schools, which educate 93% of our children. That is why I will be voting against the Opposition motion and in favour of state education.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Bus Franchising · Hansard source

  More

  It was interesting to hear the Opposition Front-Bench spokesperson talk about the importance of preserving existing bus routes, when their party had presided over 14 years when thousands of bus services were lost to communities across the country, including in my constituency, where we still do not have a direct bus route from Nantwich to our local hospital. It has taken this Government just 10 weeks to present a plan to fix local bus services. Does that not epitomise how underserved our communities and local economies have been by 14 long years of Conservative government?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on an issue that continues to blight our communities. In Crewe and Nantwich, the scale of the problem is staggering. Over the past year, Cheshire East council has recorded a significant increase in fly-tipping, with more than 1,200 reported incidents. That represents a worrying trend, with law-abiding citizens and businesses left to deal with the consequences of the irresponsible and often criminal behaviour of others. However, Crewe and Nantwich is not alone in facing this challenge; as many colleagues have said, the figures in our community highlight the urgent need for a national framework to effectively tackle the issue. As I know only too well as a former councillor coming to this place, the burden on local authorities is immense. Cheshire East, which oversees the Crewe and Nantwich area, spends nearly £1 million each year just to clean up after fly-tippers—that money could be spent on other vital public services, which is exactly what our residents would expect. Of course, it is about not just the financial costs, but the deeper impact on our communities. Residents have expressed to me their deep frustration and anger at the constant blight of illegally dumped waste, whether on farmland or in residential areas, our parks or our green spaces. Farmers, in particular, are often left to shoulder the burden of clearing up hazardous waste from their land—a task that is both time-consuming and expensive. Of course, there is also the impact on our environment, wildlife and natural habitats. As we have heard from many other speakers, enforcement remains a significant challenge. Last year, only a handful of fines were dished out in Crewe and Nantwich, with the majority of fly-tippers escaping punishment altogether. That is simply unacceptable. The current system does not serve as a sufficient deterrent to those who think they can flout the law without consequence. We need a national framework to bring together the relevant agencies to tackle this issue in a co-ordinated way. In conclusion, I encourage the Government and the Minister to take the necessary steps to create a comprehensive national framework to tackle fly-tipping—one that will empower local authorities such as Cheshire East council to protect our communities and environment. I am confident that together we can make a real difference in the fight against this blight on our communities.

• 2 Sept 2024 · Violent Disorder · Hansard source

  More

  Does the Home Secretary agree that those who suggest that this country has some form of two-tier policing serve only to undermine our brave frontline police officers, who put themselves at risk every single day to maintain order, and that anybody who suggests that does not do so in our country’s name or traditions?

• 29 Jul 2024 · Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Just about. But far and away the most common question was, “Why should we trust any of you?” That experience was reflected in many of my colleagues’ experiences during the campaign. In that question lies possibly the most fundamental challenge facing this Government, because after 14 years of managed decline, people no longer believe that politics can deliver anything but decline. They believe that politicians are only in it for themselves—that their attention and focus are distant from the priorities of the ordinary families they seek to represent. I came to this place from a career with the Independent Office for Police Conduct, whose role is to independently uphold standards and ensure that the public can have confidence in the police. No doubt there is much work to do in that space, but I believe strongly that I and my colleagues from across all parties in this House have a duty to uphold standards and restore public confidence in our politics, and aspiration and opportunity to our communities. It is sometimes claimed by the Conservative party that my party has a problem with aspiration, but I know that not to be true. My party understands that if someone is living in fear of being evicted from their home, that is a barrier to aspiration; if someone’s parents are living in in-work poverty, that is a barrier to aspiration; and if someone is unable to receive the treatment that they need if they become ill, that is a barrier to aspiration. When the Labour party is given the chance to serve the British people, it has a fine record of smashing the barriers to aspiration. It did it for a working-class kid like me, and it will do so again—I am confident of that. For that reason, I wholeheartedly welcome the Prime Minister’s belief that politics is about service, and his commitment to lead a Government who focus relentlessly on delivering for people by putting country first, party second. I promise to always do my best to serve and represent my constituents in that spirit for as long as they trust me to do so.

• 29 Jul 2024 · Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you for the opportunity to make my maiden speech, Madam Deputy Speaker, and may I congratulate you on your election? I am particularly proud to be able to make my maiden speech in a debate on rail, as the Member of Parliament for a constituency with railways literally woven into its DNA. The town of Crewe grew up around the railway station, and the development of Crewe and the rail network went hand in hand in the 19th century. My constituents will be delighted to have a Government committed to delivering a publicly owned and passenger-focused railway, the need for which hit home to me only too well when the former shadow Rail Minister was severely delayed on the rail network when visiting my constituency late last year. I cannot begin to talk about the history of elected representation in Crewe and Nantwich without making reference to the towering figure that is the late Gwyneth Dunwoody. Still today, I meet people whose lives have been touched by Gwyneth’s unmistakable ability to fight for her constituents’ interests. She was truly fierce—an excellent parliamentarian and public servant. I would also like to pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, Kieran Mullan, who has gone to great lengths to demonstrate his commitment to our democracy—approximately 250 miles, in fact, from Crewe to Bexhill! The now hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle did a great deal to champion the cause of the many volunteer groups across my constituency in his time as its MP. I thank him for that and congratulate him on taking up his place on the shadow Transport team. I love the place that I have been sent here to represent, from the major towns of Crewe and Nantwich to the beautiful villages and parishes like Shavington, Haslington, Wistaston, Willaston and Rope, among others. Crewe is a fantastic town, where I am proud to live with my family. It is the gateway to the north and a key rail interchange with a proud history of train manufacturing in Crewe Works, which once employed over 20,000 people. I believe strongly that rail can be pivotal to Crewe’s future, as well as its past, and I intend to be a strong advocate for improved transport infrastructure connecting the north and the midlands, with Crewe at its heart. It is not just trains that run through my constituency; so does a belief in the importance of employment rights and trade unionism. At the tail end of the 19th century, the suffragist and pioneering campaigner for the rights of women workers, Ada Nield Chew, wrote a series of letters to the Crewe Chronicle under the pseudonym “A Crewe Factory Girl”, shining a light on poor working conditions in the factory she worked in. Many of the issues that she raised in those letters, such as insecure work, unpredictable hours, the gender pay gap, and the denial of a living wage—a phrase that she actually used all that time ago—remain all too relevant today, which is why I firmly welcome this Government’s commitment to bringing forward an employment rights Bill. I am also proud to support the campaign of Kate Blakemore in my constituency to commission a statue for Ada in Crewe. My constituency is also home to some of Britain’s finest sporting exports, notably through the academy of the mighty Crewe Alexandra—a famous academy that has produced some cult heroes from our national game, from David Platt to Danny Murphy and Dean Ashton. The Alex have consistently punched above their weight, and the importance of the Railwaymen—as the club is also affectionately known—was driven home to me during the election campaign, as a result of an unexpected boost to my prospects when the now Leader of the Opposition was pictured wearing a scarf of our rivals, Port Vale, on a visit to Stoke. Nantwich is a beautiful, historic market town that sees large numbers of tourists pass through every year. Historically, it was a centre for the production of salt and the manufacture of leather goods, from which the affectionate nickname for the town’s residents, “the Dabbers”, is believed to derive. Today, Nantwich is famous for a host of civic and cultural events throughout the year, including the international cheese show, the Nantwich food festival, a jazz festival and a words and music festival, among many others. These events show the best of the community in Nantwich, often driven by volunteers and supported actively by Nantwich town council. They demonstrate what can be achieved in a modern landscape for small towns while still actively respecting our heritage. Across Crewe and Nantwich, we have a thriving business community that is home to some of Britain’s most famous exports, from the luxury vehicles produced at Bentley Motors to the ice cream vans at Whitby Morrison, and I am immensely proud to represent a constituency that is already a pioneer of Labour’s fantastic policy to buy, make and sell British. We have beautiful green spaces and environmental gems, too, including green-flag parks such as Queens Park; that park is lovingly supported and maintained by the Friends of Queens Park group, which is led ably by Sheila, Richard and Alan, among others. We also have the River Weaver, which flows through Nantwich, and I know that my constituents—like the local women’s institute group who I joined on a demonstration recently—will rightly expect me to champion the cause of cleaning up our rivers in this Parliament. I welcome the steps that this Government have already taken to do just that. As my colleagues will attest, it has been a long campaign during which many of us have been asked so many questions. I do not know whether to be flattered or offended that the question I was most often asked during the campaign was, “Have you finished school yet?”