Connor Naismith MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Jan 2025 · High Street Rental Auctions · Hansard source

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  Crewe town centre, in my constituency, is in desperate need of “new year, new me”. For too long, we simply have not had the tools at a local level to tackle the irresponsible, absent landlords presiding over empty shop units. For example, the old M&S unit is owned by an absent landlord who has left that crucial anchor unit in our town centre to go to rack and ruin. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can remove the obstacles to bringing that crucial unit back into use?

• 20 Jan 2025 · High Street Rental Auctions · Hansard source

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  7. What steps she is taking to support local authorities on using high street rental auctions to help regenerate town centres.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  Two at the same time. I will take my hon. Friend first.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to address this House on an issue that I am no stranger to. I want to speak today to recognise the importance of Crewe railway station not just to my constituents, but to the entirety of Cheshire East, north-west England and the nation as a whole. Crewe station has been a linchpin of the UK rail network. It is one of the only train stations in the country that provides 360° connectivity that is unparalleled in its scope and criticality to the region. The station has 12 platforms, over 3 million passengers pass through annually, and more than 2,000 trains use the station each week. It is incredible to look at the connections and destinations we can travel to from Crewe. Passengers can directly travel to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh and countless other destinations.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. He is absolutely right to point out some of the negative impacts of the HS2 project on his constituents and, indeed, some of my constituents. It is right that the Government have taken the necessary steps to get the mismanagement of the project under control. It is right that they continue to do that and fully engage with those negatively impacted so far.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I agree. I described the station as the front door to Crewe, but it is also the shop window for investment due to the rail heritage in the town. It is important that we use the station as an advert for jobs and investment across the town and the wider region. Whether or not HS2 ultimately comes to Crewe, that will be an important issue. The ability of Crewe station to act as a critical transport hub has been constrained by the challenges that I have described. Even Network Rail has identified the need to improve platform capacity and length to accommodate modern stock and address concerns about accessibility and integration with other modes of transport. The challenges that Crew station faces to function effectively also limit capacity on the west coast main line, so its limitations have a cascading effect on the entire rail network, reducing reliability and increasing journey times. The plans for HS2 would have seen Crewe form a central cog in phase 2a, connecting high-speed rail in Birmingham to the wider network as a key interchange. Projections suggested that doing so could support the creation of 100,000 jobs and provide billions to the regional economy in the short term, not to mention the logistical benefits for rail operators. It is no secret that my view is that the last Government botched the job, as they did in so many areas. That left many communities across the north of England—perhaps none more so than the one I am proud to represent—demoralised and disillusioned that they had been left behind once again. The last Government’s decision has also meant that the modernisation of Crewe station has been put on hold, which raises even more questions about its future. It is not just Crewe station but the rail infrastructure in our country that, unfortunately, is not up to standard. That will only be exacerbated as time ticks on without crucial investment. I am thankful to Network Rail, alongside Siemens, for recently completing a £190 million overhaul of signalling around the station over the Christmas period, for the benefit of the wider west coast main line. However, I truly believe that there is a need to go further. Should the Government not commit to phase 2, they should at least consider the many outstanding alternatives that organisations have put forward, and the position of Crewe within those plans. Projects such as Growth Track 360 and the Midlands-North West rail link are two vital pieces of work that recognise the need to invest in our railways for growth across the region, and Crewe features as an integral part of both proposals. Investing in rail goes beyond the economic benefits, despite their substantial nature. It is also about addressing the climate crisis, getting cars and heavy goods vehicles off the road and getting modern electrified rail lines to create a transport system that is fit for the future. In 2022-23, rail contributed 1.3% of the UK’s total emissions from transport, but represented a proportionately overwhelming 9% of all passenger kilometres travelled. Furthermore, a journey from London to Glasgow by train uses less than a third of the kilograms of CO2 of petrol cars, and around a sixth of the CO2 of the equivalent journey by aeroplane. Transport in total accounts for 27% of all greenhouse gas emissions—the largest contributor in our society—and shifting journeys from road to rail can play a crucial role in the Government meeting their climate targets. Rail travel is one of the most sustainable forms of transport. By investing in Crewe, we can invest in the electrification of the line and a green future for local transport. I thank the House for listening to my speech and for listening to me sing the praises of my constituency’s rail heritage. I offer my apologies for bending the Minister’s ear on the subject once again, but I truly believe that transport, particularly rail, will be a central part of any effort to boost economic growth in the north. I am certain that my constituency is ready and waiting to play an active role in that. I firmly believe that Crewe station is a national treasure. Despite the short-term constraints on public finances, which are absolutely clear and which I fully appreciate, I hope that Ministers see that, too. I gently urge the Government to recognise how critical this station could be for future infrastructure projects and alternatives to the northern leg of HS2, which can bring vast benefits to regional economic growth and improvements both to rail connectivity and to infrastructure. The Government must take decisive action to secure the future of rail in our country. Crewe station has been the beating heart of our rail network for almost 200 years. I ask the Minister to ensure that that remains the case.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend, who makes a strong case for his constituents in Middlewich.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is quite correct, and do not let anybody tell hon. Members that I secured the debate on narrow constituency interests. The fact that Crewe is such a central hub for connectivity means that better connections from Crewe station mean better connections for people living in Sandbach, Holmes Chapel, Alsager and others, since they are largely travelling via Crewe for major journeys. [ Interruption. ] Indeed, Newcastle-under-Lyme as well. The challenges in terms of Crewe station are significant. We see growth in population due to the station’s links to those major economic centres. Its platforms are too few and too narrow to cope with projected future demand. On top of that, the entrances have limited space, and there are often leaks in the roofs, which do not cover entire platforms. Indeed, we saw an example of that on social media just before Christmas when one of the roofs caved in and there was water pouring through the ceiling, which the staff had to collect in buckets. Crewe rightly boasts of its position as a rail hub, but the condition of the station is ill befitting as a front door to a town with such a rich rail heritage.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will not be surprised to hear that I completely agree that connecting phase 1 of HS2 up to Crewe is crucial, if we are to see the real economic benefits of that project.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  It is fair to say that the opportunities that opening the station of Middlewich would present to the country and to Cheshire are exciting. Crewe station is a genuine strategic asset for local and national infrastructure.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for that intervention and for bringing the opportunity to work on a cross-party basis across Cheshire and the wider area to secure key benefits for our constituents. She is absolutely right to say that electrification of the line from Crewe to Chester would be transformative. It could deliver an additional £25 billion in gross value added and create more than 70,000 jobs over the next 20 years. Those are crucial benefits.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  It would not be an Adjournment debate in this place without an intervention from the hon. Gentleman, and he is correct. I will go on to say a little more about the importance of rail to our climate objectives. The significance of Crewe train station goes beyond its enormous benefit to the rail network. It provides and has provided in its lifetime critical economic benefits.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Crewe Railway Station · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really important point. That is why it is crucial that those of us who are impacted by HS2 and the discussion around improved future rail infrastructure work together to get the best possible alternative plan on the table and being looked at. I will make some progress. Within my constituency, Crewe station has strong ties to engineering and advanced manufacturing firms such Bentley and Alstom in Crewe. In the surrounding regions, many businesses exist because of the opportunities that Crewe railway station provides, enabling supply chains and employment opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach and ensuring the growth of local businesses. Crewe railway station serves as a vital node along the west coast main line, which connects London to the midlands, the north-west and Scotland. Approximately 75% of all freight trains that use the west coast main line pass through Crewe. Again, that is testament to the paramount nature of the station. However, while I speak openly about the amazing things that Crewe station offers to transport connectivity and our economy across the country, it is clear to both residents and experts that it faces significant challenges. The catchment area around Crewe station is seeing rapid growth because of its connectivity to major economic centres in the UK.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Low-paid Work · Hansard source

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  15. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the number of people in low-paid work.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Low-paid Work · Hansard source

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  Average wages in my constituency of Crewe and Nantwich—a place with a proud industrial heritage—lag behind the regional and national averages at just £686 a week before tax. Will the Secretary of State outline how the “Get Britain Working” White Paper will support growth as well as high-skilled, well-paid jobs in my constituency, not just the biggest cities?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Planning Committees: Reform · Hansard source

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  Crewe FC, a fantastic community football club in my constituency, has plans for over £1 million of investment in grassroots football facilities, but that is at risk because of delays in the Cheshire East planning department. Does the Minister agree that the Government’s drive to reform planning should ensure speedier decision making, in order to deliver the crucial facilities that our communities need?

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  Ahead of Small Business Saturday, I congratulate St Martha Greek taverna in Nantwich on being the first winner of my Crewe and Nantwich small business of the month competition. Small businesses on our high streets, such as St Martha, regularly highlight business rates as a significant challenge, so what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that they can continue to thrive?

• 3 Dec 2024 · Business Rates: High Street Retailers · Hansard source

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  17. What steps she is taking to introduce permanent reductions to business rates for high street retailers.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  My apologies, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am about to move on to points covered by the Finance Bill. My constituents want to live in a country that levels the playing field and ensures that working families have as much opportunity at all stages of their life, regardless of their postcode or their background. That is why I support the Government’s decision to end VAT relief on private schools, aiming to equalise educational opportunities. I know that many families work hard to send their child to private school, but I have never met a constituent who does not work hard just to make ends meet, and their children also deserve the very best education that our country can provide. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Conservative Members say “Hear, hear!” but we do not often hear them advocating for state schools.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) on a fantastic maiden speech. I am sure that her expertise in the tech sector will be an asset to this place. I welcome the ability to contribute to the debate on the Finance Bill. I am wholly supportive of the measures announced in the Budget that form the legislation. After 14 years of Conservative mismanagement of our economy and the country, the public spoke on 4 July and gave a clear mandate to repair the dire circumstances we found ourselves in that left my constituents footing the bill. The electorate knew and showed at the ballot box that they were in dire need of a grown-up Government that would not shy away from the hard decisions. We have heard many contributions from Opposition Members setting out the things they do not like about the Budget. If they support the benefits of the Budget, we have not heard much about how they would fund those measures or what they would cut. My constituents voted for a Government who would finally ensure, after years of failure, that we would grow our economy, lower the tax burden on working people and restore the fantastic public services that once upon a time made this country a world leader. My constituents understand that there are difficult decisions to be made. They know that government is about making choices and deciding what country we want to be in the future. They made their decision at the ballot box, doing away with the Conservatives. My constituents chose to no longer be a country with crumbling roads, a country that dipped in and out of recession, a country with low investment ultimately steered by the hands of the Conservatives in a chaotic fashion that clobbered their living standards. They voted for Labour, and with that they decided that they wanted to live in a country with monumental investment in its national health service, which will reduce waiting lists—we are already seeing the benefits of that—and rebuild key hospitals such as Leighton hospital in my constituency. They want to be in a country where their work is rewarded fairly and where minimum wage increases will put £1,400 a year into their pockets. Not only that; they want to live in a country—

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  I am sorry, but I have given way several times already. I welcome the Government going even further in the Bill to level the playing field and ensure that those with the broadest shoulders take the heaviest burden. That is why we need the legislation to close loopholes such as the non-dom status, change the furnished holiday lettings tax regime and provide more resources to HMRC to tackle the tax gap. That will help us address the financial black hole that the Conservative party clearly had no regard for, claims does not exist and has failed to apologise for. The Bill will allow us to fix what the Leader of the Opposition admitted today were broken foundations. I believe that the Government’s Budget and the Bill will be a vital starting point on a long road to recovery for this country. I commend the Government for their work and support this Bill’s progression through the House.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for making that intervention. He says that it is not a choice between one and the other, but for 14 years under the previous Government we heard his side talk about state schools having to make difficult decisions and tighten their belts. As the husband of a state schoolteacher, I know that our state schools were severely underserved by the previous Government. The money generated by ending the VAT relief on private schools will be vital to recruit the 6,500 more teachers that we need in our state schools and to roll out free breakfast clubs across the country, to ensure that no child in education goes hungry.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  We have heard lots of contributions from the Opposition Benches about the fantastic record of the previous Government, but that does not stand up to the lived reality of our constituents. That is exactly why we saw the result that we had in the general election. The sooner Opposition Members come to terms with that result, the better.

• 21 Nov 2024 · Transport Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  The Labour mayors Andy Burnham and Richard Parker are developing proposals for a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester. What engagement has the Department had with the mayors and investors in relation to this project, and does my right hon. Friend agree that, as a key transport hub, Crewe must be at the heart of any future rail infrastructure connecting the north and the midlands?

• 21 Nov 2024 · Transport Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  16. What steps she is taking to improve transport infrastructure.