Connor Naismith MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Jaguar Land Rover: Redundancies · Hansard source

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  The Minister will appreciate the concern that announcements of redundancies at major manufacturers such as JLR will create for employees, families and businesses across not just those manufacturers but the wider supply chain and industry. In my constituency, Bentley Motors has invested hundreds of millions of pounds over the past decade, but what more can the Government do to support the UK automotive sector? Will the Minister join me in welcoming the forthcoming launch of Bentley’s first electric vehicle, the Torcal, on 23 September?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q3. It is clear to me and many across this House that despite the hard work and dedication of all postal workers, Royal Mail’s management is failing in its obligation to provide a basic and reliable postal service. The people of Crewe and Nantwich are paying the price through missed appointments, late fees and, in some cases, even county court judgments. I have full confidence in this Prime Minister to deliver for our country. Will he join me in calling on Royal Mail’s management to do the same, including by working with the Communication Workers Union and through the implementation of the recommendations of the Select Committee report published earlier this year?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Education and Skills Reform · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State is already well aware of the excellent work being undertaken by providers, such as Crewe Engineering and Design UTC and Cheshire College South and West, in equipping young people with the technical skills that local employers need. But what steps is she taking to build on successful examples of colleges and UTCs with proven industry partnerships, and will she visit Crewe and Nantwich to see that work in action?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. During a coffee morning on the Sherborne estate in Crewe, I spoke with several residents who described persistent and distressing levels of antisocial behaviour in our community, including having eggs thrown at their properties. Can the Minister set out what steps are being taken to ensure that antisocial behaviour is dealt with robustly in places like the Sherborne estate?

• 13 Jul 2026 · State of Climate and Nature · Hansard source

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  The Minister’s statement will be welcomed by year 2 at St Michael’s community academy in Crewe, who I visited recently. I heard letters read aloud by the children, demonstrating their concern about the need to protect our environment and natural habitats. Will the Minister join me in congratulating those year 2 classes, and set out why the Government’s 30 by 30 delivery plan is so important for reversing decades of nature decline?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation · Hansard source

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  Shabir Ahmed is a vile criminal, and the British public rightly want to see him deported. Does the Minister agree that where the law does not allow us to do so, we should change it, and that we should redouble efforts to secure returns agreements with countries like Pakistan?

• 30 Jun 2026 · High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts · Hansard source

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  Yes, I absolutely agree. We also need a tax system that incentivises the kinds of economic activity we want to see for the Pride in Place agenda. Too many of my small independent hospitality businesses have told me that it is not where we currently are. Kelly, from St Martha Greek taverna, is campaigning along with 50 local independent hospitality businesses, including the Red Cow and the GOAT sports bar in Nantwich, as well as Noodle Gurus in Crewe, alongside many others, to join our European counterparts in cutting VAT to 10% for hospitality businesses. I am proud to support their campaign. We need a stronger state, capable and willing to intervene at local level to fix things when the market fails to do so. I am a huge supporter of the high street rental auctions and the Pride in Place agenda, but we must go further in giving local authorities the power, capacity, confidence and funding to put those powers to use so that my constituents can once again be truly proud of the civic spaces that we call our town centres. If we act decisively, we can restore pride in our high streets and ensure that they once again reflect the strength and character of our communities.

• 30 Jun 2026 · High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts · Hansard source

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  As many hon. Members have said, high streets speak to something fundamental about our identity and self-confidence in the places we call home. However, in too many towns up and down our country, they are now filled with betting shops, charity shops, vape shops or, in many cases, empty shop windows, devoid of life. The hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) spoke about design codes and shop frontages, which is a really important point that the Government should grip in recognising the civic importance of those spaces. If we allow the country to see that our standards have slipped, it is no wonder that standards slip elsewhere. To create an environment where it is possible for the kinds of businesses that we want to see succeed once again, we must give them what they need most: a community of customers on their doorstep. That means embracing residential-led high street regeneration, which is why I am delighted to support Capital&Centric’s confidence in Crewe town centre with its proposed regeneration of the Royal Arcade, supported by 500 homes, plus bars, cafés, restaurants and other uses.

• 20 May 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My community has been left in deep shock and concern following allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery against members of the Ahmadi religion of peace and light. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Cheshire constabulary, Cheshire East Council and wider agencies for their response to these concerning events? Will he also commit himself to ensuring that we receive the necessary resources to deliver justice when crimes have been committed and to reassure the wider community that this Government are on their side?

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  I will not. It is time to bring water back under public control, ensuring that this life-essential utility is managed as a secure public good, not a private commodity. In the time I have remaining, I wish to talk about high streets. High streets are the visible heartbeat of our towns, and I warmly welcome the steps taken by this Government to date to support local authorities to intervene to fill empty shops. Intervention is only half the battle, however. We must also cultivate an environment where small businesses can genuinely succeed. Hospitality businesses are vital to that endeavour, and I call on the Government to support Hospitality Together and hospitality businesses in my constituency in their call for a sector-specific VAT cut for hospitality. Although there is room to go further, this King’s Speech delivers a comprehensive framework of security, and it tells the people of Crewe and Nantwich that the state is back in their corner—

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to speak for my constituents in Crewe and Nantwich on the legislative agenda set out in the King’s Speech. It is a programme designed to restore security, stability and control over the basics in life. For too long our people have felt the consequences of economic shocks over which they have no control and an economic model that does not work for them. Now is the time to break that model and build something new that serves every community across our great country. You cannot improve what you do not control, and the legacy of the past 40 years is that the British state has relinquished too much control over those things that impact the pounds in the pockets and life chances of the British people. Control over the basics means securing our everyday lives, and that starts with the energy heating our homes and powering our industry. The energy independence Bill and the electricity generator levy Bill represent a structural shift in how this country powers itself. Crucially, they will break the link between electricity and skyrocketing gas prices and invest in the clean, home-grown energy of the future, thereby permanently shielding working families from volatile global markets. However, I must challenge the Government to go further, by restoring control over another utility: the water that flows through our taps and into our rivers and streams. We must end the private water monopolies, strip out private equity from this basic necessity and ensure that every pound spent in the system goes towards investing in infrastructure and controlling bills, not towards shareholder dividends and profits.

• 19 May 2026 · High Speed 2 Reset · Hansard source

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  The consequences of the Conservative party’s failure to manage this project effectively are nowhere felt more deeply than in Crewe and Nantwich, where jobs and regeneration benefits have been lost and Cheshire East council has £11 million in sunk costs. I welcome the shift in emphasis from speed to capacity, but the network between Birmingham and Crewe is at capacity now, let alone in 10 or 20 years’ time. Will the Secretary of State commit to looking more urgently at how we address capacity constraints between Birmingham and Crewe? Will her Department engage with Cheshire East council on its plans to mitigate its losses as a result of the decision to cancel the line in the midlands?

• 21 Apr 2026 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  Crewe in my constituency currently faces proposals for yet another adult gaming centre, which I have personally objected to. Does my hon. Friend agree that the strengthening of gambling impact assessments, as well as the wider proposals in the Pride in Place strategy, will allow areas like Crewe to actively shape our high streets and that it is incumbent on local authorities to proactively take up those powers?

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  This war, in which we are rightly playing no part, has my constituents fearing for the future, not least in relation to rising energy and fuel costs. That underlines the crucial importance of bringing down the cost of energy and securing energy independence; but will the Prime Minister reassure my constituents that, while the Government are taking the necessary steps to provide us with long-term energy security through renewable energy and new nuclear, they will go further in the short term and tackle some of the profiteering that is happening, as well as directly supporting hard-pressed families and small businesses in my constituency in respect of the cost?

• 23 Mar 2026 · Asylum Seekers: Accommodation · Hansard source

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  May I thank the Minister for the work he is doing to close asylum hotels, including the Crewe Arms hotel, and encourage him to go further still and close the Royal hotel in my constituency? Will he join me in reminding Conservative Members that it was under the Tory Government—prominent members of which now sit on the Benches with the turquoise Tories—that the concept of asylum hotels was invented? Indeed, they presided over the opening up of the business model for small boat crossings in the first place.

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

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  I particularly welcome the measures to ensure that warranted police officers go where we need them: on to our streets and into our communities. Can I draw particular attention to the intention to scrap the failed police uplift model—a policy that is about as Boris Johnson as it gets? Although it did recruit officers, they often ended up sat behind desks performing roles more suited to experienced police staff. Does the Home Secretary agree that scrapping police uplift will ensure that officers are more likely to be out fighting crime than sat behind desks?

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

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  Jono, Sam and the rest of the team at the GOAT sports bar in Nantwich have breathed new life into the town. Unfortunately, last month Jono’s stepdad suffered a cardiac arrest while in the bar and tragically passed away. The team at GOAT are now leading efforts to turn that tragedy into something positive by fundraising for defibrillators in the town, having already raised enough for six defibrillators and having had a further defibrillator directly donated. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending their efforts, and will he encourage people and services across Crewe and Nantwich to support this effort to save lives?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Water White Paper · Hansard source

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  Incredibly, last year saw the fifth incident of agricultural pollution in just three years in the River Weaver, which runs through the centre of Nantwich in my constituency, resulting in thousands of dead fish and a stench that permeated our town centre. I pay tribute to Stuart Mitton from the Restore the Weaver action group, local angling groups and local ward councillor Anna Burton for the work they are doing on this, and I welcome the White Paper. How will its proposals ensure that we tackle agricultural run-off into rivers such as the River Weaver and, crucially, that where pollution does occur, we see swift justice?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  Can I begin by expressing my sincere and enthusiastic thanks to the Secretary of State for today’s announcements? I have been campaigning, and some would say badgering Ministers, throughout my entire time in this place to address capacity challenges on the west coast main line arising from the steaming pile of mess left for this Government on HS2. I welcome the announcement that the Government intend to build a new rail line between Birmingham and Manchester, but following 14 years of mismanagement of projects such as this, how can the Secretary of State assure me and my constituents that these projects will actually be delivered, and how will they be insulated against the backwards, anti-growth, populist forces that we know would reverse these plans in a heartbeat?

• 7 Jan 2026 · UK Town of Culture · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss, and to speak in the debate. Towns such as Crewe show exactly why the UK town of culture competition matters. For too long, places such as Crewe felt the consequences of decisions taken outside of their control: under-investment, economic mismanagement, rising costs and, of course, the devastating loss of High Speed 2. However, I am pleased to say that Crewe is turning a corner, and I am confident that 2026 will be the year—long overdue—when my constituents can lift their heads with pride in their town. We are seeing investment, ambition and real pride returning to our town centre, driven by our community and entrepreneurs, and supported by the economic stability that this Labour Government are delivering. Culture is at the heart of our renewal. The strong and established Crewe cultural forum brings together Cheshire East council, Crewe town council, the Lyceum theatre, our libraries and archives, local businesses, the NHS and community partners. Through our successful Arts Council England placemaker project, the Crewe//Makes Artspace, we have already demonstrated that Crewe can collaborate and think big about culture. I am particularly pleased that those cultural institutions at the heart of our town will lead Crewe’s bid for UK town of culture. That ambition is visible on our high street. The Crewe Market Hall has been reborn as a thriving hub for food, drink and entertainment. I was pleased to enjoy the festive pantomime at the Lyceum theatre—a jewel in our town, and Cheshire’s only surviving Edwardian theatre—and I will be back there in January to watch Russell Howard. It is now complemented by Lyceum Square, a purpose-built space for cultural events that has already hosted many events, including the Crewe Day festival, Crewe-on-Sea, Crewe Pride and many more. These institutions anchor a growing cultural quarter. The former Dorothy Perkins and Burton unit on Market Street—once another empty shell and a blight on the high street—now hosts CreweCreates, a vibrant space for arts and culture. That shows what can happen when creativity meets opportunity. This year will see further developments in Crewe with culture at their heart. Spring will see the opening of the Dome youth zone, and later in the year Crewe will become the joint home of the Cheshire archives. Those two projects promise to breathe new life into our town centre. Together they encapsulate perfectly the point that several hon. Members have made: culture is about reflecting on our heritage, but also proudly embracing our future. Crewe has the partnerships, infrastructure and working groups ready to move quickly, as soon as the town of culture competition formally launches. We have a proud heritage, a strong story to tell and a cultural future that we are desperate to seize. I look forward to the Minister saying more about what the competition will entail.