Dan Aldridge MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Apr 2026 · UK-India Technology Security Initiative · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend, who accompanied me to India. It was a phenomenally insightful visit. The human connection is not incidental to this debate; it is the very foundation of it. I use this opportunity to give a special shout-out to people such as Akhilesh Madhav and his family, who chose Weston to work in our NHS, to care for our people and to raise their children. Akhilesh and his friends and colleagues do more than just work and live in Weston-super-Mare; they are tireless community builders and campaigners, setting up new organisations such as FYI-Weston, which hosts wonderful, inclusive events, bringing people together from across our community to connect, learn, make friends and often do business, linking our two great countries. I also give a shout-out to Sanju Varghese, who along with his friends created the charitable Weston Association of Malayalees, a forum to help Malayalees from Kerala in India to engage with local communities through acts of service. The association is always out with local groups, litter picking and fundraising for local causes. Our shared stories go back generations, with a complex history, but firmly focused on the future and a desire to create opportunity and prosperity. They are all examples of how the relationship between the United Kingdom and India is not, in essence, a relationship between two Governments, two economies or even two sets of interests; it is actually a relationship between people and communities. We share a history, a legal tradition, a language and deep cultural ties. It is a friendship with deep roots, which is now growing into something genuinely transformative.

• 28 Apr 2026 · UK-India Technology Security Initiative · Hansard source

  More

  When I was on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, we visited Queen’s and talked about its cyber-security prowess. The ecosystem in the UK is very much connected—something we are very proud of—so I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I am delighted to have secured this debate; in the spirit of interconnected communities, before going into the specifics of the UK-India TSI, I will talk about something a bit closer to home. This topic speaks to one of the reasons why Britain’s international relationships, our diplomacy and our international trade agreements matter not just at the Government level, but locally, on the streets of Weston-super-Mare and in towns, villages and cities across the UK. My constituency might not be a place that people automatically associate with India, but our town is home to a small but thriving Indian community. Their contribution to local life is immeasurable, whether in our NHS, businesses, schools or civic institutions. The people who came to Weston from India and whose families have grown up here are woven into the fabric of what makes our town work.

• 12 Mar 2026 · Carnivals · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you, Mrs Harris; it is an honour to serve under your chairship. I am grateful to the hon. Members for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) and for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt), whose passion for Somerset carnivals and communities I share, for their hard work in securing this debate. I am also grateful to see the Minister in her place. It was a pleasure to welcome her to Weston-super-Mare last year, so that she could launch her appointment as tourism Minister at the Grand Pier. It really mattered and meant a lot to my constituents that she chose my town, which is long overdue serious Government attention and investment. I thank her for that. It speaks to my values, which I believe this Government also hold dear, and to the reason that I fought to represent the town I love back in 2024. We believe in these communities because we are them, and we need them to succeed. In this job, when we do something important, it can be all too easy to whizz by and think, “Right, what next?” but the debate on this topic matters. No Member of Parliament has previously considered Weston carnival as worthy of note, but an event so impressive and integral to my town’s identity and Somerset’s rich heritage deserves to be recognised, so I am proud to be the first Member of Parliament to talk about Weston carnival in this place. I have thought a lot about the importance to my family of carnival and all the memories it has given us over the years. One annual tradition is for my mother to say that she is, “not going in this weather”, only to rally at the last minute with a pint of Thatcher’s—well done, Mum. Another is trying to find my sisters, nephews and niece, who insist on setting up camp at one end of town despite knowing that I like the other end of town, and getting across town is a bit of a battle. I am always grateful that my brother lives in town, so I can use his loo—and sometimes dry off—as the parade goes past. While my family try to find each other, we always end up finding and hugging friends, some of whom we see only at carnival because we have busy lives and it is difficult, so that is really important to us. The shops, bars and pubs also stay open to share these experiences with customers and friends. Having thought it through, I find carnival has been there for some of the biggest moments of my life: as a boost and a distraction during some really sad family bereavements, as something to do when I had no money—that was the case for a few years—and as the background to some of the biggest decisions of my life, not least when a good friend floated the idea that I might want to be Weston’s MP, although that is a story to dissect at a later date. That is just some of the history I share with the carnival; the number of such stories across my town would be incalculable. Carnival speaks to something fundamental in us all: the need for not only community, but light and joy in the cold winter months. The electric lights and loud music of the carts may be modern, but the spirit of carnival is rooted in something instinctive, human and ancient, just like our historic county. It is about not only resilience and community but defiance and rebellion, allowing us to shake off normality, let loose and extend the season that starts with Halloween and trick-or-treating. Weston carnival is also part of the run-up to Christmas, which I think is why I love it so much. When the Christmas carts come by, I will be singing and dancing to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. That tradition will live for evermore. The relationship every person has with carnival is both personal, and shared across their community. That is part of what makes carnival special: it is for everybody, and everyone has their own memories, stories and traditions. It also maintains a deeply local feel, even though it would not look out of place in a Disney or Universal Studios production. When friends visit for carnival, they are blown away. They cannot believe that it is not as globally renowned as carnivals in Rio and Venice. Some people might sneer at that, but they should come and see it before they judge. Interestingly, however, our best-kept local secret has started to get out. People have started to notice it on Instagram and TikTok. Millions across the world are starting to watch it, and the insights about where people are logging in from show that it sometimes correlates to where other carnivals are. People are interested in what is happening, and I really hope that that translates into them coming and visiting. I will play favourites when it comes to Weston carnival, as I expect my colleagues will about their carnivals. We all genuinely believe that ours is the best, because place and community matter far more than some might think or believe. In a world of increasing disconnection, carnival is a beautiful, bright, singing, dancing advert for the power of human connection. We put it at risk at our peril. None the less, it is fair to say that to love my carnival is to love them all, because they are an interconnected ecosystem. They all depend on each other, and on a network of thousands of volunteers and families with skills and passion passed down through generations. They maintain, innovate and deliver jaw-dropping, heart-pumping “wow” factor year on year. For children, going to carnival with their parents is a thing of wonder. It is the most amazing thing to watch young children with their families have these bright eyes and be so in awe of it. It is beautiful, but it is also fun to go with friends for the first time as a teenager—that is a rite of passage. Families stand side by side on the route, parents with bags of snacks and children with light-up toys that are immediately regretted as soon as they get in the car to go home. Every square inch of pavement in Weston is taken up by people who love our carnival, who love the town and who love each other. Those moments stay with you, and they speak to the deep sense of belonging that carnival creates and sustains. I will talk briefly about the practical importance of carnival for our community. From young children to great-grandparents, people learn from each other, teaching and gaining practical experience in costume design, choreography and theatrical make-up. It is also a huge engineering feat. I really love that Weston college is starting to tap into that and see it as a strategic piece of infrastructure in the town, giving students practical experience in electrical engineering, metalwork, carpentry and construction. Those are exactly the skills that our future economy needs, and they are forged in coastal and rural towns that have been overlooked too often and for too long. Many of us who represent seaside towns argue for money and strategies to help develop skills, attract investment and build year-round economies. In Weston-super-Mare and across Somerset, we already have a powerful part of the answer—not holding out a begging bowl, but saying, “We want to do this in partnership.” Despite our carnival still flying somewhat under the national radar, it draws more than 400,000 visitors from a worldwide audience, adding to the thousands of residents who turn out loyally year in, year out, bringing vital footfall at a time when coastal businesses need it the most. Weston carnival is not simply a local spectacle; it has national and international significance as one of the largest illuminated processions in Europe. The thing I find most special about it is that it is built not by companies and corporate giants but by local people, who give their time and talent freely. Young people see their work light up the night for the first time and see the real, tangible impact of hard graft. Ties are built and strengthened across generations by thousands of hours of voluntary effort, building something shared that the whole town, county and country can be proud of. Brilliant charities participate and raise funds, local businesses sponsor the carnival and dedicated volunteers, including a number of my friends, stay way past the event to clear up the litter when everyone has gone home. As a plea to everybody: make sure you clear up your litter and dispose of it appropriately; do not leave it for volunteers to pick up. But for those volunteers, no sooner has the year’s carnival finished than they are preparing for the next one. That hard work goes on year in, year out and year round. I thank them; they are seen, and they are appreciated. Carnival is the largest annual event in Weston-super-Mare and a major regional mass participation event. For an event that receives no external funding support, built and run entirely by volunteers and organised by the Weston carnival committee, it is a living, breathing testament to the human spirit and the strength of community. Last year alone, Weston carnival volunteers raised more than £21,000 for local charities and helped to foster a powerful sense of civic pride. Yet there remains a clear gap between what carnival towns contribute and the support they receive. The UK’s creative industries generate more than £100 billion a year—indeed, they are one of the eight critical sectors in the industrial strategy—yet in Weston that creative power is sustained almost entirely by volunteers, who face rising safety, insurance and infrastructure costs. There is limited access to the funding frameworks available to other cultural institutions, and often a lack of skills and knowledge about how to access them. If we are serious about growth that is felt across all our communities, investment cannot be confined to summer tourism and hospitality. We must back the wonderful things, such as carnival, that already exist. We must play to our strengths. If we do, coastal economies and towns such as mine can grow sustainably and thrive for the next generation. Those towns matter. It is up to all of us in this place who represent towns to use our voices effectively and collectively to build the case for a better settlement that looks to our unique strengths and does not simply see us as subsidiaries of cities. Carnival is heritage and soul. It is our unique town culture writ large. It is skills and business, it is community support—and it is real life. It is proof that towns such as Weston are primed to unlock the full creative and economic potential that all of us who are rooted there see in bucketloads. We just need the right engagement and support. Let us back the creators and community champions who step up and do the work to build the community they want to see. I urge my colleagues, the Minister, the Government, the House and the country to see the Weston and Somerset carnivals, and towns such as mine, in those terms.

• 30 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Weston-super-Mare and Worle residents are rightly proud of their community, but abandoned commercial waste and rubbish filling its once proud public spaces undermines our town and civic pride, and the burden of cleaning up has been shifted on to cash-strapped councils and volunteers. Will the Leader of the House allocate time for a debate on how businesses, councils and communities can all help to keep our high streets clean?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Ageing and End-of-life Care · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this debate. It has been a pleasure to see his passion for his community and for the people of Northern Ireland, especially as a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Care at the end of life and ensuring dignity, compassion and community in every chapter of life is so incredibly important. I pay tribute to Weston Hospicecare, and particularly to Paul Winspear and his amazing team, who are an extraordinary example of what compassionate, community-based care can achieve. Their current director of patient services, John Bailey, retires in December after 30 years of dedicated services. Paul, the chief exec, describes John as a “truly exceptional” person, and I absolutely agree. Founded in 1989, Weston Hospicecare supports more than 1,000 patients and families each year, serving a population of around 225,000 people from Clevedon to Burnham-on-Sea and from Cheddar to Weston-super-Mare, Worle and the villages that surround my constituency. It is hard to find somebody in my town whose life has not been touched by Weston Hospicecare’s dedicated team; my family is no exception. Weston Hospicecare helped us during some of our darkest times. I have a personal mission to help safeguard the future of this important facility. Its dedicated team provides in-patient, day hospice and community nursing services alongside physiotherapy, counselling and bereavement support, all free of charge. Weston Hospicecare truly embodies the spirit of my home town—caring, community-minded and determined to do the right thing—but it is important to acknowledge the pressures that it faces daily. Weston Hospicecare receives only around 18% of its operating costs from the NHS, compared with a national average closer to 29%. The rest must be raised through community fundraising, shops and donations. The generosity of our community is remarkable, but it is being stretched to its limit, despite some of the most innovative approaches to fundraising that I have witnessed. I am genuinely, truly impressed by what Weston Hospicecare has been able to achieve. Over recent years, hospice funding increases have fallen well behind inflation. The national living wage increase has rightly lifted incomes, and I am entirely in favour of it, but that and other factors have increased staffing costs for many hospices. Weston Hospicecare faces an annual deficit of £500,000—roughly 10% of its £6 million budget—and it has had to dip into reserves, which now stand at less than six months’ cover. For such vital services that mean so much to my community and to the communities around us, we must find a better way. Despite that, Weston Hospicecare continues to deliver outstanding value. It provides care for patients with complex, multi-morbid conditions who would otherwise occupy hospital beds or require costly community nursing, and it is relieving pressure on the NHS in my town. Weston Hospicecare saves the health system money while delivering really outstanding outcomes for patients and families. The Government’s recent £75 million capital investment in hospices has been so important. Weston Hospicecare has benefited from it, and is particularly grateful for it, as am I, but we all recognise that while one-off capital investment is welcome, it cannot by itself secure the future. We need a sustainable commissioning model and fair funding for the essential, specialist care that hospices provide, while allowing them to continue raising community funds for services that are so often seen as optional, but which are in reality vital, such as family support, bereavement care and the holistic and therapeutic services that help people to live and die well. This issue is also about the wider fabric of our communities. In coastal towns such as Weston-super-Mare, where we have higher proportions of older residents, fewer large employers and sometimes higher levels of isolation, hospices—in particular my hospice—are part of what hold our communities together. They offer not just care and employment, but training, volunteering and opportunities for young people to build meaningful careers in care. One of my best friends, John Williams, has been a carer his whole life. All too often, what I consider to be a vocation—a profession—is undervalued. That is something that we must change. When we talk about ageing and end-of-life care, we must see it not as a burden, but as a mark of who we are—a society that values every life at every stage, and sees worth in all human life. Weston Hospicecare is a beacon of that principle, and with the right long-term funding framework, I believe it and other providers like it across the country can continue to serve our communities for decades to come.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place · Hansard source

  More

  To their great credit, the Bournville, Coronation and Oldmixon communities have survived in spite of previous Westminster disinterest. Does the Minister agree that this huge £20 million investment in Weston-super-Mare is an endorsement of our faith in every community champion who has kept our most vulnerable communities together while Westminster looked the other way?