David Taylor MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q6. Hemel Hempstead is a new town that was built by a Labour Government after the second world war and provided decent housing to families like mine, yet 80 years on, the No. 1 issue in my case work is a shortage of housing. I therefore welcome this Government’s commitment to build thousands of new homes. In my constituency, we are looking at a Hemel Garden Communities scheme that could provide 11,000 new homes. Does the Prime Minister agree that this development needs to be a mix of genuinely affordable houses to buy and council houses to rent, and that it must be accompanied by the right health, education and road infrastructure?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Supporting Veterans · Hansard source

  More

  2. What steps he is taking to support veterans in Hertfordshire.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Supporting Veterans · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for his answer and for his kind words about Roy Briggs. His family and I are also grateful for letter that he wrote to them. I had the privilege of attending his funeral last week. He was a real servant to our country, having flown in many brave missions over Europe. He was part of one of the RAF’s first ever humanitarian missions when dropping essential food over the Netherlands and he also flew many missions in RAF bombers. I know that the Government are doing various things to try to support veterans. Could the Minister outline the further steps that the Government can take to support organisations that support veterans such as the Royal British Legion as well as smaller organisations such as the Hemel armed forces and veterans breakfast club?

• 23 Jun 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

  More

  As well as the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, it has supported Assad to kill half a million people in Syria, including Palestinians, and it supplies Putin with the drones he is using to massacre people in Ukraine. We must also remember that the Iranian regime persecutes its own people, including human rights activists. Just as Ministers have, I am pleased to say, engaged with Syrian activists in the UK to hear their views on the future of their country, can I ask Ministers and the Foreign Secretary to assure me that they will engage with human rights activists and democracy activists here in Britain to help to guide their approach?

• 23 Jun 2025 · UK Military Base Protection · Hansard source

  More

  I commend the Government for the swift action they took to proscribe Palestine Action after its brazen actions at Brize Norton. I would like to raise concerns about another related group called the Islamic Human Rights Commission. It has expressed support for proscribed terrorist groups and used UK platforms to spread anti-British propaganda. There is strong evidence that it is directly linked to the Iranian regime. Indeed, placards celebrating the ayatollah and talking of being on “the right side of history” were seen at protests at the weekend. What assessment have the Government made of threats to national security beyond Palestine Action, including from this group?

• 23 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T9. A single parent in my constituency has worked full time for more than 20 years but is now in personal crisis because universal credit is unable to reimburse the childcare costs she has paid in advance. I hope the Minister agrees that it is deeply unfair that my constituent is left short every month despite working incredibly hard. Will he set out ways in which the Government are supporting hard-working women with childcare needs?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates · Hansard source

  More

  The RSPCA’s assured scheme now accounts for 55% of the UK’s laying hens and 25% of its pigs. Does my hon. Friend agree that that demonstrates that there is increasing public support for higher welfare meat and eggs, even if the cost is slightly higher as a result?

• 12 Jun 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart). As it has for many Members, this issue has become a quiet emergency in my constituency; Hertfordshire faces many of the challenges with the funding and delivery of SEND provision that other parts of the country are grappling with. SEND support should be a lifeline that enables a child to reach their potential, regardless of their diagnosis or circumstances. In Hertfordshire, the system is creaking. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have said that there are “widespread and systematic failings”, and too many families are losing out as a result. I have raised a number of stories in the past of constituents who are dealing with this issue. Today I bring to the House the story of my constituent Sarah, who recently told me about her daughter Grace. Grace suffers from avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, alongside autism and dyslexia. After a long and traumatic journey through the NHS, made harder by the lack of a national care pathway for ARFID, Grace spent six weeks at Watford general hospital and a further nine weeks at a mental health unit in Great Ormond Street. Her condition has thankfully stabilised, but her recovery remains fragile. Now her mother Sarah is facing the daunting challenge of securing an appropriate education. She is applying for an EHCP and has requested a place in a specialist setting that would meet Grace’s needs, but like many schools it is oversubscribed. A mainstream environment, crowded and overwhelming, would simply be unworkable for Grace, whose previous experiences in school have left long-lasting trauma. Sarah is even considering moving countries in search of suitable provision. This is not an isolated case. Families in Hertfordshire are telling us time and again that the system is failing the children who sit in these so-called grey areas—children who require more than mainstream education can offer but who do not meet the thresholds for the few specialist placements available. Hertfordshire is ranked 148th out of 150 local authorities in per-head high-needs funding. Just 7.5% of our local education budget goes to SEND, well below the national average of 11.5%. We are also facing a projected £30 million deficit in the SEND budget this year. I finish by thanking Ministers for their engagement on this issue, and for meeting me and other Hertfordshire Labour MPs. I know that the hon. Members for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) and for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) have also been diligently raising these issues. I am glad that the Government are now looking at the national funding formula and how it might be revised, which I hope will mean that Hertfordshire ends up with more support. I congratulate the Government on their pledge to invest an additional £1 billion into high-needs funding, and I look forward to seeing how this benefits all our children.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Theft of Tools of Trade · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. Tool theft is a growing problem affecting tradespeople in Hemel Hempstead and across the country, as we have heard. It is no exaggeration to say that an epidemic of van and tool theft has been left in the wake of the last Conservative Government. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) for campaigning so vigorously on the matter. I want to raise a harrowing case from my constituent Mr Rogers, who told me a devastating story. He ran a showroom in our beautiful old town, but over three separate break-ins he lost more than £10,000-worth of tools, including a specialised CNC machine that was essential to his business. Unfortunately, despite clear CCTV footage showing the suspect’s van registration, police responses did not yield results. Key evidence was never collected and no arrests were made. After the second theft, Mr Rogers was refused insurance. After the third, with no tools and no support, he was tragically forced to close his business. Despite his resilience and strength, the impact on his mental health was devastating. Other hon. Members will recognise the impact that the issue has on the mental health of their constituents, because Mr Rogers’s case is not isolated. Only 1% of stolen tools are ever recovered, and many tradespeople live in constant fear of theft. These crimes destroy livelihoods, disrupt families and cause long-lasting emotional harm. That is why I strongly support the Theft of Tools of Trade (Sentencing) Bill, which, if implemented, will introduce tougher sentences, recognising the unique harm caused by these crimes. Combined with Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, for which I had the pleasure of serving on the Public Bill Committee and which will restore neighbourhood policing and strengthen victims’ rights, those measures will deliver real protection for people in Hemel Hempstead and beyond. More police, stronger laws, tougher sentencing: those are the solutions that people like Mr Rogers need. Tool theft is not a victimless crime. It ruins lives. Our tradespeople deserve better. We rely on them, and it is time that they were able to rely on us. I encourage every Member to support the legislation brought forward by my wonderful hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North, and to support our Government’s Crime and Policing Bill.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  I will.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  I will not, because I want to make a point; I find the moralising tone of my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) a bit much. The reason the last Government were able to do what they did—slashing the aid budget, abolishing the Department for International Development and wrecking the economy—was that we have never had a weaker Opposition than we did when the hard left was sadly in charge of my party. Putin was emboldened, in part, by the hard left’s constant appeasement and apologism for the things he was doing, their downplaying of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and their suggestion that we send the sample from Salisbury back to Putin to test whether or not he was responsible.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Melksham and Devizes (Brian Mathew) for securing the debate. The International Development Committee is due in a couple of weeks—if our visas are approved—to go to the US and have some of these discussions. It will be interesting to see what is said. I do not know whether I need to declare this as an interest, but I am the Labour party representative on the Progressive Alliance; our sister party is the Democratic party, and I campaigned for it in the 2012 election. I think it is obvious that my view is that we should not have the current US Administration, and their decision to slash the US aid budget was profound and devastating. Turning to the UK context, as someone who has spent their entire career in the charity sector, I was heartbroken by the decision to cut aid to 0.3%, but it is important for the record to lay out some of the context for that decision. We inherited a horrific economy, the majority of the aid budget—a huge amount of that money—was going on asylum spend in hotels, and we faced a world in which Ukraine had been invaded by Putin and his forces. While I regret the decision to cut aid, it was taken in that terrible context, and because of the vital need to increase defence spending to 2.5%. Why was the economy in such a state? It was because of the devastating Truss mini-Budget. Aid had already been reduced to 0.5% because of the decision that Sunak had taken, and Boris Johnson had abolished a world-leading Government Department. In addition, why did Russia invade? It was because—I should say that I do not mean this as a criticism of the last Government—the west collectively failed to stand up to Putin. We allowed him and Assad to do what they wanted in Syria; we took no action when Assad unleashed chemical weapons on his own people. Putin invaded Crimea with near impunity in 2014, and of course we had attacks on UK soil, including the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  I do not believe that is the case, because I believe the Minister is going to set out the ways in which we are still taking our place on the world stage, but I hear the hon. Member’s concern. Hon. Members in this Chamber have passionately advocated for causes that they care deeply about. I respect that, especially the hon. Member for Melksham and Devizes and his passionate plea for WASH. I could talk about a number of causes important to me, but what is most important is that we increase the size of the pie. For that reason, I have been working constructively with other Members of the House to put suggestions to the Government for how, given the decision to cut aid to 0.3%, we could look at other forms of development finance. In the interests of time, I will not go over the points that my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) made about asylum seekers, remittances, special drawing rights, the exchange equalisation account and debt relief, but I will add to that list the need to release the Chelsea money as soon as possible. The Government announced recently that they are looking to take further action against Roman Abramovich. If that money is released into Ukraine, given that we have essentially said that we will protect aid spending in Ukraine, I hope that additional money can replace official development assistance going in, so that that ODA money can then support programmes in other countries. We also have an issue with British International Investment. To be clear, BII does good things, but there is no need for additional capitalisation out of the 0.3% that we have, given that investments in assets can be realised. Finally, I highlight the international finance facility for immunisation, which is a way to leverage extra funding. We are urging the Government to look at other ways to do that in other contexts. There is already an international finance facility for education, and by using such facilities we can leverage funds times 10. Given the various summits that are coming up, including the financing for development conference that my hon. Friend mentioned, I urge the Government to look at those options, and to think innovatively about the additional finance that we can leverage to help to support the poorest people in the world.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  I want to add to what the Minister is saying. The point is that, yes, the coalition Government did protect the aid budget, but by cutting public services in this country to the core, they undermined public trust in Government. That meant that lots of people faced need, and it led to increasing calls of, “Charity begins at home; why are we spending this money abroad?” If we had kept the settlement that we had under the last Labour Government, whereby we invested in public services at home and abroad, we would not have ended up in this mess.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  No, I will not, because I find the moralising tone completely infuriating. Having put that on record, I turn to the matter at hand: the horrible situation that we are in. I note with respect that other hon. Members have mentioned causes that they deeply care about, and I care about those causes—

• 9 Jun 2025 · Non-stun Slaughter of Animals · Hansard source

  More

  I start by acknowledging that this is an extremely sensitive debate. We have heard some really thoughtful contributions, for which I am grateful to Members, and I really hope that the debate continues in that tone. Constituents on all sides of this debate have emailed me; I have heard from the local mosque, but also from a number of people who are concerned primarily by animal welfare. I am grateful that the tone of those emails has been appropriate, and not of the sort that my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi) rightly mentioned. I want in particular to acknowledge the point that she made that the vast majority of meat in this country is non-halal and non-kosher and that, too often, the welfare standards of that meat are poor. As a lifelong RSPCA supporter, I am strongly of the opinion that our Government should take further measures—I believe that they are—to ensure that the majority of meat consumed in this country is produced to the highest possible standards of animal welfare. One issue that has not been raised is the increasing number of people getting meat from out of home—from a takeaway, rather than a supermarket. Outside of the debate on halal and kosher meat, I know that the Government are looking at that issue. We often do not know the welfare standards of the meat that we buy from a takeaway, which is a problem when more and more of us—I include myself in that—are eating takeaway food. When we buy from a supermarket, we can look for the Red Tractor or free range mark. I think that is an area that needs to be looked at. I also recognise what others have said about how, unfortunately, a lot of people who raise this issue do so not because of animal welfare concerns, but from a place of Islamophobia or antisemitism. That is completely unacceptable. As a supporter of the RSCPA who has donated to it and volunteered with it all my life, I want to highlight one of its recommendations to Members. It suggests the adoption of a permit system for non-stunned meat, to allow the tracking of the number of animals slaughtered without prior stunning. I want the Government to consider whether that might be of merit, just to ensure that the volume and proportion of such meat is appropriate. That is the only contribution that I wish to make to the debate, and I hope that the Minister will consider it.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q14. The proposed Hemel health campus, a partnership between the NHS and the council, presents a perfect opportunity to deliver on Labour’s commitment to neighbourhood-based care, bringing services closer to where people live, in facilities designed around their needs. It can also help to regenerate our town centre. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is essential that all stakeholders involved in the project are as ambitious as possible and work to deliver a community hospital that builds on the services currently available and reflects the evolving needs of our town?

• 19 May 2025 · Pubs and Community Funding · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) for securing this debate, and I join her and my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) in listing a couple of great community pubs. In Hemel Hempstead, they include the best newcomer pub of the year, the Anchor in Bourne End, and 2025 pub of the year, the Three Blackbirds, which is always good for a Labour pub quiz—we like that. I have had the pleasure of holding surgeries at The Windmill in Chipperfield, without a pint in hand, I promise. The Green Dragon in Flauden, which I mentioned in my maiden speech, is a wonderful pub. I wanted to focus on the point that the Minister made about empty shops, because there is a great initiative in Hemel Hempstead, and a great place called the Hop Tap, which has opened up in what was our market square. Times have moved on, and that space is in some ways empty, but The Hop Tap has moved in at short notice and created a wonderful craft beer place. It is now looking to sell beer online, and from its store, for people to take away. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is an innovative way to ensure that, in the 21st century, we can have pubs that provide what the community needs, and that help tackle the issue of empty shops?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

  More

  I agree what a good model that is. Does the right hon. Member agree it is a model the Government could consider using for other things? An international finance facility for education has been released in the last few years. Does she agree that the Government could consider adopting this model across a range of different issues as we look to find alternative methods of development finance?

• 14 May 2025 · Innovation: Hertfordshire · Hansard source

  More

  4. What steps his Department is taking to support innovation in Hertfordshire.

• 14 May 2025 · Innovation: Hertfordshire · Hansard source

  More

  I was fortunate enough to visit the British Standards Institution in Hemel Hempstead recently to see its work helping businesses to deliver better products and drive towards a more sustainable planet. Its research shows that 78% of UK companies increase turnover and productivity because of the BSI’s standards. What steps are the Government taking to support more companies to adopt and certify standards, such as the BSI’s AI management systems standards, so that we can grow the UK tech sector and enable innovation and collaboration safely and securely?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Eleventh sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I rise to support clause 96, a necessary update to the law that reflects the reality facing many of our communities. Drug misuse comes in many forms and continues to drive crime, harm and deep personal suffering. Hemel Hempstead has a long-standing drug issue going back several decades. Indeed, drugs were a significant cause of the deaths of two members of my own family, my aunt and my cousin, so I am particularly motivated to see the clause enacted to help tackle the causes of drug crime. Currently, police can test detainees only for class A drugs. Clause 96 rightly extends that power to all controlled drugs, including class B and C substances such as cannabis or illegally traded prescription drugs. Those are not harmless. They contribute to the cycles of reoffending, antisocial behaviour and exploitation, and too often go unnoticed in the system. The clause is not about punishment; it is about awareness and intervention. Testing can be the first step forward towards treatment. It allows the police to respond more effectively and open the door to support for those struggling with addiction issues. With proper safeguards and parliamentary oversight, these changes give our officers the tools they need while protecting people’s rights. Communities, from major cities to towns like mine, will benefit from a smarter and fairer approach. This is about being honest about the harms that drugs cause, about how we help users and how we prevent the crime that drugs cause. I urge Members to support the clause.

• 29 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Eleventh sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I rise to speak in favour of clause 78, which tackles the growing scourge of criminals using high-tech devices to steal from hard-working people, because I know how important this is in my community. For 14 years, between 2010 and 2024, crime in my patch doubled. These thieves no longer need a crowbar; they use laptops, signal boosters and hacking tools to rob families of their vehicles, their livelihoods and their sense of safety. Enough is enough. Clause 78 strikes directly at those parasites by making it an offence not just to steal but to possess, import, manufacture or supply the very devices that make these thefts possible—it cuts off the tools of their horrific trade. I recently heard from a Hemel resident who, back in December 2023, had his truck broken into and all his work tools stolen. Then, in November 2024, his family’s disability car was also stolen. Later, two of their neighbours’ cars were stolen along with hundreds of pounds-worth of equipment, having been parked side by side in a lay-by by their homes. This clause sends a message: “If you are gearing up to commit a crime, this country will come down on you like a ton of bricks.” Let us be clear that this is not about targeting legitimate businesses or technology users; it is about targeting criminals, gangs and the shadow economy that thrives on stealing from working people and laughing as they do it. Subsection (3) rightly offers a defence for those acting innocently, but it removes the cloak of plausible deniability that too many criminals have hidden behind for too long. The people of Hemel Hempstead are fed up. They are tired of waking up to find their cars stolen, they are tired of seeing criminals treated as an inevitable part of life, and they are tired of seeing their vans broken into and their tools stolen. They expect and demand that we act, and act we must. We have to stand up for the delivery driver who loses their van, for the care worker who needs her car to get to her patients, and for every family who fear that they will become a victim of crime. It is not enough simply to chase stolen vehicles after they are gone. We must prevent these thefts from happening in the first place, and we must choke off the supply of tools that fuel this criminality. We must make it clear that there are no easy pickings for those who prey on working people. I am proud that the Bill does not stop with vehicle crime. It invests in neighbourhood policing, strengthens the fight against organised crime and clamps down on new forms of digital exploitation. It rebuilds the idea that security—real, everyday security—is a right, not a privilege. The Bill is a line in the sand; it says to criminals, “Your time is up,” and it says to our communities, “We hear you and we are on your side.” For Hemel Hempstead, for our towns and cities and for the millions of honest people who deserve better, I urge hon. Members to back clause 78 and the Crime and Policing Bill without hesitation.

• 29 Apr 2025 · Irish Republican Alleged Incitement · Hansard source

  More

  Yesterday, I wrote to Glastonbury festival, urging it to remove this music group from its line-up because they have allegedly called for the murder of Conservative colleagues in this House, and because we have seen footage of them appearing to show support for Hezbollah and Hamas, including by waving a flag of a proscribed organisation. Words, as others have said, have tragic consequences. Beloved colleagues Jo Cox and Sir David Amess were tragically murdered, and 16 June 2016 remains one of the worst days of my life. I know many colleagues in this House feel the same. We all have a duty to prevent that from ever happening again. I welcome the Minister’s comments about Glastonbury. Does he agree that iTunes, Spotify, YouTube and others should strongly consider taking the group’s music off their platforms until the police investigation is over? May I also note the absence of the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), who is not present and not involved in this discussion? Will the Minister join me in condemning the right hon. Member for Islington North’s appearance in a photograph with the group, and in calling for him to apologise for that?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I am not convinced. I am primarily talking about big vehicles such as SUVs and other cars, which are not often inside garages—not many people have garages these days. I really hope the Bill enables, and gives confidence to, the police to take more action against modified exhausts because, unfortunately, they do not always prioritise this particular nuisance.