David Williams MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 19 Mar 2026 · Banking Services: Accessibility · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I am grateful to the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) for securing this timely debate. The debate is particularly timely for me, because only last week the last bank in the whole of my constituency—Lloyds in Tunstall—closed its doors for the last time, leaving Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove without a single bank. In Kidsgrove, the last bank, Barclays, closed back in 2023, and Burslem residents have been without a bank for years. I remember going to the bank in Burslem with my mum when I was a kid. I queued up and watched people pay in and take out money. It was a place with a social purpose and someone to speak to. It was part of my everyday life and the everyday life of my family, and I know that is true for all members of our community. That has been lost. Since my election, I have fought, alongside residents and local councillors, against the final bank’s closure. When Lloyds announced that it would leave Tunstall, I wrote to the bank and met its representatives to make the case against the closure, but really the decision had already been made. It was a case of “computer says no”—that is what it felt like. That is the problem: these decisions are made far away, on the basis of narrow commercial logic with little regard for communities like ours. I have been campaigning on this issue in my constituency, but I did not stop there. I campaigned to bring banking hubs back into my constituency, and pushed for provision in both Tunstall and Kidsgrove. In Tunstall, we have a banking hub that is open, and I want to place on record my thanks to Aaron and the team at the post office who are doing great work with residents who have lost access to what I call “proper banking”, but we need to be clear that a banking hub is not a replacement; it is a mitigation. Meanwhile, in Kidsgrove, there is no banking hub at all—or no proper banking hub, I ought to say. There is something that is branded as a banking hub, but I do not class it as a real banking hub. Let me say it plainly: Kidsgrove needs a full-time banking hub, and it needs it now. We are told that alternatives are available. We are told to go and use post offices, but the post office in Kidsgrove has been closed for a year. We are told to go elsewhere, but “elsewhere” simply is not accessible for many people, particularly older and vulnerable residents, people without transport, and people who run small businesses. I am really pleased that we pushed forward on banking hubs in our manifesto. They are part of the solution, but they are not good enough yet. They are limited and can be inconsistent. My question to the Minister is simple: what more will the Government do to expand banking hubs and make sure that they provide the full services that people need? This is about more than purely banking. Banks were anchor institutions on our high streets. They brought footfall into our town centres, supported businesses and gave confidence to our towns. When the last bank leaves a town like Tunstall, Kidsgrove or Burslem, it sends a message that the place does not matter any more. We need to decide what level of access communities should be able to rely on, because right now the answer seems to be whatever is left behind, and that simply is not good enough. I urge the Minister to act. We need to strengthen the rules on bank closures; we need to expand proper banking hubs, including in places like Kidsgrove; and we need to recognise banking for what it is: a basic, fundamental service. If the market will not provide it, the Government must act. My constituents cannot be left behind, and they tell me that today, they are.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Rough Sleeping: Families with Children · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I am so grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) for securing this really important debate, at the heart of which is a simple principle: every single child deserves to be safe and warm, with a roof over their head. That should not be controversial for anyone; it should be the basic foundation of a decent society. Before coming to this place, I spent 18 years working for the YMCA North Staffordshire, supporting people facing homelessness and housing insecurity. I have seen up close the reality of what homelessness does to people, and when kids are caught up in the mix of that instability, the consequences can really last a lifetime, as we have heard. A secure home provides more than shelter: it offers stability, dignity and the foundation for a child to thrive. But someone having a roof over their head is only the first step. Across many communities, including my own in Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, there are families who receive the keys to a home but step inside to find an empty property with no beds for the kids, no sofa to sit on and no table to eat around. That is the reality of furniture poverty, which is far more widespread than many people realise. Last week, I brought together partners in Stoke-on-Trent, including Stoke-on-Trent city council, Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council and local housing providers, alongside the charity End Furniture Poverty, which is doing excellent work across the country to tackle the issue. End Furniture Poverty, with which my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree worked extremely closely for a number of years, is campaigning to increase the percentage of social housing offered on a furnished tenancy basis. I am keen to hear the Minister’s thoughts about its campaign to increase the supply of furnished tenancies among social housing providers, because when a family finally gets the keys to their home, it should be a great moment, but they also need to live there with dignity. There is a fundamental issue that we must confront: we simply do not have enough affordable social council homes. In Stoke-on-Trent alone, more than 3,500 people are on the council’s housing waiting list. If association lists are not included, the real demand is even greater. Too many people are locked out of home ownership, and without sufficient social and affordable housing, families remain trapped in temporary accommodation or insecure housing. If we are serious about ending homelessness, especially for families with kids, we must keep building the high-quality, genuinely affordable social homes that the communities we represent desperately need. Ultimately, it is really simple: every single child deserves not only a roof over their head, but a place that they can truly call home.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q3. As the Prime Minister knows, my mum proudly worked in the pot banks of Burslem and Tunstall, and she is watching at home right now. Tomorrow is International Day of Ceramics and that matters deeply to Stoke-on-Trent, the historic heart of Britain’s ceramic industry. [ Interruption. ] Yes, and Newcastle-under-Lyme. With energy prices rising again due to global instability, will the Prime Minister please tell my mum and our fellow Stokies what additional support the Government will give to energy-intensive industries such as ceramics, so that the kilns of Stoke-on-Trent can fire for generations to come?

• 23 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. I support the Government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes, and families and first-time buyers in Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove really need them. Residents from Packmoor, Ball Green, Norton Green and Talke understand that too, but does the Minister agree that development should be brownfield first, protecting green space wherever possible, and backed by the investment in infrastructure that our communities need and deserve?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Families in Kidsgrove are understandably annoyed that the playground at Clough Hall park has only recently reopened, having been cordoned off since last May. I raised the matter with the Conservative-led Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council, as did local councillors, yet it took eight months to bring it back into use. Does the Leader of the House agree that the borough council must start listening to residents because high-quality playgrounds must be available to all regardless of where they live?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this Backbench Business debate on road safety. I welcome the Labour Government’s new road safety strategy. In my remarks, I will focus specifically on Sharlotte’s law—a campaign that began with a tragedy in my constituency. Sharlotte-Sky Naglis was only six years old when she was killed by a driver who was drunk and under the influence of drugs—someone who should never have been behind the wheel. Sharlotte, who lived in Norton Green, was a bright, happy child with her whole life ahead of her. The perpetrator was taken to hospital and was in a coma. Under the current law, a blood sample can be taken from an unconscious person—and in this case a sample was taken—but it cannot be tested until the individual gives consent. The fact that the current system relies on consent being given by the suspect meant that the investigation was held up. For Sharlotte’s family, that delay made an awful and impossible situation even worse. It slowed the process down, delayed answers and put off accountability while they were trying to grieve for their daughter. That case shows that justice delayed is justice denied. When such serious cases are held up, the families and victims suffer the most. Sharlotte’s law matters, as it aims to fix gaps in the road traffic law so that those who kill or seriously harm others while driving under the influence cannot gain from delay, and so that the justice system can work quickly and fairly. Since becoming the Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, I have raised this case in Parliament and spoken about the matter regularly with the Minister, who I thank for her continued engagement. However, I must be clear that the real strength behind the campaign has been Sharlotte’s mum, Claire, whose work has been tireless. In the face of unimaginable loss, she has shown true strength and dignity, driven by the idea that no other family should have to go through what hers endured.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has been campaigning hard on this matter—we have discussed that case. I absolutely encourage Staffordshire county council to take action. The Government’s consultation on road traffic offences really matters. It gives us a real way to learn from cases such as Sharlotte’s, so that victims and families are put first. I therefore encourage people across Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, and indeed the whole country, to take part in the consultation and support amendments to the law. I also urge colleagues from across the House to back the aims and principles behind Sharlotte’s law. If we get this right, Sharlotte-Sky Naglis will be remembered not just for the tragedy of her death, but for the change that her legacy brings, and justice will no longer be delayed for families who deserve better.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  That is really kind of you, after a full morning in the Chamber, Madam Deputy Speaker. I warmly welcome the road safety strategy, which will save the lives of thousands of people across the next decade. As the Minister knows, because we have had countless meetings, I have been campaigning alongside Claire, the incredibly brave mother of six-year-old Sharlotte-Sky Naglis, who was so tragically killed by a motorist in my constituency. Under the current law, police are unable to test the blood of unconscious suspects until they are in a position to give consent, and in their deepest moments of grief, Sharlotte’s family could not get the answers they needed. Does the Minister agree that through consultation we now have an opportunity to change that, and to bring justice and a lasting legacy for Sharlotte and her family, so that no other families have to face such pain and anguish?

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

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  People living in Goldenhill and Sandyford have an absolutely brilliant residents association led by the remarkable Tom Simpson. I recently visited a Tesco Express store alongside them to hear from staff who were concerned about having to deal with regular shoplifting. Does the Leader of the House agree that while we have taken big steps forward as a Government, we have lots more to do and we must continue to do all that we can to protect and support our retail workers?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  Happy new year, Mr Speaker. In Stoke- on-Trent, the Labour-led council has already delivered lower fares and new and improved routes, such as the 9A, which links the communities of Mill Hill, Chell and Bradeley with Hanley and Tunstall. Will the Minister please outline how the multi-year settlement, including the amazing additional £72 million for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, will allow councils to lock in those gains and provide longer-term certainty for our passengers?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  13. What steps she is taking to help improve local bus services.