David Williams MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 11 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  On Tuesday, the leader of Staffordshire county council, Reform councillor Ian Cooper, finally resigned after an investigation into his social media accounts found he was a top fan of a Facebook page that openly promotes white supremacy. Those views are abhorrent and completely incompatible with public life. They are the opposite of the kind, tolerant people of the county. Will the Leader of the House please make time for a debate on standards in public life to send a clear message that racism has no place in our politics nor in our communities?

• 11 Dec 2025 · National Plan to End Homelessness · Hansard source

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  Before entering this place, I spent nearly two decades working for the YMCA. I have to say to Conservative Members, respectfully, that their cuts had consequences. It is no wonder that, as the money was taken away year after year, rough sleeping more than doubled since 2010. I therefore warmly welcome this statement. It is particularly important that we listen to people with lived experience of this—we have heard about some of that today—and that they help shape our services and solutions. In Stoke-on-Trent, Expert Citizens, under the leadership of Darren Murinas and Andy Meakin, is led by people with lived experience of homelessness, mental health problems and addiction, and they use their voices to help shape local services. Does the Minister agree that we must do all we can to support organisations such as Expert Citizens to continue their excellent work?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Kashmir: Self-determination · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) on securing this vital debate and on his leadership. Many of us present spoke in this place about human rights violations back in March, so I am pleased that we are taking seriously the need to carry on a sustained conversation on this pressing matter. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir was brought to my attention by a number of local councillors, including Majid Khan, Amjid Wazir, Javid Najmi and Waseem Akbar, and others such as Matloob Butt from Tunstall. I pay tribute to the community leaders who work tirelessly to raise awareness of a crisis that too often fails to make it into the media. When I spend time listening to members of our Kashmiri community, the message is so clear: our words have simply not been enough. Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove is home to a large Kashmiri community who are deeply concerned about the conflict. Their family ties to the region are at once a huge source of pride and a profound concern. Many of my constituents spend their day-to-day lives knowing that their family members are experiencing ongoing restrictions on civil liberties, arbitrary detentions and a denial of meaningful political determination. Over the past year, the Labour Government have demonstrated a renewed confidence on the world stage as a serious diplomatic power. It is my duty as a Member of Parliament to speak in solidarity with my constituents, and to urge our Labour Government to use their influence to take tangible action to promote self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir. Acknowledging the crisis is not enough. We can no longer pretend that conversation and debate alone can resolve this decades-long struggle. Now is the time to take seriously our role in resolving the conflict and take real, practical steps towards bringing about long-term peace and stability in the region.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Low-income Households · Hansard source

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  Child poverty rates remain far too high in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. What assessment has the Chancellor made of how the fair decisions taken in the Budget will address poverty among low-income working families in my constituency and across the country?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Low-income Households · Hansard source

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  1. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her fiscal policies on low-income households.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

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  The removal of the two-child limit is welcome news, and in my constituency it will lift well over 4,000 kids out of poverty. I saw at first hand how 14 years of austerity left families in Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove in crisis. Early support was taken away, and we now have among the highest numbers of kids living in poverty anywhere in the country. Does the Secretary of State agree that we must also start to build back that local, personalised family support—for example, through our family hubs, which were absolutely decimated under the previous Conservative Government?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Advanced Ceramics Industry: North Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  I am really pleased that my hon. Friend has talked about tableware as well as advanced ceramics. She mentioned Wedgwood, and in my constituency we have names such as Moorcroft that are known the world over. They have been saddled with high energy costs. Does she agree that the Government must look at all the levers they can pull, whether it is gas costs or anything else, to ensure that those companies have a level playing field and can compete globally?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Advanced Ceramics Industry: North Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really important point about sovereign capability. Does she agree that a nation of Britain’s standing simply cannot depend on foreign powers for materials critical to our defence and our energy security?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Jammu and Kashmir · Hansard source

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  13. What steps her Department is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Jammu and Kashmir · Hansard source

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  Stoke-on-Trent is home to one of the largest Kashmiri communities in the UK, and many of my constituents are deeply worried by the continuing restrictions on civil liberties, arbitrary detentions and the ongoing denial of meaningful political determination in Jammu and Kashmir. Will the Minister please set out what specific human rights and self-determination concerns the UK has raised with the Indian Government, and what tangible progress my constituents can expect the Government to press for?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I speak in this debate having listened to the real voices of people across Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, away from the Westminster bubble and media frenzy. For too many of them, the last Conservative Government were defined by rising bills, falling living standards and failing public services. My constituents’ views were clear: quite simply, this Budget will make life better for them and their families. David, who lives in Tunstall, is a single dad. He skips meals so that his kids can eat properly. Sarah from Butt Lane told me that she panics when it comes to buying new school shoes every September. Sarah and David work hard—very hard—so I am relieved that their children will be among the 4,400 local children who are lifted out of poverty thanks to the abolition of the two-child limit. Their kids will also join over 6,700 others in benefiting from the extension of free school meals, as well as new breakfast clubs, thanks to this Labour Government. No kid should start the day with an empty stomach. Over in Talke Pits, I spoke with Lisa, who earns the minimum wage in a warehouse. She told me that, for the past few years, she has felt as if she was “running up the down escalator”, but now thousands of people like Lisa will take home £1,500 more a year thanks to the fair decisions that we have made. On Saturday evening, I went to the Kidsgrove Christmas lights switch-on, where I spoke to an older couple I first met last winter. For many years, they have been turning off appliances to save every possible penny. They told me that cutting £150 off their energy bills, combined with the 4.8% rise in the state pension and protection of the triple lock, will make a significant difference to them. On the subject of pensions, a former mineworker in Packmoor contacted me to thank this Government for delivering justice for him and his former colleagues. As a result of the actions of this Labour Government, over 800 former mineworkers, canteen and office staff now have more money in their back pockets. As he told me: “We earned it, David. But we’ve buried too many who didn’t live to see it.” I also thank my friend, colleague and local councillor, Duncan Walker, who has campaigned on this matter for many decades. Finally, I turn to Calvin, who contacted me about our record investment into our NHS. Like so many, Calvin was left languishing on waiting lists for years. Locally, waiting lists have already been cut by as much as 50% as a result of an extra 55,000 appointments at Royal Stoke and County hospitals. Calvin told me that he cannot wait to go back to work, and this investment will help many more like him. This Budget is a serious, responsible and compassionate plan that begins to restore security for people across my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Specialist Manufacturing Sector: Regional Economies · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) on securing this important debate. In discussing the contribution of specialist manufacturing to regional economies, there is no better example than the city that I am so proud to represent. Indeed, we have a bit of a pincer movement going on today, because all the MPs from Stoke-on-Trent are in Westminster Hall today. That speaks to the importance of our ceramics industry, whether it is traditional or advanced. That industry is personal to me, because my mum and my grandad worked in it; they would rightly expect me to be here for the debate. As we know, Stoke-on-Trent was moulded by ceramics, and ceramics remains one of the UK’s most distinctive specialist manufacturing clusters. It is an industry built on technical skill, precision and an understanding of materials that has been passed down from family to family for hundreds of years. When Moorcroft closed its doors earlier this year, I met its incredible workers who, between them, had over 800 years of experience in the ceramics sector. That is not some abstract figure but lived experience of firing temperatures, glaze chemistry—dipping, as we call it—moulding techniques and quality control. Those skills cannot simply be recreated once they are lost. I am delighted that Moorcroft now has a new lease of life. It has reopened under the stewardship of Will Moorcroft, the grandson of the company’s founder, which is great news for the city. The reality of specialist manufacturing is that it is place-based. We have heard about the importance of identity. It crosses generations, and it has an economic and cultural value that goes far beyond any set of accounts. Across Stoke-on-Trent, ceramics companies continue to innovate. They support supply chains that reach into retail, hospitality, construction and advanced industries. They offer skilled employment and apprenticeships for our local people, anchoring our local economy, yet, as we know, the sector faces some real difficulties at the moment: rising energy costs, international competition from countries that do not have the same regulatory or cost environments, and an older workforce that needs a pipeline of new talent. If the Government are serious about backing specialist manufacturing, clusters such as ceramics must be treated as a strategic national asset that is worthy of receiving targeted support on energy, skills, exports and fair competition. We all know that Stoke-on-Trent stands ready to play its full part in the UK’s industrial future, but we cannot afford to lose our skills and our manufacturers, which the generations before us built up. I hope that the Minister will set out clearly today how the Government plan to protect and grow specialist manufacturing sectors such as our ceramics sector, which remain essential to regional economies and to the country as a whole.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Asylum Policy · Hansard source

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  This is about fairness. My constituents across Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove are good, kind and compassionate people, and we have a proud tradition of supporting those who need our help the most, yet they know, as we all do, that the immigration system is broken. Does the Secretary of State agree that, unlike the previous Government, who were more concerned about campaigning on the matter, we must take action to bring back the fundamental British value of fairness, so that we can resolve these issues at our borders?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

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  In Stoke-on-Trent, under the leadership of Councillors Wazir and Ashworth, we have had the successful IDIOT—illegal dumping in our towns—campaign. As a result, we have seen the number of fines go up and the amount of fly-tipping reduce. Does the Minister agree that the IDIOT campaign is an apt title?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  In Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, proposals have been put forward to take our incredibly hard-working police community support officers off the beat during the evenings. I am campaigning against this, alongside my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), and hundreds have signed our petition to save our PCSOs. I therefore welcome today’s announcement to abolish the role of police and crime commissioner. Does the Minister agree with me and my constituents when they tell me that the money would be better reinvested in visible frontline policing?

• 11 Nov 2025 · Remembrance Day: Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  It is a solemn honour to speak. Today we pause to not only remember the fallen, but renew our duty to ensuring that their courage, sacrifice and legacy are never forgotten. In Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, that duty is lived out with quiet persistence and deep pride. Remembrance does not end with the names already carved in stone. Local historians, veterans and community leaders continue to seek out those brave women and men whose service has not yet been fully recognised. As part of the Honouring the Royal Doulton Fallen project, local campaigners, including Mike Lightfoot and my friend and predecessor in this place, Joan Walley, have worked tirelessly to recover the stories of those who served our nation but who have, for far too long, been left without the dignity of commemoration. One such story is that of Private Alfred William Holdcroft, a young man from Hot Lane in Smallthorne, who fought in the battle of the Somme. For decades, he lay in an unmarked grave in Burslem cemetery. As a result of the hard work of all involved, back in September, I stood alongside our community as a new cross was dedicated at his resting place. It was a moment of quiet reverence. I join local campaigners in urging the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to formally recognise his grave, so that his contribution to our country is properly honoured. The project has also brought to light the story of Flight Sergeant Harold Kenneth Hall, who served in the Royal Air Force during the second world war, and who is believed to have been lost in action in 1941. Work continues to restore his records, so that he receives any honours he is due. Across our area, we have a proud military tradition, and our duty is not only to remember those who served, but to stand with them, and with those who serve today. I therefore welcome this Government’s continued investment in veterans’ wellbeing, housing and employment support through the new Valour initiative. I also support this Government’s investment in the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and I look forward to supporting the restoration of Tunstall memorial gardens, something that I campaigned for as a councillor, so that future generations may stand, reflect and remember. I will also continue to work with the Royal Doulton project to reinstate the lost memorial at Kiln Gate in Burslem, and to ensure that we recognise every fallen hero in our area. Their service deserves our ongoing commitment to remembrance, and we will remember them.

• 20 Oct 2025 · A50/A500 Corridor · Hansard source

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  The point has been made that constituents get stuck trying to get to high-quality, well-paid jobs along the A50 corridor. I have residents in Kidsgrove, Mill Hill and Talke who regularly commute to the likes of JCB. Does my hon. Friend agree that the benefit of a better road connection would be felt not only in his constituency of Burton and Uttoxeter, but much further afield across neighbouring constituencies?

• 16 Oct 2025 · Youth Services: Local Authority Statutory Duties · Hansard source

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  10. What steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities fulfil their statutory duties in the delivery of youth services.

• 16 Oct 2025 · Youth Services: Local Authority Statutory Duties · Hansard source

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  I know the Minister will join me in welcoming the recent £600,000 investment to improve the offer for young people in Stoke-on-Trent. With the upcoming review of arm’s length bodies such as Sport England and the Arts Council, will the Minister ensure that greater collaboration will mean that our young people always have somewhere to go and something to do on their weekends, their evenings and during their school holidays?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Pavement Parking · Hansard source

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  On Sunnyside Avenue in Tunstall in my Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove constituency, a particular issue with pavement parking occurs outside Mill Hill primary academy, where cars dangerously mount kerbs. Will the Minister please outline what more can be done to keep our kids safe around our schools?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  This week, 6 Towns Radio, a community radio station broadcasting to the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme celebrates its 15th birthday. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Dan Townley, Terry Bossons and all the volunteers at 6 Towns Radio as it celebrates its milestone? Does he agree that community radio has played, and will continue to play, an important role in connecting our communities?

• 9 Sept 2025 · Housing: North Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to mention historic and heritage buildings. Across Stoke-on-Trent we have many such buildings that have been left vacant for far too long. With the right support and partnerships, they can be brought back into use. Although Stoke-on-Trent city council is rightly taking a brownfield-first approach to development, as she rightly said, does she agree that unlocking those heritage assets is a central part of our ambition to deliver homes for families across our area?

• 9 Sept 2025 · Housing: North Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  We have certainly talked about the brownfield-first approach being taken. As I alluded to earlier, one of the issues in Stoke-on-Trent is that we have a number of historic and heritage buildings lying dormant. I encourage the Minister to talk across Departments about how we could create a heritage building release fund, similar to the brownfield land release fund. Those buildings are at the centre of our towns and communities, but at the moment they tend to fall down on value for money.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Kidsgrove post office has been closed for over six months now, and residents have been left without vital services. The Post Office will not tell residents why it was closed so suddenly or when it may reopen. Does the Leader of the House agree that the Post Office must be more open with residents about what is happening? This has been going on for far too long.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Early Education and Childcare · Hansard source

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  Back in the early 2000s, I worked for Labour’s incredible Sure Start children’s centres in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. With Labour back in office, we have the roll-out of breakfast clubs at Greenways and Milton primary academies, a new school-based nursery at Smallthorne, extended family hubs and extended funded places. Does the Minister agree that it is only with a Labour Government that families really get on and that young people get the best start in life?