Grahame Morris MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces; Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  I do not have a formal speech, but I want to make a couple of points about context and put a particular question to the Minister, if that is okay. First, I declare an interest: in a previous life, I was a member of the RMT; as a Member of Parliament, I am a member of the RMT parliamentary group, and of most of the trade union groups as well. In the last Parliament, I also served in Committee on the Seafarers’ Wages Bill and on the Transport Committee that we heard evidence from the chief executive of P&O Ferries, Peter Hebblethwaite—it might actually have been in this room. I remind the Opposition spokesman—the hon. Member for Bromsgrove is new to the House, so he may not be aware of this—that the chief exec of P&O Ferries admitted publicly, to a joint sitting of the Transport Committee and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, that he was fully aware that P&O Ferries were breaking the law in three areas, not just on consultation, and yet it went ahead with the issuing of redundancy notices to all 800 British-based seafarers. Some of them were sacked at a minute’s notice by video call. There was uproar in the House, including on the Government Benches at the time—that was in 2022. It happened on St Patrick’s Day, on 17 March, and there was a commitment that it must never be allowed to happen again. I have been involved in discussions, lobbying of Ministers, members of my party and shadow Ministers to ensure that the legislation affords a degree of protection to UK-based seafarers. I fully understand the Minister’s point about the difficulties that we face: the size of the British UK merchant fleet has declined quite dramatically—I think we now have about 8 million gross tonnes of UK or GB-flagged ships, which is quite a dramatic reduction—and the majority of UK-based seafarers work on ships flagged in other countries. We have to be able to offer them some measure of protection. I fully understand the difficulties and the complexities of international law, but that cannot be a get-out for P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries or any other commercial entity to simply walk away from their legal responsibilities in respect of employment protections. While I thank the Minister for her reassurances, I urge her to continue discussions with the RMT on how we can effectively provide these minimal protections to UK seafarers, in particular those who work on overseas-flagged ships.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces; Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the Minister’s engagement, but can I point out a practical problem in the context of seafarers? With the vast majority of the merchant fleet not flagged with GB owners, the problem—including on the ferries and so on that are working out of British ports for more than 120 days a year—is that there is a relatively small number of UK-based seafarers, perhaps fewer than 21, among the complement of a crew. The Government have set that arbitrary figure, and I can understand what the Minister is saying in relation to small businesses more generally on terra firma, but I think a bit of flexibility needs to be applied in the maritime setting. While I am on my feet—forgive me, Mr Stringer; I do not want to interrupt again—we are seeking assurances in relation to that threshold and the fines that were being applied. If the Minister is unable to give that assurance within the context of these statutory instruments, could we could press for a meeting with the Minister so that we can explore the options that might be available?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  I do not have a formal speech, but I want to make a couple of points about context and put a particular question to the Minister, if that is okay. First, I declare an interest: in a previous life, I was a member of the RMT; as a Member of Parliament, I am a member of the RMT parliamentary group, and of most of the trade union groups as well. In the last Parliament, I also served in Committee on the Seafarers’ Wages Bill and on the Transport Committee that we heard evidence from the chief executive of P&O Ferries, Peter Hebblethwaite—it might actually have been in this room. I remind the Opposition spokesman—the hon. Member for Bromsgrove is new to the House, so he may not be aware of this—that the chief exec of P&O Ferries admitted publicly, to a joint sitting of the Transport Committee and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, that he was fully aware that P&O Ferries were breaking the law in three areas, not just on consultation, and yet it went ahead with the issuing of redundancy notices to all 800 British-based seafarers. Some of them were sacked at a minute’s notice by video call. There was uproar in the House, including on the Government Benches at the time—that was in 2022. It happened on St Patrick’s Day, on 17 March, and there was a commitment that it must never be allowed to happen again. I have been involved in discussions, lobbying of Ministers, members of my party and shadow Ministers to ensure that the legislation affords a degree of protection to UK-based seafarers. I fully understand the Minister’s point about the difficulties that we face: the size of the British UK merchant fleet has declined quite dramatically—I think we now have about 8 million gross tonnes of UK or GB-flagged ships, which is quite a dramatic reduction—and the majority of UK-based seafarers work on ships flagged in other countries. We have to be able to offer them some measure of protection. I fully understand the difficulties and the complexities of international law, but that cannot be a get-out for P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries or any other commercial entity to simply walk away from their legal responsibilities in respect of employment protections. While I thank the Minister for her reassurances, I urge her to continue discussions with the RMT on how we can effectively provide these minimal protections to UK seafarers, in particular those who work on overseas-flagged ships.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces Draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful for the Minister’s engagement, but can I point out a practical problem in the context of seafarers? With the vast majority of the merchant fleet not flagged with GB owners, the problem—including on the ferries and so on that are working out of British ports for more than 120 days a year—is that there is a relatively small number of UK-based seafarers, perhaps fewer than 21, among the complement of a crew. The Government have set that arbitrary figure, and I can understand what the Minister is saying in relation to small businesses more generally on terra firma, but I think a bit of flexibility needs to be applied in the maritime setting. While I am on my feet—forgive me, Mr Stringer; I do not want to interrupt again—we are seeking assurances in relation to that threshold and the fines that were being applied. If the Minister is unable to give that assurance within the context of these statutory instruments, could we could press for a meeting with the Minister so that we can explore the options that might be available?