Harpreet Uppal MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Jun 2026 · Public Procurement: SMEs · Hansard source

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  This week I welcomed Antich & Sons to Parliament. It is a family-owned textiles company that, for the past decade, has been innovating by using traditional local skills and methods to develop 3D weaving techniques and provide cutting-edge advanced material solutions. Given how that aligns with the industrial strategy and the northern growth strategy, what are this Government doing to help companies like Antich & Sons access procurement processes?

• 17 Jun 2026 · High Street Shops: Illicit Activity · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) on securing this important debate. As other Members have noted, town centres are incredibly important to residents, and Huddersfield is no different. The town centre is a part of our identity; it is a reminder of our childhoods, and, for many, it represents whether a place is doing well and whether agencies, councils and Governments care about them. In too many places in the north and the midlands, people have seen the slow decline of their town centre—the place they call home. That has led to resentment and a lack of trust in politicians and agencies to get the basics right. On top of that, the number of vape shops in England has grown by nearly 1,200% in little over a decade. While cash-intensive businesses are not new, for too many residents the rate at which they are rising is alarming. The National Crime Agency estimates that at least £1 billion of criminal cash is laundered through UK high street stores each year. Not only do those stores often provide hotspots for illicit activity, they also destroy the character that makes towns so special. From my conversations with constituents at coffee mornings, at business round tables and on doorsteps, I have heard loud and clear that closing those stores is vital to injecting the life back into our town centre. I welcome the creation of the Government’s high street organised crime unit, particularly its focus on strengthening partnership working and the intensified enforcement action on businesses that are committing these offences, which includes additional raids, closure orders and cash seizures. In November 2025, the West Yorkshire trading standards team conducted undercover raids to crack down on high street businesses suspected of laundering criminal cash. The operation seized £2.7 million of criminal assets. The feedback from those operations has been positive and they will be continuing. Will the Minister set out when further enforcement activities like those will be increased in local areas? In addition, what further steps are being taken to connect information across agencies and to flag suspicious entities so that such operations can be closed down quickly and, as other Members have said, stopped from popping up again? A recent report by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, titled “Hidden in Plain Sight”, highlighted a corridor of crime across the north of England, from Liverpool to Hull and Grimsby. Unfortunately, Huddersfield has been ranked in the top 10 UK towns and cities with the most dodgy shops on the high street. The report calls on the Government to urgently invest in enforcement capabilities and particularly mentions trading standards. Over the past decade, trading standards has seen its resources cut by up to 50%. In 2002, more than 4,000 staff were employed by trading standards, but in 2025, there are now 2,300. Since then, crime has become more visible, so will the Minister confirm the steps being taken to support trading standards on the ground? We must ensure that our town centres can once again become vibrant spaces worth fighting for.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Poverty wastes potential and harms our country’s success and prosperity. The two-child limit has been the single biggest driver of increasing child poverty in this country, and by finally making the decision to remove that one policy, Labour will lift 4,560 children in Huddersfield out of poverty, which is something I am proud of. I know that that matters to many of us in the Chamber and to many outside it. When I visited the Welcome Centre, which is the largest food bank in my constituency, Ellie the manager told me how she has seen more families coming through its doors, and this one policy has been one of the biggest drivers of that. When I visit schools, teachers tell me how child poverty impacts school readiness. When I attended a “Poverty Matters” event in my constituency, many of those working on the frontline spoke about why removing the two-child limit would be one of the most significant steps the Government could take. That step, alongside other policies announced by the Government, means that this Parliament is set to see the largest fall in child poverty on record. This Labour Government will therefore ensure that every child—no matter where they are born, their background or their circumstances—is given the best possible start in life. There would be a cost in not doing so from the impact of children not meeting their potential, as well as in ill health, unequal economic growth across our regions and a reduction in productivity. We saw a significant slowdown in average annual productivity between 2010 and 2022 compared with the time of the last Labour Government. Let us not forget that the Tory and coalition Governments saw the closure of over 1,000 Sure Start centres and 300 children’s centres in England. Between 2010 and 2018, overall Sure Start funding fell by two thirds in real terms; it was left to local people and local communities to pick up the mess. The social contract in this country is important. Through our contribution, we all play a part in ensuring that this country—our country—thrives. It should not be about pitting one citizen against another or setting up a false dichotomy; it is about ensuring that we all do better through good, secure jobs. I know from my conversations with constituents that many continue to face financial struggles and that those who have not seen enough improvement in their living standards and pay since the financial crisis of 2008 continue to face an affordability crisis. I therefore welcome the steps that the Government have taken on energy bills as well as freezing rail fares, boosting the national living wage and the minimum wage, delivering a rise in the state pension and freezing prescription charges. I also strongly welcome the fact that apprenticeships for the under-25s will now be free and that 18 to 21-year-olds will receive a guaranteed six-month work placement when they have been out of work or learning for 18 months. Those are significant steps in the right direction. It is important that we support our local businesses, many of which are family-run in Huddersfield. Our manufacturing sector and textiles play a special part in our town, and it is good to see that UK manufacturing output across the sector rose last month and that business optimism has hit a nine-month high. We must continue to back those firms through our industrial strategy, investment in local infrastructure and Government procurement and by tackling high energy costs. While the Transport Secretary is in the Chamber, I must mention that the Government are backing major transport projects, including Northern Powerhouse Rail and the trans-Pennine route upgrade. That is important for my constituency and provides much needed stability for supply chains and the sector. There has been a bit of a hysterical response to the Budget from the Tories, but it has been well received by the markets, and we have seen UK borrowing costs come down—