Joe Morris MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Sept 2026 · EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. Before I start, I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) on the media’s conduct in the referendum. I will touch briefly on the issue of music. I was speaking recently to an orchestra member who is active in my local party over the weekend about the issues that he has experienced with touring, and to a local venue operator who used to welcome musicians from Europe to Northumberland. It supported our tourism sector and supported the exchange of ideas. It enhanced opportunities for young people to see the world beyond the north-east. It is a crying shame that we have lost not just the ability for our musicians to go abroad, but the ability to welcome people into our areas to play in some of the iconic venues of the north-east. Given the time allowed, I will focus my remarks on trade deals and the way that the agricultural community has been treated in those trade deals—in particular, the impact of leaving the EU and the now complete absence of scrutiny of those deals. We no longer have any appropriate democratic input into how those terms of reference are agreed and how civil society can properly feed into them. When we were a member of the European Parliament, we at least had a methodology, however imperfect, for agreeing those terms of reference, bringing them forward and making sure that farmers had a seat at the table when those trade deals were being agreed. Given how the Australian and New Zealand trade deals disadvantaged sheep farmers in my constituency, had there been a meaningful vote or meaningful parliamentary consultation, there is no way that the former MP for my constituency could have voted for that deal with a clean conscience. It is to his shame that he never raised his voice in opposition to it. I also want to touch on the issue of trade movements, referred to in the introductory speech by the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart). I thank him for securing the debate and apologise for forgetting to do so earlier. When the EU brings in bans on products, there is a real risk that those goods are then immediately diverted into the UK because we do not have consistency of policy. I have heard that from manufacturers in my constituency who make furniture: they see lower-quality wood products from China coming in that were originally destined for the EU but, because of a policy shift from the EU, have then been redirected en route into the UK market, with the consistent risk of decimating jobs. Constituency MPs then have to run to Ministers and ask for exemptions and for us to catch up to Europe. We must ensure that we have consistency of approach, not just to safeguard jobs, but to grow economies and give business the impetus and confidence to invest in the long term. This is a shorter speech than I intended to give, but I would be grateful if the Minister could come back on those two points about scrutiny and consistency of application of trade protection measures.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) on securing such a vital debate. We are obviously talking about a largely defensive issue—defending cash access for our communities and defending the banking services that our communities need—but we need a much more broad-ranging debate about what the Government could do proactively to bring banking services to more rural communities. Opening a banking hub months after a community has lost a bank branch will give access to only some of the services that have been lost. Access to cash is great if that is a person’s only need, but a banking hub can never provide the kind of support that people might need, no matter where they live. I am thinking about things such as delegated power of attorney or some of the additional support that young entrepreneurs need to bring jobs and investment into rural areas, for which towns such as Haltwhistle in my constituency are crying out. The town has not received nearly enough support from the “Keystone cops” at Northumberland county council. Given the time available, I particularly want to focus on Haltwhistle. We have been trying to get better banking services in the town since I was elected—it was the subject of one of the first speeches I gave as an MP—but it consistently fails to meet the guidelines for a banking hub. There is some access to cash through ATMs at supermarkets or through the post offices’ services with partner banks, but those are not enough. The ATMs are often out of order and the post offices do not meet the needs of the local business community. I am particularly concerned about the damage that the lack of cash access does to the business community. It does not just discourage entrepreneurs from setting up in the area; it also forces people to use online giants in a town where 30% of the population is over 65. It is also a dispersed community, with the service serving not just the town of Haltwhistle, but Featherstone, Melkridge, Plenmeller, Gilsland and Greenhead. I would like to invite the Minister to meet some of the Haltwhistle businesses that have real concerns about the ongoing lack of access to cash, and to discuss how we can better support businesses in rural areas through better banking provision.

• 15 Jul 2026 · A1: North Northumberland · Hansard source

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  As always, my hon. Friend is making a well-informed, passionate speech on behalf of his constituents. Is it not the case that dualling is necessary not just for the safety of his and my constituents, and those of all the north-east MPs in the Chamber, but for the economy of the north-east region as a whole? Does he agree that dualling would not just make people safe, but make the region better off? It would benefit the entire east coast of the country, enhance connectivity between Scotland and England, and save lives.

• 15 Jul 2026 · A1: North Northumberland · Hansard source

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  Just to pick up on the comments around Treasury engagement, what is the Minister’s opinion of recent changes to the Green Book and the approach that Members of Parliament should take to engaging with his Department possibly now that the king of the north-west midlands is due to take up office? What should we be doing to drive that investment forward now that the rules have been changed and Ministers are considering perhaps a different context?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; he is making a very powerful and informed speech, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed). I just want to press him on that point. Is not the important thing now for the Government to commit in principle to a ban on settlement trade? We can agree with our international partners that we should work out the technicalities when possible, but such a commitment would give the public the moral clarity that we are prepared to act in line with our values.