Johanna Baxter MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Jun 2026 · Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member’s sentiments. It is little wonder that, in poll after poll, the British public have voted for Sir David as one of the most trusted voices in our country and one of the 100 greatest Brits. It started with a fossil. In the 1930s, Sir David found an ammonite that sparked a curiosity for the wonders of our natural world that still exists in him today. After winning a scholarship to the University of Cambridge in 1945, Sir David obtained a degree in natural sciences, before embarking on his long and remarkable career at the BBC. When he first completed his training programme in 1952, television was a luxury for the few. Indeed, Sir David had never owned a television set when he was hired, yet by 1954, he had co-created and launched the “Zoo Quest” series, with the aim of showing animals live in their natural habitats, starting with the quest for a picathartes—a little bald African bird. That quest shifted the public’s imagination of what television could achieve and the wonders among which we live. Sir David has gone to the ends of the earth, to the depths of the ocean and into the upper atmosphere to capture those incredible images that have stunned and enthralled us all.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. Despite the sheer scale of his global contribution, there is currently no permanent national monument dedicated to Sir David in the United Kingdom’s civic landscape. That is why I have secured this important debate. I am calling on the Government to work with me to address that absence through the creation of a carefully designed sculpture that will be installed in a prominent public location. Over recent months, I have been working on this campaign with an incredibly talented sculptor, David Mitchell, who is a constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith). I am grateful to my hon. Friend for introducing us and for working alongside me. To be clear, the proposal would be entirely privately funded, with fundraising undertaken by cultural institutions, by charitable organisations and through voluntary public contributions. I have built support among the public and colleagues across the House. I would particularly like to thank the team at 38 Degrees, who have worked with me on the campaign. The petition I launched with them has now received more than 89,000 signatures and the support of many colleagues. I have received many welcome suggestions on how best to pay tribute to Sir David. All of them have been incredibly thoughtful, illustrating the deep affection in which he is held. I have had suggestions to rename national forests and parks, and I am entirely open to working with all Members to explore those opportunities. It is important that we permanently recognise Sir David’s legacy in a way that truly reflects the broad national admiration for his life and work. Some may ask why we require a physical monument in an increasingly digital world. The answer lies in what our public spaces say about our collective conscience. Civic statues are the ultimate expression of a nation’s values. Who we choose to set in stone and elevate on plinths tells our children and future generations who we want them to emulate. For generations, our public squares have rightly honoured great political leaders, monarchs and military figures who have guided our nation through the tumultuous chapters of our history. Those monuments tell a vital story, but as our society evolves, so too should the stories we choose to tell in our public space. Today, our national pride is defined not just by how we navigated history, but how we are leading the world into a more sustainable and enlightened future. To have a monument to Sir David would be to enrich our civic architecture with symbols of modern British values: our deep respect for scientific truth, our love for the natural world and our shared responsibility to our planet. It would be an honour to a giant of education and conservation. When a child looks up at that monument, they will see our values: the defence of our natural world and the pursuit of scientific knowledge as pillars of our national character. It would stand not only as a fitting tribute to an extraordinary individual, but as a lasting, visible symbol of Britain’s enduring commitment to science, education and environmental stewardship. For more than 70 years, Sir David has used the power of his voice to show us the breathtaking beauty and terrifying fragility of our planet. He has spent a lifetime looking out for our world; it is time this nation looked up to him.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Water Safety · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on securing this important and timely debate on water safety. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) for the work he has done. I also extend my condolences, on behalf of the people of Paisley and Renfrewshire South, to the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives in water during the recent heatwave across the United Kingdom. Our thoughts are with them at this unimaginably difficult time. Every other minute, someone in the world drowns—those lives wasted, those deaths preventable. Our country is a nation defined by its relationship with water. We are an island nation whose history, prosperity and identity have been shaped by our seas, rivers and lochs. Our proud maritime heritage connected us to the world. Our waterways powered the textile industries, which transformed Paisley in my constituency, and our lochs and coastlines provide places of outstanding natural beauty. In my constituency, the stunning surroundings of the Lochwinnoch wetlands attract visitors and local residents alike. However, our connection to water must be accompanied by a respect for its dangers. Far too often, calm waters conceal serious risks. Cold water shock, strong currents and rapidly changing conditions can turn a day of enjoyment into tragedy in moments. Organisations such as the RNLI perform an invaluable service. I recently visited its headquarters and national training centre in Poole as part of the parliamentary knowledge scheme for frontline services. I was blown away by the breadth and depth of its work, and by the dangerous conditions in which it operates, often while coming to the help of our national Border Force. Its 7,900 lifeboat crew and shore crew volunteers, 451 lifeboats and hovercraft, most of which it designs itself, and 238 lifeboat stations create a ring of safety around the UK’s coasts. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to answer the call to rescue and save lives. In 2024 alone, its work meant that 2,199 lives were saved, and 17,068 people were aided by RNLI lifeguards. I place on the record my sincere thanks to the thousands of volunteers who give their time and dedication to protecting others. We cannot simply rely on charities and volunteers to shoulder this responsibility alone. Dedicated as they are, they cannot be present at every riverbank, loch side and stretch of coastline, so prevention must be at the heart of our approach. That means embedding water safety into our national culture in the same way as we have embedded fire safety and road safety awareness. Young people should learn it from an early age, but true education requires local authorities and public bodies to actively support the practical, hands-on training needed to stay safe. Regrettably, too often we see obstacles in the way of this culture. In my own constituency, a local kayaking club, West Coast Paddlers, has repeatedly sought permission from a local arm’s length external organisation, OneRen, to use a local leisure centre pool to practise kayak rolls in a safe, controlled environment. Despite this training being commonplace and vital to prepare people for real-world conditions, its requests have been repeatedly denied over risk-averse concerns about minor damage that may be caused to the pool. If we are serious about embedding a culture of safety, we should be encouraging people to undertake training in a supervised environment before they enter open water. The cost of allowing access to a local pool is negligible compared with the tragic cost of inadequate preparation. I hope my hon. Friend the Minister will work with local authorities and the Scottish Government on the resources needed for a true UK-wide education programme and a national awareness campaign, so that we can all play our part in helping to save more lives.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Milburn Review: Interim Report · Hansard source

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  Too often, young people are written off as lacking ambition, when the reality is that they are lacking the opportunities for good work. More than 40% of young people not in education, employment or training have said that finding fulfilling work is their top priority. Despite that, in my area under the Scottish National party-run Renfrewshire council and the SNP-run Holyrood Government, employability services are being cut by 30%, failing too many of our young people. Can my hon. Friend set out what steps the Government are taking to work with the Scottish Government to protect vital employability services and ensure apprenticeship opportunities for young people in my area?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Russian Federation: Financial Pressure · Hansard source

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  The verified number of Ukrainian children stolen by Russia has increased—it now stands at 20,570. In part, that increase in the verified number is the result of the tracing mechanism supported by this Government, and we hope that work will continue. However, last month a report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Laboratory found that over the past two years the Russian state oil producers Rosneft and Gazprom have been implicated in the forcible deportation and re-education of at least 2,158 of those children. Will the Secretary of State review and fully investigate those findings and, where appropriate, consider the imposition of further sanctions?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Animal Welfare Strategy · Hansard source

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  Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to everyone across the House. I reiterate what colleagues from across the Chamber have said about the importance of reforming the Veterinary Surgeons Act. It is 60 years old and has not kept pace with modern medicine, new technology or the way that veterinary practices are run. Will my right hon. Friend set out how the animal welfare strategy will tackle the extraordinary increase in veterinary fees, which is a massive cost of living issue? Finally, I thank veterinary surgeons across the UK, particularly those at Glasgow University’s veterinary hospital, who I had cause to see rather more frequently than I would have liked this year.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Welfare Spending · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that we should take no lectures from the people who broke the system in the first place? In Scotland, one in six young people are not in education, employment or training; 12,000 Scots have been stuck on NHS waiting lists for over two years, and 8,300 people are economically inactive in Renfrewshire alone due to ill health. Far from lecturing us, should Conservative Members not look at themselves first?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend to her place and I welcome her statement. In September, the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab revealed that the number of facilities that Russia is using in its forced deportation of Ukrainian children has risen from 53 to 210. That report highlighted that 110 facilities were being used to re-educate children, and that at 39 of those facilities military training was being provided to train Ukrainian children to throw the grenades and pilot the drones that are destroying their homes and killing their families. Could my right hon. Friend outline what further steps are being taken to relocate, rescue and return those children to their families?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats. As an animal owner myself—I have two cats—I rise to give voice to the many concerns expressed to me by pet owners across the country. Their concerns relate specifically to Lords amendment 11, which would allow landlords to request a pet deposit equivalent to three weeks’ rent. The amendment was narrowly agreed to on Report in the House of Lords in July, in response to the Government’s decision to remove the right for landlords to require tenants to take out pet damage insurance. Cats Protection has argued that the Government’s decision to remove the provision allowing landlords to request pet-related damage insurance was the right one, as the insurance sector was not ready to meet demand competitively. The Minister in the Lords outlined many arguments against the pet deposit amendment, including that an extra three weeks’ deposit is unaffordable for many tenants. She also referred to a report commissioned by Battersea Cats & Dogs Home and the University of Huddersfield, which found that 76% of landlords reported that they did not encounter any damage caused by dogs or cats in their rental properties. She noted that the Government were “content that landlords would be suitably protected against the cost of pet damage through existing tenancy deposits”, and I wholly agree. Cats Protection is also strongly of the view that charging an additional pet deposit is neither necessary nor proportionate. Measures already exist for landlords to seek additional compensation from the tenant in the very rare circumstances in which damage caused by a pet may exceed the value of the existing security deposit. The amendment could see tenants forced to find up to £1,500 extra for a one-bedroom flat in high-rent areas. That would mean that those without additional ready funds are priced out of having a pet. Another problem with the addition of a pet deposit is the potential lack of transparency in landlord decisions on what constitutes pet damage and what constitutes the type of damage that would otherwise be funded by the standard security deposit. Some landlords may just see the extra fund as an option to withhold more money for standard wear and tear. Damage can be avoided with the use of throws and rugs, for example. I know that Cats Protection and Dogs Trust adopters are always given information on how to provide enrichment activities to keep pets happy. Perhaps the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly) would like to take advantage of those to ensure that his terriers do not tear up his carpet. I am concerned that the amendment will reintroduce the very inequity that the pet provision was designed to remove, putting the price of pet ownership out of reach for many tenants and entrenching geographical inequality. We all know how beneficial pet ownership is not just for the welfare of the animals, but for our wellbeing. “Cats and their stats”, a 2024 Cats Protection report, found that over half a million households who would like a cat do not have one simply because their rental agreement forbids it. I strongly believe that the additional pet deposit should be withdrawn from the Bill; the standard security deposit is more than adequate to cover any damage caused by a pet. I will oppose Lords amendment 11, and I encourage colleagues from across the House to do likewise.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Spending Review 2025: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  It is fantastic news that Ferguson Marine has secured a contract with BAE Systems to help further enhance the UK’s maritime capability, making use of its skilled workforce. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is in sharp contrast to the student union politics played on defence by the SNP Government? Does he agree that the benefits of the spending review cannot be fully assessed until the SNP is removed from power in 2026?