John Slinger MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 28 Oct 2024 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

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  At Rugby borough council, there are 300 households on the waiting list for social houses. Officers and councillors are working hard to meet the demand. They have knocked down older tower blocks and are replacing them with one to four-bed, energy-efficient, good-quality homes. Last year was the first year for many years that they built or acquired more social homes than were lost through right to buy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that while that is good work, my council is ultimately able only to tread water? My constituents who are in need of decent, affordable social homes desperately need a Government who will help councils to reverse this trend. Will she consider visiting Rugby to see the great work being done in difficult circumstances?

• 28 Oct 2024 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source

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  25. What steps her Department is taking to increase the supply of social housing.

• 23 Oct 2024 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend agree that, had the Conservative party put as much energy into protecting our rivers, lakes and seas as it has into filling its reservoirs of chutzpah, my constituents in Rugby would not be living with the consequences of ineffective regulation, undue profits and unearned bonuses, and that, as in so many areas, the Labour party is clearing up the mess that we inherited?

• 23 Oct 2024 · Police Accountability · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary agree that the overwhelming majority of police officers are a credit to our communities and our country? In my constituency of Rugby, I have always found that the commitment of senior and rank-and-file officers to protecting the public and taking on criminals is matched by their understanding that they must be held to the highest standards. Does she agree that our responsibility as politicians in this House and in our constituencies is to help all involved in achieving both those important and interlinked objectives?

• 22 Oct 2024 · Sentencing Review and Prison Capacity · Hansard source

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  I am not given to hyperbole; I will simply say that my right hon. Friend has inherited a shocking and dangerous situation and is dealing with it in a calm and collected manner. I applaud and support the move to a more sensible and sustainable policy on sentencing, but will she assure my constituents in Rugby that we will always lock up violent and dangerous offenders where necessary to keep the public safe?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Access to Primary Healthcare · Hansard source

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  The reaction to a proposed ward closure in my local St Cross hospital in Rugby shows how concerned the public are about the health system after 14 years of underinvestment by the last Government. In this case, however, the closure is because patients are being cared for closer to home. Does my hon. Friend agree that bringing more services into the community, and into smaller hospitals such as the one in my constituency, is integral to managing present and future demand, and to putting our NHS on a sustainable footing?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I congratulate Members from across the House on their excellent, humorous and moving maiden speeches. Most landlords are good landlords and play a vital role in the housing market. I am glad that the Secretary of State changed the name of the Bill from the Renters (Reform) Bill to the Renters’ Rights Bill, because decent housing is a human right. However, making that right meaningful to private rentals has been rendered meaningless in recent years. Bizarrely, but perhaps not surprisingly, that is because the rights of those with vested interests have been allowed to trump those of millions of hard-working people, families and, especially, young people. It is part of what I call “the moon landing paradox”: human beings can land a man on the moon and, here in the UK, we can build the Elizabeth line under London, but we cannot provide decent, affordable private rented accommodation. We can do the spectacular, but not the simple. In previous Parliaments, I imagine constituents who asked their MPs about the issue were often given the answer that providing such accommodation was too difficult. That is why I am delighted that this new Labour Government are simply not accepting that something so fundamental to human dignity is too difficult. I wish to touch on a couple of areas raised by my constituents in and around the town of Rugby. First, ensuring that rent increases are more controlled and predictable will greatly help my constituents who have suffered from landlords demanding rent increases with as little as 10 days’ notice. That is wrong and this Bill will protect people by reinforcing the rule that rents can be increased only once a year and with at least two months’ notice. Secondly, abolishing section 21 no-fault evictions will help protect constituents such as mine who have been evicted from their private rented properties at short notice for no other reason. This has left some of them on the street, rendering them homeless, which is shameful. Supporting this Bill will give them greater protection and peace of mind. Preferencing the interests of ordinary working people over the vested interests of others requires that we overcome what I term the “moon-landing paradox” and achieve something that is obviously much needed, that is a right and that should be possible in the year 2024 in a country as rich as ours. I know that this Government can and will do it for the renters of Rugby and across the country. Finally, when a constituent comes to my next surgery, I am glad that I am one of an intake of MPs who will be able to say, after many decades and thanks to the efforts of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and her Ministers, that it is not too difficult, that it is doable and that soon it will be done.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Planning Policy: Traveller Sites · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) on securing this important debate. He spoke about a two-tier society. He spoke about one law for all of us. He spoke about being “on their side”—the side of the law-abiding community. I seek a one-tier society, frankly. I represent all citizens, as we all do in this House. I declare my interest: I serve on Rugby borough council. All citizens, including the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, have an equal right to their housing needs being met; I have had that confirmed by officers, and I think we are all aware of that fact. Their right is equal to that of every other group within society—every other citizen. We should reflect on that. I want to reflect briefly on a case that I was involved in, and it talks to some of the issues that have been raised by other hon. Members in this debate. Six applications relating to a site in my constituency came before the planning committee, which I served on. They were rejected, but the context is critical. Rugby borough council had not met its obligation to provide sufficient pitches for the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community. They have a statutory obligation to do the surveys and ultimately to provide those pitches. They have failed to do that over many, many years. They have tried calls for sites, as I am sure colleagues will be aware of, and those resulted in no sites being offered by local landowners. As I said, applications then come in. The hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton referred to the case in his constituency. I appreciate that he said that proper sites are available and I accept that point, but in this case there were not. Inevitably, the local community was very exercised and angry about these applications. The then Conservative-run local council, which had a majority on the planning committee, rejected those applications. I would argue that the rights of those citizens were not respected by that decision. Their rights to housing were not respected, and their additional rights, which have been referred to by other Members, were also not met. In a sense, they became second-class citizens. Local authorities, such as the one I still serve on, need to be strongly encouraged—required, even—finally to provide the proper sites that the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community need. I would be very interested to hear the views of my hon. Friend the Minister on this. Those sites need to be near amenities and services for education, transport and so on. Those need to be provided because if they are not, the situations that I experienced as a member of that planning committee, and that the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton experienced, will reoccur, and the two communities will be in a continual state of conflict, which is bad for everybody. Finally, let us listen to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community and do things in accordance with their needs. Let us not just do things to them—almost as if they were people who can just be dumped in particular sites because of the inconvenience of providing them with proper facilities and places to live—but treat them with dignity. Let us also listen to the settled community, whose needs and views are important as well, and do everything we can to bring communities together. But that simply will not be possible until local authorities, backed—I hope—by the Government, provide pitches and places where the GRT community can live with dignity and as equals within the communities that we, as Members, represent.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Dynamic Ticket Pricing · Hansard source

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  As an Oasis fan, I too was queuing endlessly, and it proved to me that badly regulated markets have no morality. The conclusion from the dynamic pricing policy in that incident was that people with more money or touts could get those tickets. I speak as someone who played in rock bands when I was a younger man, although none so famous and successful as that of the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart). Live music is universal in that it reaches out to the souls of people of all backgrounds. I would be grateful for the Minister’s view on what he can do to ensure that as many people as possible can get tickets for live music.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I say to him and his constituents that the Government are making every effort to ensure that vulnerable pensioners and pensioners who need pension credit receive it. We are sticking by the triple lock to make sure that pensioners are better off year on year, and I am glad and proud that we are doing so.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I will make some progress, if I may. I have already taken two interventions. This Government are choosing to move on from the terrible choices of the previous Government. We are choosing a stable, strong economy that will benefit all of the people of this country—all demographics in all regions, the next generation and definitely pensioners.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and for clarifying his use of language. I can assure him that everyone on the Labour Benches, including my colleagues on the Front Bench, are doing everything they can to make sure that vulnerable pensioners who need pension credit receive it. We say that in good faith, and we mean it.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  Many Opposition Members have thrown the word “choice” at us. Their party chose empty promises, chose unfunded policies, chose a course that led to the decimation of our public services and to higher mortgage rates and higher bills, and chose to make the former Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk Prime Minister. We did not want to make this choice, but some choices are thrust upon us. We on the Labour Benches do not duck choices. This Government are choosing long-term economic stability, economic security and growth. This Government are choosing to maintain the triple lock, which will see the state pension rise year on year. This Government are choosing to do all in their power to make sure that hundreds of thousands of pensioners claim pension credit, and they will do a lot more.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Bus Franchising · Hansard source

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  After the deregulation and decline of buses under the previous Administration, I imagine that local authorities are somewhat shocked and surprised at being given the opportunity to shape services genuinely in the public interest. What additional support is my hon. Friend considering to empower local authorities, especially smaller district authorities such as Rugby borough council, so that they can move fast and fix things locally?

• 26 Jul 2024 · Infected Blood Inquiry · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your elevation to your position. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the public note that all too often in such cases of egregious state failure, prosecutions do not follow? It appears to the public that there is, in some ways, impunity. Compensation is belatedly given; reforms are made; but all too often individuals are not held accountable. That is part of the problem that we are discussing this morning. Will he commit to giving further updates on the steps that may be taken to ensure that individuals are held properly accountable?

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I warmly congratulate you on taking up your position and warmly welcome the Secretary of State and her ministerial team to their positions, too? I express my deepest condolences to my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) for his loss. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns) on his sobering and powerful words, and other colleagues across the Chamber on their speeches today. I start by thanking my family for their love and forbearance in recent months, my Labour and other friends for their support, and the people of Rugby and the villages for giving me the honour of representing my constituency, which has been my home for the last 17 years. As the MP representing the only seat with a sport named after it, I hope that the House will indulge me the occasional rugby analogy. The rugby ball has been passed to me, notwithstanding a couple of minor mauls during the election campaign, which I overcame. I want to pay tribute to Mark Pawsey, my predecessor, who ran with the ball—literally and metaphorically—as a member of the Commons and Lords rugby team. Mark is an honourable, decent and kind man who served the House with distinction, worked tirelessly for his constituents and promoted the game of rugby internationally. I also put on record my respect for the former Labour Member Andy King, whose distinguished service continues to inspire me. Rugby is a market town that has grown rapidly in recent years, surrounded by many small villages—too numerous to mention one by one—set in the beautiful Warwickshire countryside. To the north of the constituency is Bulkington, which some say is one of the largest villages in England, although my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson) may disagree. Rugby’s population ballooned when the Oxford canal was constructed in the 1770s, and the railway hastened industrialisation. I say to any Front Benchers listening that being on the west coast main line can very much hasten any ministerial visits that they may or may not want to make. [Interruption.] No, stop at Rugby. The confluence of the M1, the M6 and the M45 near Rugby places us firmly in the logistics golden triangle. Notwithstanding this logistical good fortune, Rugby’s potential lies primarily with its people. We have been blessed, and still are, by people who innovate, challenge norms and think creatively. Let us take sport: a plaque at Rugby School records that, in 1823, the legendary local schoolboy William Webb Ellis, “with a fine disregard for the rules of football, took the ball in his arms and ran with it”. Although my connection with the game of rugby as a player was, I confess, somewhat underwhelming, I am proud to say that my dad, who is in the Gallery, played for England as a schoolboy. I will not join the House rugby team, but I might join a reformed House rock band. I am acutely aware of how dangerous such statements can be, given that yesterday I wandered innocently into a meeting of an all-party parliamentary group, and wandered out slightly bewildered as vice-chair. As a classically trained violinist and semi-retired rock musician, I am glad to represent a constituency filled to the brim with talented people. I will bang the drum and strum a chord for them. Rugby was the birthplace of the poet Rupert Brooke, whose words “That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England” epitomised a quiet, contemplative English patriotism. We have spawned famous rock bands and musicians, from Spacemen 3 to James Morrison. The creative arts scene is thriving, with fantastic local bands of all genres, an orchestra, dance schools, Rugby theatre for amateur dramatics, galleries and much more. The sporting scene is vibrant, with several rugby football and football teams, and a plethora of clubs in the town and villages, where selfless volunteers offer pretty much every sport to the community. Rugby also has a proud track record of technological innovation. As hon. Members get on a jet plane this week, they should think of Rugby, as the prototype of the first jet engine was built by Sir Frank Whittle at the British Thomson-Houston works in the town in 1937. At the same site a decade later, a young Hungarian refugee Dennis Gabor invented holography. I live in hope that holographic technology advances so far that, one day, MPs can be beamed into multiple locations, to assist with our busy diaries. Until recently, dozens of giant masts formed part of the world’s most powerful radio transmitter. In 1927, the site was instrumental in the first transatlantic telephone call. I believe in maintaining the strongest possible transatlantic alliance, so I am proud that Rugby played its part in deepening the ties between our two great nations. That pioneering industrial and scientific prowess persists. Today, GE Vernova builds world-leading advanced generators, including for Royal Navy vessels. At Ansty Park we have the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the London Electric Vehicle Company—which makes the electric cabs in which many of us newbies may have been moved around in recent days—and FANUC UK. When I visited the MTC recently with my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and the West Midlands Mayor, it struck me that in order to unleash potential, we need partnership between business, the education and skills sector, local and national Government, trade unions and much more. We met apprentices, beaming with pride at their achievements and in anticipation of a brighter future. We also need investment, most importantly in education. I am therefore delighted that the King’s Speech includes measures to raise standards in education, reform the apprenticeships levy and establish Skills England. Having visited so many of our excellent state secondary schools and the brilliant local college, I am confident that the people of our area will do the modern-day equivalent of inventing a sport, designing an engine or writing an immortal poem. Rugby is a place that is at ease with itself. We are a very diverse town, and that is unequivocally a huge strength. We learn from one another, celebrate one another’s traditions, break down barriers and focus on our common interests, something epitomised by the late Dr James Shera MBE, a mentor of mine who is sadly missed across the constituency. Our charitable sector is strong. I will take the liberty of mentioning two local charities that inspire me: the Our Jay Foundation, which installs defibrillators; and Back and Forth Mens Mental Health, an issue close to my heart. The churches, temples and faith groups are at the heart of our community. The Street Pastors, who I shadowed on a late night shift, show kindness in action—kindness is a much underrated virtue. The people of Rugby and the villages are compassionate. They warmly welcomed refugees from Ukraine. I pay tribute to the thriving Rugby Ukrainian community, its Ukrainian members bravely forging their new lives away from home, and all from the constituency who are helping them. The Benn Partnership’s “Meet and Eat” on Fridays, catered for by recent immigrants who not only cook the food but are learning English there, shows our cohesion. Our community invests in our young people, with fabulous youth centres, such as Hill Street and the Bradby Club. There are too many voluntary groups and organisations for me to mention; I simply salute them all. We thrive more when we work together and when the Government are truly an enabler. I want to put on record my appreciation as a councillor of the work of council officers and all public servants in serving our community in difficult circumstances. I campaigned to become a Labour candidate using the phrase “Together we can”. I believe that is the only approach that will truly unleash the potential of the constituency. We now have a brilliantly led Labour council, a Labour MP and a Labour Government committed to empowering places with a strong vision. I will do all I can to bring together people in this constituency, urban or rural, factory or farm worker, whatever their background, to tackle the problems we face, whether the lack of infrastructure such as GP surgeries, the need for more services at the superb Hospital of St Cross, insufficient affordable and social homes, town centre regeneration or the need to make our streets safer. In doing this, I am inspired by the late, great Ann Clwyd, for whom I worked, and the late, great Frank Field, with whom I worked.

• 22 Jul 2024 · NATO and European Political Community Meetings · Hansard source

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  Does the Prime Minister agree that the strength and unity of purpose expressed by our international alliances is mirrored and enhanced by the solidarity and friendship that the British people have shown by accommodating Ukrainians in this country? Would he join me in praising the work of the Rugby Ukrainian community, and assure me that his Government will continue to support such groups?

• 19 Jul 2024 · Israel and Gaza · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend to his position as the first Labour Foreign Secretary for 14 years, which is very welcome. Does he agree that the UK’s extensive, long-standing diplomatic, economic, cultural and defence ties with the Gulf Arab and other middle eastern Governments mean that we are better placed to bring our influence to bear and work in co-operation with our international partners, in order to achieve a two-state solution that ensures a safe and secure Israel and a viable, sovereign and—one day, we hope—prosperous Palestinian state? Can he also assure me that all will be done to enable British organisations and companies to play their fullest role in rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure and economy?

• 19 Jul 2024 · Covid-19 Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I put on record my gratitude for the service of the staff at the Hospital of St Cross and of other healthcare workers and volunteers across my constituency of Rugby. Does my right hon. Friend agree that failures of state in the pandemic, and in other cases, have often been due to under-investment and an ideological suspicion of the state among some, including, regrettably, some members of the last Government? Does he agree that a party that puts service first and that believes in investing in our health service and wider Government will ensure that this country is far better ready for future crises?