John Slinger MP: speeches

Speeches

• 22 Jul 2025 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  I wish to pay tribute to the late Sir David Amess. I did not have the privilege of meeting him, but his reputation clearly precedes him, as does that of the late Jo Cox. I am a member of the Speaker’s Conference, and we are doing all we can to propose the changes needed, and get the culture shift required to deter and prevent the intimidation of candidates and elected officials at all levels, so that our precious democracy can thrive. That is particularly vital if we are to encourage young people to get involved in our political system. The doom mongers are wrong about our young people. Far from being a problem, they are our greatest natural resource—one that is often under-utilised, and that we must unleash. I have tried to do this in my constituency, including by holding a “pitch your policy” event. Young people pitched in one minute the one new policy idea or law change that they would bring in. There were then two minutes of questions from the audience, followed by a vote. Some lacked confidence; others came to the event straight from a basketball session—a good illustration of the fact that we need to go to the places where young people are, and listen. I took the winning idea to the Chamber, where the Leader of the House responded to it, and I thank her for that. We should bring the voices of young people into the corridors of power, because young people are genuinely interested in their communities, their lives, their country and definitely our world. They have excellent ideas to bring to the fore. They are going to inherit the future; we had better encourage them to engage with politics, so that they can be the architects of that future, rather than merely existing in a world designed by generations past, who have, to put it politely, singularly failed to create a world of opportunity for all our young people. The voices of young people are not being heard enough; the focus is all too often elsewhere. For example, we heard much noise about the alleged attack on pensioners by the Government. If we zoomed out and looked down from outer space, we would see it is actually the younger generation who have been neglected by Governments of all stripes. Young people do not get a triple lock. They should. They are the generation for whom buying their own home is out of reach, and they have far less job security than previous generations. Earlier in the week, in a social media video, I asked people to leave a comment saying what changes older generations would need to make for the younger generation to have more influence in politics and lead an empowered life. A. McCaslin said: “We need the same opportunities that the generation before us had. They dismantled the ladder they used to build their lives and then told us to figure it out like they did.” When people say to me, “I don’t do politics,” my response is, “Well, politics does you. If you’re not involved, you cede the ground to those who understand the power of politics.” I have been proud to be part of a Government who are rectifying that. Finally, I want to say, in the limited time I have left, a thank you to all Members of this House and all staff. They have shown newbies like me only support and kindness. The right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) epitomises that—a good example from this generation to the next.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that there is quite a large amount of ignorance among people who do not need to use these facilities, and that it is incumbent on all of us in this House, our councillor colleagues and others to raise awareness so that people do not just walk on by in towns, not realising the needs of others?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Extending the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme · Hansard source

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  Only recently I was speaking to a Ukrainian friend who expressed some concern, so they will be extremely grateful for the Minister’s comments. I would like to put on the record that the Ukrainian community in my constituency do wonderful work for the Ukrainians here in our community.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity · Hansard source

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  The shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), is trying to out-populist the populists, and there are dangers involved in that. Does the Minister agree that it is common sense for individuals convicted of sexual crimes to be barred from receiving protection in the UK? If so, why does she think the Conservatives and Reform voted against that?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  Action to tackle the water companies’ failure on long-standing systemic problems is much needed in my constituency, where I have been working with residents in Brownsover who have faced repeated burst pipes, with some families forced to move out multiple times and not receiving the proper value of damaged property. Severn Trent has now given a timetable for action on the infrastructure. I welcome the introduction of a new statutory water ombudsman to put the public, as the Secretary of State said, at the heart of water regulation. Does he agree that where the Conservatives failed the British consumer, this Labour Government will protect them and put people before profit?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that, although of course there was victory over Japan, the second world war was victory over fascism and over those who trample on human rights, democracy and freedom? Japan, once an enemy, is now an ally, defending the values of civilisation alongside our forces. Does he further agree that when my constituents light a beacon in Hillmorton on 15 August, it will be a beacon of hope in our troubled world, and that we owe a debt of gratitude to those whose sacrifices made that victory possible?

• 17 Jul 2025 · NHS Pensions: Frontline Patient Care · Hansard source

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  Given that the summer recess is imminent, will the Minister use this opportunity to update the House on the number of additional appointments and, more importantly, the number by which the NHS waiting lists have fallen under this Government? Does she agree that it would be very nice if the Conservative party addressed the crisis in which they left our NHS? It is a mess that this Labour Government are proud to be clearing up.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  In July 2023, two Warwickshire police officers stationed in my constituency, PC Mateusz Dabrowski and PC Dominic Strange, courageously rescued someone from a burning car, risking their lives in the process, before attempting to save the person’s life with immediate first aid. Recently, the chief constable of Warwickshire police awarded the two officers the chief constable’s commendation and described their actions as “an act of bravery of the highest degree.” They have both been nominated for the national police bravery awards 2025. Will the Leader of the House join me in honouring the brave actions of those police officers? Does she agree that their actions epitomise the very best of our police service: selfless dedication to protecting the public?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Strategy for Elections · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as a member of the Speaker’s Conference, which is looking at the security of MPs, candidates and elections. Does my hon. Friend agree that a wide number of behaviours in our democratic system are intimidating candidates and, indeed, Members of this House, and that that is detrimental to our values and democracy? Will she expand on the measures in the strategy that will seek to alleviate those very serious problems?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Freedom of Religion or Belief: UK Foreign Policy · Hansard source

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  A constituent of mine, Nicola, has raised concerns highlighted by the Open Doors charity about the case of Mehran Shamloui. He is a Christian who fled Iran to avoid being imprisoned for his faith and has apparently been detained after being deported back to Iran, and charged with propaganda against Islamic law and membership of groups opposing the state. He now faces an uncertain future. Does the hon. Member agree with me that cases relating to that particular country and regime must be a focus of our Government?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Freedom of Religion or Belief: UK Foreign Policy · Hansard source

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  I had the great privilege of visiting the holiest temple of the Yazidi people, Lalish, and was warmly welcomed by them. They have endured horrific atrocities at the hands of ISIS Daesh, including genocide and mass displacement. Does my hon. Friend agree that the work of the Kurdistan Regional Government and President Nechirvan Barzani—particularly through initiatives such as the office for rescuing the abducted, which has so far rescued 3,500 individuals—is to be commended? Can she see whether the Government can help in that endeavour?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Freedom of Religion or Belief: UK Foreign Policy · Hansard source

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  I recently led a delegation as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan region in Iraq. We visited the Catholic archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Matti Warda, who told us about the safe haven that that region within Iraq offers for Christians and other religious communities. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the UK Government must do all that they can to strengthen places like that in difficult regions of the world as they try to foster freedom of religious belief and expression?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Freedom of Religion or Belief: UK Foreign Policy · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 17 Jul 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  Brave Ukrainians in my constituency of Rugby, who are a long way from their compatriots at home, tell me about the continuing suffering of civilians—I repeat: civilians—due to Russian aggression. Will the Defence Secretary join me in welcoming the new drive from President Trump and NATO to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position both to defend itself and in any future negotiations?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the brave actions of the matchgirls, like those of so many women trade unionists and, indeed, women throughout history, should serve as an inspiration to girls and young women in constituencies such as mine, and that they can be inspired to take action to gain the justice that they need in their lives and we need in all our lives?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that access to the creative arts, particularly music—I speak as a musician, so I am biased—should be available to everybody and especially young people, and that such access could be provided through the Best Start family hubs? The evidence is abundant of its positive effect on cognitive ability, hard and soft skills, teamwork, and joy within life, and it could have a profoundly positive effect on our young people as they grow up.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Sudan · Hansard source

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  I am sure all hon. Members will want to praise British diplomats for all they are doing on this difficult issue. The potential catastrophic loss of ever more civilian life—not merely in the armed conflict, but in the resulting humanitarian catastrophe—means that the conscience of the world must lead to action, first and foremost through diplomacy. Have the Government considered working with allies to ensure that all options remain on the table, given concepts like the responsibility to protect? Given that Sudan has previously seen a genocide in Darfur, does the Minister agree that we must ensure that the international community does not once again have to say, “If only we had acted more robustly,” or, “Never again”?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 15 Jul 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  This is all rather desperate from the Conservative party. I had thought that pantomime season was in the winter, but clearly it is not. I will defend the decisions taken by this Government to help working people, grow the economy and fix the mess we inherited from the previous Government, and we are doing so with fairer tax at the core. I use the term “Government” regarding the last Administration loosely, because they did not believe in government. They ran the tank dry. They were running the factory without maintaining the equipment; they just made last-minute repairs, knowing that things would break down again, and they did. An astonishing 234 schools were found to contain RAAC—reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete—and were almost disintegrating before our eyes; our Army reached its smallest size since the Napoleonic wars; prisons reached capacity; and the Government did very little or nothing. The police saw 20,000 officers cut, and that was reversed only at the last point. That is what the last Government were: crumbling and shambolic. They presided over a country whose public services were on their knees and whose people had not seen their prospects get better for many years. So woeful was their record that they vacated even the territory that they used to occupy—they became the weak-on-defence Tories, the soft-on-crime Tories and the high-tax Tories. That brings me to my second point. The Conservatives increased the tax burden to its highest level since the second world war. It was stable at 33% from 2010 to 2019. The 2019 Parliament saw the biggest rise in the tax take in recent history, reaching 36% by 2024. They then engaged in a reckless, unfunded cut to NI, at a time when the economy was still stagnant. They did that deliberately—in my view, it was a poisoned chalice bequeathed to this Government. The Conservatives knew that Labour’s commitment not to raise tax on ordinary working people would mean that we could not and would not reverse that reckless tax cut. They knew full well that they were leaving behind a black hole—Conservative Members may not like to hear it, but they knew that. They knew that the public services were on their knees, but they did not care; they only cared about their electoral fortunes, which did not work out so well. This Labour Government are not afraid of difficult challenges, nor of addressing those challenges. We actually believe in the concept of government and the responsibility of government—the responsibility to take the difficult decisions necessary to fill the unforeseen £22 billion black hole that we inherited. We therefore believe that we must raise revenue through taxation, as the Chancellor outlined in her Budget last autumn. Despite the accusations of the Conservative party, this has not been to the detriment of working people, nor is it the case that we are not asking the wealthiest in society to pay more. The opposite is true: we have raised taxes on wealth. Private jet passengers now face a 50% tax increase, VAT has been added to private school fees, and we are raising £2 billion more from inheritance tax by closing reliefs used by the wealthiest.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 15 Jul 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  Of course they go out to work. I believe that my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury answered that point earlier in the debate, but I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. To add to my list, non-dom status is being largely scrapped, capital gains taxes have increased, and stamp duty on second homes now starts at 5%. These measures help raise the revenue that is required for massive public investment, benefiting working people, not making them worse off. The clue is in the name of our party—Labour. We are the party of work. We are also the party of getting our country, our economy and our public services working. As such, I ask Opposition Members to look forward to the summer recess with optimism in their hearts. Do not let the doom-mongers and gloom-mongers fill their hearts, for change has already begun. That change is made possible by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s Budget and by the spending review. We are fixing the NHS —we promised 2 million additional NHS appointments in our first year, and have delivered 4 million. Waiting lists are down by 260,000, and 1,900 more GPs have been recruited. We are putting more money into people’s pockets; we have boosted the minimum wage for 3 million workers, and wages grew more in our first 10 months than over a whole 10 years under the previous Administration, testifying to the Conservatives’ incompetence and weakness when they were in government. We are fixing the foundations of our economy, with four interest rate cuts, three trade deals and business confidence at a nine-year high. In the first quarter of this year, UK growth was the highest in the G7. We are tackling childhood poverty, opening the first 750 free breakfast clubs, and expanding free school meals. In one day, this Government took action to take 100,000 children out of poverty. I now turn to the motion in front of us, which implies a reversal of revenue-raising policies worth over £20 billion a year. If Opposition Members oppose the measures we have taken, which of the investments I have just mentioned would they reverse? Is it the free breakfast clubs? Is it the investment in the NHS, with shorter waiting lists, or is it the extra police? Perhaps more pertinently, given the title of today’s debate, how would they pay for it? The Chancellor is not ducking difficult decisions, and I am confident that if people observe her actions, they will see that she and this Labour Government were correct. I call it a “zoom out and dial down” approach. If people zoom out and look down, they will see that the challenges we face as a country—on tax, and on reform of many kinds—require us to take action. If they dial down the endless noise of discontent, whipped up by social media and sometimes in the media and by our political opponents, they will observe a country whose people have—

• 15 Jul 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. I am certainly not drinking Kool-Aid. I do believe what I say, and I believe it firmly. I respect the right hon. Gentleman as a colleague, even though he is from a different party, but there is no Kool-Aid for me.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

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  In the spirit of listening, I would be very grateful to know which of our investments in the public sector the right hon. Gentleman would cut.

• 14 Jul 2025 · State of Climate and Nature · Hansard source

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  Rugby borough council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust are hosting a “Nature in Focus” event this Sunday, and partnering together to buy trees for farmers to plant. In December 2024, my right hon. Friend joined me to visit the Urban&Civic-led Houlton development, where we saw Francis Jackson Homes fitting air-source heat pumps to its new build homes. We talked of our hope to go further, so does my right hon. Friend agree that through the future homes standard, which ensures that the vast majority of new builds will have solar panels, we are showing that a Labour Government and Labour-led councils believe in the concept of government and taking responsibility, and that we can change things for the better for future generations?

• 14 Jul 2025 · Building Social and Affordable Homes · Hansard source

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  15. What steps she is taking to build more social and affordable homes.