Julia Buckley MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Mar 2025 · Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Days · Hansard source

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  I associate myself with the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Shaun Davies), my constituency neighbour in Shropshire, in welcoming today’s much-needed funding announcement, in particular the structural reforms to increase capacity. In Shrewsbury we currently have no working magistrates court, despite being the county town for 350,000 residents. Will the reforms also enable and support the pragmatic reallocation of courtrooms between Crown and magistrate use in areas such as Shropshire, so that spare capacity can be unlocked specifically in towns, such as Shrewsbury, that are better served by public transport for all our rural population?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Dr Murrison. The manner in which the shadow Minister described the view that a farmer was better off if he committed suicide before April 2026 was highly irresponsible. This is a public debate on a very emotive subject. It is televised and it is being shared across social media in real time. This is not the moment to encourage anyone to consider suicide. Farmers’ anxiety and concerns about mental health are running high, and this is the moment to engage constructively with the Treasury, and with farmers and the NFU, who have been in dialogue, to seek the transition to tapered support that I referred to in my intervention, to avoid the very scenario that the shadow Minister repeated. Every Member here cares for our farmers; it is the reason that has brought us all from different parties together to discuss this matter in a respectful manner. In the interests— [ Interruption. ] Dr Murrison, may I finish? In the interests of mature and responsible debate, will the shadow Minister kindly correct the record to show that he does not condone suicide but encourages constructive dialogue?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  My farmers in my Shrewsbury constituency have told me that they have struggled to make a profit for many years now. Indeed, they say, “The only game in town is to go big or go bust.” In other words, 12,000 small farmers have gone under because, over the last decade, farming has not been a profitable business. They tell me that they are ready to make some of the behavioural changes needed to pass the asset down to the next generation, who have just come out of agricultural college and learned all these new techniques, so that it can be profitable, sustainable and environmentally friendly. However, they also want me to pass on the information that our oldest farmers will not be able to make that behaviour change quickly enough. Will the Minister consider a temporary transitional extension to the taper, perhaps at year two, to help them to make the changes, which they are willing to do, and to make this policy work?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Draft Community Radio Order 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her comprehensive speech setting out the benefits of the order. I am particularly pleased to hear of the ongoing dialogue with the sector and the emerging strategy. Will she reassure Members that the changes will not leave behind some of the smaller, perhaps rural, stations, if, for example, they are unable to attract commercial support? They often represent the smaller, vulnerable and under-represented parts of society.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I think we are going to be hearing lots of suggestions today about all the measures that could help prevent such tragedies, because each death is an avoidable tragedy that freezes these young people in time, forever prevented from growing up to fulfil their full potential. Harvey Owen, the son of my constituent, was killed in a fatal car crash while travelling from Shrewsbury with three other young men, all of whom were killed in the accident. Four young lives were taken too soon, leaving their families behind with an unbearable void where their child should be. Crystal Owen, Harvey’s mother, has taken that raw pain and channelled her energy into a focused campaign. She is dedicated and selfless in her advocacy of young drivers and their families. It is on behalf of Crystal Owen that I requested today’s debate. She is sitting with us here today, surrounded by other families of young people killed in serious car crashes. I thank them all for coming today for what cannot be an easy day. We really appreciate their presence. They have formed the Forget-me-not group to campaign together so that nobody else has to suffer as they have. With Crystal’s permission, I will read out the story of Harvey Owen written in her words, because nothing I could say could do justice to her personal tragedy. This is Crystal’s story: “My kind-hearted son Harvey had just turned 17 in November 2023. A couple of weeks later, he asked me if he could go to Wales with two friends he had known since school. It was to be his first weekend away with friends, and as a parent, I felt it was time to give him a little freedom. He and his friends planned to stay at one of their granddads’ houses, and when I heard this, I thought, ‘What harm can come to him?’ It was a trusted friend’s family, in a safe place. It felt like the right thing to do, to let him experience a bit more independence. At this age, you need to give them a little freedom, right? So, I agreed. After seeing a video of one of the parents confirming where they were staying, I had no reason to doubt Harvey’s story about who was driving. We had always known Harvey’s friends. Our home was often where the boys would gather to play music for many years. As far as we knew he had no friends who had even passed their driving tests, so we felt comfortable with the situation. Harvey seemed so grown-up now...mature and responsible. I thought to myself, he was ready for this. Before he left, Harvey sat in his bedroom playing ‘Ring of Fire’ on his guitar, knowing I loved this song. I told him how proud I was of him, how talented he was, and I gave him a hug, telling him I loved him. He jokingly told me to stop being weird, but he said he loved me too, and not long after, he left. It was the last time I would ever see my beautiful son. The following morning, Harvey sent me a picture message of the view from the cottage, and everything seemed fine. However, what I didn’t know at the time was that the boys had decided to go on a camping trip. It later transpired that another 18-year-old boy Harvey had recently met at college, a newly qualified driver, had also gone and was actually the one driving. Just over an hour later, after sending me the text, my son and his three friends were dead. After some of my texts didn’t go through, I started to get concerned. The next thing I knew, we were frantically driving around Snowdonia, having discovered they were missing. Our worry soon turned to panic, and we made our way to Bangor police station. The feeling of being told they had found four bodies, and one they believed to be my son, is indescribable. The pain of that moment felt as much physical as it did mental. It was as if my world had stopped right there in that instant. A suffocating numbness washed over me, and I felt I was being ripped apart from the inside. Time felt like it froze, like everything around me became a blur. It was as though the world was no longer a place I wanted to be. The life I had known, filled with my son’s laughter, his music, his dreams, was ripped away in an instant. It is an unbearable shock and pain. I wanted to die myself, just to escape the nightmare I was now living. The thought of facing a world without my son, without his presence, was too much to bear. I don’t remember much after that moment; my partner said I was howling, saying on repeat that it couldn’t be Harvey. I knew in that instant I would only ‘exist’ for the rest of my days. It later emerged that the young driver had lost control of the car on the bend of a rural road. The vehicle ended up in a water-filled ditch, and despite their attempts to escape, all four boys tragically drowned. The news of their deaths was overwhelming. To know that Harvey and his friends had suffered such a tragic end, unable to survive and escape the car, is a pain I cannot put into words. The grief I feel in the wake of this loss is all-consuming, and the loss of my son has left a permanent aching void in my life. It is something that, unless you are unfortunate enough to ever experience yourself, you will never even come close to understanding the pain. In the months following Harvey’s passing, I could barely function, only leaving my bed to attend the funeral. The circumstances surrounding his trip have weighed heavily on me. I would never have allowed him to go if I had known the full details. A friend informed me that in some countries newly qualified drivers are not allowed to take peer-age passengers for a set period, and are required to gain experience on rural roads first. It seemed like common sense to me, and I thought it was a no-brainer. After weeks of research, I began my campaign to make driving safer for young drivers, advocating for change in the light of the shocking statistic that 76% of fatalities in crashes involving young drivers are not the driver themselves. Anyone could be affected. I’ve had to publicly share my grief, putting it on display for the media, in order to leverage their coverage and raise awareness about the horrifying statistics around young driver crashes. All of this, while I still haven’t had the time or space to process my own pain. In October 2024 at the inquest, we learned that the boys had all been practically unharmed by the crash. They were conscious and tried to escape the car. Thanks to the manual back windows, Harvey was able to wind his window down. However, due to the lack of a simple safety hammer, something that could have shattered the glass in seconds and cut through seat belts, precious time was lost. The thought of Harvey’s and the boys’ final moments will haunt me for the rest of my life. I strongly believe that such a safety tool should be made mandatory in all cars. While it is difficult to determine how many lives such devices could save in the long run, in cases like Harvey’s it would have made the difference between life and death. Although ultimately I feel it is a reactive solution to a more deep-rooted problem. If my son wasn’t able to get in the car, due to safety measures in place to protect newly qualified drivers and their passengers, then he would not have needed the hammer, as the crash would not have taken place. My campaign is not about punishing young people but about protecting them. Implementing these safety measures would help safeguard their lives by addressing the risks associated with inexperience and impulsivity, allowing them to enjoy their freedom without facing unnecessary danger. During the course of the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern, which the coroner published, stating that he felt there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken where younger people are carried in motor vehicles driven by newly qualified and/or young drivers, and that preventative action should be taken. After nearly a year of campaigning, I should have felt relief when the coroner issued this ‘Preventing Future Deaths’ report. But sadly, as part of the Forget Me Not Families Uniting group, I know that similar recommendations have been made in the past, with no real change. Unfortunately, there will never be a victory for families like ours, because our children are gone forever. If people truly understood the depth of our pain, along with the level of commitment we parents put into researching the overwhelming evidence, we might be taken more seriously in our fight for change. I hope this debate forces everyone to confront the scale of the problem. Every day without action means more families torn apart, more lives lost. Protecting young drivers, their passengers, and other road users should never be a matter of political division. It’s a moral issue. The evidence is clear: young people’s brains are still developing, making them more prone to risky decisions behind the wheel. Protecting young drivers is not just about statistics; it’s about lives lost.” Thank you, Crystal, for your story—we really appreciate it. To conclude, how can we keep young people safe on our roads? There are many calls for additional training or support for newly qualified drivers. The Association of British Insurers concludes that over two thirds of insurers now employ some form of telematics, or black box, to monitor driving behaviours by new drivers to reduce risk factors. We have heard proposals to increase training and awareness of the risk on rural roads, and about the need to invest in and maintain those roads to reduce hazards. We could invest more in public transport in our rural areas to offer our young people a viable alternative mode of transport so that they can access services. Finally, there are proposals for specific safety measures, such as mandating the carrying of an emergency glass hammer in every vehicle as a new standard.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered road safety for young drivers. Thank you for chairing this Westminster Hall debate on road safety for young drivers, Sir Desmond, and for allowing me to present the opening statement to our Minister for the Future of Roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood). I thank her for giving up her time today to engage in this discussion. Road traffic collisions are the biggest killer of young people aged 15 to 29 worldwide. In 2023, 290 young people were killed in the UK as a result of a road collision, and nearly one quarter of all road collisions involved young people. Although drivers under 24 make up only 6% of total licence holders, they represent 18% of all car drivers killed and seriously injured. That is because one in five newly qualified drivers will have an accident in their first year. For any other leading cause of death of our young people, we would declare a public health emergency and prioritise resources to tackle the crisis. Unfortunately, young people are also more likely to be involved in crashes causing multiple injuries and those that involve a greater number of people. There is much evidence to suggest that younger and less experienced drivers carry a heavier risk. The road safety campaign Brake points to some development-related risks, including the level of brain development, overconfidence and poor assessment of hazards, that make young drivers more prone to serious accidents.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I will not. Such a device can smash the window or cut the seatbelt in case of emergency. We could call it Harvey’s hammer, in memory of one young man from Shrewsbury whose legacy has brought us all here today.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I thank all Members who have taken the time to listen and contribute to the debate, and I thank the bereaved families and campaigners for their time and for listening again to stories that can only be upsetting. I also thank the Minister for her time. I could hear in her summing-up that she was clearly listening to the messages that we put forward today, and we thank her for that. I am particularly pleased to hear that she might consider Harvey’s hammer as a safety measure. I hope that she made note, too, of the local initiative that the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) described. I do not know whether it features in Driver2020, but that educational IT piece takes the rate of post-test driving collisions from one in five to one in 33. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I agree that all measures that can prevent collisions, injuries and deaths should be explored. Prevention is often not only better but cheaper than dealing with the consequences of doing nothing. Research from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has shown that young drivers have poorer visual awareness. They display a smaller range of horizontal scanning of the road, they check their mirrors less, and they focus more on stationary objects than moving objects. In rural areas such as my constituency of Shrewsbury, the statistics are compounded by the disproportionate danger on countryside roads. According to National Farmers Union Mutual’s 2024 “Rural Road Safety” report, there were nearly 1,000 deaths on rural roads that year. Tragically, collisions on rural roads are four times more likely to end in a fatality. That report showed that rural hazards are often entirely different from those on urban roads, and require a specific set of skills and awareness—including the need to look out for livestock or agricultural vehicles, the lack of lighting or road markings, narrow passing points, the lack of visibility, blind corners and poor road quality. It highlighted the need for improved road maintenance and infrastructure.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I agree, and it is absolutely excellent to hear of any support for families who have been bereaved as a result of a collision. That can be used to educate others, so that we can try to prevent accidents in the future. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. However, a majority of drivers wrongly assume that urban roads are more dangerous. That leads to an underestimation of the risks involved in driving on rural roads. NFU Mutual produced a code for countryside roads to support education and awareness-raising of the specific driving skills that would help. That could be incorporated into the driving test or a follow-up course of additional learning as part of the driver’s probationary period. Many young people who live in rural areas feel isolated and, as a consequence, feel compelled to start driving as early as possible because of the lack of public transport, which leaves them unable to access college work, social or sporting activities. In Shropshire, we have lost more than 5,000 bus routes since 2010 and 17-year-olds are increasingly driving their first car out of necessity—something that would be anathema to a teenager growing up in London or Manchester, where public transport is so easy and cheap to use.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more, and I think that particularly affects young people living in rural areas. It is not surprising that between 2019 and 2023, nearly half of casualties in young car driver collisions occurred on rural roads. Each of those numbers is a person—a young person with their whole life ahead of them, a son or daughter whose family love and cherish them.

• 24 Jan 2025 · Climate and Nature Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that it is vital that we embrace the Bill in order to protect those everyday constituents such as mine in Shrewsbury, for whom flooding has moved from a once-in-100-years event to a regular misery each year, as they pay the human cost of climate change?

• 23 Jan 2025 · ECO4 and Insulation Schemes · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Minister on her sterling work to tackle this minefield of rogue companies who abuse the good will of residents when installing energy saving measures, by scamming them with substandard products and damaging their homes. Will she work with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to consider extending the scope of this excellent regulation to look at spray foam insulation? My historic market town constituency of Shrewsbury has many beautiful older properties and many older residents. It saddens me that it was elderly residents such as David and Sue, and Mr and Mrs Balcombe, who were approached by ruthless companies offering spray foam insultation, despite the fact that it was inappropriate for their older properties. As a consequence of the damage caused, those families have faced bill after bill for surveys and remedial work, costing tens of thousands of pounds. Crucially, they are now struggling to sell their homes, as lenders will not approve mortgages for homes with faulty spray foam insulation. David and Sue now face bills to replace their roof, and sadly Mr Balcombe passed away recently, leaving his widow to continue the fight for a resolution to this nightmare. May I ask that families such as those be considered for the same enhanced regulation and compensation scheme?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality · Hansard source

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  My constituency is the beautiful, historic town of Shrewsbury, and we are famously surrounded by what we affectionately call “the loop”—the River Severn. In the past, we enjoyed the benefits of having such a beautiful, natural resource flowing through our town centre; it is fabulous for tourists and other people who enjoy walking along its banks. However, after the last 14 years of illegal sewage dumping by Severn Trent Water, to which the last Government turned a blind eye, we have been left with a toxic, filthy river that poses a health risk to my residents. Our abundant wildlife has declined, our annual fishing contest has been cancelled and infection rates of diseases such as E. coli are on the rise among wild swimmers, paddle boarders and rowers. That affects our tourism industry and local businesses, as well as the quality of life for our local residents. The huge volume of sewage dumped in our river by Severn Trent Water arrived not just through the 32 sewage outflows in our town centre, but, far more worryingly, through manholes on the pavement of our river paths. Sewage outflows are monitored, but manholes are not. Families, schoolchildren and dogwalkers have to wade through human excrement, sanitary products and wet wipes. This disgraceful state of affairs is completely untenable and must be tackled urgently, so I wholeheartedly welcome the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which this Labour Government have brought so quickly to the table. It will ensure the increased accountability of private water companies so that they step up in their responsibilities to invest in the infrastructure that will better manage the sewage, rather than allowing it to pollute our watercourses. In Shrewsbury, as in most constituencies, much of the scrutiny work is carried out by my local volunteer campaign group Up Sewage Creek—a brilliant group with a brilliant name. It recently raised its own funds to purchase more water testing kits so it can prove the impact of the overflowing manholes, which, as I said, are not already monitored. Many of my campaigners have become so frustrated that they are now pushing for nationalisation, and I understand their frustration.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality · Hansard source

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  As I was saying, many of my campaigners have lost all confidence in those water companies. Although I understand their strong feelings, especially given that Severn Trent Water has given out large bonuses and is about to increase our bills by 46%, I also recognise that the Water (Special Measures) Bill will do exactly that: it will put the water companies into special measures. It puts them on notice by scrutinising them and pushing them into corrective action with transparent governance scrutiny. I would go further still, so my message to the water companies is that this is their last chance saloon. All eyes are on them, and the water commission will look at alternative governance mechanisms. Both for my wildlife and the health of my residents, time is running out.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing this excellent and pertinent debate. All Members come with horror stories from our own constituencies, after families have been in touch with us. I mentioned that in Shrewsbury it was the family of Harvey Owen, who died with three other young children aged between 17 and 18 on a trip to Wales. The driver had been passed for one week. That story is not unfamiliar in rural towns and areas like mine, where public services have been decimated. We have lost 5,000 bus routes since 2010, which means that 17-year-olds find themselves with no alternative but to learn to drive in order to access education, sport and social activities. That experience is reflected across the country, but particularly so in rural areas. Young drivers, aged between 17 and 24, are consistently over-represented in the statistics. Very distressingly, globally road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 29, and one in five drivers will crash within their first year on the road. A national campaign group called Forget-me-not Families Uniting brings together families who have lost young people. One of those campaigners, Crystal Owen, the mother of Harvey Owen, who is from my constituency, put together a petition with 22,000 signatures, asking Ministers to look at measures to protect young drivers in particular. The Minister very graciously gave her time to meet Harvey’s mum and listened carefully to some of those suggestions, such as additional training for young drivers and progressive licensing, and safety measures such as “Harvey’s hammer”, a device that could smash open a window if a car is trapped. That could save many lives. I know the Minister is working really hard to develop a road safety strategy. I hope she will hear the message that young drivers are three times more likely to die. We must consider them in those safety measures and, in so doing, understand that this has a stronger prevalence in rural areas. Members may be pleased to hear that today I have been granted a Westminster Hall debate on road safety measures, in particular to protect young drivers. I hope they will join me on Tuesday 29 January at 9.30 am. In conclusion, I again appeal to the Minister that policies must go hand in hand with the other work we are doing to increase public transport, particularly in rural areas. It must be a viable alternative. I know the Minister will join me in my dream for Shrewsbury to have evening buses and a Sunday service. That would encourage young people to embrace public transport, rather than risking their lives on the roads.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  Rural roads are often winding, unlit and poorly maintained, all of which require additional driving skills. Many young people in my constituency find themselves needing to drive at 17 to access education or other opportunities, and we have a higher prevalence of young drivers being killed. I am thinking particularly of Harvey Owen, one of four boys killed on their way to Wales after only a week after passing their driving test. More than 1,500 young people are killed every year—

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  In my rural constituency of Shrewsbury, we have England’s longest river, the magnificent Severn. It flows through our historic town centre and meanders through our outlying villages, but my constituents are running out of patience with the current privatised water company, Severn Trent Water. It is failing its customers, failing the environment and, according to last week’s “Panorama”, failing financially. Under the last Government, the whole water industry became a haven for profiteering. In the last four years, the boss of Severn Trent Water has been paid £13 million for “performance related pay”, yet in 2023 there were over 2,000 incidents of sewage dumping in my constituency alone—an increase of 42% on the previous year. My residents have their own words for that kind of performance, and they are not pretty. To top that off, we have now heard that customers’ bills are set to rise by 46% over the next five years. This is supposedly justified by investment in the long overdue infrastructure upgrades that we need in order to reduce the sewage pollution spills into our rivers. However, companies continue pay out dividends to their shareholders, while customers are aggrieved because they have been paying out for years while the pollution went ahead. Quite rightly, customers feel that they are paying twice to solve the problem. Has there ever been a worse case of paying more and getting less? Although we in this House welcome today’s watershed Bill, our residents are much more concerned with a different bill: the average annual water bill for Severn Trent Water customers is set to rise from £439 to £580. That is not acceptable and will be unaffordable for many, but it is also terrible value for money, given the disgraceful pollution of our river that has seen not just public health problems from infections as serious as E. coli, but devastating impacts on our ecology, including depleted fish, birds and flora along the banks of our river, which is now strewn with wet wipes and sanitary products instead of wildlife. In Shrewsbury we have a very large and active campaign group called Up Sewage Creek, which is ably led by Claire Kirby. Many of the group are citizen scientists who give up their time to test the water quality and highlight the deterioration of our most prized asset. On behalf of my frustrated residents and our otherwise beautiful river, I urge the Minister to not only bring forward the criminal sanctions and stronger regulation in the Water (Special Measures) Bill, but to ensure that the independent water commission into the water sector holds no bars in its examination of the privatised water industry, and explores all avenues to clean up our water and shake up the sector.

• 12 Dec 2024 · LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement that, in response to the Etherton review into the treatment of LGBT veterans, additional amounts of compensation will be offered to all victims, and a second tier payment will be offered to those most severely affected. That is most welcome, but it is so very late and it will never be enough to compensate our LGBT veterans for the treatment they suffered while trying to serve our armed forces, and the abandonment they felt once they had left. As Craig Jones wrote in his book, “Serving with Pride”, which shares some of the tragic stories of LGBT lives blighted by this shameful period of military history: “With quiet dignity, most have endured. These are veterans deserving of our compassion for the adversity they have faced and the courage they have shown all while waiting to be heard and acknowledged. After all they have been through, it is quite remarkable that for most, their loyalty to the armed forces has endured and still today many simply seek acceptance and recognition amongst their comrades.” Today, I would like to tell the story of a brave and committed solider that I had the honour to meet. My constituent, a veteran from 50 years ago, carried the heavy burden of shame of being dismissed from the services for being who they are, rather than being thanked for all that they did. Gunner Ashton joined the Royal Artillery in 1969, became the best small arms shot and served in Germany, defending us from the cold war threat. He achieved top technical ratings as a surveyor, was tipped for promotion and spent four months in Northern Ireland at the border and by the Falls Road in Belfast, where he was shot at, bombed and saw his comrades fall: such bravery and courage, such distinguished service and commitment, such capability and achievement. May I place on record the pride and recognition that Gunner Ashton so richly deserves? Gunner Ashton, however, served three years before being medically discharged. Ex-Gunner Ashton disappeared back up north into obscurity, never knowing he was a victim of the gay ban, not knowing he was a veteran and, certainly, never having been thanked for his service. What a sad end to a promising career and a sad indictment of the armed forces’ disgraceful treatment of our LGBT officers at that time. I am glad to say that that is not the end of the story. Gunner Ashton was courageous enough to seek help to become Claire Ashton, the same kind, compassionate and capable person that she has always been. When I met her in our constituency, I was immediately impressed with her dignified approach, her thorough and detailed account, her excellent service record and her steely determination to seek recognition for the thousands of her comrades who had suffered this injustice and who deserve our recognition. Finally, after 50 years, ex-Gunner Ashton heard the Prime Minister apologise to our LGBT officers last year and launch the reparations and compensation scheme. Finally, Claire received her veterans identity card and a small veterans badge. Finally, ex-Gunner Ashton was recognised as a veteran and for her remarkable contribution to the Artillery. Claire joined the ex-service organisation that supports LGBT personnel, Fighting With Pride, and was given the honour of carrying its standard at last year’s Royal British Legion festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in front of the King and Queen, among 50 veterans from the organisation, standing shoulder to shoulder with thousands of our other veterans. Claire’s finest hour, however, was when, wearing her small veterans badge at the Cenotaph, a passer-by noticed the badge and said simply, “Thank you for your service.” That was the first person to do so; it had taken 51 years. I would like to be the second person to thank her for her service and to ask that it be recorded in the Houses of Parliament. Claire Ashton is here today, having travelled on the train at 5 am from Shrewsbury. She is in the Gallery, watching the debate, and I hope that she feels the respect and admiration of this House for her contribution to our armed forces. [Hon. Members: “Hear, Hear!”] I also hope she feels our earnest endeavours to put right this terrible wrong. I asked Claire Ashton if she had a message for the Minister and for this House. She asks that we understand that, in order to recruit and retain good recruits for our armed forces, we need to treat our veterans with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Serving personnel will ask, “What future do I have in our forces?” and new recruits will hesitate if they do not feel welcome. We have an opportunity to learn the lessons from the past and ensure that strong recruits and excellent officers are supported and nurtured to reach their full potential and thrive in our armed forces. It is a matter of fundamental welfare for serving personnel and veterans to feel safe and valued. Indeed, as Claire Ashton, who will have the last word, reminds us: “That is all we want, to feel valued”.

• 10 Dec 2024 · Storm Darragh · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister please give us an update om the extent of the floods that resulted from the storm? Rural constituencies such as mine experienced a double whammy: we were battered by the storm, and then we were deluged once again by flooding. That double problem is also much more sustained.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rural Affairs · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for setting out, earlier today, the support that our Government have put in place for rural areas, and particularly longer-term planned policies that will bring much-needed sustainability to rural communities such as mine in Shrewsbury. There are more than 350 farms in the beautiful villages to the west and south of Shrewsbury town, where there are stunning views over the Shrewsbury hills; it is an area of outstanding natural beauty and a well-known hiking spot. Locally, as nationally, farmers and the wider rural community have been concerned for several years, because despite all the noise from Opposition Members, the previous Conservative Government left our farmers to struggle. In fact, they presided over a deterioration in the profitability of British farming that decimated most of our smallest farms. They have been squeezed out of business due to ever higher overheads, low supermarket prices and creeping land values. Where was the support from the previous Conservative Government? Where was the post-Brexit funding? Where was the post-Brexit trading deal that was to have protected animal exports? Where was the support with customs red tape? Instead, there were the SFI and ELM schemes, which were rushed, complicated and too short-termist to be of any real use. It is no surprise that there has been an underspend of £227 million on those schemes in the past two years, as farmers could not respond quickly enough to the complex schemes, and the schemes did not match their need for longer-term planning. That underspend is criminal when we consider that one in 10 dairy farmers has gone under in the past two years. All across the industry, farmers are telling us the same thing: British farming is no longer profitable. This weekend, like many Members, I was out visiting my local farms in Arscott and Yockleton, just outside Shrewsbury. I met fourth and fifth-generation farmers. Yes, they did have questions for me about the threshold for agricultural land, and I was able to sit with them and explain that the threshold for couples is £3 million. More importantly still, for true family farms—those that we wish to protect—where at least two generations are working side by side in partnership, they can share not just the workload but their assets by planning their financial future. That is manageable. What is not manageable is those farmers’ overriding concern about the ever-declining profits in food production in our country. That is their No. 1 concern, and ours. On every farm that I visit—I am sure that it is the same at every farm that hon. Members visit, whether arable or livestock—what comes up is the way that low product values, coupled with higher overheads, threaten not just farmers but all the supply chains that hold together the fabric of our rural communities, to whom we owe so much. I was therefore pleased to be able to remind farmers in my area that our Budget announcement —not much press coverage was given to it—delivered the greatest agricultural investment in our country’s history: £5 billion over two years. By the way, the fact that the commitment is over two years is welcomed by our farmers, who can finally plan, with security and stability, more than one season ahead. Given the awful conditions that they have endured over the last few years, that immediate injection of funding and certainty is very welcome. Let us not forget that it was the main ask of the National Farmers Union in the weeks and months leading up to our Budget; we have delivered on its No. 1 request. However, what most pleased farmers—they were surprised to hear it—was our long-term plan in the new deal for farmers, through which we will protect farmers from being undercut, through trade deals, by those low welfare standards. We will also sign the all-important new veterinary agreement with the EU to cut red tape at our borders and get British food exports moving again.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rural Affairs · Hansard source

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  I am sorry, but I need to rush. Labour’s flagship policy, of which we are all so truly proud, is that we will underpin British farming with long-term sustainable contracts, by directing public procurement towards British suppliers. We will use the Government’s purchasing power to back British produce; 50% of food bought in every hospital, army base and prison will be locally sourced or certified to high economic standards. These are catering contracts that the Government are already funding. Now, thanks to our Labour Government, all that investment will benefit our local farmers directly, and for the long term. Every farmer I have spoken to is delighted to hear that we have understood that the problem is the long-term profitability of farming, and that the Government are prepared to put their money where their mouth is to protect British farmers.

• 14 Oct 2024 · Afghan Special Forces Relocation Review · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister join me in thanking our British personnel for the hard work they have done in processing the entitled Afghan personnel—for example, at the Nesscliffe Army camp in my constituency of Shrewsbury?

• 8 Oct 2024 · The Darwin Oak · Hansard source

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  This petition mirrors the one that I delivered to Downing Street yesterday, with 108,000 signatures. It seeks to protect the Darwin oak, a veteran tree which is 550 years old, at Shelton Rough, outside Shrewsbury, in a green space where Charles Darwin himself played frequently as a child. It is one of hundreds of trees that are threatened with felling should the proposed north-west relief road scheme go ahead in my constituency. That would not only lead to a significant loss of biodiversity and carbon capability, but would breach the Government’s national planning policy framework, and would also mean a huge loss of green space that is currently used for the wellbeing of Shrewsbury residents. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Shropshire Council to safeguard the Darwin Oak tree… and ensure its preservation for future generations.” Following is the full text of the petition : [ The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that the Darwin Oak, a 550-year old oak tree, is threatened with felling by the proposed North West Relief Road scheme at Shrewsbury; further declares that the loss of large-canopy, open-grown trees like the Darwin Oak would amount to a significant loss of biodiversity and carbon sequestration capability; further that the proposed felling of hundreds of trees, including numerous veteran trees and the Darwin Oak, goes against the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework and the ‘Keepers of Time’ policy; and further that the proposed felling of trees would lead to a huge loss of green space used for exercise and the well-being of Shrewsbury residents. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Shropshire Council to safeguard the Darwin Oak tree as part of the North West Relief Road scheme and ensure its preservation for future generations. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003010]