Liam Byrne MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 4 Jun 2025 · Regional Growth · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on an announcement that will make a huge difference to delivering the industrial strategy for this country—something that the Business and Trade Committee will report on later this week. I particularly commend him for the £2.4 billion for the east Birmingham tram, which I have been campaigning on for 15 years. It is crucial for connecting the impoverished part of east Birmingham to the extraordinary new growth opportunities created by HS2. Will he just confirm today that this is only the first piece of the tram, and that, in future, we will finish the job?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Waste Provision on Lea Hall Road, in the Garretts Green Ward in Birmingham, Hodge Hill and Solihull North · Hansard source

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  I rise to present this petition on behalf of residents of Garretts Green ward in Birmingham. The petition, assisted by local councillor Saddak Miah, has the full support of residents, whose quality of life has been badly affected by the lack of access to general waste bins. Although recycling bins are provided, Birmingham city council says that there is “red tape” that affects residents’ right to a general waste bin. They have to put their black bags straight out on to the streets, which has attracted fly-tipping and vermin. I do not think residents should have to live like that, treading over rats on their way to work and school, so I am laying this petition to call for action. My constituent Yasmeen Bhatti spoke for many when she told me that the constant rubbish is severely impacting families with young children and those with mobility issues, and that a solution is urgently needed. The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham Council to take immediate action to ensure that all residents on Lea Hall road, in the Garretts Green ward have access to general waste bins, and that these bins are collected by Birmingham city council. And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the Garretts Green Ward, Birmingham , Declares that residents in Garretts Green who reside on top of a grass verge need to have access to a general waste bin; further that Birmingham Council must remove the red tape that is stopping the existence of general waste bins on Lea Hall Road, in the Garretts Green area. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham Council to take immediate action to ensure that all residents on Lea Hall Road, in the Garretts Green Ward have access to general waste bins, and that these bins are collected by Birmingham City Council. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003077]

• 2 Jun 2025 · Parking enforcement measures on Hurstcroft Road and Eddish Road in the constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North · Hansard source

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  I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents living on Hurstcroft Road and Eddish Road. They have had to endure years of inconsiderate parkers blocking their drives and, in some instances, directing their abuse and frustrations at residents. This is grossly unfair to my constituents. My constituent Dana Ali stated that the behaviour of the road users around the school has caused great distress and inconvenience to many on the road. That is why the petitioners “request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with both West Midlands Police, and Birmingham City Council, to set out greater enforcement for parking violations around Lea Forest Academy, on Hurstcroft Road, and Eddish Road. And the petitioners remain, etc..” Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of residents on Hurstcroft Road and Eddish Road, B33 Declares that West Midlands Police, in collaboration with Birmingham City Council, must seek to address the persistent parking offences around Lea Forest Academy School, between the hours of 8AM-9AM, and 2:30PM and 3:30PM, to help improve the wellbeing and lives of local residents. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with both West Midlands Police, and Birmingham City Council, to set out greater enforcement for parking violations around Lea Forest Academy, on Hurstcroft Road, and Eddish Road. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003076]

• 2 Jun 2025 · Strategic Defence Review · Hansard source

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  I welcome the calm assurance that my right hon. Friend has brought to the House. Our country is safer and stronger for the decisions that he has announced today. But if we are to be more prosperous, too, we will need clear objectives for the spending that he has announced to drive more jobs, more innovation and more economic growth here in our country. Will he set out clear targets for each of those objectives when he brings forward the defence industrial strategy a little later on this year?

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The report could not have been as well written or as strong and robust in its recommendations without the hon. Member’s input. We are grateful for the hard work he put into getting the report right. As he knows, a bespoke customs union was not a proposal we made, perhaps because it would not necessarily have swept up the Committee in unanimity. What is striking is that the measures set out in the report would have been significant enough to offset the economic damage we will suffer because of the tariffs introduced by President Trump. The hon. Member is right that in economic matters it is always wise to focus on the big numbers, and the big numbers in trade come from a better, closer, stronger relationship with the European Union.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady will know, as I do, that although fisheries and the fishing industry constitutes quite a small part of our economy—about 0.04% of GDP—for many coastal communities it is a vital industry. Nevertheless, we felt—I certainly did—that the prize of an SPS agreement, which could be worth a huge boost of up to £3 billion to £4 billion a year according to Aston University and that allows for shellfish exports to the European market, was potentially a prize was worth having. However, the hon. Lady is right to say that the biggest concern that we should have had was defence industrial co-operation. We cannot defend Europe in the way that we should, and we cannot spend the increases in our defence spending in the way that we should, unless we reorganise Europe’s fragmented defence industrial base. We cannot be stronger together unless we build that shared defence base together. I very much hope that we will hear of progress on that in the strategic defence review and the national security review when those strategies are presented to Parliament before the summer recess.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The consensus when we published the draft of our report was overwhelming, and the measures we proposed were backed by an enormous majority of business groups across the country, including groups across Scotland. What business saw was a practical, hard-headed, common-sense set of recommendations that should be supported by not only the Government but those in public life across our country.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak to the House today on behalf of the Business and Trade Committee on our sixth report—a road map for the EU reset. I hope you will forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker, for using this moment to share my profound thanks to the members of the Committee, who are both diligent and hard-working. From our earliest days together as a Committee, it was clear to us all that our relationship with the European Union had been trapped in the logic of the past, and that although not all of that past was bitter, the present was clearly unsatisfactory, and the future could be richer if we collectively chose to reset that relationship with more ambition. That, we sensed, was also the analysis of His Majesty’s Government. We asked ourselves what could be done to move this relationship forward—not distracted by fantasy, but informed with a real, hard-headed and pragmatic focus. We travelled to Brussels, Belfast and Geneva. We listened to businesses, trade unions, diplomats and officials in the European Commission. We looked at border posts, trade barriers and, I am afraid to say, an awful lot of lost opportunities. We asked one simple question: how can we make these arrangements better? We sought not to reopen old wounds, but to open new doors. What surprised us was that it was not difficult to find 21 different ways in which our relationship with the European Union could be reset in a manner that would make our country richer—with steps that would support our security, deepen our energy ties, and cut the red tape that is throttling trade with the EU. These were not abstract aspirations. They were grounded, practical and deliverable, and they were supported by an overwhelming coalition of business groups that we met. In short, the proposals we presented were backed by business, because they were good for business and therefore good for our country. We divided the work into three ambitions: first, to defend our prosperity; secondly, to defend and advance energy co-operation; and, thirdly, to cut the red tape strangling trade at the border. On security, we proposed a bold new partnership: a joint defence industrial policy, a framework for protecting critical national infrastructure and stronger co-ordination to tackle economic crime. We called for closer co-operation at the World Trade Organisation, including UK participation in the new dispute resolution procedures, because a rules-based order is not just idealism; for us it is insurance. On energy, we saw something extraordinary: an opportunity to unlock the potential of the North sea as the world’s biggest green energy power station. That vision demanded that we come together with the EU to create a single carbon border adjustment mechanism and to connect, again, electricity trading and emissions trading. That could add up to a faster and cheaper path to net zero for both us and our European neighbours. On trade, we welcomed the Government’s ambition for a deep sanitary and phytosanitary agreement and, indeed, a fair fisheries deal, but we pressed for some specifics: mutual recognition of alternative economic operator schemes; bilateral waivers for safety and security declarations; co-operation around roll-on, roll-off ferries; rejoining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention; mutual recognition of conformity assessments; and a long-term road map for compatible regulation. On services, we urged His Majesty’s Government to strike a new data adequacy agreement, pursue deeper co-operation on financial services, ensure UK access to Horizon Europe framework programme 10, sort out a new road map for mutual recognition of professional qualifications, reduce the barriers for touring artists, and implement a visa-based, number-capped, age-capped youth experience scheme. We published our draft report to test it. The response was overwhelming, with support levels of between 80% and 90% for the measures that we proposed. Businesses said, “This is what we need, because it will unlock growth, create jobs and raise wages.” On Monday, we saw some signs that the Government had listened. We were glad to see progress on security, defence, electricity trading and emissions alignment. There was a new security and defence pact. There was useful language on critical national infrastructure. There was a welcome step towards joining electricity and carbon markets together. There was, however, also much left in the to-do pile. There was no iron-clad commitment to a shared defence industrial policy and there was too little progress on law enforcement co-operation. There was silence on WTO co-operation, although I acknowledge that may come in the trade strategy when it is published. We also thought that there could have been more on financial services co-operation, data adequacy and mutual recognition of conformity assessments. This is a deal without a date—a handshake, but not yet a contract. None the less, it was an important start. After years of drift and division, this was the first time since Brexit that, collectively, we had the chance to stop digging ditches of grievance and start rebuilding some bridges of co-operation. This was a step forward, but it was only a step. What comes next must be really clear. We must now have a timetable for drawing up, finalising and implementing these agreements. There should be action to take forward the unfinished business, which we have set out in this report. Crucially, we think there should be a bigger role for Parliament, because Parliament should not be a bystander while our future is forged. Let us not retreat into nostalgia. Let us work pragmatically together in the national interest, because that is how futures are built. We are at our best in this Parliament when we choose to lead, and that is exactly what this relationship now needs. I commend to the House this report and its call to action.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has consistently been a strong voice for the business community in Redditch since he joined us in the House. He is right that what has been lacking for a long time in the relationship with the European Union is the kinetic energy required to drive any bureaucracy forward. A number of working groups were set up because of the trade and co-operation agreement. In a cross-party spirit, I should say it is important to note that the mood in Brussels changed significantly under the last Prime Minister, with the progress made in the Windsor framework. However, unless significant amounts of political attention and energy are invested, things will not move forward, and there is still a long way to go. The Committee has set out in the report where some of that progress still needs to happen, but ultimately politics is what changes things. I hope that the political energy that went into Monday can be sustained for the future.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member is absolutely right to say that Morocco is a country that we should work more closely with. Xlinks is an exciting proposal. As a stable, long-term partner to Europe, Morocco is a country with which we have a shared interest in the future. The perspective that we brought to the question was on how we can ensure a faster, cheaper and less risky path to net zero for us and for Europe. We heard striking evidence from many in the electricity and energy sectors about almost the thoughtless way that we had been disconnected from electricity trading schemes. What really worried us in the near term was that, given different carbon prices in the UK and Europe, if Europe introduced a carbon border adjustment mechanism, and we did a little later on, almost a tariff wall would be created. We think the Government have done well in seizing that win-win, but that is not to take anything away from the logic and force of the hon. Member’s remarks. Ultimately, we will need several big infrastructure initiatives if we are to do what we all know needs to be done in this country: to drive down industrial electricity prices.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend made that point repeatedly during the Committee’s deliberations. What has been especially welcome is how she consistently brings the perspective of local businesses in her Dudley constituency —the home of the industrial revolution, as we all know. She is right that, subject to consultation, in particular around the implications for the electric vehicle industry, rejoining the PEM convention could deliver us some rules of origin that would radically cut red tape for many businesses in her constituency and across our country. Frankly, it would also lower costs at a time when that is much needed.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to point that out. The good news for the Minister is that he now has the scrutiny framework in front of him that the Committee will use to judge the progress that he makes over the course of this Parliament. There is a moment that is still to come for this Parliament, however. At some point—we are not quite sure when—scrubbed treaties will need to be laid in this House. This House will then enjoy the grand total of 21 days during the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 process in which to scrutinise them. That is not very long. The Committee has therefore decided this week that we will open inquiries on the EU, India and United States deals. We will seek to hold hearings on each of those trade deals before the summer so that the House can be as well informed as possible when the CRaG process begins, and we can zero in on the issues that are at stake for our constituents.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right. He knows, because of the extraordinary record of service that he brings to this House, that there is an immense amount of work that we still need to do to conquer the inefficiencies and fragmentation of the European defence industrial base. We cannot spend the money that we propose to spend on defence wisely unless we change the way that we procure military equipment. On the one hand, that will provide greater certainty and long-term contracts to defence suppliers and, on the other, it will help ensure that we are building an innovative ecosystem of funding to help smaller, innovative, nimble and agile suppliers of weaponry to come forward in the way that they can to ensure that the lessons that we have learned on the battlefields of Ukraine inform our military strategy in future. If there is one lesson that we have learned, it is that any warfighting capability depends on the strength of our defence industrial base. Quite obviously, today’s defence industrial base in Europe is not in the right place, and together with our partners we have to work hard on that. I hope that the strategic defence review will set out some practical steps for how we will do that together with our allies in Europe.

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is right. As we were composing the report for the House over the last few weeks, he consistently underlined the risks that coastal communities would confront if the deal were to go the wrong way. We are all incredibly grateful to him for the voice he provided We must ensure that we enshrine certain standards that allow us to draw closer to Europe without compromising the alliances already coming into place and those that we still need to strike in order to restore our role as the great free trading nation on this planet. The way in which the Government seek to tessellate the agreement with the trade deal with the United States, with our leadership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, with the deal with India and with the deals that are still to come with the Gulf Co-operation Council, Korea and Switzerland needs to be very carefully balanced. It looks like the Government have just about got it right. However, I know that the hon. Gentleman, like me, will want our Committee to keep an extremely close eye on that as the trade talks proceed.

• 21 May 2025 · Traffic calming measures around The Oval School in Garretts Green · Hansard source

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  I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of the Garretts Green ward in Birmingham, calling for traffic-calming measures around the Oval school in Garretts Green. It was suggested by Miss Thomas, pastoral lead at the Oval school. It has the full support of the school’s children and parents, following recent terrible incidents when two of the school’s pupils were hit by a speeding car and a vehicle crashed into the school gates just before home time. My constituent, Katalya Moxham-Atkin, whose 10-year-old son was knocked over by a car on the adjacent road and had to take time off school to recover, said that traffic calming and a crossing would make “all the difference” to ensuring that her son’s accident is “the last” around the school. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham Council to take immediate action to ensure that traffic calming measures, in the form of zebra crossings are installed on Deepmoor Road and Wheatcroft Road around The Oval School in Garretts Green, Birmingham. And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the Garretts Green Ward, Birmingham. Declares that traffic calming measures need to be put in place in the vicinity of The Oval School in the Garretts Green Ward to ensure the safety of children; further that Birmingham City Council needs to act on the concerns of parents after accidents on the road surrounding the school. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to work with Birmingham Council to take immediate action to ensure that traffic calming measures, in the form of zebra crossings are installed on Deepmoor Road and Wheatcroft Road around The Oval School in Garretts Green, Birmingham. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003073]

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  This deal is good for business and good for Britain. I congratulate the Prime Minister on embracing a good half of the Select Committee’s recommendations, which—if I might say so—were agreed on a cross-party basis. While some in this House are proposing trade barriers, the Prime Minister is building trade bridges, and that is in the national interest. We have a deal, but we do not have a date. The Office for Budget Responsibility cannot score the gains, businesses cannot plan for the benefits, and we cannot suspend customs checks in Northern Ireland until we know when the new SPS checks will come into force. What timetable has the Prime Minister given his negotiators for when that SPS deal will come into effect? Business needs certainty, and for that, we need clarity.

• 8 May 2025 · Trade Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for helping to ensure that this moment was possible. Let me add my congratulations to my right hon. Friend and to His Majesty’s ambassador in Washington, Lord Mandelson, for getting this deal done. It would appear tonight that a small, common-sense retreat on duties and agriculture have unlocked a major reprieve for tens of thousands of jobs in our car and steel industry. Will the Minister clarify for us tonight when those tariff reductions will kick in? Will he confirm that there is nothing in this bargain that compromises our ability to strike the boldest of resets with the European Union? It would be a mistake to strengthen transatlantic relationships and then short-change cross-channel possibilities. Can the Minister confirm that he will facilitate a debate in this House, if not a vote on the treaty? On Tuesday, I will recommend to the Select Committee that we commence a full inquiry into this treaty, so that we can report back to the House, but a vote would help us understand who stands where in standing up and protecting British jobs.

• 1 May 2025 · Energy Prices: Energy-intensive Industries · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) is an enormous champion of the ceramics industry, and he is right to bring this question to the House today, but this issue is wider than simply the ceramics sector. Tata Steel has told our Committee that energy prices are the single biggest factor in its lack of competitiveness, and Nissan has told us that electricity prices at its plant in Sunderland are the highest of any Nissan plant in the world. We have recommended that the Government bring energy prices in line with our European competitors; can the Minister tell us today that she shares that ambition?

• 1 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Can we have a debate in Government time about how Ministers can back our brilliant mayor Richard Parker in creating a mayoral development corporation in east Birmingham to build the east Birmingham tram? Under the last Government, Birmingham lost £1 billion in support and was left as Britain’s capital of unemployment and child poverty. High Speed 2 could bring tens of thousands of jobs to change that situation, but the residents of east Birmingham have to be able to get those jobs. That is why we need wholesale regeneration and a mayoral development corporation. It would be good if Ministers showed how they could support that.

• 1 May 2025 · Trade: US Tariffs · Hansard source

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  Today the Select Committee writes to the Secretary of State to supply our response to his consultation on how we should respond to American tariffs. We have heard widespread consensus that there should not be retaliatory tariffs and that the approach the Government are pursuing is right, but we have also heard real concerns especially in the automotive industry among those big exporters to America and, crucially, their supply chains. Can the Secretary of State reassure the House that he is readying support packages across Government to ensure that our automotive sector does not run into serious trouble if we cannot get a deal with America soon?

• 24 Apr 2025 · EU Trading Relationship · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing this debate, on his superb speech and on the impact that he has made in this House. We are all history’s witnesses to a radical reshaping of the western alliance. Yesterday, the United States Treasury Secretary said: “‘America First’ does not mean America alone.” But if we look beyond the rhetoric to the reality, it is very clear that what Churchill called the sinews of peace are now under tremendous strain. America is now exiting the multilateral alliances that it created under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower between 1944 and 1960. What some have called Amexit must now force us to rethink Brexit. We have to look again at resetting our alliance with our closest neighbour. I draw the House’s attention to the draft Green Paper that we think the Government should have published: the report published by the Business and Trade Committee on 4 April, which sets out 20 ways in which we think we can reset our relationship with our closest neighbour, spanning defence, regulation, energy co-operation, services and innovation. There are 20 measures across that space that could give us as big an economic boost as is needed to offset the cut from tariffs. They include an EU-UK defence pact, a shared industrial policy, a joint plan to defend critical national infrastructure and deeper co-operation to defend ourselves against economic threats; an ambitious sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, the mutual recognition of customs schemes and of conformity assessments, streamlining customs declarations at the border, enhancing co-operation at our ports and rejoining the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention; and making sure that we have long-term regulatory road maps to maximise the alignment between sectors in our economy and in the EU. We found that there is widespread support for that across the business community in the UK, and in the European Union too. The fourth big area is energy, which is one of the biggest opportunities for deeper co-operation between the UK and the EU. We need to avoid the cliff edge that may come when the carbon border adjustment mechanism is introduced in this country and Europe. We should join together to create a single CBAM. We should be linking our emissions trading schemes and reconnecting our electricity markets because that will ultimately help to drive down electricity costs in this country. In the fifth area—services and innovation—it is clear that we have to secure a new data adequacy agreement. We have to advance co-operation in financial services and research, including by restoring mutual recognition of qualifications with a new road map that might actually make some progress. We have to strike a fair deal for our touring artists, and I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend about the need for a visa-based, time-limited and number-capped scheme for youth mobility—that is also in our mutual interest. What surprised us most is that it was not difficult to find 20 different measures across those five areas of co-operation where we can deepen our future relationship. That reset is now imperative if we are to reset the UK’s power in the world and, crucially, deliver prosperity for the people we came here to serve.

• 22 Apr 2025 · British Steel · Hansard source

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  I want to thank the Government for saving British Steel. Our Committee has been clear that it is essential for us to retain the ability to make primary steel in this country, and the steps that were taken a couple of Saturdays ago have helped derisk exactly that. The Government deserve credit for that. However, the Committee has written to the Government to say that a steel strategy needs to come forward as quickly as possible. It must be a clear, long-term vision for the industry, and there must be safeguards against the potential of a floodtide of steel from China. We need to use public procurement much more aggressively to support our local industry, energy costs need to come down, and we need a plan to keep scrap onshore. Will the Minister tell us when she plans to bring forward that steel strategy? Ultimately, what is good for the steel industry is good for Scunthorpe.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  The Business and Trade Committee has taken clear evidence that we need a carbon border adjustment mechanism, so that carbon-rich steel, such as that from China, is taxed much more heavily. Crucially, what is needed on the table are the steel safeguards from the Trade Remedies Authority to guard our markets from a flood tide of Chinese steel right now.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  Mr Speaker, I wonder whether you will forgive me for returning the debate to the Bill, which is about saving British Steel. That is what the debate should be focused on, and I commend the Secretary of State for bringing forward the powers to achieve that goal. He has acted with decisiveness, speed and certainty, and I thank him for the Bill he has presented today. He has acted in the national interest, and he has acted to safeguard our economic security. I am delighted that he has also acted in line with the Select Committee’s advice, which was tabled with him 10 days ago—as we know, that does not always happen. We urged him to maximise pressure on British Steel’s owners, not to do what was easy, but to do what was right. Today he has returned to the House with a Bill asking for the powers to do exactly that. This legislation matters not simply because it protects 3,700 jobs in Scunthorpe, not simply because it protects 37,000 jobs in the steel supply chain across our nation and not simply because it safeguards nearly £2 billion of economic output; it matters because it defends our economy, our security and, therefore, our future. At the heart of this debate is a very simple question: can we entrust a critical national asset to a company we do not trust? I say no, we cannot, we must not and we dare not. We are presented with a very simple challenge in British Steel’s owners: we have a company in possession of an asset that we need, yet it is a partner that we do not trust. In a world where threats to our economic security multiply each day, we cannot allow that risk to fester at the heart of our industrial core.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In this debate, we need to remember that 95% of our rail infrastructure is made by British Steel. British Steel also supplies three quarters of every major construction project in this country. Thanks to the Chancellor, we are about to invest £10 billion in the rearmament of this country; much of what we need to put in place will be made by British Steel. How can we afford to let British Steel go out of business today? How can we vote against the Bill? British Steel is not simply a pillar of British industry: it is a cornerstone of our economic security.