Lorraine Beavers MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The British people are paying the bill for criminal covid fraud. Under the Conservatives, waste and corruption exploded and taxpayers’ money was stolen. Will the Chancellor make sure that the Labour Government continue to go after those who stole from the British taxpayer and make sure that we get every penny back?

• 4 Dec 2025 · Public Contracts: Trade Union Recognition · Hansard source

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  I refer to my entry on the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Bidfood, which has public contracts with the Army, prisons and schools across the UK, has torn up a long-standing recognition deal with GMB and Unite, leaving workers open to fire and rehire. Does the Minister agree that public contracts should go only to businesses that recognise and work constructively with trade unions?

• 4 Dec 2025 · Public Contracts: Trade Union Recognition · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he has taken to ensure that trade union recognition is considered when determining the award of public contracts.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Rail Connectivity · Hansard source

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  The cul-de-sac of Thornton and Fleetwood in my constituency once had a rail line that served the local community well. Now, there is only one main route in and out by road. It is acknowledged that lack of connectivity is a determinant of health, wealth and educational inequality. Will the Minister meet me to talk about reinstating the Fleetwood to Poulton railway link to open up opportunities for the people in my community?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Rail Connectivity · Hansard source

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  15. What steps she is taking to improve rail connectivity.

• 11 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Sasha Marsden was 16 years old when she was murdered, raped and then set on fire by David Minto. Sasha’s sister, Katie—who is my constituent and who joins us today—is campaigning for victims’ families to have fairer access to sentencing appeals. Despite the need for closure in sentencing, perpetrators are given multiple appeal opportunities, while victims’ families have just one chance. What will the Government do to ensure that victims’ families do not have fewer rights than perpetrators in this process?

• 3 Nov 2025 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to speak in support of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which so many of us know as the Hillsborough law. This Bill was born out of a state-sponsored injustice against working-class people. It was forged from the courage and persistence of those families—ordinary working-class people—who refused to be broken by the weight of injustice. They did not have privilege or power on their side. What they had was solidarity and an unshakeable belief that the truth matters. For too long, people in this country have felt that, when the system fails them and when those in power get things wrong, sometimes with devastating consequences, no one is ever truly held to account, and families are left to fight for decades just to be heard. This Bill begins to change that. The new duty of candour says to every public official, “You work for the people of this country, and when something goes wrong, you tell them the truth—no more cover-ups, and no more protecting institutions over people’s lives.” It will make honesty a legal duty and create criminal offences for those who mislead the public or obstruct investigations. That matters, because we have all seen the cost of denial—from Hillsborough to Grenfell, from the Post Office scandal to infected blood—and this Bill will help to end that culture once and for all. The extension of legal aid at inquests and inquiries finally levels the playing field, with no more families having to crowdfund or face state-funded lawyers alone in the fight of their lives. That gives ordinary people a fair chance, a voice and the power to hold the state to account. This is real accountability. This is democracy in action. However, if we truly want a culture of honesty, we must protect those inside the system who dare to speak up when something is wrong. Whistleblowers are often the first to see the cracks, and too many have paid for their integrity with their career. Honesty should never cost someone their job, their home or their peace of mind. If we want this law to work, we must make sure that whistleblowers are protected, their concerns are investigated and their courage is valued. When I think about what this Bill means, I of course think about the Hillsborough families standing year after year inside and outside Anfield, saying simply, “Justice for the 97”. This Bill honours their fight. It says that never again will ordinary people be treated as a problem when all they did was tell the truth. For working-class families across Britain, this Bill is a promise that truth will no longer depend on wealth, that justice will no longer depend on power, and that the voices of ordinary working-class people will never again be drowned out by the machinery of the state. This is a Bill that finally says: no more cover-ups, no more lies, no more hiding—just truth, fairness and accountability. That is what the Hillsborough families fought for and it is what the victims of so many injustices have fought for. On behalf of those families, on behalf of every whistleblower who has spoken up, and on behalf of every working-class person everywhere who just wants a fair hearing and an honest Government, let me say that I am so very proud to support this Bill.

• 3 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Across our country, service leavers like Brady, a 29-year-old from my constituency, are experiencing homelessness and addiction before receiving the support they need. I welcome the Government’s work on the renewed armed forces covenant, but does the Minister agree that structured and timely health and welfare checks following discharge would strengthen that promise to veterans like Brady?

• 28 Oct 2025 · Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Worthing West (Dr Cooper) for securing this vital and timely debate. Liver disease is quietly stealing lives in every corner of our country. It is now the second-biggest cause of early death in England and Wales. Deaths have risen by more than 40% since 2001, which is in stark contrast to deaths from heart disease and cancer, which have declined. What makes it so heartbreaking is that 90% of liver disease cases are preventable. In my constituency of Blackpool North and Fleetwood, this crisis is felt deeply. Blackpool has the second-highest rate of liver disease deaths in the entire country, with over 41 deaths per 100,000 people—almost double the national average. Childhood obesity rates are among the worst in England, meaning that many of our young people are already on the path to serious illness before they have even left school. This is not about blaming people for their weight or lifestyle; it is about the world we live in—one where the cheapest food is often the least healthy, and where families in struggling communities have fewer choices and less support. Across England, people in the most deprived areas are more than six times as likely to die early from fatty liver disease. In parts of the north-west, people are dying 10 years younger than those in the wealthier areas. That is not right and it is not fair. Behind every statistic is a family torn apart. Jamia and Stuart, in my constituency, were together for 35 years and cared for two disabled children. Stuart was fit and kind. When his stomach began to swell, he did not realise it was a warning sign. By the time he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, it was too late. He passed away just eight weeks later. Their children still wake up at night looking for their dad. No family should go through that, but, tragically, they are not alone. The British Liver Trust has shared similar stories. Stephen, for example, was diagnosed far too late after years of missed opportunities for testing. These stories are painful reminders that three quarters of people with cirrhosis are diagnosed only when they turn up at A&E, when it is often too late for treatment. We can change that. Early testing can save lives. Simple, painless scans, such as fibroscans, enhanced liver fibrosis testing, or the new intelligent liver function testing pathway, can spot liver damage long before the symptoms appear. Pilots of those tests have shown a 43% increase in early diagnosis and major savings for the NHS. Every community diagnostic centre, including the one on Whitegate Drive in Blackpool, should be able to offer those tests. Early diagnosis makes liver disease largely reversible and gives people the chance to act before it is too late. We also need to tackle obesity at its roots, not by lecturing people but by making it easier to be healthy. That means fair prices for good food, limits on junk food advertising aimed at children, and continued action such as the soft drinks industry levy, which cut sugar content by nearly 30% across the market without hurting sales, and even reduced childhood obesity among girls in year 6. We need stronger measures to make the healthy choice the easy choice: reformulation of ultra-processed foods, a comprehensive 9 pm watershed on junk food advertising and a level playing field for businesses that want to do the right thing. Such structural changes, not finger pointing, can reshape the food system for good. Finally, we must make sure that the NHS is ready for the new medicines that are coming. Medicines that target liver scarring directly and other treatments that improve weight loss and metabolic health could be transformative, but those new therapies, which could stop liver disease in its tracks, must be available on the NHS to everyone, not just to those who can pay privately. That means planning for workforce capacity, diagnostics and equitable access because if we fail to prepare, we risk widening the health inequalities that have already cost too many lives in towns such as mine. Liver disease may be a silent killer but we do not have to stay silent about it. If we work together across parties, communities and the NHS we can stop this pandemic before it claims another life like Stuart’s. We can give families hope, and give our children the healthy future that they deserve.

• 15 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place · Hansard source

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  After 14 years of Tory neglect, the town of Fleetwood has been buzzing with ideas about how to make the most of this fantastic pride in place fund. My community is ready to hit the ground running. We are hungry to deliver the investment we so badly need. Can the Minister assure me that the people of Fleetwood will get the resources we need to begin the work at the earliest possible opportunity? We cannot afford to wait any longer.

• 14 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

• 14 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The National Energy System Operator is currently assessing whether tidal range technology can help us meet our clean power mission. In Fleetwood, we have a huge opportunity for a tidal range project, which could bring desperately needed jobs and investment. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that opportunity and the outcome of the report, to ensure that Blackpool North and Fleetwood feels the benefits of the Government’s clean power energy mission?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Neighbourhood Policing · Hansard source

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  23. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Neighbourhood Policing · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s commitment to the neighbourhood policing guarantee to restore bobbies on the beat in our town centres, following 14 years of Conservative cuts that have left our towns and villages at the mercy of shoplifters and antisocial behaviour. Will the Home Secretary outline how Lancashire, and in particular my constituency of Blackpool North and Fleetwood, will benefit from that guarantee?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Industrial Action · Hansard source

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  Healthcare assistants at Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust have been underpaid on the wrong band for years, but the trust has consistently failed to put that right, and as a result staff have been left with no choice but to be balloted for strike action by Unison from today. Healthcare assistants play a vital role in our NHS, but is it any wonder that they often feel undervalued and demoralised when they are not paid the correct rate for the duties that they undertake? Does the Secretary of State agree that Blackpool’s healthcare assistants are worth just as much as those in the rest of the north-west and that the trust should pay up now?

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

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  It is an honour to speak today as we approach this incredibly important anniversary. Today is the day to celebrate the victory of democracy and freedom over fascism, as well as to remember all those who lost their lives, were taken prisoner or suffered during that fight. I believe that the most important thing we can do to honour their memory is to ensure that we never again return to the politics of fascism. Although VJ Day marks the end of the war, fascist politics are on the rise all over the world. We must never allow ourselves to be complacent or to think that our modern world is immune. My community has its own story to tell about VJ Day. Names are remembered and listed on the roll of honour at St John’s church in Blackpool. One of my constituents wrote to me about the story of her grandad, Harold Rhodes, who was captured on 15 February 1942, alongside many other men, and taken to the notorious Changi prison camp. Harold was made to walk from Singapore to Burma via Thailand to work for the Japanese on the notorious death railway. He walked the last 100 miles of that 400-mile forced march on bare feet. It is said that one man died for every sleeper laid. Harold was released from Changi prison on 2 September 1945 and put on a ship for Rangoon, Burma. The purpose of the trip was rehabilitation for Harold and many other ex-prisoners, who were all extremely thin and needed to gain weight urgently. On arriving home after a three-month journey, he weighed 6 stone 5 lbs—heaven only knows what he weighed when he was released from Changi. Harold’s granddaughter—my constituent—says that he was the gentlest of men. Harold’s story is that of so many men across the country. While Harold survived, many more died. Many starved to death and many died from cholera, malaria or dysentery. They are the men whose suffering we must remember. Their brutal treatment at the hands of the imperial Japanese army must serve as a reminder to us all of the horrors of war and strengthen our resolve to build a peaceful world. Their suffering did not end when the war ended. They spent their lives suffering from PTSD, limbs lost and long-term complications.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend very much for her intervention and totally agree with her analysis. My school friend’s dad, George Brooks, suffered for the rest of his life from the ordeals he endured in the camps. As we approach the 80th anniversary of VJ Day and the celebrations that will come with it, these stories must be constantly told. We remember the Blackpool Regiment, and everyone who has sacrificed their lives for our country since.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Alcohol and Cancer · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Cat Smith) for securing this incredibly important debate. Having represented the Fleetwood part of my constituency prior to the boundary review, she will know the way the health service in that part of Lancashire has suffered from chronic underfunding throughout the 14 years of Conservative austerity and neglect. My constituency suffers from more alcohol-related hospital admissions, cancer cases and deaths than the English average. It is a symptom of a community held back by low investment, industrial decline and neglect from national Government. I know at first hand the harm that alcoholism causes in communities and families; I have lost four members of my family to alcohol-related deaths. It was therefore extremely welcome to see the Government announce the 10-year health plan, but the plan must go further on alcohol-related diseases and cancers. Although measures such as new standards for alcohol labelling and supporting the growth of low and non-alcohol sectors are welcome, we should be far more ambitious. We have not had a dedicated alcohol strategy since 2012. The Government should rectify that as part of the 10-year health plan. However, there are immediate measures that the Government can take, for example, ensuring that new alcohol labelling includes an explicit warning about the link between alcohol and cancer; strengthening marketing restrictions by classifying alcohol as an unhealthy product; and acknowledging the detrimental impact of the industry’s involvement in policy development. It is clear that our current policy is woefully inadequate. Alcohol-related deaths are at an all-time high. We cannot be satisfied with our approach until the numbers begin to fall. We cannot afford to miss opportunities. Announcements such as the 10-year health plan must include a clear strategy to reduce alcohol-related deaths in future. That means introducing measures such as those I mentioned in my speech, but it also means addressing the root causes of poverty and under-investment.

• 19 Jun 2025 · UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy · Hansard source

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  I am encouraged by the Minister’s statement, which is a plan to rebuild Britain from the mess left by the Conservatives. Can he inform the House how constituencies such as mine can take advantage of the new place-based business case as part of the Government’s Green Book strategy?

• 19 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Residents of Thornton-Cleveleys in my constituency are being warned not to eat food grown in their own gardens because a local site is being investigated after testing found high concentrations around it of a banned substance called perfluorooctanoic acid, which has proven to be carcinogenic, and there have been discharges into the protected River Wyre. This is affecting hundreds of residents in the area, and there are fears of contamination to water and locally grown food. What steps will the Minister take to address this problem under the current regulations to ensure that constituents like mine are protected?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I have spent nearly a year in this Chamber watching our country pleading with the Israeli Government to de-escalate in Gaza. They have not. Strong words and desperate pleas have not worked. Is now the time to recognise the state of Palestine, as we promised in our manifesto? Is now the time to extend last week’s welcome sanctions to other members of Netanyahu’s regime, including the Prime Minister himself? If not now, when?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s commitment to investing in Britain’s future, tearing up the old rulebook that held back constituencies like mine for too long, but my constituents need to feel the benefits now. We need better transport infrastructure, including the reopening of our train line and more jobs. Can the Chancellor confirm that Blackpool North and Fleetwood will get the attention that the Conservatives refused to pay it?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. Labour’s plan to make work pay promised to bring about the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation. Insourced services are often shown to provide better value for money. Will the Government provide an update on their work to ensure that public bodies carry out public interest tests when outsourced contracts expire?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Disadvantaged Communities · Hansard source

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  I do. We have a disused railway line. Were it to be reopened, it would finally give Fleetwood the connectivity that it has so badly lacked for decades. I am heartened by reports that the Chancellor will be rewriting the rules that have diverted investment away from constituencies like mine, but the effect needs to be felt by my constituents here and now. I hope the Government will do what 14 years of the Conservatives failed to do, and give towns like mine hope once again. That is what I stood to do. That is why we are in this place. We came here to serve our people and rebuild our communities. Let us get on with delivering the future we promised.