Louise Sandher-Jones MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I am sure that the health team will listen to all and any contributions, and will make a decision. The Labour Government refuse to balance the books on the backs of the poor, workers or people striving for a better life.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more. I have heard from so many small business owners in North East Derbyshire who are so thankful for the changes that we are making to support them. If we fail to make these decisions today, we risk the prospect of cuts to crucial services or an increased burden on future generations, which would fall on the most vulnerable in society.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I am going to make progress, as I know other Back Benchers would like to speak. Instead of austerity mark II, we choose to invest in our services, our children and the people who fight every day to keep us safe. These increases will strengthen our public services, promote economic stability and invest in the future of our workforce. They are an investment in our long-term prosperity, and I fully support them.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Troubles · Hansard source

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  As a veteran, I pay tribute to the service of those police officers, members of the armed forces and the security services who did so much to keep people in Northern Ireland safe during the troubles and in some cases paid the ultimate price. None the less, any solution that does not have the support of victims’ groups and political parties in Northern Ireland is not, in my view, tenable. Can the Secretary of State assure me that any veterans affected will receive all welfare and, if appropriate, legal support where necessary?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  This talk of data reminds me that over 12,000 farmers and agribusinesses have gone out of business since 2010. Will the Minister reassure me about what we are doing to improve profitability in British farming?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister confirm that in the case of farms worth several million pounds, any mortgageable value is not included for the purpose of inheritance tax? Might that explain the discrepancies in some of the figures that are being bandied around, in which I believe mortgages have not been taken into account?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  All Governments have to make tough decisions. Faced with a £22 billion black hole, Labour has chosen to raise taxes on only the very wealthiest. The Conservatives’ record was instead to choose to place the burden on the poorest in society—those with disabilities and those who are very young. In fact, I am seeing that in real time in Derbyshire, as the Conservative leader of Derbyshire county council has chosen not to spend his time dealing with the disastrous recent Ofsted report on the sorry state of special education needs and disabilities provisions in Derbyshire affecting thousands of vulnerable children, or trying to deal with the terrible county finances which it is trying to plug by closing much-loved care homes, again leaving some very vulnerable people with an uncertain future. Where was he? He was marching with wealthy landowners down here in London. I ask the shadow Minister what she thinks first attracted various multimillionaires in various industries to suddenly discover a passion for farming and buy farms in their late middle age. I had thought that the Conservatives would want to discuss the huge challenges facing our NHS, the cost of living crisis affecting so many of my constituents or their failed track record in delivering vital regional infrastructure; but no, we have had silence on those issues. What has got them out literally marching on the streets is a rush to defend multimillionaires. My constituents can see what is the No. 1 priority, and it is not the same as theirs. Let us be clear: retaining the status quo, for which the Conservatives are arguing, would see 7% of claimants receiving 40% of the relief. That is £219 million given to just 117 estates. Why should 117 of the richest get £219 million in tax relief, and not ordinary families? One would have thought that, after such a profound rejection of their party’s record in government back in July, the Conservatives would have taken some time to listen to the electorate and learn. The electorate saw that this Labour party was different, and voted us in. Perhaps the Conservatives should take a closer look—and here I include the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart). Many of my colleagues are deeply rooted in their rural communities, and I myself come from a family of farmers. In fact, I spent most of my family Sunday lunch listening to an in-depth monologue on SFI technical details, which was of course very welcome. While the Conservatives are rushing to defend the wealthiest in society, we in Labour will be focusing on what matters to rural communities: access to rural health facilities, a record £5 billion for farmers, a new commissioner for tenant farmers—which is fantastic—a new rural crime strategy, and protecting farmers from bad trade deals. Coming from a family of farmers, I know a wolf in sheep’s clothing when I see one. However much the Conservatives bleat about standing up for farmers, their bushy tails and terrible record for farming over the past 14 years tell me otherwise. I will always fight for farmers, to improve farming incomes and to support farming communities. That is my priority, and it is the priority of this Government.

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Is the hon. Lady aware that the capital gains tax starts from the moment of a person deceasing, not from when they bought that land?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Planning Reform · Hansard source

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  3. What recent progress her Department has made on planning reform.

• 2 Dec 2024 · Planning Reform · Hansard source

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  Many young families would love to live in my beautiful constituency of North East Derbyshire, but unfortunately we just do not have the housing for them. Could the Minister assure me that our planning reforms will enable us to get the right housing in the right places with the right amenities, to complement the beautiful constituency?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I served in Germany for two years as part of NATO’s very high readiness joint task force, and I welcome the improved co-operation with that nation. I also saw at first hand the importance of our relationship with Poland. Can the Secretary of State tell me what we are doing to improve co-operation with that nation?

• 11 Nov 2024 · Rural Affairs · Hansard source

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  The shadow Secretary of State says that she opposes the changes. Will she commit to reversing them, and which public services would she cut—for example, which NHS services?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Families in my constituency have been hit hard in recent years by rising inflation outpacing their take-home pay. I am delighted, therefore, that the Chancellor has already recognised the importance of public servants with a fair pay rise of 5.5%, or 6% for the military, meaning that nurses, teachers and service personnel are fairly recognised for their hard work. We are also recognising workers through the rise in the national living wage to £12.21 an hour, which will make a huge difference to living standards for my constituents in North East Derbyshire, enabling more people, particularly young people, to stand on their own two feet. One of the biggest issues I hear about from constituents is the terrible state of the special educational needs and disabilities provision by Derbyshire county council. The Conservatives have determinedly and deliberately run the council into a dire financial position, leaving many children paying the price through long waiting lists for assessments and inadequate support, which costs the council even more in fines. I am proud that we in Labour will not accept this Tory neglect of vulnerable children and have allocated an extra £1 billion to reform SEND. That shows the difference a Labour Government can make to ordinary families. We are fortunate in North East Derbyshire to have a wealth of small businesses, including retail on our high streets, and service businesses, whether in landscaping or consulting. We in Labour know the value of rewarding those who are prepared to take a risk and build their own business. I am delighted that the threshold at which employer national insurance contributions are made has been increased to £10,500, meaning that many small businesses in North East Derbyshire will see the cost of employing people fall and their ability to grow rise. Under Labour, we know the future is bright for business.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Budget: Implications for Farming Communities · Hansard source

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  Many of the farmers in my constituency have regularly raised concerns with me over protecting farms and our food system from animal diseases. Will the Minister please outline what steps he is taking to protect our food and farming systems?

• 29 Oct 2024 · Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements · Hansard source

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  My constituents in North East Derbyshire are still paying the price of the mini-Budget, with rises in their mortgages and rents. Does the Minister agree that the Conservatives should be talking about that and holding themselves to account rather than throwing out chaff to distract everyone?

• 28 Oct 2024 · Remembrance and Veterans · Hansard source

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  I am a veteran, and it is great to be a veteran. I learned so much from my service in the military: I had so many great experiences, was proud to play my own small part in Afghanistan, and worked with some fantastic people. It is great to be a veteran. Serving is not all sunshine and roses, but I can recommend no better career for someone in their 20s than to join our military. But with the joy of service can come sadness. My constituency has many diverse towns and villages—the ex-pit town of Clay Cross, Dronfield with its bustling heart, or Killamarsh with its proud Derbyshire spirit. But they all have one thing in common: at the heart of each of them is a war memorial with the names of those lost in conflicts over the previous 100 years. These names were all once living, breathing members of their community—much-loved brothers, sons, fathers, other relatives and friends—and it is them I think of when I wear the poppy. There can be a lot of very clever discourse about the poppy, which is such a simple and humble flower. The fact is that the poppy appeal is a truly successful grassroots movement. The first poppy appeal saw over 9 million sold in its first year, all worn by ordinary men and women who came together because they had lost a loved one and wanted to remember them. Grainy black and white photographs from the 1920s show people standing in remembrance ceremonies in the cold and silent November air, their grief clear to see on their faces even in those more stoic times. The poppy truly spontaneously united millions of people in hope. Some may not bear to see that unity but it is something that still unites millions of people today. I would like briefly to address a few points that have been raised. It is very important that we learn the lessons of the past 14 years, and that we understand who made the decisions regarding our armed forces and why those decisions were made. Who sold off our valuable military housing stock so cheaply to Annington? I believe it was the Conservatives. Who pulled our forces back from important bases in Germany even as Russia became active in Ukraine? Again, it was the Conservatives. Who wasted billions of pounds on procurement, and reduced the offer to serving personnel, leading to a haemorrhage in the numbers serving in our military? It was the Conservatives. Who oversaw the reduction of our military size to barely being able to field a brigade minus? It was the Conservatives. So, yes let us have accountability, but it starts with an iota of shame from the party opposite before they are allowed anywhere near our defence again. At least, however, some of them are here; I note that not every party has a representative present. I would also like to add briefly in response that one tenet very close to my heart as a veteran is that the rule of law is of the highest importance—

• 28 Oct 2024 · China: Human Rights and Sanctions · Hansard source

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  Does the Foreign Secretary agree that it is a travesty that Jimmy Lai remains detained, and that he should be released immediately to return to his family?

• 23 Oct 2024 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  My constituents in North East Derbyshire are rightly disgusted that water bosses received over £41 million in bonuses and other incentives under the previous Conservative Government. Can the Secretary of State assure me that every penny of my constituents’ hard-earned money will be spent where it is needed?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Multi-sport Grassroots Facilities · Hansard source

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  3. What steps she is taking to support multi-sport grassroots facilities.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Multi-sport Grassroots Facilities · Hansard source

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  Access to those facilities is vital for mental health and community cohesion, no more so than in the small towns and villages that make up my constituency. Does the Minister agree that even in places like that we must have equal access to such facilities?

• 16 Oct 2024 · City and Town Centres: Regeneration · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has spoken about the negative impact that empty shops have; I welcome her calls for a strategy. Does she agree that any strategy must take into account the importance of public transport so that those who wish to make use of our high streets have access to transport that is regular, reliable and affordable?

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

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  Having served in the conflict in Afghanistan, I know how vital the work of units such as 333 and 444 was in supporting our troops. Is work currently under way to consider the other specialist units that supported our troops?

• 8 Oct 2024 · Farming and Food Security · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the fact that so many Labour MPs have a farming background, as I do, and that so many rural seats are represented by Labour, makes it clear that we are now the true champions of our farming community?

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for calling me to make my first contribution in the House. It is a great honour to be here. I am so proud to be part of a Government who are putting state education at the heart of our mission. I have not been an MP for long, but I have already spent a lot of my time visiting schools in my constituency, and I have seen and heard for myself the very real challenges that they are facing because of the effects of austerity on their budgets. Opportunities for young people are shrinking in front of our eyes. I am glad that we are making these decisions so that we can invest more in the state education that 93% of our children need. I would like to talk about the service of my predecessor as MP for North East Derbyshire, Lee Rowley. A constant refrain for me when I was campaigning during the election was how well regarded he was as a constituency MP, which is not always what you want to hear when campaigning for the other side, but it is a clear sign of how well regarded he was by his constituents. I also pay tribute to his service in the House, where he served in various ministerial positions with distinction. I particularly recognise his important work campaigning on behalf of those with ovarian cancer. I am sure that everybody in the Chamber will join me in thanking him for his service. It is a huge honour to represent my home, North East Derbyshire. I will take a few moments to talk about what that place means to me, and indeed what home means to me. For many of my colleagues, home is where they were born or where they grew up. It is very much the origin of their journey, but for me and many others like me, it is the destination. As many of my fellow military veterans will know, I lived in over 11 different places over the past 10 years as a result of my military service. Whether that was a small officer cadets’ bedroom in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, kept to the ruthless standards of tidiness that that place demands—standards that may have lapsed since—my first posting to Normandy barracks in the beautiful city of Paderborn in Germany, or indeed the compound in Kabul where I served on operations, my accommodation has been varied, transient, occasionally used as target practice, and rarely felt like home. So when I say that I have found my home in North East Derbyshire, that is because I have come home. When I turn off junction 29 of the M1 and see in the distance the latticework of green fields of Holy Moor, I know that I am home. When I am walking up Market Street to have a cuppa at the café Host, or something stronger at The Three Horseshoes, I know that I am home. After a busy day’s canvassing, when I am getting a superlative chippy tea at New Tupton Fish Bar or a bacon cobb at Woodheads in Eckington, I know that I am home. When I am crossing the bridge over the River Rother into Killamarsh and I see the sign for that village, called by its original name—please forgive my Anglo-Saxon here—of Chinewoldemaresc, I know that I am home, When I crest the hill at Coal Aston and see before me across the valley the town of Dronfield, with the purple hills of the Peak district in the distance, I know that I am home. I want to say thank you to the people of North East Derbyshire for seeing in me the service and the values that they want to represent them in this place. I repeat the pledge that I made during my campaign that I will use each and every day here to serve you and deliver the future that I know we can have: a better future based not just on promises, but on real progress. The work of this Government has already begun, and there is so much that I know will make a huge positive transformation for people in my constituency, whether that is renationalising railways so that we can be proud of the service they provide again, huge reforms to workers’ rights and renters’ rights so that we can end no fault-evictions, or the establishment of the child poverty taskforce so that we can drive down child poverty, just as Labour Governments have done before, and I know we will do again. There is much to do, and much that I am looking forward to being a part of. Delivery matters. I want to speak briefly about why that is and about the effect that it has on our democracy. This is a subject close to my heart. As I have mentioned, I served in the military, and nobody is so much affected by the decisions of this House as my former colleagues. The decisions that colleagues sat in the Chamber have made and will make will have a direct impact on their lives. Those decisions could send them to dangerous places to do dangerous things. Indeed, some of my former colleagues in the armed forces have not come back. I would like us all to take a moment now to remember Corporal Liam Riley, who grew up in Killamarsh in my constituency and lost his life in Afghanistan. Lest we forget. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] It is of deep concern to me when I see that the number of people voting has diminished over the past few years; that so many people up and down the country see politics no longer as the mechanism by which we govern ourselves and bring the change that we want for our communities but as something done by some other people in some other place for the benefit of some other people. It is our duty to ensure that we leave this precious democracy that we have inherited in a better place than where we found it and that we show everybody that a vote for an MP matters, that a vote for a Government matters, and that a vote for democracy matters. That is how we can make the difference in the small towns and villages that make up places such as my constituency of North East Derbyshire. Finally, there is a piece of advice that I would like to commend to the House. Over the summer, I had the privilege of meeting Clay Cross air cadets. As I take my place in the House, I commend their motto, “Acta non verba”—deeds, not words. We can all agree that that is a good motto to have as a Member of Parliament, and indeed for the Government.