Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  I thank the hon. Member for paying tribute to all of those paramedics, the ambulance service and those on the frontline who come to our rescue at moments of need. She is right to raise and pay testament to them in this House. As the hon. Lady may know, my husband is an A&E consultant. I think people who work on the frontline in that way have a different mindset; he often says that fixing dislocated shoulders and knees is his favourite task to perform at work. I am sure the rest of us could not think of anything worse. Today is election day, and a sunny day. I am sure that the hon. Lady, as a Liberal Democrat, is looking forward, as I am, to seeing pictures of her leader making the most of the sunny day, perhaps by throwing himself into a lake or river, or by dangling off a bungee rope. Maybe he will even give us a song and a dance, or something else rather hilarious.

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

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  I join my right hon. Friend in welcoming the brilliant work of the Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker. My right hon. Friend will know about the importance of national transport infrastructure to our great cities like Birmingham, and about the importance of making sure that we have local transport infrastructure, like trams. The tram network in Greater Manchester is a really fine example of that. Unless we ensure that local people like his constituents can access the great job opportunities of the future through good local transport, we should not be endeavouring to do these things in the first place. I join him in wanting to see trams in Birmingham, and in particular in his constituency in east Birmingham. That would make a great topic for a debate.

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

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  I join my hon. Friend in paying respect to and remembering those who served in the second world war. We will be celebrating VE day, as well as VJ Day, next week, in his constituency and right across the country. I thank you, Mr Speaker, for putting on so many events across Parliament next week to ensure that every one of us can pay tribute to those who served this country so well.

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

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  I absolutely join my hon. Friend in welcoming and supporting the football regulator Bill. She is right that communities like hers in Luton, and the many communities represented across the House, strongly support the football regulator Bill, which will put fans right back at the heart of our national game, where they should be. That is why I was so surprised that the Conservatives, having really pushed and led on the issues that the Bill addresses, at the last minute set their face against this important Bill. It is shocking and shameful. I also join her in wishing Luton Town the very best in striving to secure their championship place when they play West Brom this weekend.

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

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Blackburn United in her constituency and all those involved. We get a lot of football questions at this time of year in business questions, and I enjoy answering questions about all the local football teams. This Government are committed to grassroots football and ensuring that we put fans and communities back at the heart of our national game.

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

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  I join the shadow Minister in thanking the police and security services of the House for the work they do day in, day out, and particularly in the case he has raised. I take this opportunity to thank the King for all the work he is doing for those living with cancer; his openness about his own condition really does bring huge comfort to those living with theirs. I also take this opportunity to welcome progress on the minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine that was achieved overnight and the wider partnership. The support of the Government and of the whole House remains unwaveringly with those in Ukraine, and that will continue. I join the shadow Minister in thanking all candidates standing in the local elections today, and I thank him for wishing Man City all the success I hope it will get in the forthcoming FA cup final, and against Southampton. It is really good to see the shadow Minister in his elevated place today, reaching the heady heights of business questions this morning. I am sure he will agree that this is the pinnacle of his career so far. As you can see, Mr Speaker, he has really drawn in the crowds. I am only joking; the attendance is no reflection on him. His journey to this point has been—how shall I put it?—one of dogged and determined pursuit. He was a councillor, I believe, when he was very young, at just 20, and has been a special adviser. Before coming here, he stood in a number of seats; in fact, in his relatively short parliamentary career, he has already been the MP for two different constituencies. In all seriousness, I have a great deal of time for the hon. Gentleman, who is a formidable and notable representative of his party. It might be a bit of a low bar right now, but he is well above it. He really is a rising star of the party—

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

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising that important matter. I read the ruling and the article by Michael Gove in the Telegraph earlier this week. We are absolutely committed to protecting press freedoms, protecting parliamentary privilege and the right of Members to raise matters in this House that could be subject to parliamentary privilege, and the press’s right to report on those matters when they are raised in this place. As he said, the independent, self-regulatory IPSO has made this finding, but I will ensure he gets a ministerial response.

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

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Brian Innes on completing the Boston marathon in three hours, which is a remarkable achievement. I am not sure which is a greater challenge: completing a marathon in that time or being a maths teacher to many rowdy teenagers, I am sure. I thank him for all the work he does.

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

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  I shall, and that was beautifully delivered. The business of the House for the week commencing 5 May will include: Tuesday 6 May—General debate on the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe and victory over Japan. Wednesday 7 May—Remaining stages of the Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] . Thursday 8 May—General debate on St George’s day and English affairs, followed by a debate on a motion on the research and treatment of brain tumours. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 9 May—The House will not be sitting. The provisional business for the week commencing 12 May will include: Monday 12 May—Remaining stages of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Tuesday 13 May—Opposition day (7th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Leader of the official Opposition, subject to be announced. Wednesday 14 May—Consideration of Lords message on the Great British Energy Bill, followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments. Thursday 15 May—General debate on solar farms, followed by a general debate on the long-term funding of youth services. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 16 May—Private Members’ Bills.

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

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise that. It is important that constituency MPs continue to stand up for local post office services in their constituencies, as many have done in recent weeks. I do not think that Post Office Ltd has really been listening to those concerns, whether in the case of permanent branch closures or the closure of services of the kind that my hon. Friend describes. Our constituents want access to those vital services, and it is really important that the Post Office remains accountable, transparent and responsive to the needs of local communities when making such decisions.

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

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  I am delighted to hear about the bagpipe musicians from my hon. Friend’s constituency going to New York. That sounds like a really fantastic visit. I thank him for raising it here and join him in congratulating them on their endeavours.

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

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  Absolutely, and I pay tribute to Damien for all his fundraising efforts, and for establishing Malcolm’s Retreat in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. It sounds like a fantastic facility, which I am sure that those who have cancer or those conditions, and their families, welcome. The Dorset walk in July, which is raising money for that important charity, sounds glorious. I would love nothing more than a walk along the Dorset coast, so if I have time I will join him. If not, I look forward to hearing about it, perhaps in future business questions.

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

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  I thank the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee for, as ever, giving us a full outline of all future Backbench Business debates. I look forward to us speaking on Monday, when the right hon. Gentleman comes to the Modernisation Committee to discuss the future of Backbench Business and how we can all ensure that Back Benchers continue to have the opportunity to raise the issues they want to in this House and elsewhere. I join him in wishing everybody a happy Gujarat Day on the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state of Gujarat. I am sure that many colleagues will want to go to the Grimond Room later with him.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising the matter, and I am sure Mr Speaker heard his question as well, because it is something that as members of the House of Commons Commission we take a keen interest in. It is a huge project moving these archives. I absolutely join him in thanking the parliamentary archivists, his constituents and others in the great work they do in preserving these important archives for future generations. It has and will continue to be a big project for this House as we move forward, and I am sure that he will continue to take a keen interest in it.

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

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  I join the hon. Member in thanking Mr Speaker for hosting the St George’s day reception last week, and I am sorry that the debate that he and my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) have asked for could not be as near to St George’s day as he might have liked. As he will know, we had to schedule important Government business last Thursday, in part because it was a shorter three-day week, which meant that the Thursday was more like a Wednesday. I am glad that the debate has now been scheduled, and I wish the hon. Member and my hon. Friend well with that. The hon. Member raises the important matter of the future of our high streets, and many of the issues that he sees on the high street in Romford, which I am sure we can all relate to in our own communities. He will be aware that the police and security services recently did a big blitz on businesses like the ones he described, which might be a cover for other activities rather than the activities they claim to be. That was a successful operation, and we hope to see more of that in future. This Government are committed to the future of our high streets, looking at reforming business rates and other measures, so that we get good, long-standing, independent businesses back into the heart of our communities.

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

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  I agree with the hon. Lady. The Climate Change Committee report is important and looks back, for the most part, at recent years and the previous Government’s record on these matters, which was not good enough. We absolutely need to go further and faster, which is what this Government are doing, to ensure that we have those adaptations, make the transition to become a clean energy superpower, and develop the severe weather and flood resilience that our communities need to cope with the impacts of climate change, which are coming anyway despite our best efforts to get to net zero by 2050.

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

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  The hon. Gentleman thanks me for my answers every week, but may I thank him for his questions every week? He is reliably here every single week—I do not think he has missed business questions since I became Leader of the House. Yet again he raises the important matter of the displaced Rohingya community in Bangladesh. As I hope he knows, the UK Government are the largest provider of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for the displaced Rohingya population. Our humanitarian programme in Bangladesh is focused on meeting basic urgent needs of refugees, particularly the Rohingya community.

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

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  I am delighted to do so and I thank the hon. Gentleman for taking the opportunity to draw our attention to their visit. I am sure the whole House will want to join him in thanking the members of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association for all the work they do and for their spirit of fantastic public service. We recognise and support that in this country, and I am sure Members of the House will recognise that.

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

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  I will certainly raise the issue with the Northern Ireland Secretary; as the next Northern Ireland questions are only a couple of weeks away, the right hon. Gentleman might want to raise the issue then. He is absolutely right that we are committed to repealing and replacing the Northern Ireland legacy Act. We will do that in due course and, of course, alongside all those with an interest in Northern Ireland. In the meantime, we have to take steps to put any issues right, and that is what the Secretary of State is doing.

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

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  Let me reassure the right hon. Gentleman: there are no differing opinions on this in Government—we are as one. We absolutely want to see a two-state solution, which is the only-long-term political solution for the middle east, and that includes a recognised and safe and secure long-term state of Palestine. As he says, getting to that recognition will not happen overnight and is not totally straightforward. The Government are absolutely committed—it was in our manifesto—to recognising the state of Palestine. I will ensure that Ministers always come to the House, as they have been doing, to update Members on any developments, with proper debates, statements and votes on these matters where necessary.

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

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  Absolutely—step-free access to transport is critical for our constituents and our communities. The Access for All programme should be happening faster and better. That is why the Secretary of State is considering how we can ensure that the Access for All programme is delivered and that constituents such as those of the hon. Member have step-free access to transport. I will ensure that the Secretary of State keeps the House informed of developments on this matter, which is raised with me regularly at business questions.

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

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  He is a very popular Member of this House. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] There we are. The shadow Minister raises a matter that is very important to me: timely and full responses to written parliamentary questions and correspondence. I take this matter incredibly seriously and will continue, as always, to raise it with Cabinet Ministers, collectively and individually, when they fall short. The shadow Minister also raises the issue of net zero. I am sorry, given his glittering career, that he felt the need to read out from the latest Whips’ crib sheet on net zero. The blinkered vision that the Conservatives have shown on the opportunity of net zero and the transition that we need to make is why they did so little in their time in office. Let us look at what is actually happening. The North sea basin is diminishing; it is a finite resource. That is why the workforce in the North sea has fallen by a third over the past 10 years. There is a global race for the new technologies of the future, and we are now in that race—something the Conservatives failed to do for many years. We are making sure that the North sea has the opportunities of the future, and there are some great opportunities. That is why we are setting up Great British Energy in Aberdeen and why we have announced £22 billion for carbon capture, which will be critical to the future of the North sea basin. It is also why we are looking to reindustrialise the future with things like hydrogen, nuclear and other energies. The shadow Minister mentions the former leader of the Labour party, but he might want to look at what some of his own party’s former leaders have said in recent years. I thought Theresa May spoke very wisely last autumn, just as the Conservatives were performing a complete volte-face over net zero, when she said: “When the sceptics say that the green transition will cripple business, we say they could not be more wrong…When the critics say transitioning to renewables costs too much, we say it’s wrong to see it as a cost. It’s an enormous investment opportunity”. She was right, wasn’t she? He knows she was. If the hon. Gentleman wants to talk about the local elections, I am sure that we can have an exchange of statistics, but the one that I will leave him with is that council tax bills for people living in Labour councils are, on average, £300 lower than elsewhere. That is the one thing that people should be thinking about today of all days. I do not want to be too harsh on the hon. Gentleman, because I am fond of him. Having said that, we are now six months on from the Leader of the Opposition taking up her position. Today will be her first major electoral test, and I wonder how the Conservatives think things are really going, because they have been veering from one side of the road to the other. They have been taking just about every position possible. Even on Monday, they voted against their own Football Governance Bill. They actually wrote it, and their poor, mortified shadow Secretary of State, who had previously called it an excellent Bill, had to put up the best act that I have seen in a long time of speaking against it from the Dispatch Box. The leadership of the Leader of the Opposition is being backseat driven by the shadow Justice Secretary, who is on constant manoeuvres. He is no doubt spending the day on the phones—not to the electors, but to his future backers. He has promised this electoral pact with Reform, but the truth is that the two parties are indistinguishable at the moment. I cannot tell the difference between the once great Conservative party and the Reform party, because we all know that voting Tory today means voting Reform and that voting Reform today means voting Tory.

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

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  The Fit, Fed, Fun camps sound like a fantastic development in Wales. I understand that so far 31,000 children have taken part across 450 camps, and that 6,000 pairs of boots have been donated. What a fantastic achievement. They sound like great, fun camps. I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Ospreys, the WRU and all those involved in that project.

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

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that. Those comments are incredibly serious, and are unacceptable when aimed at Conservative or any other MPs. I totally condemn them, and as does the whole House. We have all seen what happens when comments incite and encourage violence against a Member of Parliament. It is deeply unacceptable and undermines our democracy, as well as putting our lives and our work at risk. That is why we all stand in solidarity against them. I was grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question to allow Members to air their thoughts on the issue earlier this week. On Glastonbury, I am sure that the festival organisers have heard loud and clear the comments made about the band. It is for Glastonbury festival to take that forward. However, I am sure that no one in this House would want to see them playing at Glastonbury, and I am sure that we will all continue to say so, loud and clear.

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

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right that nothing is more frustrating and—quite honestly—upsetting for our constituents than having dodgy works done at home and having no recourse and accountability to those who did them. I will ensure that the Minister takes a look at the issues she has raised. Trading standards and ensuring that we have quality TrustMark schemes across the country are important to this Government, and we will keep the House updated.