Lucy Powell MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on her recent engagement to another Member of this House, my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher). We have a new power couple emerging on the Back Benches. She raises some serious points. The Government are looking at giving the New Homes Ombudsman Service the powers it needs to investigate and resolve complaints. I will ensure that the House is informed of that as it progresses.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Jen Stout and the other winners of the awards he mentions. As others have done, he raises the importance of culture to local communities. He will know this is a devolved matter, and that the Scottish Government, thanks to this Government’s Budget, now have the funds and the powers they need to continue supporting art organisations like his.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises an excellent point. Dementia is an awful affliction, and the number of people with dementia will only grow and spread in the coming years. The Government are prioritising social care to ensure that social care workers have the training, pay and status they need to do the job, but I will certainly look into the issues he raises.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises an important issue, and I think the whole House will join in saying that we want an immediate ceasefire. Far too many civilians have died in this conflict, and it is time it came to an urgent end. What we need is a long-term path to a two-state solution with a fully recognised state of Palestine alongside a safe and secure Israel, and that is what this Government will continue to work towards. I will ensure that there is time to consider some of the issues she has raised.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We are proud to have set a very ambitious housing target for this Parliament, but that is not to say that there will be a developer free-for-all. These will be locally developed and appropriate plans, but we do need to build the homes of the future. That is what the Government are trying to do.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating John Shaw, Rochdale’s man of the year—perhaps an award that my hon. Friend might one day be lucky enough to receive—for all his work with Multibank, which does great charitable work.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear about Rachel’s situation. The hon. Member is right that sub-postmasters have waited too long for justice, and they continue to wait too long for compensation. This Government have set aside for the first time a proper budget to deal with this. We will act swiftly, and I will ensure that the House is continually updated.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the volunteers in her constituency and all across the country. As always at business questions, many Members want to thank their local volunteers and community groups for their work. As I often say, I think that a Backbench Business debate on the subject would be very well attended.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  What a tragic case my hon. Friend raises. Many such cases are raised consistently in the Chamber. We are currently considering possible changes to motoring offences to cover such situations. I will ensure that any such changes are announced in the House first.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I did, at the beginning, invite contributions for Small Business Saturday, and my hon. Friend is putting in a good early bid. The Bald Baker’s pie sounds incredibly Scottish to me. Cheese, chips and doner kebab in a pie: all the carbs you could ever need in one go! But perhaps I will not take him up on the offer of the barbers. I will stick with the hairdressers downstairs.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am really sorry to hear that. I understand that there will be no redundancies, but this is obviously a difficult time for the staff. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the Minister to discuss it.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend rightly highlights a pretty scandalous case of private parking charges in her constituency. As she said, we will soon announce our plans for the new code of practice, and I will ensure that the House hears about that first.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I shall. The business for the week commencing 9 December will include: Monday 9 December—Remaining stages of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. Tuesday 10 December—Committee of the whole House on the Finance Bill (day one). Wednesday 11 December—Committee of the whole House on the Finance Bill (day two). Thursday 12 December—General debate on Lord Etherton’s independent review into the treatment of LGBT veterans, followed by debate on a motion on the performance of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 13 December—The House will not be sitting. The provisional business for the week commencing 16 December will include: Monday 16 December—Second Reading of the Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ]. Tuesday 17 December—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill. Wednesday 18 December—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [ Lords ], followed by Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill, followed by remaining stages of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [ Lords ]. Thursday 19 December—General debate on matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. The House will rise for the Christmas recess at the conclusion of business on Thursday 19 December and return on Monday 6 January 2025.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  First, I join the hon. Gentleman in advertising all the debates that happen in Westminster Hall, and I encourage colleagues to attend them more often. The hon. Gentleman raises the important matter of those fleeing persecution, especially women fleeing the situation in Afghanistan. This Government have always taken a positive view of these issues, as did the previous Government. I will ensure that he gets a full reply on that matter.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member’s representation of the House last Friday and how we really did show ourselves at our very best. I welcome the opportunity to work with her on the Modernisation Committee. One thing we are looking at is how to ensure that Back Benchers can come together more often in the interests of what our constituents want us to be talking about and in the public interest. The hon. Member asked about the Bill that will come before us early next year. I am not quite sure of its status, but I reassure her that the Government are absolutely committed to being a clean energy superpower by 2030. Many in the Conservative party now want to change the targets, but we are committed to them and to the benefits they will bring, not just to tackling climate change, but to creating the jobs of the future and making sure that we have lower bills and energy security for the long run. In a cross-party spirit, I will say at this juncture that I saw that the leader of the Liberal Democrats’ Christmas song—I am sure everyone will want to download it—is riding high in the charts this week. I hope that it will not be the same as his paddle boarding, which gets off to a great start and then falls flat on its face.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As the Prime Minister made clear the other evening in his speech at the Guildhall, we do not see this as an either/or. Both are crucial partners, and we will pursue the best free trade agreements we can get with the United States and with others, just as we have one already with the EU. These things are a delicate balance, and I am afraid that too many of the trade deals signed by the previous Government signed away many of our farmers in this country. Perhaps that is something the Conservatives should consider.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Government are working flat-out to protect British Steel, because it is vital to our future economy and our security. We have made some statements to the House about progress, but I will ensure that this House is the first place to hear about any developments.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I know from my own constituency experience that the people of the north have been let down over many years of under-investment and mismanagement by Northern, and its current performance is unacceptable. That is why we have a plan to take the franchises back into public ownership, so that we can improve reliability and ensure that people can get the trains that they need.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman raises the future of ceramics, which is so important to his constituency and the surrounding region. It is one of our important, long-standing industries. I am sure that if he were to apply for a debate—as long as he adds his name and then turns up for it—he might get one of the slots that are going.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree that the cultural and leisure offer is vital to regeneration and to bringing together our town centres and communities like his in Salisbury. Those Departments are already coming together, and that will continue when we consider how to create great places such as Salisbury.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  First, I put on record that Tuesday was International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and note that the House of Commons now has more disabled Members than ever before. I commend their contribution, and look forward to working with them through the Modernisation Committee, and with you, Mr Speaker, to make sure that this place and our politics are as accessible as they can be. As has been mentioned, this Saturday is Small Business Saturday, when we celebrate the heart of all our high streets. In these sessions, I like to hear about many of our constituents’ great cafés, and in particular their bars, especially when an invitation for me to visit follows. I also put on record my thanks to you, Mr Speaker, for the way proceedings were handled last Friday, and to all of those who took part in the debate on assisted dying, or were in the Chamber for it. That debate was respectful, considered and thoughtful. Whatever view we each took, it was a moment when huge attention was on us, and I thought our democracy and our Parliament showed itself at its best. Members will see that there are lots of important issues and much important business in the run-up to Christmas. Two thirds of the Bills that we announced in our King’s Speech are now making their way through Parliament. The rail franchising Bill has received Royal Assent; the Renters’ Rights Bill has completed Committee; and our important Budget measures will soon be passed. We are fixing the foundations and getting on with the job. As has been noted, copies of the “Plan for Change” will be available in the Vote Office shortly, ahead of the statement later today. It is another week, and another misjudged and confused contribution from the shadow Leader of the House. He really does need to work out what the Conservative strategy for opposition is. Is it to tell people across the country that they never had it so good as when the Conservatives were in office, or to learn from defeat and accept that they got things wrong? I gently advise them to listen to the voters, because acting as if they did nothing wrong and accepting no responsibility will not do them any good at all. If the right hon. Gentleman does not want to take my advice, perhaps he should listen to his own, because he said that the Conservatives suffered from “many disastrous recent failures of policy and leadership”, and I agree. He said we inherited a “struggling” economy and “anaemic” growth; I agree with that, too. I also agreed with him when he was a champion of net zero, and when he was Financial Secretary to the Treasury, he was right to care about economic stability. I agreed with him; does he still agree with him? I am not quite sure. The right hon. Gentleman asked about scrutiny of legislation and debate, but I gently remind him that we have had many debates on the Finance Bill, on the Budget, and the on the national insurance contributions Bill, which is coming back to the House next week and before Christmas. I must remind him yet again, I am afraid, that he was Financial Secretary to the Treasury when the national insurance contributions were raised not just on business but on workers; he said that was a thoroughly “Conservative thing to do.” He was also a Treasury Minister when the minimum wage was raised. He has had plenty of time to come to this House and explain why he thought that was okay then but not okay now. The right hon. Gentleman raised the topic of the economy, but he failed to mention one of the big economic forecasts out this week, from the OECD, which shows that the UK is now forecast to be the fastest growing European economy in the G7 over the next three years. He did not mention that when he was talking about the economy. We have always been clear that growth only matters when ordinary people right around the country feel better off and see public services improve; that is the difference between our economic plans and his. We have a plan for change; the Conservatives have yet to change—they are yet to learn their own lessons. We are laying out today how we will deliver our clear outcomes. The right hon. Gentleman might not like them, because the Conservatives failed on all their measures, which is why they lost the election. While he and the rest of his party shout from the sidelines and try to rewrite history, we are delivering the real change that the public voted for.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important matter. Breathing new life into our high streets is a priority of this Government. We have a range of measures around business rates, devolution of powers and support for local communities that are coming, and I will ensure that the House is always updated.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We will soon have a debate about police reform, when we bring forward the crime and policing Bill next year. This Government are putting 13,000 extra police officers on the beat, bringing in respect orders and taking tough action—more police and more powers —so that police in his constituency can get on with the job that they need to do.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am really pleased and proud that this Government have brought back a strengthened Football Governance Bill; it is being considered in the House of Lords. The Conservatives supported it when they were in government, but I have to say that the behaviour of Conservative peers in the House of Lords does not suggest that the Conservatives are still in favour of it, because they have tabled hundreds of amendments to slow down progress of that important Bill. If they still care about putting fans back at the heart of our football, and making sure that we have a sustainable football industry in the future, perhaps they should tell their colleagues in the other place to pipe down.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. Online gambling in particular has completely changed the whole industry and increased people’s susceptibility to problems such as gambling addiction. This Government are taking forward the recommendations made previously to tackle the scourge of gambling, and I will ensure that the relevant Minister comes to the House at some point to talk about these issues.