Michael Wheeler MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 1 Apr 2025 · Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Having heard these comments several times, I wonder whether the hon. Member will accept that wisdom is not necessarily proportional to the amount of time spent in the Chamber.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. We are dealing with a regulatory black hole that was left behind, and the absence of a framework is letting down the consumers and people of this country— [ Interruption. ] I was about to say that I am sure we would all agree on that, but that is potentially a stretch in this debate and in this Chamber. I hope that we do agree that consumers should be able to buy products online without worrying about their safety, and that product standards should not be bypassed or compromised on any platform, digital or otherwise. However, research by the Office for Product Safety and Standards found that 81%—eight in 10—of products for sale on online marketplaces between 2021 and 2022 failed to meet safety standards, which underlines the need for the Bill. We cannot allow companies to circumvent essential safety standards, presenting a public health risk just because they sell their products online. However, the Bill is not just about safety, critical though that is; it is also about ensuring fairness. We simply cannot continue with a product safety regime that enables online marketplaces to undercut bricks-and-mortar retailers, or that allows rogue traders to out-compete responsible retailers with unsafe, low-quality products. That is unfair on consumers, reputable manufacturers and the small high street businesses that must compete with the online giants. With online sales already making up over a quarter of total retail sales in 2023, we must level that playing field now, providing our high streets with a long overdue boost to their competitiveness.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  If the system we have in place was working, we would not be here debating this, and we would not see these shoddy products on sale or these fires. The only explanation is either that the system does not work or the last Government failed in their duty to the people of this country. As I was saying, this has left British consumers vulnerable to falling behind with regard to protections in rapidly emerging areas of product safety that need reaction—for example, those related to new technologies such as AI and lithium-ion batteries. I therefore support the Bill’s provisions to enable the Government to meet the fast-moving challenges of the day in these areas.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Transport Connectivity: North-west England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my neighbour, my hon. Friend Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), for securing this debate about connectivity; we are well connected, as I am sure she appreciates. Efficient, affordable and accessible transport options are crucial to north-west workers, its economy and the ability to unlock growth. A well-connected transport system broadens access to opportunities and enhances our region’s competitiveness. Transport infrastructure and the affordability of transport options directly impacts the jobs that people are able to take, where they are able to live, and their access to essential services, as so many hon. Members have said. That is particularly true for those living in commuter belt towns and suburban areas in my constituency of Worsley and Eccles. We must do more to ensure that the different modes of transport on offer are interconnected, ensuring smooth and efficient journeys, and making it as easy as possible for everyone to move around our region. Driving remains the most popular mode of transport in Worsley and Eccles, but high levels of congestion are a real issue for all of us, including rush hour commuters of all forms. An improved public transport system can reduce the strain on our roads, benefiting all commuters, including those for whom driving will remain the most appropriate form of transport. I am a north-west MP and, like all Members here who regularly come to London, I can see with my own eyes what can be achieved with proper investment, funding and Government focus on our transport system. To give one small comparison, from Eccles in my constituency to Manchester Piccadilly, we have one or maybe two trains an hour on the main commuter line. From Surbiton in south London to Waterloo, there are 10 an hour. That is a world of difference and makes trains a viable option for many people as an integral part of our network. As I am sure the Government recognise, delivering greater transport connectivity is one of the most effective tools available to increase vital access to opportunities and deliver the growth we all need, which will underpin all our services and fundamentally improve the living standards of everyone we are here to represent. In Greater Manchester, we are making great progress via the expansion of the Bee network, including the roll-out of tap and go contactless ticketing, and daily and weekly fare caps, which are coming this weekend, but we must go further to bring trains into that network and to deliver the comprehensive, interconnected transport system that will deliver the benefits that we have all been talking about. It is absolutely vital that we continue the mission to expand and improve our transport networks, so that everyone across our whole region can benefit from them in getting around more easily and getting to those jobs. That will make everywhere a viable place to live, to attract investment and to deliver on the potential that we all know that our region has.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and my proud membership of USDAW and the GMB. It was an honour to serve on the Public Bill Committee for this historic piece of legislation. The Bill represents a watershed moment: a turning point for working people in our country who for too long have been left behind in an economy plagued by weak employment rights, stagnant growth and the soaring cost of living. The measures contained in the Bill represent a meaningful intervention in our broken labour market, looking to promote good quality jobs that offer dignity, security and respect to working people. As someone with a proud background representing workers, I wholeheartedly support the Bill’s spirit and provisions. I believe it will meet Labour’s promise to deliver a new deal for working people— a new deal that will make work pay. Whether it is banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, ending the scandal of fire and rehire, or protecting employees from unfair dismissal from day one, the Bill will promote good secure employment and a workforce who finally feel valued. It recognises trade unions as the force for good in the workplace that they are, encouraging positive, productive and harmonious partnerships between companies and unions. The evidence we heard in Committee made it clear that many of the Bill’s measures enjoy broad support from both employees and employers, such as the modernising of family friendly rights to meet the needs of today’s workers, and the creation of the Fair Work Agency, which will protect good employers from being cynically undercut by unscrupulous competitors. Let me now turn to statutory sick pay and Government amendment 81. During the pandemic, it became clear that SSP is in desperate need of reform. I am therefore delighted that the Bill removes the three waiting days and the lower earnings limit, delivering greater financial security to working people when they need it most. However, an issue remains. Setting the amount a low-paid worker receives while off sick at 80% of their wages has the unintended consequence of reducing sick pay for those who earn at, or slightly above, the lower earnings limit. Low-paid, long-term sick workers will be the most affected. I believe that is an oversight, and contrary to the spirit of the legislation. I call on the Minister to close the gap. Turning now to the right to a regular hours contract, the proliferation of one-sided flexibility throughout the workforce has been one of the most damaging labour market developments of the past 14 years. It has left workers vulnerable to sudden changes of income as their hours change from week to week. The right to a regular-hours contract is therefore one of the Bill’s most important provisions. However, limiting that right to those on a specified number of hours, such as 16 hours a week, will unnecessarily exclude those above the threshold from benefiting from the right, while giving employers a perverse incentive to give additional hours, when available, to those who already have more hours. I raise these points not to be critical, but because I believe that we have in front of us a magnificent piece of legislation—one that is testament to the power of collaboration and consultation—and I want as many people as possible to benefit from it. Jobs are the cornerstone of our lives. The Bill takes giant strides forward, ensuring that people are fulfilled by their jobs, protected while at work and take home enough to make ends meet. It restores a fair balance of power between employers and employees. It is good for workers, good for productivity and good for growth, and is therefore good for business, too. I suggest to the House that anyone serious about fairness at work and increasing living standards should support it.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I think that a Bill that promotes good, secure work across the economy is something we should not shy away from. I believe, if I am correct, that the figure referenced represents 0.5% of the costs of businesses, so no—I am not concerned. I would like to finish in a slightly odd place. Benjamin Disraeli believed that his Government’s active role in passing legislation that benefited the working person would “gain and retain for the Conservatives the lasting affection of the working classes”— clearly he failed in that endeavour. One nation Tories are now a vanishingly scarce presence on the Opposition Benches. I ask all hon. Members on those Benches, with their opposition to this Bill: when did the Conservatives give up even trying to be on the side of working people?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Independent Reporting Commission: Seventh Annual Report · Hansard source

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  2. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations in the Independent Reporting Commission's seventh annual report.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Independent Reporting Commission: Seventh Annual Report · Hansard source

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  Having spent lots of time with family in Northern Ireland since I was a small child, I have seen the progress made over the years and know what a difference it has made on the ground. I welcome this Government’s commitment to help secure that progress and tackle the scourge of paramilitarism. Does the Secretary of State share my view that making further progress will require a range of measures, and that the Executive’s programme on paramilitarism, criminality and organised crime is a crucial part of that?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Worsley and Eccles face high levels of congestion on our roads, especially during their rush-hour commute. We benefit from Greater Manchester’s Bee network, but it only takes a temporary set of traffic lights, roadworks or an accident to back things up. Will the Minister outline what steps are being taken to give the necessary powers and encouragement to our local communities and decision makers to create joined-up public and private transport networks that will alleviate congestion?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  13. What steps she is taking to help improve local bus services.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Coalfield Communities · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that economic growth is only meaningful if it takes everyone in every community with it and people in every town feel the benefits, including the towns that we have talked about today?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Coalfield Communities · Hansard source

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  I was very pleased to support the application from my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) to secure today’s debate, and I congratulate him on doing so. My constituency is home to the proud former coalfield communities of Astley and Mosley Common, which I share with my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), with other many parts of my constituency also historically linked to the mining industry. For generations, the Astley Green and Mosley Common collieries were cornerstones of the local area, providing thousands of jobs, economic stability and a focal point for the community. The local mineworkers were quite rightly respected for the tough, dangerous and essential work they did day after day down the pit. I pay tribute to the great work carried out by the volunteers who run the Lancashire Mining Museum in my constituency, which I have had the pleasure of visiting on a number of occasions. Occupying the old Astley Green colliery site, the museum illustrates just how central the mining legacy is to the area’s identity. We must ensure that the sacrifices made by mineworkers and their communities to power this country are never forgotten. The collieries in my constituency were closed more than 50 years ago. However, the impact on the local area lingers today. Former coalfield communities still suffer from a shortage of good-quality jobs, higher levels of deprivation and worse health outcomes. The “State of the Coalfields 2024” report showed that on average, hourly earnings in the former coalfields are still 6% to 7% below the GB average, and it found that the overall out-of-work claimant rate was 7 percentage points above that of south-east England. It is clear that the coalfields face a shared set of structural issues and challenges. After 14 years of undelivered promises on regional inequality from the party opposite—although there are not many of them opposite us at the moment—our coalfield communities will now finally benefit from a Government who genuinely want to level them up. Legislation such as the Employment Rights Bill will positively impact our former coalfields, making work pay by delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. I welcome the Government’s decision in the autumn Budget regarding the mineworkers pension scheme—a long-overdue decision that will see retired miners finally get the money they deserve. However, more can and should be done. The reinstatement of Government funds to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, in support of their community wealth-building model, would provide much-needed stimulus to promote local growth, feeding into this Labour Government’s mission to secure growth and deliver rising living standards for working people. To support our coalfield communities in the future, we must ensure we do not forget their shared past. There are many lessons to be learned from their experiences, particularly as we build the green industries of the future. Never again should communities be neglected and abandoned by the Government as they were in the 1980s. Adapting industries to the future can take many forms. My constituency is home to the iconic Eccles protector lamp. Despite no longer having mines, protector lamps are still produced in my constituency and, repurposed, for more than 25 years they have carried the Olympic flame—traditional skills, repurposed and put to continuing work. The scars left by pit closures have never fully been addressed. Their damaging legacy continues to reverberate to this day. The need for new and continued support from our Government is clear. That is the least our proud coalfield towns deserve.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Last week I had the opportunity to visit two of the local jobcentres that serve my constituency. The dedication of the staff I met to helping our local community, supporting people into work and adapting to the area’s needs was inspiring. Does the Prime Minister agree that we must listen to their frontline experience as we look to remove the barriers to work that keep people locked out of jobs? Will he visit those teams with me to see the work that they do?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for all her work in this area. I know from conversations with my constituents that energy costs are a large part of the cost of living crisis for them. Following the Conservative party’s failure to protect our energy system and invest in home-grown clean power, can the Minister give us an update on what steps are being taken to tackle my constituents’ high energy bills?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  9. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Supporting SMEs, Retail, and Hospitality and Tourism · Hansard source

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  I draw Members’ attention to my declaration in the register of interests. Retail is an important part of the economy in my constituency, which includes many wonderful independent businesses. Will, who runs the excellent Wandering Palate in Monton, wrote to me about the challenges he is facing. Will the Minister outline the measures the Government are taking to support small business owners like Will in my constituency and across the country to enable our high streets to thrive?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Supporting SMEs, Retail, and Hospitality and Tourism · Hansard source

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  12. What steps she is taking through the tax system to support the retail sector.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister give way?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under you, Sir Christopher. I draw Members’ attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my membership of USDAW—the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers—and the GMB. The hon. Member for Bridgwater is making a powerful case. Were the Government to accept his new clause, would he support the Bill as a whole?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am going to try an entirely new tactic to derail the shadow Minister mid-stride. This is a genuine question, and I hope he answers it. Does he agree that throughout our line-by-line discussion of the Bill, he has been most generous with his time in accepting interventions that I believe to have been valuable?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Twentieth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that the new clause seems to have no relation to the world of work, and that Opposition Members might actually be living out the fantasy that they can switch off from us on the Government Benches?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I was pleased to serve on the Public Bill Committee for this legislation, which is a concrete example of the positive difference that this Labour Government are making to people’s lives. I fundamentally believe that everyone should have somewhere they can call home and that they should feel secure in that home. The Bill will deliver massive improvements for the millions of tenants in the private rented sector, who for too long have been forced to pay over the odds for housing that is often inadequate and insecure. It finally addresses the clear imbalance of power between landlords and tenants by levelling the playing field through the delivery of a once-in-a-generation boost to tenants’ rights, moving away from expensive, precarious, poor-quality accommodation and ending a status quo that has left tenants under the constant threat of losing their home. On the Bill Committee, we heard evidence of landlords demanding multiple months of rent up front at the start of a tenancy. That highly exclusionary practice shuts lower income renters out of the market by requiring them to hand over thousands of pounds on top of their deposit at the start of a tenancy. The spread of this practice would have a devastating impact on the choices available to many tenants, so I warmly welcome new clauses 13 and 14 in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), which address the issue. Turning to section 21 evictions, one of the absolute privileges of being an MP is going to visit local schools to answer questions from pupils. Those questions can be about anything, but they normally relate to the interests and experiences of the children, such as, “What can you do about the traffic?”, “How can you make my park and playground better?”, and even—this is a real one—“I really like trees. Do you like trees?” On a recent visit to St Andrew’s primary school in Eccles, I was given a poignant reminder of why we are here and why this Bill is so important. One of the pupils asked me, “What are you doing to stop people being kicked out of their homes for no reason?” It was a shocking question to hear from someone so young, and it serves as an appalling illustration of how wide the fear of no-fault evictions is. No child should even know what a section 21 eviction is, and no child should live in fear of losing their home. We cannot allow these evictions to continue. For me, that is the most critical part of the Bill. It is beyond time to end the spectre of homelessness that hangs over these tenants and end section 21 evictions, giving people a steady, strong, secure foundation to build their lives around. Unfortunately, no-fault evictions are just one of the many challenges facing tenants. Action to tackle unaffordable rents is badly needed, which is why the measures in the Bill to end rental bidding wars and stop the use of unreasonable rent increases designed to drive out tenants are so important. Never-ending rent increases are bad for tenants and bad for the economy, absorbing money that could be spent more productively elsewhere. I welcome the measures in the Bill to drive up standards across the sector, such as the application of the decent homes standard and the establishment of a private rented sector database. All of those reforms are entirely necessary in a market where, year after year, tenants are expected to pay more for less. It is hard to overstate the impact that housing has on people’s lives or the detrimental effects caused by the sector’s current flaws. The Bill’s reforms decisively rebalance a broken sector, ending the scandal of no-fault evictions and encouraging the market to provide affordable, high-quality accommodation with security of tenure. The Bill represents real and meaningful action, which we all should welcome.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Local Transport Authorities and Mayors: Financial Support · Hansard source

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  1. What financial support she is providing to local transport authorities and mayors.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Local Transport Authorities and Mayors: Financial Support · Hansard source

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  I begin by welcoming the Secretary of State to the Dispatch Box for her first question time. She brings great experience of working to bring transport authorities together. My constituency of Worsley and Eccles suffers from regular serious rush-hour congestion. How can she support transport authorities in urban areas to work with neighbouring authorities to ensure a strategic approach is taken across commuter belts to alleviate congestion?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Seventeenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  As is customary, I draw the Committee’s attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the GMB. I warmly welcome this clause and the subsequent clauses, and the establishment of the fair work agency. I remind the Committee of the evidence we heard of the broad support for the agency, including from Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, who said: “I think everybody is supportive of and aligned on proposals like a single enforcement body.” –– [ Official Report, Employment Rights Public Bill Committee, 28 November 2024; c. 99, Q95.] Jamie Cater, the senior policy manager for employment at Make UK, said: “The important thing for levelling the playing field is the fair work agency, and making sure that we have an approach to enforcement of labour market policy and regulation that is properly resourced and does have that level playing field.” –– [ Official Report, Employment Rights Public Bill Committee, 26 November 2024; c. 54, Q53.] Jim Bligh, the director of corporate affairs for the Food and Drink Federation, said: “For me, it is about enforcement and having a really strong, well-resourced enforcement agency.” –– [ Official Report, Employment Rights Public Bill Committee, 26 November 2024; c. 55, Q53.]