Michael Wheeler MP: speeches

Speeches

• 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.]

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

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  Will the shadow Minister give way?

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

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  Does the hon. Member accept that there is a difference between “member of” and “represents” when it comes to trade unions?

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

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  I apologise for interrupting the egging of the pudding—we were definitely in the “over” area of the egging. Does the shadow Minister accept that despite what we have heard, and despite the picture that he is trying to create, this model works? It is not novel; we have the Low Pay Commission. It is an established fact. Despite the many layers and convolutions that we see being built in front of us, we are actually considering something quite straightforward here.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Sixteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the shadow Minister accept that the strikes he talks about happened under an incredibly restrictive regulatory and legislative regime? The measures in the Bill seek to foster a better industrial relations environment, which will lead to fewer strikes, not more. Under the previous Government, we saw an incredibly restrictive environment, which ratcheted up the tension and resulted in more strikes.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I might surprise Conservative Members by saying that I welcome the amendment. Before those on the Labour Benches start to panic, I welcome it because it is a reminder that the only place in the country where Conservative Members support increasing red tape is for trade unions. It is always nice to follow and to be of one mind with my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield, so I will try not to repeat too much of what he said—although I agree with it all. The shadow Minister challenged Labour Members who have spoken, but it is fundamental to point out that the analogy he drew is false. A trade union is a member-based democratic organisation designed to protect those who are part of it. It is not a subscription or an entertainment package on TV. It comes with more rights, more democratic involvement and more control over where money and resources go. A fundamentally false analogy was drawn. We heard earlier about businesses. I gently push back on what the hon. Member for Bridgwater said; I do not think I heard the Minister say it would be an annual notice. It was up for consultation, but even one notice was described by Conservative Members as onerous. Yet here we have an amendment pushing not just for reminders but for annual reconfirmation, from people who have already given their consent to pay into a political fund, that they are happy for that to happen, as a compulsory measure. That is deemed reasonable by Conservative Members, but it is not. The amendment is a continuation of a decades-long attack on the trade union movement by the Conservative party.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It could be dangerous for me to admit that sometimes I might have wished to instruct a member, but I can reassure everyone here that the instructions flow the other way when someone is a trade union official acting at the behest of members at all times. I was one sentence from the end before the interventions. I have been thoroughly derailed by people in this room, so I will wrap up and say that I do not agree with the amendment. I disagree with a lot of what was raised in the debate and the false analogy around subscription models versus membership of a democratic organisation. I will obviously not support the amendment.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  For once in this place I will give a direct answer. Yes, I would. As a paid-up member of a trade union I would know exactly how to do that. I do not need the measures in the amendment to do so. Conservative Members talk about trade union members in the hypothetical, trying to understand what they would like. Other than those of us in this place who are trade union members, I wonder how many they have ever met. As someone who worked for one in the background, I think I know the mind of a trade union member.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister give way?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I draw attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, in particular my membership of the GMB and USDAW. The shadow Minister is painting a very rosy picture of reasonableness and neutrality, of businesses that sit by and allow these things to happen, and of unions that can wander around and have a nice chat and recruit people. Does he accept that the reality in the world of work is actually one of hostility, of difficulty, and the types of measures that this Bill is trying to address so as to restore the situation to an even keel? The reality out there is hostility to recognition and trade union membership. Therefore, 10% has proven to be a high and often insurmountable barrier, and not actually reflective of the will of workers, rather than when a proper choice, in reasonable and neutral conditions, is put to them. The threshold should actually be lower, to allow the process to take place and for it not to become a tool for erecting barriers to trade union recognition.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister for giving way again, because I would not want my words to be misrepresented. In no way was I suggesting that there is universal hostility; I was just talking about the reality on the ground and the way that recognition procedures are often used. Let us bear in mind that voluntary recognition agreements are a thing, so these procedures tend to be used where there is hostility. There is not universal hostility in the workplace. In fact, I worked in a union that had the largest private sector partnership agreement with a large private sector employer, and it was harmonious and beneficial for all involved, so I would not want my words to be taken out of context or misrepresented.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employment Rights Bill (Fifteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I was one sentence from the end, but I will always happily give way.

• 6 Jan 2025 · General Election · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I also extend my thanks to the Chair of the Petitions Committee, the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone). On 4 July 2024, I was proud to be elected as the Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles. I stood on a manifesto of change and, six months ago, Labour was given a clear mandate from the British people to get on with the job of rebuilding the country, fixing our public services and making work pay. There should be no doubts about the size of this task. Fourteen years of Conservative Government have left public services in a dire condition and people feeling the pinch in their pockets. On top of that, a flurry of unfunded promises left the country with a £22 billion black hole that it is up to the Labour Government to fill. Fourteen years and £22 billion—a challenge of this scale is clearly not going to be fixed overnight. This Government have not sat idly by for the last six months. We have started the hard work of delivering change, our manifesto promises and the better future that the people of this country deserve. Labour has committed an extra £25.6 billion of NHS funding over two years to meet our commitment to fix our broken NHS. That funding will be vital in cutting waiting times, and I was pleased to see the Prime Minister set out measures earlier today to deliver 40,000 extra appointments every single week. Work has already begun on Labour’s commitment to raise school standards for every single child. Since the election, it has been a genuine pleasure of mine to visit so many excellent schools in my constituency of Worsley and Eccles. I am acutely aware of the vital importance that my constituents place on their children receiving a high quality education. I therefore welcomed the Government’s decision to increase the core schools budget by £2.3 billion next year to support the recruitment of 6,500 teachers and genuinely invest in our state schools. As someone who regularly suffers on the west coast main line and has never understood why the failed model of privatisation was allowed to continue for so long to the detriment of customers, I was also proud to vote for legislation to fix our broken transport system, laying the groundwork for a publicly owned rail system that works for the public once again. The Labour Government are only getting started—we are only six months in. I am proud to see the important progress being made on delivering many of the other manifesto commitments that I was elected on. Whereas the previous Government oversaw an economy blighted by insecure work, low pay and poor productivity, the Employment Rights Bill introduced by this Government will deliver the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation, meeting our commitment to make work pay. Measures in the Bill—such as the end of exploitative zero-hours contracts, the end of fire and rehire, and the right to statutory sick pay from day one of an illness—will end the poor pay, poor working conditions and poor job security that have held too many people back for too long. In addition, a 6.7% increase in the national living wage will take effect from this April, with this Government changing the Low Pay Commission’s remit so that it will now have to take into account the cost of living when setting new rates. The Government are also taking action to provide the secure homes that people need. I welcome the Government’s commitment to accelerate house building in order to deliver 1.5 million good quality homes and infrastructure. For far too long private renters have suffered from expensive, precarious and poor quality accommodation. I was proud to serve on the Renters’ Rights Bill Committee, working on a Bill that will level the playing field between tenants and landlords, banning the scandal of no-fault evictions and delivering a range of new protections. Finally, I note the introduction of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will help break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success, providing opportunity for all while delivering on our specific manifesto commitment of free breakfast clubs in every primary school. Less than 200 days ago, the British people endorsed Labour’s manifesto and delivered a resounding call for change. This Government are working hard to meet the commitments made at that election. I welcome the progress that has already been made on delivering the promises, and I know that there is more to come. I look forward to facing my constituents at the next general election—when it comes—and standing on my record and the record of this Labour Government. Until then, I will keep working every day for the people of Worsley and Eccles.