Mike Kane MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Jun 2026 · Cost of Living: Wythenshawe and Sale East · Hansard source

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  My constituents Darren and Nicole shared with me their story of hardship in raising five children on one income. Like me, they are grateful to this Chancellor for ending the two-child benefit cap. Will she consider an independent process for advising the Government on how much universal credit needs to be, if people are to afford everyday items?

• 23 Jun 2026 · Cost of Living: Wythenshawe and Sale East · Hansard source

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  15. What steps she has taken to help support people with the cost of living in Wythenshawe and Sale East constituency.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  A teacher in my constituency wrote to me today with concerns about the Bill, pointing out that some MPs will be voting tonight who were born after the Good Friday/Belfast agreement. We need to let that settle for just a moment. The Secretary of State is right to say that this is our last opportunity to get legacy issues right. The fundamental reality is that life during the troubles exposed ordinary people to fear and danger that few outside Northern Ireland could ever comprehend. Those who lived and worked through that period—in particular those charged with protecting the young people in our communities—lived under constant threat and uncertainty. That burden deserves recognition and respect. I think we all agree about that in this House. Those years placed extraordinary pressures on everybody involved. It would be profoundly wrong of this House to disregard the risks faced by members of the armed forces, the police, the emergency services and civilians during that time, including the teacher who wrote to me today to say how difficult the situation was. I was reminded at my St George’s day parish quiz on Saturday night at church that the RUC is one of only three organisations that collectively received the George Cross. May I take this opportunity to commend Councillor Tommy Judge, who has been the member for Sharston in my constituency for 25 years? He was on the 1974 M62 bus. He sat in a different seat that day, when 12 of his colleagues died and 38 were injured—there but for the grace of God. I thank him for his service in our armed forces, and I thank him for his municipal service in Manchester for the past quarter of a century. This is our last chance for those who remember. The purpose of the Bill, as I see it, is not to deny the experience of those who served the state in good faith. On the contrary, it reflects a recognition that for decades the legacy of the past has not been addressed properly or lawfully. Families from all communities have been left without answers, and confidence in existing processes has gone. The shadow Secretary of State said “post hoc”. “Post hoc ergo propter hoc” is how the phrase continues—correlation does not equate to causation. I am acutely conscious of the human dimension of this, having grown up as a Mancunian Irish Catholic and seen the bombs through the ’70, ’80s and ’90s, and, because we had the wrong accents, having seen how our family was treated. But there was no equivalence with those suffered in Northern Ireland. That is why this legislation matters and why Parliament must approach it with seriousness and respect for all those lives shaped by the troubles.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  The Chair and I represent the great city of Manchester, and one of its darkest moments was Salman Abedi’s arena attack in 2017. These provisions are long overdue, and I thank the Minister and the Government for taking this action.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  The nation should be grateful for this Secretary of State and for what he is doing for maternal services, yet at Wythenshawe hospital in my constituency, the most recent Care Quality Commission report rated maternity services inadequate for safety. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that the improvements that he has outlined will be felt by mums locally?

• 14 Apr 2026 · Maternity Care · Hansard source

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  2. What steps his Department is taking to improve maternity care.

• 19 Mar 2026 · International Development · Hansard source

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  As a former shadow International Development Minister, I know that one issue our nation has not grappled with is that 90% of the usurious levels of debt repayments for the poorest nations across our planet are governed by English law through the City of London. We could raise millions out of poverty without spending a penny, by introducing a debt justice law as called for by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development and other agencies. Has the Foreign Secretary given that any consideration?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sure that the whole House will agree that we could not do our jobs without the hard work and dedication of our staff. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending Mark Grayling, who has been with me for five years, who worked for other MPs before, and who has dedicated his working life to public service and good causes. He retires at the end of the month. The only blemish that we can find on Mark’s career is that—with respect to my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand)—he is a Norwich City fan. My team and I will miss Mark greatly.

• 19 Mar 2026 · Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Past · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, and she was an excellent Minister in her own right. Will she join me in paying tribute to Councillor Tommy Judge, who has been the Labour councillor for Sharston ward in my constituency for many years, and who was a victim of the 1974 bus bomb? He is standing down after many years of public service, but he will carry that with him, in his retirement, to the end.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Thomas More, a former occupant of your chair, Madam Deputy Speaker, once famously said that when we cut down laws to defeat the devil, we are defenceless when the winds turn against us. In conflict the enemy always has a vote, and Iran has chosen to restrict the strait of Hormuz. Does the Secretary of State agree that we need to get back to a rules-based order and that the UN convention on the law of the sea should make it clear to Iran that firing upon defenceless maritime vessels and restricting passage in international waters is wrong, and that that provides us with an opportunity for a way forward?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address · Hansard source

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  As an alumnus of Manchester Metropolitan University, I noticed that it has stripped Peter Mandelson of all the honours that it gave to him while he was chancellor of that institution between 2016 and 2024. Can the Chief Secretary confirm that any contacts with Government and the Department for Education during that period are not currently subject to this investigation?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Strait of Hormuz · Hansard source

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  The Joint Maritime Security Centre has designated the Persian gulf situation as critical, and Nautilus International, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and the UK Chamber of Shipping have designated the strait of Hormuz, the Persian gulf and the gulf of Oman as a warlike area way into next month. Protecting the safety of seafarers and UK-flagged vessels is paramount, so will the Minister continue to commit to upholding the international convention for the safety of life at sea?

• 25 Feb 2026 · Draft Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026 · Hansard source

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  Forgive me, but we have to point out that the Liberal Democrats were part of the coalition that started austerity in 2010.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  February will represent the 25th anniversary of the opening of the second runway at Manchester airport in my constituency, with capacity for 60 million passengers. Does the Secretary of State agree that his announcement will finally allow the airport to achieve its full potential?

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  Changes to funding formulas can throw up huge anomalies. The Minister is well aware that Trafford council, which covers part of my constituency, is one of those anomalies. Will she commit to work with my Trafford parliamentary colleagues, Trafford council and me to see if we can iron out some of those issues?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

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  When we talk about emotive subjects such as this one, it is important that we establish the facts. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) recently railed on social media against illegal migrants coming to his constituency. They happened to be canoeists traversing the Atlantic and fundraising for motor neurone disease. Now he is Billy No Mates; he is like some latter-day King Cnut, without his courtiers, on the beach, railing at the tide to go backwards. Does the Minister not agree? For the record, Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope that I pronounced Cnut correctly.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

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  That was No. 5.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

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  There will be 18 of them.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Kenova · Hansard source

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  We know that this was a brutal, murderous conflict, but, as we are reminded today, it was internecine as well at times. “There’ll be days like this”, in the words of one of Northern Ireland’s famous sons, but does the Secretary of State agree that, even on days like this, we should continue to keep victims and families at the forefront of our thoughts?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. The Government’s new youth investment fund is supporting the charity Nacro in my constituency to build a youth hub in Wythenshawe park. The Minister knows my constituency well, so I am sure he will agree that this project shows that we have an Administration who are serious about investing in our nation’s young people.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) for this important and timely debate. For my constituents in Wythenshawe and Sale East, flooding is a growing concern, severely affecting local communities on both sides of the river. On new year’s day, we witnessed one of the most severe flood events in recent memory: the River Mersey reached its highest level in 66 years following an intense downpour—70 mm of rain in just 18 hours. Emergency crews worked tirelessly and I join my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra) in giving my thanks to them. At Northenden golf club, helicopters dropped one-tonne bags of rock to plug the breaches in the embankments. My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith) and I met representatives of our respective golf clubs, Northenden and Withington, a few days after the event. One of the nightmare scenarios now is that golf clubs cannot get insurance, and that is only spreading. That is what climate change is bringing to us. Manchester city council evacuated over 1,000 residents that day and closed footpaths and infrastructure near the river. The exact same thing had happened just a few years earlier; the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, visited a couple of days later—we thought we had averted disaster but clearly we had not. Thanks to flood defences, nearly 12,000 properties were protected, but tragically 99 homes were still flooded because of the embankment breaches. On 1 January, the river at Northenden peaked at 3.76 metres, well above the property flooding threshold of 3.3 metres. That was not an isolated incident. When I was a young councillor growing up in Northenden that was a one-in-100-year event, but now it is happening annually because of climate change. That is not all. The relentless discharging of untreated sewage into the River Mersey by United Utilities also points to a system under strain, as my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) mentioned. Storm overflows are designed to prevent sewerage systems from backing up during heavy rain. When they are overwhelmed, the environmental impact is profound. Polluted waters threaten wildlife, biodiversity and public health. The River Mersey becomes a wet wipe and tampon alley for weeks and months on end, making it unusable. Yet in 2024 alone, United Utilities discharged sewage into the Mersey estuary 1,865 times, lasting for a total of 12,500 hours. That is the equivalent of 1.4 years of continuous sewage, at an average of five spills every single day. That is just the estuary. The combination of damage to homes and businesses and the environmental impact of sewage overflow caused by flooding has created a perfect storm in my constituency and right along the River Mersey estuary. We are paying for it in countless unsustainable ways. What can we begin to do about the situation? Local action is extraordinarily important to stem the waters entering the Mersey in the first place. The South Manchester urban brooks project, in collaboration with the team at Biora, have come up with a plan to de-culvert Baguley and Fairywell brooks. We have to tackle these issues at the source. De-culverting and freeing our buried waterways, restoring them to their natural, open-air condition, is transformational: it reduces pollution, improves water health, creates vital habitat for wildlife and lowers water temperatures. Most importantly, it slows the water course down before it ever enters the River Mersey basin at all. That is why that type of infrastructure upstream is critical for helping my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South. It also creates recreation opportunities for residents; Baguley brook in my constituency runs by a cycle path, for example. When we bring back our rivers and streams, residents gain access to improved green space, which in turn improves their own wellbeing. But more than that, de-culverting reduces the long-term infrastructure costs and acts as a natural form of green infrastructure, which, critically, slows down the flow of water and reduces peak flows during heavy rain, mitigating flooding further downstream. Bringing back our brooks in a restorative course of action will reduce flooding, but it requires careful hydrological modelling and carries a high up-front cost. It needs funding and commitment from decision-makers to succeed. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the plans in my constituency, to make sure that we take action on the devastating impact of flooding all along the Mersey valley?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is making a very impressive speech. Cultural institutions are also important for our high streets. I note that it is the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, who lived in Chawton House in Alton in his constituency. Hopefully that will help to regenerate his high street as well.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

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  I hope the whole Committee can unite around this point. I pay tribute to the Chagossians in the United Kingdom for the contribution they make to the schools in their communities and to the Catholic churches where they live and, in my constituency, for their work at Wythenshawe hospital and Manchester airport—it is second to none. They are welcome here, and we value them very much, despite our political differences in this Chamber.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

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  I am fond of the hon. Gentleman, who speaks of “doublespeak”. It was not long ago in my political lifetime that the former Member for Witney, the then Prime Minister, invited His Excellency Xi Jinping for a pint in The Plough at Cadsden, in Oxfordshire. As he departed back to China from the airport in my constituency, I sat with the Prime Minister as he fawned over the Chinese Administration like it was some papal visit. What is going on with the Conservatives? Are you divided on what our approach to China should be?

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

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  The former Government set up a trust fund of £40 million for the Chagos islanders. After four years, only £12,000 had been spent. That is how they treated Chagossians under the last Government.