Mike Reader MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

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

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  Last week, the University of Northampton published its economic impact assessment, which showed that for every £1 of income it receives, it generates £4 in my local economy, and that 54% of graduates entered full-time jobs in the health and education sectors, compared with 38% nationally. Will the Leader of the House join me in recognising the importance of universities such as mine to local economies? Will she also make Government time to support fair funding for universities, such as the University of Northampton?

• 12 Dec 2024 · Building Homes · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister set out how today’s announcement will help our small and medium-sized enterprise house builder market and bring forward more sites suitable for SMEs to develop?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Storm Bert · Hansard source

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  As the House has heard today, a major incident has been declared in Northamptonshire: there is a risk to life in my constituency and that of my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool). Over 1,000 people have been evacuated from the Billing aquadrome, and we have seen hundreds of workers from the council, the EA, Anglian Water and the emergency services, and volunteers and residents’ groups, working around the clock to make sure that my neighbours are kept safe. Does the Secretary of State agree that the collaboration I am seeing in Northampton demonstrates the importance of the floods resilience taskforce that he has announced, which will bring together multiple agencies to protect towns such as mine?

• 21 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Tomorrow night at 6 pm, hundreds of people will take to the streets in Northampton for our Reclaim the Night march. Marches of this type take place across the country, and show the national support for this Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls. Will the Leader of the House assure me and campaigners that the Government will make available a suitable amount of Government time for debating the issue, and will continue to push hard to halve violence against women and girls?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Furniture Poverty · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in my first ever Westminster Hall debate, Sir Roger. I am very grateful to be here. It is an honour to follow some fantastic contributions. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) for raising this issue. As has been said, 6 million people in the UK live in furniture poverty, which means that nearly 10% of the UK population do not have access to at least one essential item of furniture. As my hon. Friend said, that definition is not clear. Even though I have become interested in the issue since joining the House and witnessing the advocacy of some great organisations, when I speak to my friends about furniture poverty they think it is about cookers and fridges. In actual fact, a big part of furniture poverty, and what I want to focus on today, is fabrics: carpets, floor finishes and window coverings. To pick up on some of the points that have already been made, furniture poverty more generally has a much bigger societal impact than just that direct impact on families. There is a link between families in insecure homes, their health outcomes, and the pressures placed on their local authorities and care organisations. Families who do not have good fabric in their homes—carpets or window coverings—typically have higher energy bills, and the insecurity that furniture poverty creates causes social and other issues. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire mentioned that 70% of people feel socially isolated due to the impact of furniture poverty. That leads to shame, with people, including kids, not having their friends round when they want to, causing families and older people to become isolated as they struggle with stress and anxiety. It was also mentioned that 60% of those in furniture poverty struggle to maintain healthy eating habits, which has a knock-on effect not only on the individual but on our health system and the health of our nation. I want to talk a bit more about carpets and window coverings. I have joined the House from the construction industry and found that this Government have a big focus on housing—it is fantastic to see that that is one of our five missions. There are 1.2 million people living without suitable floor coverings in their homes and about three quarters are in social housing. Similarly, about 870,000 people are in homes without appropriate window coverings, and about half of them are in social housing. Although this is a big issue for the social housing sector, it affects not just people in that sector, but everyone. Indeed, we have had representations today from Northern Ireland to the north of England and even down to London, showing that this is clearly an issue that affects the whole UK. From an environmental perspective, the lack of suitable floor and window coverings means we see significant heat loss from properties, which ultimately raises people’s energy bills and can compound the impact of cold winters on elderly people. With rising temperatures in the summer, particularly as a result of climate change, we also see an impact on the ability of older people and families to keep cool in the heat. End Furniture Poverty recognises, and has fed back to me, that the issue also creates hazards for those with mobility challenges, particularly where floors are not suitable for the use of mobility equipment. I welcome the fact that the Government have extended the household support fund, because one of the big things we can do is make sure that funding is available for people, particularly where there is no local welfare scheme in place. My constituency of Northampton South is part of the West Northamptonshire council unitary authority area, and there is no local welfare scheme there, so people rely on the household support fund. Frustratingly, despite my council having a cross-party anti-poverty taskforce, I have yet to see a focus on furniture poverty. When I meet the council leader in a few weeks’ time, it will be on our agenda to discuss how, of the £5.2 million from the household support fund given out by West Northamptonshire council, only £168,000 went towards alleviating furniture poverty, despite massive levels of it in my constituency. We have heard similar cases, and I am sure we will hear more from others. I will end by asking what the solutions could be, and hopefully help the Minister to address this challenging situation. My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) rightly talks about furniture reuse, and although that is a solution, it is becoming increasingly difficult. Fire retardants used in older furniture are now proven to be hazardous, and the Furniture Industry Research Association, which tested furniture that could potentially be used in social housing, found that only in one in six passed modern standards, showing that sometimes when we reuse furniture, we are actually passing on the problem. Ultimately, the problem of social landlords’ liabilities is exacerbated if they encourage furniture reuse but cannot prove that it is safe for families, children or older people. Design for reuse is also important. We are seeing an economy and a society where there is more disposable furniture that is used only once or for a few years, or bought on the cheap and then chucked away. If we are to drive up the reuse of furniture, we have to do more to encourage industry to address that challenge in the way it designs furniture for reuse. As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson) mentioned, we see many furnished tenancies in some areas such as London, and fewer in constituencies such as Northampton South. End Furniture Poverty has advocated for a 10% target for social landlords. I agree in principle that that is a good idea, but without the funding and support for social housing—particularly, in my constituency, for Northampton Partnership Homes—that would put real pressure on services and is not a viable solution. I know that the Government are working hard on getting that funding right. We can also design out the need for reuse in the way that we design our buildings. The Government committed to a council house building revolution to design out the need for temporary floor coverings, and to design windows, fixtures and fittings to allow for the easy replacement of curtains and blinds. The way that we design our buildings in the first place can make it easier for social landlords to replace things cheaply and efficiently when they run out. The corporate social responsibility of carpet manufacturers has piqued my interest. It is a niche issue, but Northampton South is the home of the UK’s only carpet recycling centre for non-wool based carpet. Through a small innovative business in Duston in my constituency, we can take old carpet cut-offs from carpet manufacturers, break them down through electrolysis, and turn them into pellets that make car bumpers. I am interested to check what happens to wool based carpets that cannot be recycled through that process. If Tapi Carpets and those other big manufacturers get to the end of the line and they cannot sell the carpet, where does it go? How can we get it back into the system, potentially through social enterprises? There is an interesting social enterprise in my constituency called Goodwill Solutions that may have a solution for how we can reuse it and get it into the homes that desperately need floor coverings. As my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire said, I recognise that we must end furniture poverty. I am confident that the Government understand the issue and that we will address it in our drive to improve housing standards and, hopefully, through the decent homes standard and the housing quality standard in Wales.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s commitment to fixing our national health service and delivering the real change that my constituents in Northampton South voted for in July. Northampton South is home to four hospitals: our general hospital; St Andrew’s and Berrywood hospitals, which both provide fantastic mental health care provision; and the Three Shires hospital, which is part of the Circle Health network. Despite all that choice, time and again, constituents tell me that they struggle to get appointments. Each week at my constituency surgeries, and in my inbox, I learn of residents across Northampton South who are desperate to see a doctor or secure an appointment for much-needed surgery. As their representative in this House, I have a duty to speak up for them, and to welcome the changes that this Budget will bring to their life. I am particularly proud that it delivers funding for 40,000 additional appointments every single week. That commitment means that more residents in Northampton will get the care they need, when they need it. That means fewer days off work, less time in pain, and, more importantly, better health outcomes. Having joined this House from the construction sector—I should declare that my team was working in the new hospital programme supply chain—I think we must be honest about the state of our NHS buildings. The previous Government’s empty promise of 40 new hospitals became a national embarrassment—a classic example of a headline-grabbing announcement that delivered little for our communities. Instead, this Budget delivers real, tangible investment: £3.1 billion in capital funding, including £1 billion to tackle the critical maintenance backlog. In Northampton, we know all too well the impact of ageing NHS infrastructure. Northampton general hospital and our sister hospital Kettering general have served our community well, but are showing signs of age. Unlike many Members here, I will not ask the Treasury for more money for my hospital; I support my local integrated care board’s calls for major investment in Kettering, just down the road. I hope that the review of the new hospital programme, once complete, will see a positive outcome for our county. I finish by acknowledging the dedication of our NHS staff in Northampton South. The doctors, nurses, specialists, healthcare assistants, porters, cleaners, managers and administrators who keep our NHS running deserve our thanks and support. This Budget gives them the resources they need to do their jobs effectively in buildings that are fit for purpose, with technology that works for them, rather than against them. This Budget delivers our first steps in building an NHS fit for the future.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Roblox: Child Protection · Hansard source

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  One of my constituents is a volunteer moderator on the Roblox platform. His group has identified and banned over 14,000 accounts involved in child grooming, exploitation and sharing indecent images. Does the Secretary of State agree that while we drive for tech innovation and investment, we must keep online safety at the heart of our strategy?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Roblox: Child Protection · Hansard source

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  8. What steps he is taking to protect children using the Roblox platform from online predators.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Farming and Food Security · Hansard source

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  It is very clear that Labour is on the side of our farming and agricultural sector. I stand here as the hopeful chair of the all-party parliamentary group for food. I am sure that those who are concerned about food security will join us at our inaugural general meeting very shortly. I am also a member of the NFU’s food and farming fellowship. It is clear that Labour Members take this issue seriously, and we are dedicating time to ensure that, unlike the previous Government, we work with farmers, not against them. We are also working across industry. The motion focuses solely on farming, but in order to deliver food security, there must be a cross-sector approach, as I am sure everyone in the House recognises. The approach should include food manufacturing, logistics, retail and the hospitality chain. The whole agrifood ecosystem delivers a gross value added of £147 billion to our economy, including £15 billion through our farming sector, and a whopping £70 billion through our manufacturing, distribution and wholesale sector in food and retail. We want to improve food security in the UK, which is already classified as “broadly stable” by DEFRA.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Farming and Food Security · Hansard source

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  May I start by paying my respects to the resident who died in my constituency during the recent floods? I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House are with her family. I thank the Secretary of State for leaving the Labour conference early to visit Northamptonshire and ensure that we had the support that we needed. Over 1,000 Northampton South residents were evacuated from their homes. I thank the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor). I send my commiserations to his father on his election losses, but I am sure that he is very proud to see his son sitting on these green Benches. Unfortunately, I cannot support the Opposition’s motion. I believe that we should support all possible funding opportunities for our farmers, but the motion seeks to commit the Government to underfunded—and in some cases imaginary—policies proposed in May 2024 by the previous Prime Minister. Those policies have contributed to the £22-billion black hole that the Labour party has inherited. They were political gestures and not a real offer to the UK farming community. People saw through that: 61% of people told Farmers Weekly that they trusted a Labour Government, whereas only 6% trusted the Conservatives.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Farming and Food Security · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more, and could not have said it better myself. However, a holistic approach must be taken across the whole ecosystem to subsidies, funding and investment. One reason why I chose to speak today is that food security is important to me and my constituents. A recent study found that nearly 10% of people in Northampton struggle to access food, and that gets worse in rural Northamptonshire, as I am sure my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool), recognises. Northamptonshire Action with Communities in Rural England found that 45% of residents in rural Northamptonshire worried about food prices, and in 22% of families with children, adults missed meals in order to feed their kids. That is simply not good enough. I commend the Opposition for supporting the Government’s efforts to improve food security, but the motion is not the way to do that. We must work together, collaboratively and across parties, to support the agrifood industry, and I hope that the Opposition will endeavour to do so after their motion is defeated.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  I join this debate as the son of educators—my mum, aunties, uncle, and grandad were all teachers in both the state and the private fee-earning sectors, and it definitely makes for interesting conversations round the dinner table. I also join the debate representing both state and fee-paying schools in my constituency, particularly the fantastic Northampton high school, which is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust network and whose students I met in Parliament recently. As a parliamentary candidate for nearly two years and since my election as the Member of Parliament for Northampton South, I have spoken to countless constituents about our long-standing, well documented and consulted on plans to drive up standards in state education. Do you want to know how many of those parents are actually going to move their kids into state schools once I have spoken to them, Madam Deputy Speaker? The answer is zero. It is right that the Government focus on improving educational standards for those children left behind by the Conservatives, who left a trail of devastation across education, from crumbling schools to a SEND sector in crisis. Their legacy in education should see them hang their heads in shame. When hard-working teachers, teaching assistants and staff reached out, crying out for help, they did not listen. When the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies said that this proposal will raise £1.3 billion for UK taxpayers, they did not listen. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) said, when fee-paying schools raised their fees above inflation through the cost of living crisis over recent years, leaving families struggling, the Conservatives did not listen. Only now, when there are political points to score and when embossed stationery is at risk, finally they wake up.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  I will not—sorry. No one in this House wants to see the state education sector fail. I am sure no Opposition Member wants to deprive millions of students in the primary state education sector of the healthy nutritious breakfast that they will receive every morning, paid for through this policy. I am certain that all Members on the Opposition Benches want dedicated mental health support in every school, paid for through this policy. I am almost certain that there are those on the Opposition Benches who want to vote with their conscience rather than the Whip, so I urge Members from all parties to vote against this political statement and to support the Government that the country chose to break down barriers to opportunity. It is what our constituents want.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Hamas Attacks: First Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I will never forget the smell of smoke that hung in the air when I visited that kibbutz in March this year. It will stay with me forever, as will the feeling of isolation as I stood at the site of the Nova festival. The silence was broken only by families mourning. I hope my hon. Friend will agree with me that while today we have heard calls for ceasefires and aid, what is most important in this debate is that we continue to call for the hostages to be returned to their families.

• 5 Sept 2024 · Great British Energy Bill · Hansard source

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  I have had the opportunity to hear some amazing maiden speeches in this House. Following such fantastic speeches, I must admit that I feel a bit nervous standing here, but I am also deeply honoured to be in the House. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins) for her fantastic maiden speech and for graciously meeting my family when they visited last year; they are her constituents. It is clear to me that the talent, enthusiasm and fresh thinking that the new cohort of MPs are bringing into this House will help to restore our country’s fortunes and deliver the change that the country voted for. I am delighted to make my first speech in the debate on GB Energy. For many years, it has not sat right with me that our neighbours and trading partners around the world have benefited from the investment of UK plc in clean energy. Whether it is wind farms built in Scandinavia, or investment in nuclear by our French Government partners, the UK public has been sold short on clean energy investment. It is right that the Labour Government are taking forward plans for sovereign, safe and secure energy in the UK—that is very welcome in my constituency. I will use this speech to introduce myself and my constituency to the House, recognise the careers of my predecessors, and to set out my vision for the future of Northampton. Despite coming from a family of teachers and educators, and despite the best efforts of my dad, who joins me today from the Public Gallery, and my mum, who is watching from home, school and exams definitely did not come naturally to me. After a difficult results day, I managed to get to university via a foundation degree, and I found my passion in civil engineering. I have been fortunate since then to have progressed through the industry—from engineering to commercial and project management—and then into senior leadership roles. I am really proud to have been recognised as a global leader in my field by my peers in the profession, despite a less-than-ideal start in life—one of my own making—and to have had my career shaped by amazing experiences, projects and people around the world. I thank in particular my friend and mentor, Jon Williams, who has helped me the whole way through my journey, and my very good friend and former podcast co-host, Jeremy Brim, for all their guidance. I also thank my former bosses, Jason Millett and Davendra Dabasia, and my amazing former work-winning team, for giving me the space and support that I needed to pursue my political passions alongside a demanding day job. I come to this place as an advocate for the built environment. To be honest, I could not be in a better place now, with a Government focused on growth and on transforming and future-proofing our energy, housing and transportation infrastructure. Many of my friends and industry colleagues asked why on earth I would want to stand for Parliament, but my journey into the world of politics has been shaped by my time in industry. I first saw the impact of austerity on my public sector clients, with school programmes cancelled, infrastructure investment stalled and hospitals left crying out for funding. That drove me to join the Labour party and find my political voice, determined to ensure that our public sector gets from Government the support and funding that it desperately needs. When the opportunity came to stand and make a difference, I chose to stand where I live: Northampton. I met my wife Katie, who also joins us from the Public Gallery, just down the road in Wellingborough, and Northamptonshire has been my home for nearly 20 years now. I still have a place in my heart for my home town of Romsey, which is well represented by you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] But I am proud to call myself a Northamptonian and to represent the town that I live in and love. Northampton South is a vibrant constituency. From Duston and Upton in the west, the Hunsburys and Shelfleys, Wootton, Collingtree, Hardingstone and Great Houghton in the south, and areas such as Weston Favell, Billing and Rectory Farm in the eastern district, each area of my beautiful constituency has its own individual identity. In the centre of my constituency remains the legacy of the shoe-and-boot trade that was once the main employer in my town. The Church’s shoe factory remains in St James, and the surrounding terraces in Far Cotton and Delapre are still standing strong nearly 200 years after they were built. As my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby) noted yesterday, Church’s holds the honour of being the chosen cordwainer of a renowned former Member for Sedgefield. Great institutions such as our university, our general hospital, our football club and our Premiership-winning rugby club sit in Northampton South. [ Interruption. ] I was expecting a “Shoe army!” then, but that’s fine. My constituency includes Brackmills, one of the most successful business improvement districts in the UK. Thousands of people are employed at Brackmills, which plays host to over 330 brilliant businesses, spanning food production, logistics and fulfilment, manufacturing, healthcare, and research and development. I look forward to working with the BID team to ensure that it continues to be a major employment hub in Northampton South for years to come. Anyone who has visited my constituency or grew up there will know that we are the home of the national lift tower, which stands at over 400 feet high—taller than the Statue of Liberty. The formation of the newly shaped Northampton South constituency means that I have had the opportunity to take over from two former Members of Parliament who had had very different experiences and careers in this House, and I would like to pay tribute to them both. Andrew Lewer, the previous MP for the former Northampton South constituency, was focused on parliamentary business and tackled the challenges that he saw as the most important to the UK. He championed the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which is headquartered in Northampton, as well as independent schools and house building. Locally, he will continue to be recognised through the annual Spencer Percival debate that he helped to set up in the town. He is also the only person to have held the positions of leader of a council, Member of the European Parliament and Member of this House—a testament to his public service. I also take over in part from Dame Andrea Leadsom, the former Member of Parliament for South Northamptonshire. Many of the southern villages that have now joined Northampton South were in her constituency. Dame Andrea served as a Secretary of State under the previous Government, and had a formidable record of championing parents and children, including by establishing the Northamptonshire Parent Infant Partnership in my county. Many of the people who have written to me since my election have praised her advocacy for them as their constituency MP. It is clear that she made a massive difference not only in this House but in our county. Northampton may hold the accolade of being the largest town in the UK—I will take that up with hon. Members for Reading after the debate—but our town has had a continual lack of investment, and a lack of vision and drive to make it better. Unfortunately, we have had no shortage of Conservative scandals: public loans to our football club went missing, our county council was made bankrupt, the former police, fire and crime commissioner stood down over misogyny complaints, and alleged domestic abuse meant that the leader of the council resigned and now stands as an independent. Trust in politicians in Northampton is at an all-time low, but there is hope for Northampton, and it comes with a Labour Government. This Labour Government will make Northampton a place to be proud of. We will tackle our chronic air quality challenges; fix our roads; improve our bus network; ensure that housing is affordable, of good quality and highly sustainable; make work pay and a route out of poverty; grow the co-operative, social enterprise and mutual sector in our town; bring NHS dentists back to Northampton; end the 8 am scramble for GP appointments; face head-on the funding gap left in our public services; and address the special educational needs and disabilities crisis that is rocking our county. It is clear that there is a lot of work to do, but as I said in my acceptance speech at the count, the hard work starts here, and I really mean it. I cannot wait to get started.