Paul Waugh MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Shabir Ahmed was the ringleader of a disgusting Rochdale grooming gang. He was convicted of serial rapes against young white girls and repeated rapes of a young Asian girl. Today, Shabir Ahmed is being released from prison with a restriction that he should not enter the Rochdale or Oldham boroughs—yet Shabir Ahmed is joint UK-Pakistani national, and he should be deported to Pakistan. Does the Leader of the House agree that the Home Office and the Foreign Office should do everything possible within their power to make sure that people like Ahmed are deported and that their victims never ever have to face them again?

• 17 Jun 2026 · Steel Tariffs · Hansard source

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  This week I hosted a meeting between officials from the Department for Business and Trade and representatives of Hanson Springs, a brilliant family manufacturing business in my constituency that exports across the world and whose specialised products are made from steel. I thank the Minister for his personal interest in the case. My I urge him to ensure that nothing the Government do, particularly in those negotiations with the EU, will harm brilliant British businesses such as Hanson Springs?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  On that point, will the Minister give way?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  Simply to follow up, Ms Nokes, on the point the Minister was making about exemptions for individual companies, Hanson Springs in Rochdale relies heavily on imports of steel of a particular length. Will the Minister reassure us that, as with the shadow Minister, he will be engaging with many businesses to ensure that they are not hit by tariffs and that the Bill will not harm them?

• 14 May 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  On Sunday, there were scenes of wild celebration among the Dale fans at Wembley, as our beloved club staged a fabulous comeback and won the play-off final to return to the English football league. There were also fantastic civic celebrations at Rochdale town hall, where Jimmy McNulty and his lads could see for themselves just how proud we all were of the team’s heroics, grit and togetherness. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Dale on a fabulous season, and on proving that our club, like our town, never, ever gives up?

• 16 Apr 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Council tax arrears can be devastating for people’s finances and mental health, so I warmly welcome the Government’s changes to the debt collection rules today, which mean that people will not be tipped further into poverty by a single missed payment. In Rochdale and wider Greater Manchester, Jo Barker-Marsh and other anti-poverty campaigners have been exposing how the use of bailiffs in cases of genuine hardship is not just cruel and counterproductive, but a waste of public money. Might we have a debate in Government time to highlight the scandal of aggressive council tax debt collection, and will my right hon. Friend join me in praising the work of Jo, Debt Justice and, of course, Martin Lewis?

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

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  The latest Department for Education performance tables rank Rochdale sixth-form college as the No. 1 sixth-form college in England. It already scored highly on exam results, but it is now first in England for A-level progress, applied general progress, academic progress and, crucially, progress for disadvantaged students in both A-levels and BTECs. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all the students and staff at Rochdale sixth-form college on proving that Rochdale students really are a class act?

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

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  Last night, there was an emotional farewell for Councillor Ashley Dearnley, who attended his final full council meeting after an incredible 44 years of continuous service. As a Conservative, Ashley could be described as an endangered species within our borough, but his decency, courtesy and integrity and his hard work for Wardle, Shore and West Littleborough have won him widespread respect ever since he was first elected in 1982. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Ashley for his services to democracy and wish him well in his retirement?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Online Harms · Hansard source

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  The Minister for Safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), has repeatedly emphasised the need to crack down on and outlaw misogyny, as have many of my colleagues. There is definitely more work to do on that, but it is a key part of our violence against women and girls strategy. It was a pleasure to meet the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign last week—including Zack George, aka Steel from “Gladiators”, whom many Members will also have met—to hear why we need further action to protect our kids from the harm that social media can cause. As the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) has already mentioned, harm arises not only from content, but from design features such as algorithmic amplification and endless scroll—features that go beyond a simple age-based ban. We need to help parents who are desperate for support in combating the daily nightmare of wresting back control from their children’s phones and computers. Suicide ideation, self-harm, pornography, animal cruelty, child sex abuse, anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Jewish hatred are all things that we want to protect our youngsters from seeing online, but we feel powerless in the face of the outrage economy. It is time to stop that sense of powerlessness. Like the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire, I want to praise the BBC’s recent documentary “Inside the Rage Machine”, which reported whistleblowers claiming that Meta made decisions to allow more harmful content on people’s feeds simply because internal research into its algorithms showed that outrage fuelled engagement and monetisation. A TikTok employee gave the BBC rare access to the company’s internal user complaints dashboards, as well as other evidence of staff being instructed to prioritise several cases involving politicians rather than a series of reports of harmful posts featuring children. I would like to promote the great work that Rochdale borough safeguarding children partnership does to allow parents to access the right tools to protect their children. Other councils across the country are doing similarly great work—solutions are at hand. The Government’s new media literacy action plan should help us all to build resilience against hatred, and the Education Secretary’s recent guidance to schools to be phone free was very welcome indeed. The Government’s consultation on social media is another huge step forward in creating a healthy relationship between children and the internet. We need to test all the options presented in the consultation so that decisions can be truly evidence based and delivery can be rolled out as effectively as possible. We need to balance the upsides of life online for young people—the friendship groups, the specialised help, and the need to protect free speech—against the very clear downsides. Finally, we also need to address the offline issues that are often turbo-charged online. For example, why is it that these guys in the manosphere are so popular in the first place? There is the provocation, the riskiness, the sophisticated editing, the addictive nature of their output, the justification that it is “just jokes”, and the get-rich-quick con merchantry of it all. We need to ask how we can provide alternative role models for our boys and young men. How can we help their mental health? How can we repair their trauma? How can we tackle the lack of fulfilling jobs, careers and housing that is so often at the root of scapegoating—whether that is the scapegoating of women, Jews, Muslims, migrants, or their own lack of opportunities?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Online Harms · Hansard source

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  The latest Louis Theroux documentary for Netflix, “Inside the Manosphere”, was deeply shocking to many of us who watched it. But it was not remotely shocking for the millions of teenagers to whom his subjects are well known. It was not shocking to my three twenty-something sons; it was not shocking to the boys in the playground; it was not shocking to Gen Z or Gen Alpha; and it was not shocking for children in primary schools, let alone in secondary schools. That is why this online harms debate should involve everyone, particularly the young people in whose name and on whose behalf we often make laws in this place. Their synapses are dulled to this stuff and their feeds are full of it, which in turn means that the premium for even more shock is higher. Outrage and extremism are hardwired into this business model. “Inside the Manosphere” exposed that many of these social media influencers are themselves deeply damaged boys, often with a resentment about fathers who were either absent or violent, or both. They project themselves as pro-men, but in doing so they feel the need to project themselves as anti-women. And they are not just anti-women—that is a mild term—but they are virulently, disgustingly misogynistic. They feed off the pornography that, sadly, is seen by all too many of our young boys these days. What also shocked me, however, as my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton North (Mrs Blundell) pointed out, was just how casual the antisemitism propagated by many of those in the manosphere was. We saw a chap called Myron Gaines say, “LOUIS IS A DIRTY J-E-W.” Louis Theroux is not Jewish, by the way—not that that matters. At one point, another manosphere influencer, Harrison Sullivan, imitates Louis Theroux and leers that he is “just sat there with his Jew fingers.” Another of the manosphere influencers blames Jews for feminism, homosexuality and even “vibrations that are going to negatively bring you down”. In the conspiracy theory-ridden rabbit hole of the internet, all this is normalised. I thank the Antisemitism Policy Trust for its work in exposing just how much this vile racism has exploded online, and Elon Musk and X share responsibility for much of that. We must take much tougher action against tech giants who are literally profiting from this hatred. Antisemitism is often described as the oldest hatred, but misogyny is just as ancient a hatred. That is why I am proud to be part of a Labour Government who stood up to Grok and Musk when they flouted British laws and put British women and children at risk with those nudification apps. I am equally proud that my party has been calling out Reform—none of whose Members is present today—for its pledge to repeal the Online Safety Act. I would like to know which protections for children Reform MPs would remove and what, if anything, they would put in their place. I would also like to know why George Galloway’s Workers party took £5,000 in political donations at the last general election—an election in which I partook in Rochdale—from Andrew Tate’s brother, Tristan.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Social Enterprises and Community Ownership · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate and for mentioning Rochdale’s crucial role as the birthplace of the co-operative movement—a global social justice movement. Rochdale council is currently acquiring a church with the intention of turning it into a community-owned cultural venue, and our Pride in Place project in Hurstead, Belfield and Smallbridge similarly has the potential to become a community-owned co-operative, but at the moment the legislation works against both: co-operatives cannot claim gift aid, they do not get proper business rate relief, and there are many, many other ways in which it works against them. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government should be removing those obstacles from co-ops so that they can thrive?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Strait of Hormuz · Hansard source

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  This Government are absolutely right to refuse to take part in the war being waged by the United States and Israel. Will the Minister confirm to the House that we are going to put British interests first in everything we do? That includes protecting the global economy, and protecting all our constituents’ energy bills.

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

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  Rochdale’s BASA football club recently returned from its tour of Bangladesh, where members met street children, blind children and autistic children who were helped by the amazing £20,000 that the club had raised for charity. Will the Leader join me in congratulating Doliz Miah, Saj Miah and all the lads at BASA, as well as their sponsors: the Pavilion, Pandora, Panchi, and Amor restaurants?

• 10 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My constituent in Rochdale, Louise Marshall, wrote to me this weekend because she is worried sick about the massive price rise she is facing for heating oil. Can the Chancellor assure me, notwithstanding the meeting we are all going to have with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, that we can be absolutely crystal clear that under this Government, we will not tolerate price gouging or war profiteering from oil companies that try to rip off their customers?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Defence · Hansard source

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  I shed no tears for the demise of an Iranian regime that murdered and repressed tens of thousands of its own citizens, particularly women, but I am proud that this Government have not joined the US and Israel in this reckless war, which lacks a clear plan and which is hitting my constituents in the pocket and threatening the global economy. Given that this Government have our own independent foreign policy, we are not the handmaiden of Washington, as the Tories would like, nor the poodle of Putin, as Reform is. Can the Defence Secretary say how important it is that the Chancellor is providing new funds for our armed forces who are defending British interests and British citizens in the region?

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

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  Today is World Book Day. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the winner of my World Book Day competition, Matilda Mann of Littleborough Community primary school, for her brilliant review of “A Box Full of Murders” by Janice Hallett, and congratulate all the local businesses that helped to sponsor hundreds of pounds-worth of books for our local schools?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  In Rochdale, we need more midwives to provide the safe staffing levels that our mums-to-be rightly expect, but newly qualified student midwives often find it difficult to find jobs when they qualify. Can the Minister explain exactly when the NHS workforce plan is due so that they can give reassurance to those newly qualified midwives that they will have a career in the NHS?

• 12 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last week, I was honoured to attend the annual apprenticeships awards held by Rochdale’s Hopwood Hall college, which highlight all our brilliant local businesses and talent. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating 19-year-old Lily Chandler, who was named apprentice of the year 2026, and 24-year-old Kieran Riseborough, who won the social mobility award? Both are engineering apprentices and are a great credit to our town and borough.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Armed Conflict: Children · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer, not least as a neighbouring colleague. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for securing this valuable debate. In Gaza, aid workers and medical teams have become used to using the world’s most heartbreaking acronym: WCNSF—wounded child, no surviving family. The phrase was born in Gaza’s hospitals as overworked trauma surgeons had to deal with so many injured, unaccompanied children that they simply scrawled WCNSF on their files. As Kieran King, head of humanitarian at UK charity War Child, told us at a briefing in Parliament last month, Gaza is the first conflict where such a term has been needed because of the sheer number of wounded children. The UN’s child protection agency UNICEF cited Gaza’s Health Ministry statistics from last September, recording that 2,596 Palestinian children had lost both parents and a further 53,000 had lost at least one parent, of whom 47,000 will grow up with no father and 5,920 will grow up with no mother. Those are not just ordinary statistics. Gaza has the highest rate of child amputations of any modern conflict. Those are all individual human beings whose stories need to be shared. The powerful new film “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, which was screened for MPs in Parliament last month, bears witness to one of those stories as it follows the Red Crescent response during the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl by the IDF. Those of us who saw that film will never forget it. I was proud that within days of the Gaza ceasefire, the Government, working with Labour MPs, brought over 50 children to the NHS to be treated for their complex injuries. But there is much, much more we can do to rebuild the healthcare, schools and social services that children desperately need in Palestine. The other often forgotten conflict that involves children is of course in Sudan, where a civil war, now in its third year, rages between Sudan’s army and the RSF rebels. The scale of the suffering is enormous: in 2026, a staggering 17 million children are expected to need urgent aid. More than 5 million children have been forced from their homes—the equivalent of 5,000 children displaced every single day—many of them repeatedly, with attacks and sexual violence often following them as they move. Only yesterday, five more children were killed in another drone strike by the paramilitary RSF on a health centre in the city of Kadugli. UNICEF has been clear: “Children in Sudan are not statistics. They are frightened, displaced and hungry, but they are also determined, resourceful and resilient. Every day, they”— like the children of Gaza— “strive to learn, to play, to hope”. Ending the child suffering in both countries, through all the powers that we have in diplomacy, aid and trade, is a moral necessity. Those responsible for that suffering should be held accountable under international law. The reckoning will come. It may not come this year, but it will come one day.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Tetrosyl is a Rochdale-based company that has recently used fire and rehire tactics to, in effect, dismiss staff, rehire them with £7,000 a year less in their pay packets and remove their right to paid leave, all despite its shareholders receiving £2 million last year. Does the Leader of the House agree that the company should even now get around the table with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers? Does he also agree that this Government’s new Employment Rights Act 2025 will finally outlaw fire and rehire, give day one rights to sick pay and parental leave, and give basic rights to every worker who deserves them—rights that Reform Members voted against in this House?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  From the Flying Horse to the Baum, from Vicolo del Vino to the Oxford, from the Spring Inn to the Moorcock, we are really lucky in Rochdale and Littleborough to have some fantastic pubs and bars, but many of them are worried about business rates. Will the Leader of the House give me some assurance that we will urgently get a Government package of support for our pubs and the pub industry, so that we can once again start saying in Rochdale, “Up the Dale and down the ale!”?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The British Bangladeshi community in Rochdale, across the whole north-west, and stretching as far as Scotland and the midlands rely on Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ direct flight from Manchester to Sylhet. However, Biman has suddenly announced the suspension of that route, cutting off a lifeline for families and businesses who travel and trade between our two countries, and leaving many facing the huge cost of travelling directly through London instead. Will the Leader of the House join me and every other MP across the north in urging the airline to think again, listen to our constituents, and restore that flight as soon as possible?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Every year since 2021, the residents of Wrenbury Drive in Rochdale have turned their street into a spectacular display of Christmas lights—a real winter wonderland—all in aid of our brilliant local hospice, Springhill hospice. This year, they have raised more than £6,000, as families of all backgrounds came to marvel at what is really Rochdale’s own Blackpool illuminations. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Maria Brierley and all other Rochdalians who make this such a fantastic event in our Christmas calendar?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I am sure that my hon. Friend shares my frustration at the sheer misinformation that has been spread about the removal of the cap on compensation. As she rightly says, the median award at the moment is less than £7,000. More importantly than that, only 2% of all employment tribunals ever result in a compensation award for unfair dismissal. Does she agree that the Government have indeed taken into account the concerns of Cross-Bench peers by committing to an assessment, and more importantly does she agree that those employers and the unions together can see what the Opposition do not, which is that this is will be fair to workers and fair to businesses that are fair to their workers?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, at the moment, compensation for racial, sexual and disability discrimination, and for whistleblowers, is uncapped? What is the difference between that and being unfairly dismissed?