Paul Waugh MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Apr 2026 · Maternity Commissioner · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for leading this debate. I pay tribute to Louise Thompson, Theo Clarke and the other petitioners for raising the profile of the issue of birth trauma and for helping so many other women to share their own experiences and, crucially, to fight for the changes that will prevent others from having to go through the same trauma. I also put on the record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), who has done a brilliant job with the all-party parliamentary group on maternity and who explained today, by outlining her own personal experience, just what birth trauma can mean. This debate is fundamentally about how we ensure that women are being heard—genuinely heard—by the national health service. However, it is also about how we raise the levels of care, so that the best care is not an exception but the rule. One of the missions for this Government is restoring trust in maternity care. We know that that trust has been eroded by traumatic experiences, poor standards of care and—even more importantly—women feeling that no one is listening to them. [Christine Jardine in the Chair ] As has already been said, the rise in maternal mortality is seen in the data produced by MBRRACE-UK between 2021 and 2023 compared with that between 2009 and 2011. That is simply unacceptable. What is particularly stark is the increased risk for women from minoritised communities and for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2023, women living in the most deprived areas were dying at almost twice the rate of those in the least deprived areas. Alongside that data, there has also been an increase in obstetric haemorrhage, which I know worries both mums-to-be and health professionals. Women who want a second child need to know the risks of severe bleeding and placenta previa caused by previous caesarean sections, which are well-documented. The NHS is not good enough at not only monitoring maternal deaths and morbidity, but monitoring trends in those areas. It is very good at identifying a trend in stillbirth or maternal death, but it is not so good at spotting trends in postpartum haemorrhage and admissions to intensive therapy units, which need the same attention. The Government have a responsibility to ensure that whatever choice women make, that choice is informed and that the procedures are safe. If women want a home birth, let us make that a real choice; if they want a C-section, let us make that a real choice; and if they want a midwife-led unit or an obstetrician to care for them, let us make that a real choice. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis), who was absolutely spot on in saying that we should move away from making choice in this area a binary decision between safety and choice. It is time for us to be proactive and not reactive, and to put into place the processes that will protect future mums from negative experiences of maternity care. That is why I am glad that the national maternity and neonatal taskforce, announced by the Government last year, is focused on long-term systemic reform that actually addresses the systematic failures identified by the CQC. The conversation must include midwives who, more than anyone else, want best practice and care for all the mums they work with. It must also ensure that there are oversight, accountability and robust reporting mechanisms that support midwives as well as mums. Not many people know that word “midwife” is middle English. It literally means “with woman”, which is the crucial point. Midwives across the UK are advocating for women, supporting women and sharing their expertise with women all the time. However, that is also why we need to make continuity of care a reality for women, so that midwives can be “with woman” throughout the pregnancy and the birth. There must also be the investment in staffing that is needed to allow for rotas that provide the gold standard of staffing that everyone wants, both for pregnant women and for midwives. Earlier this year, I was proud to host a drop-in event for the Royal College of Midwives with my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth). I put on the record that my wife is a midwife; in fact, she is one of the main reasons why I am in this building today. I came into politics to change the situation for women who are suffering, but also to help to get more midwives in the profession. It has not been explicitly said today, but let us be honest—the last Government failed to invest in the NHS, including in the right number of midwives. My wife came home night after night saying, “We simply are understaffed. We are chronically understaffed.” She was really worried about the standard of care that would be provided, and about whether it was safe or not. I said that, instead of writing about the maternity crisis, I want to do something about the maternity crisis. That is why I became an MP—to invest real, hard money into the NHS, including in staffing, but also to ensure that we change the procedures and reform the system. It is worth saying that this is not just about staffing. It is also about having the right culture and leadership, and about whether obstetricians and midwives talk to each other and are on the same side and. Crucially, it is about whether women are listened to throughout the process. There has been far too much avoidable trauma for far too many women, as several inquiries have found. For my constituents, Royal Oldham hospital maternity services are often of high quality. I have met senior midwives who are trying to provide innovative solutions to the challenges they face, but let us be honest: there are too many times when women are let down at the Royal Oldham. The CQC survey of patient experience, published in December 2025, found some unacceptably poor levels of care. On labour and birth, the hospital scored much worse than expected compared with other trusts. On staff care and on care in hospital after birth, it was much worse than expected compared with other trusts. On that last measure, it had an appalling score of 5.4 out of 10. It is clear from the debate that a huge amount of work has been undertaken to deliver what we all want: maternity services that are well informed, personalised and safe for all women, regardless of race or background. We owe it to every family to provide maternity services where mums are given a full range of informed choice, backed by medical evidence, where they are genuinely listened to and where compassionate healthcare is at the heart of every birth. There is excellent care in the NHS, and we should say that again and again, but we need to make sure that every area, every trust and every woman has the high quality of care they truly deserve.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Hatzola Ambulance Attack · Hansard source

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  May I express my solidarity and the solidarity of all Rochdalians with Britain’s Jewish community in the wake of this horrific attack on the ambulance station in Golders Green? Whenever such an antisemitic outrage has occurred, my Muslim constituents stress to me repeatedly that it is not done in their name. They want to make that absolutely clear. In fact, antisemitism has now become normalised, not just offline in the playground, but online everywhere, as we saw in Louis Theroux’s documentary “Inside the Manosphere” last week. Does the Minister agree that Ofcom needs to take much tougher action against antisemitism online, perhaps by having a specific strategy to target men and boys who are being deliberately targeted by the antisemites in our community?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Gaza Healthcare System · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend rightly makes a passionate case for why we should be doing more to help the healthcare system in Gaza. It is quite clear that the 50 severely ill children from Gaza who were evacuated by the Government and treated in NHS hospitals were well cared for. Indeed, the Prince of Wales visited some of them in hospital and afterwards said explicitly that they had faced “experiences no child should ever face.” Does my hon. Friend agree that the next step the Government should take is to treat children in the region? Plenty of British medics are willing to go out there and help; the Government should be encouraging them to use their NHS expertise to treat children in the region and to train medics in the specialisms that are desperately needed.

• 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?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Sale of Fireworks · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for opening this debate. Rochdale has the second highest number of signatures of all constituencies in the country on the petition to limit the sale of fireworks to approved events only—813 people. If we add the 222 who also signed the petition calling for a lower maximum noise level, there are more than 1,000 people in my constituency who take this issue very seriously. As many hon. Members have said, fireworks are meant to be a cause of celebration but for far too many animals, pet owners and other humans they are a cause of distress and terror. My dog Oscar, like so many others, is absolutely terrified of fireworks. I used to be able to handle that, because the use of fireworks was a rare event, but now it is not a one-off every now and then; it is a regular event, all year round. Constituents such as Marina Berry from Wardle in my constituency have been in touch with their stories, including of panicking dogs at risk of heart attacks and horses running into barbed wire and causing themselves injury. The data shows that 41% of UK dog owners say that their dog is afraid of fireworks—that is 4 million dogs—while 35% more dogs go missing on bonfire night than on any other night of the year, as do 22% more cats. Janet Gough from Littleborough wrote to me to say “they started in the middle of October, every night…They are so loud my dog is now a nervous drooling wreck, I’m scared she will have a heart attack or something—it’s getting out of control now.” Janet is absolutely right: it is out of control now. I love a fireworks display as much as anyone else. They can be beautiful and spectacular. In Rochdale, we have many displays that we are proud of: the bonfire night celebrations with fireworks on Cronkeyshaw common, at Littleborough cricket club, and at Milnrow cricket club. Everyone enjoys them and no one wants to be a killjoy, but for so many people fireworks are not a matter of joy; they are a matter of fear. The use of fireworks has gone far beyond being enjoyed a couple of days a year. Many in my constituency have written to say that they heard fireworks every night throughout the autumn months, and often far past the curfew. Such late-night use affects not just pet owners, but shift workers, families with young children, families with children with special needs or autism, and the elderly. Charities supporting veterans have repeatedly raised awareness of the effect that fireworks can have on those with PTSD, as has been said in this debate. Research by Combat Stress and Help for Heroes found that 74% of veterans want tighter restrictions on the days and times when fireworks can be used. Theresa Mitchell, head of the “Hidden Wounds” therapy service for veterans, said: “Sudden, loud noises, unpredictable flashes of light and the smell of bonfires and fireworks can trigger anxiety. Some people may feel on edge and overwhelmed, others may be reminded of moments in combat and can be troubled by past traumatic events.” Those former servicemen and women are not snowflakes; they are people who did their duty for this country and they deserve to be treated with respect. Almost a quarter of military veterans say that fireworks have triggered a negative experience for them. Children suffer too: some 343 children needed specialist burns care between 2019 and 2023—that is specialist burns care in a hospital with a specialist consultant, separate from the thousands who are injured every year. We should also not forget the impact on our firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union says that, every year, the consequences of fireworks—fires, injuries and the spread of fear—have a direct impact on its members. It says of the current law: “it is our members who are put into dangerous situations trying to deal with the consequences.” I have full sympathy for local law enforcement officers, who are already short of resources, trying to enforce the curfews under the current law. The problem is that loud fireworks can effectively be bought by anyone, wherever they like, and set off anywhere. This, ultimately, is also a matter of respect: respect for our neighbours. Most people who hold firework displays for weddings and birthdays, for example, probably are not even aware of the distress that they are causing—but they need to be made aware of it. I am a Labour and Co-operative party MP, and it is worth pointing out that, years ago, the Co-Operative Group decided to impose a total ban on the sale of fireworks after work with animal charities. Other retailers should take note of that and take action, before any change in the law. Fireworks at important recognised events throughout the calendar year, such as bonfire night, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, new year’s eve and Chinese new year, could all still be celebrated, as lots of people have said today, with lower noise levels, with low-noise and no-bang fireworks. Knowing that those specific events are coming up gives pet owners time to prepare for the possibility of noise disruption. Fireworks are often a way to bring people together but, sadly, they are currently tearing people apart. With tighter restrictions in place, we can do something: we can protect pets, wildlife, and human beings too.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Maternity and Neonatal Care · Hansard source

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  The new maternal care bundle, to which the Secretary of State refers, is rightly aimed at reversing the recent worrying rise in maternal death and ill health. In particular, the increase in obstetric haemorrhage concerns so many midwives and doctors and the families affected. Given that the Government want to help women to make informed choices about how they give birth safely, can the NHS do more to highlight the well documented risks of severe bleeding and placenta accreta caused by caesarean sections?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Maternity and Neonatal Care · Hansard source

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

• 18 Nov 2025 · Gaza and Sudan · Hansard source

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  I welcome the leading role that the UK has played at the United Nations, both in trying to corral international action on the slaughter and sexual violence in Sudan, and on the international leadership we have shown in recognising the state of Palestine—an historic recognition, as the Foreign Secretary has acknowledged. I thank her for her personal commitment and action in getting sick and injured Palestinian children to British hospitals. Given the NHS’s expertise, can she tell us what more the UK can do to rebuild healthcare in Gaza itself?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Earlier this month I hosted in Parliament Dr Waseem Saeed, a British surgeon who had returned from working in the Nasser hospital in Gaza, where he treated children for severe burns, amputations and shrapnel wounds that were crawling with maggots. He showed us videos that would shock everybody in this House. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that Israel should face a reckoning in the courts for such injuries and deaths, and that the UK should force such a reckoning? More importantly, does he agree that recognising a state of Palestine is really about recognising the humanity of the Palestinian people, and that their children deserve to have equal worth to every child on this planet?