Polly Billington MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 18 Dec 2025 · Indices of Deprivation: England · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is being very generous with his time. Not only do seven of the 10 most deprived areas appear to be in Blackpool, but all 10 of the top 10 are in coastal communities, as are 50% of the top 50. We who represent coastal communities do not want to indulge in any kind of deprivation bingo. Instead, we want the Government, and indeed the private sector, to see the potential to invest, given the untapped talent of our workforce, the energy of our entrepreneurs and our extraordinary natural environment. Does he agree that an economic regeneration strategy that is designed for coastal communities could transform our country?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Jane Austen · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I rise to speak in this debate simply because I love Jane Austen and all her works. We commemorate her in this debate, as we did on the 250th anniversary of her birth on Tuesday. Today, there has been a statement in the House on the Government’s launch of their strategy to counter violence against women and girls. One might ask: what is the link? Jane knew about coercive control and the endless structural limitations on women without means, income or property. From Charlotte Lucas in “Pride and Prejudice” to Harriet Smith in “Emma” and the Dashwood family—a mother and two daughters brought low, fallen on hard times, because of the death of the father—there are many examples of how women have to navigate a world with the odds stacked against them. Jane Austen is a comic genius, and I do not want to sideline her wit. It is because of her ability to describe with humour the realities of life for women in the 19th century that her stories resonate across those centuries. The context may have changed, but the fundamental truths are the same—not the idea that any young gentleman with means is in want of a wife, but the constraints, limits, dangers and insecurities of life for women. Those truths echo across time, as well as echoing through the streets of my constituency. Jane Austen’s sense of place was as acute as her observation of the social and economic condition of women, as demonstrated by the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse). Ramsgate, in my constituency, is portrayed in her novels as a place of ill repute. In “Mansfield Park”, it is referred to as a place where bad things happen. In “Pride and Prejudice”, it plays a larger role. Mr Wickham, who as we all know is a walking cautionary tale for all young women, plans to “elope”, as they call it, with Georgiana Darcy to Ramsgate. Of the bad’uns in Austen’s books, Mr Wickham, as a walking cautionary tale, is outdone only by the red flag of Frank Churchill going to London to get his hair cut. I can tell Members that reading that at the age of 17 helped me a lot later on. The fact is, with Georgiana Darcy, her brother had to intervene to stop that elopement happening. In the novel, that is portrayed as a proof-point that Mr Darcy is a morally strong and decisive figure, and not the terrible bore that Lizzy Bennet thought he was at first. Avoiding or surviving such an abuse of power, however, should not rely on good relatives or friends; not all women have a Mr Darcy to intervene. That is why, nowadays, we need support for all—so that risks are reduced for all women. Eloping sounds romantic, and seaside resorts such as Ramsgate have often had a saucy or edgy reputation. Indeed, this week, a blue plaque dedicated to Jane Austen has been installed in Ramsgate to acknowledge her link to the town. Her brother, Francis—better known as Frank—was a Royal Navy officer in the town. There are some suggestions that she disliked it, given that it was disreputable, but she was able to develop characters and so forth on the basis of it. The reality for women now, as then, is that their lives can be ruined by the actions of men like Wickham. It is therefore right for the Government to declare that violence against women and girls is an emergency. It is a problem even older than Jane Austen’s wonderful novel. On this day, when we commemorate her genius, we should also remember that her stories reveal that misogyny, violence and coercion have been a daily reality for women for centuries. Jane Austen’s cultural contribution stretches well beyond the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) and beyond the stories of romance, helping us to understand women’s condition. Although things have improved—indeed, have been transformed—for most of us, the fear of financial hardship and the risk of being subject to the whims and power of men still loom large in the lives of many women. Let us make Jane Austen’s legacy an effort to consign that fear to history.

• 15 Dec 2025 · NHS: Winter Preparedness · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that, in the run-up to Christmas, NHS staff will be having to change their Christmas plans to cover emergency shifts as a result of this ridiculous strike, and patients will have emergency operations, and indeed scheduled operations, cancelled?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Seasonal Work · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Government for the fact that Ramsgate in particular is benefiting from the Pride in Place fund. More widely, on the matter of seasonal work, which is vital for coastal communities such as mine, can the Minister confirm that seasonal and hospitality workers will benefit from many of the measures in the Budget that will tackle the cost of living and raise their wages, such as increases to the minimum wage, cuts to energy bills and the freezing of bus and train fares?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Seasonal Work · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I was interested in him suggesting that it was Labour’s principles that are causing the problem. Which bit of our plan for small and medium-sized businesses, action to tackle late payments, reducing regulatory burdens and expanding access to finance does he disagree with?

• 8 Dec 2025 · NEET Young People · Hansard source

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  I welcome the commitment to free apprenticeships for small and medium-sized enterprises if they take on under-25s, which was announced in the Budget, and I also welcome the commitment to apprenticeships in the hospitality sector. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that there will be a focus on coastal communities such as East Thanet in these programmes, given the disproportionate number of young people written off by the Tories over the past 14 years and the significant number of small and medium-sized hospitality businesses, in particular, that are desperate to hire local talent?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend will acknowledge, as he already has done, the importance of stability for families and businesses across this country. What we have called fiscal headroom is frankly money for a rainy day, and it is fundamental to being able to maintain that stability—something that was a failure of the Conservative Government for some time. Will he also acknowledge the importance of the way in which the bond markets responded positively to the Budget, for exactly the reason that it delivers us the stability we all need?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Gambling Duty · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my right hon. Friend and, indeed, the Chancellor on making the decision to tax online gambling in particular. The fact that people effectively have a casino in their pocket destroys lives and families, and it is right that we send that strong signal, as well as make sure money is available to tackle the insidious moral scar of child poverty that was left by the previous Government. Can my right hon. Friend confirm how we will ensure that the way we conduct gambling in this country provides better protection to those families and individuals who end up being exposed to some of the most insidious practices of the gambling industry?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I am interested to know whether the hon. Lady welcomes the fact that the youth guarantee will benefit hundreds of young people in the Ynys Môn constituency. It will give free support for apprenticeships for the under-25s. That will help small and medium-sized businesses that want to recruit and train young people in Ynys Môn.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  May I confirm that the right hon. Gentleman is then perfectly happy for children to continue to live in poverty while we try to reform the welfare benefit system?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 25 Nov 2025 · COP30 · Hansard source

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  I am sure the Secretary of State would not necessarily like me to remind him that it is 16 years since the first COP he attended with me, which was significantly less successful than the one this year. I commend him for his great effort over that time in managing to demonstrate the UK’s leadership on climate change. That cannot be underestimated, and despite what some on the Opposition Benches think, we make a difference by demonstrating what is possible in climate actions here at home. Where we lead, others follow. For that reason, the Secretary of State also knows how important nature is in contributing to tackling climate change, and how much our constituents value nature at home and abroad. In that light, financing is important, especially maintaining the amount of funding in the new international climate finance budget for nature projects. Will he confirm that a third of the new budget will be spent on nature projects, with half of that spent on protecting forests?

• 24 Nov 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  I support my hon. Friend in his advocacy of new clause 29. The Minister mentioned that the Bill should be a floor on ambition, not a ceiling, and I am keen to seek reassurance on the climate duty, as I am sure my hon. Friend is. In particular, it is vital that local authorities can shape it locally, partly because they are responsible for a third of emissions, but also, interestingly, because organisations such as the Local Government Association, which is not known for wanting to increase obligations on local authorities, and UK100—I must declare my interest as its founder director—support giving duties to those local authorities. I am keen, as I am sure he is, for the Government to reassure us that they will seek such obligations in the future.

• 13 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend will be aware of the appalling environmental pollution incident at Camber Sands in East Sussex last week. A few days later, we also had huge sewage dumps in the seas around my constituency, leaving beaches in Ramsgate and Broadstairs effectively unusable. Not only do these incidents have appalling impacts on nature, but they affect people’s confidence in using the sea for health, wellbeing and enjoyment all year round. Will my right hon. Friend consider having a debate in Government time on the economic impact of water quality—poor water quality in particular—on our coastal towns and seaside resorts?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I emphasise the importance of the pride in place programme for places such as Ramsgate, where the vacancy rate in the high street has been an appalling 24%. We were left with the legacy of 14 years of Tory Government, and only because of the social and community energy in Ramsgate have we been able to turn that around, with the support of the pride in place programme.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I am grateful, in particular, to see the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) back in his place. I was particularly struck by the significant intellectual differences between him and those of us on the Government side of the House about the importance of the public realm and investment in our communities in order for those places to flourish. I think that most of us on the Government Benches understand that we cannot look to the horizon and seize those opportunities of entrepreneurialism unless we are secure in ourselves and our communities and have those assets available. That is why the investment in our national health service is so important. There has been no assessment from the Conservatives of the importance or the potential or actual costs to business of days off due to sickness. Long waiting lists have caused insecurity and uncertainty in small businesses in my community, increasing both costs through staff absences and pressure on management. It is important for us to have security as well as flexibility in our employment market. Indeed, the small business owner Carly Cannings, who runs the Happy Business School, has said that our Employment Rights Bill is “a set in the right direction towards raising standards.” –– [ Official Report, Employment Rights Public Bill Committee, 26 November 2024; c. 28, Q22.] I know that responsible business owners want to ensure that they can recruit and retain staff. That is vital in small communities such as mine, where our high streets have been hollowed out.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. It has been striking in my community to see the local social energy of our businesses, particularly in Ramsgate, coming together to help tackle antisocial behaviour, work with the police and bear down on some of the worst excesses of the consequences of the last 14 years. We also need to be aware of the consequences for small businesses of the fear and uncertainty brought on by the chaos of Brexit. The botched Brexit deal has had a direct impact on my communities, particularly through the loss of our language schools in places such as Ramsgate and Broadstairs. Not all of them have been impacted, but some of them have, and that reduces the footfall on our high streets. That is a direct consequence of failures by the Conservatives. Ramsgate High Street, for example, has a 24% vacancy rate, as I mentioned earlier. The British Property Federation, when confronted with that statistic, suggested that that meant the people who owned the businesses were simply economically irrational. Well, there seems to be a lot of economic irrationality, which needs to be countered by people who understand the importance of shaping our places—hence our community compulsory auction leases and powers for local authorities such as Thanet to control the proliferation of vape shops and gambling centres. I am sure that the Minister will note my concern that there would be a greater appetite for compulsory purchase if we had a better funding settlement for places such as Thanet when these things come to pass. Of course we need to reform business rates. We know that they are disproportionately impacting on hospitality enterprises in places, such as my constituency, that rely significantly on the seasonal tourist economy, but I emphasise again the importance of the ability of communities themselves to shape their high streets, from Ramsgate Space and Margate Town Action Group—

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. Other consequences of the past 14 years for our high streets include retail crime. I am sorry that the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) is no longer in his place, because he spoke strongly about the consequences of shoplifting. Shoplifting rose by 70% under the last Conservative Government, with 2,000 incidents a day in 2023-24. With that record, the Conservatives need to recognise that they are significantly responsible, rather than complaining about what is happening now. I know that there is a significant issue with energy costs, because it is often raised with me by small businesses in my constituency. The reversal of the Conservatives’ commitment to net zero means that they would be risking a shift away from renewables, but it is renewables that will help us to shift off the gas price. The right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness should know that well. The reality is that the public realm matters when we are talking about ensuring that we have a thriving high street. For example, there are now fewer buses. In Thanet we have seen bus services cut dramatically—by 7 million bus miles in Kent alone since 2020—and fewer police lead to the kinds of situations that we have seen. We also have insecure work with low pay, and fire and rehire.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. I am interested in her acknowledgment that we have made specific progress in dealing with the botched Brexit deal left as part of the legacy of the previous Tory Government, which she may indeed welcome. For example, our sanitary and phytosanitary deal includes being able to boost exports by slashing red tape and bureaucracy specifically for our farmers and food producers, lower food prices at the checkout and co-operation on energy. [ Interruption. ] Opposition Members may chunter from a sedentary position, but it is actually really important when you look at how—

• 29 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate: Funding in State Schools · Hansard source

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  I gently remind the Minister that, simply because people live in the south-east, it does not mean they are dripping in gold. My constituency in particular experiences distinct levels of deprivation; only 10% of our children manage to pass the Kent test in East Thanet. The opportunity to access the international baccalaureate is vital for those deprived communities. We all know that there are extreme levels of deprivation in this country both across geographical areas and in pockets. I remind the Minister that, in these circumstances, we need to ensure that we have an education policy that reaches the most deprived in places like mine, as much as in places like his.

• 29 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate: Funding in State Schools · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing this debate. Dartford grammar sounds much like Dane Court school in my constituency, which offers the opportunity of the international baccalaureate to children from across the academy chain—I know that some of your constituents benefit from that provision, Sir Roger. The headteacher told me that the wider implication of the cut is that the IB diploma will probably disappear entirely from the state sector. Does my hon. Friend seek reassurance from the Minister, as I do, that the IB does have a future role in breaking down barriers to opportunity, not only in his constituency and mine, but across the country?

• 27 Oct 2025 · North Sea Oil and Gas Industry · Hansard source

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  What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the UK arm of the company, which is an in-demand business with a highly skilled workforce and many successful contracts, has a long-term future in the UK, particularly in the context of our clean energy jobs plan announced last week and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) pointed out, some of the risks around the development of offshore wind in Holland?

• 20 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate · Hansard source

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  I, too, have a school in my constituency that offers the international baccalaureate. Dane Court school in Broadstairs has an extremely successful programme in breaking down barriers to opportunity for a large number of pupils in an area of significant deprivation. Only 10% of the children in East Thanet succeed in passing the Kent test; we need to be able to ensure that those children and others get the maximum opportunities available. Will the Minister reassure me, the senior leadership team, and parents and children at Dane Court that the international baccalaureate will still be possible for those children and for future generations?

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  On competition and the former Conservative Government, I remind Members that they were the ones who brought Southeastern, which serves my constituency, into public ownership, because of the failures of the commercial process.

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I can see France from my constituency on a clear day, and yet my constituents cannot get there easily or affordably for work or pleasure. Last week, I was speaking with one of my friends about her plans to go to Paris for the Christmas markets. A quick overnight stay for shopping and fun with a couple of friends was the kind of thing that less than a decade ago people from across Kent and Sussex did easily and affordably. Now it is practically impossible. That might sound like what is known as a high-quality problem. After all, across the country people are struggling with the cost of living, and holidays, even short ones, are out of reach. But what is particularly galling about the situation in east Kent is that we are close to Europe and yet more cut off than ever. Although we have infrastructure specifically designed to connect us to France, Belgium and beyond, it lies unused and empty—paid for by the taxpayer and left abandoned. A single ticket from Margate to St Pancras International station early enough in the morning to change to the Eurostar to Paris is £60, and the journey takes almost two hours. That is too expensive and inconvenient, so it stops people being able to do what they would like to. Because Ashford International station remains closed to European services, my constituents are forced to travel into central London, with the high costs that come with that. They do not have the unfortunate experience of the constituents of the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan), who must literally pass through Ashford—back and forth. However, that drive, which my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) mentioned, is counterproductive for the environment and bad for the capital, as well as for my constituents. In its expansion plans, Eurostar still refuses to consider reopening international services at Ashford, and £80 million of public infrastructure remains unused and wasted, despite its potential. That means people in Kent and Sussex will continue to miss out on fast, convenient and cheaper connections to Europe, and on the tourism boost they would bring to our coastal towns. Reopening international services at Ashford is about more than just making it easier to go on holiday; it is about driving economic and social revival in deprived parts of the south-east. Members across Parliament, although not in this Chamber, perhaps think of the south-east as leafy, wealthy places such as Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. However, there are pockets of acute deprivation across the south-east and, for the most part, they are on the coast. We have so much to offer and so much potential. Margate, for example, is home to a globally recognised art gallery, the Turner Contemporary; Broadstairs has the history of being home to a world-famous author, Charles Dickens; and Ramsgate has the heritage to tell the story of our links to the rest of the world—from the arrival of the Vikings to the Romans and St Augustine, some of the most important and exciting changes to our country have started in Thanet. That has left a rich and vibrant history and a legacy of creativity and ideas that the rest of the world could benefit from, if only they could get there.