Sam Rushworth MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Jan 2026 · Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children · Hansard source

  More

  As one of the Back Benchers pushing the Government in this direction, I feel that the Secretary of State is taking the right approach in looking at the evidence and having a broad consultation to make sure that we get this right. However, what we can do to ensure that the voices of children and young people and parents in Bishop Auckland are included in the consultation?

• 15 Jan 2026 · New Towns · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I am often last with my contributions, but hopefully not least. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) for an excellent opening speech, as well as other colleagues—in particular those from new towns—who have spoken. I represent a town that was founded in the seventh century, and I am really proud of our history and heritage, but something that has really struck me as many of my colleagues have spoken is the importance of neighbourhood and community in what makes a great town. This Government’s plan to build 12 new towns is a positive change from the short-termism, lack of ambition and decline that we have experienced over the past decade and a half. For too long, Britain’s lack of affordable housing has been put in the “too difficult” box, where challenges are tinkered with but the big, difficult decisions are perpetually delayed and politicians do what is easy for now, rather than what is right for the future. I welcome this Government’s decision to restore the dream of home ownership for the rising generation. We will have new towns, new transport infrastructure in the north, which was announced yesterday, and new, home-grown clean energy that will, over time, mean that energy bills make up a smaller share of household incomes—a new Britain. Although we will get new homes, there will not be a new town in County Durham, as other areas need them more. However, the whole country will benefit from not just the economic growth, but their potential to modernise our country. As others have said, when these towns are built, I hope that they are truly 21st-century towns for a new era—beautiful, green and harnessing the best of British ingenuity. I was moved by my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), who spoke eloquently about what those towns should look like. I have come here today with one simple ask: that every new town be sustainably built, with a modern district heating network. That is not radical or a new or untested approach to providing cheaper and lower-carbon power. The Government announced last year six areas that will be put on to heating networks, but I have not heard them mentioned in conjunction with the new towns. In Denmark, 70% of houses are already connected to district heating networks. Some 75% of those are already using fully renewable green energy sources, and they have a goal of increasing that to 100% by 2030. The average Danish home on a district heating network has an average energy bill of £835 a year, which is around £1,000 less than the energy bill of the average home in the UK. In Germany, about 15% of homes are on district heating networks, but in cities such as Munich, Hamburg and Berlin the figure is closer to a third, with an ambitious goal to bring it up to a half. The very fact is that being part of a heating network is more energy-efficient, but energy efficiency grows when the most sustainable energy sources are used for the network. I encourage the Government to look seriously at the opportunities presented by geothermal energy so that we do not risk being left behind. Germany has a goal to increase its geothermal energy tenfold by 2030. That can mean deep geothermal, where deep wells bring water to the surface at a very high temperature, such as at the Eden Project or United Downs in Cornwall. That is also used in Stoke-on-Trent’s heating system and in Southampton, where a city heating network draws from deep geothermal wells—I believe that project was set up by the Minister for Energy Security when he led Southampton city council. We can also use shallow geothermal, where water is passed through a heat exchanger. That includes places using mine water, such as in Gateshead or Lanchester Wines in Durham. Geothermal can be done anywhere, but three of the new towns—Victoria North in Manchester, Leeds South Bank and Adlington—lend themselves particularly well to it because of their geology. Having listened to the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca), though, I can suggest other alternatives where the geography is even more advantageous. The use of geothermal and heating networks would be beneficial to the UK’s just transition from oil and gas, since we have skilled workers in drilling and pipelines. The National Geothermal Centre and the Durham Energy Institute are world-leading in this area and on hand to work with the Government to develop the right solutions. Imagine moving into a new home in a new town, knowing that it has 100 years of free heating flowing through the pipes from under the ground. I gently ask that the Government seriously consider looking at how these new towns and their infrastructure draw their energy. Doing so will benefit the efforts that we are making in other parts of the country, including in Durham, to be part of this national story of renewal.

• 7 Jan 2026 · UK Town of Culture · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for securing this debate, and warmly welcome the opportunity for Bishop Auckland to bid to become the UK’s town of culture. Bishop Auckland is the town that gave birth to the calendar. It was Bede who stood on a local hillside, looked at the cosmos and wrote “The Reckoning of Time”, by which we decide when Easter is today. The north-east is the cradle of Christianity in the UK. The Faith Museum, the only one of its kind globally, opened in Bishop Auckland in 2023 and tells the 6,000 year history of faith, including Christianity, in the UK. It is based at Auckland Palace, the home of the prince bishops of Durham, who were the most important men in the kingdom after the king at the time. The town forms part of the camino ingles, or English way, a route trod by pilgrims since the middle ages. We have an Anglo-Saxon church, one of the oldest in the country, down the road. Following a community archaeological dig, the 14th century ruins of Bek’s chapel were discovered outside the palace. The eponymous Bek served not only as bishop of Durham, but as patriarch of Jerusalem. The palace is also home to the famous Zurbarán paintings “Jacob and his Twelve Sons”. The connection between Bishop Auckland and Spanish art is perhaps best exemplified by the Spanish Gallery, where hon. Members will find the greatest collection of 17th century Spanish art anywhere in the world outside Spain. It was opened by the now King, alongside Queen Letizia of Spain, in 2022. Bishop Auckland’s pedigree in the world of art does not stop there. Our town’s proud industrial heritage is on display at the Mining Art Gallery, showcasing work of local artists such as former mineworkers Tom McGuinness of Witton Park and Norman Cornish from nearby Spennymoor, two prevalent figures in British social realism. The museum was founded by my constituent and neighbour Bob McManners to showcase his collection of art. The town also punches above its weight in the performing arts. Stanley Jefferson, of Laurel and Hardy fame, was educated at King James I grammar school, while his father managed the Eden theatre. Renowned classical composer Edward Elgar played “The Music Makers” in 1913 at St Peter’s church, and dedicated it to his friend Nicholas Kilburn, the organist. Is it possible that the rousing English anthem “Land of Hope and Glory” was also played for the first time in Bishop Auckland? Witton Park features the start of the Stockton and Darlington railway, the world’s first passenger railway, which celebrated its bicentenary last year. More than that, nearby West Auckland won the first world cup. It is suggested that the organisers had invited Woolwich Arsenal, but the initials WA meant the letter went to West Auckland—though we know it was really because they wanted north-east grit. Picture the scene: people clubbing together to send their boys off to Turin, selling what they had and huddling round the radio to listen. What is more, the team went on to win the cup—not once, but twice. Jack Greenwell from Crook Town went on to manage Barcelona, and Bishop Auckland’s football team lent players to Manchester United after the Munich air disaster. We also have the food festival, the Bishop Auckland heritage festival and so much more. I have covered history, faith, industry, music, arts, food and sports; frankly, no town tells the cultural story of Britain like Bishop Auckland.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Farming Profitability · Hansard source

  More

  1. What steps she is taking to help increase the profitability of farming.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Farming Profitability · Hansard source

  More

  Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. As we are all sleeping in or children are opening their stockings on this Christmas morning, farmers in Teesdale and Weardale will be up tending to their sheep and cows, and we thank them for that. As the Minister knows, at the moment only 25% of subsidies go to just 4% of farms. Smaller upland farms in areas like those I represent have done particularly badly under the transition. There are so many issues I could raise, but to avoid Mr Speaker’s cough may I just ask this? I am bringing a delegation of farmers from my constituency to Parliament in the new year. Will the Secretary of State meet them to hear their wisdom?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Secretary of State for this strategy, which is what I came into politics for. I also thank her for the roll-out of Best Start family hubs. I appreciate that it is impossible to do everything all at once, given the state of our inheritance, but even with the measures announced, children in Shildon and Crook—two towns of 10,000 people in my constituency with high levels of child poverty—will not have a Best Start family hub. Will my right hon. Friend meet me, or ask the relevant Minister to do so, to discuss what we can do for those children?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

  More

  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Critical Minerals Strategy · Hansard source

  More

  I was delighted to see the prominence given to County Durham in the strategy, as Weardale, which I represent, has the highest density of lithium currently known in the UK. Will the Minister support me in working with the businesses in Weardale that are trying to extract lithium? Does he agree that we should not look only at extraction—we fall behind not only in the supply of critical minerals, but in their processing—and that there is a real opportunity to develop battery manufacturing in County Durham?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Bus Services · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the new powers relating to buses, and the new funding for them that the Government are giving, but the problem is that what this Labour Government are giving, our Reform local authority is taking. It has announced plans to cancel the 35A out of Coundon, and the 104, which connects Canney Hill with Binchester and Newfield, and to double concessionary fares before 9.30 am. Will the Minister join me in condemning that Reform council plan, and in calling on our county council to build up our bus services, not knock them down?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Bus Services · Hansard source

  More

  20. What steps she is taking to help improve local bus services.

• 20 Nov 2025 · International Men’s Day · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for leading this debate and for his powerful and courageous speech. We have come a long way in 12 months. Twelve months ago, as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on men and boys’ issues, it was my privilege to lead the debate on International Men’s Day. At the time, people came up to me and said I was being whispered about and had better show my feminist credentials, so I am really grateful to those who have showed up today and for all the fabulous contributions from our female colleagues. I feel a bit for the Secretary of State, because one of the calls over the last 12 months has been for a men’s health strategy, and most of our speeches today have focused on a new call about paternity leave. I can only say that he has been a victim of his own success, because he has listened and delivered. I was so proud yesterday evening to join him and fellow Members of Parliament in Downing Street, where the Prime Minister announced the men’s health strategy. I was joined by somebody from my constituency who runs peer support groups for men with mental health struggles. The funding for many of these groups is under threat, and the strategy makes it clear that we need that intervention, so I am really grateful for that. My hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis) just stole my dad joke, so I will cross that one off the list. I’ve got a new pen that can write under water. It writes other words, too. I hope we can store all of these dad jokes in a “dadabase” somewhere. I would like to take a moment to address the importance of fatherhood, what it means to me and why the call for paid paternity leave is so important. Linking that to mental health, I want to say that in some of the darkest moments in my life—when, like a lot of people, I experienced depression, my self-worth was lacking and I felt that I was failing at everything I tried—it was my children, and picturing their faces and my responsibility as a dad, that pulled me through. Some of the happiest moments in my life were in those early days, holding a newborn child. I remember vividly holding in my arms my youngest daughter, looking into her face and feeling like I had been given this precious gift from heaven. All I knew about her at that time was that she was precious. I could not predict how she would turn out to be. She is now a 12-year-old, and she is going through all the emotions and stages that girls at that age go through. When she tries my patience, I still remember that moment, and I still say to my wife, “She is precious.” We absolutely adore her. My oldest daughter is the one whose birthday party I broke my leg at a few months ago when I was roller-skating with her around the disco to “Mr Brightside”. I remember being up in the night with her when she had colic. Those early weeks are so important, and far too often women are left alone to recover from their surgery while the fathers are missing and not having those moments to bond. A really important call coming from this debate is for fathers and their children to have that precious time together. I met this week with the Minister for School Standards, and we talked about the need for parenting classes. There is no shame in saying that sometimes we need skills to help us develop our children’s values. I am certainly a better dad today than I was 18 years ago when my son was born, so I hope we can take that up, too.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 · Hansard source

  More

  4. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 · Hansard source

  More

  I am proud to represent a community with a lot of veterans, many of whom served in Northern Ireland. Who is the Secretary of State engaging with to ensure that the protections for our veterans in the legislation are as strong and effective as possible?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  Obviously, we are in a global economy. We have the fastest growth in the G7; I think that is well known— [ Interruption. ] I am going to make some progress, because it is important to set out why we need to be making investment in our public services and infrastructure. We have only to look at what austerity did to the NHS. The Conservatives inherited an NHS with the highest satisfaction levels and the lowest waiting times ever, and they reversed both of those two things. Look at the state of our town centres. In fact, look at the state of my own constituency of Bishop Auckland compared with 15 years ago. Look at the state of dentistry. In the year before the general election we lost two NHS dental surgeries but, worse than that, children in the existing practices were sent letters telling them they could no longer be provided with an NHS dentistry service. Look at the rising crime in many of our communities, which exactly mirrors the cuts to frontline police. Look at what the Conservatives did to our defence capabilities, which left us the smallest Army since the Napoleonic era.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I spoke to a business in my constituency that said it understands why the Chancellor made that decision. One of its biggest concerns is the number of days that it loses to sickness, and it understands the importance of improving public services and of having a better educated and healthier workforce.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  The only vote we ever had on the issue was a vote for or against an Opposition day motion. I was always clear that the original threshold that the Government set was far too low. I do not think that millionaires and asset-rich, wealthy pensioners should receive the payment. The policy, as it now stands, and as it will be for pensioners in my community this winter, is as it should be.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I would also like to thank the Opposition for giving us this opportunity to set out two competing visions for Britain: growth, modernisation, new infrastructure and stronger public services under Labour; or a return to austerity, Government waste and decline under the Tories—of both their shades of blue. The Tories’ 14 years of power is a tale of two halves. First came— [ Interruption. ] They do not like to hear it. First came austerity, which broke our public services, leading to the social problems that have increased cost pressures on Government today, but in their final years they did away with austerity, and we saw astonishing levels of profligate waste, dodgy covid contracts, vanity projects and promises that were made to our constituents but never funded. The hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) described Liz Truss’s Kwamikaze Budget as “the best Conservative budget since 1986”, but I think most people in this place would agree that we have to live within our means. The Chancellor has inherited a difficult challenge because, on the one hand, she inherited an economy with a debt to GDP ratio of over 99%—the highest debt since the 1960s. On the other hand, she inherited a broken state.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I was distracted by the chuntering of the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) and thought that he may have wanted to make an intervention. I will finish as I started. For me, the choice is really this: do we return to the dark days of austerity, which created the challenges that scourge the community that I represent, or do we lift people out of poverty, give them hope and the public services that they need, and invest in the critical infrastructure that brings our economy and our country into the 21st century? I know where I stand on that. Do the Conservatives know where they stand?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I have confidence in the Chancellor to produce a Budget that will do the things that my constituents need it to. What my constituents are asking for, and what they voted for at the general election, is change. Look what the Conservatives did to our justice system: prisons are 99.9% full, and we have a court backlog that makes victims wait years for justice. We all know that our surgeries are crammed with these cases. Look at what they did to the asylum system, which has an enormous backlog. Whoever negotiated the contract on asylum hotels must have been the person who did the dodgy covid contracts, given the amount that they wasted. Millions a day were spent on hotels. Look at what the Conservatives did to childhood. Contrary to what was said earlier, child poverty in our country has increased. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that both relative and absolute poverty have increased. The pattern between 1997-98 and 2022-23 can be described as a U-curve; poverty fell under the 13 years of the last Labour Government, and then relative and absolute child poverty increased. Look at what that means for the communities I represent: 16 Sure Start centres closed; primary school budgets are below their 2010 levels; transport for college students is expensive, and their education maintenance allowance was cut; youth services, boxing gyms and swimming pools have closed; and social infrastructure has disappeared from our communities over the last 15 years. These are real challenges, but the problem is not just with our public services. Because the Conservatives robbed the capital budget to pay for day-to-day spending, they left Britain in the slow lane. Cancelling Labour’s Building Schools for the Future project left our schools and public buildings infested with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Cancelling nuclear projects left us reliant on expensive fossil fuels, which led to 11% inflation at one point under the Conservatives. Cancelling High Speed 2 to secure a media headline on the eve of a conference has left us without the critical transport infrastructure we need. All these problems come with a higher social cost. When His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs staff are sacked, we get more tax avoidance and fraud. When people have to wait two years for a routine operation, businesses have a bigger sick bill. When prisons are not built and the police are cut, there is more crime. When civil servants were cut, the previous Government had to spend £3 billion on agency staff.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I have never supported the two-child cap. The Conservatives introduced a two-tier benefit system that penalised younger families in a way that it does not penalise older families. My genuine view is that this needs to be looked at creatively. I do not know what the Chancellor will do, but my view is that we need to do something about the problem; possibly we need a tapered system. I have a big family, and I know that my fifth child did not cost what my first child did. I have confidence that this Government, like the last Labour Government, will eradicate child poverty. I make the point again that child poverty is not just about benefits; it is about what we do to improve childhood. It is about giving children more access to the creative arts, as the Education Secretary this week announced we would. It is about getting youth hubs back; we are working on that. It is about free breakfast clubs, and the warm home discount being extended to more people.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  That is not a vote before the House right now, but I have been pretty clear in my answer. I never agreed with the cap when the Conservatives introduced it. They did terrible things that put too many children in my community into poverty. The Government are addressing child poverty in multiple ways, including through the welfare system. However, children are not poor just because we do not have good enough benefits. In Bishop Auckland, people do not want better benefits; they want better jobs, a stronger local economy, better infrastructure, better education and a better health service. All that will require public spending. If I may say so— [ Interruption. ] Do you want to make an intervention?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I will refer to the hon. Gentleman’s comments about my contribution. Perhaps because our constituencies are different, his constituents do not face the same challenges as mine. The sorts of changes I am talking about are things like getting NHS dentists back, reopening Sure Start centres, fixing the problems on our high street, improving our schools and getting the waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services down. These are the serious things that my constituents are looking to me to deliver. The hon. Gentleman and I know as much as each other does about what will be in the Budget, but I will be looking for a Budget that invests in the public services that we need, and in infrastructure, which has sadly been neglected for far too long.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  What the hon. Gentleman says about healthcare is not quite credible. I appreciate that his researchers will have tried to find a statistic that works for his speech, but it is undeniable that we have delivered significantly more NHS appointments. Waiting times are coming down, and satisfaction levels are going back up again for the first time since the Conservatives broke the NHS.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  I am not sure that I fully understood the hon. Gentleman’s question or what contradiction he sees, but I will go on to talk about why I feel that we need to see major investment in our public services and our infrastructure.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Taxes · Hansard source

  More

  The point I am making is that spending for spending’s sake is not what any responsible Government should do. We should spend every tax pound well. These examples of waste are not things that we should continue. There was the £100,000 spent on a fake bell that only bonged 10 times during Big Ben’s maintenance. Truss spent £1.8 million on executive travel as Foreign Secretary, not to mention the £500,000 for her private jet for a single trip to Australia in 2022. Then again, she spent £3,000 on a lectern.