Sean Woodcock MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Feb 2026 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Last month the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Chancellor paid a visit to my constituency without giving notice to me as the local Member. I would be grateful if you could provide me with advice on preventing such discourtesy and disrespect from taking place in future.

• 28 Jan 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source

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  It is a real pleasure to speak in this important debate on a vital topic. There have been numerous fascinating contributions from Members across the House, which is why I was so astonished by the contribution from the Opposition Front Bencher, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately)—she was patronising young people when she should have been apologising to them. Hundreds of thousands of young people fell out of employment, education and training on the Conservatives’ watch. In Banbury, youth unemployment is lower than the national average. I do not think that will surprise anybody; given its Soho Farmhouse, celebrity farmers and the Chipping Norton set, it may be assumed that youth unemployment is not something we know. That would be wrong, though, because there are deep pockets of deprivation in places such as Grimsbury and Ruscote—both of which I served as a councillor for—but also in Chipping Norton itself. There are too many young people there who have been failed for far too long, and the result is that they do not do things. They do not learn to drive, they find it difficult to get a job, and they end up having shorter lives than people just down the road from them. In rural areas, too, things such as the decimation of buses that we saw under austerity have led to some kids being unable to go to college or get into town to go to a job, so the cycle continues. The difficulties affecting our young people should anger us all and upset our British sense of fairness, because our young people have so much to offer. During the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, young people were asked to make sacrifices that were not made by any previous generation. Freshers’ weeks at universities and colleges were done via Zoom, kickabouts with your mates down the park were not allowed, and nights on the town were banned. What did young people get in return? They were told by the Conservative party at the last general election, “Go and do national service.” This is a party that did not help young people to get into work or to stay in it, with youth unemployment growing by almost 50% between 2021 and 2024. Under the Conservatives, the UK was the only G7 country whose employment rate was lower after the pandemic than before it—if they want to talk about records, that is their record. The Conservatives want to come to this Chamber and talk about what this Government are doing. They are the ones who closed youth centres; this Government are opening youth hubs. We are rolling out programmes to get people into work, in contrast to the Conservatives’ plan to cut support. This Government are overhauling jobcentres so that they support both people who are looking for work and businesses that are looking to recruit, and we are also getting buses back on the road. This Labour Government are providing a jobs guarantee; the Opposition are guaranteeing absolutely nothing, because they have learned absolutely nothing from the 14 years that they were in government.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  We have heard from Opposition Members that there are families watching this Finance Bill Committee with their bags packed in case their amendment does not pass. Does the Minister share my scepticism that people who hung around through a botched Brexit, Liz Truss and 11% inflation will leave the country on the basis of whether an amendment passes or not?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The shadow Minister talks about a stop-start approach from this Government. I find that a bit brass neck, to be frank, considering the record of the previous Government, who shifted the dates and forced all sorts of investment with regard to EVs. I welcome the measure. As part of the just transition, it is important to encourage the roll-out of EV infrastructure and charging points, particularly in rural constituencies such as mine where that is a significant challenge. Members will not be surprised to hear that I do not support the official Opposition’s new clause, but there is an important debate about how we ensure that investment is rolled out more equitably into constituencies such as mine. I ask the Minister to comment on how the Government see the roll-out of EV infrastructure in areas where there are issues with the electricity grid and network, so that the just transition can happen in those areas as well.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have to say that I find the bleating from the Conservative party—which delayed elections in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Somerset, as well as in several other areas named by the Secretary of State—pretty astounding. As welcome as the reforms are, they are taking up considerable time and capacity for local authorities, including Oxfordshire county council. The council is prioritising, among other things, economic growth, which this Government have said is their No. 1 mission. I urge the Secretary of State and his team to look at picking up the pace of these reforms, as welcome as they are, so that local areas and the councils that emerge from them can get on with delivering for their local residents.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister confirm that the deal provides certainty and full operational use of the base for 99 years?

• 14 Jan 2026 · West Midlands Police · Hansard source

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  As an alumnus of the University of Birmingham and former resident of Selly Oak, I have found this whole saga pretty astonishing from the start. We have had mistake after mistake and evidence that turned out to have been made up, and meanwhile the bond of trust with our Jewish community, which had already been under increasing pressure, has been caused further damage. Mistakes are made, but when they are this serious and include presenting falsified evidence to a Committee of this House, somebody has to take responsibility. I echo the calls made by Members across the House for the chief constable to do the decent thing and resign, and to do it today.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Iran · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the people who have taken to the streets of Iran, particularly in the face of industrial-scale violence and repression from this regime, as the Foreign Secretary stated. However, given the malign influence of Iran in the region, which she has acknowledged, and the risk it poses to British citizens, particularly those of Jewish extraction and from the Iranian diaspora, may I urge the Government to move at greater pace on the issue of proscription of the IRGC?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Social and Affordable Homes: Banbury · Hansard source

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  5. What steps he is taking to build more social and affordable homes in Banbury.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Social and Affordable Homes: Banbury · Hansard source

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  Nearly 11,000 homes in Cherwell district have been granted planning permission but remain unbuilt. This causes understandable frustration for local residents and the thousands of people in housing need. Will the Minister set out what action the Government are taking to improve build-out so that much-needed homes are built and delivered?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  I am very proud to be the Member of Parliament for Banbury, where I was born and grew up. I am keenly aware that I am the MP not just for that town. I am proud to represent the small towns of Chipping Norton and Charlbury, as well as the villages and countryside of north Oxfordshire. Many people in those places put their trust in me and in Labour for the first time. They did so because the Conservative party lost the trust of the British people in rural areas, just as it did in the rest of the country. People in those areas remember the Conservatives dragging them out of the European Union on broken promises to reduce immigration, a better deal for farmers and more money for our NHS. They remember a Conservative Prime Minister who partied during lockdown. They remember a chaotic mini-Budget that sent mortgages skyrocketing and nearly crashed the economy. I raise all that because the Tories try to pitch division between rural communities and our towns and cities where there is none. The reality is that while they are different, the people in those areas have exactly the same issues and concerns. The Conservatives left our communities with sky-high NHS waiting lists. They left village schools that were literally crumbling. They left terrible infrastructure and country roads riddled with potholes. They left rivers like the Cherwell in decline, clogged with sewage. Today we have been reminded that they have learnt absolutely nothing. We have learnt that they would do nothing for the residents in Claydon in my constituency who are suffering harassment because they complained about their pets being killed, their gardens wrecked and their children terrified as dogs and horses from the Warwickshire hunt run through their village under the smokescreen of trail hunting. I will acknowledge that the issue of agricultural property relief has caused concern for many farmers, but the chief reason for their concern is not just changes to tax. They are concerned because they were let down by the Conservative party for so long. They know that the Conservatives sold out farmers and undercut them in the trade deals with New Zealand and Australia.

• 7 Jan 2026 · Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  I echo the sentiments of my hon. Friend’s predecessor. The farmers in my constituency know that the Conservative party allowed food inflation to reach 19.1%, while they continued to suffer from unfair market practices from supermarkets that prospered, rather than the farmers themselves prospering. They know the Conservatives bottled planning reforms that would have made it easier for farm businesses to invest, diversify and grow. They also know that the Conservative party likes to pigeonhole people who live in rural areas. Our villages and our countryside are filled with different people who have one thing in common: their love of where they live and their desire to make it better. They want a Government who are committed to fixing and solving the issues that matter to them—the NHS, schools and the economy—but they also want better buses, better connectivity and an end to rural crime. People in villages across my constituency abandoned the Conservatives at the last election. The reason they did that was because the Conservative party abandoned them. Well, I can promise them one thing: I won’t.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief · Hansard source

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  I thank farmers in my constituency of Banbury and Chipping Norton for engaging constructively with me on the issue—well, the vast majority of them, anyway. I know that they will welcome these changes, as they will welcome the record £1.8 billion investment in sustainable farming and food production provided by this Government. However, they are concerned about trade deals, having been left high and dry by the previous Government, so will the Minister confirm that this Government will protect farmers, not sell them down the river as happened previously?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Electoral Resilience · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend will be aware that the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) recently failed to declare on time hospitality in a French villa from the wife of the former Russian deputy Finance Minister. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that the offer and acceptance of gifts and free holidays from Russian oligarchs will be in the scope of the review?

• 11 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Minister has rightly congratulated Lando Norris and McLaren on their victory in the Formula 1 championship at the weekend. Motorsport brings in an estimated £9 billion to the UK economy, along with high-skilled jobs, cultural soft power and so on. Will the Minister join me in commending the sector on its contribution to the wider UK economy, and perhaps join me in visiting one of the Formula 1 or motorsport teams in my constituency?

• 11 Dec 2025 · National Plan to End Homelessness · Hansard source

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  I welcome this strategy and pay tribute to the Minister and her predecessors for the work that has gone into it. I also pay tribute to the Banbury Youth Homeless Project in my constituency, which does great work with young people affected by homelessness, and extend an invitation to the Minister to come and visit the organisation at some point. One feature of the current housing crisis is that temporary accommodation is often anything but. The Minister has reiterated the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes during the course of this Parliament, but I would be grateful if she could provide some detail on how the Government plan to accelerate the delivery of homes, particularly in areas like mine, where infrastructure issues are frequently a barrier to the delivery of much-needed affordable homes.

• 10 Dec 2025 · Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer · Hansard source

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  The Conservatives have spent a lot of this debate saying that apologies are due from the Government, yet under them £11 billion of taxpayers’ money was lost in covid fraud. Does the Minister agree that if an apology is due from any party in the House, it is them?

• 10 Dec 2025 · Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 4 Dec 2025 · Dawn Sturgess Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister for his statement and pleased to hear of further sanctions. He stated that Dawn Sturgess was the victim of an utterly reckless and dangerous act. I would go further and call it a heinous crime, the responsibility for which lies with Vladimir Putin, among the many other such crimes for which he is responsible. The Minister also said that we must honour Dawn Sturgess’s memory. My plea to him would be that we do so by never allowing Vladimir Putin to escape responsibility or accountability for the crime that was perpetrated in Salisbury that day.

• 4 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. What steps is the Minister taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in Banbury with public procurement?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

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  I am delighted by the Chancellor’s announcement in last week’s Budget, having had decades of Tory Governments dithering and delaying while pensioners lost out. It is a great sign of what this Labour Government are delivering on pensions. Could the Minister confirm how much, or by what amounts, those affected are likely to benefit from the changes he has incorporated into this Bill?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

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  I thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), for securing this urgent question. The River Cherwell runs right through the heart of Banbury, so this issue and the images and footage from the weekend have concerned a number of my residents as well. Can the Minister reassure them that the Government are supporting local authorities as best they can so that they can fulfil their obligations to tackle environmental crime?

• 28 Oct 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Twelfth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. The hon. Lady makes a point about the importance of neighbourhood plans, and I have had parish councils contact me about this. As the Minister just said, it is about priorities. If the Liberal Democrats are serious about the Government funding local councils to continue with neighbourhood plans, should they not also put forward how that will be paid for, given that they have opposed all the tax measures that this Government have introduced in the last year?

• 23 Oct 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman rightly praises the role of local newspapers. I have some brilliant ones in my constituency, including one that goes out in Chipping Norton and hence is called Chippy News . It is produced by volunteers and does a lot of the things that the hon. Gentleman talked about. However, he mentioned the diminished circulation of newspapers. If he really wants better consultation and engagement with residents, does he accept that making the proposed amendments that might not be the best way to ensure that?

• 23 Oct 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Having been a district council opposition leader for 10 years, I can say with some real clarity that the agenda was not always dominated by the controlling group; in fact, a lot of the motions put forward by the group I led were accepted by the controlling group. It is all about the quality of the councillors and the opposition—it goes back to what my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire said about culture—rather than necessarily the system. Does the hon. Member agree?