Sean Woodcock MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Banbury FM provides news, music and information. Its services are in many ways much better than those provided by larger FM licence-holders. Unfortunately, Ofcom’s effective veto on stations obtaining FM licences means that Banbury FM and many other independent local radio stations are accessible only via digital platforms. That deprives parts of society—especially the elderly and the isolated—access to their services. Will the Leader of the House commit to a debate on improving access to FM frequencies for independent radio stations, and on the potential for Ofcom to provide on-demand licences?

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson) on his powerful maiden speech. I am not sure that when he and I attended a Birmingham University Labour Students meeting back in 2009, either of us anticipated that we would be making our maiden speeches in the same debate. I want to start by saying what an honour it is to stand here as the Member of Parliament for Banbury. As a Banbury lad who has never sought to represent anywhere else, I want to repeat what I told residents on the doorstep during the campaign: this is the job I have always wanted. To everyone who helped make that happen, I can only say thank you. I also want those residents to know that now I have this job, I promise that I will work hard every day to deliver for them, whether they voted for me or not. What makes this an even prouder moment for me is that I stand here as the first Labour Member of Parliament for the Banbury constituency. Until 5 July, the constituency had remained in the hands of one party for 102 years. But change is something that Banbury—the largest town in Oxfordshire—has got used to over recent years. For those who do not know, the Banbury constituency is at the furthest point north in the south-east region, encompassing not just the town of Banbury but the towns of Chipping Norton and Charlbury, as well as countless villages and rolling countryside. Banbury is a beautiful part of the world to live in and represent. It is most famous for our nursery rhyme, known across the English-speaking world: “Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross, To see a fine lady upon a white horse; With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes.” Banbury’s history is more than that, though; indeed, it is more than just the town itself. The constituency reflects our country’s history, including in its foundations and its landscape. We have the neolithic and bronze age Rollright stones; the settlement on the edge of Chipping Norton left to us by the Romans; the Norman castle mound at Deddington; and Broughton castle which, as well being a stunning late-medieval stately home, is likely to be recognisable to many Members as the setting for TV’s “Wolf Hall”, and the films “Shakespeare in Love” and “Three Men and a Little Lady”. I was once told that one of the only requests to film there that the owners declined was when the studio wanted to paint it pink, which was probably wise. In the village of Wroxton, where I went to school, we have the former home of Lord North. He is also buried in Wroxton, giving us something that not all constituencies have: the resting place of a former Prime Minister. Bliss Mill, Tooley’s boatyard and the Oxford canal are all remnants of the area’s growth during the industrial revolution. But the most colourful time in our history is undoubtedly the civil war, when Banbury itself was on the side of the roundheads, despite its castle—right in the middle of the town—being on the side of the cavaliers. The people of Banbury were so unmistakably puritan that a poem was written about it: “To Banbury came I, O profane one! Where I saw a Puritane-one, Hanging of his cat on Monday, For killing of a mouse on Sunday.” More happily, “the Puritans” is the nickname for the only supporter-owned football club in Oxfordshire, Banbury United. I mention all this not just because I am really proud of where I call home and its role in our past, but because I want the House to understand what the Banbury constituency is all about. Although it did not change hands politically between 1922 and 2024, change did come to Banbury in a big way. Old industries such as making cloth in Chipping Norton or aluminium in Banbury went, while new ones such as logistics with companies such as DHL and TWE Haulage, food processing with Fine Lady Bakeries and Go Fresh, and high-end mechanical engineering with the Haas Formula 1 team and Prodrive came in instead. Other industries, such as brewing, moved within the constituency. We can no longer get a pint in a Hunt Edmunds pub, but Hooky beer from Hook Norton is on sale across the United Kingdom. The building of the M40 in many ways permanently changed Banbury from a small, semi-industrial market town into something completely different. Thousands of new homes have gone up as our area has become increasingly attractive for commuters to Oxford and London, but we still have a council waiting list that has quadrupled in a decade and a private sector that cannot meet the need. Meanwhile, vital infrastructure such as schools, roads and health services have failed to meet demand, posing fair questions from the community for those, like me, who support the Government’s ambitious house building agenda. While they have changed, Banbury, Chipping Norton, Charlbury and the villages of north and west Oxfordshire have not lost their sense of community. The community united across political divides, and none, in defence of our local Horton General hospital when it was faced with downgrading, successfully fighting it off in 2008 and less successfully in 2016. As the use of food banks grew in the years after 2010, people across the area came together to help support those in need. For example, the Chippy Larder in Chipping Norton has become a much-loved community resource. Food security in Banbury cannot be considered without mentioning our rural farming communities and perhaps the most famous farm in the country: Clarkson’s farm. For all the entertainment that the series has provided, for me the most important aspect of it is the light that it shines on the huge challenges faced by our farmers, and not just in the Banbury constituency but throughout the UK. I hope that the Government’s programme to support them will relieve many of the burdens that have made farming so challenging for so long. Southill Solar farm on the edge of the Wychwood forest near Charlbury provides community-owned power to 1,200 homes. That is another reason I am so passionate about this Government’s exciting agenda on renewable energy. Then there is the volunteer driver service in Banbury, taking the elderly or those less able to hospital and GP appointments at nominal rates. Throughout the pandemic, as in other places, people across Banbury worked hard to help those less fortunate during that most testing of times. Banbury’s community, led by some of its many thousands of Polish citizens, got together again to gather supplies to support the Ukrainian civilians fleeing that conflict, while welcoming others into their homes and communities. On that note, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Victoria Prentis. Although there was much in the campaign that we disagreed on, this side of the House was united with the Conservative party in support for Ukraine. I pay tribute to Victoria’s decency and her clear compassion for humanity, exemplified as much by her taking a Ukrainian refugee into her home as by her nine years of service to the community. As for myself, I stand here in support of this Government and their mandate for change—something that Banbury has a history of embracing. Before I finish, I want to thank my family for their support, in particular my wife who, despite having multiple sclerosis, remains the strongest, most steady and most stable woman I have ever met. I stand here as someone Banbury born and bred, ready to build a better Britain and a better Banbury, and I am determined to do it.

• 10 Oct 2024 · Universities: Freedom of Speech · Hansard source

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  In the week that we mark the dark anniversary of 7 October, may I say that I welcome this Government taking these measures to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus? Does the Minister agree that this shows that this Government truly believe that, regardless of their religion, students should be able to get on with their studies without concern for their safety?

• 12 Sept 2024 · NHS: Independent Investigation · Hansard source

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  In 2016, the Horton hospital in my constituency lost its consultant-led maternity unit—a temporary downgrade that ended up being made permanent three years later. Is it not about time that someone from the Conservative party apologised for the damage done to Banbury’s hospital, as well as to the NHS as a whole?

• 9 Sept 2024 · Bus Franchising · Hansard source

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  At the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of two brand new community-owned green buses in the village of Middle Barton in my constituency. After 14 years of devastation to public bus services in Oxfordshire, such community-led schemes can go a long way to filling the gap. Does the Minister agree that a decade of renewal promised by this Labour Government must see an improvement and regeneration in rural bus services?

• 23 Jul 2024 · Health and Social Care Reform · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that the voices of frontline staff, whether in hospitals such as the Horton general hospital in Banbury or carers like my mum, are still often ignored when it comes to whistleblowing? More worryingly, those voices are silenced by threats to report them to regulatory bodies. Does he agree that we need to level the field of accountability for managers who ignore whistleblowers, and that there should be a regulatory body with oversight of medical managers?

• 23 Jul 2024 · Health and Social Care Reform · Hansard source

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  12. Whether he plans to hold discussions with NHS staff and patients on his plans for reforming NHS health and social care services.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. The Keep the Horton General campaign in my constituency has recently catalogued the poor experiences of tens of Banbury-based mothers who gave birth at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. Will the Secretary of State or a member of his team meet me to discuss these concerning reports of poor maternity care?

• 19 Jul 2024 · Covid-19 Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place on the Front Bench, and I thank him for his statement. He touched on victims of what has been labelled the shadow pandemic—the surge in domestic violence during lockdown. Does he agree that any lessons learned must include action to protect those for whom the instruction “stay at home” is the most dangerous they can receive?