Steve Reed MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I would say to the constituents of the hon. Gentleman, with whom I have conversations quite often—not least on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, of which he is a distinguished member—that the selections for the county were made because they best reflect the distinct economic areas that operate across the county, because they will keep services closer to residents by organising around where people live, work and travel, and because they will make the best set of proposals for attracting further inward investment into the county, which will, I am sure, benefit his constituents, as well as others across the county.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a very powerful champion for Stevenage, and I have had the pleasure of visiting the constituency with him on numerous occasions. He is right to point to the many problems that come with duplication and the benefits of eliminating it. Buckinghamshire council estimates that it costs it £30,000 just to tell people that they have phoned the wrong council. That money will now be available in that county, and similar amounts will be available in other areas going through a reorganisation, to invest in frontline services. That will benefit his constituents. The way we will measure the benefits of the changes is through improved frontline public services. I have also announced proposals for an outcomes framework and a neighbourhood guarantee, so that my hon. Friend and residents can see for themselves how well their services are performing compared with other councils in the area and across the country.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have visited Exeter and know what a great champion my hon. Friend is for his constituents, who live in what is surely one of the most beautiful cities in the country. It has such growth potential, and this proposal will benefit the people living there. The proposal that we have accepted for Devon will allow Exeter to achieve its true potential, as part of a Devon that can also achieve its wider potential. We cannot allow the south-west to continue to be one of the poorest regions of the country. People living there deserve the same opportunities as people who live in wealthier parts of the country.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am sorry that the right hon. Gentleman seems to have forgotten that I made the announcements about Essex in a previous statement—perhaps he was not paying attention, but he should have been. I am sorry, as well, that he is against the savings that this will deliver, which will be invested in the frontline services that his residents will benefit from. When that funding goes in, perhaps he would like to write to his residents to tell them that he opposed the additional funding for those public services, and that it is Labour that put the money in.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I would remind the hon. Gentleman that the vast majority of these proposals have cross-party support. We have taken the decisions about Leicestershire, as in other cases, because they are the best way to secure the economic growth that the area needs and deserves, so that we can put money in people’s pockets, eliminate duplication and invest the savings in frontline services. We are interested in protecting the services his residents rely on, even if he is not.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  West Sussex will benefit from eventual local government reorganisation, just as other areas will, because of the savings from two-tier duplication, which we can plough straight into the frontline services that matter to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and residents across the county. As I said to the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover), there was a re-consultation, and we have had a vast amount of information coming in. I did not want to push ahead with a decision before we had considered all the views that were shared. We will look to proceed and announce as soon as we can after the summer recess. The intention is that the timetable for elections will remain the same.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes an important point. Of course, her constituents in both the areas she refers to deserve and will have their voices heard. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 allows for the establishment of area committees or town committees—whatever they want to call them—on which the councillors representing the area on the unitary can come together and operate a scrutiny function through which they can advocate for that area. That will give them a voice that I am sure she will ensure they are helped to use.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I respectfully urge the hon. Member to remember that fair funding reforms have aligned funding with deprivation. Under the previous Government, only three out of 10 areas got funding that aligned with levels of deprivation and need. Now it is over nine out of 10—a far better outcome for the entire country. The decision we have taken for Lancashire, including Blackburn with Darwen, is the best option for economic growth and investment in the infrastructure, which will create jobs and put money in the pockets of his constituents.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for recognising the benefit to her constituents from eliminating duplication and putting the savings into the frontline services that her residents care about—it is a shame that the shouty Members on the Opposition Benches do not care about their constituents in the same way as she cares about hers. Of course, financial viability was one of the key criteria that we took into account in accepting the proposals that we are putting forward today.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I remind my hon. Friend of the additional funding that is available for transitional arrangements; that is a recognition of the challenges that she has just described. The option we have selected for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is the one that is the most financially sustainable and the best for economic growth. We cannot allow the wide economic chasms across this country, which the Conservative party did nothing about, to continue. Her constituents deserve far better futures than those left to them by the Conservatives.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support in principle for the changes that we are making. The option we selected for Gloucestershire was chosen in part because it was the strongest financial case, for precisely the reasons that he has just outlined. There will be savings from eliminating duplication, which will be ploughed back into the frontline services that he cares about, and that are the most important consideration for his constituents.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I remind the hon. Gentleman that the vast majority of the proposals I have accepted have cross-party support. If he has been listening to these exchanges so far, but he will have noticed that not every single Labour Member supports every single decision that I am making, which rather contradicts the case that he is trying to make.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the way in which she champions her constituents, whom she so ably represents. She is quite right: one of the key reasons for local government reorganisation is to streamline local government so that areas right across England are ready for mayoral devolution and the additional powers that will come with that in due course. That benefits people across the country where they already have those powers, and I want to see it extended right across the country, including to her constituents.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am afraid to say to the hon. Lady that the south-west is sadly one of the poorest regions in the country, and her party left it that way. We are reorganising local government, and in the case of Devon we are doing so in a way that best aligns boundaries with economic geographies and transport planning so that we can get investment into Devon, which will bring the jobs that her constituents need and put money in their pockets. She may be against that, but Labour Members want to see her constituents prosper.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  In the case of Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, it is right that we take the time to get the decision absolutely right. I offer reassurance to the right hon. Gentleman and his constituents that our full intention is that the election schedule for 2027 will go ahead as timetabled and that the new unitaries will come into force in April 2028.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  It is important that we get the process moving, because we will not realise the benefits of economic growth, job opportunities and money in people’s pockets if we keep delaying it. We need to get it completed in this Parliament and get areas ready for the mayoral devolution that will follow. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend, and support him in ensuring that his constituents will benefit from the changes. I know from earlier conversations that he is keen to ensure that we maintain the unique heritage and identity of those communities, and I will support him in doing that.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have had the great pleasure of visiting Portsmouth with my hon. Friend on several occasions, so I have seen at first hand what a powerful champion she is for her constituents. She has raised this point with me previously. I am more than happy to ensure that she has a meeting with me or another appropriate Minister to discuss her very legitimate concerns.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question and always championing the interests of his residents. I would remind him that through fair funding, we have realigned Government funding for local authorities with deprivation and need, which will ensure that funding is distributed fairly in a way that it was not during the 14 years of the previous Government. The decisions for Lancashire were taken in part because of the strong alignment with economic areas, commuting patterns and transport links, because that is the way we can attract inward investment to bring the jobs that will put money in the pockets of his constituents and other people across the county of Lancashire.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question and his powerful advocacy for his constituents. The changes we are making are, in part, intended to lay the framework for the mayoral devolution that will follow. That will provide significant new powers for Lancashire when it comes. I am happy to ensure that he gets the meeting he has asked for.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have had the pleasure of visiting my hon. Friend’s constituency with him. Indeed, I know the county very well because it is where I was brought up. He is absolutely right. The savings that we will realise through local government reorganisation will be ploughed straight back into the frontline services that he and his constituents care about the most. They will see a benefit from that, and greater inward investment. That will bring further jobs and opportunities that people in Hertfordshire deserve.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I believe that the option we have selected was the one supported by the Conservative party in Gloucestershire. We selected it because it was the strongest and most stable option, and presented the strongest financial case. There will be savings coming through this process, and they can be ploughed back into improving the frontline services that residents in Gloucestershire want to see running far better. It is good to know that they have the hon. Gentleman’s support in seeking to achieve that.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have visited my hon. Friend’s constituency with him on several occasions and I recognise the work he does to champion his local communities, including through the process we are currently engaged in. Council tax will be a matter for the council to set for itself, within the parameters permitted, and it will take those decisions in due course. The particular split in the case of Staffordshire was proposed and selected to minimise service disruption by aligning with delivery, commuting, patient flows and partnership. The proposal we have adopted will be very strong on financial sustainability and resilience. That will benefit the stability of services, but it should also benefit council tax levels further down the line.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Financial viability was one of the key criteria against which we assessed all the proposals, and we selected the most viable options in all cases where that was before us. We would certainly not have accepted proposals that were not financially viable. I believe that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents will benefit from the proposals because of the inward investment that will be brought into Devon, the jobs it will attract and the money that will be put into local people’s pockets. I know that he and I share a determination to correct the economic imbalances that hold back people who are living in Devon. They deserve more access to opportunity. Thanks to these proposals, that is what they will get.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The proposals we are bringing forward are the best for economic growth and for savings, which we can plough into the frontline services that I believe the hon. Member’s residents care about the most. I have said on a number of occasions already that the reason for the delay in West Sussex is that there was a reconsultation. We have had a huge amount of responses to that. I want to show those people who took the time to share their views the respect of considering them before we come forward with final proposals. She referred to social care services. We have announced £1 million of transitional funding for all areas undergoing a reorganisation, so that we can guarantee that services come through local government reorganisation in a stronger position than they went into it.

• 15 Jun 2026 · High Streets · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on her very well-deserved recognition. She raises an extremely important issue, which I am sure is of concern to Members right across the House. That is why it will be welcomed on all sides of the House that the Home Office has announced a high street organised crime unit to tackle organised crime where it is operating through high street shops and bringing down the high streets that residents want to see returned to vibrancy, as places that symbolise the life and heart of the communities they are part of.