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Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP: speeches

248 published records · newest first.

Speeches

  • 18 Nov 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source
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    My hon. Friend speaks with a great deal of experience. I am sure the Minister and his team will take the contributions made by hon. Members on board because they are setting out how we will make a positive impact on the lives of those in our communities. That is what we were elected to do, drawing on our various diverse experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. Breakfast clubs provide further potential benefits. As my hon. Friends have highlighted, a proper sit-down breakfast, among peers, not only allows children to access healthy food, but encourages the building of interpersonal relationships and the progression of social skills—key aspects of a child’s development that are often overlooked in an educational setting. Will the Minister assure me that universal breakfast clubs will not only provide a healthy meal for young children, but also facilitate and encourage development of vital social skills?

  • 18 Nov 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source
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    Given his experience from his mayoral role, my hon. Friend will be fully cognisant of some of the issues faced by our rural communities. Yes, it is flabbergasting to see not a single member of His Majesty’s Opposition on those Benches, because they should highlight these issues.

  • 18 Nov 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source
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    The hon. Gentleman served as a council leader, and has made an excellent point about funding. How will this provision be effectively funded, to help our schools, and how will we ensure that councils can provide that extra support as and where required? I am sure the Minister will have heard the point that he eloquently made. Free breakfast clubs do not just alleviate the strain on lower-income families; they also level the playing field for men and women in work. That is just part of this Government’s mission to smash the glass ceiling, as well as the class ceiling. With 381,000 pupils currently using breakfast clubs every day, it is essential to ensure that those who want to access them can do so. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that families are made aware of this important service, as universal breakfast clubs are gradually rolled out? Universal breakfast clubs will ensure that when our children turn up to school, they are learning and developing, fuelled by healthy, nutritious food. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

  • 11 Nov 2024 · Defence: 2.5% GDP Spending Commitment · Hansard source
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    We live in an increasingly dangerous and volatile world, with hundreds of thousands of people dying or being injured on our own continent in Ukraine, and wars and conflicts raging in the middle east, Africa and beyond, not to mention the increased nefarious activity in the grey zone. Without a shadow of a doubt, we are dealing with exceptional circumstances and we need to grasp the gravity of the situation. I have a great deal of time and respect for the Secretary of State because I know that he gets it, but do others in government understand the gravity of the situation, because we need clarity? We need a timetable so that not only our allies, but those in our defence community, know where we are heading.

  • 31 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    T7. I want to see Slough High Street thrive, but doors are closing, businesses are struggling and antisocial behaviour has been on the rise, especially after over a decade of neglect and lack of support by Tory Governments. What practical steps are the Government taking to ensure that high streets such as ours, in Slough, are revived?

  • 31 Oct 2024 · LGBT Veterans Independent Review · Hansard source
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    I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. As he has rightly mentioned, although the damage of the ban on LGBT personnel serving from 1967 to 2000 and their abhorrent treatment cannot be undone, the restorative measures contained in the independent review remain hugely important. Does he agree that it is incredibly important, to ensure justice, that steps are taken to create greater awareness of the measures, which should be implemented forthwith?

  • 28 Oct 2024 · Middle East · Hansard source
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    Members from across the House condemned and mourned the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis as a result of the 7 October attacks, and we all demand the immediate release of all—almost 100—hostages still in Gaza. However, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. Tragically, that includes well over 10,000 children. Thousands more are feared dead under the rubble, given that more than 60% of Gazan structures have been bombed to rubble. How is that in any way proportionate? I appreciate that the incoming Labour Government have stopped the sale of all offensive weapons that could be used in the Gaza conflict. However, what further tangible steps can my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Government take to publicly condemn and call out the Netanyahu regime, and help bring these horrors to an end?

  • 28 Oct 2024 · Remembrance and Veterans · Hansard source
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    I rise today, in common with many other hon. Members, to express my immense gratitude and admiration for all our veterans of today and yesteryear. I also rise to speak from a different angle. I represent Slough, one of the most ethnically diverse constituencies, and I was the first turbaned Sikh to be elected to Parliament. I believe I have a specific duty to speak out for those who have often been relegated to the footnotes of history, but whose sacrifices must not be sidelined. It is more important than ever, particularly having seen our streets recently filled with far-right hatred, that remembrance is not exclusive. The contribution of all those who have sacrificed their lives must be remembered. In particular, it cannot be ignored that both world wars could not have been won by British-born troops alone, without the contribution of soldiers born beyond our own borders. In world war one, approximately 2 million brave soldiers from Commonwealth countries laid down their lives to protect ours. Some 166 African servicemen were decorated in recognition of their valour. Troops from the British West Indies Regiment were awarded 81 medals and received 51 mentions in dispatches. More than 1.5 million people from what is modern day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh contributed to the war effort, forming a largely voluntary army of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and many other faiths. Indeed, today over 11% of our current forces are from ethnic minorities. If we fail properly to commemorate and celebrate the contribution of our armed forces whose roots lie in countries across the globe, we do our own history a huge disservice. Coming from a strong military background myself— my great-grandfather lost a leg fighting in the first world war; my grandmother’s brother and other family members fought in the second world war—I feel immense pride in that shared history. It is staggering that despite making up just 2% of pre-partition British India, Sikhs formed 20% of the Indian Army. I am immensely proud of those who fought so valiantly and believe that such a contribution should be properly commemorated. That is why I serve as president of the National Sikh War Memorial Trust and have passionately campaigned for several years for a fitting memorial in central London to those Sikh soldiers, so that we may remember the tens of thousands of turbaned Sikhs who sacrificed their lives, and the more than 100,000 who were injured during both world wars. We must ensure that remembrance serves as a reminder to all that the freedoms we enjoy today were hard fought for by forces as diverse as modern-day Britain. We cannot airbrush the past, despite the efforts of some right-wing commentators to do just that. In 2020, Kevin Maguire from The Mirror and I had to educate Laurence Fox on Sikh sacrifices during world war one, following his bigoted comments that the film “1917” was somehow “woke” or “racist” for its inclusion of Sikh soldiers. To his credit, Laurence Fox later apologised, after he had been hit with some hard facts, but that ignorance has rooted in much of the culture of remembrance and must be challenged. Even today, forces who stood shoulder to shoulder with British troops struggle to get the recognition they deserve, but I have no doubt that my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary will rectify that. For example, Gurkha pensions are falling short of the Army standard; it took a fight to get certain visa fees scrapped for non-UK service personnel; and recent errors in the Afghan relocations and assistance policy have left Triples forces out in the cold. Pervasive racism caused a failure to treat 54,000 world war one casualties from India, west Africa, east Africa, Egypt and Somalia equally. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary campaigned effectively on that important matter, but there should not be another battle simply to get parity. Those who served alongside British troops should be a beacon of hope for a collective pride that goes beyond borders, colour or background. Their commitment to our country meant they were willing to sacrifice everything for it. Those contributions should be celebrated, not sidelined. Their commitment in the darkest of times ensured our safety. Fundamentally, without the sacrifices and contributions of the millions of personnel across the globe, we would simply not have the privilege of sitting here today. They have ensured our collective freedom. We must never take for granted the hard-won freedoms to operate under a democracy, to live in a pluralist society and to be safe. It is simply not enough to be thankful. We must celebrate their service, honour their duty and always remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation. We will remember them.

  • 28 Oct 2024 · China: Human Rights and Sanctions · Hansard source
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    Given the various global challenges we face, I fully appreciate that strategic dialogue with China is in our national interest. In the light of the persecution and diabolical treatment of Uyghur Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Falun Gong followers and pro-democracy Hongkongers, to name but a few, it is, however, important that human rights concerns are raised. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that he raised those human rights concerns forthrightly with his Chinese counterparts?

  • 22 Oct 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source
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    I welcome the announcement today of the UK’s increased support for funding for Ukraine as part of the extraordinary revenue acceleration loan scheme. The Secretary of State spoke about what is at stake for us all, but can he say more about what discussions he had with his counterparts at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting about the need for them to substantially increase their support? Further to our Prime Minister’s recent meeting with the US President, what update is there on the use of Storm Shadow missiles by Ukraine?

  • 15 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    T4. Many people in my constituency are grateful that Slough will soon be home to a £25 million community diagnostic centre, which will help to reduce waiting lists, but many are also concerned that the local trust may be contracting out services for MRI scans. Does the Minister agree that, instead of just outsourcing, local trusts should, whenever possible, try to increase expertise and capacity in-house?

  • 14 Oct 2024 · Strategic Defence Review · Hansard source
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    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I fully concur with your tribute to the late Alex Salmond. In these particularly volatile times, I fully welcome the Government’s strategic defence review. I for one hope it will include serious analysis of the Indo-Pacific region, because many of us are very concerned about China’s recent launch of military drills around Taiwan. Will the Secretary of State use this opportunity to condemn those highly aggressive and intimidatory manoeuvres? What are the Government doing to work with international allies to de-escalate tensions?

  • 14 Oct 2024 · Afghan Special Forces Relocation Review · Hansard source
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    I welcome the statement by my hon. Friend the Minister, who was a staunch advocate for the Triples when in opposition. We should never have needed the review, because those individuals bravely supported us when we needed their assistance for the betterment of Afghanistan. Can he advise whether a member of the Triples whose case was previously rejected under the ARAP scheme will be aware that their case is under review? How will the Department and the Government go about making contact with those individuals?

  • 7 Oct 2024 · Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East · Hansard source
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    As we mark the anniversary of the horrific Hamas attacks, the subsequent colossal death and destruction and the ensuing escalation in the region, we should say for anybody in any doubt in the country that Iran is no friend of ours. Indeed, it is disliked by many of its neighbouring Arab nations for its destabilising activities in the region. It was abundantly clear to many of us that as soon Iran came to the aid of its proxy Hezbollah, Israel’s allies would come to its aid to protect it from Iranian missiles. However, it is extremely frustrating that Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to ignore the international community and the UN Security Council resolutions. Our own Prime Minister was one of the first to call for an immediate ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and this UK Parliament voted eight months ago for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. How exactly will the UK Government help to bring all sides to the negotiating table and secure peace?

  • 7 Oct 2024 · British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations · Hansard source
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    I acknowledge the Foreign Secretary’s words on trying to right an historic wrong, and on how that will help to improve relations with the global south. I also note the words of support from our closest ally, the US President. However, what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that the strategic defence importance of the US-UK base remains after the expiration of the deal? How will we ensure that the voice of the Chagossians, who have never been under Mauritian Government control, will be central to any future arrangement?

  • 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source
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    Many of my constituents are extremely concerned for their safety. They are living in constant fear because of building safety and resilience issues. I am sure the shadow Minister agrees that the pace of remediation has been too slow in the seven years since the Grenfell tragedy. Does he also agree that firm action needs to be taken by developers, freeholders, manufacturers and other organisations, and that the Government must push to ensure that the pace of remediation is quickened?

  • 11 Sept 2024 · Building Safety and Resilience · Hansard source
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    The Minister knows that I have a great deal of time and admiration for him. I have risen to my feet on the subject of building safety because many of my Slough constituents, particularly leaseholders, are fed up of being fleeced. The Labour party manifesto committed to leasehold reform, so will the Minister say exactly what actions the Government will take to assuage the concerns of my constituents?

  • 11 Sept 2024 · Democracy in Bangladesh · Hansard source
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    I thank my hon. Friend, and I congratulate her on securing this Adjournment debate about democracy in Bangladesh. After the recent upheaval, many of my constituents in Slough and people across the globe are extremely concerned about not just democracy, but the rights of minorities. There have been many attacks, in particular on the Hindu minority community. Does she agree that it is incumbent on the new Administration to safeguard the rights of all minorities within Bangladesh?

  • 11 Sept 2024 · Democracy in Bangladesh · Hansard source
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    rose —

  • 10 Sept 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source
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    Let us be under no illusion: in the face of Russian aggression and invasion, the defence of the UK starts in Ukraine. My right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary was right to focus not only on the immediate challenges facing Ukraine but on the longer-term imperatives. Does he agree that the UK-Ukraine friendship is not just for the short term or for as long as it takes, but must endure in the years and decades to come?

  • 18 Jul 2024 · Foreign Affairs and Defence · Hansard source
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    My right hon. Friend is right to say that NATO is the cornerstone of our defence policy. We must also strengthen our role in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, but would he elaborate on how we will be extending our support and solidarity to Ukraine as it faces Russian aggression?

  • 18 Jul 2024 · Foreign Affairs and Defence · Hansard source
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    I thank my right hon. Friend for allowing me to intervene once again—he is being very generous with his time. He slightly touched on this point, but does he agree that the level of death and destruction and the loss of innocent lives in Gaza are intolerable, and that we must work to have an immediate ceasefire, an immediate release of hostages and urgent humanitarian aid into Gaza? Will my right hon. Friend outline what His Majesty’s Government are doing to bring that into effect?

  • 18 Jul 2024 · Foreign Affairs and Defence · Hansard source
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    Will my right hon. Friend give way on that point?

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