Tom Rutland MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Mar 2026 · Trade with Europe · Hansard source

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  8. What steps he is taking to increase trade ties with Europe.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. This week, we have seen volatility in the global energy markets, following the escalation of conflict across the middle east. Will the Minister set out how, in the face of global turbulence, he will deepen co-operation and trade with the EU, as well as our allies across the world? My constituents are very keen to see that happen.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  Many of my constituents have been in touch with me in recent months concerned about the impact of foreign money and foreign influence on our elections, particularly after the recent conviction of the former leader of Reform UK Wales for taking Russian bribes. I am sure those concerns will be shared by my right hon. Friend’s constituents. Will she join me in welcoming the measures in the Bill that will strengthen the rules on political donations, in particular the requirement that donations from companies must come from money made in the UK, rather than abroad?

• 26 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Road safety is a concern for many of my constituents: those living on the Old Shoreham Road worry about dangerous accidents and near misses along the A283; the parents and staff at Swiss Gardens primary school are concerned about cars ignoring the school street closure; and the crossing in Broadwater, near Downsbrook and Whytemead primary schools, is considered so dangerous that the lollipop person was removed by West Sussex county council. I am glad that the Government are taking road safety seriously with our new strategy, so will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the School Streets Initiative volunteers for their work around Swiss Gardens primary school, and in calling on West Sussex county council to improve the enforcement of schools streets and to move the dangerous Broadwater crossing? Will he consider providing time for a general debate on road safety and how local authorities can be held to account on delivering safer streets for us all?

• 25 Feb 2026 · Student Loan Repayment Plans · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I want to thank my constituents Matthew, Courtenay, Frances, Giovanni and Veronica, who have contacted me recently about this, and parents such as Joanne who are worried about generational inequality. There are, to my mind, two problems with the plan 2 loan system. The first is psychological. It is incredibly depressing for people to see the amount that they owe continually increasing, despite making payments that can constitute hundreds of pounds each month. The second, more important one is financial. Under plan 1, as my earnings grew, I was making increasingly large monthly payments towards my student loan, but I knew that this was a temporary situation and I would eventually be debt-free. For those on plan 2 loans, it is not anything like so temporary, primarily due to the size of the principal and the higher rate of interest it attracts. That has a real impact, because the economic circumstances students are graduating into today are a world apart from those of their predecessors, who enjoyed free higher education. Today’s graduates face higher housing costs and a reduced graduate wage premium compared with previous generations. Those factors combine with high monthly repayments to reduce disposable income and leave young workers in stasis, living at home with their parents or in shared rental accommodation, perhaps partnered and wanting to start a family but unable to afford to do so. We have inherited this broken system, but we have the opportunity and responsibility to fix it, making changes to increase the monthly disposable income of graduates by raising the repayment threshold or staggering the percentage of income above the threshold that is repaid, and looking at the interest rate paid falling at a minimum to RPI or, ideally, to CPI, given that the Government are phasing out RPI.

• 6 Jan 2026 · BBC Charter Renewal · Hansard source

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  Without doubt. It is right that charter renewal will seek to deliver a trusted institution that is rooted in independence, accountability and transparency. When it comes to future funding, some options being considered are not necessarily suitable. It is right for the BBC to try to generate more commercial revenue when proposals to grow BBC studios to top up funding have merit, but we have to be careful to avoid overreliance on income generated through some of that activity, such as the selling of international rights of programmes, so that we do not get into a situation where the demands of streaming platforms and foreign markets’ audiences hold too much weight in BBC content creation decisions. The BBC produces content that reflects British culture, and its current funding model allows it to do so and to tell stories that international streaming giants would not have a financial incentive to tell. I have concerns around carrying advertising, which would reduce market competitiveness and negatively impact commercial broadcasters, while also introducing commercial pressures and incentives that could affect editorial or content decisions. We have already heard about the challenges around subscription and paywall models. I would be concerned about introducing a subscription paywall for the BBC World Service due to the soft power it projects abroad on our behalf. The British Broadcasting Corporation is the world’s best public service broadcaster, and we are lucky that it is ours. We would miss it if it went and, having benefitted from it for a century, we have a responsibility to safeguard it for the next hundred years.

• 6 Jan 2026 · BBC Charter Renewal · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member mentions bank accounts. Would he like to declare how much he has received in earnings from another broadcast media channel in the past year in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests?

• 6 Jan 2026 · BBC Charter Renewal · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as someone who has received BBC hospitality and formerly represented BBC workers at a union. I was going to cover the enormous contribution made to the economy by the BBC, but other Members have covered that, and beyond economic value, there is the value to our democracy that comes from the trusted, independent and impartial news provided by our national broadcaster. Of course, the BBC has got it wrong in some stories on occasion, but so too do all media outlets, and the BBC’s commitment to getting it right without fear or favour is second to none. That really matters. One has only to look at the broadcast media landscape in the US to see how difficult it is for people to access news without a slant or an agenda. It is not good for public discourse or democracy when people cannot come to an agreement on the facts of a matter. I worry that certain broadcast outlets in this country are now blurring the line between news reporting and editorialising. Beyond broadcast media with an agenda, we must also contend with the increasing amounts of disinformation and misinformation on social media. It is critical that we have a trusted national public service broadcaster able to get the facts into people’s feeds and allow them to their own views on the basis of those facts and unbiased, balanced reporting.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Middle East and North Africa · Hansard source

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  I agree with the Minister that Mr el-Fattah’s tweets are abhorrent, and I am glad that the Government have made their position on his views clear, but I cannot understand the clear lack of due diligence on such a high-profile case, which has led to getting him over here being a priority for successive Governments. It calls into question the adequacy of the procedures within the FCDO if even the civil servants working on the case were not aware of his tweets. Will the Minister set out what he will do to ensure that due diligence is conducted on high-profile consular cases, so that officials can provide advice and Ministers can make decisions with as full an understanding as possible of the facts relating to any particular case?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Migrants: Safe and Legal Routes · Hansard source

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  6. What steps her Department is taking to introduce new safe and legal routes for migrants.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Migrants: Safe and Legal Routes · Hansard source

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  I am proud of our country’s history of offering refuge to those fleeing persecution and want this to continue, as do many of my constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham. Can the Home Secretary set out how she will establish safe and legal routes for people while taking action to secure our borders from the criminal gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. Under the Conservatives, too many children’s life chances were scarred by poverty, but thanks to the choices made by this Labour Government last week, nearly 1,300 children in East Worthing and Shoreham are set to have their futures brightened. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is only under a Labour Government that all children will get the best start in life?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  It is a little over a year since we had the first Labour Budget in 15 years, and since that Budget, many of my constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham have felt the benefit in some way or another. They include the 20,000 people no longer waiting for treatment and getting on with their lives, benefiting from a 15% fall in hospital waiting lists at my local trust since the election; the children at Holmbush primary academy, one of the schools in the early adopters scheme for a free breakfast club, who now start every day prepared, focused and equipped to make the most of their school day; the parents benefiting from the additional free childcare, freeing them up to get to work; and the thousands of workers across Adur and Worthing benefiting from the boost in the minimum wage and wages more broadly, which have increased more in the first year of this Government than in the first decade under the Conservatives. Now we have our second Labour Budget of the term, a Budget focused on giving people across the country a helping hand with the cost of living. Let us contrast that with the Tories and Reform, who have both promoted their ideas to return to the days of austerity, as if we were not already having a hard enough time trying to tell the difference between them, with another three former Tory MPs having joined Reform just today. But let me tell the Tories on the Opposition Benches and the Tories with Reform masks on over there—oh, what a surprise, they are not there—that when we stood on a promise to change this country last year, we meant it, and I am determined not to let my constituents down by allowing their failed ideas to creep into Government ever again and distract from the very real job of giving our country its future back. On the other side, we have the Greens accusing us of austerity. They should welcome the record investment in clean energy that this Government are making, including expanding the Rampion wind farm off the coast of my constituency. Unfortunately, their record of ultimately opposing green infrastructure when push comes to shove— or when shovels come to ground—in their constituencies suggests that when it comes to the climate, all they have to offer is hot air. So let me tell them something, too. In this Budget, we are not returning to austerity, because austerity would not lift 450,000 children out of poverty, but this Labour Government will. Austerity would not expand free school meals to 3,200 children in my constituency, but this Labour Government will. Austerity would not cut £150 off the average energy bill, but this Labour Government will. Austerity would not freeze rail fares, fuel duty and prescription charges, but we will, just as we will cut NHS waiting lists and support the 3,500 small and medium-sized enterprises in my constituency with fully funded apprenticeships. Austerity would not rebuild this country, but this Labour Government will. We will do all that while adhering to our fiscal rules and cutting the national debt over the course of this Parliament. That discipline and stability are important, not just for addressing the amount of interest the Government pay on their debt—to be clear, there is nothing progressive about spending £1 in every £10 of taxpayers’ money on debt interest—but for the cost to individual families. We on the Labour side of the House know that when a Government choose populism over realism, or the economics of fantasy over stability, it is working people who pay the price—those people whose mortgages soared after Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, leaving them scrabbling around to find the extra cash to keep the roof over their heads. As a result of this Government’s determination to deliver economic stability, those mortgage rates are now coming down, with interest rates already cut five times by the Bank of England since last year’s election, saving the typical family £1,000 a year. With this Budget forecast by the OBR to reduce CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points next year, we can hope for further cuts to interest rates soon. We are under no illusion: there is more to do. But this Budget is another key step in turning the page on the chaos left by the previous Government. Guided by our Labour values, we are putting the priorities of the British people back at the heart of Government policy and, by doing so, giving working people the stability and investment in the future that they deserve.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Driving Test Availability: South-east · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has made it clear that the issue of delayed freedom is not limited to my constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham. My constituent Angela told me that last year the nearest test available for her daughter was in Liverpool, and local driving instructor Lawrence has many test-ready clients who are unable to take a test, which impacts his livelihood. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government are right to ban bots from booking tests and to increase the number of tests available? They are tackling the touts so that our constituents can get off the waiting lists and get on with their lives.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Private Rented Sector · Hansard source

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  In my constituency more than 10,000 residents are renting privately. These families, couples, friends and individuals have too often been the victims of excessive rent hikes, no-fault evictions, substandard conditions, and a private rented sector that benefits bad landlords and disadvantages fair landlords and good tenants. Can my right hon. Friend tell me when the measures in the Renters’ Rights Act will come into effect and give security to my constituents who rent privately?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Private Rented Sector · Hansard source

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  17. What steps he is taking to improve the private rented sector for tenants.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q13. Seeing dentists is crucial not just for people’s dental health but for their broader health and wellbeing, but access to NHS dentistry has been a growing problem for a number of years. In my constituency, only two out of 10 dentists are taking on new adult NHS patients—the number is the same for children. Will the Deputy Prime Minister set out what the Government are doing to improve access to NHS dentistry and put healthy smiles on my constituents’ faces?

• 16 Oct 2025 · Community Relations: Impact of Church Leaders · Hansard source

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  6. What assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact of church leaders on community relations.

• 16 Oct 2025 · Community Relations: Impact of Church Leaders · Hansard source

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  Over the recess, we witnessed the horrific antisemitic attack on one of Manchester’s synagogues and then, just days later, an Islamophobic attack on one of our Sussex mosques. It is in these difficult and worrying times that religious leaders can continue to play an important role in bringing communities together. What support can the Church provide to its leaders to continue to work across communities and across faiths, and to foster the supportive, inclusive and diverse tolerant communities that we are all proud to represent in this place?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. Last week I visited Rayner, a world-leading provider of cataract solutions based in Worthing, a winner of this year’s King’s Award for Enterprise for innovation, and a fantastic employer of local apprentices. I welcome the Government’s ambition to get two thirds of our young people into an apprenticeship, further education or university. What will the Prime Minister do to ensure that every young person in East Worthing and Shoreham has the skills they need to thrive?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15 October.

• 13 Oct 2025 · Social and Affordable Housing · Hansard source

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  The only way to solve the housing crisis is, as my right hon. Friend so articulately puts it, to “build, baby, build”. In my constituency of East Worthing and Shoreham, the median wage is £37,000, but the median house price has soared to more than 10 times that. What will the Government do to ensure that social and affordable homes are built for my constituents who desperately need them?

• 13 Oct 2025 · Social and Affordable Housing · Hansard source

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  22. What steps he is taking to build more social and affordable homes.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My constituents who use the A259 coast road are being deprived the choice of safe and sustainable travel to Brighton, as Conservative-run West Sussex county council has dragged its feet for more than three decades on delivering a cycle path. What can the Government do to help me and Shoreham-By-Cycle to push for that much-needed infrastructure, which West Sussex county council has long promised but failed to deliver?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q5. This Labour Government are getting our NHS back on its feet; there are 20,000 fewer patients on waiting lists at my local trust since the election, but there is still more to do, including making it easier to see a GP. Will the Prime Minister set out how the Government will give my constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham access to the healthcare that they deserve?