Tom Rutland MP: speeches 2026

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?