Kelvin Hopkins: I wish to present this petition on behalf of Mr Pat Conway, No-to-North group co-ordinator, of 407 Turnpike drive in my Luton North constituency, and 947 other signatories. The petitioners oppose development to the north of Luton, and have set out the reasons for their objections, believing that there are better alternatives for growth that should be considered instead. The petitioners...
Mr David Madel: I am all for co-operation with Luton, as my hon. Friend will know. I am all for talking to Luton, co-operating with Luton and thinking with Luton, but I am utterly opposed to domination by Luton, and there will be domination by Luton if we have a north-south split. I conclude with some questions and suggestions. Why was not the status quo suggested by the commission as an option? It is for...
John Bercow: I greatly enjoyed the Secretary of State’s answer to the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins), and I hope he will not take offence if I say that the hon. Member for Luton North was not himself in government—he looked rather shocked, nay affronted, by any suggestion that at any time in his career he might have been. The hon. Member for Luton North is a career Back Bencher and is...
Sarah Owen: Passengers in Luton North will be concerned by reports that the Chancellor is planning to cut our railways. After 15 years of Access For All funding, it is truly shocking how many stations, including Leagrave in Luton North, remain inaccessible to wheelchair users, those with mobility issues, and parents like myself with pushchairs. Under this review, will the Secretary of State accelerate...
Kelvin Hopkins: ...are not just about my own constituency. If the eastern region is to be made a meaningful and coherent region, we must have better east-west links. At the moment, it is much easier to travel from Luton to Leicester than from Dunstable to Dunmow. Indeed, the prospect of driving to Dunmow is something at which I blanch, having done it from time to time and taken many hours to do so. We heard...
Rachel Hopkins: I speak on behalf of my constituents in Luton South and those of my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). The petition, on the impact of covid-19 on Luton Council, states: The Petition of residents of Luton, Declares that the COVID-19 crisis has radically impacted upon the operation of London Luton Airport, resulting in a significant drop in commercial income, which in turn...
Frank Dobson: I understand that the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Luton, North (Mr. Carlisle) are trying to find out what will be the status of county councillors from Luton following the election in May next year of the new Luton council. Unless there is some provision which is not in this order, it would appear to me that councillors from Luton will be able to take a full part in the activities...
Peter Lilley: ...a lack of clarity under clause 118, which states that a multi-area agreement “specifies improvement targets for that area.” However, if the authorities are achieving improvements in, say, Luton, by building houses in north Hertfordshire, what happens then? Can the Minister, under the clause, require them to include north Herts in the multi-area agreement so that the local...
Peter Lilley: ...relevant to the desirable aims of the Bill. Let me outline the specific case. The Milton Keynes and south midlands spatial strategy covers a region, as its name suggests, from Milton Keynes down to Luton and Bedfordshire, but not Hertfordshire. A consultation was carried out on that spatial strategy throughout the area of the south midlands, but not in Hertfordshire. No one in...
Mr Colin Moynihan: We can look at examples in English football now, not least at Luton, the club of which my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North is chairman. Initially there was a considerable drop in membership, but then the families started coming back to Luton and attendances went up.
Joan Ruddock: The hon. Gentleman said that he endorsed what his hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North (Mr. Carlisle) said. Will he reconsider that? Surely we do not want local authorities to do anything less than their duty under health and safety law, especially in connection with food, which the hon. Member for Luton, North mentioned. We do not want to have to choose between foods poisoning and noise.
Ivan Lewis: Ministers have answered letters from both the hon. Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) and the hon. Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) about the allocations made to both Bedfordshire and Luton primary care trusts. There have also been a number of letters from the local patient and public involvement forums as well as members of the public on the same issue.
Rachel Hopkins: ...speech during this part of the debate on the Queen’s Speech, because like many Members on both sides of the House, local government is close to my heart, having served as a local councillor in Luton for over eight years. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), I too will champion local government in this Parliament. As a born and bred Lutonian, it is a real...
Kelvin Hopkins: It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on securing this debate and on her excellent speech. I am here to talk about rail connectivity to regional airports. The Minister will remember that a little while ago I spoke in a debate about eastern regional airports, specifically about Luton. Since then,...
Alan Johnson: My hon. Friend has taken a great interest in this matter over a number of years. My hon. Friends the Members for Luton, North (Mr. Hopkins) and for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) have made that very point. I think we are all determined that what happened to the Vauxhall work force at Luton does not happen to workers anywhere else in the country in future.
Richard Caborn: Further to the point of order raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) about the hon. Member for Luton, North (Mr. Carlisle), Mr. Speaker. Not keeping up-to-date lists of Members' interests can be extremely misleading to hon. Members. Last week, as you probably know, an injunction was to be taken out against the BBC in connection with the highly successful concert...
Gavin Shuker: I rise to present six petitions in the same terms, three from my constituency—Chapel Street, Hart Hill and Rothesay—and, on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins), Gill Blowers, Grasmere and Pastures Way nursery schools. The petition of the parents, carers and staff of Chapel Street, Gill Blowers, Grasmere, Hart Hill, Pastures Way and Rothesay maintained...
John Healey: ... Birmingham 1,467 2,000 Birmingham, Edgbaston Birmingham, Erdington Birmingham, Hall Green Birmingham, Hodge Hill Birmingham, Ladywood Birmingham, North Field Birmingham, Perry Bar Birmingham, Selly Oak Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath Birmingham, Yardley Hull 404 427 Hull, West and Hessle ...
Gavin Shuker: Does the Minister understand the concern that he will cause in Luton and the surrounding areas by his shelving of the A5-M1 link road to the north of Luton, which is vital not only for improving transport but for solving our housing problems? Those housing problems will be even more acute in the coming years because of the coalition's policies, which will force London residents out to places...
Sarah Owen: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis). This year has been like no other for young people in Luton North. Last summer, when the Government nearly snatched away offers from the brightest kids in Luton, I met 16, 17 and 18-year-olds who felt that the Government were holding them back because they were seen as coming from the wrong town—because...
