Boris Johnson: ...the trade deals we have with 70 different countries worth over £800 billion a year, with specific legislation in this Queen’s Speech—I hope I am not speaking too fast for the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen)—for our new free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. We are using our new freedoms to control our borders, with a new plan for immigration so that we can...
Rachel Hopkins: ...of living crisis, the Government decided to increase rail fares by a brutal 3.8%. Average fares have now risen by 48.9% more than in 2010—that is twice as fast as wages. In my constituency of Luton South, that means commuters to London now pay £4,717 for a season ticket, an increase of 46% since 2010. The Government’s short-term “Great British Rail Sale” does not scratch the...
Stuart Andrew: ...hon. Friend for raising that. I also emphasise, as I have many times in the past, the moral imperative to level up the country. Levelling up is not about an arbitrary divide that starts just to the north of the Watford gap, and nor is it about a London versus everyone else divide; it is about breathing new life into, and offering a more prosperous future to, neglected areas across the...
Trudy Harrison: ...County Council 1,242,575 Leicester City Council 148,727 Leicestershire County Council 794,423 Lincolnshire County Council 1,642,351 Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 991,589 Luton Borough Council 80,205 Medway Council 151,142 Milton Keynes Council 216,586 Newcastle City Council 170,564 Norfolk County Council 1,750,263 North East Lincolnshire Council...
Rachel Hopkins: ...point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In his opening speech in Tuesday’s Opposition day debate, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General implied to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) that the Government could ignore the motion simply because it was proposed by the Opposition. That motion was unanimously agreed as a resolution of this House, so can...
Rachel Hopkins: ...parliamentary sovereignty that many Government Members have spoken so passionately for, so I was particularly concerned to hear the Paymaster General’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) that he would refuse to honour a resolution of this House simply on the grounds that it was proposed by the Opposition. I hope the Minister will retract that and confirm...
James Daly: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins), who made a passionate speech. This has been an incredibly important debate, but the framing of the debate by the Opposition Front Bench was somewhat curious. The hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) did not want to answer any questions from Members, including myself, on taxation issues that impact the cost...
Matt Rodda: ...Hardy) spoke particularly movingly about a whole generation of pensioners. That brought to mind figures from my childhood, and I am sure that we were all touched by her speech. The hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) spoke about her local pensioners, and the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) talked about pensioners having to choose between heating and...
Jim Shannon: .... The most vulnerable have our support and assistance, but very often they do not have it when they need it. The hon. Lady is absolutely right. I am very pleased to see the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) in her place, with her energy and commitment. What she said was so important. She referred to girls’ education and safety, and she referred to cases in Nigeria, Afghanistan...
Michael Gove: ...to move faster to move people from hotel accommodation into more suitable long-term accommodation, but there are constraints. I am not criticising anyone; it is just that there are constraints in Luton and elsewhere. That is why we need to think about how we can find, and indeed secure, more suitable accommodation. We have done amazing work—the Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,...
Lucy Frazer: ...taxpayer now pays £1,200 less a year than they would have done without our changes. A number of Members have discussed whether the system we are introducing is progressive. The hon. Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins) and the hon. Member for Cynon Valley challenged that, but it obviously is when 15% of taxpayers are paying 50% of the tax and the highest 2% of taxpayers are paying 20%...
Karen Buck: ...’s side— including contributions from my hon. Friends the Members for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi), for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson), for Easington (Grahame Morris), for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins), for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey), for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh), for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake), for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) and...
Angus MacNeil: ...opportunity. The hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse also said that culture wars were a mistake. That is absolutely right; they cut people off, as was mentioned by the hon. Member for Bolton North East (Mark Logan). I was fascinated to hear about his use of Mandarin at home—I think he has told me before. It was amazing to hear what he had to say on language. He also said that he was in...
Greg Smith: I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s statement. The hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) asked about the communications campaign. I believe that the campaign is important, but the long-term societal shift must start from a very early age. What is the Minister doing in schools to ensure that young people understand this important issue and come out of school well educated and fully...
Sarah Owen: Luton North finds strength in its diversity; it really is one town of many voices. My constituents are concerned by the rising incidence of Islamophobia, backed up by worrying new findings from the University of Birmingham that Britons are three times more likely to discriminate against Muslims than any other faith group. Their fears are all compounded by reports of Islamophobia at the heart...
Helen Hayes: ..., but we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Kim Leadbeater) about the shocking figures on suicide and self-harm in her constituency. My hon. Friends the Members for Ealing North (James Murray), for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) and for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra) highlighted the importance of mental health support being provided in our schools. My hon....
Sarah Owen: ...people are having up and down the country—“Why are our energy bills going up so much, how are we going to afford them, and why aren’t this Government doing anything to help?” A family in Luton North came to see me last week, absolutely terrified about the real impact of the cost of living crisis—and it is a real crisis. The cost of their rent, their energy bills and their food...
Nia Griffith: ...no religious belief end up in religious settings because of the convenience, which should not have to be the case. It should not have to be that because they cannot get themselves halfway across North Yorkshire, they opt for something local instead, or for something that does not reflect their background and beliefs. I have attended humanist funerals that were planned by families and that...
Chris Elmore: ...an increasingly difficult online world. A number of speeches have been made by Members on both sides of the House, but let me deal first with what was said by my hon. Friends the Members for Ealing North (James Murray) and for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins), both of whom spoke about the notspots in their constituencies and the increasing problems with access to tech. People may have the...
Alex Cunningham: ... the Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) for partnering me through the Bill, and my hon. Friends the Members for Lewisham East (Janet Daby), for Liverpool, Wavertree (Paula Barker) and for Luton North (Sarah Owen) for helping to hold the Government to account. Thanks, too, to all the others who were involved in the process. Let me be clear: there is simply no need to change the...
