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  • Mark Francois – 2024 Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    Mark Francois – 2024 Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    The speech made by Mark Francois, the Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2024.

    Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for kindly calling me to contribute to this important debate on the King’s Speech, after 11 very good maiden speeches and 11 very promising—even fabulous—starts to parliamentary careers. Those who have been in this House a little longer will know that our great friend the late Sir David Amess, whose plaque now rightfully hangs on the wall, had a great talent for managing to combine a very large number of topics into one speech. I lack Sir David’s skill, so I will seek to confine my remarks this evening to three topics, all development related.

    The first topic relates to an expansion in medical capacity for the NHS, and specifically to proposals to expand the Jones family practice in Hockley. I declare an interest: my wife Olivia has worked in the NHS for nearly 20 years. In essence, the plan is to expand the practice, with a first-floor extension to create eight new GP consulting rooms and additional training facilities. Rochford district council recently approved planning permission for the extension, and the senior partner, Professor Dr Mahmud, and his active practice management team are now seeking approval from local NHS bosses to support the scheme.

    It is my intention as the recently re-elected local MP—for which I am very grateful to my constituents—to lend weight to these positive proposals. They are designed not just to expand capacity, but hopefully to provide training places for graduates from the new medical school at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford. For the record, I have also been working for some time to try to expand Riverside medical centre in Hullbridge, and I will be pursuing that with the NHS as well.

    Secondly, the town of Wickford has suffered a dearth of supermarket capacity in recent years. My constituents endured something of a perfect storm last year when the Aldi supermarket was closed, while at the same time the old Co-op nearby has effectively stood semi-derelict for three years. During that supermarket vacuum, my constituents were forced to fall back on the small Iceland in the high street and Wickford market.

    I was very pleased to reopen the enlarged Aldi last autumn, and it is now doing a brisk trade. However, the Co-op still remains undeveloped and, while boarded up, is occupying valuable spaces in the town’s principal car park. It is a long and complicated saga. Suffice it to say that the site was bought several years ago by a development company named Heriot, which originally came up with a plan in conjunction with the supermarket chain Morrisons to redevelop the store, with an underground car park and some flats above. I always had doubts about the commercial viability of those proposals, especially the underground car park, and the scheme collapsed some months ago.

    Nevertheless, Heriot is working on what might be called a plan B, and for some months has been in what it describes as “advanced talks” with another major supermarket chain. For commercial reasons Heriot asked me not to name the supermarket in this speech, something I have agreed to respect—although I have to say that the name of the company in question is now effectively an open secret, and was even being reported back to me on doorsteps by my Wickford constituents during the general election.

    I spoke to the directors of Heriot in advance of this debate, who assure me they are seeking to bring their commercial negotiations to a conclusion as soon as possible. They are well aware of my frustration at these three years of delay, which I conveyed to them again this morning, and they have asked me to relate that they realise that my Wickford constituents have already waited a long while for a new supermarket. That is an issue I campaigned on heavily at the general election, so I hope Heriot will be able to announce something definitive this summer. My message to Heriot is simple: “You have had more than enough time—get on with it.”

    Finally, over two decades I have seen examples of both good and bad development in my constituency. Young people cannot live at home with their parents into their 50s and 60s, so it must be possible to build some houses in a sustainable manner to meet the housing need. Crucially, however, the infrastructure required to accompany them has to be built first. To put it another way, from long experience, if development is to be successful—and it can be—as I said earlier, it has to be done with people, rather than to people. The proposals at a place called Dollymans Farm in my constituency, which I was re-elected with a mandate to oppose, are precisely the opposite of that. We all want to find somewhere suitable and appropriate for people to live, but we have to do that in the right way.

  • Rachel Blake – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    Rachel Blake – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    The maiden speech made by Rachel Blake, the Labour MP for the Cities of Westminster, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2024.

    Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) for describing his constituency so passionately. While we may strongly disagree on the need for growth and new development in this country, we may agree more on the future of our NHS, and I look forward to working together on that ambition.

    I am a proud Londoner, and like many Londoners I was not actually born here; I am delighted to share with you that I was born in Manchester and my family comes from Lancashire. In fact, for most of my childhood I was aware of only one football team—the Bolton Wanderers—but for the last 42 years London has been my home, and the chance to represent my home city is truly a special honour. I put on record my thanks to the residents of the Cities of London and Westminster for placing their trust in me as their representative.

    I start by thanking Nickie Aiken for her service. She is a pioneer, as the first woman to represent the Cities of London and Westminster, and is remembered fondly by many residents. She has shown me kindness and offered her advice, for which I am grateful. I know that here and across the constituency she will be remembered for her tireless work campaigning to regulate pedicabs, and her work to end the Vagrancy Act 1824 and deliver the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. I also pay tribute to my good friend Karen Buck, who represented the St John’s Wood neighbourhood wards of Abbey Road and Regent’s Park, which joined the two Cities constituency in the recent boundary review. When walking through Westminster with Karen, it is hard to find anyone in her constituency who does not know her and has not been helped by her. Through her tireless casework for tens of thousands of constituents, and her Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, Karen has made an outstanding contribution to lives in Westminster and beyond. She is a fearless representative and campaigner and a kind and wise friend. I am so grateful for her advice, and will do my very best to live up to her high standards.

    From 1977 to 2001, the two Cities were represented by Peter Brooke, who is remembered for his work as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and later as the Secretary of State for National Heritage. Finally, I also remember J. S. Mill, who represented the City of Westminster from 1865 to 1868, and who in 1866 became the first person in the history of Parliament to call for women to be given the right to vote. I hope that he would be happy to see Nickie, Karen and I delivering on his pioneering work for equality here in the two Cities.

    Truly, when a woman is tired of London she is tired of life. The Cities of London and Westminster are home to great cultural institutions: the national gallery, the royal opera house, the commercial centres of Oxford Street and Edgware Road, innovative start-ups alongside major international corporations, the Government here in Westminster and Whitehall, the international financial centre of the City of London, the beautiful Hyde Park, Regent’s Park and St James’s Park alongside the residential squares of Belgravia and Marylebone, and yes, Buckingham Palace.

    Many Members will know the neighbourhoods of Soho, Fitzrovia and Covent Garden as places to spend a night out. In fact, tens of thousands of people live here. We have St Bartholomew’s, one of London’s oldest churches, Bevis Marks, the oldest practising synagogue in the UK, and London Central Mosque. Just minutes away from Parliament we have the Peabody estates of Westminster, the pioneering and beautifully designed Churchill Gardens and Lillington and Longmore estates, the architectural delights of the Barbican, Golden Lane and the historic communities of Petticoat Square and the Guinness estate in Portsoken ward.

    All those places are home to diverse communities living side by side, but also to inequality and injustice, and the struggle to find a stable, affordable and decent home is holding people in my constituency back from meeting their potential. That struggle is holding our city and our country back from meeting our potential. Tackling the housing crisis has brought me into politics, and this debate on the King’s Speech proposals for economic growth is an important time to highlight the situation that many of my constituents face. Nearly 20 years ago, I worked at the Treasury on the Barker review of planning. It is with sadness that I note that we are still not delivering the homes we need. I am determined that this Government will deliver on our promise to build more affordable homes.

    Ending no-fault evictions will bring certainty and security for the approximately 40% of households in the Cities of London and Westminster who are renting privately. Our cross-Government strategy will put Britain back on track to ending homelessness, rough sleeping and temporary accommodation, which have been rising here for years and are harming so many. I am grateful to organisations such as The Passage and The Connection here in the two Cities for doing so much to support vulnerable people. The Cities of London and Westminster has one of the highest proportions of leasehold homes in the country. Residential leasehold is trapping tenants with unaccountable landlords, and I am pleased the Government have pledged a leasehold and commonhold reform Bill.

    It is characteristic of such an international place that global patterns affect our local communities. The rise of short-term letting and the risk of dirty money in property are contributing to a loss of homes for Londoners, and as their representative here I am determined to tackle that. I will be standing up for our local hospital and St Mary’s in Paddington, and continuing our campaign to secure funding for the redevelopment of London’s major trauma centre.

    The story of the two Cities is one that is optimistic, outward-looking, hard-working and driven. I hope to continue to represent this place in that fashion. I am the first Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament to ever represent this historic constituency, and I join colleagues in closing with a pledge to approach this new Parliament with a renewed commitment to respectful debate and disagreement. Elections are a time to make a choice. Now that a decision has been made, it is time to move forward with a relentless focus on public service and delivery.

  • Gregory Stafford – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    Gregory Stafford – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    The maiden speech made by Gregory Stafford, the Conservative MP for Fareham and Bordon, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2024.

    Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) on his maiden speech. I do not think that we crossed over at university, but mutual friends tell me that he was an excellent president of the Oxford Student Union. We can tell that his debating skills were honed there, and we saw that in evidence this evening.

    I want to express my gratitude to the people of the new Farnham and Bordon constituency for placing their trust in me and for allowing me the honour to represent them here in Parliament. I feel that giving a maiden speech is a bit like giving a best man’s speech at a wedding, as you are surrounded by disapproving elderly relatives who are going to hang on every word, but I can assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that none of the jokes that I have made before in any best man’s speeches will be given in this House, especially as I know that my mother-in-law is watching on the Parliament channel.

    I also wish to thank my family—especially my wife, Caroline, and my daughters, Susannah and Lucy, who have put up with me a lot over the past year—for their patience and support, as well as my parents, James and Theresa.

    Other hon. Members have noted that they are not the first people in their family to be Members of Parliament. I am not even the first sibling to be a Member of Parliament. I pay tribute to my brother, Alexander, who served the people of the Rother Valley constituency so diligently in the previous Parliament.

    Apparently, it is also customary to express gratitude to our predecessors in the seat—a small political obituary, as it were. Fortunately, both my immediate predecessors, my right hon. Friends the Members for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt) and for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), are still, as Members can see, very much in their political prime. None the less, I want to thank them for their generous support and advice since I was selected. They have both achieved amazing things for the constituents whom I have inherited. Campaigning was a sobering affair. On the doorsteps I was told: “Oh, we do like Jeremy”, or “Damian did such wonderful stuff for us”, or “You have very big shoes to fill”. To rub salt into the wound, the week before the election, the local paper ran a story on how much the people of Haslemere would miss the shadow Chancellor—believe me, I know my place.

    Speaking of predecessors, the predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire, Lord Arbuthnot, should be praised for his sterling work on the Horizonscandal and for bringing justice to the sub-postmasters so cruelly affected. I still hope that those who were responsible—by act or omission—are brought to justice.

    The newly created Farnham and Bordon is a county constituency crossing Surrey and Hampshire, making the life of a new Member of Parliament even more complex than it already is. More than that, the name, while referencing the two largest towns in each county, ignores the other towns of Haslemere and Liphook and the many villages that range between the larger population centres. Many argued for, and I supported, a less specific but more all-encompassing name for the constituency, such as the Wey Valley, taking its name from the beautiful River Wey that runs through it. Clearly they are not romantics in the Boundary Commission, so Farnham and Bordon stuck. The only saving grace is that its initials spell FAB, which sums up the area that I represent.

    This “FAB” constituency ranges from Farnham in the north to Haslemere and Liphook in the south, Whitehill and Bordon in the west, and the western villages of Surrey, such as Tilford, in the east. Bookended by the north and south downs, it is an area of outstanding beauty, with thriving market towns, pleasant villages, and a thriving sports and arts scene, including the prestigious University for the Creative Arts. It also has a significant military connection, most obviously in Bordon, which was home to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers until 2015 and is home to the Longmoor ranges, where Ukrainian troops are being trained. Military history is everywhere, from Amesbury school in Haslemere and Hindhead, where Montgomery lived during the war, to the Canadian war graves and memorial in Liphook, and the site of the first-ever two-minute silence in this country on Castle Street in Farnham. The residents of this new constituency are ever thankful for the role that our armed forces have played in keeping us safe.

    From Arthur Conan Doyle to Jonny Wilkinson, King John to Flora Thompson, and Graham Thorpe to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice), heroes and villains have been born, lived, worked and played in this fabulous constituency, but it is not the beautiful scenery, the historic gems, or the famous people who make this constituency the best in the country. It is not even the fact that my grandparents ran Stafford’s sweet shop in Haslemere for many years—what little boy would not want grandparents who ran a sweet shop? It is the current residents, businesses and community spirit that make FAB special, and a joy to represent. Every day there are local events, charitable occasions and community festivities to get involved with. Indeed, I doubt that anywhere else in this country can rival the number of duck races in the area.

    Following that Cook’s tour of the constituency, one might be forgiven for thinking that there are no issues to solve—a home counties garden of Eden. It of course cannot be denied that there are many areas of significant affluence, but it should not be concealed that there are areas of high deprivation, and I will champion their improvement. The constituency’s location is both a benefit and a curse. Within easy commuting distance of London, it provides a rural haven for those who wish to live outside but work in the city. That also makes it rich pickings for housing developers who look for any open space, green or otherwise, to build on. I am not against housing development—we need homes for our children and grandchildren—but we need the right homes in the right places, with the right tenure mix and with the supporting infrastructure.

    Conservative-run East Hampshire district council has done everything that it can to persuade the new Government to modify their housing targets to make them more appropriate for our area, including writing to the Deputy Prime Minister. I hope that she will respond positively. Indeed, if there is one issue that unites the whole of the new Farnham and Bordon constituency, it is that infrastructure has not kept pace with development. That is particularly acute in Bordon, where thousands of houses are going up without the supporting infrastructure. The GP surgeries, the NHS dentists, the schools, the roads and the leisure centres all need upgrading and expanding rapidly to meet that housing growth. We must not build more houses until infrastructure catches up. Otherwise we will be left with housing estates devoid of services, security and society. I am deeply concerned about the new Government’s plans on house building. Labour’s changes to planning, imposing top-down targets and removing the rights of local people to have their say on developments, is a retrograde step that has been met with anger from my constituents and resolute opposition from me.

    I mentioned the need for health services in our area. Having spent most of my career in healthcare, latterly working for seven years in the NHS, improving clinical services and patient outcomes, I know that both locally and nationally things need to change in the NHS. We need to have a grown-up and honest discussion with the public about how we are going to deliver, provide and fund the NHS and social care going forwards. For an ageing population with increasing healthcare needs and diminishing birth rates—that is, the people who are going to pay for the NHS—we need a cross-party discussion that brings all parties together to make long-term decisions on how we proceed with health and social care in this country. If I achieve nothing else in my time here, starting that conversation, and hopefully progressing it fruitfully, will be something to hope for.

    As a traditional, common-sense Conservative, I believe that we cannot pay for health and social care unless we have a strong economy. Despite a global pandemic, a war in the east of Europe and instability in the middle east, and regardless of the picture that the Government are trying to paint in their press releases, the most recent statistics show that the economy is turning around and is on an upward trajectory. I will oppose any measures by this Government, including the misguided nationalisation of industry and the socialist labour rules, that I believe will hamper or reverse that trend.

    Equally important is to safeguard ourselves from external threats. The rise of a resurgent Russia, China and North Korea is something that we should all be concerned about. I do not believe that it is hyperbole to say that we are in a pre-war era, and we need to ensure that our borders, skies and infrastructure, both physical and digital, are safe from threats. That is why I absolutely believe that we should move to 2.5% of GDP spent on defence immediately, and increase that to 3% when practical.

    In short, we must protect our economy, healthcare and national security to ensure the prosperity and safety of our country, but mindful that maiden speeches are not meant to be controversial, I shall leave it there and return briefly to the subject of my FAB constituency. In 1668, Samuel Pepys recorded that the people of Liphook were “good, honest people”. Given his own morals and motivations, I am not sure whether he meant that as a compliment, but I assure the House that it is as true now as it was then for the residents of Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere, Liphook and our surrounding villages, and I pledge to be a good, honest servant of them in this place.

  • David Lammy – 2024 Statement Following the Release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan

    David Lammy – 2024 Statement Following the Release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan

    The statement made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, on 1 August 2024.

    I strongly welcome the news that Russia has released a number of prisoners today, and am particularly relieved that British nationals Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan will soon be reunited with their families.

    Mr Kara-Murza is a dedicated opponent of Putin’s regime. He should never have been in prison in the first place: the Russian authorities imprisoned him in life-threatening conditions because he courageously told the truth about the war in Ukraine. I pay tribute to his family’s courage in the face of such hardship and hope to speak to him soon.

    Paul Whelan and his family have also experienced an unimaginable ordeal. I look forward to speaking to him as he returns home to his family in the United States after over 5 years in detention.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2024 Speech at the Science and Industry Museum

    Lisa Nandy – 2024 Speech at the Science and Industry Museum

    The speech made by Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 31 August 2024.

    From the England Football Team to our grassroots coaches, so many of you have told a different story and you have been a light on the hill in times of darkness.

    And you’ve reminded us that there is a better country out there.

    A few years ago I sat down with Danny Boyle, who hails from just down the road in Radcliffe. He says he’s from Bury, but he’s actually from Radcliffe.

    And I asked him how a country that could unite so decisively around the inspiring and inclusive story of the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony could descend so quickly into anger and polarisation and division.

    I asked him where has that country had gone.

    And he said simply, that it is still there. But it is waiting for someone to give voice to it again.

    And that is my firm belief that this country, as George Orwell said, lies beneath the surface.

    And it will be heard. Not out of some technocratic notion of fulfilling quotas, getting out of London, but because that voice has a spirit and energy our country desperately needs to hear.

    We are meeting here for a reason.

    Because this museum celebrates the industry, innovation, and enterprise of our people. The growing economy our country needs again. The contribution that regions like ours have made to our economy, our country and to the world.

    But most of all it tells the story of all the parts of our nation.

    It’s the story of the ordinary extraordinary people who contribute to the growth of our country, past and present. Who quietly in every community go out and build things that last and constantly, through their hard work, rewrite our national story.

    I spent many, many happy times here in this museum as a kid.

    And in turn have spent many happy times here with my little boy in recent years. Although he does want to know when the train section’s reopening.

    He has grown up knowing, as my generation did, that this is his museum, his

    inheritance – he belongs here, and this inheritance belongs to him.

    This museum, like so many of your institutions, help to shape and define us as we shape and define them. We pass them down from one generation to the next. And we neglect them at our cost.

    This museum is testament to the spirit of the city that has always believed in itself. And empowered the next generation to believe in itself anew; often despite the odds.

    It was just down the road in Salford that Engels wrote ‘The Condition of the Working Class’ in a city that was the driving force of the industrial revolution.

    That spirit lives on in my favourite museum – the People’s History Museum. It’s funded by the councils of Greater Manchester, and there’s a reason that we do. These are the councils who have always understood that the history of ordinary people and the ideas that drove them can not just help us not just to interpret the past, but can help us navigate the future.

    That museum reminds us that change doesn’t come easily. It took the battle of

    Peterloo to enfranchise the men who were building our country – and far too long before our women won that right too. But today I see that spirit at work right here amongst the amazing Mancunian women like Erinma Bell who leads the battle against the violence that scars a generation and shames our country and is a priority for our Government.

    This was the city that gave the world the first free library – the Central Reference Library – which stands as a shining testament to how much the mothers and fathers of this city not only believed in our people, but cherished our culture.

    And I grew up here in the aftermath of the Moss Side Riots and so it is in my DNA that never again can we be allowed to write off a generation of young people. It was that belief that led me into my first job at the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint – where I learnt everything I know about politics from those brave young people – and I feel them walking alongside me as we create a new generation of OnSide Youth Zones – from Wigan to Bolton – and show this generation that they matter to us again.

    From Granada TV and its pioneering journalism, whether the campaign to free the Birmingham Six to the persistent approach to telling the story of Hillsborough and achieving justice for the 96 – to today’s Manchester Evening News that has defied the odds to become one of the most groundbreaking papers in the country and reminds us all why local and regional papers matter so much.

    As the late great Tony Wilson said, “this is Manchester – we do things differently here”.

    That drive, that creativity, that inclusion, that willingness to do things differently. That is the spirit of our new Government.

    I hope you can see and feel it already through the curriculum review we’ve initiated to put creative and sports opportunities back at the heart of a richer, larger life for every single child.

    I hope you can see it through our investment in grassroots sport and our determination that the legacy of the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024 is measured not just in trophies and medals but in choices and chances for every child wherever they live and whatever their background.

    Through our partnerships with our mayors, councils, businesses and charities, we’re putting rocket boosters under our growing industries – film and theatre, TV, fashion, video games, heritage and tourism – to take the brakes off the economy, create opportunity for every child and to export our incredible talent across the world.

    And through my drive to ensure the public appointments that we make truly reflect our country in all its glorious diversity. Not to fulfil a quota, but to ensure that our government draws on the creative might of all of our people.

    This is the spirit this city has always embodied.

    And this is the country that we can be.

    When we turn to face the nation again in five years’ time, it is our ambition that we will face a self-confident country, at ease with itself, where all of our people see themselves in the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation – their contribution seen and valued.

    And that work will be the privilege of my life.

    But it’s work that belongs neither to me nor to this Government but to each of us. Equal citizens, ordinary people, but each one of us with an extraordinary contribution to make.

    I will not pretend it is easy.

    But growing up here, with my background taught me that whatever people say – we can move mountains.

    And when I said I wanted to do this – our first national event in Manchester – they said you wouldn’t come.

    But you did.

    And my message to each and every one of you is that if you share that belief in our country. If you have that zest to make change. If you want to challenge us and are willing to be challenged in turn.

    Then I promise you. That we will walk alongside you. We will have your back. And we will give voice to the country many of us have believed in all our lifetime but never quite yet seen.

    As the great Mancunian band Take That once said:

    “We’ve come so far. And we hope for more.”

    The next chapter in our country’s story is about to be written. What it looks like – is up to us.

  • Alan Strickland – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    Alan Strickland – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    The maiden speech made by Alan Strickland, the Labour MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2024.

    I congratulate the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy) on his maiden speech, and all those who have spoken for the first time in the House today.

    It is an honour for me to make my maiden speech as the first Member of Parliament for the Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor constituency. I pay tribute to those who came before me. The former Sedgefield constituency makes up the majority of the new seat. In addition, we have taken Spennymoor and Tudhoe wards from Bishop Auckland, and Coxhoe ward from City of Durham. I wish to put on record my thanks and pay tribute to Paul Howell and Dehenna Davison for their public service, and to my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) for her continuing dedication to her constituents.

    Unlike some former Members of this House, I am not fluent in Latin, but I am assured that the motto of my hometown translates as “Not the Least, but the Greatest we seek.” This has not only served as a powerful statement of intent for the new town of Aycliffe since 1947, but captures the shared spirit of the towns and villages across this new constituency—varied in history, but united in a desire to get on, to do well, to strive for a better future. My own family’s story is testament to this spirit of aspiration that has long defined the working people of our country.

    Several generations ago, both sides of my family were drawn from mining villages across England to the Durham coalfields because of their reputation for good wages and reliable work. In turn, my grandparents moved from pit villages to Aycliffe new town, home for two years to the late Lord Beveridge, in search of modern housing and better jobs for their children. My parents’ generation then worked hard to give us the opportunities that they never had, including higher education, the chance to work across the country and across the world and personal freedoms to flourish. This ethos—that each generation raises the next, that background be no barrier, and that opportunity be distributed as widely as talent—is the driving force in families in my constituency and a lodestar for this Government.

    But making that a reality requires strong economic growth across our country. We must back the industries of the future, such as Hitachi Rail in my constituency, which manufactures world-class, green trains, and employs 700 highly skilled workers and another 1,500 in the supply chain. I thank a former Member of this House, Phil Wilson, for his tireless campaign, alongside The Northern Echo, which led to the plant being located in the area some years ago. I am also grateful for the public commitments made by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Transport Secretary to support Hitachi’s future. I look forward to working with them to secure those jobs and expand high-tech manufacturing more widely. That includes the innovative work at Sedgefield’s NETPark. This Durham University spin-off hub develops innovative products in satellite technology, drug development and biological weapon detection, which are then exported around the globe. The creation of jobs in the industries of the future is particularly important in a constituency with former mining communities, where ongoing economic development is badly needed.

    I do not want the House to think that my constituency is all work and no play. We are famous for the Sedgefield ball game—a historic Shrove Tuesday tradition not for the faint-hearted. We are home to excellent football clubs, including Newton Aycliffe, where my parents served on the committee, and Spennymoor Town. Spennymoor itself typifies our rich cultural history, with a heritage trail dedicated to Norman Cornish, one of the pitmen painters, who learned his craft alongside his mining in the Spennymoor settlement.

    Some of the best brass bands in the country can also been found in the constituency. They not only keep alive the cultural traditions of our past, but provide excellent, high-quality music education for new generations of young people today. We are also home to incredible local produce, including artisan chocolate made in Coxhoe, and award-winning real ale brewed at the Surtees Arms in Ferryhill—I have personally quality-assured the latter on several occasions. On the topic of ale, my predecessor Tony Blair was noted for hosting world leaders in pubs across the constituency. I have yet to find a pub without a photo of the former Prime Minister and his closest NATO allies, but my diligent search continues.

    Finally, I am proud of our thriving community organisations. The Ladder Centre does invaluable work to support residents, and the Cornforth Partnership is a lifeline for those looking to get back into work. Just as Durham coal powered our economy in the past, so constituencies such as mine can power our modern economy, with high-tech, green manufacturing and research.

    Let me return to where I began—“Not the Least, but the Greatest we seek.” Mr Deputy Speaker, in this House, let us commit ourselves to seek the greatest—the very best—for our constituents, for our communities and for our great nation. I look forward to seeing the economic measures in the King’s Speech start to spread wealth, growth and opportunity to every corner of this United Kingdom, including the people of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor.

  • Nick Timothy – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    Nick Timothy – 2024 Maiden Speech on the Economy, Welfare and Public Services

    The maiden speech made by Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2024.

    I congratulate the other new Members on their excellent maiden speeches, in particular the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash), where I know his predecessor, Lord Mandelson, recommends the mushy peas.

    It is an honour to be called to speak for the first time. I pay tribute to the last MP for West Suffolk, Matt Hancock, who oversaw the delivery of the covid vaccines, a vital achievement for our country. Less well known is that Matt once rode in, and won, the Blue Square Cavalry Charge horserace in Newmarket, a feat that required him not only to be propelled forward by a thoroughbred horse at 30 miles per hour, but to train for three months and lose 2 stone. For all these reasons, not least the dubiousness of the idea that I have 2 stone to lose, I can assure the House that I will not be stepping into my predecessor’s stirrups.

    Newmarket is the best-known town in my constituency. It is most famous for horseracing, an international success story that brings thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds to the local economy every year. From Charles I to Charles III, racing gives West Suffolk its long connection to royalty, but unfortunately ours is not an unblemished record, for Newmarket was once the home of Oliver Cromwell’s new model army. Old Ironsides championed free expression yet persecuted his enemies. He attacked aristocratic privilege and patronage, but handed power to his cronies. Censorious, joyless and puritanical—it is like he wrote the Labour manifesto.

    Fortunately, we have left those days of self-denial behind, and from the Star in Lidgate to the Queen’s Head in Hawkedon, the Affleck Arms in Dalham to the White Horse in Withersfield, and many others, we have some of the best pubs in Britain. And we have plenty more besides: beautiful villages, vibrant towns and farms that feed the country; Anglo-Saxon settlements and ancient churches; rolling countryside and big Suffolk skies; dense forest and the world-famous gallops; businesses doing everything from seed drills to particle engineering; charities such as Reach in Haverhill and the day centres in Brandon and Newmarket; Highpoint prison near Stradishall; the airbases at Lakenheath and Mildenhall; and public servants working for their communities every day.

    I look forward to championing them all and addressing our challenges too, including dealing with flooding in Clare, Cavendish and elsewhere, and fighting the appalling decision to approve the Sunnica solar and battery farm, due to be built on high-quality agricultural land. In Brandon, lorry traffic is a problem. We need the Ely and Haughley junctions sorted to get freight on to the railways. In Mildenhall, where 1,300 new homes are coming, we need a relief road. We are not against new house building in West Suffolk—we have had 3,000 new homes built in the last five years—but we need attractive family homes in the right places. We need services and infrastructure to keep pace. We need to get tougher with the developers and reform the construction market. We need to drastically cut immigration, not just for the economic and cultural reasons that should by now be obvious, but to limit new demand for housing.

    Our largest town, Haverhill, has doubled in size in only 30 years, to almost 30,000 residents. It has an incredible community spirit, but the town centre is struggling. We need a new start for our high streets, and I will fight for a railway linking Haverhill to Cambridge. The development of Cambridge looms large for us, but I want us to embrace the opportunities, not just fear the risks. If we get it right, we have the chance to get better infrastructure, new investment and more jobs. That is why I wanted to speak in today’s debate.

    From potholes to public sector pay, the thread that runs through all our challenges is an inconvenient truth. While it is plainly incorrect to claim that the new Government have the worst economic inheritance since the war—[Interruption.] It is incorrect, but we are less prosperous than we often tend to assume. This is not a question of party politics, but of the decline and failure of our country’s long-established economic model. Put simply: we do not make, do or sell enough of what the world needs.

    Our £33 billion trade deficit—1.2% of GDP—means we sell off valuable assets and build up external debt to limit the current account deficit. We end up with less control over our economy, and more exposed to global risks and shocks. From low pay to regional inequality, poor productivity to the funding of public services, all the things we worry about are symptoms of this wider problem.

    We need to question economic theory, challenge Treasury orthodoxy and think beyond the intellectual limits of ideological liberalism. Theories like comparative advantage have led us to offshore industry and grow dependent on hostile states, like China. But international trade is neither free nor fair, and net zero cannot mean sacrificing our prosperity and security. Being a services superpower is a great advantage, but alone it is not enough. We need a serious strategy to reindustrialise, narrow the trade deficit and rebalance the economy. We need to change and, in the months and years ahead, I look forward to debating how we do so.

  • David Lammy – 2024 Speech at ASEAN Foreign Minister’s Meeting in Laos

    David Lammy – 2024 Speech at ASEAN Foreign Minister’s Meeting in Laos

    The speech made by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, in Laos on 26 July 2024.

    Thank you, Your Excellency Dato Erywan, for your kind words and all your work as UK Country Coordinator. And thank you, Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, for hosting us in your beautiful country.

    As Foreign Secretary, I have a clear mission: reconnecting Britain with the world. Joining you at the end of only my third week in office shows my long-term commitment to this relationship.

    Britain’s new government recognises that the world is changing rapidly. That we are all stronger when we work together. And that in the Indo-Pacific in particular, ASEAN has a distinct and important voice, working to affirm ASEAN’s centrality for over 50 years.

    So I am delighted that Britain is now ASEAN’s 11th Dialogue Partner. We have made good progress on over 80% of our Plan of Action commitments, and we are showing a genuine spirit of partnership together.

    Take health. COVID sharply illustrated how interconnected the world has become. Today, UK experts have been involved in drafting the ASEAN One Health Plan. And I just launched a new Health Security Partnership Programme, so that together, we can prevent, detect and address health threats of the future.

    Our first joint statement shows our desire to take that spirit of partnership further.

    Let me highlight 3 areas where I see potential to do more.

    First, security. You founded ASEAN during the Cold War. Today, geopolitical rivalry is again on the rise. From Ukraine to Gaza, there are more active conflicts than at any time since 1945. We cannot treat these conflicts in isolation – prosperity and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are indivisible.

    And so Britain is committed to working with you to promote peace and security in this region and beyond. By supporting ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus on Myanmar. And seeking to join the ASEAN Regional Forum and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus.

    Second, economic growth. Our trading relationship is worth almost £50 billion.

    The UK is a top 10 investor in southeast Asia and the region’s third largest partner in financial services. If ASEAN were a single nation – and don’t worry, I recognise this disguises the great diversity of your membership – you would be Britain’s eighth biggest trading partner.

    We can deepen those ties, creating economic opportunities for all.

    Third, climate. Our new government is determined to be back at the forefront of climate action. We will take more action at home, and deepen partnerships abroad, including through our planned ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund.

    Together, we need to seize the opportunities of the clean energy transition.

    It’s vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – one of your priorities in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and to building more resilient economies on a liveable planet.

    Today is about dialogue. So I want to hear your priorities.

    Our goal must be to become even more closely connected. So that we can meet the challenges of this rapidly changing world.

  • John Healey – 2024 Speech at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference

    John Healey – 2024 Speech at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference

    The speech made by John Healey, the Secretary of State for Defence, at Church House, Westminster, on 22 July 2024.

    Thank you for inviting me. I have to say this is a really huge pleasure to join you here and a real honour to do so as the new Secretary of State for Defence for this country.

    So, thank you to RUSI for what is a rich programme over the two days but particularly thank you for letting me join you.

    Last week I visited the Permanent Joint Headquarters to get a briefing on some of the current really critical work that has been going on there. And General Charlie Stickland ran me through what he called his ‘three Rs’.

    Now, I know I am quoting a Royal Marine to an Army audience but hang on it is the joint headquarters.

    Reassurance. Reality. Request.

    I’m always keen to learn. And as a politician I’m always keen to pick other people’s good ideas and try and use them for myself so I’m going to take that to structure my argument, not just a speech, for you today. And I’m going to add to this rule of three Rs to add one of my own: responsibility.

    Let me begin where General Charlie did last week, with reassurance.

    And in some ways, this is my most important point to you.

    This new Government stands steadfast behind the British Army. Behind our wider armed forces and behind all those out of uniform who also make such an important contribution to the defence of this country.

    Many roles, One Defence.

    And in the British Army, you’re essential to our national defence, and to our national resilience. We’re proud of you professionalism, we’re proud of your dedication to service, and your work is central to keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

    Working alongside the RAF to provide life-saving aid to Gaza, training more than 40,000 Ukrainians. Commemorating the D-Day, those heroes who gave their lives to stop the Nazis overrunning Europe. And building ties now with our allies, through exercises like Steadfast Defender in NATO.

    You will have this new Government’s fullest support to do your job, defending Britain and deterring threats.

    Because we know as a government that is our most important first duty – to keep the country safe and to protect our citizens.

    That’s why, at the recent NATO summit in Washington the Prime Minister and I confirmed this Government’s unshakeable commitment to NATO and the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

    And we confirmed also our total commitment to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

    It’s why the Prime Minister last week launched the first-of-its-kind Strategic Defence Review.

    And it’s why we announced legislation in our first King’s Speech legislation to create a new independent Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life.

    Reassurance.

    Let me introduce my extra ‘R’ at this point: Responsibility.

    At that NATO summit, in week one, as a new government, we wanted to demonstrate that we were getting on with the job, to serve the country.

    I was struck by how the other nations there looked at us and noted two particular things.

    The first, that in our British system, there is a decisive change of power after an election – unlike many other countries.

    And second, they looked at us and noted that our British government now has a strong mandate promising stability, again, unlike many other countries who are approaching their own elections or facing uncertainty in their governing coalitions.

    This is an important responsibility for us now as a nation. A responsibility in our relations with allies, and of course it is also an opportunity.

    So, as a government, we do have a mandate for change.

    To restore public service to politics.

    To re-earn public trust in Government.

    And to reduce the politics, the partisan politics in national security.

    Because no political party has the monopoly on defence, or pride in our military.

    We in the Labour Party have deep roots in defending this country. And deep respect for those who serve in uniform.

    The scale of the challenges we face requires a national, unified response.

    That’s why the Prime Minister has been clear that a change of government means no change in our commitment to Ukraine.

    It’s why I’ve already offered the Shadow Defence Secretary access to intelligence briefings and will I do so to other relevant members of Parliament.

    And that’s why the Strategic Defence Review will brief and will welcome contributions from other political parties and from across the defence community.

    Because I want to forge Britain’s defence strategy, not just the defence strategy for this new Labour Government.

    Reassurance, responsibility.

    Moving on to the General’s next R which is reality.

    And as I look around this room, you know better than anyone else, these are really serious times.

    We face rapidly increasing global threats.

    I became Shadow Defence Secretary back in 2020. That was before the fall of Kabul, that was before the crisis in the Middle East, it was before Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    And in the face of this insecure world, the British Army has done and continues to do incredible things.

    And I know during the months and the years that I’ll serve in this post I’ll continue to be inspired by the things you do.

    Vital work. Unique responsibilities. And underpinning it, your historic roots, and traditions.

    I respect that as I do for the other Services.

    The whole country is proud of what you do.

    And as this world becomes more dangerous, we will rely more heavily on your bravery and on your professionalism.

    And the principle of One Defence also becomes increasingly more important.

    The days when we could indulge in inter-service rivalry are over.

    We must be to fit to fight – not fight amongst ourselves.

    So, I really want to see the old rivalries left behind. I really want with you to establish a new era for UK defence.

    Because we know all three services face very serious challenges.

    Hollowed-out forces, procurement waste, low morale. A recruitment and retention crisis.

    And veterans who can’t access the services they deserve.

    And I have to tell you, two weeks into this Government, we now also see that these problems are much worse than we thought.

    But we are getting on with the job, we are getting on with the job with urgency.

    Backing Ukraine, launching our Defence Review, reconnecting with allies.

    We’re doing this with an absolute commitment to improving the service life for those in our Armed Forces.

    With a “NATO first” defence strategy, because Britain is always stronger when we work with others. And of course, facing up to the reality of Putin’s continuing war in Ukraine and his wider aggression.

    So, on my second day in this job, as Jonathan said, I was in Odesa, I spent the afternoon with President Zelenskyy and his team.

    We held our bilateral talks, we celebrated Ukraine’s Navy Day and he and I visited together injured servicemen in a military hospital.

    And again, you in this room know this better than anyone else, the Ukrainians are fighting with huge courage, the military and civilians alike.

    But despite the losses, despite the Ukrainian’s fight, Russia is far from a spent force; and if Putin wins, he will not stop at Ukraine.

    And this war now is at a critical moment.

    So, we are speeding up delivery of aid already pledged by the previous government.

    Stepping up support with a new package of ammunition, anti-armour missiles, de-mining vehicles and artillery guns.

    And we’re confirming £3 billion a year for Ukraine this year and for each of the years ahead, for as long as it takes.

    And finally on Friday, I signed, when President Zelenskyy was in Downing Street, a new Defence Industrial Support Treaty which will be the framework through which we and others can leverage export finance and investment finance to help Ukraine.

    So, the scale of the challenge we face is vast. And that’s why to take this on we need to be at our best.

    And that brings me to the final R which is request.

    We launched our Defence Review last week. I described it earlier as the first of its kind for the UK, because it is externally led, and led by the former Secretary General of NATO George Robertson.

    It will consider the threats that we face, the capabilities that we needed, the state of our armed forces and the resources available to do the job.

    And my ask or request of you today is this. It’s for the Army to play its fullest part in this review. It’s the chance to think afresh, it’s the chance to contribute the ideas needed in that review.

    Because this is a review that will be done with, not to defence.

    It will be done with the Army, not about it.

    It’s a review that our troops want, our public deserves and our country needs.

    And your input in making this a success will be vital.

    Why vital? Well, because Ukraine is showing us how the nature of war is changing more rapidly.

    How the distance between domains is diminishing rapidly. How the imperative to operate as an integrated force is increasing, and as the threats posed to the UK are increasingly interdependent, reinforcing and converging.

    And, as Jack Watling at RUSI who has done so much to organise this conference has argued: We must urgently re-establish credible deterrence to keep these threats in check.

    That means looking at firepower, it means looking at enablement, it means looking at readiness, it means looking at resilience.

    It means looking at the things that don’t present good photo opportunities for a Defence Secretary or a defence minister.

    It means the things that matter in getting results, in being more ready to fight, in being stronger, to be able to fight if we need to fight but deter to avoid that fight in the first place.

    It also means deeper interoperability with our allies.

    And it means industry must also play an integral role alongside the military too.

    And these will be at the heart of the matters that the Defence Review considers.

    It’s fair to say the Army does, and as far as we can see, will always operate as part of a joint forces, fighting not only on the land but from the land

    Boosting combined deterrence and operations.

    We already have Forward Land Forces permanently deployed in eastern Europe to ensure greater security on the Russian border.

    This year we will provide a Land Component for the Allied Reaction Force, providing NATO with a rapid response to crises when needed.

    And from the year beyond, 2026, the United Kingdom will lead NATO’s Special Operations Task Force, and provide a crucial contribution to NATO’s Unconventional Warfare capability.

    And then the greatest opportunity of all, to lead within the alliance is through our offer of a multi-domain Corps as one of SACEUR’s Strategic Reserve Corps.

    Big challenges, big responsibilities, big opportunities for the Army as part of One Defence and a stronger alliance for the future.

    Now this is just our third week in office. We’re a government getting on with the job.

    But my ambition is to see that Defence is not just integral to the future security of Britain but central also to the future success of Britain.

    You, our land forces are essential to that work.

    Together, we can and will make Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.

  • Liz Kendall – 2024 Speech on Getting Britain Working

    Liz Kendall – 2024 Speech on Getting Britain Working

    The speech made by Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in Barnsley on 23 July 2024.

    INTRODUCTION

    It really is brilliant to be here in Barnsley as you launch your pioneering report on “Pathways to work”.

    You identify tackling economic inactivity as a critical challenge and opportunity, for your town and our country.

    You call for a national ambition

    …. to build a more inclusive economy

    … where people have a right to work

    … and the expectation they’ll be helped to do so.

    You say achieving this will require a radically new approach

    .. not only across Government but by employers, the NHS, Mayors, councils, charities, colleges, communities, and by citizens themselves.

    I am here today to say loudly and clearly.

    That’s precisely what this Government will deliver.

    GETTING BRITAIN WORKING AND GROWING

    In the first two weeks in Government, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, have taken immediate action to get our economy growing again.

    Overhauling the planning system.

    Launching the National Wealth Fund.

    Creating Skills England.

    And, with the support of my department, unlocking pension investment too.

    Growth is the number one priority of this Government.

    Because it is the only sustainable way that we will improve people’s living standards and rebuild our vital public services.

    Our plan to Get Britain Working is central to this goal.

    DWP is the HR department of the Government’s growth mission.

    But in order to realise that, we need fundamental reform.

    So a department for welfare becomes a genuine department for work.

    Driven by the liberating potential of good work for individuals.

    And by the pursuit of full and fulfilling employment in every corner of our land.

    MY BELIEF IN WORK

    But before I say more about our reforms, I want to say something more personal.

    I have always believed the benefits of work go far beyond a pay slip.

    Having a job and providing for yourself and your family gives millions of people across Britain dignity and self-respect.

    Work can bring pride. Fulfilment. Relationships and connections.

    A sense of purpose. Value. And control.

    Good work is good for mental health.

    And – for millions of women – work can bring freedom, equality and independence too.

    Many of us have to take time away from work. Sometimes because we want to, often because we have to.

    To study, bring up a family or care for a loved one. Or because of ill health, or disability.

    Valuable contributions to our society come in many different shapes and forms.

    People have been denied the chance and the right to participate in the world of work.

    They’ve been excluded.

    Then labelled, and blamed for the position they’re in.

    If this is what has happened to you, my message today is:

    We hear you.

    We are on your side.

    And we will work day and night to put this right.

    BRITAIN ISN’T WORKING

    Employment is down, unemployment is up, and our workforce is shrinking.

    Britain isn’t working, in three damaging ways.

    First, we’ve seen record numbers of people – 2.8 million of our fellow citizens – excluded from the workforce due to long-term sickness.

    A similar number are actually in work with health problems, often at risk of falling out.

    The last Parliament saw the biggest increase in economic inactivity in 40 years.

    Many of these ‘hidden unemployed’ are over 50, struggling with bad hips, knees and joints – something I have experienced myself. The majority are women, often caring for elderly or disabled relatives at the same time.

    Spiralling economic inactivity is bad for individuals, many of whom want to work – as your report clearly shows.

    It’s bad for employers, who are desperate to recruit.

    And it is bad for our public finances too.

    The OBR says spending on sickness and disability benefits is set to increase by £30 billion over the forecast period.

    Imagine what a fraction of that money could do instead.

    The second problem we face is that far too many people are stuck in low paid, poor quality work.

    Only 1 in 6 low paid workers only ever fully escapes into better paid work. Many are in insecure jobs, with unpredictable working patterns.

    The result is too many people are in poverty despite being in work. Too many people lack power or control over their lives. And it leads to stagnant productivity, which is holding our economy back.

    The third major problem is that nearly 1 million young people – a staggering 1 in 8 – are now not in education, employment or training.

    That is up 90,000 in over the last year alone.

    Young people struggling with poor mental health and lacking basic qualifications face the greatest disadvantages.

    Each and every one should have their whole future ahead of them.

    Now these three challenges are all far worse in parts of the Midlands and the North.

    And they show the scale of the challenge this new Government must now confront.

    WHY BRITAIN ISNT WORKING

    So why have we ended up here?

    The causes of the problems we face are complex. In part they reflect the impact of economic, social and demographic forces affecting our country.

    But I am convinced that the [previous] approach has harmed people’s capacity to cope and thrive in the face of the challenges we have in future.

    The fundamental problem is that the current system – of DWP, Jobcentres and other employment support – is almost entirely designed to address the problems of yesterday, not today, tomorrow and beyond.

    We must – and we will – do everything to keep unemployment low.

    But the most urgent challenges today are different.

    They are about how we deal with spiralling inactivity, driven by the fact we are an older, sicker nation.

    They’re about how to ensure all young people get the education, skills and job opportunities they need to kick start their careers.

    And they are about how we enable people – whatever their age – to have decent pay and the chance to build a career. And to benefit from good work that gives them the chance to thrive.

    DWP was focused almost entirely on the benefits system. And specifically on implementing Universal Credit.

    JobcentrePlus a benefit monitoring service, not a public employment service – which was its original aim.

    Nowhere near enough attention to the wider issues – like health, skills, childcare, transport – that play such a huge role in determining whether you get work, stay in work and get on in your work.

    The result is a system that is too siloed and too centralised.

    Which fails to properly join-up health, work and skills.

    And we aren’t rooted in local economies or driven by local needs.

    As today’s report rightly concludes: “People who are economically inactive are not one single group. There will be a few who may act fraudulently. Others who say they cannot work, who could … but the vast majority … face a complex range of barriers … which stop them from getting what both they and policy makers want: a pathway into paid employment.”

    Now I believe in personal responsibility. Under this Government there will be obligations to engage with support, look for work and to take jobs when they are offered.

    As there have been since the original Beveridge report was put in practice.

    But I am in politics to solve problems. Not score cheap points or grab empty headlines that do nothing to tackle the real problems in people’s lives.

    OUR PLAN

    This new Government will be driven by the evidence and by the facts.

    As our new Prime Minister says…

    No more politics by performance.

    No more sticking plaster solutions.

    But a serious Government with a serious plan for a decade of national renewal.

    This starts with a new focus and fundamental reform of the DWP.

    Put simply, under my political leadership the DWP will shift from being a department for welfare to being the department for work.

    And to make this real, let me set out the actions and reforms I am setting in train.

    NEW GOALS

    First, new goals.

    As Keir Starmer said during the election campaign, this Government has a bold, long-term ambition to get an 80% employment rate.

    Currently, that would mean over 2 million more people in work.

    Growth boosted by tens of billions of pounds a year.

    And a multi-billion a year boost to the public finances too.

    We will pursue this ambition alongside our wider economic goals to raise productivity and living standards and to improve the quality of work – as part of the Government’s growth mission.

    And our employment support system will change the outcomes we seek to achieve – higher engagement, higher employment, and higher earnings too.

    My Department will support local areas to make a success of this new approach, starting by devolving new powers over employment support to catalyse action and change.

    Because the man – or even woman – in Whitehall will never know what’s best for Barnsley, Blackpool, or Birmingham.

    DELIVERING THE GOVERNMENT’S GROWTH MISSION

    To drive these changes forward and deliver on our manifesto commitments, we will produce a White Paper to Get Britain Working Soon.

    This will support the other steps we are taking across Government.

    Creating more good jobs in clean energy and through our Modern Industrial Strategy.

    Making work pay and improving the quality of work, through the New Deal for Working People.

    NEW REFORMS

    Alongside these new goals there will be fundamental reform…in three connected parts:

    First, a major overhaul of our Jobcentres.

    Only 1 in 5 people who are looking for work say they use a Jobcentre, and as Alan said only 1 in 6 employers who need staff use them to recruit.

    This actually drops to 1 in 10 for SMEs – the lifeblood of our economy.

    This must change.

    So we will create a new jobs and careers service, bringing together Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service focusing on helping people.

    This service will be focused on helping people get into work and get on at work, not only on monitoring and managing benefit claims.

    It will mobilise the potential for new technologies and AI to better help people who are looking for work, or wanting to develop their careers.

    And it will enhance and improve support for employers too which your report says is critical.

    Second we will establish a new youth guarantee to offer training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work for all young people aged 18 to 21.

    And today, I can confirm that we will empower Mayors and local areas to take the lead in driving down economic inactivity and driving up economic opportunity – taking inspiration from the brilliant report we are here to launch today.

    Devolving powers from central Government is key to enabling areas to deliver ambitious new Local Growth Plans. And as part of this we will give local places the responsibility and resources to design a joined-up health, work and skills offer that’s right for local people.

    Our aim is nothing less than a fundamental shift in the balance of power and resources to local areas  … so that our Mayors, local councils, the NHS, businesses, colleges and the voluntary sector can work together to deliver real employment opportunities for local people.

    To drive these changes forward and deliver on our manifesto commitments, we will produce a White Paper to Get Britain Working soon.

    This will support the other steps we are taking across Government.

    Creating more good jobs in clean energy and through our Modern Industrial Strategy.

    Making work pay and improving the quality of work, through the New Deal for Working People.

    Cutting NHS waiting times, improving mental health support particularly for young people, and transforming skills and childcare  … so we tackle the root causes of worklessness and fix the foundations of work, not simply paper over the cracks.

    And we are committed to working across Whitehall to tackle these complex problems, which is what our new mission-driven government is all about.

    NEW ROLE FOR DWP

    Now let us be honest, these new goals and reforms I have set out will require the department I lead to make a different contribution in the years ahead.

    Under my leadership, the DWP will continue to be a major provider of employment support, through the national jobs and careers service.

    But we will also need to be:

    …a driver of innovation, experimentation, and learning, to develop new solutions to complex problems and build the evidence base, just as your pilot seeks to achieve.

    …a capacity builder, working alongside local areas to create the conditions for success, such as – and this is essential –  sharing and unlocking data.

    …and a guardian and champion of quality, outcomes, and user voice and value for money.

    This is hugely challenging but exciting agenda for radical public service reform.

    And to help drive our work, I can announce today that I will be establishing a new Labour Market Advisory Board.

    A group of leading labour market experts to provide me and the department with insight, ideas, and challenges as we deliver a fundamentally new approach.

    I am absolutely delighted that Professor Paul Gregg, former Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Policy at the University of Bath has agreed to lead this new Advisory Board and we will be announcing further members shortly.

    CONCLUSION

    I am under no illusions about how big a change this will be.

    It can’t happen overnight.

    But we can and we will roll up our sleeves and make a start.

    So if you’re a young person with a mental health problem, or lacking basic skills, we will help you reach your potential.

    If you are disabled and want to work, you will get the respect and support you need.

    If you’re a mum, or caring for an elderly relative, we will be  there with practical help  so you can balance your work and family life.

    If you’re an employer who needs to recruit, or wants help to keep staff in work, we will support you and we will back you to find your next star employee.

    Together, that is what we will deliver.

    To get Britain growing again.

    Get Britain building again.

    And to get Britain working again.

    Thank you.