Lucy Powell
MP for Manchester Central · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I gave a 10-minute statement to the House last week and I answered questions for 90 minutes. I think that gave a very clear account of what I want to do. The Opposition want to defend their narrowing and narrowing of the curriculum without accepting responsibility for the effects of that.”
“I think we need to do all these things. Alan Milburn was clear that education was “the faltering foundation”. We are seeing too many young people leave school without the qualifications that they need to get either an apprenticeship or into work. That is why there are so many NEETs.”
“I say gently to the hon. Lady that we do not just have more than a million young people not in education, employment or training—most of whom were educated under the Conservatives—but 1.5 million students persistently absent from school; a stubborn disadvantage gap, which did not close on their watch; widening regional attainment gaps; an…”
“Today we are introducing a once-in-a-generation change to school food, making it tastier and healthier and giving over half a million more children free school meals. We have worked with schools, pupils, parents and many more to ensure that these meals are of good quality, attractive to children and deliverable for schools.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising these issues so frequently. He is right: the current system is not working for parents, and it is not working for children. It is far too adversarial, there are too many delays, and parents often find that they cannot obtain the support that they want at the end of it.”
“As I have said, I am determined that we get these things right. Two things can be true at the same time: I feel the system is unfair and in need of reform, but we also have to put that in the context of the wider public finances and all the pressures and priorities that fall on them.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,339 lines we hold for Lucy Powell, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 27.
“The shadow Leader of the House wanted to talk about the performance of the Government over the summer, but he did not. Let us be honest: the Leader of the Opposition does not need a reset but a full-blown resuscitation—her party spent most of the summer checking whether she had a pulse or not. The truth is that her leadership, like the future of the Conservative party, is, quite frankly, at death’s door.”
“After a decade and a half of poor productivity because of a lack of investment, we are now powering up this country and investing in the new jobs of the future around the country, with jobs coming every day. The Chancellor will set out the Budget in the usual way, but she has made clear that most of the speculation is quite honestly damaging rubbish. Let us not forget that we are now coming up to the three-year anniversary of the disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget. I think I remember that the shadow Leader of the House being the Financial Secretary to the Treasury at that Budget. When Governments lose confidence and take irresponsible decisions, the poorest in society pay the heaviest price when the economy crashes. We will take absolutely no lectures from the Conservatives.”
“Yet again, the shadow Leader of the House comes here and talks about the economy and the Budget, but another year has gone by and we have still had no apology from him or his Front-Bench colleagues for the state they left the country’s finances in. Let us just remind ourselves about that. They left a huge black hole in public spending, high levels of debt and borrowing, and living standards that had, for the first time in history, fallen during a Parliament. He is always very selective in his use of statistics; he did not mention that the British economy has grown faster than all other G7 countries in the first half of this year, or that mortgages are now at a five-year low.”
“She made it clear that she is now rectifying her mistake. She has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, who is now looking into it. I will not say any more on that matter because he is looking into it. Suffice it to say that the Deputy Prime Minister is a huge, huge asset to this Government. She is an incredibly effective Minister and she has been delivering, whether on our record investment in social housing, the flagship Employment Rights Bill, the biggest settlement for local government in many years, major planning reforms to get more homes built, or the delivery of devolution and community empowerment, among much more. The Conservatives have a go at her because she is so bloody good at her job.”
“In contrast, the Conservatives really have shown on whose side they stand in this Session: on the side of landlords against the Renters’ Rights Bill; on the side of criminal gangs in voting against our Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill; for the few, not the many, in education; and, as ever, dying in a ditch to save the hereditary peers in the other place. We know whose side they are on. The shadow Leader of the House chose to have another go on the issue of tax and property, which was, I noticed, the subject of one of the Conservatives’ Opposition Day debates yesterday. They could not muster enough speakers for that debate to go the full three hours, so he is having another go today. I repeat that the Deputy Prime Minister has given a full account of her family circumstances and living arrangements.”
“We are giving the biggest boost to workers’ rights in a generation, finally ending no-fault evictions, stopping water bosses’ bonuses, setting up Great British Energy to get bills down, bringing back rail into public ownership, saving British Steel jobs, seizing and crushing dangerous off-road vehicles, finally recriminalising shoplifting, ensuring that buses are affordable and serve their communities, and protecting our much-loved football clubs. We are taking on the vested interests that hold this country back, and we still have much more to do in the rest of this Session.”
“I hope that he will still on occasion ask me some questions and invite me to his constituency from the Back Benches, which I am always happy to accept as he knows. I am also pleased to announce that this first bumper Session of Parliament under the Labour Government will last until spring 2026. By any measure, our legislative programme in this first Session is highly ambitious, delivering on the promises that we made in our manifesto and shifting power and opportunity to working people. There are a few highlights, which I know that shadow Leader of the House is always happy to hear about.”
“The happy news does not stop there. My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Test (Satvir Kaur) had her beautiful baby daughter. I am thrilled for her and also for my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Shivani Raja) on the arrival of her new baby, too. There are new dads in the House as well: my hon. Friends the Members for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) and for York Outer (Mr Charters), so that is dispatches for this week. We are very much more a family-friendly Parliament these days, and I am determined that modernisation will continue that trend. I join the shadow Leader of the House in welcoming the new shadow deputy Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), to his place.”
“Welcome back to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all the House staff. I join the shadow Leader of the House in wishing the Prime Minister a happy birthday for earlier this week. This summer has been marked by some happy personal events here in the House—no, I am not talking about Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce, although I am sure we will all want to wish them a happy engagement. We have our very own power couples: my hon. Friends the Members for North East Derbyshire (Louise Sandher-Jones) and for Loughborough (Dr Sandher), who got married to each other over the summer recess. There are also my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), who married her long-term partner Ian, and my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who married Kristiam this recess.”
“I know what an issue parking charges can be in city centres, such as my own. My hon. Friend is right: that would make a really good topic for a debate. Let us have a look at the performance of the SNP Government in Scotland. They have had the biggest settlement ever in Scotland. What are they doing with that money, and how are they serving the people of Scotland?”
“The recognition of Palestine as a state is an important step towards that, which is why the Prime Minister set out those plans as we approach the UNGA later this month. I have personally long supported the recognition of Palestine, including last time Parliament was asked to give a view on the matter. On Monday, in a two-hour statement to the House, the Foreign Secretary updated Members on the steps we are taking to recognise the state of Palestine and made clear that unless the Israeli Government take urgent steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace, we will make that assessment before the leaders meet at the UN in New York. We will, as ever, ensure that the House has a full opportunity to continue to discuss and scrutinise these very important decisions.”
“I welcome the hon. Member back from summer recess and look forward to continuing to work with her on the many Committees on which we both sit. I thank her for raising that very important issue. Let us be under no illusions: the situation in Gaza is unimaginably bleak. It is truly horrific, and the horrifying images and accounts we are seeing daily are seared on all our minds as we go about our business. On top of everything else, after so many civilian deaths and so much destruction, we are now seeing a man-made and wholly avoidable famine and widespread starvation. The Government are leading international efforts for a peace plan. That involves the release of hostages, a ceasefire and the huge humanitarian response needed to prevent further death and destruction.”
“I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating Paul on his extraordinary achievements. Quite honestly, I am exhausted just listening to what he is doing, let alone doing it myself.”
“I welcome the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee back after recess, and thank him for announcing the forthcoming Backbench Business. I recognise the disruption to those who wanted to speak on Monday in the debate on transport inequality, which was sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson), and I am pleased that has been rescheduled for Thursday. I am happy to look at protecting time for that, so that Members can be confident about their contributions in what is obviously a well-subscribed debate. On the tube strikes, nobody wants to see strike action in London. It is incredibly disruptive for commuters and businesses. As ever, the Government—and, I am sure, the Mayor of London—call on Transport for London and the unions to get back round the table so that those strikes do not go ahead next week.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise such issues. Fraud is increasingly prevalent across our country and economy. It is becoming increasingly sophisticated, especially given advances in technology such as AI. That is why the Government continue to focus on those issues. I think it would make a very good topic for a debate.”
“I am sorry to hear about the issues that the hon. Lady has rightly raised on behalf of her constituents. I do not know about those specific allegations, but I assure her that we take standards in local government incredibly seriously, as we take standards across all our politics seriously. We will have further legislation at some stage in this Parliament.”
“That sounds like a great visit. I am pleased to hear that my hon. Friend had such a sunny summer packed full of events in his constituency. I am delighted to join him in congratulating all the organisers.”
“Can I pass on my congratulations to that employee of local butcher Ben Barnes on the birth of his first child? I am really pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman advocate so strongly for stronger maternity and paternity leave and pay; that has not always been what we have heard from the Conservative party and some of his colleagues. We are committed to strengthening rights and supporting pay. Just this week, we brought in the free childcare package, which will be worth £7,500 a year to families that qualify, and we are extending that further. I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman on strengthening it in the coming months.”
“I thank the hon. Lady for raising the issues around fair funding. I know this is a really important matter for a number of colleagues. She will be aware that the Deputy Prime Minister has ensured a record local government funding settlement, but the hon. Lady is absolutely right: the devil is in the detail and we need to ensure that funding follows need. I will certainly arrange for her to have a meeting with the Minister.”
“I am sorry to hear about the cases in the hon. Lady’s constituency. I am sure the issues will be familiar to other hon. Members, especially those representing constituencies in Scotland. I am happy to facilitate a response from the Minister, so that we can make sure that the necessary steps are in place to alleviate the situation.”
“Libraries are vital to our communities and high streets, and they provide people with access to knowledge and information, as they have done in decades gone by and will do in decades in the future. I support all my hon. Friend’s efforts to support Lindley library in his constituency.”
“I am sorry to hear that the SL1 route was scrapped under the previous Government. My hon. Friend makes a very strong case for our buses Bill and all the actions that we are taking to ensure that buses serve their local community, and are affordable and reliable. When such powers are used, we see a massive increase in the use of buses.”
“As ever, the hon. Gentleman is a strong advocate for jobs and businesses in his constituency. He knows that this Government are committed to new nuclear power and to the most ambitious nuclear programme in a generation. I am really sorry to hear that the SNP Government are, as ever, likely to set themselves against this new investment and against new job opportunities in Scotland. Frankly, that is a pattern that we are seeing time after time, and I join him in calling on them to look again.”
“As someone who follows my hon. Friend on social media, I know that he has had a very busy recess, as have many colleagues; I have looked on jealously at many of the visits that people have been doing over the summer recess. I join him in congratulating the Royal Air Forces Association branch in his constituency on all that it does.”
“As ever, the right hon. Gentleman is a very big presence with his short question. He raises a topic that I know we all get many emails and complaints about. The Secretary of State for Transport has given an update to the House on these issues, and we are delivering 10,000 additional driving tests. The right hon. Gentleman raises an important issue about how bots and others are using technology to secure those tests, and I will ensure that he gets a full response.”
“That was my hon. Friend’s first business question! I welcome him to the delights of business questions. They are normally followed by a compliment to me and an invitation to the constituency—I was waiting for that before I got up to reply. I will certainly join my hon. Friend in thanking Tina, Nathan and all those who provided such wonderful holiday facilities for children.”
“As ever, alongside legislation we publish all the necessary documents, including the costings, which we have been transparent about. I gently say to the right hon. Gentleman that before the election his Government embarked on 11 rounds of negotiations; they knew that the Government needed to resolve this issue in order to protect our defence and security for generations to come. I am pleased that we have managed to get that deal across the line.”
“That is how it is done! My hon. Friend was once the master of Doncaster airport, and he is now the master of business question puns. I absolutely join him in wishing the team the best of luck.”
“This is not the first time that we have heard at business questions about the postcode lottery that remains when it comes to cancer care, particularly children’s cancer care. I thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue, and I will raise it with the Secretary of State. We have announced extra funding and will publish the national cancer plan later this year, and I will ensure that the Secretary of State comes to the House to update us.”
“Members ask, “Where are they?” I think Reform Members are busy doing each other’s ironing— I do not know whether people have seen that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For a Member of Parliament who claims to be acting in the British interest to go to another country to suggest that tariffs on this country are increased and that steps are taken to reduce job opportunities here is not just unpatriotic, but anti-British.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. We have seen Members of this House from the Reform party going around the world savaging our rights to free speech in this country, yet the councils they run are not prepared to answer questions on free speech. They are blocking local newspapers from scrutinising their work and, as the hon. Gentleman says, they are not opening themselves up to freedom of information requests. I will ensure he gets a ministerial response.”
“The Parkrun and junior Parkrun initiatives are fantastic at engaging people in daily activity to keep them healthy and at bringing them together, tackling other issues such as loneliness. I join my hon. Friend in thanking all the organisers for their involvement.”
“I am not sure whether any of the couples I mentioned at the beginning of this questions session got married in Gretna Green—maybe they can declare it if they did—but we are all of course very familiar with it as the iconic place for weddings in this country. The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about simplifying some of the bureaucracy and making sure we remember what marriage is all about. I will get in touch with the relevant Minister on his behalf and see what we can do.”
“My hon. Friend is a passionate and long-standing campaigner around those issues, and she has raised them with me many times. I thank her for all the work she does raising the issues around suicide and suicide prevention. It is often an uncomfortable and difficult issue to talk about, and she leads from the front in making sure that people feel that they can do so. I certainly join her in encouraging Members to participate.”
“I certainly join the hon. Member in congratulating and thanking the parents of Charlie—Harrison and Ellie—for their phenomenal fundraising efforts. Rare diseases such as the one he describes are so difficult to tackle. That is why we need focus on them and extra funding and research, and I will ensure that he gets a full response.”
“What a wonderful story. I know that raising that issue in business questions helped the hon. Gentleman to secure that funding and that sponsorship, so that Lucas could go to the US Open and compete. What fantastic news that he won his quarter-final and will now be in the semi-finals. I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking the Lawn Tennis Association, easyJet and all those who have made it possible.”
“There is an extremely high bar for proscribing any organisation, and that decision was not taken lightly. It was taken on very strong advice about the activities of Palestine Action. Those activities were increasingly severe and, with increasing frequency, incredibly damaging. That is not to say that people cannot peacefully protest in support of Palestine or in support of many other organisations that support the Palestinian cause. As I said earlier, I strongly support recognition of Palestine and support the Palestinian cause, but that is not to say that we should support organisations that seek to cause real problems in this country.”
“I thank my hon. Friend and a number of other colleagues for continuing to campaign on and raise these important issues. As parents and constituency MPs, we all see the damage that social media and unmitigated use of smartphones can cause to teenagers. He is absolutely right to highlight that schools already have the power to confiscate smartphones, and I am really pleased to hear that a couple of schools in his constituency have done so. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the guidance that we have issued, but I implore schools and parents to take a much more proactive approach in monitoring what children are up to on their smartphones.”
“I share the frustration, concern and indeed anger in many parts about the huge use of asylum hotels, and now HMOs, in dealing with the asylum backlog, which was left by the hon. Gentleman’s party after it was in power. Indeed, I remember the shadow Home Secretary and the shadow Justice Secretary going round the country opening these hotels and allowing this to happen. They left us with a huge backlog. We need to take all necessary steps to bring down illegal migration, deal with these issues and close the hotels. That is what we want to do, but as the hon. Gentleman says, we cannot just make the problem dissipate into other parts of the community. That is why we are working to tackle it.”
“My hon. Friend reminds us that the effects of the huge contract with Norway to build frigates in this country will be dissipated right through our economy and into constituencies such as my hon. Friend’s across the country. We should be celebrating the international agreements that we have, not going abroad and doing this country down.”
“I thank the hon. Lady for reminding me about the brilliant Lionesses’ triumph in the Euros earlier in the summer. I take this opportunity to congratulate them on that. The hon. Lady raises the important issue of neighbourhood policing. Community policing has been hugely diminished over the last 10 to 15 years, and we are determined to fix it. The nature of how policing is done has changed, but we are providing the funding and the additional police officers for community and neighbourhood policing to flourish in constituencies like hers.”
“My hon. Friend rightly raises a really important issue, which she has explained better than I could, about the challenges of DNRs, particularly for vulnerable people, and I hope that those involved will have listened to her question. I will ensure that she gets a full ministerial response and that the issue is looked at.”
“I am very happy to have an ice cream, but I am not sure that the hon. Member’s constituents are quite ready to see me in a swimming costume just yet. I am pleased to hear that Kirkham baths has been saved and will now be refurbished. That is exactly why we have put the money into grassroots sport, but it is also why we have given local government such a big settlement, because things such as Kirkham baths are so important to our communities.”
“I thank the hon. Member once again for her bravery and her powerful testimony. I know many of us continue to be appalled by the experiences she has had over a number of years in the campaign brought by her abusive ex-husband and what he has tried to do in undermining her capacity to be an effective Member of Parliament, which she continues to be. I hear her calls today for the steps that need to be taken to ensure that this cannot happen again, and particularly that it cannot happen again to her. We have an elections Bill coming to the House soon, which will look at issues such as the suitability of candidates and their behaviour towards other candidates, and I am sure there will be ample opportunity for us all to support her in raising some of these issues during the passage of that Bill.”
“I think we all remember when the previous Government gave the contract for our passport production to a French company in the post-Brexit era. We all found it rather strange at the time. This Government are committed to buying British and to British procurement, and we will bring forward legislation and other means of ensuring that that can better happen.”
“Absolutely, and I thank my hon. Friend for raising that awful case today. As he says, the Government take hate crime incredibly seriously. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion. We need to combat and stand up to rhetoric and campaigns that can make people feel insecure in their communities, and I look forward to working with him to that end.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue again. It is not the first time that I have heard of problems in the Environment Agency and about its not following through on the commitments that it has given. I will ensure that he gets a ministerial response, but we are determined that the Environment Agency and others should be held to account for the actions they take, and that they should take more responsibility for prevention.”
“My hon. Friend is right to say that bringing rail back into public ownership and our Employment Rights Bill are flagship policies of this Government, and I am particularly proud of them. We will ensure that as we take rail back into public ownership, it is done in the best interests of passengers and ensures that staff are well looked after and do not take industrial action, as they did under the previous Government.”
“I thank the hon. Lady for raising another important issue on behalf of her constituents. That Bill is currently on the Committee corridor; when it returns to this Chamber, she will be able to raise those important matters. In the meantime, I will ensure that she gets a ministerial response.”
“First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on becoming a new dad earlier this summer. I thank him once again for being such a brilliant champion for proper investment in our northern rail and connectivity, which is absolutely vital to the rebirth of our regions.”