Rebecca Long Bailey

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1,995 held · 600 searchable for Rebecca Long Bailey. The searchable lines are below in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 10.

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1. “We have discussed what the remedy could look like, and the report is very clear that it leaves that open to Parliament to determine. Crucially, it says that finite resources should not be used as an excuse for failing to provide a fair remedy. This is a clear injustice and should be treated as one. If we go down the path of deciding which injustices are and are not deserving, we are in very dangerous territory. The report also points out that HM Treasury requires compensation schemes to be efficient and effective, and to deliver value for money. In particular, any administrative costs associated with compensation schemes should not be excessive.”

   House of Commons16 May 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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2. “The fairness and the gender impact of the policy need to be urgently addressed, and I hope that we continue to fight for that in this House, but today we are focusing on the ombudsman’s findings. The key finding was that the failure by the DWP to adequately inform thousands of women of their state pension age constitutes maladministration. The ombudsman also found that, as a result, some women had lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances, and that the DWP’s failure had diminished women’s sense of personal autonomy and financial control. The ombudsman also recommended that the DWP acknowledge its failings and apologise for its impact on those affected. The report concludes very clearly that the women concerned are entitled to compensation urgently.”

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3. “They often receive higher state pensions, and even higher private pensions. Many of these women affected spent significant periods out of the workforce caring for their children and family members. That was coupled with a gender pay gap that was far more acute during their time in the workforce than it is today, so they were already at a disadvantage in terms of their ability to contribute to their private and state pensions. The only element that went some small way towards addressing the gender pension gap was that the national insurance pension was paid to women from age 60, whereas it was paid to men from age 65. Obviously, that advantage was taken away.”

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4. “The issue is not whether these women faced injustice; the ombudsman’s report makes it clear that they did, that the DWP was guilty of maladministration, that these women are entitled to compensation urgently from the Government, and that Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for ensuring that. I will briefly make a few comments about the ombudsman’s report for clarity. First, it is important to stress that the ombudsman has looked at only one aspect of injustice: maladministration by the DWP—that is, whether they adequately notified the women affected by the change to their pension age. The ombudsman’s remit was not to look at the wider discriminatory impact of the policy; that has been left unaddressed. Sadly, the UK’s pension system systematically favoured men in this age group.”

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5. “Many experienced depression, and some were even suicidal. That is a scandal and a clear injustice. I give my warmest thanks to all the 1950s women against state pension inequality campaign groups, on behalf of myself, the hon. Member for Waveney and all members of the all-party group. I also thank the 5,000 women in my constituency of Salford and Eccles who were born in the 1950s, in particular a lady called Judith Robertson and the women of the WASPI Campaign 2018, who have set up stalls in our local supermarkets, and lobbied me and other MPs on this important issue. We all recognise the determination and strength of these brave women. Their relentless campaigning against this profound injustice is the reason why we are here today.”

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6. “I thank the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) for his comments, which I associate myself with, and for his hard work over the years on the all-party parliamentary group. I also thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) and the Backbench Business Committee for securing this important debate. We all know how we got here. For people watching at home, many women born in the 1950s retired at 60 in the belief that they would receive their full state pension, only to realise that the Government had increased the retirement age by five years and not told them. Many had handed in their notice at work, and in many cases those women were forced to exist on meagre welfare benefits that left them living a hand-to-mouth existence. Many were left destitute. Some even lost their home.”

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7. “Q9. In March, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report on 1950s women’s state pension injustice made it clear to the Government that the Department for Work and Pensions was guilty of maladministration; that these women had suffered significant injustice; that they were owed compensation; and that Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for redress. Nearly 279,000 women have already died waiting for justice, so when will the Prime Minister finally place before this House a mechanism for appropriate redress?”

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8. “Napo has said that “the ECSL scheme is an unmitigated failure and has not only been extended without parliamentary scrutiny but represents an increasing risk to public safety”. The Secretary of State knows that our probation service is in crisis and cannot cope without a significant increase in support and resources. Will the Government be providing that?”

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9. “The Secretary of State must understand that the rhetoric coming from the Government over the past few weeks has been brutal, divisive and inducing unimaginable terror in the two thirds of people already in destitution who have a chronic health condition or disability. The prospect of further cuts is making the situation worse. Can he confirm whether he expects overall Government PIP spending to be reduced and, if so, by how much, and what assessment he has made of how his proposals will affect those who are already in material deprivation?”

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10. “The report’s central finding of fact is that women born in the 1950s could not make informed decisions about their finances and that their sense of “personal autonomy and financial control” was “diminished”, with tens of thousands plunged into poverty. The issue now is not whether those women faced injustice, because the report makes it clear that they did, that they are entitled to urgent compensation from the Government, and that Parliament must “identify a mechanism” for providing appropriate redress. Will the Secretary of State allay my concerns that he is not proposing to question the ombudsman’s findings and that, rather, after the Easter recess, he will return to set out appropriate mechanisms for redress that we can debate in the House?”

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11. “The Leader of the House knows that this morning, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman did not just publicise its report but laid it before Parliament, which is very rare. It said: “Given the scale of the impact of DWP’s maladministration, and the urgent need for a remedy, we are taking the rare but necessary step of asking Parliament to intervene.” I am very disappointed that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is not here today to provide a statement, so will the Leader of the House confirm when that will happen? Secondly and more importantly, when will this Parliament be able to debate and amend a motion on this matter?”

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12. “The brightest and best who lay claim to an Irish heritage are smashing the glass ceiling in every aspect of working and public life, and I am proud to celebrate them today.”

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13. “Here in the UK, we will be celebrating the strong cultural, political and business ties between Britain and Ireland, and the immense contribution of the Irish diaspora in Britain—and what a contribution it continues to be. Niall Gallagher, the chairman of Irish Heritage, has described the contribution of the Irish to cultural life in the UK as “incalculable”. The contribution of Irish labour to the British construction industry was described by Sir William McAlpine as “immeasurable”. As of June 2023, 13,700 members of NHS staff in England reported their nationality as Irish, including around 2,300 doctors and over 4,200 nurses. When President Higgins came to Manchester 10 years ago, he said that 55,000 directors who are Irish sit on the boards of British companies, and that number is even bigger today.”

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14. “I beg to move, That this House has considered St Patrick’s Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK. Thank you, Dame Siobhain. I thank my co-sponsor, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley), as well as all Members who supported the application for this very important debate and the Backbench Business Committee for granting it. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Ireland and the Irish in Britain, for her support and her ongoing work championing the Irish diaspora in Britain. As we know, the feast of St Patrick will be celebrated on Sunday.”

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15. “They also found him a castle allegedly owned by generations of the Bailey family, and presented him with a picture and details about it, so that he could check out whether he had any ancestral claim to it. Joking aside, I was proud to grow up immersed in our thriving Greater Manchester Irish community. Every year, I was dispatched to the Irish centre, St Kentigern’s, Chorlton Irish Club and the Southern—you name it—to hear the music, arts and culture of my heritage. I read my mum’s copy of The Irish Post every week, which was the voice of the Irish in Britain, because it was important to know who we were and where we came from, and to foster that duty to keep our heritage alive for future generations.”

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16. “Further pedigree checks have been carried out on members of my family. My husband is a Bailey. He has no known Irish ancestry, but he still had to go through his own pedigree check when he was presented to the family many years ago. That escalated to the point that, during one family visit to Galway just before we married, everyone in the local pub that my aunt and uncle frequent had been furiously researching the Bailey family name, to check out my husband and make sure that he was all right for me to marry. Despite his having no known Irish links, they presented him with a genealogical history of the Irish surname Bailey, to prove to him that he actually had an Irish surname and therefore was Irish somewhere along the line, even if he did not know it yet.”

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17. “] Yes, I know! The Kellys have laid claim to that historical link for years. Anyone who was anyone was told of their claim to that important building. Then one day, while we were wandering about the Galway City Museum, we came across an old hand-written logbook, which stated the spooky fact that before the Kellys—hundreds of years before, in fact, because the Spanish Arch was built in the 1500s—a Bishop Long had lived there. That gave my dad cause to claim that the Spanish Arch was actually the ancestral home of the Longs, something he stated was further proven by the fact that the lane next to the arch, which runs along the harbour walls in Galway, is called The Long Walk. Suffice to say the Kelly relatives were not impressed at my dad’s protestations; they had always thought that The Long Walk was called that because it was a long road.”

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18. “Every first, second or even third-generation Irish diaspora member will know that when we hear a surname that sounds Irish, or have an inkling that someone has a bit of Irish in their background, we always set about finding out where their relatives—especially their parents or grandparents—are from, even down to the road that they lived on, in case anybody might know them. We want to check the pedigree. I will get that bit out of the way first by doing a little bit of a pedigree check on myself, for anyone who wants to know. My mum, who was a Kelly before she married, is from Galway and my dad is a Long from Belfast. We have an interesting story about the Galway Kellys, if anyone knows the city: apparently my mum’s family had the shop and lived in the famous historical focal point there called the Spanish Arch— [ Interruption.”

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19. “Bronwen Walter, emerita professor of Irish diaspora studies at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, estimated a few years ago that there are roughly 5 million people with at least one Irish parent or grandparent. As visits to Irish cultural and community centres across Britain will show, the intergenerational community is thriving. Irish in Britain has stated: “The numbers of people frequenting these centres, as well as the profiles of those actively involved in running activities at these cultural hubs confirm the increasing diversity of people who embrace their Irish heritage”.”

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20. “The social and economic impact of the Irish diaspora in the UK and across the world has been duly recognised by the Irish Government in Ireland’s diaspora strategy, which aims to celebrate and strengthen the social, economic and cultural bonds between Britain, Ireland and other parts of the world. The strategy refers to the “diverse and dynamic global community connected to Ireland through ties of citizenship, heritage and affinity, retaining a strong sense of Irish identity that has remained vibrant over the ages.” At the time of the 2021 census, there were about 523,000 Irish-born people living in England and Wales alone, but those figures capture only a fraction of the second and third generations with Irish heritage.”

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21. “I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I also place on record my thanks to the late, great Tony Lloyd, who was my constituency MP when I was a child. He was a huge champion of the Irish community in Greater Manchester, and his legacy lives on today. My hon. Friend is right that it is important to remember that identities and links are changing year on year, with each passing generation, whether they come here to call Britain their home or have third, fourth or fifth-generation children and grandchildren who try to keep their cultural heritage and ties going.”

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22. “As the former Irish President Higgins has said: “The closeness and warmth that we laud today was founded to a large extent upon the lives and sacrifices of generations of Irish emigrants who settled in this country—generations of Irish people who came here and contributed so positively to nearly every aspect of British society, who did so much to make Britain what it is today while at the same time fostering understanding, tolerance and cooperation between our two countries.” That bond goes from strength to strength today, thanks to those who continue to ensure that it endures. On Sunday, wherever you are and whoever you are celebrating with: Lá fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh—happy St Patrick’s day.”

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23. “We have huge numbers of brilliant and dedicated Irish-diaspora politicians and councillors across the UK who are transforming lives within their communities. We have amazing businesses and charitable and social organisations such as Irish in Britain, Irish Community Care, Irish Heritage and the Irish World Heritage Centre in Manchester. We have Irish societies and clubs right across the UK, sports clubs, radio stations, dance and music groups, festivals and even welfare advice services. Special mention goes to The Irish Post and The Irish World , which have been keeping the Irish community in Britain connected for decades. To everybody watching this debate, whether you are first, second or third-generation Irish or a friend of the Irish community: thank you for what you have done and for what you continue to do.”

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24. “There are too many of them to mention them all today, sadly, but they include Danny Boyle, Caroline Aherne, Dusty Springfield, Elvis Costello, Boy George, the Beatles, Kate Bush, David Bowie, Cilla Black, the Sex Pistols, the Smiths, Oasis, Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, the Pogues, the Spice Girls, the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream and Radiohead—the list is quite simply endless. The success and impact of the diaspora on every aspect of life in the UK is profound. All that aside, it is the everyday actions of my community and communities across the UK that I am so proud of—all the achievements that the Irish and Irish diaspora have had here in the UK, and the ever-strengthening connections between Ireland and UK that are being built.”

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25. “The impact of the Irish diaspora on science and civil service is profound. Some of the recent winners of the Irish Government’s presidential distinguished service awards for the Irish abroad include Dr Patricia Mary Lewis, the research director for international security at Chatham House, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the astrophysicist whose work won the Nobel prize, and Professor Teresa Lambe, one of the co-creators of the AstraZeneca vaccine. They are all from Irish backgrounds, and so too is Dr Susan Hopkins, who we saw on our TV screens during the pandemic as the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency. In the arts we have a list of inspirational people, too.”

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26. “The late, great Tony Lloyd and countless parliamentarians across the House have laid claim to Irish heritage, and—who knew this?—Margaret Thatcher’s great-grandmother hailed from Bonane in County Kerry. Also in the world of politics, I was reading in Jacobin magazine that, interestingly, a disproportionate number of Britain’s trade union leaders are the sons and daughters of Irish immigrants. They include Mick Lynch of the RMT, his deputy Eddie Dempsey, Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, and Baroness Frances O’Grady, former general secretary of the TUC. Additionally, Christina McAnea, general secretary of Unison, is the daughter of Irish immigrants to Glasgow, and Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, is the granddaughter of Irish immigrants.”

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27. “On the issue of embracing Irish heritage, those who have it will know, as the Irish Times pointed out many years ago when finding out about Tony Blair’s Irish ancestry, that no sooner does a major world figure emerge than the Irish have him or her pegged down to their roots. Tony Blair’s grandparents were from Ballyshannon in County Donegal, and I will lay claim to a few more leading figures. Our lovely Chair today, Dame Siobhan McDonagh, has a proud Irish heritage. Two British Prime Ministers were born in Ireland: William Petty, the second Earl of Shelburne, and Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. Denis Healey and Jim Callaghan were both of Irish origin.”

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28. “Each generation who came faced their own challenges and opportunities, from those who left home in search of a hopeful future but endured the horrific racism of the “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs” era in the late ’60s and early ’70s to those who faced less direct forms of racism during the Troubles. Many found greater freedoms and opportunities, and worked hard to build a life, businesses and a bright future for their families. Others saw the growing community and sought to build a network of support and shared cultural heritage that endures in cities and towns across the UK today. The exhibition highlights the multifaceted journey of Irish immigrants and their enduring impact on Britain. No two stories are the same, and the stories exhibited celebrate the shared heritage and contributions of the Irish diaspora.”

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29. “It is, however, often the less famous people who have the most evocative stories to tell. Irish in Britain has recently launched its “Look Back to Look Forward” exhibition—I urge anyone who does not get a chance to see it in person to check it out on the Irish in Britain website. The exhibition looks at the community’s journey over the last 50 years, sharing personal stories and the struggles and triumphs that have shaped each family’s history. The project was launched because many Irish immigrants who have settled in Britain since 1973 are now elderly, risking the loss of their migration memories. The project has shared those important voices to ensure that their legacies endure. Some of those voices came to Britain to escape cultural conservatism, conflict or discrimination; others left Ireland for economic reasons.”

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30. “We therefore know very little about Mary Burns, but it is said that Burns guided Engels through Salford, showing him the horrific poverty of Salford and Manchester, influencing his thinking and research, which later resulted in the well-known political work, “The Condition of the Working Class in England”. We also lay claim to another fierce political activist in Salford: Eva Gore-Booth, the famous Salford suffragette and trade unionist, and the younger sister of Constance Markievicz. The two sisters spent their early years in Sligo, with Constance ultimately doing her thing in Ireland and Eva making her way to Salford, where she campaigned for women’s suffrage and trade unionism, and helped to set up the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trade Union Council, a precursor to the TUC we know today.”

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31. “We have made our mark on culture and music too: from renowned playwright Shelagh Delaney to Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, the list of successful Irish Salfordians who made their mark on the world is endless. It is also said that the famous song about Salford, “Dirty Old Town”, written by Salfordian Ewan MacColl, has all but taken out its own Irish citizenship. The Irish community in Salford was at the heart of historical political theory and political activism. One example, Mary Burns, was a working-class woman with Irish parents, best known as the lifelong partner of Friedrich Engels. Sadly, we do not hear much about her, because they were living quite a bohemian lifestyle—living in sin was a big no-no in those days, and Engels got rid of all his personal letters to Karl Marx about Mary and himself after the latter’s death.”

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32. “Describing the contribution of the Irish community in Greater Manchester, Ireland’s President Michael Higgins has said that they had given the area countless talented footballers, vibrant cultural festivals, talented students, writers and businesspeople. For example, it was the Irish who made the greatest city on Earth—Salford, of course—a city in its own right. During the mid-19th century, there was an influx of Irish people into the Salford area, partly due to the great hunger in Ireland. In 1848, Salford Roman Catholic cathedral was consecrated, reflecting Salford’s large Irish-born community at the time. It was also the Irish who built the Manchester ship canal, which spurred on the industrial revolution in the north-west.”

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33. “I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. The Irish Post was not only the voice of the Irish in Britain, but a lifeline to many people who had emigrated here, often in very difficult times, and acted as a support mechanism to bring communities together. They knew what was happening in the towns and cities across the UK and, despite the troubles that many people might have faced, they felt that they were not alone. Indeed, the huge Irish diaspora across the north of England has been recognised by the Irish Government, who have opened the consulate general of Ireland for the north of England. Its establishment reflects a strong commitment to developing the British-Irish relationship and will strengthen the political, commercial, community and cultural ties between Ireland and the north of England.”

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34. “Very briefly, I want to thank the Minister and the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), for their comments. This has been a collegiate and warm debate that highlights the best that Parliament can be. No matter our political affiliations, I think our Irish heritage, or our love of Irish heritage, brings us together in this House. Just to touch on the Minister thinking that it was hilarious that I had mentioned Lord McAlpine; he might be a Tory, but he’s our Tory, so he stays on the list! Resolved, That this House has considered St Patrick’s Day and the contribution of the Irish diaspora to the UK.”

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35. “In Salford, from April to November last year, approximately 466 individuals presented to Salford City Council in crisis because of section 21 notices. Salford’s social housing waiting list is currently in the thousands. Private market rents are outstripping incomes and local housing allowance rates at a frighteningly exponential rate. There are no affordable homes to go to once someone is evicted from a property, so homelessness is now at acute levels in Salford. This is not just a housing crisis; this is a homelessness crisis in Salford. When are the Government going to bring back the Renters (Reform) Bill, with robust amendments finally banning section 21 evictions? What action will the Minister take to ensure that my constituents urgently have long-term secure tenancies?”

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36. “AI in the UK still lacks sufficient regulation, despite the pace of change and the risks posed. The Government stated that they expect to introduce “a statutory duty on regulators requiring them to have due regard” to the five high-level principles outlined in the AI White Paper. So will the Secretary of State confirm if and when she will legislate for that, and what factors will inform her decision?”

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37. “T2. Many of my constituents whose lives have been destroyed by the loan charge scandal feel the central injustice is that the Government are focused on pursuing the victims rather than the companies responsible. They were dismayed to read recent allegations that individuals linked to such companies have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative party. Will the Chancellor confirm why exactly the Government are ignoring the providers and operators of the schemes? How many have been prosecuted specifically for their involvement in disguised remuneration, and not for other misdemeanours?”

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38. “Will she also commit to formally ringfencing financial measures such as the household support fund and the ongoing revenue support grant calculations for local government, to support the most deprived residents during the cost of living crisis? Will she confirm that she will not cut the current services grant for local government, and that she will instead increase it by inflation to reflect the financial pressures that local authorities face at this time? Will she work with the local government sector to urgently address the acute financial pressures facing local authorities? Finally, as my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) said, will the Minister meet me, along with the Salford City Mayor and Salford MPs, to urgently address these issues?”

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39. “The Minister must understand that to withdraw this fund at a time when the cost of living crisis is demonstrably outstripping so many incomes will have disastrous consequences for our most vulnerable residents, families and children who simply cannot make ends meet. For so many, cutting this vital lifeline will mean that they are quite simply catapulted into further destitution, hunger, fuel poverty and worse. For many, their health will be put at extreme risk. Given that the Government are supposedly consulting on the next provisional local government finance settlement, will the Minister provide financial clarity today by confirming the extension of the household support fund?”

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40. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms) for securing this crucial debate. Salford City Council recently commissioned Greater Manchester Poverty Action to research the impact of the household support fund. That research showed that the fund has been a vital lifeline for people in Salford. As my colleague stated, nearly 19,000 low-income households access the scheme. That is a staggering 86% increase from the year before and is set to increase even further this year. Therefore, both the Salford City Mayor and all three Salford MPs were extremely concerned that the autumn statement seemingly omitted to clarify the Government’s position with regard to the continuation of the fund.”

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41. “He was one of us, a man of the people, and a proud member and supporter of the Irish diaspora in Manchester. He gave me the courage to believe that if he had become an MP and could serve to help people, then maybe—just maybe—people like me could do it, too. I send all of Salford’s deepest love and prayers to Judith, Siobhan, Angharad, Kieron, Ali, Carmen, Carys and all Tony’s family and loved ones. To Tony, I say: “You were an inspiration to all of us in this place. If we can be just one ounce of the good man that you were then I know the world will be far better, kinder place.””

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42. “At the age of five, in Stretford, he was my first ever MP, although I did not know that at the time, when I was running around his and his wife Judith’s house, driving everyone mad playing “She-Ra: Princess of Power” with his daughter Siobhan, who was my friend at school. We were usually having a row about who would be in the role of She-Ra that day, causing Tony or Judith to have to come and sort out the problem diplomatically. I remember a house and family full of love and warmth, and a family who often supported mine. It was only years later that I realised what Tony actually did for a job. That was important because, growing up, there was a tendency to believe that MPs were in some special class of their own, and that people from backgrounds like mine could not be MPs. But Tony was different.”

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43. “I must have had a look on my face of complete bewilderment and disappointment in equal measure, when my friend Tony Lloyd, who had observed my frozen form as he made his way through PCH, quietly walked up to my side, still invisible to me, and said very gently and so caringly, with a wicked twinkle in his eye: ‘is there a daughter we could ring?’ Rest in peace Tony.” Paul Dennett, the Mayor of Salford, said: “Sir Tony Lloyd MP was a great man, a person & politician of great integrity, someone who often did the right thing quietly, without fear or favour, a great friend of Salford & its peoples. My thoughts & prayers are with Tony’s family & friends at this time”. Outside the world of politics, Tony’s real and unending love was for his family, and it was in that context that I first met him.”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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44. “But imagine my disappointment when walking up to the entrance to cafeteria and looking up at menu board to see the row of usually packed canteen serving stations totally empty, no staff and no customers. There’d been some sort of problem and services were disrupted and there’d be no lunch in the Debate today. I tried to take in the full extent of this lunchtime disaster. I was standing there, open mouthed in disbelief, with my hand still outstretched in automatic pilot poised to pick up a tray from the pile to put my non existent food on, as if in total denial and unable to compute, whilst simultaneously scouring the sad notice of temporary closure that only served to reinforce my disappointment and with it the dawning realisation that I’d be eating somewhere else today.”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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45. “He had been the Minister for Sub Saharan Africa in the Blair Government. He was a genuine internationalist, and understood the real global implications and need to battle against neoliberalism at home and abroad. A genuine man of the people. And one of the few politicians I will miss sharing a meal and a drink with.” The hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald), who cannot be here today as he is recovering from an operation, asked me to share this funny story: “He was so special and a warm character but there was also a very naughty side to him and I’d like to share this story about him. I’d missed breakfast and I was really quite hungry and was hoping the delicious jerk chicken would be on offer and headed off to “The Debate”, the cafeteria in Portcullis House in eager anticipation.”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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46. “I ran his campaign to become the Chair of the parliamentary Labour Party. I had great respect for him as a politician and dear friend. In 1988, Tony was the first Politician to be interested in and support the creation of the synergistic social partnership model for good governance and socially just resolution of complex problems. Tony and I were invited to attend our friend Chan Singhs inauguration as the Temple President of a Manchester Sikh Temple and we wore Turbans together. We looked the part. He was part of that small group of politicians who were underestimated; underrated; and underused in Parliament. His quiet, calm manner belied the gut instinct and passionate reaction to inequality and lack of social justice experienced by oppressed communities, whether at work, in the community, in the UK or Sub Saharan Africa.”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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47. “He said he wanted arrange a meal and a drink with me. I explained that Mez was ill and we thought she might have Covid. I suggested that he and I should get together as we regularly did either between Christmas and New Year or early January. He agreed but then calmly said he loved me and Mez and that I should let her know that. First and foremost Tony was a true and close friend of 50 years. He was a real trade union socialist, with a good heart and a strong desire to help those in need. He was a Statistician by trade lecturing at the University of Salford when we first met. People were always bemused when they found out he was good at maths. Tony was a product of the post war Labour Government’s Welfare State and Education System. Which he never forgot. I ran his campaign to become the Chair of the parliamentary trade union group.”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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48. “Tony was one of the best of us: a decent, kind man dedicated to helping people. As we have heard today, often he was unassuming and he never showboated the brilliant work he did. Such was his commitment to public service, he rarely felt comfortable taking personal credit for the great work he did, preferring to quietly and furiously work in the background to get done what needed to be done. His career was never about him but about the people he was trying to lift up. Because of that, Tony was loved. There are so many stories and messages of warmth from his friends and colleagues, and I have just a few that I want to share. Ian Stewart, a close friend who was formerly the MP for Eccles and then Mayor of Salford, said: “Tony phoned me before Christmas (he must have been in hospital when he phoned, although he didn’t mention that).”

    House of Commons23 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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49. “Q6. One in five of my residents lives in fuel poverty and, according to Cornwall Insight, this winter looks to be the most brutal yet, with the current trajectory in energy prices expected to be the new norm for the rest of the decade. As the Prime Minister will know, one of the best ways to support households is through the introduction of a social tariff. He promised a consultation by summer this year, but we are still waiting. When will the consultation be released?”

    House of Commons6 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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50. “Such information would include, for example, blood and urine samples demonstrating high levels of radiation exposure, but information from successive Defence Ministers or potential record holders has been inconsistent and unclear on whether there were tests, whether records were kept, where they were kept and whether records are now accessible for searching.”

    House of Commons28 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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