Mark Ferguson
MP for Gateshead Central and Whickham · Labour · United Kingdom
“I also want to recognise the party’s fantastic head of politics, Caitlin Prowle, who I am sure has put a huge amount of work into this debate.”
“My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) spoke about new forms of co-operative support. It would not be a first appearance at the Dispatch Box without the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon); I thank him for his very kind words, and I know how important the co-operative sector is in Northern Ireland.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. Please do not adjust your sets: I am not the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. But I am very pleased to be here on her behalf for my first stint at the Dispatch Box. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Thank you. I am grateful to my hon.”
“After the Economic Secretary to the Treasury has read Hansard tonight, before bed, which I am sure she will—as we all do every night—she will write back to him on the point about the British Business Bank. The Government look forward to the Law Commission review coming out.”
“I have to make progress—sorry. Additionally, the Government asked the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority to produce, by the end of 2025, a report on the wider mutuals landscape, which is well under way.”
“That point is very well made, and my hon. Friend is right to be proud of his forebears, who were doughty working-class politicians and representatives of his area, as he is. The Rochdale principles, established by the Rochdale pioneers, have formed the basis of modern ideals for the operation of co-operatives across the globe.”
The complete record
Every one of 236 lines we hold for Mark Ferguson, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 5.
“Kim’s newly established child poverty reduction unit is the first of its kind and provides an extra layer to this key community-based early intervention. In just months, her funded programmes, such as welfare at the school gates, have been rolled out across Gateshead to plug the gaps. Her “Launchpad for Literacy” and reading fluency programmes are already breaking down barriers in communities such as mine. At every level, Labour is following the evidence: early intervention is best; late intervention is harmful. By design, late intervention requires the family and the child in question to reach crisis point before they can access meaningful support.”
“These decisions meant the council was able to build a locality-based family hub scheme at pace, ensuring that Gateshead families were not left short. Labour Members know the evidence is clear that children who grew up with access to a Sure Start centre had higher GCSE outcomes than those who did not. This kind of early intervention leads to better outcomes at every developmental stage. Family hubs deliver everything from neonatal classes, childcare, and speech and language support, right through to employment support and welfare advice. Barnardo’s rightly describes them as the “nerve centre” of our communities. Our mayor, Kim McGuinness, and the North East combined authority are building on this great work.”
“I absolutely agree, and I commend my hon. Friend for the huge amount of work that he has put into the Employment Rights Bill and several other important pieces of forthcoming legislation, which will have a huge impact on the lives not only of those working in children’s services but of the children they seek to serve. We are fortunate to have him and his experience in this place. I want to use the remainder of my time in this debate to highlight some of the successes that Gateshead council has had recently. The council’s multi-agency approach is thriving. Despite every effort of consecutive Conservative Governments to tear down Sure Start, Gateshead’s Labour councillors went to great lengths to protect children’s centres throughout austerity. In fact, they have now almost doubled the number of operating family hubs.”
“It is good to hear the Chief Secretary and the Chancellor talk about removing barriers to growth, but in Gateshead we have a literal barrier to growth: 400 tonnes of concrete in the Gateshead flyover, which is currently closed because it is unsafe. As yet the money to replace this has not been forthcoming, even though it would unlock housing and the redevelopment of Gateshead’s town centre. Can the Chief Secretary assure me that projects of this kind, in Gateshead and across the country, will be prioritised as a way of unlocking further growth in the economy?”
“I thank the Security Minister for clarifying the timeline of when this report was commissioned. We should remember that since it was commissioned, we have seen the brutal, sadistic murders in Southport and the riots that came after them. Clearly, we are living in a time of rising and worrying extremism, which should concern Members on all sides of this House. Does the Security Minister therefore agree that Members on all sides of this House should be working together to deal with extremism, rather than playing political games?”
“My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) made an excellent point about hub airports. At the moment, there are 19 flights between my local airport in Newcastle and Heathrow, but 30 a week between Newcastle and Amsterdam. I dare say that some people from the north-east may wish to sample the unique delights of Amsterdam, some will certainly be using Amsterdam as a hub airport, instead of Heathrow. That is bad for our economy, bad for passengers, and, because it is further away than Heathrow, bad for the environment, too. Is it not right that we build hub capacity in this country because it is the best thing to do environmentally?”
“Like many people from Gateshead, I am proud to say that I come from a long line of people working in the defence manufacturing industry. Can the Minister assure me that this deal, and other defence manufacturing deals, will benefit those in all the nations and regions of the country, especially Gateshead?”
“I will also mention the measures to bring the railways back into public ownership, so that they once again function for our benefit, and our Budget, which invested in public services rather than cutting them. Hon. Members may disagree with that, but they should not use it to sow distrust. Let us have political arguments in this country, because the way that we do things at the moment is not who we are. This is not the way we do things and this is not what a good democracy looks like. Let us be better.”
“Members who have spoken in the debate, but I will not play the game of sowing distrust, because ultimately that damages our democracy, our politics and the British people. Instead, I will talk about the promises that Labour has kept, such as the new deal for working people that will make a radical change to the rights of working people in this country, including my constituents in Gateshead Central and Whickham; the changes being made on energy so that we become an energy-independent country; and the planning reforms and house building policies that will mean that my son, and indeed all our children and grandchildren, will have the homes they need to live in.”
“But if they say that I am a liar, they say that you are liar. They say that we are all liars and that on that basis, “No one should trust any of them.” Well, I will not play that game, because I believe that the vast majority of Members of Parliament are honourable and respectful people. I will not accept the lie that Members of Parliament are disconnected from their communities. In my six months as a Member of Parliament, I have never felt more connected with my community; I have never spoken to more of my neighbours; and I have never been more engaged with the business of politics and the business of my community. I believe that that is the same for all hon. Members, regardless of party, on both sides of the House. I have great disagreements with many hon.”
“We are going to govern for the majority of people in this country, whether they voted for us or not. I know what I am meant to say. Hon. Members on the other side of the debate will say that Labour has misled people and broken promises, so I am meant to play my part by reeling off the litany of promises broken by the previous Government. But I am not going to do that. [ Interruption. ] No, there is a serious point to be made here: in British politics, the standard used to be that we might disagree with each other, but we would make our points and the other side would agree or disagree on that basis. I am sad to say that that is not how British politics works now. Now, those on one side make their arguments and those on the other side sow distrust in those arguments. They say that we are all liars, so if we are all liars, I am a liar.”
“Members do not want to hear about foreign interference, but it is a fact that he used his platform and his algorithm to exacerbate this petition to the point that we are here today. I am not surprised that just over 4,000 people in my constituency of Gateshead Central and Whickham signed this petition, but 18,000-plus people voted for me and the Labour party on 4 July, just over six months ago. I will not allow what effectively amounts to an online vote exacerbated by Twitter to overrule the votes of more than 18,000 people and everyone else who took part in that election on the basis of nothing more than that. We had a free and fair election in this country, in which every eligible adult was allowed to take part and those who wanted to vote voted. The result was a majority for the Labour party and that is the way we are going to govern.”
“In 2007—a year before that—people in my community in the north-east were queuing up on Northumberland Street in Newcastle to take cash out of cashpoints because Northern Rock was going bust. Our economy has not been functioning in the way that people in this country would expect for the best part of two decades, and the idea that we can turn around 17-plus years of failure in less than 17 weeks is, I am afraid, for the birds. I am not surprised that we are discussing this petition—there is clearly a great well of discontent—but it was cheered on by politicians, some of whom are on the Opposition Benches today, who lost a free and fair election fair and square, and it was then amplified by a foreign billionaire. I know that hon.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. This has been an interesting debate so far. Like other hon. Members, I thank the people who came up with the petition and those who signed it, but ultimately I believe that it is based on a false premise: the idea that economic growth can be kick-started within a single quarter of a new Government after 14 years of a previous Government. Labour Members always talk about 14 years, although the Conservatives—and, I dare say, some Lib Dems—do not want to hear it, but in places such as my constituency it has not been just 14 years. The global financial crisis was in 2008, so it has actually been 16 years, two of which were regrettably under a Labour Government.”
“I welcome the almost £2 million that Gateshead council is receiving to tackle homelessness this year on top of its previous allocation, but given that one of the shameful legacies of the last Government is crumbling infrastructure in communities like mine, what efforts will be made to support councils like mine with the infrastructure they need?”
“Thank you for squeezing me in, Madam Deputy Speaker. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I was glad to hear my hon. Friend refer to the unfair funding formula championed by the previous Prime Minister, laser targeted as it was at reducing support to communities like mine. There are parts of Gateshead where the average life expectancy for a man is 73 years, yet the last Government focused wholeheartedly on reducing support to areas of deprivation like that.”
“My hon. Friend will know from his visit to Gateshead this week some of the fantastic small businesses we have on our high street, but also some of the incredible challenges faced by so many high streets and town centres. With that in mind, will he tell us what the Government are doing on access to finance for small businesses?”
“As has already been mentioned, there are 1.3 million people on the social housing waiting list and there will be 150,000 kids in temporary accommodation this Christmas, but the number of under 30s who own their own home is half what it was in the last generation. Does the Minister agree that it will take serious and sustained action over the course of this Parliament and beyond to turn that around?”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. When these achievements are reached, the impact on communities like mine will be profound. For too long, people have been told that government does not work. They need to understand that when government is done well, it can and will work. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the British people need these milestones for progress, after 14 years of milestones of failure?”
“In the recent autumn Budget—it might feel like a long way away, but it was only a few weeks ago—the Chancellor made a decision to change the system of employer’s national insurance contributions. The purpose was to make the largest businesses make a contribution to fund the public services on which working people and businesses rely. As part of the changes to national insurance, we have increased the employment allowance to £10,500, explicitly to protect small businesses. The changes mean that a quarter of a million employers will see the amount of national insurance that they pay get cut.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman, because he makes an excellent point that I was hoping to come to later in my speech. The previous Government cut national insurance, and do you know what was also cut? The number of GPs in my constituency. It is more complicated than Members pretend; it is not “national insurance vs. GPs”. If it were that simple, I would have more GPs, not less, in Gateshead Central and Whickham. I would urge those who were enthusiastically cheerleading the previous Government to take a moment to think about that.”
“If they are having the back door of their business kicked in every night of the week, whether money is stolen or not, that it is pushing up their insurance premiums and it is a hit to their bottom line. How do we tackle that? With more police on the streets, and we will fund that with this national insurance increase.”
“I have been meeting local businesses recently, including Prism Coffee in Saltwell park—it does an excellent flat white, by the way—the Rare Drop in Low Fell, which has an absolutely fantastic selection of beers and cheeses, and my next-door neighbour, the owner of Creations and Alterations, who can do some work on your suit. But what people in Low Fell have been speaking to me about recently is crime—retail crime and crime on our high streets—and we are going to tackle that by raising money and spending more on the police so that they can be not only a visible presence in our communities but solve crimes. For too long, break-ins have been ignored, and that is a fundamental problem for businesses. If they are having to spend £1,400 on getting shutters for their shop on the high street, that is a fundamental hit to their bottom line.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. It is always worth reminding Members of all shades and stripes of the existence of the coalition Government. Quite often I hear the Liberal Democrats talk about 14 years of terrible decisions, but I am afraid that they have to own five of those years. We have not heard the Opposition thank this Government for increasing the minimum wage—the words are “thank you”, by the way—to £12.21 an hour. As we have seen, when we increase the minimum wage and put more money in the pockets of working people of all stripes, we see more money spent on high streets and in local communities, and more thriving local businesses.”
“I thank the hon. Member for his point. This is what is known as a balanced Budget, and we on this side of the House are going to do something remarkable. The amount of money that we raise will match the amount of money that we spend. I know that might seem alien to some of those on the Opposition Benches, but that is what we are going to do.”
“Like many Labour Members, I have a huge amount of experience of opposition. I have never sat on the Opposition Benches and I do not want to sit on them any time soon, but I have a huge amount of experience of the business of opposition, and I would gently offer some advice that I doubt will be taken. You are going to have to do a lot better than this if you want to convince— [ Interruption. ] Sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker, I do apologise. The Conservatives will need to do a great deal to convince the British people that they have heard the lesson that was given to them in July. If they continue in this vein of listening to only one side of the conversation—the one that they want to hear—they might not like the answer they get.”
“I am concerned about GPs, because I am sick of people having to call at 8 o’clock every morning to demand an appointment for themselves or for their child, only to be told that there are no appointments that day. This Government will invest in our NHS to tackle the GP crisis, because that is what hurts working people. When people are unwell, when people cannot go to work and when there is crime in their communities, that has an impact on business. It is false to say otherwise, and we cannot continue having this debate. We are taking a balanced and, in my view, reasonable position, which is why I will be voting for the Bill this evening. We raise taxes and we spend the money on things that are good for society. We cannot pretend that we can do good things for society without raising the taxes to pay for them.”
“No, I have been more than generous in taking interventions so far. It is amazing to see the anger that has been generated among Conservative Members. Let us remember their record, because it is important for the context. In government, they doubled the national debt, stagnated wages—which is awful for businesses, by the way, especially small businesses that rely on local people spending money—and caused a cost of living crisis. Their own Prime Minister, Liz Truss—remember the name?—delivered a Budget made up of £45 billion of unfunded tax commitments and crashed the value of the pound to its lowest ever value against the dollar. The British people suffered, waiting lists soared, schools crumbled, buses did not come on time or at all and we waited hours for ambulances or years for surgery.”
“Does the Secretary of State agree that the recent Budget gives the Northern Ireland Executive the opportunity to really go for growth after many years of uncertainty?”
“I echo the remarks of the Prime Minister and others about John Prescott. Rarely has there been a better example of the fact that working people are meant to govern, and I hope that John knew what a great example he was to so many of us on the Labour Benches and across this House. It is clear that we must take a far larger role in international affairs—that is not optional at this time—but that role must translate into greater prosperity at home. Can the Prime Minister expand on how the conversations he had at the G20 and COP will bring more jobs and investment to communities such as mine in Gateshead?”
“I am often contacted by businesses from across Gateshead Central and Whickham complaining about high street crime. A recent spate of crimes on Low Fell high street has left some businesses potentially having to close. With shop thefts up 40% in the past year alone, what will these very welcome measures do to lower crime on our high streets?”
“Today we take the next critical step in that fight, at a time when, as has been said, it is more urgent than ever. We do not know when this war will end, but we do know that it must end, and how it must end: with a peace that is just for the Ukrainian. Slava Ukraini: glory to Ukraine.”
“It is fought by the families who keep on living despite the presence of a dictator who wishes to snuff out the existence of their nation. It is fought by those who are willing to say, in this House and anywhere else where speech is free, that Vladimir Putin is an illegitimate tyrant. It is fought by those inside Russia who stand—or seek to stand—in democratic elections, knowing that the elections in which they stand are neither free nor fair, but doing so anyway. It is fought through the dignity and defiance of those nations who also stand on the border of the Russian aggressor state, wishing only to remain free. We must stand with them too. Across the UK, including in Gateshead and Whickham, people have taken Ukrainian refugees into their homes. They have made them welcome. They too are part of the fight for dignity and democracy.”
“The support for the people of Ukraine under the last Government and under this Government make me proud to be British, and proud to be a Member of this House, because defending Ukraine, its independence and its way of life, is also defending our way of life. It is drawing a line in the sand and saying to those who wish to tear up our democracy and subvert our society that we will not stand idly by. I am sure that I am not the only Member to have stood at his or her local cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday or Armistice Day and thought of those who are fighting right now for their freedom and for their loved ones in Ukraine. At the same time, we must not think that those who are taking on Russian aggression are solely those on the frontline. This war is being fought with more than just bombs, bullets and missiles.”
“That position is shared almost universally across this House, and certainly universally in this debate. In my early contributions in this place, I have spent much of my time decrying the legacy of the last Conservative Government. I dare say I will do that a few more times, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I certainly will not be doing that on Ukraine. One area in which the last Government deserve real praise is their support for the Ukrainian people. In their darkest hour, this House and this country stood as one—in defence of Ukraine, in defence of democracy, in defence of freedom. At a time when the opinion of politics and politicians is low, I think it speaks well of the House that we can come together on issues of such great magnitude.”
“I wish to associate myself with the comments of many other Members who congratulated my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) on her wonderful maiden speech. She spoke particularly movingly about the impact that being in this place has on our families. I am sure that all of us will be thinking of our friends and family as we think back on that speech. I am proud to speak in support of the Bill. I am proud of the additional money that is being provided for the defence of Ukraine and its people. I am proud that the sum of £2.26 billion, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) said, is in addition to the £3 billion that has been committed each year. I am proud, too, that this House stands for Ukraine and democracy, and in opposition to Putin and tyranny.”
“T7. Usher syndrome is a rare inherited disease that can lead to both deafness and blindness. As chair of the Usher syndrome all-party parliamentary group, I have met many of those who suffer from Usher syndrome. What assessment has the Department made of the adequacy of support for those suffering from Usher syndrome and their family members?”
“The point was well made earlier today, during debate on the ten-minute rule Bill, about the indignities that disabled people too often face on the railways. I thank Members from the other place for tabling that amendment, and the Secretary of State for indicating the Government’s support. Ultimately, the public sector equality duty is a high bar, as it should be, and as this Labour Government bring other services back in house, I would like that public sector equality duty to be applied to them.”
“Under this Government, there will be great British railways, with one single train operator, and we will deliver a fundamentally better service. I come from a part of the country that is proud of our railway tradition. George Stephenson, the father of the railways, came from not too far from my constituency, and each week I walk over a high level bridge designed by his son, Robert Stephenson, which still carries trains to this day. The Stephensons would be appalled to see the state of the British railway system today. We transported railways around the world, yet those travelling across Europe or Asia today will see rail systems that are far beyond what we have in the home of railways. That is a national embarrassment. Finally, Lords amendment 3 on the public sector equality duty is excellent, and I will support it.”
“I see that failure daily, as I have done most of my adult life, at times when, regrettably, the Conservative party has been in government. Conservative Members cannot even explain how much the amendments would cost. As I said, rail privatisation has been a failure. The Lords amendments do not seek to overturn the decision of this House—of course not—but they would cause considerable delay. However, rail changes made by this Government will be meaningful, unlike those made by the previous Government. Does anyone remember Great British Railways, which the former Member for Welwyn Hatfield was incredibly proud of? Except there was a problem: the railways were not great, and quite often they were not owned by British companies, although I suppose we do at least have to give him the fact that they were railways.”
“I wish to associate myself with the comments of the Secretary of State for Transport. Having heard what she said about some of the amendments from the other place, I can say that she is a far more generous person than I am. I have not been in this place long, but I can certainly tell mischief when I see it—mischief from the other place and, I am afraid, from the Opposition—because the intention here is not to put the passenger at the heart of the Bill. If Conservative Members, when in government, had genuinely wanted to put passengers at the heart of the railways, they might have acted differently over 14 years of abject failure. I spend a lot of time on the railways, as do many Members across the House when travelling between Westminster and their constituency.”
“I wish to associate myself with the comments of the Secretary of State. While children in care are incredibly important, it is also important that we do our best for those who are care experienced. In my constituency, 50% of those who leave care are not in education, employment or training, as I heard when I visited Changing Lives at Eslington House in my constituency on Friday. What more can be done to support care leavers?”
“Under the last Government, the number of miles travelled on bus routes in the north-east fell by 30%, but that number also measures the region’s aspirations unfulfilled, the opportunities lost and the job interviews and family events that could not be attended. I very much welcome the near £24 million of funding given to the north-east in this announcement. How will the Secretary of State work with mayors such as Labour’s Kim McGuinness to ensure that the aspirations and opportunities of people in Gateshead are given flight by this announcement?”
“The Secretary of State has been very clear about the much-needed reset between the Welsh and UK Governments. Can she also make clear how the recent Budget has contributed to that reset?”
“The shadow Home Secretary referred to the lives lost in the channel—every single one of them is a tragedy —but does the Minister agree that his trying to make a political point about those deaths, as he appeared to do, is beneath the Conservative party, as were gimmicks such as the Rwanda scheme?”
“I notice that the hon. Member still has numerous pieces of paper in front of him, so I hope that he is coming to this point. The Chancellor stood up today and made choices for the future of the country. We can agree or disagree with the choices that have been made, but I am not hearing from any Conservative Members what alternative choices they would make.”
“We have done that today, with a £1 billion investment—promise made, promise kept. There was also a promise made not to raise the taxes of working people in their payslips—a promise made and a promise kept. There were also some underrated changes in the Budget that I would like to refer to in the time remaining. Universal credit changes reducing the gap in deductions will keep more people out of poverty, more people out of food poverty and, yes, more children out of poverty—as will breakfast clubs, because no child should go to school hungry and under Labour none will. The people of Gateshead Central and Whickham who sent me here should take heart from today. The road to changing our country is a long one. We take the first steps together. We should take heart, because real change and positive change is coming.”
“Injustice is being tackled in a promise made to those who suffered from the Post Office scandal and a promise made to those affected by infected blood—promises that have previously been made by all parties, but a promise made by this party and a promise kept in government. There is £1 billion for the household support fund, targeting those who need help most—a promise made, a promise kept—and promises have been made to those who rely on our schools, too. In particular, I want to mention our colleges: £300 million into further education is a huge and hugely welcome change for colleges such as Gateshead college in my constituency. On SEND, all of us on the Labour Benches promised that if we were elected into government we would act to help those with special educational needs.”
“I am particularly pleased that we will not be returning to austerity, because austerity ripped through Gateshead and the scars will remain for a long time. Today was about rebuilding the foundations of communities like mine for a better future. Let us recap on what some of that means. As my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) said, the investment in the NHS is the biggest outside of covid since 2010—£25.6 billion. That will get waiting lists down—promise made, promise delivered. There is investment in high streets, transport and homes that will change my community for the better—promise made, promise delivered. There is a higher minimum wage, up nearly 7%, and closing the gap faced by younger workers. For some that will mean up to £1,400 a year, which is a life-changing amount of money—promise made, promise kept.”
“I wish first to refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Madam Deputy Speaker, I am one of those terrible trade unionists you have been hearing about from those on the Opposition Benches. It is a shame so few of them are here; clearly, this is a contractual obligation attendance at the debate. I genuinely suggest that they should look at getting a trade union rep. Many Members who have spoken in this debate are trained economists—my hon. Friends the Members for Swansea West (Torsten Bell) and for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky) being two of the most recent. I have been called many things in my life but never an economist, so I want to focus on what the Budget will mean for people where I am from, in Gateshead.”