Mr Jonathan Brash
MP for Hartlepool · Labour · United Kingdom
“Freedom is not simply the absence of restraint; it is the presence of opportunity, but that is what deindustrialisation and globalisation robbed from communities like mine. It did not simply close factories; it took freedom away from working people.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. Hartlepool is a town with a proud coastal and industrial heritage, but above all, it is a town of proud people.”
“Not every young person wants the same pathway, and vocational excellence is every bit as valuable as academic excellence. Through our partnerships with X-energy and Centrica, whereby the new nuclear that we are bringing to Hartlepool partners with our FE college, we are once again giving our young people the freedom to believe that their…”
“That is the balance we need: strong borders, faster removals, proper enforcement, serious government and politics that does not make innocent people pay the price for failures in the immigration system.”
“They are felt by children who hear abuse on their way to school. Words spoken in this place do not stay here. They travel into communities and workplaces and on to social media. That does not mean that we should avoid the issue—quite the opposite.”
“When politicians blur the line between voicing legitimate concern about illegal immigration and using language that encourages suspicion of people because of their background or their skin colour, it is people like Jasvir who pay the price. That is why the rhetoric we use matters.”
The complete record
Every one of 426 lines we hold for Mr Jonathan Brash, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 9.
“This week I spoke to Caroline, a development officer in Hartlepool who supports many of the most vulnerable in our community. She told me of one working family for whom council tax, even with the reduction, is now the equivalent of more than a third of their mortgage payment. Dad works and mum is a full-time carer for their disabled son. They live in fear of not being able to pay. They do not understand where their money goes and they do not feel any benefit, only financial pain. How can we sustain such a system? How can we stand by while it punishes the very people we are supposed to represent? At the heart of this broken system is social care, as has been mentioned already. Nearly 70% of Hartlepool’s budget is spent protecting the most vulnerable children and adults in our town, and that is mirrored in areas of need across the country.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The tinkering around the edges that has happened in some parts of the United Kingdom will not get the job done. My hon. Friend mentioned property prices, and they are at the heart of the unfairness. In Hartlepool, 53% of the properties are in band A. Here in Westminster, that figure is 1.2%. In Hartlepool, only 3.7% of the properties are in bands F to H, yet in Westminster it is almost half of all properties. Such a skewed housing base makes it impossible to raise the money to deliver the services that people need. Furthermore, council tax is not a reliable source of income. Nationally, one in 10 people in the UK have been in council tax debt, and nearly 40% of those individuals have reported being threatened with legal action as a result. Outstanding council tax debt already stands at £6 billion.”
“Under the English devolution proposals, financial devolution must be part of the discussion. If we are to have larger authorities that are more remote from the taxpayer, the residents must see the benefit in their pockets. This Government promised change and to fix the foundations, but the public’s most direct contact with government is through local councils, whose foundations are crumbling. If Ministers ignore council tax reform, they do so at their peril. We can fix a broken system, ease the burden on working families, and restore trust in government at all levels. We have a moral duty to right a 34-year-old wrong, find a sustainable solution to this injustice, cut council tax bills and deliver real change for the people we represent.”
“Absolutely. A properly balanced system could provide the services we need and put more money into the pot to ensure those services are delivered. That is partly the problem with this system: it is so broken that it punishes people in deprived areas, and it still does not deliver those services. I know Ministers have said they are not looking to reform the council tax system in this Parliament, but even if an overhaul of the entire system is not possible, there are still ways to improve things, and I hope the Minister will advocate for them. The Casey review of social care should recommend taking social care out of local authorities. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, by promoting regional co-operation, can create economies of scale to take the burden off council taxpayers.”
“The Secretary of State will be aware of the ongoing work to deliver new nuclear investment in Hartlepool. Billions of pounds are on the table, which will mean jobs and skills for generations to come. Will he meet me to discuss how we can get this deal over the line?”
“Women who worked hard, contributed to society and looked forward to a well-earned retirement were instead met with stress, anxiety, uncertainty and the harsh reality of financial insecurity. The Government have rightly apologised, but I say gently to the Minister that it is somewhat intellectually incoherent to apologise but then also offer reasons—such as claiming that 90% of women knew—as to why compensation should not be paid. If they believe that, what are they apologising for?”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. My mother is a WASPI woman and, as fortune would have it, today is her birthday. It would be wonderful if the Minister could give her the birthday present of changing the Government’s position on this issue. The arguments have been well rehearsed and, indeed, the facts are clear thanks to the ombudsman’s report. Published in March 2024, it found that the DWP failed these women. The communication of changes to the state pension age was not just inadequate: it was negligent. Women were left in the dark, unable to make informed decisions about their financial futures. The impact of the failure has been devastating. Lives have been upended and plans have been torn apart.”
“I pledged my support to every single one of them. I stood by them as they campaigned and told them that if I became their Member of Parliament, I would always stand up for them. I will not renege on that promise. I remember being joined on one doorstep by a senior member of the then shadow Cabinet. The voter, fixing the shadow Minister with a stare, gestured to me and said, “But how can we trust him?” The reply came from the shadow Minister, “Well, Jonathan is Hartlepool first, country second and party third.” I am happy to say that that remains the case. I am not here to bash my party or my Government. Politics is not binary. Although many will disagree, I believe that standing up and saying when you think something is wrong is a profound act of loyalty to my party. It is my duty to stand up for WASPI women.”
“Rather than rehearse arguments that have been made many times, I want to talk more broadly about the impact of this issue on our politics, as my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) mentioned. We cannot leverage votes on an issue when in opposition, only to turn around and say no when we are in government, because that risks disenfranchising our voters. Recent history tells us that disenfranchisement does not lead voters to vote for no one. It leads to them voting for anyone. This country faces that danger right now, in terms of the level of trust in politics. Voters’ trust is rightly hard won, but very easily lost. During the general election campaign, on countless doorsteps and in numerous emails and conversations, I was challenged by Hartlepool voters on the WASPI issue.”
“I agree with the hon. Member, who makes the interesting point that it is down to Parliament, rather than Ministers, because we are talking about the parliamentary ombudsman. I have to point out, though, that it would have been helpful if the ombudsman’s report had not been kicked into the long grass by the previous Administration. I continue to believe that options were available to Ministers other than simply saying no. Other options include looking at those most in need—we have already heard about those WASPI women who are beneath the poverty line; or looking at staged or interim payments based on age; or just engaging in dialogue about the ombudsman’s findings at all. I urge Ministers to consider those options.”
“6. What steps she plans to take to ensure that disabled people are adequately financially supported in her planned reforms to benefit entitlements.”
“Work is good for us: it is good for our physical and mental health, and for our general wellbeing. When someone can work, it is essential that they are given all the support to do so. That said, it is also imperative that those who are sick, vulnerable or disabled are always protected. Does the Minister agree that striking the balance between supporting those who can work and protecting those who cannot work must be central to any welfare reform?”
“T2. The number of young people not in education, training or work is disproportionately high in areas such as Hartlepool —something the Conservative party did nothing about in 14 years. How will the Secretary of State ensure that opportunity for young people reaches every part of our country?”
“I thank the shadow Home Secretary for giving way. He makes play of the numbers from 2010 and 2024. As a former councillor, I can tell him that the ward I represented in 2010 had a full-time police officer and two full-time PCSOs. When his Government left office in June 2024, the ward had one part-time PCSO and was a third larger. Would he care to apologise to the people of Hartlepool for that disgraceful record?”
“Importantly, those orders can also include positive requirements, compelling offenders to address the root causes of their behaviour, an approach that will be particularly useful in the communities that I represent where drug-related issues are often at the heart of the problem. I welcome the Bill’s measures about off-road bikes, which terrorise many communities in Hartlepool. I have already spoken to the Minister about further powers that I would like to see included in the Bill to enhance it. The Bill also tackles wider issues, such as closure orders, shoplifting, fly-tipping and child protection. Those are not easy problems to fix, but with this Bill, we now have the toughest set of enforcement powers ever introduced by a Government. It is our duty to ensure that we use them.”
“I am also pushing for the greater use of enforcement powers, including dispersal orders, which the Bill extends from 48 hours to 72 hours, and community safety accreditation schemes, which grant police enforcement powers to council, shopping centre and other security teams, helping to free up police resources that, again, the Bill extends and strengthens. The introduction of respect orders, which are new civil behavioural orders that allow courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in specific antisocial activities, will be a huge tool in Hartlepool. Breaching a respect order will be a criminal offence, enabling police to swiftly intervene and prevent further disruption.”
“As chair of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, I have proposed a comprehensive action plan for the police and council to implement, including a range of targeted interventions designed to tackle the issue head-on, which the Bill enhances and extends. One key measure is the use of public space protection orders that allow us to prohibit certain behaviours in and around a particular geographic area. The Bill reinforces that tool by increasing the maximum fine for violating such an order from £100 to £500, ensuring stronger deterrents against antisocial behaviour.”
“Speaking of populists with no answers, Reform Members have not spent a second in the Chamber during today’s debate about antisocial behaviour in our communities. For far too long, the entrance to Hartlepool’s shopping centre on York Road, known locally as “the ramp”, has been plagued by individuals who seek to intimidate and disrupt the daily lives of decent, hard-working people. I am fed up of hearing families and pensioners tell me that they are too scared to walk through our town centre. Whatever the personal challenges of that small minority of disruptive individuals, they have no right to make the people of Hartlepool feel unsafe in their community.”
“Perhaps the most pernicious effect of 14 years of Conservative Government is how they systematically undermined security in every part of our society, whether it was national security through the hollowing out of our armed forces, financial security with our economy crashed and wages stagnating, or security in our communities. Town centres are plagued by antisocial behaviour, off-road bikes terrorise estates and shoplifting is out of control. This Bill seeks to deal with those issues. The consequence of that insecurity can be devastating. It breeds fear, anxiety and division, and it opens up a political space into which populists, with no real answers, can enter to further their own selfish ambitions.”
“I welcome the statement, particularly the Minister’s commitment that oil and gas will be with us for decades to come. Was she as surprised as I was to hear the announcement from Reform UK of a renewables investment tax that would destroy jobs in the North sea and in places such as Hartlepool, which I represent, as well as expose us to Vladimir Putin, and does she suspect that that is what Reform UK actually wants?”
“We should introduce a requirement to certificate the ownership of off-road bikes in much the same way as we do with firearms, to ensure tighter regulation of who can access these vehicles. We should be able to destroy vehicles immediately once they are seized. No holding them for periods of time—destroy them on the same day so that they do not re-enter circulation. We should work with retailers to choke off the supply of fuel, which is so often part of the problem with these bikes. This requires decisive action. I welcome the action being taken in the Crime and Policing Bill, but I believe we can go further to end this problem.”
“We have to take action. So, I of course welcome the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill, including those that will allow such bikes to be seized without warning. That is an important first step, but there is more that we can do, and I will make a few suggestions to the Minister who is here today. We should explore providing greater legal protections for our police forces, so that they feel confident to pursue these criminals when they terrorise our communities. I urge the Government to adopt the Off-road Bikes (Police Powers) Bill, a private Member’s Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst), which would allow the police to enter private dwellings and seize off-road bikes.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) on securing this very important debate. As with everybody else who has spoken today, my constituents in Hartlepool have raised this issue with me time and time again. Communities across our towns—such as those in The Fens, Owton Manor, Summerfield, Clavering and Hartfields—as well the community in Hartlepool town centre, have been plagued and terrorised by off-road bikes for years. This issue is personal for so many people in Westminster Hall today. My children walk our streets and play in our parks; my elderly parents enjoy Hartlepool and its many green spaces. I worry for them and for my constituents, just as everybody else present for this debate worries about their constituents.”
“I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership over the last week. Thanks to his actions, Europe is more united, our ties with the United States have strengthened and, critically, Ukraine is better supported. Our nation walks taller, thanks to what he has done in the last week. Does he agree that in ramping up our defence spending, we have to look at defence procurement, so that if our brave men and women find themselves in Ukraine, they have the equipment and support they need to do their job?”
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s leadership today. He is undertaking the first duty of any leader, which is the defence of the nation, and reiterating the fundamental British value that our country opposes fascists, and never appeases them. He rightly talked about renewing the social contract with the British people when it comes to jobs, skills and industry. Does he agree that if we are to do that, it must reach every part of our country, including areas that I represent that are far too often left behind?”
“Dispersal accommodation for asylum is unevenly distributed across the country. In Hartlepool, we support 50 asylum seekers per 10,000 in the population, yet a few miles up the road, the neighbouring local authority supports seven per 10,000, with local authorities elsewhere in the country hosting none. Does the Minister agree that this is unfair, and that, as we bring the numbers down, we must evenly distribute support for asylum seekers across the areas?”
“The Foreign Secretary was right that if Russia is serious about a lasting peace, it must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, but given that it has shown absolutely no sign of doing that, will he reiterate that we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine no matter what? Will he further reiterate, even for the Members who have not chosen to be here for this statement, that this country does not appease fascists but opposes them?”
“My constituent Kevin Stephenson and many other people in Hartlepool have complained about the shocking underperformance of Northern Rail. He has witnessed passengers being asked to wait in toilets in order to allow more people on to trains. Services are frequently cancelled, promises of additional carriages have not materialised, and residents are regularly left stranded at stations. Will the Minister work with me to fix the unacceptable level of service?”
“My dad was a GP in Hartlepool for over 30 years—the Secretary of State was kind enough to meet him the last time he was in Hartlepool—and he has Alzheimer’s. Every day, I think about why we did not spot the signs early enough to get the treatment that he needed at an earlier stage. The Alzheimer’s Society estimates that only 29% of social care workers have any form of dementia training. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is critical that we up that number and ensure that all social care workers have dementia training, to ensure early diagnosis?”
“The reality is that countries across the globe are moving towards a protectionist model, while at the same time we are still importing 68% of the steel we need. There is clearly an opportunity here for the UK. Next year, our steel safeguards come to an end, at the same time as the EU introduces its carbon border adjustment mechanism tariff protections. Does the Minister agree that we have to move at pace to replace those protections and back our steel industry in the same way that other countries are choosing to?”
“The shadow Home Secretary seems keen to reflect on the records of Governments. In 2010, the number of people in the asylum system reached an over-20-year low. By the time the Conservative Government had left office, the number had ballooned by 13 times to 225,000. Will he reflect on who was responsible for that?”
“That is the second time the shadow Home Secretary has said that the National Crime Agency has suggested that Rwanda would be a deterrent. The head of the National Crime Agency has said specifically, “Others are implying that we support Rwanda, and that isn’t true.” Will the right hon. Gentleman withdraw that?”
“After 14 years of austerity for our public services, it must not be the most deprived areas of our country that carry the biggest burden. When the break clauses in the asylum accommodation contracts come up in 2026, I urge Ministers to use them and spread the burden fairly as we fix the system and bring the numbers down. This is about taking back control of our asylum and immigration system, not through slogans and broken promises, but through real enforceable action. The people of Hartlepool, and communities across the UK, deserve nothing less.”
“I have personally seen their fundamental decency on display in communities across our town, including at the Salaam Community Centre on Murray Street, where Nancy Pout and her amazing team took to the streets after last summer’s riots and, alongside volunteers and council workers, cleaned up the devastation left by mindless thugs. They symbolise fundamental Hartlepool values. Those values include fairness, which is why I believe that transparency in these matters is essential. Home Office figures provided to me by the House of Commons Library show that, as of September 2024, Hartlepool is supporting 50 asylum seekers per 10,000 people. The neighbouring, larger local authority is hosting just seven per 10,000. There are local authorities up and down this county for which the figure is zero. That cannot be right.”
“The Bill signals the Government’s intention to do just that. Instead of open borders, we will have a Border Security Command. Instead of a soft touch, we will have record deportations. Instead of expensive gimmicks, we will have far-reaching new powers that will put the boot of the state on the throat of the criminal gangs whose trade, let us not forget, is the trafficking of human beings. The Bill is about restoring control and taking decisive action to fix the system. Hartlepool people are open, generous and welcoming.”
“Britain has a long and proud tradition of providing asylum to those fleeing war and persecution, and that patriotic principle must always remain. However, we must be honest: too many people are arriving in our country with no legal right to be here, and they must be returned. Further still, they must be prevented from entering our country altogether. The numbers are too high; they must come down. The alternative is unacceptable. Towns such as Hartlepool are targeted by private providers of asylum accommodation because of our lower housing costs. Those providers are profiting from this crisis and putting a burden on Hartlepool’s public services. Local schools, hospitals and social services are forced to absorb the consequences of a broken system—that is the reality that we face, and it must change.”
“Mayors can make a huge difference to local communities. Indeed, we have seen that in Greater Manchester, where public control of bus services has made a massive difference to residents. I want public control of bus services in Hartlepool, where services are not good enough. Does my right hon. Friend share my disappointment that the Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley has ruled out public control of buses? When mayors do not use their powers, what can we do to force them to do so?”
“I would like to explore a little further the shadow Minister’s understanding of how taxes pay for things. He says that taxation pays for police officers and he believes that he has identified a funding gap. Will he explain to the House how he would fill that gap?”
“I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Minister for her unwavering support during the troubles last summer, which was appreciated by me and other Members of Parliament whose constituencies were affected. Will he join me in congratulating Cleveland police on their exemplary work in dealing with what happened last summer, particularly as we recognise that some police officers in Hartlepool ended the night in hospital as a result? Will he also join me in reminding all Members that having temperance in the way that we speak about crime is incredibly important? Not doing so makes the job of our police harder, not easier.”
“I welcome the settlement, which sees a reversal of the past 14 years for Hartlepool, where cumulatively we lost £235 million in a decade. This year, additional grant funding is going up by £10 million, which is hugely welcome. However, there remains the problem of the council tax system itself. In Hartlepool, if you are in a band H property you pay more than £3,000 more than you do if you are here in Westminster. Surely the Minister can agree with me that that is inherently unfair? Will he engage with me and the all-party parliamentary group on council tax reform, which I lead, to bring fairness to towns such as Hartlepool?”
“I welcome the extension of national insurance contributions relief for veterans, but does the Minister agree that we need to do more to ensure that employers across the country know that the relief exists, to incentivise employing veterans?”
“My right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) was correct to say that this feels like déjà vu. Here we are again, debating huge transport infrastructure expansion in the south-east of England while constituents right across this country, especially in the north-east, think, “What about us?” Does the Minister agree that if expanding transport infrastructure in this country is the key to growth, that growth must happen everywhere?”
“Is it not the reality of the past 14 years that we have fewer soldiers and fewer Navy and Air Force personnel and that, in an uncertain world, we need to reverse that trend and grow our military forces to deal with those threats?”
“This is the future I want to see for Hartlepool, but we must take tough actions. We should perhaps ditch the traditional orthodoxy of chasing GDP growth in favour of a longer-term project for parts of the country that have too often been left behind, investing in people, communities and creative potential, and ensuring that no one is left behind and that the UK’s creative industries continue to grow. Let us not just talk about equality and opportunity; let us act on it.”
“Looking ahead, Hartlepool’s ambitions continue to soar with plans for a production village. This initiative will not only strengthen our position in the screen industries, but complement similar projects across the north-east, creating opportunities for collaboration rather than competition. That will ensure that our region is recognised as a vital part of the UK’s creative economy, and that investment flows to where it can make the most difference. However, these efforts and transformative investments are about more than just bricks and mortar; they are about people. They are about giving Hartlepool residents the skills, jobs and opportunities they need to secure their futures, and they are about combining the creativity of today with the strength of our traditional industries to create a more prosperous, more resilient economy.”
“The ability to create safe, realistic environments for NHS and social care trainees—from handling knife crime incidents to assisting patients with physical impairments—is nothing short of inspiring. This is living proof that creative training can support vital industries and ultimately save lives. Hartlepool is also making its mark globally through businesses such as Tanglewood Games, and I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Tanglewood is part of a rapidly growing video game sector, creating jobs and training opportunities in an industry that is now a global economic powerhouse. With blockbuster games such as “Fortnite” and “Hogwarts Legacy”, Tanglewood Games is helping to put Hartlepool on the map, contributing to the success of some of the world’s highest-grossing games.”
“Let us not forget the often overlooked but equally vital roles played by designers, planners and graphic artists. Hartlepool College of Further Education provides students with skills in the design-focused careers that are essential to every sector from technology to business and healthcare. These skills are the backbone of industries across the country, ensuring that organisations innovate and function smoothly. Hartlepool’s creative spirit goes beyond design and the arts. It extends into areas such as health and social care. The health and social care academy at our hospital in Hartlepool is a shining example of how creative industries can drive innovation in unexpected places. During a recent visit, I was deeply impressed by its approach to scenario-based training.”
“He famously described the town as “a very visual place, a very beautiful place”, and he was not wrong. Today the Northern School of Art operates from both its historic site and a brand-new campus, which is more than just a collection of buildings. It is a symbol of opportunity. It houses cutting-edge facilities, including sound stages for film and television production, serving both educational and commercial needs. Hartlepool is becoming a hub for education and production in the screen industries, giving students and professionals alike a place to learn, innovate and thrive. It is a vision of what is possible if we spread investment to every part of our country. The creative industries are not confined to the traditional realms of art, film and music.”
“Time and again, decisions seem to focus on the cost of everything, but the value of nothing, because it is easier to grow where the ground is already fertile, rather than investing in places where it could have the greatest impact in lifting communities, unlocking talent and transforming lives. I believe we have an opportunity as a Government to change that narrative, with towns such as Hartlepool at the heart of the change. We have the people, and we have the talent. Nothing symbolises that better than the Northern School of Art. My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) mentioned Sir Ridley Scott, and it was at a precursor to the Northern School of Art—the West Hartlepool College of Art—that he filmed his very first movie, “Boy and Bicycle”, which was shot exclusively with Hartlepool as its background.”
“It is a pleasure to take part in this debate on an incredibly important issue. We have heard throughout the debate, not least from the Minister, about the astonishing economic impact of our creative industries, with a £125 billion contribution to our economy—almost 5% of our total economic output—and more than 2.4 million people employed in the creative industries, making up 7% of all the jobs in the UK. Here is the challenge, however: despite these remarkable contributions, the benefits are not evenly distributed. Indeed, more than half the economic output from the creative industries in this country is concentrated in London alone. In contrast, our post-industrial heartlands —and especially their towns, such as Hartlepool—have often been overlooked in favour of places where wealth and opportunity already exist.”