Lewis Cocking
MP for Broxbourne · Conservative · United Kingdom
“What would the Secretary of State say to my constituents in Broxbourne, who never asked for this reorganisation and are concerned that it is just a waste of time and money that will leave them with higher council tax bills and less say over local planning decisions?”
“Businesses such as hotels, ice cream parlours and fisheries have been hit hard by the increase the employer national insurance and by burdensome regulations. Business rates have increased—in some cases massively and seemingly arbitrarily.”
“They include poor or sometimes non-existent transport links, unemployment and changes to a once-reliable and profitable seasonal trade, a lack of housing supply, and large disparities in income, which mean that many people cannot afford to live in the places where they grew up.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. It is a huge privilege to wind up the debate on behalf of the official Opposition. I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this very important debate.”
“I fondly remember trips to places such as Clacton, Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth and Southend. From my visits to many of our seaside towns, and from hearing hon. Members’ testimonies, it is apparent that those places face unique challenges. Unfortunately, many of them have experienced decline in recent decades.”
“Ultimately, our coastal communities and the whole United Kingdom deserve better. We need a Government who cut rather than increase taxes, reward rather than punish aspiration and success, prioritise quality housing for local people rather than HMOs for illegal asylum seekers, and put the interests of ordinary British people first, not lea…”
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“Businesses in my constituency are really worried and putting off investing and creating jobs because of the Labour party’s Budget, and in particular the increase in regulations and the national insurance increase. How does the Secretary of State plan to get everyone who should be in work back to work if no jobs exist out there?”
“To achieve a faster-growing economy, we need to get more people into work and have a laser focus on developing the next generation of entrepreneurs. Young people need to know that there are routes other than university to success and full-time employment. I know that inspirational former apprentices are spreading the word to students across the country, but let us make it easier for them to make the case for apprenticeships. Let us make sure that every young person can choose the right path for them.”
“I am pleased that, from September 2025, free schools in the Broxbourne constituency will offer T-level pathways, but there is still much more to do. Too many students are embarking on low-quality university degree courses, with little prospect of finding good employment opportunities relating to their degree when they graduate. Industries from hospitality to the trades are rightly calling for greater flexibility in the delivery of apprenticeships and more freedom in how the apprenticeship levy can be spent, enabling more employers to offer better opportunities for young people. I want to see wider changes to the education system, so that it is much more geared towards preparing students for the world of work. The Government claim to want economic growth, although their actions are not exactly matching their words at the moment.”
“I am pleased that the previous Government did so much to increase the opportunities available to young people, with 5.8 million apprenticeships created and the overwhelming majority of occupations now able to offer the apprenticeship route. I am proud of the work taking place in my constituency of Broxbourne as part of that. Hertford Regional College offers a wide range of post-16 professional and technical programmes and apprenticeships, with nearly 3,000 young people going on to these courses and getting the skills they need for their careers. At the end of their course, they are going on to full-time employment or further education at above the national average—we are very good at getting people into full-time employment after they go to the college.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) for securing this important debate. While I agree with him that much more needs to be done to encourage apprenticeships and technical education, when I think back to what I was deciding to do after secondary school, I envy the choices available to young people today. I left school in the era when, under Tony Blair’s target, 50% of young people were expected to go to university. That is what I did, but it simply was not the right route for me. On-the-job training, with the promise of a full-time job at the end, is a fantastic way for many young people to kick-start their careers.”
“Q4. The town of Cheshunt in my constituency has no banks or building societies, and we have been told that we are not eligible for a banking hub. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that every town that wants a banking hub should be eligible for one, so that my residents have access to their hard-earned cash?”
“Goff’s Oak, in my constituency of Broxbourne, has seen a lot of development. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that GP surgeries are delivered before hundreds of new homes are built?”
“Some 16,600 pensioners in Broxbourne will lose their winter fuel payment. How is the Minister helping those who cannot do online applications for pension credit to make an application? Will she commit to continuing to write to all those who will lose their winter fuel payment until they sign up for pension credit?”
“The Budget has made it even harder for small businesses in my Broxbourne constituency to create jobs. What can the Minister do to make sure that jobcentres connect with local businesses to help those who are looking for work to find sustainable employment?”
“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Hertfordshire currently receives the third lowest SEND funding in the country, but since 2015 the number of children in the county with educational, health and care plans has grown by a staggering 223%. Does the Minister agree that funding should reflect the current need?”
“As the previous Government proposed, at least 50%—I would suggest 100%—of the surplus funds should be directed to the repair of potholes, so that drivers can benefit from smoother journeys. I urge the Minister to publish the findings of that consultation, which closed on 11 March 2024, and introduce those measures.”
“Those schemes allow a highway authority to charge up to £2,500 per day for works on the busiest roads at the busiest times, with charges applying only to works carried out by utility companies and highway authorities. The cost incentives to those organisations to move their works and carry them out at less busy times, or engage in joint working with others, are obvious. Around 95% of charges are avoided by taking those steps, meaning that disruption for drivers is minimised, without additional costs being placed on them by the firms responsible. Just four schemes are currently in operation, covering less than 10% of the road network in London and counties in the south of England. Expanding those schemes across the country would raise significant funds for local authorities.”
“We should use technology much better and come up with innovative ways to avoid static traffic where we can. Here is an example. Someone drives up to a four-way traffic light, which is on the main road, but there is a side street with a few houses. All the lights will go green and red in sequence. We should be able to use technology so that the light only goes green down the cul-de-sac when a car is waiting to go. That is a small change that would make roadworks a lot easier for my constituents and others across the country to move about. I welcome the fact that the previous Government set out plans for drivers and consulted on several policies to make it easier for everyone to use our roads. That included helping local authorities to establish lane rental schemes.”
“My constituents feel that there has to be a way for the vital work to be carried out quicker and more logically. Local authorities and utility companies must communicate much better between themselves to co-ordinate works in a sensible and cost-effective way. It cannot be right that the same stretch of road is dug up time and again, sometimes by different companies, but sometimes by the same company. Those organisations have to improve how they communicate with the public. It should be easier to find out why disruption is taking place and exactly how long it will be for. We cannot let it be the case, as my constituents have experienced, that residents wake up to find a four-way traffic light diversion in place, making it even harder to leave their house, get to school and go to work.”
“It is not just car journeys; for many of my constituents, the bus service is a lifeline, and when roadworks have left our local roads gridlocked, buses are inevitably delayed. Pensioners in my constituency have told me that they have simply given up even trying to go out. The knock-on effects of missing serious medical appointments and of social isolation are obvious. My constituents’ anger and frustration are made even worse by the fact that so often when they drive past roadworks, no one is working on them—and it can be the case that no one is working on them for days, or even weeks. We are told that the problem is urgent and the barriers and traffic lights are in place as an emergency measure, but can it really be an emergency if no workers are on site for such long periods of time?”
“The less time people have to earn or spend, the harder it is for our country and economy to grow. The Chancellor said today that economic growth will be her mission for this Parliament, so I hope the Government will recognise that point. The economic cost is especially damaging in the constituency of Broxbourne, where more people use a car or van to get to work than the national average. Hundreds of my constituents have completed my survey to share their experiences of the roadworks and how they affect them locally. They have made it extremely clear how disruptive long waits in traffic caused by roadworks are to their daily lives. I have heard about delays in reaching elderly parents, carers finding it difficult to carry out their vital duties and children missing out on the start of the school day.”
“If works are taking place at any location on our roads, the traffic standstill can affect almost the entirety of Broxbourne. That is a serious problem and, frustratingly, one that is not often discussed. According to INRIX, a transportation data analytics company, the average driver in the UK lost 61 hours to traffic congestion last year alone—four hours more than the 2022 figure. Those delays are costing UK drivers on average £558 each. Staggeringly, that means that the cost of traffic delays to the country overall is an eye-watering £7.5 billion—yes, £7.5 billion. People wanting to enjoy their hard-earned cash are unable to spend as much time as they would wish at local shops. Small business owners and traders struggle to make appointments on time.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of roadworks on journey times. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I declare an interest as a Hertfordshire county councillor. I am pleased to have secured this debate on a very important topic for my constituents. When I describe the constituency of Broxbourne to those who are not familiar with it, I often say that it is a collection of places without a dominant centre. Instead, many of the towns and villages that make up Broxbourne are connected by two main roads: the A10 and the high street, or the old A1170, which extends from Waltham Cross in the south to Hoddesdon in the north. Demand on those roads, as the main arteries between the residential and urban areas, is extremely high.”
“I have said before that sometimes when the same stretch of road is dug up, it is dug up by different utilities. If those utilities worked together, it would save them money. It is absolutely extraordinary—and there are examples of this in my constituency—that the same utility company digs up the same stretch of road, virtually at the same point, just a couple of weeks after they finished digging it up. They really need to forward-plan and look at how they do such work. These changes, along with lots of others, would bring down costs for consumers, so that we could spend our money where we want to in the economy and get to work or school on time. I hope that the Government will listen and take the side of my constituents and many ordinary working people across the country.”
“We also need to ensure that, when utility companies use that emergency legislation, they get someone working on site as quickly as possible to get that emergency fixed. Do not dig up a road, under claims of an emergency, put traffic lights in place and then allow our constituents to sit in traffic for hours on end while no one works on that site. I am pleased to support my right hon. Friend and his Bill, which will include increasing the fixed-penalty notices for utility companies whose roadworks overrun, which is another important issue. As I have said, the threat of financial penalties for those undertaking these works can make a difference, so penalties for work that overruns should be increased in line with inflation, especially for regular offenders.”
“I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. There is a problem with a highway authority issuing permits. There is also a problem when utility companies use emergency legislation, where they do not even have to notify the highway authority of the works taking place. Residents can wake up, get in their car to go to work or school, drive to the end of their road and see the road being dug up, without any communication having been made with them. We need to take a two-pronged approach. I am happy to support my right hon. Friend’s ten-minute rule Bill, to tighten up some of the regulation on this. We need to ensure that highway authorities are responsible when they issue permits.”
“If we want to unlock economic growth in this country and get the economy growing at a really rapid speed, we will do that by keeping Britain moving. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the impact of roadworks on journey times.”
“Even worse than that, we drive past cones and traffic lights, but there will not even be a hole dug in the road—so not only have we had no one working on the site, but works have not even been started, even though cones have been put out what seems like weeks before, which causes disruption and makes people sit in traffic. As for planned works, because lots of organisations are involved, sometimes the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. It is like someone sat down and said, “We want to plan all these works all at the same time, so that you cannot move anywhere around the local area”. We really need to get better at planning all those works through the highways authority and the utility companies, particularly for emergency works.”
“I thank the Minister for her reply and thank all the hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. I also thank the hundreds of my constituents who replied to my survey online to tell me about their experiences. I will make a few final points. We really need to tackle the emergency works. As I said, they turn up unannounced. Most of our constituents can understand that if there is a real emergency, we should get the works done as quickly as possible, but when roads are dug up by utilities, which is quite often the case under emergency legislation, and residents drive past day after day and see no one working on the site, it is a real frustration. I will not repeat the language that I use when I am in the car by myself and I see that occurring in my constituency.”
“A balance must be struck to avoid the burden falling too heavily on either the employer or the employee—especially for small business employees, who need the security and confidence that the qualifying period provides. It is clear that the Government’s plans do not strike that balance. One thing I agree with the Government about is that we must get our economy growing faster, but this Bill, on which the Government have not consulted, is not the right way to achieve that. In this place, we should talk more about how to encourage firms to create growth.”
“Increasing the number of day one rights will see them hesitant in making hiring decisions. As the Federation of Small Businesses has said, plans to give unfair dismissal rights from day one “will inevitably deter small employers from taking on new people” by raising the chance that new recruits will take their employer to a tribunal simply because they turn out to be unsuited to the role. The principle of qualifying periods for workplace rights is sensible and fair. The Government must recognise that, because they have chosen not to include in the Bill a reform of the qualifying period of two years for statutory redundancy pay.”
“I thank hon. Members for making their maiden speeches. As I have said before, I am a geographer, so it is a real pleasure to hear about our great United Kingdom and the different constituencies that we all represent. Entrepreneurs in the towns and villages I represent across Broxbourne are working hard to take risks day in, day out to get our local economy growing and to create jobs, but I fear that the Bill could put all that at risk. Security in work should be available to everyone, but above all else it is getting the job in the first place that is the first vital step. Regrettably, the Government’s plan will only make it harder for businesses to hire new employees. Small business owners in my constituency cannot call on large human resources departments to make sense of these new rules.”
“I do not think the Government want that, so will they please reflect on the Bill, have a proper consultation and come back with something more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses across the country?”
“I absolutely agree. If we do not create the next generation of entrepreneurs in this country through the education system, which the Government should be focusing on, rather than placing burdens on them—we have yet to hear the Government’s new Budget, which could increase taxes and put more burdens on small businesses—there will be fewer jobs in the market and fewer jobs for the people we are trying to represent and protect in this place. It is Opposition Members who are standing up for small businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of my local economy in Broxbourne and the country at large. If we do not ensure a fair balance between workers and small businesses, small businesses will close and people will lose their jobs.”
“Ministers think this policy will impact only on the rich, but, for nearly a decade, a genuinely working-class community in the Cheshunt and Turnford area has benefited from the state and independent sectors working together. I therefore urge the Government—I would like to hear from the Minister today on this—to allow independent schools to offset the financial support and resources they provide to state schools against their VAT liability.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Caroline. The Turnford school was a secondary school in decline in my constituency of Broxbourne: academic standards were poor, and the school had never received a satisfactory rating from Ofsted. But thanks to a unique partnership with Haileybury, an independent school also in my constituency, the tide began to turn. In 2015, the Turnford school was relaunched as Haileybury Turnford school, with Haileybury the sole sponsor. A generous annual improvement grant worth £200,000 a year was established —to date, £1.2 million has been given to the state school—and other wraparound support was provided, including for teaching staff and kids with SEND. In 2022, for the first time in its history, Haileybury Turnford School was judged to be good.”
“For many of my constituents, for far too long, this has not been the case. Since 2015, the number of children with special educational needs plans in Hertfordshire has grown by a staggering 223%—even more than the national average of 140%. High-needs funding has not kept up. Incredibly, Hertfordshire receives the third-lowest funding per head of every local authority in the country. If it was given the additional funding that the rest of the country, on average, gets, an extra £47 million would be available to kids in my constituency and across Hertfordshire. I urge the Minister to reset the funding formula. It should not matter where someone is born in the United Kingdom; they should have the same access to the funding that would allow us to deliver better SEND services across Hertfordshire and the wider region.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. It has been worrying to hear about many of the challenges faced by constituents across the east of England, particularly in my constituency of Broxbourne. Almost every week since my election, I have seen a constituent and the family of a constituent struggling with SEND issues with the SEND service in Hertfordshire, and I have been contacted by many more. This issue is close to my heart. I have grown up with a brother and sister living with special educational needs. I saw at first hand how challenging it can be for children and their families when the system does not work. However, I have also witnessed positive differences when high-quality provision is delivered. When we get it right, we can absolutely get it right.”
“I should have declared earlier that I am a Hertfordshire county councillor; I apologise for not doing so. My hon. Friend is making valid points. Does he agree that it should not matter where a person is born or lives in the United Kingdom, as councils should receive the same extra funding to provide for children with additional SEND needs? That will make all the difference to residents across the eastern region.”
“Labour’s deals with the unions, which have cost the taxpayer £14 billion, will see the average salary of train drivers, who are already well paid, rise from £60,000 to £70,000 a year. Help for heating bills is being taken away from the elderly, but the energy price cap is going up by 10% in a few weeks’ time—a double blow for pensioners. Was making it more expensive for pensioners to heat their homes in Labour’s manifesto? It was not. In fact, we were told that Labour would slash fuel poverty and save families hundreds of pounds. That is yet another broken promise, and Labour has been in power for only 10 weeks. My nan is not the only one to have got in touch with me about this; I have been inundated with letters and emails from hundreds of constituents. Winter is coming, and I strongly urge the Government to change course.”
“In my first speech in this Chamber, I assured the House than my nan would keep me on my toes. Even before the cut to the winter fuel payment had hit the news headlines, she was on the phone to me to sort it out. My nan is one of 15,000 pensioners in Broxbourne who will end up losing £300 a year—a vital sum of money that would help them to keep their homes warm this winter. The Government’s priorities are clearly dictated by their union paymasters, so I am tempted to advise my nan to start her own pensioners’ union. If there were one, I am sure that pensioners would have seen their winter fuel payments go up rather than be abolished. When we put the Chancellor’s decision into context, it is even more staggering.”
“I declare an interest as a Hertfordshire county councillor. It is an honour to speak under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. Hertfordshire receives the third-lowest high needs funding in the country. I know that the hon. Gentleman mentioned the need to increase that funding. Will he join with us cross-party to lobby the new Government to increase that funding? Hertfordshire deserves the right funding to deal with the SEND issues, which will help us to increase our workforce to deal with capacity issues in Hertfordshire. I want to place it on the record that this issue is very important to me. I have a brother and a sister who have special educational needs, so I have grown up in a family on the frontline and am pleased to speak in this debate. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on getting time to discuss this very important issue.”
“Q9. It is a privilege to be the first Conservative Back-Bench Member to ask the new Prime Minister a question at PMQs. Can he assure me and my constituents in Broxbourne that they will have not just a say, but a meaningful say, over new development in the green belt in their area?”
“I have a real issue in Goffs Oak and the wider west Cheshunt area, which has seen a lot of new housing but no new healthcare facilities. It is obvious to everyone living there that those facilities are desperately needed. We must ensure that developments are acceptable—not development anywhere, but appropriate development in the right places. Infrastructure must come first, with new schools, GP surgeries and section 106 moneys up front, or as close to day one as possible. Above all else, we must ensure that local people have a say over development in their area, so I hope the Government will listen to local people. On this and other issues, I assure my constituents that I will be their voice in this place, and I hope I can begin to repay their trust as my hard work starts now.”
“As many Members who are councillors will have seen if they have sat on a planning committee, developers use outline planning permission to promise the world. I have seen houses in outline that look absolutely amazing: the development has schools, new roads, a local centre and healthcare facilities. However, once outline planning permission has been granted, the developers come forward for full planning permission, and nine times out of 10 the application looks incredibly different, with bad design and no infrastructure. And developers wonder why residents get up in arms! We need to better link the NHS to new developments. On several occasions, getting local NHS providers to tell us what they need, or even getting them around the table so that we can plan new services for my constituents, has been a real struggle.”
“I am pleased to say that Hollywood is coming to Broxbourne: a £700 million project is well under way to build a film studio complex, which will have the capacity to produce four blockbusters at the same time. At this election, the constituency of Broxbourne took on the villages of Stanstead Abbotts, St Margarets, Hertford Heath, Great Amwell and Brickendon. These villages are all known for their tight-knit communities and natural beauty, which brings me on to the topic of this debate. While preparing for this speech, I noticed that both of the former MPs for Broxbourne referred to the unspoiled green belt that we are lucky to have in our area. Broxbourne has a local plan and has built hundreds of new homes—too many in a short space of time, some of my constituents would argue, and too many in total. I tend to agree.”
“The constituency is characterised by its closeness to both London and the countryside, with the Lee Valley regional park on our doorstep. In 2012, Broxbourne became an Olympic borough: we hosted the canoe events at our world-class Lee Valley white water rafting centre, and we have a gold post box in Cheshunt thanks to our very own Laura Kenny’s success in the cycling. There are a number of Team GB athletes with connections to Broxbourne heading to the summer Olympics, and I wish them all the best. The area has many small independent businesses, particularly around our towns of Waltham Cross, Cheshunt and Hoddesdon. They are the backbone of Broxbourne’s local economy, and I will do all I can to support entrepreneurship at every level. I am also proud of the international investment coming to the constituency over the next few years.”
“I gasped and said, “Charles, please don’t injure yourself when you’re just with me, or they’ll be saying I did it to get the seat.” Sir Charles served Broxbourne for 19 years, and although I knew him well, it is only in the short time since my election that I have come to understand just how much of an impact he had on this House. As Chair of the Procedure Committee and, later, the Administration Committee, Sir Charles championed the institution of Parliament and the individuals who make it. That has been made clear to me from the reactions of House staff when they discover that I represent Broxbourne. I will do my utmost to follow him in taking my responsibilities of scrutiny and representation seriously. As I have said, Broxbourne is my home and the place I love.”
“He certainly was not afraid to speak his mind in this Chamber. More than a decade ago, I was lucky enough to do some work experience in Sir Charles’s office here in Parliament. I simply would not be here today without the opportunities and wisdom that he offered over the years. Sir Charles had a number of triumphs in Broxbourne, and I was grateful to join him and our community in our efforts to save Cheshunt urgent care centre in 2011 and to stop the energy-from-waste facility in Hoddesdon in 2017. I joined Sir Charles on many occasions out on the doorstep. The December 2019 general election campaign in particular sticks in the mind. Despite the darkness and the cold, the ever-enthusiastic Sir Charles ploughed on. On one occasion, it was just the two of us, and all of a sudden, Charles slipped and fell.”
“I congratulate all Members who have made their maiden speeches today. I am a geographer by background, so it is an absolute privilege to sit here and learn about all the different parts of our lovely United Kingdom. It is truly the greatest honour of my life to stand here as the Member of Parliament for Broxbourne. I am under no illusion about the responsibility of representing the place where I was raised, where my family lives and that I call home. I am hugely grateful to the residents of Broxbourne, who put their faith in me and elected one of their own. They will be keeping me on my toes—not least my nan, who will not hesitate to badger me if she thinks I need to get things sorted. We are straight-talkers in Broxbourne, and chief among us was my predecessor, Sir Charles Walker.”