Andrew Lewin
MP for Welwyn Hatfield · Labour · United Kingdom
“I welcome the model proposed for Hertfordshire, with four unitary authorities. Very importantly for me and my constituency, it keeps Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City together, and I am looking forward to working even more closely with my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia).”
“The tone of the House has changed somewhat since the initial speech by the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), but I will re-inject a bit of politics, because I think it is important on Opposition day that we assess whether the rhetoric of one party matches its record in office.”
“It is to be applauded that this Government are investing in drone warfare. My hon. Friend the Member for Swindon North (Will Stone) has been a champion for investing in drone factories in his constituency.”
“I will make some progress and talk about the record of this Government. [ Interruption. ] I know Opposition Members are enjoying it. It is important that we reflect on the progress and the investment we have made.”
“It has a simple premise: to bring veterans together to meet, to socialise and to build networks and connections. He has had great success in doing that in Stevenage, working with my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia), and we are in the process of extending it to Welwyn Hatfield.”
“It is a privilege to follow the right hon. and gallant Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), who gave an incredibly authoritative speech. I also commend the hon. and gallant Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp), who spoke powerfully.”
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“I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, and I will go on to talk more about why investment now is good for us, in both the short term and the long term. We have a genuinely sad state of affairs. There have been Conservatives who have taken the climate very seriously, from Lord Deben, with his leadership of the Climate Change Committee, to the former Prime Minister Baroness May. I am even old enough to remember Lord Cameron, then Leader of the Opposition, imploring people to vote blue to go green. I know I do not look that old. The message is clear that the Conservative party is no longer interested in that, and I will address the rest of my speech to those in this place who are still serious about reducing emissions, protecting the planet and doing what is right for the next generation.”
“That is precisely why our Labour Government have expanded the social housing decarbonisation scheme, and why I am proud that funding for wave 3 will see more than 600 council homes in Welwyn Hatfield brought up to energy performance certificate rating C by 2028.”
“As I will go on to say, I am telling them that investing in a decarbonisation scheme and having warm homes is exactly the way that we get bills down. Just last week, I met Tina in Hatfield. Tina is a council house resident, and she benefited from the social housing decarbonisation scheme. Her home was retrofitted last year, with new insulation, triple glazing and a host of other improvements, and she is thrilled with the results. She told me, most importantly of all, that last winter, her monthly energy bill fell from £140 to £67 a month. Tina’s experience proves that we can cut emissions and cut costs. It also proves that there is not a fight between fighting climate change and providing support with the cost of living; the two can and must work together.”
“At best, they are ignoring climate change; at worst, they are playing to the climate sceptics, who might be plentiful on Elon Musk’s X, but there are very few of them in this country or, I suspect, in the constituencies of Conservative Members. In contrast, this Labour Government are absolutely right to invest in warm homes, to back renewable energy and to declare that tackling climate change is, and will remain, a national priority.”
“The same is true of our investment in new nuclear power, the continued growth of all forms of renewables, and mandating that from 2027, every new home must have solar panels on the roof. In parallel, the Government are right to recognise the urgency of now. Energy bills are down from their peak, but they are still significantly higher than before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, so it is absolutely right that we have targeted plans to ease the pressure on families on lower incomes this winter through the warm home discount scheme, which will reach 2.7 million families across the country and around 11,000 families in Welwyn Hatfield. The Conservative motion reflects the sad journey of the Conservative party.”
“I recognise that improvements were made by the last Government, but if the right hon. Gentleman is listening carefully—I am sure he is—he will hear that that is the theme of my speech, and of comments from Government Members. It is so sad to see the Conservative party walk away from the Climate Acts and from being a party that takes these issues seriously. That is the sad thing, and that is what matters. Hundreds more families in my constituency are about to enjoy the same experience as Tina, meaning that they can live in warmer homes and have dramatically lower energy bills. Upgrading our homes is the right priority; it is yielding results, and will continue to do so, but it will take time to scale that up across the country.”
“I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. I do not normally read in the Chamber—I do not think it is good form—but in this case I will. This is available on the shadow Minister’s website. He says: “I am also proud of the UK’s world-leading role in tackling climate change…with the UK being the first country to introduce legally binding long-term emissions targets under the landmark Climate Change Act in 2008.” He now wants to scrap that Act, does he not?”
“Friend agree that when we get spades in the ground in our new towns, it is crucial not only that we invest in infrastructure, but that the homes for social rent that we so desperately need are built in the first phase of development and are a core part of those communities from day one?”
“It is an honour to serve on the Select Committee with my hon. Friend. As she knows, I am biased when it comes to the importance of new towns. I represent two fantastic new towns: Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City. What she said this afternoon about the new towns of the future and how we get the balance right was really important. Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City are communities that have stood the test of time because land value was captured and a good amount of social housing was built right at the start of those developments. It is imperative that we do the same this time around for the new generation of new towns that the Government seek to build. Does my hon.”
“In one of the first contributions I had the privilege of making in the House, I raised the case of the Blake family. Their son Stuart was infected aged six, and he died at the age of 27, back in 2006. I have been in regular contact with the family, and it was my privilege to show them around this place just a few weeks ago. I am sure the Minister and the House will understand that this has consumed their family for four decades, and they are still seeking reassurance about the urgency with which the Government are bringing forward payments, and about whether they will be made as quickly as possible. I am really encouraged by the statement. The family are eligible for the second interim payment, but I would be grateful if the Minister confirmed his personal commitment to bringing such cases to resolution as soon as possible.”
“The shadow Chancellor talks about the huge advantages of his proposal. Is he aware that someone who owns a home worth £2 million would benefit to the tune of £150,000? This is a tax cut for millionaires. Is that what he wants?”
“If our objective is to give millionaires a tax cut, abolishing stamp duty in one sweep is a good way to implement that policy. But if we are serious about helping people on to the housing ladder, we should reject the Conservatives’ motion today, reject their failed approach over the last 14 years, and support a package of reforms to get Britain building again.”
“Liz Truss would be proud. We have no Reform colleagues in the Chamber today, but I suspect that they would be pleased as well. Of course, their leader famously said at the time of the mini-Budget that it was the best Budget since 1986. If we seriously want more homeowners, the real answer lies in building more homes of all tenures; in offering mortgage guarantees to help those who earn enough but cannot raise the deposit to get on the ladder; in continuing to support low-cost home ownership models, such as shared ownership; in planning reform; and in embracing a new generation of new towns. In the first 14 months of being in office, this Government have done more to make progress on identifying sites for the next generation of new towns than the Conservative party did in 14 years.”
“Let us look more closely at the proposition that abolishing stamp duty is the answer. First of all, who benefits most? If someone’s home is worth £1.5 million, they will save £93,750 under this proposal. As I said earlier, if someone’s home is worth £2 million, they will save £150,000—that was cheered by the Conservative party, which is telling—whereas if they buy a home that is worth less than £300,000, this proposal will save them no money at all. That is the threshold at which stamp duty cuts in at the moment, and 40% of first-time buyers buy homes that are worth less than £300,000. As my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) said, the Conservatives’ proposition is to ask ordinary taxpayers either to accept deep cuts in social security, or to pay more taxes to subsidise a tax cut for millionaires.”
“The last Government dropped mandatory housing targets, and I have lost count of how many Conservative MPs have used departmental questions, statements and even today’s debate to say, “I like the idea of homes in the right place, but it doesn’t happen to be in my constituency.” I have to say that the Liberal Democrats have been just as guilty of that as the Conservative party. Where the Conservatives failed, the Labour Government are acting. We are delivering the return of housing targets for every local authority, ambitious planning reform and a record £39 billion for the affordable homes programme. Do we have further to go? Yes, absolutely, but new housing starts in the first quarter of 2025 were up by 17% on the same period in 2024, when the Conservatives were still in power.”
“Twenty years ago, 50% of people aged 25 to 34 owned their own home; by 2022, the figure had fallen to fewer than four in 10. Members from across the House will recognise that that is a record of failure. I think they will also agree that there is no panacea that will increase the level of home ownership, and that it requires a range of policy solutions. That being said, there is one fundamental truth that we need to recognise: if we do not build more homes, we will not have more homeowners.”
“Let me start by saying that I welcome a debate on how we incentivise home ownership. I am a Labour MP who wants more of my constituents in Welwyn Hatfield to have a secure home of their own and to build a life in our community, and people’s ability to buy a home should not be so dependent on their access to the bank of mum and dad. The Conservatives’ proposition that we are discussing today is that the abolition of stamp duty is the answer. Before we assess that claim, let us look at how we got here. Home ownership went backwards over the 14 years of the last Conservative Government. There are 600,000 fewer homeowners in the UK than there would have been if home ownership rates had remained at the levels they were at in 2010—that is more than the population of Liverpool.”
“I have recently hosted a series of meetings on the SEND system with parents and teachers. One moment was most striking: when I asked a roomful of parents how many of them knew or suspected that their child had additional needs before the age of five, every single hand went up. Will the Leader of the House consider giving time to a debate dedicated to the importance of early intervention in the SEND system so that we identify problems and support parents and children as early as we possibly can?”
“The times we live in make it all the more important to look back at how democracy became a beacon of hope after we emerged from the second world war, the darkest chapter in our history. The response then to suffering was not to turn inward, to stigmatise or to attack others—it was the opposite. Signed by 50 nations in June 1945, the UN charter’s purpose was to reaffirm “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women”. It went on to say that all signatories must “practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours”. This country was at the vanguard of defending democracy even in our darkest hour. If a previous generation could succeed in championing democracy then, we can and must do it now.”
“We live in a world of mass information, where private companies that design social media algorithms hold more power to shape political debate than the editors of newspapers or the producers of broadcast news. The debate online has coarsened, which is precisely why our conduct in Parliament matters more than ever: we have to set an example. At times, it may feel quaint that we refer to each other in this place as hon. Members, but there is honour in debate, disagreement and democracy. There is no doubt that we live in fragile times. Putin has brought war to Europe, and I am speaking on the morning that the United Nations commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel’s leadership has committed four of the five acts of genocide defined under the 1948 genocide convention.”
“Our democracy has endured and grown stronger through the horrors of war with the Nazis, global financial crises and a pandemic. We are not going to be cowed by a foreign billionaire who does not live in this country and cannot even pretend to understand it. We must not overstate the political abilities of this man. A couple of days ago, Musk announced that his AI tool, Grok, would once again be sent for reprogramming because it inconveniently shared facts that contradicted its master’s argument. If he cannot win an argument with his own AI tool, he is not going to win an argument with the British people. We should have confidence in our democracy but never be complacent about its future.”
“I consider everyone who serves in the House of Commons to be a colleague. Many will be my political opponents, but they will never be my enemies. That may seem self-evident in a mature democracy such as the United Kingdom, but we live in a time when democracy needs renewal and reaffirmation. We can take nothing for granted, and the comments of Elon Musk on Saturday demonstrate why. At a rally that was purportedly about the uniting the kingdom, Musk told the crowd that “violence is coming to you” and that Parliament should be dissolved, on the basis that he did not like the result of the last election very much. Since 1929, we have run fully democratic elections in our country, with universal suffrage for men and women.”
“It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake) not just on securing the debate, but on a powerful speech, and especially on her tribute to how our Parliament is evolving. It is vital to recognise that we have agency in this place and that there is cause for hope. Not only is it customary to open a speech in that way, but it speaks to something that is core to our democracy: that civility matters. We make progress as a society and as a country through considered debate and by contesting ideas. We value the opinions of those on all sides of the political divide. The process of building consensus is invariably a strength and not a weakness. People who represent different political views or parties can be, and often are, our friends.”
“Let me set that out plainly: business confidence under this Labour Chancellor is higher than it was at any point under any of the last six Conservative Chancellors who occupied No. 11 Downing Street.”
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about our hospitality sector and how we value and reward the people working in it, the rising confidence that business is reporting and the evolving nature of our high streets. High streets and hospitality are changing, but sadly what has not changed is a Conservative party in opposition that wants to talk the country down. The reality, as reported by 1,200 businesses in the Lloyds business survey, is very different from the picture that the Conservatives want to paint. The survey, which is in its 15th year, last week reported that the overall business confidence index, which combines firms’ trading expectations and economic optimism, rose for a fourth consecutive month in August, reaching its highest level since late 2015.”
“I hope we can go even further in future. I know how much civic pride people have in their town centres. Although we will not return to the high streets of the 1990s, there is real demand in towns for variety: shops, places to eat, entertainment and events. A mixture of permanence, such as our iconic John Lewis store in Welwyn Garden City, and the events that the business improvement district puts on in our town every year, such as the world food festival, which draws thousands of local people and tourists from across the world. This is a Government who have listened to business, strengthened the rights of workers and given millions of lower earners a pay rise. Sentiment is improving and confidence is rising. Let us not talk down our hospitality sector; let us champion it and seize the opportunities that are in front of us.”
“Earlier this year, the Labour Government increased the national living wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour—an increase comfortably above inflation that was welcomed by millions of workers, though seemingly not by the Conservative party. The Conservatives’ motion seems to cast doubt on the role of the Low Pay Commission, and sadly they have refused to welcome the pay rise we gave to the country last year. If any of them wants to say thank us for the minimum wage rise, I will happily give way. On business rates, the Conservatives left the Treasury with no funded commitment to continue with the retail, hospitality and leisure relief, as the Minister set out powerfully in his opening remarks. It is right that this Government stepped in to make the 40% reduction in rates permanent, giving confidence and security to business owners.”
“When I bought my last suit at the Galleria in Hatfield, I received much-needed sartorial advice from an employee younger than me. [ Interruption. ] I will go back again for my next suit! When I pop into a Simmons branch for a coffee, it is invariably a younger person who serves me—as it is when I head in for a pint in one of the fantastic pubs in our two towns or the villages. People working in hospitality are just as deserving of rights and protections in the workplace as anyone else. That is why it is so important that the Employment Rights Bill brings forward day one protections at work. It introduces protection from unfair dismissal, bans exploitative zero-hours contracts and strengthens statutory sick pay.”
“I do agree. I have spoken to constituents on two-year fixed-rate mortgages who were being hammered two years ago by Liz Truss and are now paying hundreds of pounds less per month because we are getting a grip on the economy. Sixty-two per cent of firms plan to increase headcount over the next 12 months, and confidence in retailers surveyed rose by 13 points to 57%, also marking a five-month high. This is all welcome news, but I am far from complacent. Of course there are real challenges for some hospitality firms. I turn now to how the Government are seeking to address them and why it matters to my constituents. A fitting place to start is the people who work in the sector. The average age is 35. Our shops, restaurants, pubs, cafés and cinemas are powered by younger people.”
“T2. It remains a reality that it is possible to take a GCSE in Russian but not in Ukrainian, and I have resolved to do my part to help because I believe that a Ukrainian GCSE should be available to all. As this is a topical question, I bring some encouraging news: I have written to all the exam boards—”
“It will be, Mr Speaker, absolutely—topical and quick. AQA has reported back to me that it is very open to the idea, but it needs to see evidence that we have enough Ukraine-speaking teachers who are willing to teach the subject and to mark the papers. The good news is that, with support from parliamentary colleagues, I have found 250 teachers who can do just that. Does my hon. Friend agree that it should now be just a matter of time before a Ukrainian GCSE is available to all?”
“Welwyn Hatfield stands to be a big beneficiary of the social housing warm homes plan. It won a grant of £6 million, meaning that hundreds of homes will be upgraded and retrofitted, which will see bills and emissions coming down. Our colleagues from Reform have a flair for language, and they talk about “net stupid zero”. I am interested to know what language my right hon. Friend would use to describe a party that opposes a policy that will cut emissions and bills for people living in council homes in my community.”
“I always listen attentively to the shadow Chancellor, in this place and in his many media rounds. Sadly, what is missing is a costed economic policy of his own. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the shadow Chancellor might be wise to spend some quality time in his beautiful Dorset constituency—”
“Apologies—in his Devon constituency over the summer to develop some credible policies of his own? If he does not, he is not credible from the Dispatch Box.”
“The postcode in which a person is born still has a profound impact on the life they lead. That is no more true than in my constituency, where those born in Hatfield have a healthy life expectancy that is 11 years shorter than those born three miles down the road in Brookmans Park. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is essential that the new Best Start family hubs have integrated care, giving advice on early years education as well as health support?”
“As a member of the Select Committee, I want to continue to hear from people on the frontline about what else is needed to act as a catalyst for activity. Do developers have access to the skilled workforce they need to scale up development? Is the priority to bring forward stalled sites, and how quicky can that be done? Do people in the sector share my experience that demand for homes for social rent is greater than for any other tenure type? Planning and building homes takes time. There is inevitably a lag between a major funding announcement like this and seeing the impact in the communities we represent, but we have to move as fast as we can. Time is short and the stakes are high. I commend the Government for making this investment. Now, we are all invested in making sure that it delivers results.”
“It is a source of pride in Welwyn Hatfield that we have retained significantly more council housing than the national average—just over one in four people in my constituency lives in a social home, and in Peartree ward in Welwyn Garden City that rises to 44%—but that still is not sufficient to meet demand. We have more than 3,000 people on our waiting list and growing numbers living in temporary accommodation—a story familiar to Members representing communities all across the country. In the spending review, the commitment to investing £39 billion over 10 years in the affordable homes programme was a statement of intent. This is the best financial settlement for social housing in a generation, but its ultimate success will be measured by the homes delivered and the lives changed.”
“In the last two years of the previous Labour Administration, 2009-10 and 2010-11, the Government built 73,053 homes for social rent, but in the last two years of the Conservative Government, 2022-23 and 2023-24—and those were the best two years—only 19,365 homes were completed, which is a reduction of nearly 75%. We had 14 wasted years, in which the crisis deepened for the 1.5 million people on social housing waiting lists, for the 164,000 children living in temporary accommodation, and for the countless more living in overcrowded and inadequate homes in the private rented sector.”
“As the newest member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, I want to start with my own thank you to my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), who has been such a welcoming Chair and who drives forward our business with passion and conviction. I will focus my brief remarks on the settlement for social housing, which has the potential to be transformative in our mission to build social and affordable homes at scale. To understand why the challenge is so stark and why the funding is so badly needed, it is right to reflect on recent history. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and the subsequent Conservative Governments made an ideological decision not to build homes for social rent, and their lamentable record stands in contrast to what went before.”
“When I visited my Ukrainian Saturday school in Welwyn Garden City, many of the parents impressed on me the importance of having the option for Ukrainian children to study a GCSE in the Ukrainian language. As it stands, somebody can study Russian, but not Ukrainian, and I have promised to take up the cause. I have written to all the national exam boards, with some mixed responses, but I am determined to stay on the case. Does the Leader of the House agree that that would be a fantastic subject for further debate in this place?”
“Swallow Dell primary in Welwyn Garden City is a fantastic school. I have had the privilege of meeting the leadership team, who are ambitious for every single child. They have a state nursery as part of the school, but they are seeking to expand, and unfortunately their bid was rejected in the last round. I am passionate and hopeful that this school might be able to benefit from the £370 million of additional funding, not least because one in three children attending Swallow Dell is eligible for free school meals. My right hon. Friend knows my constituency well, and she is welcome to visit. I hope that she will agree to a meeting to talk about Swallow Dell’s bid for future funding.”
“It is a source of pride to see a Labour Chancellor announce such a transformative programme for social housing. My hope is that the boost to the affordable homes programme can be used to unlock stalled projects like those in Welwyn Garden City, in my constituency, where the Metropolitan Thames Valley development adjacent to the station needs to get motoring. I thank the Chancellor for her investment today. Does she agree that our message to councils and housing associations is, “We back you—now it is time for you to build”?”
“However, where business has a choice to make, Government have an obligation. Let us fast-track our plan for banking hubs and redouble our efforts to ensure that no community is without one.”
“The hub model is here to stay—a service underpinned by the state, via the Post Office, which we need in communities across the country. I am equally convinced that the way banks and building societies navigate this period of change might lead to customers being increasingly open to switching. I commend Nationwide for its national commitment to keeping branches open, and note with interest that the Current Account Switch Service found last year that nearly 1.2 million Brits switched their current account, with Nationwide the beneficiary of the most net switches. The challenge for the retail banking industry is to show they take seriously the need to engage with customers who want and need in-person support, and those who succeed might find that doing good is good business.”
“That is its national policy, so Welwyn Garden City is in no worse or better a position than any of our neighbours, but I am left with the impression that Lloyds was never serious about a bespoke solution for our town. If Lloyds Banking Group is listening or watching today and wants to think again, I will happily take a call as soon as I leave this Chamber. As other banks and building societies close, it is the role of Government to accelerate the roll-out of banking hubs. In Hatfield, we have a temporary banking hub at the post office in White Lion Square, and I know that Cash Access and Welwyn Hatfield borough council are working towards a permanent home. Some people will always want to have face-to-face conversations about their finances.”
“Earlier this year, my office was informed of the closure of Lloyds and Halifax in Welwyn Garden City barely an hour before they hit send on the press release. The management did respond to my firmly worded letter demanding a meeting, and, in person, I made it clear that if the closure could not be overturned, I wanted to work together on a bespoke option for a community banking service. I suggested Welwyn Garden City library as an appropriate community venue, and said if that option was pursued, there should be no barriers to running a regular service, given the extremely low cost to Lloyds of hiring a room. Lloyds needed frequent chasing to respond afterwards, and eventually came back with its standardised offer: a community banking service in the library, but open just once every fortnight.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) on securing such an important debate. Next week, the Lloyds and Halifax branches in Welwyn Garden City will close their doors to customers for the last time. In Hatfield, we have already lost every bank branch from White Lion Square in the centre of town. As we have heard today, this is a wearily familiar story in communities across the country. Regrettably, I must start by sharing my experience with Lloyds Banking Group. On its website, it talks of a “commitment to putting customers first”. I am afraid my experience, on behalf of residents in Welwyn Garden City, left me feeling that we were just another cog in the corporate wheel.”
“We have learned a lot about trade policy in the House today. The Conservative party is still desperately defending its failed deal, and as for Reform, we had a no-show from the leader of the party of no deal. Labour is the only party that is serious about getting a good deal with the European Union. I congratulate the Prime Minister. Having campaigned for a youth mobility deal, I thank him for the agreement in principle, but ask him to go as fast as possible to ensure that our young people have the opportunity to travel and work in the European Union.”
“The Ukrainian military’s response to Putin’s invasion has been formidable. One of the ways it has been so impressive is through its innovation in drone technology, with Ukraine now a world leader in strategic and tactical drones. Does the Minister agree that it is important that the UK, along with our NATO allies, continues to invest in the Ukrainian military, so that it can continue its fight for freedom and so that we can benefit from the advances in technology that the Ukrainian military has brought forward?”
“As this is a debate in the name of His Majesty’s Opposition, it is only right that I share some personal reflections on the record of the Conservative party when it was in government. I am feeling generous, Madam Deputy Speaker: I am sure the House will be pleased to know that this will be a brief speech. But I am also feeling generous because I want to begin with three simple and constructive suggestions for the Conservative party on its future approach to the European Union. First, a good place to start would be by accepting that the Brexit deal signed in 2020 has done substantial damage to our economy. Fundamentally, it was a deal that put up barriers to trade. As the Office for Budget Responsibility concluded, the UK economy will be 4% smaller than previously expected.”