Mrs Elsie Blundell
MP for Heywood and Middleton North · Labour · United Kingdom
“I am so proud to represent some wonderful churches across my constituency, from All Saints and Martyrs in Langley to St Luke’s in central Heywood, but many are in need of repair and renewal.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituents are very concerned about Northern Care Alliance hospitals. Across the trust, there were 10 serious incidents between 2025 and 2026 that were found to be wholly preventable, lengthy delays causing severe harm to patients and industrial action, culminating in a sustained decline in performance and national rankings on patien…”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker, and to see the Minister, my constituency neighbour, in his place. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this crucial debate. The debt we owe to our country’s unpaid carers is immense.”
House of Commons15 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Finally, I would like to touch on how we secure high-quality supportive and respite services in every postcode. When carers reach a point where they feel like the walls are closing in—and, in truth, long before they reach that point—flexible respite and replacement care should be available, and should be both reliable and of high quality.…”
House of Commons15 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This means NHS trusts having robust and systematic processes for identifying carers, with GP records being properly maintained so that individuals can be identified early, connected to support, and have their own wellbeing needs properly addressed.”
House of Commons15 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Undoubtedly, every Member present will know a constituent, friend or family member with caring responsibilities. Being an unpaid carer, though commendable, can be deeply isolating and lonely. It is therefore crucial that when it gets too much, there is a community and a safety net that can provide comfort and support to our constituents.”
House of Commons15 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“The private hire and taxi sector is critical to our economy and for filling gaps in the local transport network, but for too long the safety of passengers and the ability of licensing authorities to do their job have been undermined for the sake of a model that is unfit for purpose. We must bring an end to out-of-area licensing and offer the sector the change for which it has been calling out for decades. The Bill is about granting power to local people to make their own decisions that will change their communities for the better. This is one such a decision—one that we can no longer afford to avoid.”
House of Commons25 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Considered together, new clause 83 and the Government amendments would encourage drivers to license locally and would ensure that if things go wrong, both drivers and passengers have the confidence that enforcement measures will be swift, considered and legitimate in the eyes of local authorities and local people. If reinforced by implementing national minimum standards, these two changes could revitalise the sector, and give both drivers and passengers the confidence and certainty they deserve. I believe that there are no Members present today, no corner of society and, indeed, no drivers out there in the sector who believe the system as it stands is working well. It is oversaturated, with a lack of local accountability and an erosion of the ties between drivers and the communities they serve.”
House of Commons25 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are not even in a position where an operator has to have a licence everywhere it operates; it does not.” He went on to say: “I know the limitations of my operational enforcement resource…chasing vehicles all over the country is not something we could deal or cope with.” I know from conversations with Rochdale borough council’s licensing department that those sentiments are shared there, too. Standards are one thing, but without proper means of enforcement, they will not have the maximum impact on public safety. I will now move to the substance of my new clause 83. Under the new clause, strategic authorities would have the power to require that journeys that start and end there are fulfilled by locally licensed operators. It would give local leaders power and the choice to adopt that as a solution.”
House of Commons25 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I truly support and welcome the Government’s commitment to national minimum standards, but I believe that they must be complemented by a restriction on out-of-area operations so that they can be enforced locally where necessary. At a recent meeting of the Transport Committee, which is currently holding an inquiry on the private hire vehicle sector, we heard from a licensing officer from Blackpool council. When I asked whether his authority was able to keep track of the drivers operating within it, he stated: “We are now at a stage where provisions on where an operator can operate vehicles do not seem to matter.”
House of Commons25 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Women and girls living with endometriosis are waiting on average nine years for a full diagnosis. That is almost a decade of pain, uncertainty and endurance before they receive the targeted support that they need. Would the Leader of the House agree that the soon-to-be-renewed women’s health strategy must get a grip of these appalling wait times and ensure that all women affected are heard and finally prioritised?”
House of Commons13 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“10. What steps his Department is taking through the criminal justice system to help to support victims of technology-assisted child sexual abuse.”
House of Commons11 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for her answer. We all know of the increasing and sinister use of technology in the appalling sexual abuse of children and young people. To address that, will the Minister consider extending the unduly lenient sentence scheme to include all TACSA offences and commit to a ban on the technologies that generate deepfake and sexually abusive images of children?”
House of Commons11 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This investment, which should be allocated to Middleton, coupled with the community right to buy and compulsory purchase powers, will allow communities to seize untapped assets and turn around shops, pubs and buildings in disrepair. We are empowering local councils to block unwanted shops, from vape shops to dodgy barbers. This Government understand the challenge before us—the shattered trust we need to rebuild. Rather than capitulate to the declinist narratives that suit the Opposition parties all too well, we are cracking on and delivering change, and coming at this from all sides. Through tangible and lasting investment from national Government to the cutting of local red tape, and through the talent, grit and innovation of the people and businesses I represent, I know that the best days of our high streets lie ahead.”
House of Commons4 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We recognise the strengths and assets that underpin our diverse communities, and I am proud to stand alongside this Labour Government, who are finally providing the means for local people to take back their high streets. I am delighted that my borough is a beneficiary of pride in place impact funding and I thank Ministers for their engagement with me in recent weeks. I was proud to host a community meeting at Burnside community centre in Middleton, where I heard decisive calls from local people on the changes they want to see for their local amenities and their high streets. Unlike the previous Government, which deliberately moved money away from areas of most acute need, this Labour Government are working in tandem with local councils and local people to revive the assets that our towns are built on.”
House of Commons4 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They know that the challenges facing our high streets will not be overcome overnight, and that for us to rebuild that image of a bustling local centre—an image that invokes a sense of real pride—there must first come investment not just of capital, but of responsibility and confidence. This is where we need to meet people halfway. Too many people look at their high streets and see a landscape they no longer recognise. Where we once saw the trading of local produce, in recent years we have seen the proliferation of illicit goods that not only perpetuate antisocial behaviour on our streets, but run down public health and corrode our towns from the inside. My constituents refuse to buy into the defeatism that Opposition parties feed off.”
House of Commons4 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Fourteen years of hollow funding commitments, with antisocial behaviour out of control and the scars of neglect visible across our high streets, but the Conservatives instead choose to come here to talk down the Employment Rights Bill, which is a critical piece of legislation that will protect the very workers who have a stake in our high streets. If they are satisfied with workers remaining in deeply insecure employment—like those at Tetrosyl in Greater Manchester, who are facing the prospect of fire and rehire as we speak—they should just come out and say so. The people of Heywood and Middleton North are resilient. They are grafters and they care deeply about their local community.”
House of Commons4 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is unusual that I find myself agreeing with the shadow Business Secretary, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), but it is high time that we discuss our local high streets in this place. I would gently say, however, that doing so requires us to look back at the record of the Conservatives during their time in government, and frankly, when it comes to our high streets, it is a record they should be ashamed of. Coming to the House feigning indignation and refusing to accept any responsibility for the damage they have done will really get under the skin of my constituents.”
House of Commons4 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The last Government left the public services on which our constituents rely on their knees, with many just about keeping their head above water, and the Probation Service is no different. Since being elected, I have come to understand the dire ramifications of what can go wrong when local probation services are not performing to the standard that local people should expect, especially when it comes to the suitable placement and proper monitoring of serious offenders post release. What engagement is taking place between the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that when errors are made by local probation delivery units, there is proper accountability and corrective measures are taken to protect our constituents from those who could still cause them harm?”
House of Commons23 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The pride in place funding will be transformative for my constituency. I thank the Minister for working with me and for giving advice to urban areas such as Middleton—urban areas that a former Conservative Prime Minister bragged about diverting funds away from. I was delighted to convene a meeting at Burnside community centre recently where calls for improvements to Middleton were decisive. What steps are being taken to ensure that places with the most acute need, such as Middleton, are given priority within local authority areas?”
House of Commons15 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Leader of the House to his place. I applaud the Government for the bold action that they are taking to reform the criminal justice system, but more must be done to safeguard communities from violent reoffenders. In Middleton, I have been in touch with the courageous family of Michael Hoolickin. Michael was tragically killed in 2016 by a prolific offender who, despite supposedly being under the supervision of the local probation service, was not prevented from committing that appalling act, which has devastated the lives of Michael’s family and friends. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time so that Members may consider how to mitigate reoffending by violent perpetrators, and to give voice to the countless bereaved families out there, who deserve our compassion and focus?”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The disparity in transport investment between north and south is the result of a model that is built from the top down and the centre out, a model that has at its heart an orthodoxy that is ill-suited to the needs of passengers today, and a model I am proud to say this Government, in partnership with our regional mayors, are beginning to dismantle. From a much-needed review of the Green Book to increased capital spending in Greater Manchester and other city regions, from the introduction of integrated settlements for combined authorities and a modern industrial strategy to the transformative English devolution Bill, those are all reasons I am proud to be a Greater Manchester Labour parliamentarian. We have a pioneering transport network, where powers devolved nationally are seen and felt on the ground.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) for securing this crucial debate. High-quality, reliable and integrated public transport is often the difference between communities getting ahead or being left behind. Whether that is young people being able to realise their aspirations, older people receiving the healthcare they need, or working people getting home safely after a night shift, those issues not only have practical consequences if left unaddressed but erode trust between our constituents and the Governments they elect. Lack of transport connectivity impedes the progress that people need and deserve to see in their communities. If we do not fix that, we make it easier for those who turn to pessimistic narratives to talk our country down. Our constituents deserve so much more.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Fundamentally, we must formalise and codify engagement between the Department and mayoralties, and not just ahead of a fiscal event but consistently, so that we can build robust transport networks that support the needs of local people. Regional transport inequalities do not have to spell out a foregone conclusion; we just need to find the political conviction to confront them. Each town, city and village has within it people who are capable of reaching the sum of their ambitions. We just need to be unrelenting in building the transport system to get them there.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It also means that local leaders, in concert with the combined authority, are working to deliver a mayoral development corporation in Middleton, with the strong possibility of a new Metrolink service there too. This is the difference that devolution can make, and in Greater Manchester we have shown what we are capable of. But we cannot be complacent. Expertise in town and transport planning must be further developed in our regions, and our bank of knowledge must deepen. Funding cycles should become yet more assured across the country, enabling our local and regional leaders to have the confidence to innovate.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For decades, passengers living in Heywood and Middleton have been a mere afterthought, with no rail connectivity into Manchester city centre, despite being just a few miles away; bus services that do not align with the lives and aspirations of local people; and an incredibly congested road network. In the one year that I have been the proud Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton North, with central Government working in lockstep with our combined authority, we have secured funding to ensure that the tram will now connect Heywood to Manchester city centre. That is thanks to the £2.5 billion of funding allocated to Greater Manchester by our Labour Chancellor in the form of transport for city regions funding, enabling the mayor and his team to plan for the longer term.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Despite real success, however, we cannot take future progress for granted. Greater Manchester and other city regions remain just as deserving of our backing today, to ensure that we do not scupper economic growth in the region. We must ensure that the significant projects are moving forward swiftly and efficiently to give people hope for a more connected future, and that includes the trans-Pennine route upgrade and the Manchester-to-Liverpool rail enhancement. Getting that right is integral to transforming public transport and creating networks predicated finally on the needs of local people, rather than on the paternalism of the centre. My constituents can speak with some experience on this.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am sure that is something the Transport Minister has listened to and is looking at. Greater Manchester has set the agenda when it comes to the promise and opportunity that devolution can galvanise. Through the development and expansion of the Bee Network—an integrated transport system through low fares and simplified ticketing, and an enhanced bus and Metrolink network with plans to integrate heavy rail lines in the future—the Bee Network’s utility goes far beyond getting people from A to B; it is a conduit for employment opportunities, house building and a thriving regional economy. Indeed, Greater Manchester’s productivity growth measured by gross value added in the past decade has outstripped that of every other region, including London. Transport has been central to making that happen.”
House of Commons11 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor’s announcement of at least £445 million for Welsh rail will be transformative for Welsh passengers and Better Connect workers with jobs across north Wales and Manchester, but only if we are pulling in the same direction. What steps will be taken by the Wales Office to ensure that national Governments, devolved Governments and our combined authority in Greater Manchester are working together to improve connectivity and bring the people of the north-west and north Wales closer together?”
House of Commons16 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My Heywood and Middleton North constituents live in a state of profound uncertainty as to how the unpredictability of global energy markets will affect their families. Does the Minister agree that if we want to protect those families from volatility, we must end our reliance on global fossil fuel markets, and introduce targeted interventions to bring bills down, particularly for those on the lowest incomes?”
House of Commons15 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The clock is ticking for the boys who went to school hungry this morning, for those struggling to keep pace with their peers in their schoolwork, for those crying out for a teacher to recognise their individual needs and to act, and for those who stand on the brink of exclusion. Their futures hang in the balance, and we can no longer neglect to ask the questions that we may not like the answers to. The challenges facing boys in schools are complex, and the solutions will take grit to implement, but it is time to finally heed the warnings that have been sounding for decades and to find the courage that eluded us in facing up to these challenges in the past. I truly fear the consequences if we do not.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In order to get this right across the whole country, we must speak to those who, even in the most trying of circumstances, are making inroads in supporting boys to succeed and thrive, and we must enable institutions to inform national policy, rather than thinking that we know best. I welcome the steps that the Department for Education has taken recently, but we must go even further. Although class is currently not a protected characteristic, it should be given a similar level of parity. I believe that the Government should be mandated to consider class when policy proposals relating to children’s education are being considered. Arbitrary and outdated measures of class lead to arbitrary and outdated policy outcomes, and we need to codify a modern definition of class in order to hold Governments to account through this lens.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Poorer boys are twice as likely as their female peers to be permanently excluded, and five times more likely than their more affluent male peers to be removed from school. According to the Centre for Social Justice, the gap is widening. In some instances, economic hardship can be a contributing factor to exclusion and isolation, which can obviously lead to multiple negative outcomes. School exclusions and low attendance are intimately linked to crime, with the Prison Reform Trust recently highlighting that 59% of the prison population was regularly truant from school. This is not a party political issue, because no party has a monopoly on good ideas.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a 22% gap in the borough between boys who receive free school meals and those who do not when it comes to the percentage of pupils getting grade 4 or above in English and maths at the end of high school. In both instances, boys on free school meals, which is a welcome and wholly necessary intervention, are underperforming by comparison with those who are not. It is not by a slight amount; it is significant. There is crossover when it comes to the issues at play here—not just around gender, but around socioeconomic circumstances. One way of assessing this more closely is by comparing the rate of exclusion among boys from deprived areas with the rate among girls and their male counterparts from more affluent backgrounds.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Boys and young men in communities like mine are just as deserving of a chance to get on in life and to fulfil their potential as their counterparts in more affluent areas, but they have been badly let down. In the postcode lottery that has affected our society, it is disadvantaged boys who are being held back. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland pointed out earlier, “class” is not a dirty word, and we must not shy away from it when talking about this issue. In Rochdale borough, where my constituency sits, there is a 17% gap between boys eligible for free school meals and those who are not when it comes to who is meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at key stage 2. That gap reverberates throughout boys’ entire academic careers, and it widens when they come to sit their GCSEs.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This issue and its drivers have been misunderstood and misrepresented for far too long, and I am pleased to see MPs today grapple with the topic in a way that some have not, but that is only half the battle. Historically, only piecemeal policy proposals have been half-heartedly explored—proposals unfit even to nip at the heels of this challenge, let alone address it in its entirety. Who must live with the consequences of that inertia? It is the boys who have gone to school this morning, in my constituency and across the country. They are less likely than girls in their class, if current trends persist, to seize the opportunities that school offers them.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for securing this crucial debate. The attainment and engagement of boys, especially working-class boys, in their education will determine how society will look in the years and decades to come. Despite the importance of this topic, however, it has languished at the bottom of the list of national priorities for far too long. In my constituency of Heywood and Middleton North, I am proud of the contributions made by teachers who work hard to leave no child behind, but until there are worthy interventions at a national level to address the scale of the current crisis in the system over boys’ attainment, they will be doing so with one hand tied behind their back.”
House of Commons10 July 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Digital black spots—areas without good mobile broadband connectivity—are holding communities back. In Middleton, an area that my right hon. Friend knows well as a fellow Greater Manchester MP, many local businesses and people remain cut off from the economic growth of the wider city region due to the lack of a mobile signal. How can we ensure that this Government’s mission to capitalise on the promise of technology is felt in all parts of the country, including Middleton?”
House of Commons25 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Government’s announcement that there will be a national inquiry. Every penny spent on stamping out the evil of child abusers is money well spent. Although welcome, notice of this inquiry will undoubtedly cause a great deal of trauma and distress for both historic and present-day victims, as violations committed against them are revisited. As the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde) referenced, what steps can the Government take to ensure that victims and witnesses have access to robust mental health support? How can we ensure that our courts—as mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams)—especially in places like Greater Manchester that face extensive court backlogs, are sufficiently resourced to ensure that at the end of the process justice is finally delivered?”
House of Commons16 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Government’s announcement of an additional £2.5 billion in Greater Manchester. This will have a real benefit for my constituency and the town of Heywood, which will get the tram for the first time. What can the Government do, together with the Greater Manchester combined authority, to make sure that we get shovels in the ground as quickly as possible?”
House of Commons11 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome today’s announcement. I have been speaking to people from across my constituency—cleaners, hospitality workers and others—who desperately need the cost of bills to come down. How will the projects announced today, and the other steps the Government are taking to counter the impact of uncertainty in global energy markets, help to stop people in Heywood and Middleton North being out of pocket?”
House of Commons10 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I commend the measures in the Bill to enable workers across the sector to develop their skills, including by supporting them to respond effectively to violence and abuse on the network. What engagement has been carried out with trade union officials regarding those measures? What further steps could be taken to ensure that bus drivers, interchange staff and others are themselves safe from harassment and abuse? I thank the Secretary of State once again for developing this legislation and ensuring that buses are at the heart of our communities and that they serve and reflect the needs of our constituents.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We must consider that the figures may be so low because disabled people, as a result of the expansion of floating bus stops, are sometimes being deterred from travelling altogether, and many collisions undoubtedly go unreported. The issue has been raised in the other place, as the Secretary of State says, but I ask her what engagement, to learn from the lived experiences of blind and partially sighted people and the organisations that represent them, has been carried out by the Department in devising clauses 30 and 31. We must continuously seek to build public transport systems for all, not just when it is convenient to do so. Finally, I wish to raise the issue of safety on public transport.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It will put buses back at the heart of communities, identify gaps in provision, set about addressing them, enhance connections and fundamentally shape routes to fit around people’s lives. I would also like to raise the issue of accessibility. Our buses should be for everyone, but we know that many blind and deafblind people, and disabled people more broadly, encounter numerous serious challenges when using public transport. One issue that comes up time and again—it has already come up in this debate—is floating bus stops. I know that some organisations assess the risk of harm around such stops to be very low, based on the total number of incidents, but I would argue that one incident is one too many.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is something my constituents have gone without for far too long. It is time to finally rebalance the scales in their favour. After consulting with local people, who are determined to see the express bus service reinstated, and after producing a report setting out our case, I have been engaging consistently with Transport for Greater Manchester to see what can be done. I put on record my thanks to the mayor and his team for taking seriously the calls from my constituents, including the parents and teachers who understand the value of the route to Edgar Wood school. I look forward to conversations about the service being reinstated. At its core, that is what the Bill is all about.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When it comes to the Bee Network, the achievements of Greater Manchester are considerable. It makes the world of difference in my constituency and across the city region. Interventions made in partnership with local people meant that there were 17 million more bus journeys across the city region in 2024 than in 2023. The network now carries more than 170 million passengers a year in Greater Manchester. An example from my area illustrates what the Bill can practically offer. At times, Heywood and Middleton North has failed to benefit from Greater Manchester’s rising prosperity. Because local people have a bigger role in devising transport policy under franchising, however, I am now able to make a strong case for an express bus service from Norden and Bamford down to Heywood and Middleton and ultimately into Manchester city centre.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am incredibly proud that Greater Manchester is the only place outside London to have re-regulated its bus network, as part of creating a fully integrated public transport network—the Bee Network—for the people of our city region. A recent report produced by IPPR North highlights just how much the city region has turned its bus network around. The IPPR says: “Franchising is already delivering better services for people in Greater Manchester, but it was an uphill battle to get there. It’s time for the government to get on board with better buses and support local leaders on this journey.” This Bill demonstrates that the Government have got on board. I welcome the steps that it is taking to finally empower local leaders to make the decisions that they are best qualified to make.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary and her team for bringing forward this important Bill. Local bus services are fundamental to the lives of so many people, from providing access to work and leisure opportunities and social inclusion to cleaning up our air, reducing congestion and curtailing transport emissions. For many of our constituents, they make the difference between being able to seize opportunities and being denied them. Put simply, buses are too important to get wrong, so I wholly welcome the Bill and this Government’s ambition to finally put things right after decades of fragmentation and under-investment. As the MP for Heywood and Middleton North in Greater Manchester, I have seen the far-reaching benefits of bringing local bus services back under local control.”
House of Commons2 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As the Leader of the House knows, good internet connectivity is vital for economic growth, productivity and ensuring that everyone has access to the benefits of being online, but in many parts of Middleton in my constituency—less than six miles from Manchester city centre—people and businesses are being held back, with many having no connectivity whatsoever. I have been working locally to address the issue. Covering my campaign, the Manchester Evening News reported: “The entire town has become a signal dead spot, and locals are sick of it”. Will the Leader of the House work with me to secure a debate to provide a forum for Members to relay similar concerns about the lack of mobile signal in urban areas to ensure that the full scale of this national challenge is relayed to Government?”
House of Commons22 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I also support other measures in the Bill, including the provision that mandates perpetrators to attend their sentencing hearing or face further penalties. As we know, crime does not exist only at a single point in time; its implications live on for victims, sometimes forever. Neither is it faceless. Behind each criminal act is a perpetrator who should face the consequences of their decisions. They should be made to look at the damage they have done to a person’s life, and to hear the verdict on their crimes. The Bill gives victims agency—”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“A third of childhood sexual abuse offences are committed in the family environment. We must make sure that children who are exploited or abused no longer remain under the responsibility of a family member capable of committing such vile acts. That is why I commend the provisions in the Bill to restrict parental responsibility for offenders sentenced for abusing young children. Families must feel that they have a place to turn to when this unimaginable violation befalls a loved one, and must feel supported in law. I wholeheartedly support the steps to minimise bureaucracy and limit procedural burdens in a way that mitigates the further distress put on families, so that they can begin to rebuild what the perpetrator has shattered.”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“People in my constituency want to work alongside authorities and local leaders to make our streets safer and to make sure that victims are supported and perpetrators face the full force of the law. They want common-sense and considered interventions from Government, like the ones before us today. I will touch on one of the Bill’s provisions that will make a real difference to the communities I represent. First, the shadow of on-street grooming still hangs over families and survivors in my constituency. That is alongside wicked present-day crimes perpetrated against children across the country, the cruelty and cowardice of which remain with victims for life. According to the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 500,000 children will experience some form of child sexual abuse every year in England and Wales.”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In Greater Manchester, our court backlogs are some of the largest in the country. Most people I spoke to at the event were weary after years of cuts that reduced the police presence, which is essential, and consistent under-investment in our courts. They have seen a system that was built to protect them pushed to the brink and unable to respond effectively to the changing nature of crime in our communities. Despite the challenging nature of what we discussed, I did not come away disheartened. On the contrary, I came away hopeful and determined to take my constituents’ concerns forward. Communities are rarely unresponsive to challenges, or idle in the face of them. In fact, they want to be part of the solution.”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last week, I held a town hall event focused on crime and antisocial behaviour in Spotland, an area that I am proud to represent and to relay concerns from today. I place on record my gratitude to all those who attended, and who gave their stories, as well as those from Rochdale borough council, Greater Manchester police and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, who also attended and were questioned by local residents. We covered a vast array of issues in a constructive and thoughtful manner, and I believe we got to the crux of what keeps people in Spotland and across my constituency awake at night: ultimately, it is the safety and security of their families and loved ones. Across our borough, stalking offences, dangerous driving, off-road bikes and drug crime have been growing in prominence.”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I begin by thanking my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor for bringing forward this much-needed legislation, which will change our justice system for the better by strengthening support for victims and holding those who violate our laws to account. In my constituency of Heywood and Middleton North, the scars of serious crime and antisocial behaviour and an inundated court system hold back our communities. My constituents and people across the country are looking for answers to those challenges, rather than the posturing that we see all too frequently in some quarters. This Bill goes a long way to providing those answers, and I know that the changes will be truly welcomed in my constituency.”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This Government have announced specific support for five local inquiries and are getting on with the implementation of the recommendations of the Jay report. Would the hon. Member like to comment on what the previous Government did on this subject?”
House of Commons20 May 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗