Blake Stephenson
MP for Mid Bedfordshire · Conservative · United Kingdom
“Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills also mentioned the fact that 30.7% of 16 to 17-year-olds are now unemployed and are not learning the skills we have just agreed are important for enabling young people to grow into strong, resilient adults.”
“We in this House should be creating the conditions for economic growth and allowing businesses to get on with what they do best, and then we should get out of the way. Of course, this Government are doing the absolute opposite. They are meddling, getting in the way and wrapping businesses up in red tape.”
“The regulatory burdens throughout our economy are absolutely incredible. We have failed to properly recognise that it is businesses that grow the economy, not Governments. Over the past two years, the Government have missed an opportunity.”
“My hon. Friend makes a compelling case for drilling in the North sea—a case that he made very successfully in the by-election in Aberdeen South. I congratulate him on that, and welcome him to the House of Commons.”
“The impact, unfortunately, is felt most acutely by our young constituents. In particular, as a result of the Government’s interventions over the past two years, the Saturday job is disappearing. That is absolutely tragic. Hon. and right hon. Members from across the House have spoken passionately about their first job.”
“I am pleased that my hon. Friend and I started our lives sweeping floors; that is something that we have in common. Of course, resilience is a really important skill in life and it is learned best when we are young. I remember those early days on my bike, cycling in the cold with my knuckles freezing.”
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“One way we could tackle the problem of abstraction and, indeed, flooding is by backing projects like the Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway park, which would run through the Marston Vale in Mid Bedfordshire and help channel water to where it is most needed. I hope the Government will give that project the support it needs.”
“I absolutely agree on the importance of nature-based solutions, and those solutions are talked about frequently in my community and, I am sure, in communities across the country. They were not necessarily spoken about five or 10 years ago, but we have a real opportunity to make a difference if we focus and deliver on nature-based solutions. We must go much further in this area to ensure that all our towns and cities are built to absorb water. On implementing sustainable urban drainage systems, I mentioned this previously to the Minister for Water, and I will keep banging on about it. We must bring into force schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010—I recognise that the Act is from 2010 and a lot has happened since then—and take much stronger action to ensure that drains do not become blocked.”
“Will the Home Secretary confirm how many country deals are being worked on to ensure that people can be returned to their country of origin, and when does she expect them to have a material impact on the level of migration to the UK?”
“6. What recent discussions the Church has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether the listed places of worship grant scheme will continue after March 2025.”
“On Bedfordshire Day, I want to put on record my appreciation for everyone who works so hard in our county to make it such a wonderful place. That includes constituents who are passionate about preserving St Botolph’s church in Aspley Guise. They are working hard to raise tens of thousands of pounds for their tower restoration project and expect work to start early next year. However, they are concerned that without the listed places of worship grant scheme, works will become much more expensive and may not be able to proceed. Will the Church Commissioner meet me to discuss how we can continue to support historic churches such as St Botolph’s?”
“As a Bedfordshire MP, I know how significant the Vauxhall plant is to our local economy and as a local employer. The Secretary of State has explained how devastating this decision will be for families locally, not just in Luton but in my constituency. Unfortunately, though, he has said very little about how he is going to support the people who are losing their jobs. Is the Secretary of State concerned that this Government’s tax on jobs will make it much more difficult to replace these 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Bedfordshire?”
“Beyond Ampthill, they will come across another scheduled ancient monument at Houghton House, before passing through the village of Maulden, home to sites of special scientific interest such as Church meadow and Maulden wood, and on to Clophill, where they can see the remains of Cainhoe castle and enjoy scenic views of the whole Greensand ridge from St Mary’s church.”
“Visitors who want to get out into nature can walk the Pegsdon hills on the edge of the Chilterns national landscape area or hike the Greensand ridge, perhaps strolling through the scenic Woburn Deer Park to the village of Eversholt, made up of 13 of Bedfordshire’s historic “Ends” settlements, and up past the ruins of All Saints church at Segenhoe, a ancient scheduled monument. On their way to browse the historic market town of Ampthill, first awarded charter market status in 1219 by Henry III, visitors might pass through the village of Millbrook, home to one of the largest vehicle testing centres in Europe, which has played host on the silver screen to British icons from James Bond to Jeremy Clarkson.”
“In this place, I want to do all that I can to change that, and to grow our tourism economy and encourage visitors both domestic and international to come to see all that Bedfordshire has to offer, particularly the beautiful communities in Mid Bedfordshire. I would be happy to welcome to our constituency any colleagues who wish to see our beautiful county for themselves. We are fortunate in Bedfordshire to have so many beautiful and interesting historic sites, including the Moot Hall in Elstow, Woburn abbey, Wrest Park in Silsoe, Ridgmont station and its fantastic heritage centre, Ampthill Park House and so many others.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered tourism in Bedfordshire. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. Bedfordshire is a fantastic place to visit and spend time; it is just over 30 minutes outside London on the Bedford line and is served by the M1 motorway and a major international airport in Luton. But despite that easy access and the attractiveness of our county, too often Bedfordshire is a place that people pass through and not somewhere that they stay. Our international tourism economy is worth just £100 million, and our domestic tourism economy is worth just £250 million.”
“I come here today to ask the Minister to work with us to unleash the benefits of “Jurassic Park” on tourism in Bedfordshire.”
“Backed by 92% of local people and local leaders from all parties, this would be a £50 billion boost for our local economy, bringing around 20,000 jobs for local people, but would also, crucially, offer us an opportunity to turbocharge our local tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors with potentially 12 million more visitors in our area every year. It is a game changer—bringing millions more visitors to Bedfordshire to stay in our communities and see all that we have to offer. Universal could be the key to unlock the Government’s growth mission in Bedfordshire, bringing in billions in investment that will have both direct and indirect benefits for our communities. We have already seen what the Jurassic coast has done for tourism in England.”
“We need to ensure that this project is delivered to a high standard, as quickly as possible, to seize the benefits it will bring to our economy. Government support would help us to deliver this project faster and I hope the Minister will ask his officials to look at how the Government could assist in delivering this project of regional significance. However, the waterway park is not the biggest potential boost to our local tourism economy. The site that used to be the world’s largest brickworks, at Stewartby in my constituency, which once fired the bricks that built our nation, now has the potential to power our local economy again, as the home as the Universal UK theme park project.”
“From my conversations with Experience Bedfordshire and others, I know that one of the biggest barriers holding back tourism in our county is a lack of accommodation providers. If we are to seize the opportunities to grow our local tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, we must attract new hotels and wider accommodation settings. We have some fantastic opportunities to grow our tourism industry in Bedfordshire. They include the Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway park, which would run through the Marston Vale, near the villages Brogborough, Marston Moretaine and Wootton in my constituency, connecting the Grand Union canal and the River Great Ouse. This project will attract 750,000 visitors, create nearly 1,000 jobs and bring in an extra £26 million to our local economy.”
“Natural England highlights the vital importance of the whole Greensand ridge national character area in protecting our distinctive estate villages from inappropriate development. We need to protect and enhance the historic character of our villages with sympathetic, small-scale development while restoring nature and conserving the beautiful landscapes of the Chilterns and the Greensand ridge. We must ensure that development, where it does happen, comes with the right infrastructure, so that we build great places with strong local character where people want to spend time, not just characterless, gridlocked suburbia that they could find anywhere. I do not want the Minister to misunderstand me. I know that we cannot grow our tourism economy in Bedfordshire by just stopping, standing still and looking back at the past.”
“It also means protecting the things that make our county such a fascinating place to visit. We must do more to ensure that the small, independent and often family-run businesses at the heart of our tourism, hospitality and leisure economy have the support that they need from Government. They need to be supported to employ more local people, not taxed more through an employers’ national insurance hike that will make it nearly three times more expensive in taxes alone to employ a full-time worker on minimum wage. We must also ensure that the Government’s efforts to deliver thousands of new homes in Bedfordshire do not come at the cost of the things that make it a great place to live, work and spend time.”
“It means fully embracing the opportunities provided by the busy Bedford line and the new East West Rail services on the Marston Vale line to put our county’s best face forward at local stations to entice holidaymakers to get off the train and stay a while locally. Attracting new visitors to Bedfordshire also means promoting our county and its destinations more abroad, taking advantage of the UK’s international campaigns to promote UK tourism in order to promote tourism in Bedfordshire. We can offer international visitors an authentic experience of a traditional British county and all the best that Britain has to offer, all within an easy commute of London, Oxford and Cambridge. We need to ensure that we promote that. It means doing more to ensure that the people coming off planes at Luton airport are encouraged to stay in Bedfordshire.”
“The potential of a major expansion to Luton airport, which would bring millions more passengers to Bedfordshire, and which is currently sat on Ministers’ desks, offers another major opportunity to put Bedfordshire on the radar of more potential visitors. But we must ensure that Bedfordshire is in the right position to attract those new visitors from across Britain and overseas and make them see our county as a place to stay, not just a place to travel through. That means getting the right support for local tourism and ensuring that Experience Bedfordshire and our local councils have the resources they need to promote our county.”
“Since my election in July, I have met VisitEngland, UKHospitality, Experience Bedfordshire, local businesses and other local stakeholders to understand what we need to do to grow our local tourism, hospitality and leisure economy. Bedfordshire is one of the last counties in England without a local visitor economy partnership. Although there are differing views on exactly what the right solution to promote our local tourism industry looks like, the consensus has been clear that we need to do more to promote it. The imminent delivery of East West Rail will help to deepen our county’s connections to Oxford, Cambridge and nearby Milton Keynes and provide new markets for our local tourism industry.”
“But I feel that it is important to do all we can to promote the varied reasons to spend time in our county because, as I noted, Bedfordshire should be a prime location for a thriving tourism industry. It is 30 minutes from London, centrally located between Oxford and Cambridge, home to an international airport and served by a major motorway. But too often, we are a county that people pass through; they do not stop to spend time and money in our local communities. My vision for Bedfordshire is a place that is more than a blur through the train window—a place where domestic and international visitors will get off a plane or train and be excited to stay a while.”
“Rugby fans can enjoy Rugby Football Union championship rugby at Ampthill, and football fans will soon be able to visit a state-of-the-art new stadium at Power Court to watch Luton Town, or they can get an authentic non-league football experience at Ampthill Town, Totternhoe or Barton Rovers. I met Barton Rovers recently and I hope that the Minister will work with me and the club to explore how we can secure funding for a new 3G pitch that will help us to take the club to the next level. I trust that colleagues will forgive me for my whistle-stop tour of the attractions of Bedfordshire, and in particular some of the fabulous ways to spend time in my beautiful Mid Bedfordshire constituency.”
“Our pubs have been at the centre of village life in Bedfordshire for centuries and continue to be vibrant places to grab a drink and a bite to eat. Families can come and visit the Woburn forest Center Parcs just south of Millbrook or Go Ape in Woburn, or perhaps spend a day at one of our fantastic safari parks in Woburn or Whipsnade—the latter in the constituency of the hon. Member for Luton South and South Bedfordshire (Rachel Hopkins). Also in her constituency is the historic estate of Luton Hoo, which I hope will be able to welcome the Ryder cup in the coming decade. Golf fans need not limit themselves to Luton Hoo, as we have fantastic golf courses right across Bedfordshire, including the Millbrook, Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands and South Bedfordshire clubs in my constituency. We do not just have great golf.”
“I absolutely agree. Commuter towns, particularly those just outside London, become areas that people travel through and do not stop off in, and we can do more as a country to promote them as destinations. I will come on to some ideas on that in a moment, particularly for my constituency. If people want to spend more time in beautiful countryside, they could visit the beautiful Sundon Hills Country Park, the new community forest in Marston Vale or the Barton hills national nature reserve. While in Barton-le-Clay, they can do some shopping in the charming Olde Watermill shopping village. Across our villages, people can experience the historic and characterful traditional English village pub, whether that is The Chequers in Westoning, The Greyhound in Haynes or The Star in Chalton.”
“I could not resist it. Bedfordshire is a beautiful, historic place to live and spend time in. We are fortunate to have some absolutely fantastic local hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses. As its Member of Parliament, I am determined to put Mid Bedfordshire on the map as a place for people to visit. If the Government are serious about their growth agenda, Bedfordshire represents a real opportunity. Unlocking Universal, delivering the waterway park and ensuring that we have the right promotion in place to take advantage of the opportunities presented by East West Rail and Luton airport would turbocharge our economy. I hope the Minister will work with us to deliver this agenda. I would welcome him to Mid Bedfordshire to show him the opportunities and some of our beautiful attractions first hand.”
“As the previous Member for Mid Bedfordshire, the hon. Member knows how profoundly important this issue is to constituents like Amanda and Carol, who are tenacious. Does he agree that it is important to make sure that there is not a postcode lottery between local authorities and that there is equality of service across borders?”
“We must ensure that the legacy we leave for future generations includes sustainable and beautiful homes, with the right services and good access to the countryside.”
“Bus services are often infrequent and unreliable, and unfortunately under this Government they are getting more expensive. Inequalities extend beyond transport; access to healthcare is challenging, particularly if people cannot or do not drive. I am keen to ensure that my communities have better access to local healthcare, which is an ambition of the Government. We need to do more in this Parliament to ensure that primary care reaches into our villages and hamlets, and that no one is left without the healthcare they need because of where they live. As the Government consider their plans to build the communities of the future, I hope they will learn from our villages. Decades—centuries, even—of sympathetic development have created communities: places that people want to live and spend time in.”
“Friends in urban areas. We suffer from similar crimes to urban areas, with particular problems around fly-tipping, wildlife crime and rural theft. Members throughout the House have spoken about those issues at length. I urge the Government to ensure that rural communities are not overlooked in favour of urban areas when they allocate police funding. That is certainly a concern of my constituents, who see police resources soaked up by the high demand in neighbouring large towns. In parts of my constituency, the benefits of working from home are limited by poor-quality broadband, which limits the growth prospects of some of our brilliant local entrepreneurs and family businesses. Project Gigabit must be delivered at pace, and I will support any measures and efforts to do that.”
“Rural communities form the backbone of our country. They grow the food that feeds British families, they are the custodians of our beautiful countryside, and they are home to fantastic village pubs such as the Knife & Cleaver in Houghton Conquest, the Crown in Shillington and the Anchor in Aspley Guise—a shameless plug for three of my fantastic pubs. We all know that fantastic British pubs are the heart of our villages, but I am concerned that they will now struggle to stand still, never mind invest and give youngsters the opportunity of their first job, given the Government’s choice to tax jobs and working people. Pubs across my constituency have told me of their concerns, and I told them that I would raise them today on the Floor of the House. The problems that we face in rural communities are a world away from those faced by hon.”
“It is clear that the attack on family farms will force many families to sell up to developers or big international farming corporations, ripping the soul out of our rural communities. For the long-term sustainability of rural communities up and down the country, I urge the Government to reconsider the damaging family farm tax.”
“Often, at the heart of our rural communities is a group of unsung people—although they have been much mentioned today—who look after our countryside, employ local people and ensure that every single person in this country has food on their table. They are, of course, our farmers. British farmers might not always seek the spotlight—although sometimes they have shows on Amazon Prime—but without them we would be a much poorer country and our rural communities would be significantly worse off. We should do all we can to support British farmers and nurture the next generation of them, but instead the Government are regrettably levying a spiteful family farm tax on them. I met farmers in Mid Bedfordshire recently.”
“I entirely agree. A lot is said about sustainable development in planning rules. I know from my community that lots of people feel quite aggrieved by large new developments being built on the edge of villages, fundamentally changing their character. There is more work to do to ensure that our villages grow slowly and sustainably, alongside infrastructure. Lessons should be learned from the many decades of mistakes. That brings me to another point. We must ensure that our villages are not overwhelmed by suburban dormitories. I am afraid that even though they are rural, some of my communities have been turned into dormitories by house building. People sleep there but head elsewhere to work, so they do not contribute to our local communities as they would have done in the past.”
“Despite the warm words and platitudes of the Labour party during the election campaign, this is a deeply socialist Budget, with an ever-increasing share of our economy moving into the ambit of Government, only to be distributed by Government into areas that are unproductive of economic growth.”
“Let me start with some positives, because I do not want the Government to think that I do not recognise the challenges that they face. I welcome the efforts to tackle NHS maintenance backlogs, which will help constituents in Mid Bedfordshire who use Luton and Dunstable hospital and Bedford hospital. I welcome the Government’s commitment to improving rural broadband and funding for flood defences and nature restoration. As the MP for the Marston Vale line, I look forward to constructive engagement on East West Rail, making sure that communities in my constituency are heard through the consultation process later this year. I welcome the fact that this Government acknowledge the importance of economic growth, but I am concerned that, beyond acknowledging it, there is nothing really in the Budget to deliver it.”
“After the Budget, the Chancellor told the British public that working people will not face higher taxes in their payslips, but she knows that is not true. More than 4 million extra taxpayers will be dragged into tax because she has kept the freeze on tax thresholds.”
“This Budget fundamentally attacks the heart of economic growth. It crowds out private investment and reduces real business investment by £25 billion. The OBR notes: “by the forecast horizon, government spending comprises a larger part of little-changed real GDP.” When the Government promised growth, the British people might have hoped that it would be growth in the wealth of our country, not just the size of the state. Their own words sum that up best—the Budget says: “Rewarding work with a fair wage is the best way to improve living standards”. This Budget achieves none of that. Instead, it delivers lower real wages, lower real household disposable income, higher inflation and higher mortgage rates.”
“This is a Budget that attacks our farming families, our rural economy and our rural communities—men and women working hard day in, day out, in some of the most challenging economic circumstances, at considerable risk and with low margins, all to put food on our tables three times a day. We simply would not survive without our farmers—it is that simple. But this Government are choosing to hit those very people with a family farm tax, which will drive asset disposals, splitting up land farmed by the same families for generations. It will discourage the next generation from taking up the mantle, and tear apart the communities that these farms are integral to. Last year, the now Prime Minister said: “Every day seems to bring a new existential risk to British farming.” Today, the existential risk is this socialist Government.”
“I agree that productivity is essential, and everyone in the House needs to focus on it. This is a dishonest and a damaging Budget. This Government promised that they would protect working people; instead, they have delivered a Budget that is tough on work and tough on the causes of work. This is a Budget that taxes employment, with 1 million employers now set to lose out. Combined with an estimated £5 billion cost of expansive employment rights, our economy will be less flexible and starved of risk capital, jobs and investment in our communities. This is a job-cutting Budget.”
“The Government have got into an absolute pickle over the definition of working people. People deserve certainty. In Mid Bedfordshire, we are proud of the hard work of the owners of nearly 5,000 small businesses. They are working people creating jobs and growing our economy, and all while providing for their families. They are lying awake at night worrying about yet higher taxes. Will the Chancellor give them a peaceful night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s Budget and confirm that she will honour her manifesto commitment not to raise taxes on them?”
“What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the merits of reforming the planning system to introduce new measures to help reduce flood risk?”
“Q14. Communities across the country, including in Bedfordshire, recently experienced widespread flooding. The village of Maulden in my constituency has experienced an increase in flooding following cumulative housing development. As the Deputy Prime Minister requires communities across the country to build more homes, will she also ensure that those new developments do not increase the flooding risk?”
“Our pubs and hospitality businesses also need the Government to extend the small business rates relief, ensuring that it is viable for them to continue to serve our communities, and our village pubs need the Chancellor to extend the freeze on alcohol duty. I will conclude by urging the Government to consider the role of pubs and hospitality in making a place in our communities. Wherever houses are built, hospitality must follow; otherwise we risk building expensive dormitories, rather than places people can be proud to call home.”
“One of the best ways we can encourage people to visit Mid Bedfordshire and boost our local pubs and hospitality is for the Government to do everything they possibly can to support the inward investment by Universal Studios in my constituency. Universal would be a £50 billion gamechanger to our local economy, and the biggest single boost to turbocharge hospitality in Mid Bedfordshire. But beyond Universal, in the short term, our hospitality businesses need support. They need the Government to protect them by maintaining their manifesto commitment not to raise national insurance, recognising that job-creating small business owners in places like Mid Bedfordshire are working people too, and that employers’ national insurance is a tax on them.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) for securing this important debate. Pubs and hospitality are at the heart of communities such as mine in Mid Bedfordshire, which is home to 157 hospitality businesses that support 2,229 local jobs and contribute £66 million to our local economy. That includes everything from big chains such as Center Parcs to the Woburn Safari Park and the local pubs, of which there are many to choose from, such as The White Hart in Ampthill; The Chequers in Westoning; The Musgrave Arms in Shillington, affectionately known as the Muzzy; or the award-winning Woolpack inn— the Wooly—in Wilstead.”
“T6. In Rural Crime Action Week, does the Secretary of State agree that in Bedfordshire, where we have major urban areas such as Bedford and Luton bordered by rural communities, it is important that the funding formula be reviewed so that equal attention can be paid to tackling crime in our rural villages and towns?”
“3. What steps the Church is taking with developers and local authorities to ensure that residents in new towns and villages have access to places of worship.”
“Development should be about building places and communities where people can live fulfilling lives, not just building houses, and places of worship play an important role in that. Will the hon. Member work with Ministers to ensure that the Government’s new towns commission incorporates the creation of places of worship in new towns?”
“I rise in Flood Action Week to raise an issue that is front-of-mind for so many of my constituents. The flooding in September devastated homes, farms and businesses right across my constituency and those of hon. Friends across Bedfordshire. Indeed, my home in Shillington was flooded. Two months-worth of rainfall in 24 hours caused considerable damage to property and risks for people, especially the elderly or vulnerable, so I thank all the first responders and council workers who worked tirelessly to support my constituents.”
“So many people across so many organisations, including fire and rescue, worked tirelessly to protect our communities. I associate myself with the hon. Lady’s comments about the support provided by our local police and fire and rescue services. Mid Bedfordshire is not an area at obvious risk of extreme flooding—unlike other parts of the county, we lack major rivers beyond the River Flit—but our soil types range from the thin sandy soils of the Greensand ridge to poorly draining clay soil, each of which presents its own flooding challenges. Our winters are getting wetter, and I know that many families will, like mine, look at the damage done by those floods and worry that such flooding will become the norm.”
“Our farmers have been some of the worst hit, with severe and significant flooding reported at several local farms, including at Moreteyne’s Retreat, a smallholding that has been impacted hugely by floodwaters flowing from the A421. In the aftermath of that flooding, I have learned that 74% of the UK’s floodplain is agricultural land. Flooding can destroy whole crop yields, wasting months of work and threatening the livelihoods of our farmers, in many cases at the same time as they see their homes devastated by floodwaters.”