Sam Rushworth
MP for Bishop Auckland · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for that answer. In the area that I represent, we have a problem. NHS dental practices in Shildon and in Bishop Auckland closed in the year before the general election, and recently another practice in West Auckland has been writing to patients to say that it cannot provide NHS care.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my friend the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) for the initiative to lead this debate. Although she is not present in the debate, I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling (Helen Grant), who is a great campaigner on this issue.”
“The Lobular Moon Shot Project has been successful so far in raising significant funds, which have been used to develop funding proposals for early work. As we have heard, there is an opportunity to fund significant research at Manchester University. I declare an interest as an alumnus of Manchester.”
“When I was elected, Katie asked to see me, and I was delighted to pick up the baton and support my constituent. In fact, this Saturday she is organising a fair and a tabletop sale in her village of Hilton to raise funds for the Lobular Moon Shot Project.”
“It is, however, vital that those funding rounds go ahead and that the funding is made available to meet the need. As we have heard already, the unique aspect of lobular breast cancer is that it is very difficult to discover.”
“Do they look to enjoy all of life’s riches and pleasures? Susan chose to spend it in the service of others, campaigning for the science to be done to develop a cure for lobular breast cancer. She founded the Lobular Moon Shot campaign.”
The complete record
Every one of 471 lines we hold for Sam Rushworth, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 10.
“First, because they told people that co-operation with our friends in Europe was the problem, they pulled Britain out of the Dublin agreement, meaning that we could no longer return people to the first country where they claimed asylum. Do not take my word for it; let us hear what the shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), was found to have said in a recording leaked this week: “Because we’re out of the European Union now, we are out of the Dublin III regulations, and so we can’t any longer rely on sending people back to the place where they first claimed asylum.”
“That is 100% correct. I do not think that there is any Member in this place who has not met businesses in their constituency that previously exported to Europe and heard the tales of woe as a result of the deal that the previous Government negotiated. That is why so many people are lining up to say that the deal represents a good deal for them. When my constituents voted for Brexit, they voted for two things: to be better off and to control immigration. I do not like the word “betrayal”, which has been bandied around in this debate, but in the last five years we have seen a betrayal of the promise that was made to them. In 2010—the year that the Conservatives took office—annual asylum claims were just 18,000; barely anybody arrived in the UK by a small boat. That remained relatively constant up until Brexit—so, what happened?”
“I was not in the previous Conservative Government, so I cannot answer that, but it is absolutely clear that what people voted for actually got worse.”
“Perhaps the hon. Gentleman is disagreeing with the shadow Home Secretary, because I was quoting his words. Is it not also the case that Brexit ended our co-operation on policing and ended intelligence-sharing? I welcome the fact that, with this deal, the Government have negotiated access to EU facial imaging data to help to catch people smugglers and dangerous criminals, and to increase co-operation to track down rapists, murderers and drug lords. Is that not also something the European Union has put on the table that Britain benefits from?”
“I am sure the Minister will answer that point in his summing up, but it is my understanding that we do not have access to facial recognition technology, which is really important to help us to better police our borders. This is the simple reality: the Brexit that we were promised did not do the things that people promised it would do. That is why we need a reset in relations.”
“It is so obvious that improved co-operation with all the countries just 20 miles off our shore can benefit our security and trade. That is what the reset is seeking to do. It is not dragging us back into Europe—I think that is nonsense, and I am not hearing any credible person say that. The right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) says that he holidays in north Norfolk, and I will be joining him there this summer— [ Interruption. ] Not personally, I hasten to add; I mean that my family will be there this summer too.”
“Perhaps we could rehash this debate. We are not here to represent just our own interests; we are here to represent the interests of our constituents. I have constituents who will benefit from the new arrangements, such as on e-gates, and I am also grateful that the measure on pet passports has been negotiated, particularly for those who rely on guide dogs. In conclusion, it is time to stop playing the greatest hits of 2019. That made people popular at the time, but we have moved on; we have left the European Union, and now it is time to have a mature, sensible and co-operative relationship with our neighbours. That is what will protect British jobs and help our constituents to enjoy cheaper food and a better quality of life.”
“I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the 2006 NHS dentistry contract, which clearly needed revision. Why did his party not do that in 14 years in government?”
“My own eyes have wet my pillow at night because one of my students died from a preventable illness, because they were not able to access the treatment that they needed. When I multiply that by the millions of children who have had that fate, I think what a tragic loss that is for the world. Let us be clear: a child born in a Gavi-supported country is 70% less likely to die from a vaccine-preventable disease before their fifth birthday. The Global Fund has saved 65 million lives. As impressive as that is, there is also the investment that this brings to Britain by supporting British science. I say to the Minister: let us not roll back the progress of a quarter of a century.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) for securing this debate. I am here to speak on behalf of my constituents who have asked me to call on the Government to continue Britain’s global leadership in fighting and eradicating killer diseases. That requires a commitment not only to ongoing investment in the Global Fund, Gavi and Unitaid, but to leading other nations to do likewise. There is often far too much doom and gloom about international aid and what it has achieved. Let us remember that in 1991, one in five children born in sub-Saharan Africa died before they reached their fifth birthday. Today that is one in 16, which is still too many. As many know, I spent a portion of my life living in sub-Saharan Africa, including as a schoolteacher.”
“Does the right hon. Lady agree that the UK’s track record on this has been quite impressive, given that other countries frankly punch below their economic weight, so this is not just about the UK’s contribution but about the role we play in ensuring other countries shoulder the burden?”
“I pay tribute to some of the excellent people and groups in my constituency who step up, such as the Auckland youth and community centre, led by Maxine Jordan and her team; those who run the scouts, the guides and church groups that provide youth services; and the parents who simply stepped up to fill a gap. However, the truth is that that is not enough, and we know that. I call on the Government to get to grips with this issue. I know that this Government have had a terrible economic inheritance, with higher debt and tax and nothing to show for it in public services. [ Interruption. ] I think the shadow Minister is pointing out that growth is up under this Government. This will take funding and legislative change on statutory duty, because we cannot allow this generation to be wasted.”
“Let us be frank: this generation has been robbed of the opportunities that it deserves. Let us think about the record of the last Government, because others have touched on it: child trust funds were cut, Sure Start centres were closed, school budgets were cut in real terms, playing fields were sold off, and free swimming, the education maintenance allowance and Connexions were cut. That is terrible. The statistic that stands out to me the most is the fact that youth services in County Durham were cut by 80% between 2010 and 2020. It is no wonder that one in eight young people are not in education, employment or training, that we have a five-year waiting list for CAMHS and that one in five people have a mental health condition. That has to change.”
“I was lucky to go a secondary school that was sponsored by BAE systems, and we benefited from that investment. I am pleased that my hon. Friend is focusing on not only the importance of the Government procuring British, but the social value that employers can add, which includes ensuring that they offer apprenticeships and invest in training. Does he agree that we should be encouraging the Government to prioritise the businesses that demonstrate good practice in these areas?”
“On a similar theme, I congratulate the Government on securing a good deal for our farmers in the India trade deal, which was welcomed by the president of the NFU, who said it showed that this Government have “clearly listened”, in marked contrast to the previous Government. What assurance will the Secretary of State give me that our farmers will still be included in negotiations on the US trade deal?”
“Across the world in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and beyond, we see conflict once again robbing children of their homes, and families of their future. Here in Europe, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered assumptions that peace in our continent was secure. It is not; it must be defended. Peace must be defended not only with arms but with unity across Europe, with moral clarity and with political courage to stand up for international law and human rights. Remembrance is not nostalgia; it is responsibility. If we are to honour a generation that fought for us, we must fight in our time for the peace that they gave us.”
“In a scene when one of the officers shouts, “Come on, men,” Granddad walked across the room, turned off the telly and said, “They weren’t men; they were boys.” But home from war he came. He raised two sons—for many years as a single father—and did his part to build a better world. He would have been amazed to have a grandson serving in this place. The victory won in Europe 80 years ago this week was not a victory for Britain and France over Germany, but of liberal democracy over fascism and racism. It was a victory for the whole of Europe. Europe is the best example of lasting peace and reconciliation that the world has ever seen. May we always see ourselves as friends and allies and never surrender to those who want to divide us.”
“Bishop Auckland played its role by sending young men off to war, caring for evacuees and digging for victory. Victory in Europe cost the best blood of the 20th century, and those who survived not only won the war, but went on to win the peace and build modern Britain, including the welfare state and the national health service. We owe that generation a debt we will never be able to repay. My grandad was just 19 when, with the 12th Yorkshire Battalion, he parachuted into Ranville in the early hours of D-day, and later into Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. He never really spoke of what he saw until the final months of his life, but he carried it with him quietly. My dad recalls a time when they sat to watch the film “The Longest Day”.”
“This week, events are being held across the Bishop Auckland constituency celebrating 80 years of peace in Europe, which followed a war so terrible that we still mark the years since. I vividly remember celebrating the 50th VE Day 30 years ago in my last year at primary school by dressing up as an evacuee, singing Vera Lynn songs and colouring in a Union Jack to be hung as bunting. Back then, some of that resilient war generation were still sprightly enough to kick a football, or at least to sit and share their memories with us. But age has wearied them with each passing year, and fewer and fewer are still with us, so weeks like this are important, lest we ever forget that generation who stood firm against tyranny and crossed land, sea and sky to secure the freedoms we enjoy today.”
“I am deeply concerned about the funding of Howden-le-Wear primary school in my constituency. After years of real-terms cuts, it is now making four teaching assistants redundant. I will write to the Minister on that to seek her support, but the elephant in the room is that the pay of the chief executive of the multi-academy trust of which it is a member has increased £30,000 over the last two years, taking it to £275,000. That is the equivalent of 12 teaching assistants. Which does she think would be better: one CEO or 12 teaching assistants?”
“9. Whether the Church of England is taking steps to help ensure that its ownership of mineral rights to lithium in Weardale contributes to economic growth in that area.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I really welcome the work that has been done by Northern Lithium in Weardale in my constituency. Critical minerals will play an increasingly important role in the UK’s transition to net zero and in our economy. With the Church of England owning vast swathes of mineral rights across the country, it is really important that there is transparency and that the Church plays an active role in ensuring local populations benefit from the wealth beneath their feet, as part of a just transition. Will she meet me to discuss that?”
“I thank my hon. and gallant Friends the Members for North East Derbyshire (Louise Jones) and for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) for their questions. Can the Minister confirm that this agreement will close potentially dangerous routes for irregular migration? Is that possibly one of the reasons the Conservatives opened and presided over 10 rounds of negotiations on it?”
“Some 58,000 households in County Durham, including many in my constituency, are unable to charge their vehicles at home. What support are the Government giving to innovative local schemes such as kerb charging so that we can make electric vehicles more accessible for all my constituents?”
“A moment ago, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) mentioned GDP per capita; I see that he asked his question and ran away. The truth is that GDP per capita increased by only 4.3% in the past 16 years, compared with 46% in the years prior. What matters to my constituents in the left-behind towns and villages of Bishop Auckland is not just growth, but growth that they can feel, and which has an impact for their pockets. What will the Chancellor do to ensure that working people feel the growth?”
“As the hon. Lady is explaining very well, invasive lobular breast cancer is not classed as a rare cancer. I am concerned that it would not come within the scope of this Bill, so I gently ask if it could be widened at the next stage. As she says, lobular breast cancer has many characteristics of a rare cancer.”
“My predecessor in this place joined her on one of those miles, and although we disagree about many things politically, we have already seen today that this is a cause that unites, because there is little—in fact, there is nothing—more precious in life for any of us than time spent with the people we love. Money cannot buy that—nothing can buy that—and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden made clear, the decisions we make in this place can have a real impact in the lives of others.”
“This is a gentle request, really, that in the next stage of the Bill lobular breast cancer be considered alongside the rare cancers for which it already provides. I finish by paying tribute to Katie and all the many brave individuals I have met. I cannot imagine what it is like to be young and have parenting responsibilities and be diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer. Many of those campaigning know that they might not live to see the day when the better drugs and treatments are available, but they are bravely taking up this cause on behalf of those who come after them. Katie was bravely doing a mile a day sponsored walks.”
“I am also told—thankfully, Katie is watching today; I received a WhatsApp message from her a moment before speaking—that a key point that I should make to the Minister is that, because lobular breast cancer presents differently from other forms of breast cancer and is not separated out in clinical trials, there is very little trial data on it. I met recently on Zoom with Katie and others who have been campaigning for the moonshot. This is not a lot of money; it is simply £20 million of funding that the University of Manchester could use to better understand the biological architecture of this type of cancer. That would lead to the possibility of developing the right treatments, because it currently has no specific treatment.”
“As was mentioned a moment ago, lobular breast cancer is not classed as a rare cancer—in fact, it is the second most common type of breast cancer in the world, with 8,500 diagnoses annually in the UK alone—but it shares many characteristics of rare cancers in the sense that it is very difficult to detect. In Katie’s case, as in many others, it did not initially form as a lump in the breast, for example. It has distinct genetics, so is not detectable in genetic tests, and it is very easily missed in mammograms and ultrasounds. As a consequence, many of the women who get this form of cancer will not be diagnosed until long after it has already spread.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for bringing the Bill to the House, and join him in paying tribute to our hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) for her campaigning, and for her powerful speech calling for a revolution in attitudes. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) for his very moving speech. As somebody who lost a brother much too young, I was deeply moved by his words. I have come here today to speak on behalf of my constituent, Katie Swinburne. She is a much-loved school teacher—in fact, she was the school teacher of one of my staff—and a mother of three who was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for the speech he is making and for putting child poverty at its heart. On educational outcomes, does he agree that auto-enrolling children would mean that schools could take advantage of many of the gateway supports that are premised on how many children at a school are on free school meals? I am sure that, like me, he will have spoken to schools carrying a heavy level of debt that is school dinner debt, because they are having to provide meals for hungry children.”
“We see in the bodies of children increased stunting, with the average 10-year-old 1 cm shorter than they were in 2010. How does that square with what the Minister is saying? We see a malnutrition crisis.”
“That was having a massive impact on her, so for her, that breakfast club is an extra £400 a month, and I am grateful for that. What is being proposed today is a modest and sensible tweak that addresses the challenge of children not being enrolled. I am grateful to the Minister for saying that the Government will look at this issue, because we cannot afford to allow a generation of children to grow up as they are right now.”
“But somewhere between being in the care system and being a happy child with a healthy life are many children who live in conditions of neglect. That is why it is so important that the state and schools sometimes do the work to provide what children are not getting in the home. I hope that the child poverty taskforce will report soon, and we will see some positive change. I welcome the breakfast clubs introduced by the Government, which will make a difference not only to ensuring that children start the day well fed and having settled, but to the cost of living. I met a constituent a few months ago who shared with me that it cost her £400 a month just to pay for her children to be looked after from 7.30 till the start of the school day.”
“When we have this conversation, for me it is never a matter of what we can afford to do; we cannot afford not to do something about it, because the knock-on in the NHS is immense, and the knock-on in future work days missed by the next generation will be immense. It is a sad reality that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) said, in a typical UK classroom one third of children will be living in relative poverty. Children are also the group most likely to be living in cold homes in this country. Probably the most startling statistic from my county of Durham, which really shows what austerity has done to our children over the last decade and a half, is the 250% increase in the number of children in the care system. The cost of that for the local taxpayer is immense, as is the human and social cost for those children.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity that the Bill provides to put on record the importance of discussing the scourge of child poverty in our country, particularly as it relates to children’s nutrition. It is a simple fact that the height of an average five-year-old increased progressively until 2013 but has since reversed; children aged five are shorter today than in the past. We face a dual burden: not only stunting, but obesity. We have seen a 30% increase in obesity since 2006 and a 22% increase in teenagers with type 2 diabetes since 2017. All of this points to the poverty of children’s diets in this country.”
“I am sure that the Minister shares my wish to see a bit more humility from Conservative Members, given their failure to get the agricultural budget out of the door. [Interruption.] I would ask the Minister—if I could hear myself think—to ensure that every penny in SFI arrangements will be paid to farmers, and also that those who have already applied and who are eligible for the scheme will have their applications taken forward.”
“My hon. Friend is doing a great job in explaining some of the new powers that the Bill will give our police. Police officers in my area to whom I have spoken find it absurd that it has taken until now to do so. Does my hon. Friend agree that these measures are such common sense that no reasonable party in the House should vote against them?”
“When we visited the Bank of Palestine, a specific ask was to include Palestine within the mandate of British international investment, to strengthen the Palestinian economy. Finally, can we do more on sanctions to address settler violence? Can we please put an arm around those people and say, “enough is enough”?”
“Can we please revisit that, because as Israel’s position shifts our position needs to shift as well? I used to be of the opinion that recognition of the state of Palestine should come as part of a negotiated settlement, but it is now clear to me that a Palestinian Authority who are committed to a two-state solution needs that recognition sooner rather than later. Could the Minister set out a road map for that? It is also deeply concerning that the access of the International Committee of the Red Cross to Israeli prisons is being blocked, because we know that human rights abuses and torture are occurring in those prisons. Can we please do something about that? The economy of Palestine is in a terrible state.”
“I feel that the time has also come that we need to put an arm around the Palestinian people—indeed, not just the Palestinian people but all people in that region who are moderates but whose voices are being drowned out. I will briefly suggest three or four things that we need to look at. One is the ICJ ruling. We know that last summer the ICJ gave an advisory opinion that there is an unlawful occupation, and that the prolonged presence of Israel is unlawful and breaches principles of international law, including the fourth Geneva convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring civilian population into the territory that it occupies. That ICJ ruling also put obligations on states to recognise the illegal situation. It is disappointing that the United Kingdom Government abstained in the UN General Assembly on this issue.”
“One thing that struck me is the challenge that the Palestinian Authority face to give hope to people, and persuade them not to use armed resistance but to be peaceful after decades living under occupation in a situation where they do not have the same political rights as others, and where Palestinian families are driven away from their villages. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) described well a school that we saw had been smashed to pieces; the remains of children’s workbooks were still strewn across the floor. I was grateful this week to see our Prime Minister literally put an arm around President Zelensky.”
“However, what I discovered while I was in the region is that Hamas are not the only organisation within that space who are opposed to a two-state solution; extremist elements in the Israeli Government are seemingly opposed to a two-state solution as well. When we met Mohammad Mustafa, the Prime Minister of Palestine, it became clear to me that he was the only political actor I met who is committed to that two-state solution. Other Members have already spoken well on the settler violence that we witnessed, which was horrific. It is horrific to see people living under decades of occupation.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) for securing this debate; I got to know him well recently on our visit to the region. I also thank everybody who has spoken in the debate. I am rapidly rewriting my speech, because many things that I would have said have already been covered. I start by paying my respects to the more than 1,200 people who were killed on 7 October 2023 in those horrific and barbaric attacks by Hamas, whose intent was genocidal, in the sense that they saw anybody who was in that space as a legitimate target. Hamas are completely against the existence of the state of Israel. I have always been a believer in Israel; I believe in a homeland for the Jewish people.”
“There are many things to be considered, but what we can all agree on is that we cannot allow the status quo to continue. It is imperative that we as a Parliament and the Government consider how to better safeguard our children’s future.”
“I think back to my own childhood and remember learning an instrument, playing after-school sports, riding my bike around the block, attending a weekly youth club, going for a walk and bopping along to my Walkman, and yes, it also involved being bored and just being able to take in the world around me. Children need more family time. We need to be real and acknowledge the fact that one of the things driving smartphone use in children is that parents are often less present in their children’s lives, and every parent feels guilt about this. That is why I was proud to support the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers’ “Keep Sunday Special” campaign on Sunday trading laws. It is why I support flexible working and laws in the world of work to make sure that families can have time together.”
“People have spoken for and against an outright ban, and I think all their arguments have merits, and some have highlighted the challenge of simply banning things. Having said that, I think we do need to consider an age of consent; we need not just a legal shift, but a cultural shift, with greater parental controls and greater support for parents to supervise what their children are viewing. Perhaps we could have time-limit controls that would force a child to switch off. Education around social media already exists, but we know that it is not yet effective. Perhaps we need education that looks not just at the don’ts, the warnings to young people, but at the do’s and reimagines childhood. We need to provide fewer virtual experiences and more real experiences for our children.”
“Before I was in this place, one of the roles I had was tutoring in various north-east high schools, and often our conversations in seminars would turn to this challenge of mental health. A lot of young people talked to me about how they can simultaneously feel lonely while also being overly connected and not having a place to switch off. Girls at Teesdale school, which was my first visit as a new Member of Parliament, also talked to me about a change in attitudes that they saw among many of the young men that they go to school with and the increasing misogyny in the way that they would treat them, because of far-right content that those young men were accessing. What can be done?”
“We already regulate childhood in various ways to protect children, such as with laws that prevent children from going to nightclubs, the requirement for disclosure and barring service checks to protect children from coming into contact with adults around whom they would not be safe, and even film classification ratings. There is a huge industry around those ratings—yet, were the content that children can access on Facebook to be classified by film standards, we would often say that they were not old enough to be seeing that regular content. As my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) said earlier, many children and young people actually agree about the benefits of limiting social media.”