Andy MacNae
MP for Rossendale and Darwen · Labour · United Kingdom
“My right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) has made it clear that reindustrialisation will be a key priority for this Government, but in order to be meaningful this must be done with true ambition, delivering good jobs, hope and opportunity in every part of the country, including the small towns of Rossendale and Darwen…”
“I have long been a proponent of the principles of LGR, which Lancashire and my constituents have desperately needed for a long time. It is a chance to reinvent local government.”
“We are good at making the best of things, so I ask the Secretary of State to work with me and us to bring in the much more significant capacity and capability funding that we need to reverse that deprivation and catch up with neighbouring places, such as Manchester.”
“There is the 70-year-old lady with spinal cancer who was stuck there for 72 hours; the young woman who was a historical sexual assault victim, physically shaking with fear at being left in a corridor surrounded by men; or the 90-year-old with dementia and double incontinence, reliant on her daughter to change and clean her, and desperate…”
“The investment in prevention and in repairing the massive damage done by the previous Government to our valued health system is crucial and fundamental. We are finally seeing progress in Blackburn, and that is because of additional resources and support from NHS England and the Government’s getting it right first time initiative.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) for securing this debate and all my esteemed colleagues for covering the issue so brilliantly and with such expertise. You will be glad to hear, Madam Deputy Speaker, that that allows me to be brief and to focus on Blackburn A&E.”
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“I also welcome the recognition of the importance of local connectivity, with the commitment of £650 million specifically to fund local transport links outside the key city regions. In that context, I look forward to continuing to make the case for a commuter rail link from Rossendale to Manchester. I am also delighted to see our Government’s commitment to properly funded local growth deals and town funds, with both Darwen and Rawtenstall set to benefit from £20 million over 10 years. I will be excited to work with local leaders to develop innovative implementation plans. I look forward to the development of ambitious regional growth and investment plans that will unlock the true potential of our area. Another hugely important aspect of the Budget is the move towards integrated settlements for mayoral combined authorities.”
“These decisions will deliver sustained growth in four, five, six or seven years, which will make a real, sustained difference to the country —not short-term, sugar-rush growth for political gain. Let me focus now on the north-west. Like much of the country outside the home counties, the north-west was badly let down by the cuts and false promises of the previous Government, so I am particularly pleased that the Budget will reverse that trend and start the process of rebuilding our infrastructure and public services. I am particularly pleased to see the very significant commitment to northern rail infrastructure. With the commitment to fund a trans-Pennine route upgrade, our cities and towns across the north will be better connected, with more frequent and faster trains.”
“Far more important for business is having the right infrastructure, and a skilled workforce who are able to get good healthcare and support—all things that the Budget will provide. Another Conservative Member, who would not take an intervention, drew the tired analogy between household budgets and national budgets. They are not the same. It is that sort of rubbish that got us in this mess in the first place. Finally, there were several references to short-term growth forecasts. Conservative Members are either unaware of or wilfully ignoring the fact that there is a lag between good infrastructure investment and meaningful, sustained growth. The decisions that we are taking now are long-term decisions—the sort of decisions that previous Governments ducked.”
“I congratulate all my colleagues who have made brilliant maiden speeches today. As always, I am taken aback by the range of experience and expertise in this House. I had planned to be radical and speak very briefly about a few matters that are particular to the north-west, but before I do so, I have to pick up on some issues raised by Conservative Members. First, the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) made a seemingly unequivocal statement that businesses facing increases in payroll have only two choices open to them: to reduce their workforce or increase prices. That is patently untrue. Businesses increase payroll all the time for perfectly good business reasons. We cannot be so simplistic in our analysis.”
“I hope that, with this level of cross-Bench consensus, the Government’s imperative on growth and the recognition of the impact on everyday lives, we can make what I hope will be relatively straightforward changes and give our communities and our businesses the boost they need for roadworks that are properly managed and regulated, with proper and effective penalties for overruns that are, in many cases, inexcusable.”
“It would be fair to say that there is a complete consensus that something must change, yet we are constrained by the previous legislation—I think the last Act was the Traffic Management Act 2004—and it limits what we can do. There is a limit on the amount that can be charged as fixed-penalty notices for street works that overrun or do not follow their permits and a limit on the approach to lane rental schemes to 5% of a given local authority’s road network, but those are relatively straightforward things to change.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger, and thank you for allowing me to speak. I congratulate the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) on securing this important debate. This is a matter of a disturbing level of cross-Bench consensus, I fear, because we are all largely saying the same thing. In my constituency of Rossendale and Darwen, single trunk roads serve the vast majority of the constituency and residents and businesses are delayed and constrained daily by the incessant roadworks they face, to the extent that several of the major employers in the valley, on which we are entirely reliant, are threatening to leave or considering leaving the area because of the costs to their business that the relentless roadworks impose. The situation is a constraint on growth and on people’s everyday lives.”
“SEND is the single greatest issue facing schools in my constituency, and I have had far too many heartbreaking conversations with families who are not getting the support they need. Does my hon. Friend agree that supportive early intervention and diagnosis is the single most effective way of reducing this demand and ensuring better outcomes?”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. After last week, I shall heed your request for speed. Rossendale is the only local authority area in the north without any sort of rail station or commuter link, as I may have mentioned in the House before. That cuts my constituents off from opportunity and constrains the growth of east Lancashire, despite years of hard work by the borough council—with the support of the county council and myself—on its excellent and deliverable plans for a city valley rail link. Will the Leader of the House agree to grant a debate on the delivery of that link in the context of a northern rail strategy?”
“I will try to be equally fast, Mr Speaker. My constituents face dangerous speeding on the roads past their homes and schools every single day. When they raise deep concerns with the police or the council, they are too often told that not enough people have been killed or seriously injured. They rightly feel that that makes no sense. They know the risks—they see the close calls every day—so why should they wait for a neighbour to be killed before action is taken? Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on the subject of prevention in road safety, using international best practice and new technologies?”
“One way that we can turn this intent into action is by properly investing via health, policing, social security and other budgets in delivering the long-term benefits that we know sport and active lifestyles can provide. The evidence is clear, the gap is clear and the opportunity is one that we must grasp.”
“To be meaningful and impactful, facilities must be truly local and truly accessible—a kick-about area, a basketball court at the end of the road, a skatepark bouldering area, a pump track in a park that people can walk or ride to, a bike library, a community centre offering indoor sports through the winter, or simply being able to access the countryside that we see every day. That, to me, is the gap that we need to address if we are to complete the pathway from inspiration to sustained participation and perhaps excellence. We need to recognise that the task is beyond the national lottery, Sport England or stressed local authority budgets. We must connect departmental investment to the benefit that it brings. The Government have rightly prioritised prevention and rejected sticking-plaster solutions.”
“Obesity is estimated to cost the UK economy £58 billion a year. The British Heart Foundation estimates that the annual cost to the economy of cardiovascular disease is £19 billion. It is children and young people from the least affluent families who have been the hardest hit. They remain the least active and are falling further behind. It is in our most deprived areas where we see the most stark evidence of gaps in provision and in participation pathways. For children in these areas, horizons can be narrow.”
“Despite these best efforts, too many swimming pools and leisure centres have closed. Of those that remain, two thirds of facilities, including all those in my constituency of Rossendale and Darwen, are past their lifespan and at risk of closure or reduced services. Play areas are overgrown, pitches are waterlogged, and so on, and so on—the consequences are there for all to see. Despite our amazing medal success, we remain a relatively inactive nation. We have heard these stats before, but they bear repetition: more than one third of adults do not meet the chief medical officer’s minimum requirements for physical activity; and almost one third of children and young people are inactive, meaning that 12.4 million adults and 2.3 million children and young people do less than 30 minutes of activity a week.”
“Although we enjoy the success of our GB athletes, we must recognise that 14 years of austerity has decimated local leisure services and sporting facilities, with the result that, for all too many, there is nowhere to go to pursue a sporting dream or even just an active life. Although we rightly invest in athletes to provide inspiration and in exemplar facilities for progression, we too often forget those first steps into an active sporting life and the facilities and coaches that enable it. It is those very facilities that have felt the full force of austerity. As someone who had the leisure portfolio at my local authority for eight years, I have seen the amazing work done by councils and leisure trusts to maintain any sort of leisure provision, while being hit by cut after cut.”
“There can be no doubt about the power of inspiration provided by our great British athletes, nor of the power of sport for good, whether that is the positive impact it has on mental and physical health, educational outcomes, social mobility, crime and antisocial behaviour or just plain wellbeing. The evidence is comprehensive and undeniable. Indeed, the excellent 2023 report “Healthy Britain” by my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) makes the case and the solutions crystal clear. Yet for so many young people, the spark of inspiration once lit is allowed to go out all too easily.”
“It was a brilliant competition and, at the risk of a pun, gripping to the very end. It was just a wonderful day for the sport. Back in the day, when I worked at the British Mountaineering Council and, for a period, oversaw the competition programme, we never imagined even the possibility of getting climbing into the Olympics, and it is amazing how far our sport has come. It is not the only new Olympic sport that is inspiring a new generation. Mountain biking, BMX, skateboarding and even surfing are now on a summer programme and offer a whole new set of opportunities for involvement in a sporting life. There really is now a sport for everyone.”
“It is a true pleasure to follow all the wonderful maiden speeches today and to hear that shared commitment to service and community. It really is inspiring. Once again, I feel incredibly proud to be part of this intake. I am also very aware that, when speaking at the end of a debate, there is a danger of repetition, and I apologise in advance for any that may happen. However, I can manage one fresh statistic: Root and Brook’s partnership of 454 is the highest ever in English cricket, which is remarkable. I am so pleased to have this opportunity to speak in this debate and to congratulate and take pride in the wonderful achievements of our Olympic team. My sport is climbing and so I must especially congratulate Toby Roberts for his amazing gold in sport climbing.”
“Winter fuel payments are one example of the sticking-plaster politics that has sought to kick the can down the road, responding to a problem but never fully addressing it. The benefit is poorly targeted, and for those who need it most, it is not nearly enough to make the difference. To truly address pensioner poverty, we need a fresh approach and to be willing to challenge the assumptions of the past, with ambitious policies that target the causes of poverty, not just the symptoms. Home insulation and lower energy prices with GB Energy are just two examples, but we can and must do so much more. We can only deliver real change with an economy that is fixed and stabilised. That is what this Government are utterly committed to.”
“We have already helped a number of pensioners to get the benefits they deserve and need. At the same time, we need to recognise that none of these steps, including the winter fuel payment itself, addresses the fundamental issues of pensioner poverty. We have to ask how this country can be spending more than £150 billion a year on pensioner payments when millions of Britons—people who have done the right thing all their lives, worked hard and paid in—are still living in deep poverty and unable to afford the most basic comforts. That is not something we should simply accept; such deep pensioner poverty should be a national embarrassment. Successive Governments have ducked the issue.”
“At the same time, I know that many of my constituents on state benefits, with small private pensions, simply do not have the income to meet their everyday needs. They fear not just the winter cold, but every bill. Many have written to me with heartbreaking stories of everyday struggles just to maintain the basic qualities of life. We have heard some mitigations, and we will hear about more. Let us remind ourselves that that includes the fact that the poorest pensioners will retain their winter fuel payments. Let us remind ourselves that people just above the threshold can apply for household funding support through their councils. My office in Rossendale and Darwen is already working hard with residents to make sure that everyone in need gets the support they need.”
“In the interests of brevity, I associate myself with some of the remarks made by my colleagues on the Government Benches on the desperate financial legacy we have been left and the nature of cliff edges within the benefits system. We should do better than have cliff edges in the future. Let us remind ourselves that the subject of this debate is the Opposition motion not to means-test winter fuel payments. Let us face it: that means maintaining payments to millions of people, including some Opposition Members, who are happy to admit that they do not need it. Given the dire legacy, the fragility of the economy and the immediate need for in-year savings, this is an emergency measure. With all the other calls on public spending, I cannot see how such payments are the best use of £1 billion or more.”
“I hope the new Government will consider making the pathway mandatory and providing the funding to help trusts to implement the standards. I will finish off with a reminder that Baby Loss Awareness Week is coming up in October, culminating in the global wave of light on 15 October. I hope that fellow Members can support the events in their constituencies.”
“As with so many aspects of primary care, effective early support reduces demand in the longer term. The issues and solutions are well understood. Healthcare professionals across the UK do not have sufficient access to bereavement care training, which means they are not adequately supported to gain the skills and confidence they need to provide excellent care for families when a baby dies—or, indeed, to look after their own wellbeing. The national bereavement care pathway provides nine standards of care across five different experiences of pregnancy and baby loss to ensure equality of bereavement care no matter where a parent lives in the UK. In England, all 128 NHS trusts have now signed up to the NBCP standards.”
“We know that the NHS as a whole has been left broken by 14 years of neglect, and now we must look to our new Government to ensure a safe maternity care system in which national guidelines are consistently followed. But sadly, even with the best care and support, many families will still suffer the pain of baby loss. Effective bereavement support can be crucial in helping families to come to terms with their loss. Again, I speak from personal experience in that regard. Despite wonderful work done by charities—I want to mention the Friends of Serenity in my area of Rossendale and Darwen in Burnley—and by NHS trusts, far too many bereaved parents cannot access the compassionate care that they need. That can hugely impact their wellbeing in the short term and for the rest of their lives. Of course, this has related social and economic costs.”
“Baby loss charities are highlighting wider areas where improvements could help to prevent baby loss, including greater consistency in ensuring that maternity services meet nationally agreed standards and guidelines. In effect, we know what needs to be done but we need to implement it, particularly in respect of the NHS saving babies’ lives care bundle. Linked to that is the need for maternity units to be properly staffed, as we have heard so many times today. The Sands and Tommy’s joint policy unit estimates that nearly a third of neonatal intensive care unit shifts are not properly staffed. In addition, 63% of midwives have felt unwell in the last 12 months due to stress. Overall, in 2022-23 nearly half of maternity services were rated as “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission.”
“Without renewed action we are going to fall well short. To dig a bit deeper, as my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) highlighted, there are still further causes for concern. According to the 2022 perinatal mortality report, black babies are more than twice as likely to be stillborn as white babies, and black and Asian babies are more than 50% more likely to die shortly after birth compared with white babies. Research by baby loss charity Sands has explored the reasons for that inequality, and as a result is calling for specific actions to deliver positive, joined-up, empathetic maternity and neonatal care, through its End Inequality In Baby Loss campaign. I urge our new Government to support those actions.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) for securing this important debate, and the families for being in the Public Gallery and sharing their experiences. I speak as the father of a daughter called Mallorie, who we lost at five days, so I share their experiences. We have heard some stark statistics, and I will seek to summarise the national picture and some of the measures that we might be able to take. We have heard about the number of losses, and that every loss is a personal tragedy. We have also heard that every loss is not inevitable. Up to one in five stillbirths and neonatal deaths are preventable. In 2015, the then Government announced an ambition to halve the rate of stillbirths and neonatal deaths by 2025 but, sadly, progress on delivering on that ambition has stalled.”
“I hope to use my time in this House to support the ongoing drive for greater care and support for the families affected by baby loss and for continued improvement in its prevention.”
“On the moors close to home we scattered the ashes of our daughter, Mallorie. She had been born in Burnley hospital with Edward’s syndrome, a condition we were told is not compatible with life. Her time with us was short but her impact on our lives was great. The support we had from Burnley hospital and local baby loss charity Friends of Serenity was vital. While Edward’s syndrome is rare, it is far from being the only cause of baby loss. Every day, an average of 13 families suffer the pain of baby loss—that is around 5,000 families a year. Some reports suggest that up to one in five of those family tragedies are avoidable. There is a growing movement around baby loss awareness. Indeed, in October we have Baby Loss Awareness Week.”
“It has been heartening to see the importance of prevention recognised so clearly in our manifesto, in this debate and, indeed, at Question Time this morning. Sport and physical activity can change lives, and they can save lives. Active lives start young, yet around 50% of under-18s do not get enough exercise. How often do we hear kids telling us, “There is nothing to do around here”? I believe that every child should feel they have full and inclusive access to the countryside and to recreational facilities that give them the opportunity to live active lives, escape constraints and explore their potential. I believe this mission underpins many others, and I look forward to speaking again on this subject in the years to come. The hills of Rossendale matter to me in other ways.”
“I am a climber and cyclist, and these are my playgrounds. I am fortunate to have enjoyed an active life, which has turned into a career. It has taken me to amazing places, and I know that I am healthier, wiser and happier as a result. In many ways, what these sports have taught me is what has brought me here. It is a sad fact that, in the UK today, nearly 40% of the population is not active enough for good health. This contributes to one in six deaths and is estimated to cost the UK economy £7.6 billion annually. Yet physical activity can help to prevent and manage over 20 chronic diseases and conditions, including some cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. Overall, it is recognised that £1 spent on physical activity generates £4 of benefits in return. In short, investing in physical activity is a no-brainer.”
“With over 300 new MPs, we have a real chance to set a new tone, to work together across the House and to hold to the standards that our residents expect of us. A less positive thing that Rossendale and Darwen have in common is a concern about the direction in which too many of our schools have been heading. Too many parents agonise over the choice, or lack of choice, available to them. It simply must not be the case that a child’s future is determined by an education lottery. That every school be a good school is an imperative we must hold to, and I am proud to see our new Labour Government committing to removing barriers to opportunity, raising school standards and ensuring that the school system is fair for every child. Another commonality is our topography—hills, crags, moors and valleys.”
“Mr Fitzpatrick’s in Rawtenstall is Britain’s last surviving temperance bar. Darwen football club was formed in 1870 and was the first club in the world to have professionally paid players. And Brent Peters, manager of Bacup Borough football club, is said to be the longest-serving manager in world football. Rossendale and Darwen are distinct places, each with a deep history. At the same time, they have much in common. I was in many ways heartened that, during the campaign, one of my most frequent asks was for a better politics. The people of Rossendale and Darwen are honest and hard-working. They value integrity, co-operation and community service, and they want to see this in their politicians. I believe this reflects a feeling across the country, and hence it is a great opportunity and responsibility for us.”
“We have many wonderful community organisations and, while being reluctant to single anyone out, I must pay tribute to the vital work done in my hometown by the Bacup family centre and Bacup Pride, and across the constituency by our volunteer-led food banks and credit unions, and Keep Darwen Tidy and Civic Pride Rossendale, to which I wish the best of luck in Britain in Bloom judging this week. Something we are less proud of is that Rossendale is the only local authority area in the north without any sort of commuter railway service, which is a fact that I hope the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh), does not become too bored of hearing. I have a few more. Darwen is home to Darwen Live, the UK’s—and possibly Europe’s—biggest free music festival.”
“Indeed, a book on that time by local author Chris Aspin is subtitled “When Rossendale led the world.” We are also referred to as the “valley of stone” and the flagstones in Trafalgar Square come from a Rossendale quarry. Crown, in Darwen, is Britain’s oldest paint maker. In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi came to meet mill workers in Darwen, seeking to understand the hardships they were facing—on reflection, that in itself is quite remarkable. He said, “they treated me as one of their own. I shall never forget that.” This sense of inclusion and understanding remains.”
“Prior to 2010, we had been splendidly represented by Janet Anderson. I was pleased and proud to call Janet a friend. We sadly lost her last year, but I will always remember her as a true role model of a constituency MP. She was always available, always responsive, always engaged and always willing to roll up her sleeves and get stuck in. What more can I say about Rossendale and Darwen? I will spare Members a full geography lesson and go for some fun-ish facts. First, the constituency is a quirk of boundary commission methodology that will forever remain a mystery to us. There is little historical or physical connection between Rossendale and Darwen. Indeed, drivers have to leave the constituency to travel between the two halves. Rossendale was once known as the “golden valley” and lay at the very heart of the industrial revolution.”
“I will do my very best not to let them down. My constituency and home is a special place. Indeed, I was tempted to say that it represents the very best of Lancashire but, wary of controversy, I will simply say that it is a wonderful part of a wonderful county. It is a post-industrial place of moors, hills and valleys that frame the communities of Darwen, Whitworth, Bacup, Crawshawbooth, Stacksteads, Weir, Waterfoot, Rawtenstall, Edenfield, Helmshore and the west Pennine villages—I will have missed one out, so I am sure I will be shot as soon as I get home. In representing my home, I succeed Sir Jake Berry, who served our constituency for 14 years. I pay tribute to him for his service and, in particular, his work campaigning on provision for children with special educational needs. Rossendale and Darwen is very much a swing seat.”
“I am grateful for this opportunity to make my maiden speech in this important debate. I am in awe of the maiden speeches and all the other speeches that have been made today and on previous days. The standard and quality of both this intake and longer-serving Members is inspiring. I am filled with excitement, pride and belief in what we can achieve in the years to come. It is a truly exciting time. I am honoured and privileged to speak as the Member for Rossendale and Darwen, my home. I am very aware that this could happen only because of a huge amount of hard work by friends and Labour colleagues across the constituency, and of course because of the decision made by so many of my fellow residents to put their trust in me and a changed Labour party. I offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who put me in this place.”