Luke Myer
MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank my hon. Friend for the passionate speech he is making. I have heard similar issues from my constituents about delays from Royal Mail. One elderly lady, who is 96 years old, has been waiting for three weeks to get a replacement PIN from her bank.”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This is a Teesside-wide issue, and it is felt by communities across the region. All of us, as MPs representing the Tees Valley, believe that there needs to be a long-term future for this hospital. I know that my hon.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister knows what I am going to say. Two years ago, I was here warning about the systematic underfunding of Cleveland police, and I have done so continually over the last couple of years.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The chief constable, Victoria Fuller, has estimated that the force needs another 500 officers just to get to the national average. However, as Lauren Somerville, chair of the Police Federation in Cleveland, said when I met her earlier this week, Cleveland is a good force and its officers are proud of their work.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is not yet much clarity on where some of that funding will go in terms of setting up those mental health services, particularly in Redcar and Cleveland.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The challenge in my region is that foreign direct investment comes in, builds big factories and hoovers up the existing skilled workforce from local small and medium-sized enterprises, and there is not a pipeline to replace them. Does my hon.”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“I am delighted to welcome the Bill, and will speak to a couple of the new clauses and amendments. I declare my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on steel and metals-related industries, through which it is a pleasure to work cross-party in the interests of the industry. Just outside Middlesbrough, wedged between the gas pipes and the railway, is an old path. Someone walking there 200 years ago would have found sailors trudging through salt marsh hamlets, and 100 years ago they would have found steelworkers—hundreds of them—walking home on the tired commute. The cinders underfoot gave the path its name: “the black path.” If someone walks that path today, they will see the remnants of a bygone age for Teesside iron and steel. They will see a former railway station, now disused, which was used for industry.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They will talk a big game on steel, but we have been here before. It is my belief that only a social democratic Government can truly protect our steel communities and equip them to face the future, because a social democratic Government recognise something that a foreign private owner cannot: the value of protecting sovereign industry, even when the going gets tough. This issue is about our jobs, but it is also about our security. Will we be left exposed in a volatile world, or will we build for the future again? I hope that this Labour Government have the courage and ambition to do so.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When a Labour Government intervened to create the nationalised British Steel Corporation in 1967, Teesside enjoyed such high employment and high wages that it was classified as one of the best places to live anywhere in the UK. It brought stability to tens of thousands of families and built the second largest blast furnace in Europe. In 1979, a very different Government took office with a very different theory of Britain—a small state and a blind faith in the global free market. In just five years, our region had the highest registered unemployment rate anywhere in Great Britain. By the end of Thatcher’s premiership, almost 250,000 jobs in our region had gone. They took a British industrial economy and turned it into a globalised service sector economy. Today the Thatcherites are back, with a new logo and a new face.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Bill is before us because of the approach that Jingye has taken. The Chinese steel industry has long benefited from huge state subsidies, and cheap state-directed finance, energy support and overcapacity policies. Beijing did not leave it to the market; it used state power aggressively to expand industrial capacity, which is worth bearing in mind. I will finish on this point. While the Government cannot say which assets they wish to use these powers for, it is evident that British Steel cannot remain in Chinese hands. I do not know what the long-term ownership structure will look like—perhaps it will be modernised and sold to a new buyer, or perhaps it will be taken into public hands and remain there, with steelworkers having some stake in the company that they built—but I do know this.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There may be other sites, capabilities and parts of the supply chain where future intervention is needed to protect jobs, sovereign capability and the national interest, so my concern with amendment 12 is that it would make these powers too easy to lose. A future Government may not share the same commitment to active industrial strategy and may not be as willing to renew the tools needed to protect the sector, so we should not remove the extension mechanism now because we may leave workers and industry more exposed later on. Opposition Members made the point that politicians should not run businesses, although of course the Minister for Industry did run a steel business for many years and did so very effectively. They may mean that politicians from this country should not run businesses.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Other countries are investing heavily in technologies like direct reduced iron. We need only look at Luleå in northern Sweden, for example, where an operational hydrogen-powered DRI facility is already producing steel. That has not held the region back in any way. Economically, it has had the opposite effect of attracting inward investment in new industries, from data centres to clean power. I would like to hear a little from the Minister about DRI and whether we will be looking seriously at that, but I do not wish to stray too far out of the scope of the Bill. The legislation was brought forward in the context of British Steel, but we should not pretend that British Steel is the only critical asset that may ever require Government action.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Taxpayers rightly expect public investment to strengthen British industry and British jobs. Mechanisms like contracts for difference and other subsidy schemes must align much more closely with procurement objectives, so that public money genuinely supports UK supply chains. The forthcoming defence investment plan is a major opportunity to ensure that we are using UK steel across the country in industrial communities to support national security. At the end of the day, economic security is national security. Britain cannot become dangerously dependent on overseas steel for critical infrastructure or defence capability. While I support the shift to electric arc furnaces and the increased focus on how we use domestic scrap, which is welcome, Britain should seek to retain some primary iron capability.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are not focusing today on clause 58, but the freedom to make the necessary fiscal decisions to support operational stability and competitiveness is fundamental to the sunset clause we are discussing, as well as the potential for ongoing considerations on other critical assets that the Bill might be used for. It would be helpful to hear more about the Government’s intentions on issues like energy and procurement, as my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) said. We had a positive intervention from the Cabinet Office last year and the ambition to increase domestic steel market share back towards 50% is right, but the test will be in the delivery. For too long, we have had industrial strategies while approving publicly backed projects that import vast quantities of overseas steel.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a Back Bencher, I will always fight for more funding to modernise our steel industry. What I do know is that the current owners of British Steel are not responsible owners. We saw last year the crisis that was created when they failed to provide sufficient supply to keep the blast furnaces running. We cannot allow the current situation to continue if we are to protect our domestic industry. This Bill is about having the powers to nationalise and ensure that the national interest is served. Whether there is sufficient funding is a question on which I will continue to push the Government.”
House of Commons8 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Teesport is one of the country’s most important freight gateways, yet freight from the east coast main line, which is very congested, still has to travel via Darlington because the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe line lacks full W12 gauge clearance. Will the Minister commit to meeting me to discuss that issue and see what we can do to get those upgrades in place?”
House of Commons3 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last year, I worked with some of the businesses in my coastal community to develop a local economic growth plan. Would the Minister meet me to discuss that plan and some of the policies that we would like to see?”
House of Commons3 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a worrying tendency to view these issues as historical. A few months ago I pressed the Home Secretary on the question of whether the national inquiry will be able to look at evidence of crimes that might currently be being committed and refer them to the relevant agencies. Does the Minister agree that is absolutely necessary if we are to deal with these crimes today?”
House of Commons1 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am afraid that I want to give the hon. Member another chance to answer the question from my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald), which was not about the prospect of a future EAF on Teesside—a prospect that I support but that the Leader of the Opposition confirmed from the Dispatch Box was not as advanced as the hon. Member claims. My hon. Friend’s question was about the crash closure of the blast furnace at Redcar in 2015, which ripped 3,000 jobs out of our region. What message does the hon. Member have for the people of Redcar, whose Government he was in when that happened?”
House of Commons21 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I regularly raise the need for more resources for frontline policing in Cleveland. We have a small population but high deprivation, and the police funding formula does not take account of the severity of crime in our region—including knife crime, the prevalence of which is among the highest in the country. I welcome the 48 new police personnel who have begun neighbourhood roles over the last year, but what more can we do to get more resources to the frontline and make our streets safe again?”
House of Commons14 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This incident highlights the need to move at pace to scale up our hybrid naval capabilities, so will the Minister commit to do so, drawing on the strengths of north-east industry?”
House of Commons13 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. What a contrast there is between the Government of just over a decade ago, who ripped the heart out of my region, and this Government, who finally have a strategy after many decades. I welcome it, but what is more, so does the industry—I spoke to those in the industry this week, and they strongly welcome the measures, particularly on procurement and trade. This is a Government on the side of British steelworkers. One of the biggest issues affecting the industry is, of course, energy. I hear what the Secretary of State says about the supercharger, but even with that, there will still be an energy price gap with many of our competitors. What more can we do to ensure that we reduce these gaps for our industry and protect jobs years into the future?”
House of Commons19 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In Hemlington in my constituency, the ward councillors Nicky Walker and Tom Mohan have been trying to push the social housing provider Thirteen to deal with the set of empty properties around Ellis Gardens and Fonteyn Court, which have been sitting abandoned for months, perhaps even years. Does the Leader of the House agree that Thirteen needs to pull its finger out, stop leaving properties to rot and support people to get into those properties?”
House of Commons12 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have heard today from Members across the House about two twin evils that are driving online abuse: the social media giants’ algorithms, which are promoting content that makes people feel angry or afraid; and the influence of hostile states that deliberately sow disinformation designed to undermine our democracies. I heard the Minister say that it is primarily DSIT’s role to deal with that, but please will he ensure that Ministers keep us all updated on the work that is going on to address it? Unless we all work together, across parties and across Departments, this issue will continue to proliferate and there will not be a democracy left for us to defend.”
House of Commons12 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I look forward to working with Ministers, our two councils—Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland—and the museums themselves to maintain our heritage and tell our story for years into the future.”
House of Commons5 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Ahead of the tricentenary of his birth in 2028, I look forward to working with the museum and the many volunteers who tell that story to make sure that we commemorate the moment appropriately. Both museums are cherished locally, yet both have faced financial uncertainty in recent years. As Members across the Chamber have mentioned, that issue affects many of our museums across the country, whether they are independent and volunteer-run or run by local authorities. My point to the Minister today is simple: places like these may be small in scale, but they are enormous in meaning for our communities. They keep alive the memory of the communities that built modern Britain, and they deserve support to allow them to keep their doors open for the next generation.”
House of Commons5 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Cleveland’s ironstone travelled across the world from our region and was part of the industrial revolution. The bridges, railways and ships of the industrial age carried the mark of the people who laboured under our cliffs and hills. Today, Land of Iron holds the largest collection of ironstone mining artefacts in the country, telling that story of graft, ingenuity and pride. It hopes one day to be designated as the national ironstone mining museum. I am proud to support it in that fight, and I hope the Minister will commit to meet me to discuss it. A little further inland, in Stewart Park in Marton, stands the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, marking the spot where Middlesbrough’s most famous son first saw the world before going on to chart much of it.”
House of Commons5 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is always a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) on securing this debate on such an important issue, which matters to communities across our country. I thank her for mentioning Captain Cook, who is my constituent—give or take three centuries. I have to disagree with her on one point: I represent the neighbouring constituency to Whitby, which is, of course, a fantastic tourist destination—second only to those slightly further up the coast in my patch. One of those destinations is the village of Skinningrove, which is just on the edge of the North sea. In that village stands Land of Iron, the leading ironstone mining museum in the country. It is built on the site of the old Loftus mine, which was the first mine to open in the Cleveland area, in 1865.”
House of Commons5 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituent Stephen retired almost a year ago after a long career in public service, yet he is still unable to access his pension. I appreciate that a recovery scheme is under way, but will Ministers meet me to discuss his case, because it is completely unacceptable?”
House of Commons5 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our primary duty at this time must be to ensure the safety of British nationals in the region—people like my constituents the Foreman family, who are trapped abroad and do not know when they will be able to come home. Their father’s medication runs out today, and they have no idea whether they will be able to obtain more drugs. What assurance will the Prime Minister provide that consular support will be there for families like my constituents, so that they get the medication they need and, ideally, come home as soon as possible?”
House of Commons2 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This Government have announced that they are awarding over £18 million to Redcar and Cleveland borough council to help it tackle the broken children’s social care market. While that is very welcome, it is a shame that it is necessary, so will Ministers meet my council leader to discuss what further support can be put in place to make sure this is not needed in future?”
House of Commons23 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making a passionate case for her constituent. My constituent Gill has told me how she has suffered for around 11 years as a result of the pelvic mesh scandal. She is a member of the Sling the Mesh group. Does my hon. Friend agree that, whether on sodium valproate or pelvic mesh, such groups deserve to be listened to, and that we should pay tribute to them for campaigning for these courageous women?”
House of Commons11 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Working with Councillor David Branson, I have been pushing to get more support for our local schools to cut their bills. I am really pleased that Great British Energy funded new solar panels for Sunnyside academy in Coulby Newham last year. Will Ministers meet me to see whether we can get more support so that more of our local schools to cut their bills?”
House of Commons10 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“During last year’s election in Moldova, undercover reporters exposed a network of people who were being paid by Russia to produce disinformation content on social media platforms, including TikTok and Facebook. Does my hon. Friend agree that we are naive to assume that such things are not happening in this country, too?”
House of Commons9 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Will the Security Minister give us an update on the work of the defending democracy taskforce to tackle the level of disinformation on social media and in our democracy?”
House of Commons9 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I pay tribute to my constituents, including Melissa from Guisborough, who campaigns on lobular breast cancer, Georgia from Hemlington, who campaigned on cervical cancer, and Peter from Coulby Newham, who campaigns on prostate cancer. What assurances can the Minister give them that resources will be put into communities like mine to tackle health disparities and make sure that everyone, no matter where they live, can get the cancer care they deserve?”
House of Commons5 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“With the right national framework, the right investment and the confidence to try new models, we can build a children’s social care system that is stable, compassionate and worthy of the young people it serves.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has given the Department powers to act. We can cap private providers’ profits and set up regional care co-operatives, as recommended by the MacAlister review—which the Minister, as its author, is very well acquainted with. That can improve commissioning and increase in-house and not-for-profit provision. In the Tees Valley, council leaders are exploring that idea together, to stop competing with each other, pool our buying power and shape a more stable local market to get better value for children and taxpayers. I am convinced that this is a necessary step in our region, and it sits alongside work on prevention, family help and a more stable workforce. I hope that we can look at this.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It has been described by the Competition and Markets Authority as a “broken” market, and it needs addressing. Private providers extract high margins while councils raid reserves and increase council tax, disproportionately in areas of high deprivation, just to keep children safe. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) mentioned Hartlepool; across the Tees Valley we have a cluster of local authorities under extraordinary pressure in this area, and no one in this Chamber thinks that that is a sensible way to run such an important public service. There are answers; I welcome the new grant funding, the Best Start family hubs and the Families First Partnership programme. Important changes are coming forward from the Government, but we can do more to disrupt that broken market.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is a big step forward, and a real credit to all the staff, the directors—previously Kathryn Boulton, and her successor Danielle Swainston—and the cabinet member responsible, councillor Bill Suthers. His leadership has been steady and co-operative, and he deserves recognition for that. It is obviously not the end of the journey, but it is a very important milestone in making sure that we serve the children we all have a duty towards. That is especially welcome given the challenging context that councils face, which we have discussed today. The Institute for Government recently found that nearly every local authority is overspending on children’s social care, largely because placements with private care providers have become much more expensive.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I often used to say that the toddlers who lost early intervention services in the first wave of austerity were now teenagers coming into care with complex challenges, and I think we are still seeing that today. I want to highlight the most recent Ofsted inspection in Redcar and Cleveland, which was published just this morning. In 2022, the department was rated as requiring improvement across all areas, and it was a top priority for the Labour council that came in in 2023 to turn that around. I was proud of Ofsted’s recognition of the work we were doing on that front in 2023 and, today, I am very pleased to see that Ofsted have rated Redcar and Cleveland as good, with strong practice and swift support for children and families.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) on securing the debate, telling Sara’s story so powerfully and allowing us the space to discuss one of our most important public services. First, I pay tribute to everyone who works in children’s services across our country, but particularly in my two local authorities of Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. Before entering this place, I was privileged to be the cabinet member for children in Redcar and Cleveland. I was impressed, every single day, by the extraordinary staff working in that department—under immense pressure, as has been discussed.”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a persistent issue in the Stainton and Thornton area of my constituency, which residents have raised with me. Would the Minister commit to meet me to discuss this issue?”
House of Commons27 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have heard from so many residents across Marton, Guisborough, Skelton, Hemlington Hall and elsewhere about issues with leasehold and fleecehold, so what message does the Minister have for my constituents that he will tackle both of those issues and protect my residents from unfair service charges?”
House of Commons27 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Earlier this week, I met colleagues and friends in our sister party in Denmark to express our solidarity with them in the difficult context they face, and to learn from some of their successful social democratic policies that we could adopt here, including on immigration and the economy. One such policy is a change to their pensions context to ensure that those who have worked in manual labour roles are able to take voluntary early retirement schemes, while others have later retirement. Will the Government consider that and other policies that have been enacted so successfully in Denmark to ensure that we are looking after working-class people in working communities such as mine?”
House of Commons22 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Energy Secretary has talked about the clean industry bonus and supply chain opportunities. What commitment will he make that, for every tower and turbine that goes up, British steel is being used and Teesside jobs are being created?”
House of Commons14 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This is an important and historic Bill about delivering justice for the families affected, so it is perfectly reasonable that we take the time to ensure that it is right. I commend the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), who is in her place, for her tenacity in taking the Bill forward. I have tabled a set of amendments to the Bill that would extend the scope of the offence of misleading the public to apply to members of this place. Will the Leader of the House confirm that because the Bill’s consideration has been moved to Monday, there is time until Friday for Members to add their names to those amendments, should they so wish?”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have raised many times in this place the state of our bus services in rural east Cleveland. I am grateful to the Government for the powers and funding that have come to Tees Valley for public transport, but we are still not seeing the benefits in east Cleveland. On 20 March, Tees Valley combined authority will vote on the next stage of bus funding. Does the Minister agree that it should prioritise our rural villages, which have been left behind for far too long?”
House of Commons8 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On Monday, a terrible fire took the life of an elderly resident in Guisborough in my constituency; my thoughts are with her family and loved ones. This is one of three serious fires in my constituency in recent weeks. Cleveland firefighters have raised with me concerns about the funding formula for fire brigades, as they believe that deprivation such as exists in our region ought to be taken into account, as happens with the funding formulas for local government and the NHS. Will the Government look at this matter to ensure that our brave firefighters are given the resources they need to tackle blazes like this one?”
House of Commons8 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“One of the first people I met when I became an MP was my constituent Janine, whose son Leon was tragically killed on a road in my constituency in 2020. I am proud that, working with her, we were able to get the speed limit changed on that road, but much more needs to happen nationally to ensure that this never happens again. As such, I welcome the road safety strategy. The strategy acknowledges that there is a relationship between deprivation and casualties, so when it is being implemented, will resources be targeted at the communities that need them most across the country?”
House of Commons8 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Government’s decision to increase defence spending to the highest level since the cold war, and the Teesside defence and innovation cluster stands ready to support the national interest. Will the Defence Secretary do everything possible to ensure that British steel is used across the defence industrial supply chain, so that national security is also economic security for Britain?”
House of Commons7 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Further to the question from the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), I share his disappointment at the scrapping of Tees Flex, but can I gently say to him that if the Tory Tees Valley Mayor took the buses into public hands, which this Government have given him the power to do, we would not have to fight over the scraps? I ask my question on behalf of my constituents Rob from Loftus and Hilda from Skinningrove, who have raised with me their really poor experiences with contractors working on the ECO4 scheme. The Government are right to scrap the scheme, but can we secure time to discuss the quality and oversight of the work on such schemes to better serve the taxpayer and constituents like mine?”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think that we are a nation of George Baileys rather than a nation of Scrooges. I wish all my constituents, everyone who works here, and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, a very merry Christmas.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our local councillors organised support, and pubs and village halls opened to support those residents. That story just reminds me of who we are in East Cleveland and across Teesside. As we look to Christmas, we see that spirit of community coming out across our area—in our church halls, our food banks and our warm hubs. That is what the spirit of Christmas is truly about, and it is what we on Teesside have always been about. There has been a long effort from many politicians over the years to tell a slightly different story of England—one that is about individuals working hard, pulling themselves up and putting themselves first. We have seen a shift towards an atomised England in which we lead parallel lives. Well, that is not what I have seen in Brotton in the past couple of weeks, and it is not what I see every day.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Two weeks ago in my constituency, there was a terrible fire on Errington Street in Brotton. I visited a couple of days later and spoke to residents and to Accent Housing, which manages two of the four affected properties. It was clear that it was a devastating fire. It affected two families with young children, and an elderly pensioner. The way the community came together afterwards to support those residents was truly remarkable. There is still some way to go. Over the road from those properties lives a young man called Steffan Bentley, who I went to school with. He took it upon himself to organise a crowdfunder. Our area is not the richest part of the world, but within a few days, it had raised over £2,000 to support those families. A whole range of other support took place, too.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am a fierce defender of animal welfare— I always will be—and I believe that we are not moving quickly enough to phase out animal testing, but does the Minister agree that the pace is not what the draft regulations are principally about? They are quite tightly drafted Home Office regulations on the powers for police to respond to disruptive and illegal activity at our vaccine sites, which affects our pandemic preparedness. We in Teesside have a Fujifilm facility near Stockton— the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Stockton West will know it well—and Teessiders were very proud to produce the vaccine there during the covid pandemic. As we phase out animal testing, we must not hamper that ability—that is what today’s debate is all about.”
House of Commons17 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗