Alex Baker
MP for Aldershot · Labour · United Kingdom
“The debate about percentages of GDP is slightly irrelevant, because even if defence spending were raised to 3%, we have no ability to spend that money within the industrial base, as we do not have the capacity. Does my hon.”
“This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting the Nepal cup in Aldershot—a celebration of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Talking to some of the Gurkha veterans there, and hearing of their experiences, again underlined the urgent need for a resolution of long-standing issues such as Gurkha pensions.”
“Today is a step forward and a down payment on the future of places like my towns of Aldershot and Farnborough. However, much as we wrangle over percentages of GDP, on the ground, we still lack the industrial capacity to spend this money and build more.”
“In Aldershot and Farnborough, thanks to this Labour Government, this week we are bringing the National Armed Forces Day celebrations back to the home of the British Army.”
“I thank everyone involved in making it happen, including Rushmoor borough council and our headline sponsors: QinetiQ, BAE Systems and KBR Aspire Defence. Armed Forces Day matters because it gives us an opportunity to say thank you, but it should also be an opportunity to listen.”
“May I begin by congratulating my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Sandher-Jones) on being appointed the Minister for the Armed Forces? She did an outstanding job as the Minister for Veterans and People, and I pay particular tribute to her work with the Gurkha community.”
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“She also recalls the town’s defiance and spirit of resistance, as she sang “There’ll always be an England” to entertain her neighbours when they sought cover in the dirt-floored underground shelters as the air raid warning sirens wailed overhead. Aldershot gave the allied campaign strength in its most literal sense, playing a vital role in the preparation for the D-day landings and serving as a hub for Canadian troops, more than 320,000 of whom passed through its gates during the war. Farnborough was the beating heart of Britain’s aeronautical innovation. The Royal Aircraft Establishment based there became a crucible of scientific brilliance. It was in Farnborough that engineers and researchers developed the technologies that gave our pilots superiority in the skies, including radar, advanced aircraft design, and aerodynamics.”
“It was there that troops were forged, not just in skill but in spirit, and it was there that wounded soldiers found safety and solace in the Cambridge and Connaught hospitals. My constituent Iris Munro, now 96, was the youngest of nine children, and every one of her family played a role—her four brothers fighting across the globe in the European and far eastern theatres, and her father, mother and sisters active on the home front. She vividly remembers the terror of sleeping under the stairs as Aldershot was bombed, and how Lord Haw-Haw singled out the town as he tried to demoralise the population.”
“I am proud to speak in this debate on behalf of the home of the British Army. In Aldershot and Farnborough, VE Day and VJ Day are woven into the very fabric of our community. My words today have been shaped by constituents who have shared with me their memories and specialist knowledge, including Iris Munro, who told me her story as a 16-year-old celebrating VE Day in her home town of Aldershot, and Paul H. Vickers, a military historian who lives in Aldershot and who was a Ministry of Defence librarian for 40 years. I thank them for their help as I try to do the stories from our towns justice. Aldershot stood at the very centre of the war effort. It was from its barracks and training grounds that thousands of brave men and women were prepared for service across Europe, north Africa and beyond.”
“Aldershot Town football club are going to Wembley. The FA trophy final on 11 May will be the first time in the club’s history that the red and blue army have played under the arch, with over 17,000 fans there to spectate. That club is also the first football club in the country to achieve the armed forces covenant gold status award for the work it does in our community. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating everybody at the club on reaching this prestigious final, and for giving all of us in Aldershot something to cheer about?”
“I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for representing the Defence Committee. Labour’s commitment to fully enshrine the armed forces covenant in law is a vital step in recognising the sacrifices made by our service members and their families. However, our report examines some significant gaps in coverage. In particular, I highlight the treatment of non-UK personnel and their families. Unlike other routes, the immigration status given to serving and recently discharged personnel does not allow them to work or access social security. Will my hon. Friend join me in urging the Ministry of Defence to resolve this issue with the Home Office well in advance of the covenant’s expansion?”
“As we secure Britain’s role in a changing world, I welcome the Chancellor’s focus on defence innovation and I thank her for referencing my community, Aldershot and Farnborough. We are ready to serve. When it comes to defence innovation, too many small and medium defence businesses in my community struggle to get access to the banking and finance facilities they need, often on the basis of self-imposed environmental, social and governance criteria. Will the Chancellor join me in welcoming the investors and financial institutions that have responded to the campaign that I am leading with my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters), calling on our banks and our fund managers to broaden their approach so that we can defend our country, support Ukraine and fire up our industrial base?”
“Aldershot and Farnborough are dental deserts. My constituent Nick had an infected wisdom tooth and was in agony. He had been registered with a practice in Farnborough, but it kicked him off its patient list. He obtained an emergency appointment through 111, but two weeks later the infection was back. He was left with little choice but to go private, which cost him £700—10 times what the treatment would have cost on the NHS. Can the Minister explain how Labour’s plan for change will help to prevent such cases from being repeated as we end the 14 years of dentistry failure that we saw under the Conservatives?”
“Too many small and medium-sized defence businesses in my community struggle to access the banking and finance facilities they need, often on the basis of self-imposed ethical criteria. Will the Business Secretary join me in welcoming how many investors and financial institutions have responded to the campaign I am leading with my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) and 100 other Labour parliamentarians, calling on our banks and fund managers to broaden their approach to defence investment? Will he call on investors to take action so that we can defend our country, support Ukraine, and fire up our industrial base?”
“This week, Union Yard, a new quarter of Aldershot, has opened, including the Makers’ Yard, a home for local creative businesses. That has been delivered by the previous and current administrations of Rushmoor council. Will the Leader of the House join me in sending best wishes to local residents Jess and Georgina of Kitschy Bits Boutique ahead of their opening in Makers’ Yard on Saturday? May we have a debate on what this Government are doing to support more retail opportunities for local creative businesses as part of our growth mission?”
“The people of Aldershot and Farnborough have contributed in every major conflict for over 100 years, including the second world war. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the contribution of my community in that conflict? Will she also join me in congratulating Councillor Sophie Porter, deputy leader of our council, and Councillor Nadia Martin, our armed forces champion, who are part of our community’s plans to deliver a new beacon in Manor Park in Aldershot, which will be lit for the first time on 8 May? How can people from my community get involved in the national plans?”
“I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for the leadership that he has shown in these uncertain times. As the Member of Parliament for the home of the British Army, I know that this is hugely welcome news for my constituency and that my community is ready to serve. What will the Prime Minister do to help to create jobs in the defence sector in my community?”
“I am delighted that four schools in my constituency are taking part in the scheme—The Ferns primary academy and Farnborough Grange nursery/infant community school in Farnborough, and St Joseph’s Catholic primary school in Aldershot. What is my right hon. Friend’s message to parents in my constituency who are eager for their children’s school to join the scheme so that they can benefit from Labour’s plan for change in Aldershot and Farnborough?”
“I welcome the progress made by COP29 in Baku, and the Government’s leadership on climate change. Nepal is at the sharp end of dealing with climate change—late last year, there were 200 deaths from floods in Kathmandu. What are the Government doing to support that nation, which has been a partner and a friend to the UK over many years?”
“Q3. My constituent Annemarie, like countless other armed forces families across Aldershot and Farnborough, is living in shabby military accommodation which, after 14 years of Conservative neglect, is simply not good enough. I therefore welcome the Ministry of Defence plan to buy back thousands of homes in my constituency. Will the Prime Minister set out how sorting out the bad deal left by the Tory Government will make life better for Annemarie and others like her living at the home of the British Army?”
“Exports from our aerospace, defence, security and space sectors contribute around £40 billion to our economy, but without additional support, many of the small businesses I speak to in Aldershot and Farnborough are limited in their ability to export. What can Ministers do to help them, and will the Government consider reinstating the trade show access programme, closed down by the Conservatives, to help more small and medium-sized enterprises trade around the world?”
“My constituents still mourn the loss of our M&S outlet in 2015, but we are delighted that Superbowl UK has just opened in Aldershot. These anchor retail and leisure tenants are so vital for our town centres, so what can the Government do to assist communities such as mine to ensure that we can encourage businesses to be the cornerstone and footfall drivers of our town centres?”
“Last week, I visited the Ferns primary academy, which I am pleased to say has had its termination warning removed because of its significantly improved Ofsted judgment. It is clear to me that, as stated by Ofsted, the school is determined “that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities…achieve their best.” Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the school on its progress, and can we have a debate about supporting our schools to be aspirational for every student?”
“Friend the Minister committed to investigate this issue, and agreed to meet Oliver Brown, the Terrence Higgins Trust and the National AIDS Trust to find a path forward on this issue. We need to turn our military culture from just an absence of bans to one that promotes HIV and sexual health testing, with people being encouraged to take charge of their sexual health. The military needs to be a place where HIV stigma has no home. Our amazing HIV charities are on hand to help, and the UK could be the first fast-track military in committing to the goal of zero HIV transmissions, zero preventable deaths and zero HIV stigma. To meet that global goal, we need our armed forces to do their bit. If we achieve it, it will be the first time we have stopped the onward transmission of any virus without a vaccine or a cure. We cannot fail.”
“Thankfully, he found similar guts and spirit to those of Craig and Fighting With Pride, and became a relentless campaigner on this issue. In June 2022, the rules were finally swept away not just for the LGBT community, but for anyone living with HIV. Days later, the Civil Aviation Authority did the same, and removed all barriers to pilots living with HIV on medication. That is why everyone involved was so surprised that the Military Aviation Authority gave itself an extra two months to remove the ban, and the obligations imposed then have still not been fully fulfilled. People living with HIV are still not able to join the armed forces as air crew or controllers. It would be a great thing if, off the back of this debate, my hon.”
“Those who were already serving personnel were labelled as medically not deployable. It took the Terrence Higgins Trust, the National AIDS Trust and a remarkable Hampshire resident, Lieutenant Commander Oliver Brown MBE, to right this wrong. Oli was cycling through London when a brick hit his bike and he hit a wall. He was taken to a London hospital, and—as is finally becoming custom, due to the last Government and the £27 million announced by the Prime Minister last week—he was routinely tested for HIV. He discovered that he was positive. As his broken arm was being fixed, Oli had to come to terms with a stigmatised diagnosis and worry not about whether he would live or have his family’s support but about whether he had a job or a place to live. When he told his employer, the Royal Navy, he was labelled and held back.”
“I will use my time in today’s debate to draw the House’s attention to the sister ban of this policy, for which the Government are rightly compensating people—the ban on people living with HIV joining or serving in our military. That ban was not repealed in 2000; it was repealed in 2022, and even now, there are loopholes that are still being exploited. So regressive were the rules that people were banned from joining the armed forces even if they were HIV-negative but were taking the HIV prevention drug PrEP. Regrettably but not surprisingly, opportunities to revise these rules were missed in 2008, in 2016, and yet again in 2019. Even as the British Government accepted the “can’t pass it on” science about people living with HIV in relation to treatment in the years that followed, no change was forthcoming.”
“This is an important day for a whole generation of ex-service personnel in my constituency and across the UK who lost everything they knew because of a policy that was discriminatory and wrong. I pay tribute to the charity Fighting With Pride and the coalition that has led this campaign with the dignity of ex-service personnel, in the very best of that tradition. We speak a lot in this House about the tremendous debt and respect we owe to our armed forces. That is something we in Aldershot and Farnborough feel very deeply, as people from our community have served in every major conflict that our country has faced over the past 200 years, yet the stories we are hearing today remind us that that respect is about not just words but deeds. I thank Lord Etherton for his work and the Government for listening, responding and taking action.”
“T7. Two weeks ago I visited Currys in Farnborough Gate after its staff suffered yet another horrifying steaming attack. A gang of six men stormed into the store, destroyed and stole products and terrified customers. How will the sentencing review contribute towards cracking down on this appalling behaviour trend?”
“T6. We owe a great debt of gratitude to our exceptional public servants who have given their lives to serve our nation. Can the Minister update the House on what progress has been made in establishing the Elizabeth Emblem to commemorate former firefighters, police officers and other public servants who have died in public service?”
“Access to 5G data is a real issue in Aldershot. According to Ofcom, a third of our households cannot connect to 5G—nearly three times the national average. What are the Government doing to give residents in Aldershot and Farnborough the same data access as the rest of the country, and will the Minister make that work a priority?”
“Q9. There are only seven places in England, according to the House Library, where school funding per pupil is lower than in Aldershot and Farnborough. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that something has gone badly wrong when teachers are forced to pay out of their own pocket for basic school supplies, while many others have left the profession in droves over the past 14 years? Will Ministers work with me to tackle the root of this problem so that we can give every young person, in my constituency and beyond, the very best start in life?”
“My constituent Brendan lost his left leg while serving with the British Army in 1979. Decades later, he discovered that he had been infected with hepatitis C during the operation that saved his life. I know having talked to Brendan that, while he is pleased that the Government have committed to providing compensation, he is keen for us all to understand that, because of his community’s lived experience, there is an inherent distrust of the state. His instinct on being told that the state will spit out a number is understandably not to trust the process. Will the Minister reassure Brendan that all compensation offers will include a detailed breakdown of the data and rates used to make the calculations?”
“My constituency is home to many small and medium-sized enterprises that contribute to our UK defence sector. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that submissions from SMEs to the strategic defence review are given equal weighting and consideration compared with submissions from prime contractors, in order to support innovation, job creation and competition within the UK defence sector?”
“That is why we need an independent Armed Forces Commissioner; someone our forces can trust, and who can investigate, follow up, hold Government to account and be the guiding star for this place as we renew our nation’s contract with those who serve our country. After a generation of our armed forces being neglected and run down by the Conservative Government, leaving morale at a record low, we desperately need to give hope to our serving personnel. My constituents do not want the earth; they just want the basic equipment that they need to be able to do their jobs, a good life for their families and a positive future when their time serving comes to an end. I hope that the Bill will move us closer to that, because if they are willing to fight for us, it is the very least that we can do.”
“Others have told me how they have tried to use their voice to speak up about shoddy accommodation that simply is not up to standard, but too many have been worn down and fatigued by the process, giving up hope that anything will ever change. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Councillor Nadia Martin, the armed forces champion for Rushmoor borough council. Nadia is a military spouse who has singlehandedly given a voice to so many serving families and veterans in our community. We have become a lot better at supporting our armed forces and veterans because of Nadia’s work, and our community owes her a huge amount of thanks. However, for every case we know and hear about, many others go unspoken and unresolved, because people are too scared to speak out, for fear that it might harm their career or that of their partner.”
“The armed forces covenant is there to ensure that those who serve and their families are not disadvantaged by being part of our military community, but I have heard time and again, in countless conversations on doorsteps across my constituency, how forces families are often automatically on the back foot when they move on to a military estate in my community. A spouse shared with me last week how her three children have been allocated to three different primary schools within a seven-mile radius. How is she supposed to get all her children to school on time? That is an all-too-common experience for families in my constituency.”
“Establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner will make a real difference to the military families I represent in the home of the British Army, so I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this debate and welcome this important legislation. We have heard from across of the House about the tremendous debt we owe our armed forces. We feel that very deeply in Aldershot and Farnborough, as people from our community have served in every major conflict that our country has faced over the past 200 years. The Bill is essentially about respect—showing respect to those serving and for the families who support them. This is about not just words, but deeds.”
“Q5. Many families across Aldershot and Farnborough have struggled for years to get their children with special educational needs the help that they need. It is therefore shameful to read the misguided claims made by the Leader of the Opposition that autistic people“may well get better treatment”and receive economic privileges and protections. Will the Prime Minister stand with the families of autistic children, and distance the Government from those awful words?”
“I know how much hope that appointment letter gave Gloria just before she died, so when I hear that my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary is bringing forward 40,000 more elective NHS appointments each week, it is cases like Gloria’s that I will remember.”
“Let me share the example of Gloria Cornwall, who came to my surgery shortly after I was elected. She lived in agony, in desperate need of a hip replacement, struggling to get an NHS appointment for five long years. In early October, she emailed me, delighted to have finally been given a date in November for the operation, but sadly it was too late. She passed away from natural causes just 12 days ago. From the brief time I spent with Gloria, I could tell she was a very special lady. She was the linchpin of her family and was so proud of her grandchildren. Gloria’s story is a powerful reminder of the lives that, at best, are not being fully fulfilled and, at worst, are being lost because people cannot get the healthcare they need.”
“This vital project was in jeopardy because of the truly dreadful deficit inherited from the previous Government. My community needs a new hospital in the right location—one that works for residents from Aldershot to Blackwater and Yateley. I will continue to campaign for that hospital until the day it is built. This Budget, with its investment in our NHS, will bring down waiting lists, lay the foundations for our 10-year health plan and make a welcome investment in our economic future, because a healthier nation is a wealthier nation. If we can help the 2.8 million people currently unable to work because they are on long-term sick leave, many of them stuck on waiting lists, that will not only help us grow economically, but allow more of our neighbours to live their lives to the fullest.”
“The Budget delivered a game-changing announcement for my community: the news that Frimley Park hospital will be rebuilt, as it is one of the seven hospitals severely affected by RAAC. That is such welcome news and will make a real difference in Aldershot and Farnborough in the years ahead. Frimley is my local hospital. I have spent my fair share of nights there and have seen at first hand the incredible work NHS staff do in a hospital that, in parts, is literally crumbling around them. I thank the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the wider health team for listening to the arguments my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) and I put forward to prioritise Frimley as part of the new hospital programme.”
“Q9. Our leisure centre in Farnborough was knocked down by the Conservative council, which made empty promises to replace it with an expensive civic hub, with no viable plan to pay for it. Will the Prime Minister help to secure the funding that Rushmoor borough council needs to rebuild our leisure centre, so that Labour can start delivering change after years of Tory failure?”
“The spirit of remembrance is defined by what we do for one another, and the contribution that every one of us can make. With shared effort, we can build a greater legacy for those who served us—now and in the future.”
“I know just how great a step it was for John to share his story with me. I take three things from John’s story. The first is that we owe our veterans much more than our silence and respect on Armistice Day; it is our duty to speak up whenever the systems that come from this place fall short. Secondly, safe and accessible housing is vital. That is why I was so proud to hear just a few weeks ago the Prime Minister announce the Government’s commitment to house all veterans. Thirdly, John’s experience tells me that our commitment to respecting every veteran must reach through every Government Department and every level of staff if we are to succeed—from the Secretary of State down to every member of frontline staff. That is the culture change needed to deliver for people such as John who have served our country.”
“Rather than taking John at his word, he was told that he would have to continue to sleep rough in a named location for two weeks and wait for an outreach worker to visit him to verify that he was homeless. John did as he was ordered, following what he had been taught by his service, but he found staying in the same place meant he was targeted with verbal and physical abuse, so he moved and kept moving—the cycle went on for years. Eventually, he was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and referred to Op Courage. Even then, it took several more years in temporary accommodation, and him witnessing a violent incident, before Op Courage and Help for Heroes were able to get John the specialist accommodation in my constituency that has allowed him to start to move forward with his life.”
“As the Member of Parliament for the home of the British Army, it is my honour to speak in this debate on remembrance and veterans. I will use my time to share a story from a veteran of the Royal Marines, who celebrates his birthday today. My constituent has given me permission to share his story in the debate, although I have changed his name to protect his privacy. John served our country with honour. He was discharged from the Royal Marines after three years of service, but life outside the military was hard. His mental health spiralled. He ended up homeless, sleeping rough on the streets, so he went to the local authority for help. This is the part of his story that shocked me, because John was told that before the local authority could help him, it had first to confirm that he really was homeless.”
“Ukraine is facing a difficult winter. What steps are the Government taking to help ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position to deal with the challenges that that will bring?”
“T3. The first Farnborough International Space Show will take place in my constituency in March next year. With space agencies from across the world already signed up to attend, the show will allow the UK to stand on the world stage and showcase our position as a convenor of global innovation. Will the Secretary of State and the UK Space Agency pledge their support to the show and will he join me at this inaugural event?”
“These men and women kept our Army moving across land, air and sea, and their work continues today through the Royal Logistics Corps. They went by the motto “Nothing without labour”, and that serves as a reminder to me that everything we discuss in this Chamber, and everything we hope to achieve for our constituencies, begins and ends with hard work—struggle, toil, effort, doing our best. For as long as I have the privilege of representing my home in this place, I can promise that hard work is the very least that my constituents will get from me, every single day.”
“But for everything that is right with our community, I know from countless conversations on the doorsteps that many of my neighbours question whether our best days still lie ahead of us. I take that really seriously. I am ambitious for our towns—these communities that have played such a role in our national endeavour—and I believe that if we can bring people together, we can bring new opportunities to our home, breathe new life into our town centres, and realise our incredible potential. I am ready to play my part in that and hope others will join me. Let me end with a promise, because as I begin my term I have found some inspiration in the work of the Royal Corps of Transport, which was based in Aldershot for many decades.”
“We need to shout loudly and proudly about the great things that have happened and continue to happen in our constituency, and that is something I will always try to do. There is Farnborough football club, whose women’s team are league champions and cup winners after their first ever season, and Aldershot Town—the Shots—who recently became the first football club to receive the Ministry of Defence gold award for upholding the armed forces covenant. There are great charities such as Step By Step, the Grub Hub, Yateley Industries, our Rotary clubs, the Vine Centre, and many more I could mention. They are all making a tremendous difference. And the world still comes to do business at the Farnborough air show every two years.”
“Above all, Aldershot and Farnborough have been defined by the men and women who have served and sacrificed in every major conflict that our country has faced. We will always remember them. Today we are also home to the largest Nepalese community in the UK. The Gurkhas have served our country with outstanding bravery over generations, and I look forward to serving them and advocating for them in this place. As well as our military heritage, my community has a rich cultural history. We hosted the Olympic games in 1948, when events were held in the Aldershot lido, where I now take my daughters swimming. We were the setting for several Bond films, the place where Charlie Chaplin made his stage debut, and where The Beatles gave their first performance in the south of England.”
“It was in 1854 that Queen Victoria gave her blessing for the British Army to establish a permanent training camp in a small village on the Hampshire border. The Aldershot garrison town was the first complete military settlement built in the British Isles since the Romans. And Farnborough was transformed too, growing from a small railway town to become the home of the Army balloon factory and the Royal Aircraft Establishment and a hub for military aviation. It was there in 1908 that Samuel Cody piloted the first aeroplane to take flight in Britain. My home continues to deliver cutting-edge technology to this day, with every single Boeing commercial aircraft tested in the Farnborough wind tunnel.”
“These experiences taught me that every voice matters and that listening to one another is the first step to getting stuff done. That is the approach I am trying to bring as our new Member of Parliament, and I know from Danielle, Syfun, Katie and many other residents who have already come to me with housing cases how much we need to bring greater fairness to our private rental sector, so I am looking forward to supporting this Bill in the Lobby tonight. The history of Aldershot and Farnborough is built on service and Great British innovation. We are the home of the British Army and the birthplace of British aviation. Our story began 170 years ago, as our country entered the Crimean war.”