Baggy Shanker
MP for Derby South · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests relating to Rolls-Royce. By backing SMRs, which the previous Government failed to do, this Government are backing Britain, delivering stronger energy security and good, skilled jobs in Derby and across the UK.”
“My constituents are fed up with getting fleeced by private parking operators, and this is an issue not just in Derby. The RAC expects a record 17 million fines from just the last year alone, costing drivers well over £100 million.”
“Recently, I was proud to join EMR driver Ross and driver manager Peter in travelling from Derby to St Pancras. From the cab, I saw at first hand the skill, dedication and immense responsibility that every single journey requires of our dedicated train drivers. Friday’s crash has tragically demonstrated the scale of that responsibility.”
“It is shocking that, in some hotspot areas, 50% of convenience stores or vape shops are linked to organised crime. My constituents in Derby South are really fed up with that, and so are legitimate business owners. Does my hon. Friend think it is time to crack down and shut down these dodgy shops once and for all?”
“Unfair terms on retirement village leases are leaving grieving families in Derby trapped, facing huge exit fees while extortionate service charges rack up on their empty properties. Will the Minister support those families by addressing the unfair terms that they face when a parent or loved one passes away?”
“From Denby Pottery to Royal Crown Derby, soaring energy costs are hitting our ceramics industry hard, putting more skilled jobs at risk. I welcome the recently announced ceramics support package, which will help bring costs down, but can the Minister confirm that he will work with colleagues across Government to ensure that energy bill su…”
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“Voters had the opportunity to make their voices heard on 4 July, and they did. They overwhelmingly voted for change with Labour. That is why looking forward to 2025, it is vital that the result of last year’s election is respected. I know that there will be voters who did not want a Labour Government in the first place. There will be other voters who do not agree with some of the tough decisions we have made in Government so far. But none of this means we should revisit the election result. Voters will rightly have the opportunity to judge us on our record at the next general election, and we encourage them to do this. That is the beauty of our democracy. I would like to take some time to discuss Labour’s record, because I am exceptionally proud of our initial achievements in government.”
“It is a pleasure to contribute to this debate under your chairship, Mrs Harris. The new year offers a good opportunity to reflect on a busy 2024, which saw the country choose to elect a Labour Government after a long and hard-fought election campaign. Though we are rightly proud of our democratic political system in the UK, we cannot ignore the mistrust in our politics and some politicians. This mistrust has been inflamed by years of Tory chaos at the heart of Government. The new Government is made up of serious, principled political leaders who are committed to working hard to rebuild that trust. Despite the challenges we face, I am proud that in our country Governments are elected by democratic process. We vote for our representatives at polling stations or by post, not through an online petition.”
“On Small Business Saturday recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Derby’s small businesses of various types, which are the beating heart of our city. However, as our planned city centre regeneration project recognises, empty shops on our high street do not reflect the high-performing, high-technology economy that we are so proud to have in Derby. Building on the new community right to buy, what more can the Department do to ensure that community groups receive the correct business advice and support to use this new right and to breathe new life and vibrancy into our high streets?”
“We have provided £60 million through the farming recovery fund and allocated an additional £208 million to strengthen defences against disease threats. Those are clear examples of a commitment to safeguard farming in the UK. That is what tangible support for British farmers looks like. Opposition Members can moan, but let us remember that since 2010 more than 12,000 farmers and agriculture companies have been forced out of business. Moreover, trade deals with New Zealand and Australia, brokered by the Conservatives, opened up the UK to meat imports produced to standards so low that they would be illegal in Britain. That is their legacy on British farming. Non-farming investors have dominated land purchases, with over half the farms and estates sold being acquired by non-farmers.”
“Thank you for allowing me to speak under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. British farmers play a significant role in keeping the nation fed, and they are the custodians of our beautiful countryside. In recognition of their vital role, the Budget is steadfast in its commitment to supporting them. More than £5 billion will be allocated to the farming budget over the next two years to bolster sustainable food production and promote nature’s recovery. Food security is national security, which is why supporting farmers to feed our nation remains a top priority. To achieve that goal, the Government will leverage their purchasing power to ensure that at least half the food procured for hospitals, military bases and prisons is locally sourced and certified to meet high environmental standards.”
“The shadow Secretary of State made an important point about the health and wellbeing of our farmers. As operation waiting times were almost three times higher when she was Health Secretary than they were in 2010, does she not welcome the investment that this Government are putting into our NHS? [ Interruption. ]”
“A systematic review by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Liverpool directly ties austerity policies to food insecurity and the rise in food banks. So what can be done? The scale of the problem is immense, but the Labour Government are already taking meaningful steps to addressing it. Children should not bear the brunt of a failed system. They should not go to school hungry. That is why I am proud to support the Government’s commitment to invest more than £30 million in the roll-out of free breakfast clubs next year. That will make a considerable difference to those young children’s lives and opportunities, but more can always be done. I welcome the Government’s approach to ensuring that we have a level playing field, taking down barriers to opportunity and supporting young families.”
“Volunteers in charities such as the Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance work tirelessly to support those in need, in partnership with Community Action Derby and other organisations. In total, about 14 food or meal-based charities work in and around Derby, providing personalised support. Last year, they gave more than 20,000 food parcels to families across Derby. However, there is only so much work that those amazing organisations can do. Poverty and food insecurity are deeply intertwined, and there are clear links to austerity measures. Changes to the welfare system, including delays and reductions introduced during the Tory-led austerity era, marked the beginning of a dramatic rise in food bank reliance. That is not just my view: it is grounded in evidence.”
“It is a pleasure to contribute to this important debate under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) on securing it. As a few Members have highlighted, and as I continually hear on the doorsteps and during surgeries in my Derby South constituency, the use of food banks is unfortunately on the rise, which is a damning indictment of political choices that have failed to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. As we have heard, the Trussell Trust estimates that 3.12 million people in the UK used a food bank in 2023-24, compared with just under 26,000 in 2008-09. Food bank teams make an extraordinary contribution to addressing the nation’s food insecurity crisis, and those in Derby are no exception.”
“Last week a report published by the National Energy System Operator noted that although the programme to roll out new small modular reactors was being developed for the mid-2030s, a 2030 roll-out date would in fact be possible. Given that SMR technologies hold exciting and significant potential for investment in jobs and infrastructure in constituencies such as mine, has the Minister considered the value of bringing the roll-out forward to 2030?”
“I close by again welcoming the Chancellor’s Budget, which last week took responsible if difficult decisions to redress the Tory budget deficit and begin rebuilding Britain.”
“Although it marks the start of a welcome new chapter, delivering long-term stability and much-needed change, it is important that working people feel the positive impact of this Labour Government. Continuing the focus on public service, I turn to the matter of the settlements for local authorities in the Budget. As in every constituency, our council plays an important role in providing for families and individuals who are facing specific challenges, whether that be in social care, housing or the availability of SEND provision. Given that crucial role, and the cost and demand pressures that are not unique to Derby but face councils across the UK, I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of an additional £1.3 billion of funding.”
“Having served since 2008 as a Derby City councillor, and with my wife working in the NHS, we have seen at first hand the impact of Tory austerity, which, as Lord Darzi has highlighted, caused our NHS to face its most austere decade and has pushed many local authorities to the brink. In my constituency, the Florence Nightingale community hospital delivers critical health and care services to Derby residents, ranging from in-patient rehabilitation to palliative care. Services such as those provided by the Florence Nightingale Community Hospital must be protected. That is why I was delighted to hear the Chancellor announce the largest real-terms growth in day-to-day NHS spending outside of covid since 2010. With the record funding announced for our NHS and the investment across our public services, there is much to welcome in the Budget.”
“It is a privilege to contribute to today’s debate on the first Labour Budget delivered in more than 15 years. Let me start by welcoming the unwavering focus of the Chancellor and her team on improving the lives of working people by investing in our public services. This Government have not ducked the difficult decisions, as the previous Government did, but confronted them. We have committed to rebuilding our country and its public services, prioritising the lives and livelihoods of working people in doing so. That is why I take immense pride in rising to speak today to discuss this Labour Budget.”
“Despite successive challenges from devastating local government cuts, the impact of lockdowns during the covid pandemic, and 14 years of under-investment from the last Government, we are fighting back in Derby. We have turned a corner, and I would say that we are actually on the up. We now have a Labour Government, a Labour East Midlands Mayor—who is key to this solution—and a Labour council. Importantly, we have a really strong private-public sector partnership trying to deliver a cleaner, safer and more prosperous Derby, but there is lots more to do. Does the Minister agree that there is more scope to regenerate our city centres with a forward-thinking, collaborative Government who work with the private sector, but put working people at the forefront?”
“We need look no further than my own constituency where, as leader of the council, I was proud to introduce the Derby promise. The city of Derby has made—”
“It is time to put an end to a system that allows a privileged few to enjoy tax breaks while the majority of our children are left with lesser funded schools, and we know that is true. What will this investment achieve? It will be used to recruit and retain thousands more teachers, ensuring that every child has access to the quality education that they deserve. We will reform Ofsted, improve our schools, and provide early speech and language intervention for our youngest children. Mental health counsellors will be placed in every secondary school, because we understand that a child’s wellbeing is as important as their academic success. We will expand careers advice and work experience, giving students the skills and confidence to shape their own futures. We know that this works.”
“Schools were left crumbling, standards were left falling and they had the audacity to claim that they had “maxed out” on support for our children. We know that that could not be further from the truth. Our state schools are in desperate need of investment, and that is why Labour is making the tough political and fiscal choices necessary to prioritise our children’s future. One of the toughest yet most significant steps we will take is to levy VAT on private schools and end their business rates exemptions. By doing so, we will generate over £1.3 billion. That money will be reinvested directly into the state education system, benefiting the 93% of children who attend state schools.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor— [ Interruption. ] I have done it again, haven’t I? I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker, but that is my local government background. Education is the foundation upon which we build the future of our country. It opens doors, breaks down barriers and creates opportunity. Yet today so many of our young people are being left behind by an education system that is struggling to meet their needs. Labour is committed to changing that by driving high and rising standards in all areas in our state schools, ensuring that every child, no matter where they come from, has the same access to excellent education. When the Tories left office—let us use the word “left”—they also left behind a trail of devastation across our education system.”
“The contents of the King’s Speech are just the start of that journey. Once again, I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity.”
“When our beloved Derby County—a founder member of the Football League—ran into financial difficulties, it was saved from administration by a local man and fan, David Clowes, preserving the club for its supporters. The new regulator will significantly reduce the risk of Derby County or any other club being faced with a similar prospect, and our cherished clubs will be saved. Derby has so much to be proud of in what we have given the world and what the world has given Derby. As I have said, I am so excited about what we can achieve in Derby with a thriving public and private sector partnership, now a Labour council, a Labour police and crime commissioner, a Labour East Midlands Mayor and a Labour Government. We must work together to retain what is best about cities such as Derby and to develop what is needed.”
“I want Derby’s young people to have access to similar opportunities, not just in engineering but in other sectors, including the expert design and manufacture of sporting apparel by companies such as HUUB in Derby; architecture, design and construction with companies such as Wavensmere Homes; and the cultural and entertainment sector at places such as QUAD, Déda and Derby theatre. In addition to the growth ambitions outlined in His Majesty’s Speech, Derby people will be particularly pleased to hear that the Government are taking forward plans to introduce an independent football regulator. That regulator will promote the financial sustainability of football clubs, ensuring that they make prudent financial decisions.”
“Nowhere is that vision more needed than in my home city and many other cities across the UK. We have significant challenges with social mobility in Derby, and unfortunately those divides have widened over the past 14 years, in terms not just of income but of life expectancy. Recent information suggests that people living in Derby city centre have the lowest life expectancy anywhere in Derbyshire, a statistic that we must change. Access to decent homes, good education and secure jobs are key drivers of health equality, and I will be fighting for those things for the people of my city. I began an engineering apprenticeship at the age of 16, leading to a rewarding career, and recently spent over a decade at the iconic Rolls-Royce.”
“The closure of Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane site would have left the UK as the only G7 nation without essential design, manufacturing and testing facilities for rail, an outcome that we simply could not countenance. Marketing Derby, our city’s award-winning inward investment agency, and our local Derby Telegraph were integral in securing the support of hundreds of businesses around Derby in the campaign to save that train manufacturing plant. I would not have the time to name in my speech everybody who helped. Thankfully, we did retain so many of those jobs, and now we must build on our significant rail heritage for future generations. We must harness the industriousness of places such as Derby and couple it with bold and ambitious legislation to build a Britain that works for working people once again.”
“Derby folk have always led the way with their industrious and hard-working nature, but they also appreciate fairness and co-operation, values that extend to the rest of our county and are reflected in the return of Labour Members of Parliament in every one of Derbyshire’s 11 seats. I was delighted to hear in the King’s Speech confirmation that legislation will be brought forward to establish Great British Railways, an outcome that I and my hon. Friends the Members for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) and for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby)—yes, I said Derbyshire Dales—have campaigned for in earnest. I am thrilled that we now have a Government who are committed to delivering its headquarters in Derby. We also campaigned to save the train maker Alstom, which employs so many highly skilled workers in my constituency.”
“It would be remiss of me not to mention a man who many new and returning Members across the House will have known, and who could always be found by Margaret’s side: the extraordinary late Leo Beckett. We will always miss him dearly. From the leafy surroundings of Britain’s first public park, the Arboretum, to the best high-tech aero engine testbed facilities and the places where small modular reactors are being designed as I speak, Derby South is a place where tradition and tomorrow meet. The history of our city is rich, vibrant and steeped in engineering excellence: it is widely thought that Derby’s historic silk mill, located on the River Derwent, was the first fully mechanised factory in the world.”
“As we have already heard, Margaret was the first female leader of the Labour party, the first female Foreign Secretary, and Britain’s longest-serving female Member of Parliament, to name just a few of her achievements. Among her many firsts, Margaret was the first to encourage me to seek selection for this seat. She has been a political mentor and a friend to me for many years, and I will always appreciate her unwavering support. Her dedication and duty to our city over the 40-plus years that she represented Derby South are unmatched, and she continues to inspire many generations of political activists. As we have heard, we are fortunate to be able to continue drawing upon the wisdom that she will offer from the red Benches in the other place.”
“Derby elected England’s first ever Labour Member of Parliament, Richard Bell. However, so as not to alienate any of my Welsh colleagues so early on, it pains me to make it clear he was not the first Labour Member of Parliament in Britain. After the creation of the Derby South constituency in 1950, it was won for Labour by Philip Noel-Baker, who is the only person to have been awarded an Olympic gold medal and a Nobel prize. He was followed in 1970 by staunch trade unionist Walter Johnson, who served the constituency for 13 years, after which a woman who has made history several times over won the seat for Labour. Her name? The right hon. Dame Margaret Beckett —hon. Members may have heard of her.”
“It means so much that the residents of Derby South placed their confidence and trust in me, and it is the honour of my life to amplify their voices in this place. I was born and raised in the constituency that I now represent, where my parents settled in the 1950s to help rebuild the country after the devastation of the second world war. My father exchanged his simple farming tools, on which he relied to feed his family in the Punjab, for overalls in a local engineering foundry. Just one generation later, I stand here delivering this speech in this place. It still feels a little surreal. Alongside honour, I must confess that I also feel the weight of history in taking this seat—I am only the fourth person ever to do so. Derby has a proud political history and has been home to many significant political figures.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your new role. A number of us on the Labour Benches know what it is like to be on your first day at work. I thank and congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) on her excellent maiden speech. She raised the important issue of equality, and I am sure that she will continue to press on such matters. I thank the many House staff and officials for making our start here so welcoming and informative. I also thank my colleagues, family and friends, and the residents of Derby South, for their incredible support during the campaign to get me to this place. I am immensely proud to represent the people of my home city as a Labour and Co-op MP.”