David Smith
MP for North Northumberland · Labour · United Kingdom
“They feel, rightly, that investment is always going somewhere else, such as the deep south—Manchester, Leeds or somewhere like that—instead of to the true north.”
“While it is certainly true that dualling would do a lot of good for the road, it is also true that a particular dualling project was long dangled and never delivered.”
“No improvement to the road could fix such reckless behaviour, but the problem was emphasised by the merging of the lanes where we were. It was also tragic to learn that two recent fatalities involved foreign nationals.”
“What consideration will the Minister and his Department give to the road as part of RIS4 and in the light of these Green Book changes? I fully support a menu of improvements to the road and believe that there is a sustainable case to be made for them. There is also a political case to be made.”
“It is a real pleasure to open this debate on the A1 through North Northumberland. I have been seeking this debate for months. When I saw the time at which it was originally to have happened, I wondered whether someone somewhere had decided that this Scotsman did not really need to see the big match tonight.”
“Mention Guyzance, Charlton, Hebron, Chevington, Fenwick, Belford or Denwick in my constituency and people might think of those villages, but they are more likely to think of the high-risk junctions there. The second problem is overtaking and unsafe driving.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I also welcome the good news that this week alone, Thales in Belfast has been given a £36 million contract to provide those multi-role missiles, which will support 700 highly skilled jobs in Belfast. Does the Minister agree that the defence industrial strategy represents a huge opportunity for job creation and economic growth in regions such as Northern Ireland and constituencies such as mine in North Northumberland?”
“With respect to the shadow Minister, I have to say as someone who ran peacemaking programmes in Northern Ireland and who did a master’s dissertation on the South African truth and reconciliation commission that, sadly, the legacy Act came nowhere near replicating that. Does the Secretary of State agree that as we take forward the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, we do have both a responsibility to the victims and the survivors and a special duty to our veterans, and that there does not need to be a false dichotomy in creating legislation that supports both groups?”
“In conclusion, the dead end of unfettered market capitalism has been broken by its own failure to deliver decent jobs and affordable energy. We all now need our future to be built on something that brings both economic security and restored social relationships. In short, we need covenant. The Labour mission was never simply to get on in life, but for all of us to share in prosperity and common endeavour. Nye Bevan once said: “We have to build a party that is capable of expressing the desires of the people who sent us here—not just their immediate desires, but their deeper longings for a just and generous society.” The task is to build on this King’s Speech and create both a story and programme that speaks to these longings in work, welfare and energy. [ Official Report , 21 May 2026; Vol. 786, c.”
“When the first American missile was launched into Iran, some of my constituents’ heating and hot water prices doubled. A covenantal response to that is to say, “Let’s work with local communities to meet their needs now instead of pressing on towards jam tomorrow,” so if a wind farm is created in the vicinity of a community with the consent or ownership of that community, the community should benefit financially. We must also acknowledge that many of our constituents will be reliant on oil and gas for decades to come. In my constituency of North Northumberland, for example, 14,000 properties are not on the gas grid. Let us rebuild our energy security and supply using a realistic mix of options, and let us leave everything on the table so that it serves everyone.”
“We are a party that will always support the most vulnerable in our society, and it is right and just to support those who cannot work or who need help to work. We need a welfare system that is based on contribution and in which people are delighted to say, “Yes, I am my brother’s keeper.” Finally, I welcome the Government’s commitment to energy security and the energy independence Bill in the King’s Speech, but without a covenantal relationship between Government and community, we will lose support for the green transition. King’s College London has found that the share of those who support net zero sooner than 2050 has halved since 2021. Meanwhile, energy price rises are already affecting parts of our country and our economy, as we all know.”
“Covenant also speaks to our social security system. According to the last data available, 24 million people in the UK are receiving some form of benefits, including pensions. The total cost of our welfare system is greater than our income tax take, and that strain is weakening our togetherness and the idea of fairness on which the system relies. We need a new Beveridge report for the 21st century. The original report identified—in anachronistic language—the five giants as want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. I suggest that the giants of 2026 are: poverty, worklessness, isolation and hopelessness. I welcome the Government’s upcoming response to the Milburn and Timms reviews.”
“We have done many worthwhile things already to improve work; the Employment Rights Act 2025 was a landmark piece of legislation. However, we need to go further to restore the way that we see and do work. The UK is below average among major nations for in-work training, so we should require employers to invest in their employees’ skills with training opportunities. We should also incentivise a stakeholder economy in which more staff share in the value that they help to create, and replicate the European model of giving ordinary workers seats on company boards. In short, the success of the company should be linked to the thriving of its employees. The steel industry nationalisation Bill creates the perfect opportunity for us to model that for the rest of the economy. Working together in a covenantal Britain, we can see that change.”
“Sacks called this a covenant. We are used to talking in terms of a social contract—a phrase we hear a lot—but the social contract asks, “What am I getting out of this?”, while the social covenant asks, “What do we owe each other?”. We therefore need to legislate for a society that helps us to think about what we owe each other. Work remains central to the task of transforming the country. This is one of the Government’s top priorities—we are, after all, the Labour party. Work is also the main way that we contribute to our shared national life. However, our national relationship with work is threatened. One million young people are not in education, employment or training, and AI is threatening a period of disruption that we have not seen since the days of the spinning jenny.”
“I welcome those commitments. According to the pollster More in Common, seven in 10 Britons feel that our country is “on the wrong track”, and “many are starting to conclude that the problems…lie…with the system itself.” This is a long-term trend. The job of the Government must therefore be to cast a vision of the future that transforms the status quo and then implements it. But what does that future look like, and how does it relate to the economic issues of work, welfare and energy? The late Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said: “We are each a letter in God’s book. Like a letter, we have no meaning on our own, but joined together in families, communities and nations, we form sentences and paragraphs and become part of God’s story.” Even if we do not share his religious views, Sacks’s message is clear: life must be lived together.”
“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), whose comments on community energy I will come to in a moment. It is a real honour to speak in this debate on the Loyal Address on behalf of my constituents in North Northumberland, where the electricity grid is owned by Warren Buffett, the water system is overseen from Hong Kong and most of the buses are run out of Miami. Across many decades and multiple Governments, we have made ourselves a society where everything can be bought and sold for the right price, but the things that matter are often slipping away. We heard renewed commitments in the King’s Speech from the Government to improve our economic security, whether by ensuring a fair deal for working people, responding to the Timms and Milburn reviews on welfare or delivering an energy independence Bill.”
“My constituency neighbour is giving a speech full of hyperbole. The motion is about a specific question, yet he treats this as if it were a referendum on the Prime Minister. Does he agree that that is simply not what we are voting on tonight?”
“I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. For many years it has seemed to me that while our European partners have been able to have significant sovereign procurement programmes, we have so often tied ourselves up in knots and been unable to do the same. My hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) slightly gazumped me with his question. The Government have a commitment to ensure that half of all food purchased across the public sector is locally produced or certified, so what can we do to connect the Minister’s plans with cutting out the middleman and ensuring that farm-gate produce is essential to our procurement programme?”
“There are many things in the hon. Gentleman’s speech that I agree with, but as someone who grew up on the Clyde, does he welcomes the naval shipbuilding on the Clyde and the sales to Norway. Those who live in Scotland—I grew up 15 miles as the crow flies from Faslane—are also protected by the nuclear deterrent.”
“The MHRA has said that ultimately puberty blockers can be very dangerous for bone health and cognitive development, with other long-term effects. We must move from a pause of the trial to its cancellation. There are other types of studies that we can do; I suggest we focus on a data linkage study.”
“I urge the Government to go one step further and cancel the trial altogether, not least because there are alternative approaches for us to establish the facts regarding the use of puberty blockers, and to do so with an approach that is compassionate, understanding and holistic. The only question we should be asking in relation to gender dysphoria is: what is the best approach to support those who experience it? Dr Cass said in her review: “The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown.” In the context of that really good review, the PATHWAYS trial was a mistake. I welcome the trial being paused, because there is so much else that we can do.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. Any debate in which we are talking about the health and wellbeing of children and young people requires us all to be measured in our remarks, not least in the context of a debate that has been so toxic at times. Our focus in clinical studies and in any treatment that we offer anyone, let alone children, should be: “First, do no harm.” It is that axiom that seems to be at the heart of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency intervention that has paused the puberty blocker trial. To summarise where we have got to with the PATHWAYS trial, parents are being asked to consent to a potentially life-altering intervention to their children in the absence of a life-threatening condition, based on an unreliable diagnosis with an unknown trajectory.”
“I warmly welcome the funding just announced, including for areas in my constituency—Budle bay, Belford and areas along the Coquet river. The national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk assessment says that one in four homes are projected to be at risk of flooding by 2050. Will the Minister give us further assurances about what the Government will do on an ongoing basis to address those concerns?”
“The children of Belford primary school in my constituency recently wrote to me on a range of subjects. One of them said: “There are too many people using fossil fuels in Northumberland. It is hurting the earth’s surface and increasing global warming. Please can you encourage people to stop using fossil fuels and walk or bike to more places”. The events of recent weeks have shown that we cannot rely on fossil fuels. Does the Leader of the House agree that the Government’s plans for Great British Energy will enable the growth of local community clean energy projects in Northumberland and across the country, making us more safe in the process?”
“Sticking with detentions in China, last week I had the great honour of meeting Grace Jin Drexel, the daughter of pastor Ezra Jin, who—along with 18 other pastors from Zion House Church—was arrested and detained by the Chinese authorities last October on the very vague charge of illegal use of information online. Basically, they had an online church service. What can the Government do to advocate for the release of all the Zion House Church leaders, and to promote freedom of religion or belief for all people in China?”
“The Minister has been very generous. On the specific point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), similarly in Alnwick and Berwick, in my constituency, there is an issue to do with the diminution of high street banking. Only three years ago, there were three banks in Alnwick and now there are none, and one bank is now closing in Berwick. Regarding the criteria for community banking, will the Government look at Link and other such services, and say that it is not just access to cash that should be a statutory right but access to banking?”
“I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to tight gun controls; in fact, I am very in favour of them, and one of the great strengths of our country, when we compare ourselves with other developed nations, is how we approach gun control. Our thoughts are absolutely with those affected by these tragedies, but I would be grateful if the Government at least provided an exemption for farmers, and possibly others, from the merging of section 1 and 2 licences, if it does go ahead. Some 483 of my constituents signed the petition, and my North Northumberland constituency contains at least 800 farms, with probably well over 1,000 people working in or around agriculture. A number of them have contacted me about the consultation and the changes to firearms licensing that have been floated.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I approached you beforehand to tell you that, unfortunately, I cannot be here at the end of the debate because of a Select Committee, so I apologise to the Minister. That is a genuine shame, because this has been one of the most productive and thoughtful Westminster Hall petition debates I have had the pleasure to be involved in during my short time as a Member of Parliament. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for the thoughtful way in which he opened the debate, covering a wide range of the issues we want to put before the Government. I recognise that the debate comes in the context of some terrible tragedies, including one in Plymouth several years ago, as well as those in Skye and elsewhere.”
“There are a number of ways to secure an exemption, if that was how we wanted to do it, and to differentiate farmers and agricultural workers—those who need these tools of the trade to do their jobs. That could, for instance, include retaining section 2 for pest control; that could be the categorisation. Or we could simply keep section 2 for those who are clearly working as farmers and agricultural workers. Police forces are clever enough to make a common-sense call on whether an individual is a farmer—usually the tractor gives it away. Alternatively, other policy events have shown the need for a central register of active farmers. Increasingly, we need to distinguish who our farmers are.”
“There is no evidence base to suggest that it is farmers or agricultural workers whom we need to be worried about. Impositions on farmers will not make us safer; they will just make people worse farmers, because they will spend more time securing the tools they need in order to do their job than doing it. Fundamentally, if we want food, they need shotguns. Incidentally, it should be no surprise that Northumbria police are the second worst police service in the country for firearm licensing processing times, because their remit covers thousands of farms. I have been assured by them that they are working on the situation, but there is a compelling case for the standardisation of firearms licensing, as we have heard, and I welcome that element being part of the proposed changes.”
“As my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) said earlier, we need must base our decisions on evidence. That is why I welcome the fact that there is a consultation, but it should be a genuine consultation on the facts of the matter. Speaking of facts, I would expect every farmer in my constituency to own at least one shotgun, and that goes for all farmers and agricultural workers across the United Kingdom, of whom there may be up to 300,000. For all of them, as we have heard, shotguns are not a pastime but a necessary tool of their trade, much like a stethoscope, a power drill or a laptop. Farmers are responsible and sober shotgun owners because they are professionals. They know the damage that firearms can deliver, because they are required to use them so that we can eat our food.”
“They should not be penalised for using the tools of their trade to grow our food, and it is clear that a common-sense farming exemption—or some such exemption—would save farmers and police a lot of time, money and stress.”
“I am absolutely open to the idea of having a broad category of those who need firearms for their jobs. Farmers in my constituency definitely need them, and that is my starting place, but I am very open to that category being wider than just farmers. The need for a register may be a reminder to the Government that it is a good idea to know who our food growers are in a volatile world. I know, as we all do in this place, that farmers’ mental health has faced challenges. They are isolated and face immense pressures at times. I strongly support calls for empowering GPs to routinely use markers if there is a relevant change in the mental health of a gun owner. We need to provide wraparound support, so that someone can step in when people need help. North Northumberland farmers and others are safe gun owners.”
“It is really disappointing to see those on the Opposition Front Bench treating this as if it is some kind of party political issue. They do not have a monopoly on outrage about this; it really should be a cross-party issue. I will ask my hon. Friend the Minister about a specific element. As she and the Government work for the release of Jimmy Lai in this outrage, can she keep in consideration his freedom of religion or belief? I understand that he has been denied access to the Eucharist. As we are making representations on his behalf, as all of us should, can we keep that in mind?”
“My right hon. Friend may shortly be coming on to this, but civil cases have been raised as a concern given the potential for lawfare, notwithstanding that people like Gerry Adams are also subject to civil action in the coming months. Will he outline what he expects in terms of civil cases against those who served in our military or security services?”
“We can talk about political parties and we can talk about the general population, but does the shadow Secretary of State agree that there is nearly universal opposition among victims of terrorism to the conditional immunity in the legacy Act?”
“The hon. Gentleman will know the respect with which he is held in this Chamber for raising attention to the matters of terrorist atrocities over many years. On both sides of the House, we are keen to hear his stories, so we would just like him to take a moment and we look forward to hearing them.”
“I am very clear that I am owned by a chocolate labrador. Coco is 12 now and the problem seems to be getting worse every year. That is why the reduction in decibels would be the most effective way of dealing with the problem. People could let fireworks off when they wanted and where they wanted, as long as the sound was reduced. Does the hon. Gentleman agree?”
“Meanwhile, some federal state legal systems have been manipulated by some politicians and other public officials in order to impose so-called blasphemy and apostasy offences, despite section 38 of the Nigerian federal constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion and of conscience. Nigeria’s FORB crisis is partly about violence, but it is also about legal suppression of freedoms at the state level, and it is a multi-faith crisis. While the majority of those affected are Christian, all FORB advocates know that persecution of one group invites persecution of others. Moderate Muslims, atheists, humanists and practitioners of traditional religions are all suffering in Nigeria for what they believe.”
“I am committed to that strategy and to seeing Nigeria’s FORB improve in the coming years. Fifteen years ago, I spent some time in Nigeria, and it was clear even then that persecution was a serious problem. I remember sitting in a hotel room in a very nice hotel in Abuja and hearing directly from a man whose wife had been brutally murdered by a mob in northern Nigeria—I am sad to say, burned to death—purely because she was a Christian. Let me reiterate: that was 15 years ago. The FORB crisis in Nigeria is persistent and entrenched, with violence in the north and the middle belt a way of life for Christians, Hausa Muslims, those of traditional belief systems, humanists and others.”
“It is a great pleasure to lead this debate on Government support for freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria; I hope that we have some good debate. Recent events have thrown a spotlight on Nigeria in general, and on freedom of religion or belief in particular, so I hope that this debate can strengthen that spotlight. One fact should make the scale of the challenge clear: more Christians are killed each year in Nigeria for being Christians than in all other countries combined. That is one reason why Nigeria is one of 10 focus countries in the first Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office freedom of religion or belief strategy, which I was pleased to launch last year. I declare an interest: I am the UK special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, or FORB, as I will refer to it from now on.”
“The old adage is: “When Nigeria sneezes, Africa catches a cold.” Nigeria is booming, with a population of 240 million that will keep growing for years to come. In the UK, we have 270,000 Nigerian-born residents, who make a dynamic contribution to our economy, society and country. A flourishing Nigeria, built on the common good, pluralism and universal freedoms, will be a blessing to the world, to Africa and to the UK.”
“I thank the hon. Member. I know that he is concerned about this issue and has spent a lot of his time in this place addressing it. I am aware of that list. I am pleased to be speaking speak at the Open Doors world watch list launch tomorrow—I understand that Nigeria is also high on that list. What does this have to do with us in this place? First, the Government are committed to a values-based foreign policy. Our consciences will not let us ignore the suffering of anyone denied dignity, agency and freedom. When people ask, “Why do you care about something like this in Nigeria?” our response is, “How could we not?” I am pleased to support the Government, which have moved to address suffering as far and wide as possible. Secondly, Nigeria’s business is becoming everyone’s business.”
“In the last six weeks alone, 13 people have been kidnapped from a church in Kogi state, in what the BBC called “the second such attack in as many weeks”, and a bomb was set off in a mosque in Borno state, sadly killing at least five worshippers. Those are just the latest in a long line of attacks, violence and atrocities. That is why, on Christmas day last year, the American Government launched strikes on the Lakurawa militants in Sokoto state, in the far north-west of Nigeria, who are affiliated with Islamic State. Those strikes raised the profile of the uncertainty, fear and insecurity that many Nigerians live with daily. Between 2011 and 2025, at least 45,000 Christians in Nigeria were killed for faith-related reasons.”
“I thank the hon. Member for his contribution. I would certainly say that there are patterns around the world, and we must consider them honestly and address them. It is true that, as in Nigeria, freedom of religion or belief affects everyone, but we must be honest and straightforward when a particular community is affected more than others, and I will say a little more about that in my speech. I have mentioned the UK’s Nigerian connections. A flourishing Nigeria, built on the common good is good for us all, but that is sadly some way off. Many of us here will have a rough idea of the situation—I see many colleagues in the Chamber who care passionately about freedom of religion or belief around the world, including in Nigeria.”
“In Kaduna state, for example—after controlling for population—Christians were 15.8 times more likely to be abducted than Muslims, so there is a particular issue there. The situation continues to deteriorate. It is therefore reasonable to ask questions of the Nigerian military about their security response. In June last year, 258 people were killed in Yelwata, in Benue state. The nearest military base was just 20 miles away, but it took four hours for anyone to respond. In the face of all this, it is perhaps unsurprising that the United States again announced in late October on social media that it would designate Nigeria a country of particular concern. As the Middle Belt Times in Nigeria put it, “The message is unmistakable: Nigeria’s government is capable of fighting terrorism when sufficiently motivated. The capacity exists.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for his contribution, and especially for his role in the Bishop of Truro’s report, which led to my position and ultimately played a huge part in putting freedom of religion or belief at the centre of our foreign policy. I am certainly advocating for that in my role, and I know that the Government take it seriously. There is a false dichotomy in whether to advance freedoms or build economic relationships; we should have a holistic relationship with all partner countries around the world. Moderate Muslims are also targeted by the extremists, who we need to call out. Religion is clearly key, but persecution is not necessarily evenly spread in every situation and in every country, and that is true of Nigeria.”
“Freedom House reports that in Nigeria, “State and local governments have been known to endorse de facto official religions in their territory, placing limits on other religious activity.” So-called apostasy and blasphemy laws have spread into Nigeria’s social and legal landscape, often led by regional or local Governments. Twelve northern states have enacted the sharia penal code, which Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports is effectively creating a “state religion”, in violation of Nigeria’s constitution.”
“As I said in answer to the previous intervention, I do agree that it is very important for us not to have segmented or siloed relationships with other countries; we need to treat our relationships holistically. I look forward to the Minister’s response, because I know the Government are doing a lot—they regularly raise cases of freedom of religion or belief with counterparts in foreign Governments. My view is that we need to have a holistic relationship with other countries, and that includes freedom of religion or belief. Let me quickly move to the issue of legal suppression of freedoms.”
“As climate change disrupts the Sahel and central Africa further, the promise of a resilient Nigeria with a strong sense of its future as a pluralist democracy cannot be understated.”
“It would be irresponsible to assume that Nigeria’s problems are not our own. Nigeria is playing an increasingly influential role globally. It is young, resource-rich and growing. The UN has projected that Nigeria will become the third most populous country on Earth by 2050, and as I have said, the UK is home to a substantial and growing community of Nigerian-born residents. They are a hard-working, law-abiding, enterprising part of our nation, and we are privileged to have them with us. Working well with Nigeria is in our interest for the sake of all. Nigeria also represents a genuine democracy in a region where military Governments are common and civil society precarious.”
“It would be easy to dismiss Nigeria’s problem as something “over there” and think that persecution of religion or belief abroad is not our problem, but that position would be irresponsible, immoral and ultimately untenable. It is immoral because when we see other humans in need, we want to respond, as humans. How could we turn away from the suffering in Nigeria when we see families ripped apart, innocent people killed and power brokers restricting the agency, liberty and conscience of others? We in the UK have a rich history of experiencing and rejecting religious intolerance that we can share in humility, hopefully, with others. We had civil wars and riots. Those riots became debates, debates became freedoms, and those freedoms led to flourishing. The hallmark of freedom is wanting freedom for others. That brings me to irresponsibility.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I have been very pleased to meet Mubarak Bala twice now, most recently in person in Warsaw. He is a great credit to himself. He has suffered very unjustly as a result of being a humanist. I am sure we will hear this from the Minister, but the Government seem to be very clear that we should not be supporting blasphemy laws, and we do see people suffering as a result of them. In the interests of time, I will move on and maybe not take any interventions for a moment. Why does this matter to us? We are 3,000 miles away from Nigeria, but we are linked by history, culture and language, and we are linked by friendship. Nigeria and the United Kingdom have a very strong relationship.”
“That was later followed by a crackdown on Falun Gong and Christians, and religious prisoners ultimately end up joined by journalists, activists, trade unionists and other rabble rousers who the state would prefer not to deal with. We must robustly defend freedom of religion or belief, to avoid that slippery slope.”
“The hon. Gentleman is right to draw other factors into the equation, whether it is competition over land in the middle belt of Nigeria, the climate change that leads to it, or other forms of identitarian conflict and competition for resources. Those things are true, without question. In my estimation it is also true that there is a specifically religious dimension, and at times a political dimension, to the persecution—I would say it can be both at the same time. I am concerned that this can lead to a slippery slope. For example, we could compare it with the situation in China, where Tibetan Buddhists have been persecuted for years.”
“I will make a little progress, as I want to ensure that the Minister has time to respond. The Government are doing some great things that I get to see and making a great deal of progress. We will hear from the Minister, but in my estimation the Government are supporting security work in Nigeria, working closely with the Nigerian Government, including on the SPRiNG—Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria—programme, which I hope we will hear more about, and building a sense of communal interfaith relationship and peace building—something I did in the past in a different context. That is really important, and I would love to hear more from the Minister about what that could look like if we grow it more.”