Connor Naismith
MP for Crewe and Nantwich · Labour · United Kingdom
“The Minister’s statement will be welcomed by year 2 at St Michael’s community academy in Crewe, who I visited recently. I heard letters read aloud by the children, demonstrating their concern about the need to protect our environment and natural habitats.”
“T2. During a coffee morning on the Sherborne estate in Crewe, I spoke with several residents who described persistent and distressing levels of antisocial behaviour in our community, including having eggs thrown at their properties.”
“Shabir Ahmed is a vile criminal, and the British public rightly want to see him deported. Does the Minister agree that where the law does not allow us to do so, we should change it, and that we should redouble efforts to secure returns agreements with countries like Pakistan?”
“As many hon. Members have said, high streets speak to something fundamental about our identity and self-confidence in the places we call home. However, in too many towns up and down our country, they are now filled with betting shops, charity shops, vape shops or, in many cases, empty shop windows, devoid of life. The hon.”
“Yes, I absolutely agree. We also need a tax system that incentivises the kinds of economic activity we want to see for the Pride in Place agenda. Too many of my small independent hospitality businesses have told me that it is not where we currently are.”
“I am a huge supporter of the high street rental auctions and the Pride in Place agenda, but we must go further in giving local authorities the power, capacity, confidence and funding to put those powers to use so that my constituents can once again be truly proud of the civic spaces that we call our town centres.”
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“I am sorry, but I have given way several times already. I welcome the Government going even further in the Bill to level the playing field and ensure that those with the broadest shoulders take the heaviest burden. That is why we need the legislation to close loopholes such as the non-dom status, change the furnished holiday lettings tax regime and provide more resources to HMRC to tackle the tax gap. That will help us address the financial black hole that the Conservative party clearly had no regard for, claims does not exist and has failed to apologise for. The Bill will allow us to fix what the Leader of the Opposition admitted today were broken foundations. I believe that the Government’s Budget and the Bill will be a vital starting point on a long road to recovery for this country.”
“The Labour mayors Andy Burnham and Richard Parker are developing proposals for a new rail link between Birmingham and Manchester. What engagement has the Department had with the mayors and investors in relation to this project, and does my right hon. Friend agree that, as a key transport hub, Crewe must be at the heart of any future rail infrastructure connecting the north and the midlands?”
“A number of my constituents in the village of Haslington have been in touch with me about poor mobile signal and digital connectivity in the village. One constituent was unable to contact emergency services in the event of a medical emergency. Does the Minister agree that the lack of progress on connectivity in our rural areas under 14 years of Conservative Government is unacceptable? Will he meet me to discuss how we can improve matters for my constituents?”
“My constituents in Nantwich often report experiencing unacceptable antisocial behaviour at night, particularly linked to the night-time economy, so I welcome the Government’s plan to introduce zero-tolerance zones and respect orders to get a grip of the antisocial behaviour that the last Government allowed to run out of control. Will the Minister say a little more about how this will help my constituents?”
“I strongly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Some £5.4 million will be delivered for buses in my area, which is a significant increase in real terms on previous years. When I met the chief executive of my local chamber of commerce, he said that the biggest barrier to growth in our area was poor public transport. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this investment, as well as the Government’s proposed reforms, are crucial if we are to break down barriers to opportunity and grow our economy?”
“The shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), and Conservative Members are still banging the drum for the failed Rwanda gimmick. Does the Minister agree that if the previous Government were so confident that that policy would work, they would not have called an election before that theory could be put to the test?”
“The Birmingham to Crewe leg of the original HS2 project was due to return £1.91 for every £1 spent. I welcome the Government’s new approach to infrastructure investment, and I look forward to working with them to realise the potential of my constituency as a transport hub. My constituents did not elect a Labour Government to continue the failed, miserable image of the future projected by the Conservative party—a future where public services can only decline, where growth flatlines and where the only figures rising are debt, destitution and the number of failed Prime Ministers in a single Parliament. They voted for change, and that is what this Government delivers, so I commend the Budget to the House.”
“Businesses also rely on a functioning health service, a quality education system and investment in our broken infrastructure. They also rely on their customers having money in their pockets to spend in the local economy. I am, therefore, delighted to see a transformational uplift in the minimum wage, which will positively impact thousands of workers in my constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. I welcome also the commitment to extending High Speed 2 to Euston and the recognition that spending on major infrastructure does not merely carry a cost to the taxpayer but has the potential to pay back to society through economic growth and wider societal benefits. It is imperative that we now turn our focus towards delivering a solution between Birmingham and Manchester.”
“This is a Budget that answers the call made by many of the constituents I spoke to during the general election. It is a Budget for change: change for our national health service, change in the living standards of working people and change to our declining investment in infrastructure. Yes, there were tough decisions; we on the Government Benches do not shy away from that fact. The key difference between this Government’s approach and that of our predecessor for the last 14 years is that we simply refuse to place the burden of those tough choices on the backs of working families. There has been lots of talk about business during the debate, but the Opposition do business a disservice, as if the only thing that business cares about is the tax bill.”
“The River Weaver, which runs through the town of Nantwich in my constituency, suffered from a spate of devastating pollution last year, killing hundreds of fish and blighting our beautiful market town. It is believed that the cause of the pollution was slurry dumping from intense agriculture. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the engagement and support that farmers need to dispose of slurry mix in the appropriate way will form part of the review?”
“That is the crux, and it goes back to my previous points—there is no parity here with the incentives, the business planning and the costs that private landlords are facing. We have to have that parity. If the legislation is extending across, the funding needs to be the same. We have to have parity in the investment, the caps and everything else—that needs to be the same. We need that review into all the taxes and costs impacting private landlords, because, quite frankly, we are not getting legislation from either Government Department—the Treasury or MHCLG—that understands the investor appetite for the private rented sector. This legislation is not helping.”
“Specifically—this has been mentioned in terms of the private sector—it is important to recognise that the housing association sector faces multiple and competing pressures, with budgets that are already stretched. We would like to see investment in existing homes at the same time as development of the desperately needed new and affordable homes in the Government’s long-term housing strategy. I suggest that similar attention would be needed for the private sector. Timothy Douglas: May I pick up on that point? That argument was used in Scotland on the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022. I gave evidence on that legislation two or three times to the Committee up there. In the end, the argument was that the cap was lifted for the social rented sector because it needs to plan for its investment.”
“We welcome the Government’s commitment to reviewing the decent homes standard. We are pleased to continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as this develops. In terms of some feedback for the private rented sector, we agree that it is important to have a clear, modern and meaningful standard that reflects what residents would expect a decent home to be. It is also important that all landlords should have a clear understanding of the condition of all their homes. In the social sector, we are doing work to develop a more consistent approach in that area, as part of our response to “The Better Social Housing Review”. It would need to be something that private landlords were able to do as well to bring up standards.”
“Q My question goes back to the decent homes standard, and the first part of the question is potentially more for Suzannah. What insights do you have into the impact of the application of the decent homes standard in the social rented sector and then, potentially, on everyone else? How do you see it translating across to the private sector, in terms of the impact on the standard of homes there? Suzannah Young: We believe that everyone has the right to a warm, dry, safe, secure and affordable home, and social housing has a greater proportion of decent homes than housing of any other tenure. That could suggest that having a decent homes standard helps to bring up standards in housing. We also recognise that housing associations exist to fulfil a social purpose, and we are rightly held to a higher standard.”
“We would like to see the Government set up a commission to look into ways we can bring rents down and keep them affordable once and for all. That is something that we would like to see.”
“Q Helpfully, the question I wanted to ask has been answered, so I will just give you the opportunity to say anything that you have not been able to cover in other answers, but that you would like to see from the Bill. Anny Cullum: As I said, the five areas that I wanted to cover were illegal evictions, landlord licensing, capping rent up front to one month, withholding rent for disrepair and making renting more affordable. We see even the cap on in-tenancy rent rises as not really about affordability, but mainly about preventing back-door economic evictions or section 21s. We feel that, while this Bill goes far on improving security for renters, it is not going to do enough to address one of the No. 1 problems our tenants and members are coming to us with every day, which is affordability. Rents are outstripping wages all the time.”
“Crewe and Nantwich athletic club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, is home to the only competitive-standard athletics track in south Cheshire. However, the track is in desperate need of improvements so that the club can continue to flourish and support the young people who use its facilities. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what support might be available to deliver those crucial improvements?”
“I believe that each town across this country has its own distinct draw, and local authorities need to be empowered by the Government to reflect that. In my constituency, we have demonstrated how hospitality, leisure and experience-based initiatives can drive improvement. We have had fantastic events such as Nantwich Food Festival, and investment by our Labour-led council in Crewe Market Hall has transformed the venue into a thriving modern food, drink and entertainment space.”
“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, which I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) for calling. Town centres are not merely a collection of shop units in our town centre. They form part of the social fabric of our communities, and they deserve—mine certainly does—a Government who will proactively regenerate that social fabric. As the MP for Crewe and Nantwich, the place I am proud to call my home, I have witnessed the decline of Crewe town centre. It is not lost on me that the emergence of online retail has had a part to play in the decline of our town centres. We need a Government who stand ready to respond to these changing circumstances, not one who simply expect the market alone to sort it all out.”
“Our railway heritage is a fantastic asset for regional and national connectivity, but it presents a challenge, with railway bridges and tracks creating connectivity problems in the town centre. I hope that the Government’s planning reforms will give more power to local authorities or prospective private investors into towns across the UK. The Government’s commitment to cross-departmental working will support greater connectivity within our town centres. I want the Government to put local communities at the heart of decision making. In our manifesto, we talked about returning power to local communities, and I urge the Government to make good on that promise.”
“None the less, there are challenges that I know not only my constituency faces, as we have heard from the contributions so far, including that of empty shop units, which has been mentioned often. Local councils need to be given power to take a more active role in the take-up of empty units. The disused Marks & Spencer building in Crewe is a great but sad example of just that, with significant heritage and value that makes it an important asset to our community, but damage inside that makes it a poor attraction commercially, meaning that it has stayed unoccupied and is of no local benefit. I ask the Minister, what steps are the Government taking to ensure that we can breathe new life into buildings, such as that one, in the heart of our town centres? Furthermore, connectivity remains an issue affecting many northern towns such as Crewe.”
“I absolutely agree. Local stakeholders and organisations coming together to put on community events that drive footfall into our town centres is a way for us to tackle the challenges of retail struggling in the modern context. Additionally, at the heart of our local community in Crewe are our vital small businesses—the lifeblood of our community. They have the community at the heart of their agendas and understand what is best for their local areas. Ensuring their success will be our success, and I hope to see the Government proactively pursue that agenda. To that end, I welcome the Government’s commitment to business rates reform, which will have a huge impact on our ability to support small businesses and encourage those that are not currently on the high street back there.”
“They failed, and they have left it for this Labour Government to make the right decisions so that we change people’s lives for the better. I believe that all the Government’s proposals—ending no-fault evictions, strengthening tenants’ legal protections, implementing the decent homes standard and establishing a database for the sector—are important and sensible policies. They will be truly lifesaving in some cases, so I will be glad to vote for them.”
“Had the previous Government enacted their proposals rather than bowing to the interests of their lobbyists, many vulnerable people across the country could have been spared both the mental and physical toll. The Bill also applies Awaab’s law and introduces a decent homes standard for the private sector. In 2022, 32% of private rented sector homes in the north-west would have failed the decent homes standard, the highest proportion of any English region and higher than the English average of 21%. Around 21% of those homes in the north-west contained a category 1 hazard, which is higher than the English average of 12%, and around 6% of rented homes contained damp or mould. This is nothing short of a crisis. The previous Government completely failed renters in my constituency and across the north-west of England.”
“According to reports in Cheshire East, we have seen 74 accelerated repossession orders made this year alone, with 15 having been completed. One of the first cases that I dealt with after becoming an MP related to this matter. My constituent Kerry, a single mother of two young children, had been threatened with no-fault eviction and was on the brink of homelessness. She was able to find accommodation with the support of my office, but this issue is neither isolated nor uncommon, as we have heard from many Members today. These are the real, lived consequences of 14 years of Conservative failure. I am immensely proud that this Government are willing to take action where the previous Government dithered and delayed.”
“I welcome the new Bill put forward by the Government. I only wish that Conservative Members had expressed as much interest and passion in this subject as they did yesterday when it came to defending tax breaks for private education. Politics, as they say, is about priorities, and the priorities of this Government are clear. In my constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, I have been deeply saddened by the number of constituents I have spoken to who are affected by this policy area, and shocked at some of the individual stories I have heard since taking office. Being able to rent in comfort and stability is a luxury for many of my constituents, which is why I support the ending of section 21 no-fault evictions.”
“The Conservative party was quite keen to promote and exacerbate a two-tier approach to the education of our children during its term in government—a system in which it is only state-educated children who have to accept tough choices and shoestring budgets. We have schools where the ceilings are propped up by scaffolding, schools where teachers are forced to buy basic school supplies out of their own pay packets, and schools where the workload and conditions have become so dire that teachers are leaving in droves. I am delighted that we now have a Government who do not believe that state schools alone should be asked to make difficult choices—a Government who will end the tax break for private schools and invest the £1.3 billion that that choice will generate into our state schools, which educate 93% of our children.”
“However, we should acknowledge the fact that private schools have implemented above-inflation increases to their fees year on year in recent times—over 20% in real terms since 2010—and this has had a minimal impact on children moving into the state sector. I say directly to parents: should our ambition not be that they could send their child to a fantastic state school that has the teachers and resources it needs to deliver the education their child deserves, and where they can excel both academically and culturally by mixing with children from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that reflect the society in which we live?”
“Conservative Members campaigning against the Government’s policy couch it as an attack on the aspiration of hard-working parents. Perhaps they need to be reminded that the warehouse workers, cleaners, shop workers, carers, nurses and teachers in my constituency are also aspirational for their children. They work just as hard to provide the best opportunities for their children. It is offensive in the extreme for the Conservatives to suggest otherwise, and to suggest that they are less deserving of support from this Government. I accept that a consequence of this decision may be that some people will no longer be able to send their children to private school, as schools might choose to recoup the cost of VAT through increases to fees.”
“You might imagine, Madam Deputy Speaker, that members of the Conservative party would understand how out of touch they are on these matters, given that they were so roundly rejected by the electorate in July. However, unsurprisingly, they have demonstrated perfectly that nothing has changed, and it is business as usual as they leap to the defence of tax breaks for private education. This Government believe in equality of education for all our children, and this policy is designed for the betterment of 93% of the UK school population. Only 7% of children in the UK go to a private school—a far smaller proportion than in the most recent Conservative Cabinet, 65% of which, it is believed, were privately educated. Perhaps that tells us something about why we are debating this matter today.”
“It was interesting to hear the Opposition Front-Bench spokesperson talk about the importance of preserving existing bus routes, when their party had presided over 14 years when thousands of bus services were lost to communities across the country, including in my constituency, where we still do not have a direct bus route from Nantwich to our local hospital. It has taken this Government just 10 weeks to present a plan to fix local bus services. Does that not epitomise how underserved our communities and local economies have been by 14 long years of Conservative government?”
“As we have heard from many other speakers, enforcement remains a significant challenge. Last year, only a handful of fines were dished out in Crewe and Nantwich, with the majority of fly-tippers escaping punishment altogether. That is simply unacceptable. The current system does not serve as a sufficient deterrent to those who think they can flout the law without consequence. We need a national framework to bring together the relevant agencies to tackle this issue in a co-ordinated way. In conclusion, I encourage the Government and the Minister to take the necessary steps to create a comprehensive national framework to tackle fly-tipping—one that will empower local authorities such as Cheshire East council to protect our communities and environment.”
“Cheshire East, which oversees the Crewe and Nantwich area, spends nearly £1 million each year just to clean up after fly-tippers—that money could be spent on other vital public services, which is exactly what our residents would expect. Of course, it is about not just the financial costs, but the deeper impact on our communities. Residents have expressed to me their deep frustration and anger at the constant blight of illegally dumped waste, whether on farmland or in residential areas, our parks or our green spaces. Farmers, in particular, are often left to shoulder the burden of clearing up hazardous waste from their land—a task that is both time-consuming and expensive. Of course, there is also the impact on our environment, wildlife and natural habitats.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on an issue that continues to blight our communities. In Crewe and Nantwich, the scale of the problem is staggering. Over the past year, Cheshire East council has recorded a significant increase in fly-tipping, with more than 1,200 reported incidents. That represents a worrying trend, with law-abiding citizens and businesses left to deal with the consequences of the irresponsible and often criminal behaviour of others. However, Crewe and Nantwich is not alone in facing this challenge; as many colleagues have said, the figures in our community highlight the urgent need for a national framework to effectively tackle the issue. As I know only too well as a former councillor coming to this place, the burden on local authorities is immense.”
“Does the Home Secretary agree that those who suggest that this country has some form of two-tier policing serve only to undermine our brave frontline police officers, who put themselves at risk every single day to maintain order, and that anybody who suggests that does not do so in our country’s name or traditions?”
“We also have the River Weaver, which flows through Nantwich, and I know that my constituents—like the local women’s institute group who I joined on a demonstration recently—will rightly expect me to champion the cause of cleaning up our rivers in this Parliament. I welcome the steps that this Government have already taken to do just that. As my colleagues will attest, it has been a long campaign during which many of us have been asked so many questions. I do not know whether to be flattered or offended that the question I was most often asked during the campaign was, “Have you finished school yet?””
“Across Crewe and Nantwich, we have a thriving business community that is home to some of Britain’s most famous exports, from the luxury vehicles produced at Bentley Motors to the ice cream vans at Whitby Morrison, and I am immensely proud to represent a constituency that is already a pioneer of Labour’s fantastic policy to buy, make and sell British. We have beautiful green spaces and environmental gems, too, including green-flag parks such as Queens Park; that park is lovingly supported and maintained by the Friends of Queens Park group, which is led ably by Sheila, Richard and Alan, among others.”
“Historically, it was a centre for the production of salt and the manufacture of leather goods, from which the affectionate nickname for the town’s residents, “the Dabbers”, is believed to derive. Today, Nantwich is famous for a host of civic and cultural events throughout the year, including the international cheese show, the Nantwich food festival, a jazz festival and a words and music festival, among many others. These events show the best of the community in Nantwich, often driven by volunteers and supported actively by Nantwich town council. They demonstrate what can be achieved in a modern landscape for small towns while still actively respecting our heritage.”
“My constituency is also home to some of Britain’s finest sporting exports, notably through the academy of the mighty Crewe Alexandra—a famous academy that has produced some cult heroes from our national game, from David Platt to Danny Murphy and Dean Ashton. The Alex have consistently punched above their weight, and the importance of the Railwaymen—as the club is also affectionately known—was driven home to me during the election campaign, as a result of an unexpected boost to my prospects when the now Leader of the Opposition was pictured wearing a scarf of our rivals, Port Vale, on a visit to Stoke. Nantwich is a beautiful, historic market town that sees large numbers of tourists pass through every year.”
“At the tail end of the 19th century, the suffragist and pioneering campaigner for the rights of women workers, Ada Nield Chew, wrote a series of letters to the Crewe Chronicle under the pseudonym “A Crewe Factory Girl”, shining a light on poor working conditions in the factory she worked in. Many of the issues that she raised in those letters, such as insecure work, unpredictable hours, the gender pay gap, and the denial of a living wage—a phrase that she actually used all that time ago—remain all too relevant today, which is why I firmly welcome this Government’s commitment to bringing forward an employment rights Bill. I am also proud to support the campaign of Kate Blakemore in my constituency to commission a statue for Ada in Crewe.”
“I love the place that I have been sent here to represent, from the major towns of Crewe and Nantwich to the beautiful villages and parishes like Shavington, Haslington, Wistaston, Willaston and Rope, among others. Crewe is a fantastic town, where I am proud to live with my family. It is the gateway to the north and a key rail interchange with a proud history of train manufacturing in Crewe Works, which once employed over 20,000 people. I believe strongly that rail can be pivotal to Crewe’s future, as well as its past, and I intend to be a strong advocate for improved transport infrastructure connecting the north and the midlands, with Crewe at its heart. It is not just trains that run through my constituency; so does a belief in the importance of employment rights and trade unionism.”
“I cannot begin to talk about the history of elected representation in Crewe and Nantwich without making reference to the towering figure that is the late Gwyneth Dunwoody. Still today, I meet people whose lives have been touched by Gwyneth’s unmistakable ability to fight for her constituents’ interests. She was truly fierce—an excellent parliamentarian and public servant. I would also like to pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, Kieran Mullan, who has gone to great lengths to demonstrate his commitment to our democracy—approximately 250 miles, in fact, from Crewe to Bexhill! The now hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle did a great deal to champion the cause of the many volunteer groups across my constituency in his time as its MP. I thank him for that and congratulate him on taking up his place on the shadow Transport team.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to make my maiden speech, Madam Deputy Speaker, and may I congratulate you on your election? I am particularly proud to be able to make my maiden speech in a debate on rail, as the Member of Parliament for a constituency with railways literally woven into its DNA. The town of Crewe grew up around the railway station, and the development of Crewe and the rail network went hand in hand in the 19th century. My constituents will be delighted to have a Government committed to delivering a publicly owned and passenger-focused railway, the need for which hit home to me only too well when the former shadow Rail Minister was severely delayed on the rail network when visiting my constituency late last year.”
“It did it for a working-class kid like me, and it will do so again—I am confident of that. For that reason, I wholeheartedly welcome the Prime Minister’s belief that politics is about service, and his commitment to lead a Government who focus relentlessly on delivering for people by putting country first, party second. I promise to always do my best to serve and represent my constituents in that spirit for as long as they trust me to do so.”
“No doubt there is much work to do in that space, but I believe strongly that I and my colleagues from across all parties in this House have a duty to uphold standards and restore public confidence in our politics, and aspiration and opportunity to our communities. It is sometimes claimed by the Conservative party that my party has a problem with aspiration, but I know that not to be true. My party understands that if someone is living in fear of being evicted from their home, that is a barrier to aspiration; if someone’s parents are living in in-work poverty, that is a barrier to aspiration; and if someone is unable to receive the treatment that they need if they become ill, that is a barrier to aspiration. When the Labour party is given the chance to serve the British people, it has a fine record of smashing the barriers to aspiration.”
“Just about. But far and away the most common question was, “Why should we trust any of you?” That experience was reflected in many of my colleagues’ experiences during the campaign. In that question lies possibly the most fundamental challenge facing this Government, because after 14 years of managed decline, people no longer believe that politics can deliver anything but decline. They believe that politicians are only in it for themselves—that their attention and focus are distant from the priorities of the ordinary families they seek to represent. I came to this place from a career with the Independent Office for Police Conduct, whose role is to independently uphold standards and ensure that the public can have confidence in the police.”