Sean Woodcock
MP for Banbury · Labour · United Kingdom
“Every week in my surgeries I hear about the consequences of Thames Water’s failures. An elderly widowed constituent was left without running water after it failed and botched the installation of a water meter, and she was forced to shell out hundreds of pounds on an emergency plumber to remedy the situation.”
“I meet businesses in my constituency all the time. As I stated at the beginning of my speech, they raise a number of the issues that the Opposition have raised, and I do not pretend that none of those come up in my conversations.”
“It is about protecting the firm, the other employees and the productivity of the business as much as it is about protecting the employee. This debate exposes a fundamental difference in vision. The Opposition believe in and want an unstable, low-growth economy built on a race to the bottom.”
“It is right for the Opposition to look at what this Government have done in this sphere, and they should absolutely provide such scrutiny, but they have missed a few things that this Government are doing. Our youth hubs will give young people the localised support they need to get into their local labour market.”
“A strong package of workers’ rights and protections goes hand in hand with a strong economy. The Employment Rights Act has been vital to modernising protections and making work pay, because when we give people certainty over their hours and their wages, we give them the confidence to spend on our high streets, to go into their local pubs…”
“They talked about AI, and how it is coming up in interviews and being used to filter out job applicants. They talked about failings in the school system and in careers advice. They talked about fears about their mental health, and whether they would have appropriate support if they enter the labour market.”
The complete record
Every one of 294 lines we hold for Sean Woodcock, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 6.
“Q My question is to Dr Griffiths and Chelsea. We have had almost two days of evidence. Yesterday afternoon, we had practitioners from the States and, this morning, we had practitioners from Australia. The message they gave seemed to be very clear that coercion essentially does not happen in voluntary assisted dying. The message also was that those who went through it were people who wanted to—it was very appropriate for them and there were almost no issues. Can you explain why they are wrong, if you believe they are? Dr Griffiths: That goes back to my previous point around how coercion can manifest in various different ways. One can be exposed to the societal pressure to feel that your life is no longer tolerable because of the struggles that you have in terms of accessing services, provision and support.”
“The point at which such influence becomes coercion is difficult to find out, but my experience is that it is rare. I would recommend that you look at what has happened in other parts of the world that have more experience with this, because they have it as part of their training modules. Certainly, we would expect capacity and coercion training to be part of the specialised training that doctors who opt in would receive. I anticipate that the general safeguarding training should be sufficient for other doctors, who would obviously only be involved at that very early stage.”
“Q The issue of coercion came up with our previous witnesses, and they were talking about GPs, doctors and nurses being able to spot it because of their level of training, experience and so on. How frequently does coercion, or lesser versions of it, such as familial pressure and societal pressure, come up in the day-to-day life of a medical practitioner? Is it like the asbestos awareness training that I had in a previous job—something I had to have because I might very rarely bump into asbestos—or is it a tick-box exercise? Dr Green: You are right: all medical staff have safeguarding training, and of course patients make important decisions often with the influence and help of their family members. Usually this influence is helpful, and it almost always comes from a position of love.”
“These are the kinds of extraordinary misunderstandings and failures to prioritise patient autonomy that are happening now. That is even before we get started on conversations around whether someone would like to consider assisted dying, so it is a huge problem.”
“We are all familiar with the idea of death and dying being a taboo in society. People are scared of it, and they hesitate to bring it up with their friends and family. In my experience, many medical students and doctors also suffer from that anxiety. They are scared, and they find it a taboo subject. What that means is that sometimes coercion occurs because the doctor—the consultant responsible for this person’s care—will not even bring up the fact that they think the patient is dying, because it is an uncomfortable conversation. Conversely, I have worked with senior hospital consultants in the NHS who have deliberately prevented our team from accessing their patients, because they believe that the hospital palliative care team wants to kill the patients, and that if I go and see the patient, I will give them a lethal dose of drugs.”
“We have to be absolutely honest with patients and the public about shortcomings, failings and areas where my profession and the rest of the NHS are getting things wrong. It is my clinical experience that not only are the majority of doctors not necessarily trained in spotting coercion explicitly, but they are often not trained explicitly in having so-called advance care planning conversations with patients around the topic of death and dying, and how a patient would like the end of their life to proceed. It is almost impossible for me to overstate how much avoidable suffering occurs right now in the NHS not because of a lack of resources for palliative care—although that is an enormous problem—but because of a lack of confidence, skill and expertise among the medical profession writ large with these very difficult conversations.”
“Q Coercion is one of the main issues that people who are concerned about the Bill raise in opposition to it. That would include myself. We had many distinguished witnesses this morning, and the view was that coercion is “rare” in healthcare generally. It was almost given across that we did not need to worry about it, because staff are so well trained in safeguarding and so on, and they have such a level of experience. What are the views of the panel on that? Is coercion something that we should really not be so concerned about? Dr Clarke: Based on my clinical experience, I would push back on that in the strongest terms. I am the kind of doctor who believes there is nothing to be gained from sugar coating reality.”
“It does not make sense to remove this as an option just because all of the options might not be available to everyone all of the time. It is a bit cruel when you think about it from a patient’s perspective.”
“Saying “If we don’t have all of these types of care, we shouldn’t offer this option” is like a hospital that does not have sufficient amounts of IV pain medications saying to a labouring woman, “Well, we don’t have enough IV pain medications, so we are not going to offer you a labour epidural, because that is a false choice.” That does not actually make sense. Look at it from a patient’s perspective. Think about a patient who is dying from terminal cancer, is in lots and lots of pain and does not have any good options for their pain control. Imagine saying to that person, “We don’t have all of this care or this option over here available to you, so we are not going to allow you to have an assisted death”, even if they are telling you, “This is what I want. Why won’t you give this to me?”.”
“On whether or not wanting to avoid being “a burden” to a family member or to a caregiving team is a valid reason to pursue this, yes, I think that is a valid reason among many for people who have a value system that highly orders that. Dr Spielvogel: I just wanted to add something, if I may. I have heard this argument—or rather, this concern—a few different times, and it strikes me as what is called a false dilemma logical fallacy: that there is either/or, when in reality there are many alternatives that people can choose from.”
“We got her through the process, we had the medications available and she told me how much relief she felt from having it as an option, but ultimately she decided not to use it. She decided that she was getting really good care from her palliative care and hospice teams, and that her symptoms were well controlled. Although she was extremely grateful that she knew the medications were available should she decide to use them, she did not end up needing to use them or wanting to use them. That is the reality of what is happening in a lot of cases where this is an option among other options. The availability of this option is, in and of itself, a palliative care treatment for many people.”
“It is an option among the other options of hospice palliative care or palliative treatments. The availability of this as an option often brings people tremendous relief from their suffering—just from the anxiety over how they might die, or what suffering might be in store. I had a case of a woman with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was very afraid of how she might die with that condition, and she felt like she might suffocate to death. She was so focused on having the option of aid in dying because she was terrified of what might be in store for her. We were able to incorporate her into a hospice that offered comprehensive end-of-life care, including the option of aid in dying.”
“Please correct me if I have misinterpreted your views, but from what you have said so far, it sounds as if you think that exercising the right to assisted dying because there is a paucity of appropriate care in your locality, or because you cannot afford it, is a perfectly legitimate exercise of autonomy, based on the society around you. Would that be a fair assumption of your views? Dr Kaan: I think that is not an entirely fair representation of what I am saying. Yes, we do need respect for people’s autonomy and the reasons they may come to this choice, but I also think that from what I have heard this morning, it sounds like there is a conception that people choose assisted dying and then they do it. What I see, by and large, is that people want to have this as an option.”
“Q It seems clear from what you are saying that in your view, coercion is rare, or at least it is rare in comparison to familial pressure not to go ahead with assisted dying. It does sound, though, like you are saying that it is more common for people to say that they feel as though they are a burden towards the end. I think Dr Kaan said it was common, or certainly less rare than coercion to go ahead with assisted dying. We heard from experts earlier about the paucity and lack of provision of care across the country. Certain people can get access to very good care, but too many people struggle to, particularly people of certain ethnic backgrounds, people on low income, and so on.”
“The scheme has its own power generation and the homes are covered in solar panels. It is a brilliant example of innovation and looking after the community in the face of challenges from elsewhere. In the village of Middle Barton, in my constituency, bus services had been cut by the previous Conservative county council, because of decisions made by the Conservative Government in Westminster. Local people took it upon themselves to set up their own bus company, although, granted, it was manned by volunteers. Last year, not long after I was elected, I had the privilege to open the new bus scheme and see the two brand-new buses serving the community, ensuring that people there are not stranded. Those buses are electric, so they are thoroughly in keeping with our climate agenda.”
“In many ways, our rural areas are suffering because they are too robust, too resourceful, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland said, and too innovative, so they have not been seen to suffer as much as other parts of the country may have done. I have a couple of examples of that from my constituency. House prices are an issue in my area, as they are across much of the rest of the country. In one village, Hook Norton, people working in local shops and even artists—people valued by the community—have had to leave because they could not afford to stay. Not content to allow that to continue, people in the village set up a community land trust and invested capital in purchasing land to build properties. Last year, the trust opened 12 affordable homes in the village, catering to local communities.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for securing this debate. He gave a really long speech of considerable depth. I am not going to repeat that, purely because I do not want to repeat any of the things he has said in such detail. I am grateful for the debate because it offers an important chance to reset the narrative that has gone around over recent months about our rural areas. It has been suggested that our rural areas are suddenly in crisis because of things that have happened in recent months. Let us be clear: our rural areas are in crisis because of 14 years of under-investment and the betrayal of the post-Brexit deals that undercut our famers, making their lives much more difficult than they were previously. That needs to be put on the record.”
“They face a double whammy of poor connectivity in relation to transport—we have already touched on buses—and to access to broadband and decent communication services. My plea to the Minister, in my final remarks, is that he makes it clear to his Cabinet colleagues that people in rural areas do not want anything different to what is wanted by those in the urban seats, which may previously have been seen as the Labour heartland. People in rural areas want exactly the same as those in urban areas: access to good health services, education, jobs and affordable housing, and the same opportunities as everybody else.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. A further example is the village of Charlbury, where there is an installation called South Hill solar farm, a community-owned solar farm providing energy to 1,200 residents. It is an incredibly popular and well-run scheme. It is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, but absolutely everybody there loves it. I mention it because this Government’s ambitions are not contrary to the ambitions of those in rural areas. This Government’s ambitions rely on delivering in rural areas, whether on housing justice, improving public health or, above all, delivering growth, which is our main focus. However, people are being held back, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland said.”
“I do wish to make a brief contribution. I am broadly sympathetic to the fact that there is considerable public interest in the Bill, so we would all broadly welcome as much public scrutiny as possible of all its aspects. However, I think the hon. Member for East Wiltshire made a meal of his argument, talking about the merits or otherwise of the various witnesses and casting aspersions, which I note he has withdrawn, on my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, who is the promoter of this legislation. I will vote to sit in private, despite the fact that I am sympathetic to the idea that as much of the Committee as possible should be in public. Question put and agreed to .”
“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement. There are victims and survivors in many communities, including in my constituency, and I welcome the steps that she has announced. I commend the contributions from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) and the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde). Does the Home Secretary agree that the voices that matter when we discuss how we tackle these issues are not those of billionaires, politicians or talk show hosts seeking to weaponise the pain and suffering of victims and survivors? Above all, we should be listening to victims and survivors themselves.”
“Can the Minister assure me that the fast-tracking and the speed of this process, which I acknowledge the reason for, will not lead to rushed proposals that do not take into account what communities actually feel and look like?”
“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving district councillor for 13 years. I broadly welcome the thrust of this document. My question is on a matter that the Minister has already referred to—areas that are serviced by a number of different local authorities, which mine is. I have a county council, two district councils, any number of parish councils, and Banbury town council—Labour-run for the first time ever. In those areas, there will be a wide variety of views as to what a local government reorganisation should look like, because different communities have different views.”
“It is known as the Horizon scandal, but the real scandal is not the failings of software but the action and deeds of individuals and institutions, as Sir Alan Bates said. In that light, I would include the misuse and potential abuse of private prosecutions. Will the Government commit to acting on that?”
“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Cherwell district council’s housing waiting list quadrupled over the past decade under the Conservatives, which is why I committed to my constituents in Banbury during the general election campaign that I would make addressing the housing crisis a priority. We all recognise that planning reform, which the Conservative party ducked during its time in office, is crucial to fixing the housing crisis, but does the Minister agree that it is also crucial to helping us get the growth that we want in our economy, because it is good for businesses, whether they are sandwich shops or high-tech engineering firms, across the country?”
“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for bringing this important debate to the House. Following on from her comments about mainstream education, one of my first jobs after leaving university was as a teaching assistant. I also spent a year in a special needs school. Does she agree that the issues we are seeing are partly the result of the lack of recognition and appreciation over the last 14 years for support staff in mainstream schools and of the role that they play in ensuring that every child has a decent education?”
“Opposition parties have spent an awful lot of time attacking various measures in the Budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that if they are going to do that, they need to point out which investment—money to our schools or to hospitals—they would not provide to alleviate their concerns?”
“Banbury FM provides news, music and information. Its services are in many ways much better than those provided by larger FM licence-holders. Unfortunately, Ofcom’s effective veto on stations obtaining FM licences means that Banbury FM and many other independent local radio stations are accessible only via digital platforms. That deprives parts of society—especially the elderly and the isolated—access to their services. Will the Leader of the House commit to a debate on improving access to FM frequencies for independent radio stations, and on the potential for Ofcom to provide on-demand licences?”
“As for myself, I stand here in support of this Government and their mandate for change—something that Banbury has a history of embracing. Before I finish, I want to thank my family for their support, in particular my wife who, despite having multiple sclerosis, remains the strongest, most steady and most stable woman I have ever met. I stand here as someone Banbury born and bred, ready to build a better Britain and a better Banbury, and I am determined to do it.”
“Throughout the pandemic, as in other places, people across Banbury worked hard to help those less fortunate during that most testing of times. Banbury’s community, led by some of its many thousands of Polish citizens, got together again to gather supplies to support the Ukrainian civilians fleeing that conflict, while welcoming others into their homes and communities. On that note, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Victoria Prentis. Although there was much in the campaign that we disagreed on, this side of the House was united with the Conservative party in support for Ukraine. I pay tribute to Victoria’s decency and her clear compassion for humanity, exemplified as much by her taking a Ukrainian refugee into her home as by her nine years of service to the community.”
“For all the entertainment that the series has provided, for me the most important aspect of it is the light that it shines on the huge challenges faced by our farmers, and not just in the Banbury constituency but throughout the UK. I hope that the Government’s programme to support them will relieve many of the burdens that have made farming so challenging for so long. Southill Solar farm on the edge of the Wychwood forest near Charlbury provides community-owned power to 1,200 homes. That is another reason I am so passionate about this Government’s exciting agenda on renewable energy. Then there is the volunteer driver service in Banbury, taking the elderly or those less able to hospital and GP appointments at nominal rates.”
“While they have changed, Banbury, Chipping Norton, Charlbury and the villages of north and west Oxfordshire have not lost their sense of community. The community united across political divides, and none, in defence of our local Horton General hospital when it was faced with downgrading, successfully fighting it off in 2008 and less successfully in 2016. As the use of food banks grew in the years after 2010, people across the area came together to help support those in need. For example, the Chippy Larder in Chipping Norton has become a much-loved community resource. Food security in Banbury cannot be considered without mentioning our rural farming communities and perhaps the most famous farm in the country: Clarkson’s farm.”
“Other industries, such as brewing, moved within the constituency. We can no longer get a pint in a Hunt Edmunds pub, but Hooky beer from Hook Norton is on sale across the United Kingdom. The building of the M40 in many ways permanently changed Banbury from a small, semi-industrial market town into something completely different. Thousands of new homes have gone up as our area has become increasingly attractive for commuters to Oxford and London, but we still have a council waiting list that has quadrupled in a decade and a private sector that cannot meet the need. Meanwhile, vital infrastructure such as schools, roads and health services have failed to meet demand, posing fair questions from the community for those, like me, who support the Government’s ambitious house building agenda.”
“Where I saw a Puritane-one, Hanging of his cat on Monday, For killing of a mouse on Sunday.” More happily, “the Puritans” is the nickname for the only supporter-owned football club in Oxfordshire, Banbury United. I mention all this not just because I am really proud of where I call home and its role in our past, but because I want the House to understand what the Banbury constituency is all about. Although it did not change hands politically between 1922 and 2024, change did come to Banbury in a big way. Old industries such as making cloth in Chipping Norton or aluminium in Banbury went, while new ones such as logistics with companies such as DHL and TWE Haulage, food processing with Fine Lady Bakeries and Go Fresh, and high-end mechanical engineering with the Haas Formula 1 team and Prodrive came in instead.”
“I was once told that one of the only requests to film there that the owners declined was when the studio wanted to paint it pink, which was probably wise. In the village of Wroxton, where I went to school, we have the former home of Lord North. He is also buried in Wroxton, giving us something that not all constituencies have: the resting place of a former Prime Minister. Bliss Mill, Tooley’s boatyard and the Oxford canal are all remnants of the area’s growth during the industrial revolution. But the most colourful time in our history is undoubtedly the civil war, when Banbury itself was on the side of the roundheads, despite its castle—right in the middle of the town—being on the side of the cavaliers. The people of Banbury were so unmistakably puritan that a poem was written about it: “To Banbury came I, O profane one!”
“It is most famous for our nursery rhyme, known across the English-speaking world: “Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross, To see a fine lady upon a white horse; With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes.” Banbury’s history is more than that, though; indeed, it is more than just the town itself. The constituency reflects our country’s history, including in its foundations and its landscape. We have the neolithic and bronze age Rollright stones; the settlement on the edge of Chipping Norton left to us by the Romans; the Norman castle mound at Deddington; and Broughton castle which, as well being a stunning late-medieval stately home, is likely to be recognisable to many Members as the setting for TV’s “Wolf Hall”, and the films “Shakespeare in Love” and “Three Men and a Little Lady”.”
“I also want those residents to know that now I have this job, I promise that I will work hard every day to deliver for them, whether they voted for me or not. What makes this an even prouder moment for me is that I stand here as the first Labour Member of Parliament for the Banbury constituency. Until 5 July, the constituency had remained in the hands of one party for 102 years. But change is something that Banbury—the largest town in Oxfordshire—has got used to over recent years. For those who do not know, the Banbury constituency is at the furthest point north in the south-east region, encompassing not just the town of Banbury but the towns of Chipping Norton and Charlbury, as well as countless villages and rolling countryside. Banbury is a beautiful part of the world to live in and represent.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson) on his powerful maiden speech. I am not sure that when he and I attended a Birmingham University Labour Students meeting back in 2009, either of us anticipated that we would be making our maiden speeches in the same debate. I want to start by saying what an honour it is to stand here as the Member of Parliament for Banbury. As a Banbury lad who has never sought to represent anywhere else, I want to repeat what I told residents on the doorstep during the campaign: this is the job I have always wanted. To everyone who helped make that happen, I can only say thank you.”
“In the week that we mark the dark anniversary of 7 October, may I say that I welcome this Government taking these measures to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus? Does the Minister agree that this shows that this Government truly believe that, regardless of their religion, students should be able to get on with their studies without concern for their safety?”
“In 2016, the Horton hospital in my constituency lost its consultant-led maternity unit—a temporary downgrade that ended up being made permanent three years later. Is it not about time that someone from the Conservative party apologised for the damage done to Banbury’s hospital, as well as to the NHS as a whole?”
“At the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of two brand new community-owned green buses in the village of Middle Barton in my constituency. After 14 years of devastation to public bus services in Oxfordshire, such community-led schemes can go a long way to filling the gap. Does the Minister agree that a decade of renewal promised by this Labour Government must see an improvement and regeneration in rural bus services?”
“Does the Minister agree that the voices of frontline staff, whether in hospitals such as the Horton general hospital in Banbury or carers like my mum, are still often ignored when it comes to whistleblowing? More worryingly, those voices are silenced by threats to report them to regulatory bodies. Does he agree that we need to level the field of accountability for managers who ignore whistleblowers, and that there should be a regulatory body with oversight of medical managers?”
“T4. The Keep the Horton General campaign in my constituency has recently catalogued the poor experiences of tens of Banbury-based mothers who gave birth at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. Will the Secretary of State or a member of his team meet me to discuss these concerning reports of poor maternity care?”
“I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place on the Front Bench, and I thank him for his statement. He touched on victims of what has been labelled the shadow pandemic—the surge in domestic violence during lockdown. Does he agree that any lessons learned must include action to protect those for whom the instruction “stay at home” is the most dangerous they can receive?”