Olivia Bailey
MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire · Labour · United Kingdom
“While we understand that the owner is not currently in administration, there are robust protocols that will be followed if an administrator ends up being appointed. This process would include considering the conduct of the company’s directors and an assessment of whether further review or investigation was warranted.”
“Friend that in this case, as with any closure, we are working closely with the local authority to ensure that places are available in local, state-funded schools for any child who requires one. I am happy to keep her up to date with this.”
“Friend the Member for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins), I have asked officials for advice on ways that we could consider recording the ownership of private schools to understand better who is potentially making any profit or who is taking relevant business decisions. I also reassure my hon.”
“I sincerely thank my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) for calling this debate, for her excellent speech and for her important advocacy on this crucial topic.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her advocacy on this topic both in the Chamber and outside it. I am extremely concerned to hear of the practice that has been described this evening. I am happy to meet with her, my hon.”
“On the topic of our statutory powers in relation to independent schools, the Department has a robust system in place around how proprietors are registered and regulated. The proprietor is the person or persons legally responsible for the running of the school.”
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“Two women in the late 1700s who eloped to Wales, shared a bed and addressed each other as “my beloved” in their correspondence were described by historians as having a “romantic friendship”, but not one that was intimate. I do not dispute the power of a friendship between women, but that seems a stretch. The discovery of Anne Lister’s diaries in the 1980s, which were carefully written in an ancient Greek code, were a turning point. She had the courage to document her relationships with women. The discovery of her diaries shattered the historical conspiracy to erase us.”
“Women who we might now look back on and suggest may have been lesbians or LGBTQ+ are brushed past. There are pages of unwritten sentences and of unheard stories. In the words of the historian Rebecca Jennings, lesbian history “has frequently been associated with silence, invisibility, and denial”. Her excellent book “A Lesbian History of Britain” contains many examples that I will draw on today. Throughout our history, lesbians have been forced to hide their love and their relationships out of fear, and it is no surprise that so few records exist. But I will admit to being somewhat surprised by the pains to which historians have gone to explain away what seems quite obvious.”
“No problem. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) for securing this debate: she is a fantastic champion of our community and I thank her for all that she does. It is a wonderful privilege to speak in this debate today as a proud lesbian MP. I am an historian by trade and I particularly enjoy learning about the social history of our country and of the everyday people who organised, agitated and persisted to deliver the enormous social change that we have witnessed over the past few centuries, but it has always struck me that there was something not quite right about the books that I have pored over, which is that lesbians are completely missing.”
“Absolutely, and I thank my hon. Friend very much for that intervention. I am very proud to be an out lesbian MP, and I am prouder than words can describe of my family. With the privilege of the position that I have in this place, I will do my best to be seen to be myself, because that is the best way to honour those who have come before us and to ensure that, for those who come after, being a lesbian, being LGBTQ+ or being a rainbow family is finally non-remarkable. When the historians pen the books about our small window of time, it is not just that our whole lives will be documented but that it will be possible to read about them without a single sign of shame or controversy, because we deserve nothing less.”
“My constituents living in Beansheaf Grange and Fairfields, to name just two developments in my constituency, recognise much of what the hon. Lady is saying. They tell me about high fees, poor service and uncleared rubbish, even leading to marauding rats. Will she join me in welcoming the firm action that this Government are taking to be in a hurry to address this deep unfairness?”
“I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way, and congratulate him on the excellent speech he is making. Does he agree that potholes are a costly, dangerous menace on our roads, and does he welcome the decisive action this Government are taking to fill those potholes, which includes nearly £12 million for my constituency?”
“I welcome the action that the Government are taking to fix our dentistry crisis. In my constituency, only two dental practices accept adult patients, and vast swathes of the rural areas have no practice at all. Will the Minister set out how the Government’s plans will support my constituents to access the dental care that they need?”
“Scores of my constituents, including Carole, have told me they oppose the removal of the No. 15 bus service in parts of Calcot, which has meant they cannot get to work, the supermarket, the GP or even the food bank. I am proud of our bus service in Reading, which is a shining example of a locally run service, and I am glad to see the Government commit to strengthening services further. Does the Minister agree that local routes need to serve all those who need them in every part of our communities, and will he back my campaign to reinstate the No. 15 bus in Royal Avenue and Garston Crescent?”
“I congratulate my right hon. Friend on a fantastic speech and a great piece of legislation that will turbocharge our plans to restore nature at scale and build the homes that we need. Will she say a little more about how the Bill could help us to restore our precious chalk streams, such as the River Pang in my constituency?”
“My constituents in Burghfield Bridge have suffered for years with the devastating effects of flooding, and are rightly frustrated that nothing is being done. Will the Minister meet me to discuss flood resilience and better join-up of local agencies in Burghfield Bridge and across my constituency?”
“I recently visited the fantastic Tilehurst junior youth club in my constituency, and even enjoyed a stint running the tuck shop. It is so important that people across our country have access to a safe place to play and socialise outside of school. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate on the Government’s plans for Young Futures hubs and improvements to services for young people?”
“Friend’s call for a comprehensive inquiry and why I am so supportive of the Government’s Football Governance Bill, which will establish an independent football regulator.”
“The only rivals Reading FC players and fans should be battling against are our friends in Oxford and Swindon. Unfortunately, the club has had to battle against the very person who should be its greatest supporter: its owner. I will not repeat what my hon. Friend said, as she explained the situation clearly, but I will say that she is a wonderful champion of Reading FC, along with other colleagues. I thank the supporters’ groups, STAR—Supporters Trust at Reading—and Sell Before We Dai, who have been tireless campaigners, alongside all other loyal fans who have stood alongside their club. None of that had to happen. It could have been prevented if Dai Yongge had acted in the interests of his club and if we had had proper regulation of the football industry and proper protection for clubs such as Reading. That is why I echo my hon.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) on securing this important debate. I echo her remarks about the betrayal of Reading FC by its owners and the importance of the club to families across Reading and Berkshire. Although the home of the Royals now sits in my hon. Friend’s constituency, for more than 100 years of Reading FC’s long and proud history it was at Elm Park, just outside the boundary of Reading West and Mid Berkshire. It had a large open terrace at the western edge of the ground called the Tilehurst end, named after Tilehurst in my constituency. The passion and loyalty that supporters of the club show in my constituency are illustrated by the long queues of fans waiting to catch a bus to the stadium on a match day.”
“My hon. Friend will know that many of the illegal bikes that he is describing in his constituency will cross the boundary into mine. People in Tilehurst and the villages in my constituency are absolutely fed up of these bikes. They are dangerous, they are a menace, and they are often associated with criminal activity. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking our local police force, which is working hard to tackle these illegal bikes, and welcoming the new powers that the Government are giving the police to help them do that?”
“There are many barriers to affordable housing in those villages: some are a consequence of the national landscape designation, but others are a consequence of a lack of political will. In west Berkshire people have been let down by Conservative and then Liberal Democrat administrations that offer warm words about the future of our villages, but are unwilling to take the action necessary and do the hard work to secure not massive developments in our villages, but small developments, with the support of the community, of houses at an affordable price.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the provision of affordable rural housing. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I am delighted to have secured this important debate, and I look forward to hearing from my colleagues and my hon. Friend the Minister over the next 30 minutes. My Reading West and Mid Berkshire constituency boasts the very best of the English countryside. We have many beautiful rural villages and hamlets, many nestled in the north Wessex downs national landscape, formerly known as an area of outstanding natural beauty. They are villages full of families who have lived there for generations, but unfortunately villages now under threat due to a lack of affordable housing.”
“I thank the hon. Member; I agree that this is about keeping generations of families together and I will talk more about that later in my speech. As I said, people have been let down by Conservative and then Liberal Democrat administrations, which have been bodging the local plan process, trying to pass the buck and avoid the hard work needed to secure the vibrant villages that we were promised.”
“I am delighted that the hon. Member has had an opportunity to congratulate her council, and I thank her for her intervention. With a lack of supply come skyrocketing house prices. In the five years to 2022, house prices in the countryside increased at close to twice the rate of those in urban areas. We need only look at the nine houses currently for sale in Upper Basildon in my constituency: four are on the market for more than £1.25 million and only one at under half a million pounds. Across the villages in my constituency, there are very few properties available for private rent, and the small number that are available are simply unaffordable for many.”
“I am delighted that the Government are committed to building the housing we need and to boosting home ownership, providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 and a £500 million top-up to the affordable homes programme, and building an ambitious 1.5 million homes with the infrastructure that they need. I am also pleased that the Government are paying particular attention to housing in rural communities, giving local authorities flexible but ambitious targets for affordable housing development, recognising the value of rural exception sites and community-led development, and committing to look at how national policy can promote affordable rural housing.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. Simply put, these costs price people out of the community. One constituent in Bradfield shared her story with me. Her daughter would love to be able to stay in the village that she grew up in, but there are no affordable houses that are the right size for her young family. Eventually, she is likely to have to move away—a story repeated across my constituency. Without affordable housing, schools close because there are not enough children to fill a class; pubs shut their doors because there are not enough punters to buy pints; and services for the elderly stop operating because there is nobody to volunteer. We simply cannot have a community without people, and those people need affordable homes.”
“I am pleased that the Government are acting to level the playing field for first-time buyers, and I am sure that the Minister will elaborate further on that in his statement today.”
“I look forward to working with the Lib Dems in West Berkshire council to deliver vibrant villages, ending the era of bodged planning processes, internal politics and inaction, the era of being aware of the issue and acknowledging that something must be done, but being unwilling to take the action to tackle it. I am incredibly optimistic that we can achieve that, having seen the brilliant work that people in my constituency are doing to secure the future of their villages. I am confident that this Labour Government can and will deliver for them. From Beech Hill to Mortimer, from Beenham to Compton, from Hampstead Norreys to East and West llsley, and from Upper Bucklebury to Upper Basildon, we can build the affordable housing that is so vital for these beautiful villages to continue thriving far into the future.”
“Will the Minister consider this particular problem as he consults on national policy to support the delivery of social housing? Rural communities in Reading West and Mid Berkshire are at a turning point. They desperately need affordable housing in their local areas and they finally have a Labour Government laser-focused on delivering the housing that this country needs, focusing on policy reforms that enable local authorities to build the affordable homes that will keep communities together and supporting the work of organisations such as Connecting Communities in Berkshire and local parish councils such as Beenham. These communities need a local council to match that ambition.”
“Sadly, constituents have shared with me that Sovereign, which owns a significant proportion of social housing in West Berkshire, has been selling off older properties in West Berkshire’s villages, which means that swathes of perfectly usable social housing stock is going into the private sector to be sold or rented at unaffordable prices. Housing that could be offered for social rent to local people who cannot afford to buy in their village is now being bought up and taken out of the community. I share the frustration of parish councils, who are working to increase the amount of affordable housing available through developing rural exception sites, when they see a social landlord putting existing affordable properties in the village up for sale.”
“The Government are committed to funding the rural housing enabler programme until the end of March, and I know my constituents would welcome an update on its future from the Minister today. More widely, I also ask the Minister to provide an update on how he plans to promote exception sites as he prepares to consult on national development management policies in the coming months. We also need to consider the impact of affordable and social housing stock being sold off by developers and moving out of the hands of the local community. I welcome the Government’s focus on the needs of social renters in the revised national planning policy framework and the commitment to explore how national policy can support social housing.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend that we need more affordable housing in our rural areas; that is what I am seeking to address with this debate. I will focus first on rural exception sites, which allow the delivery of small developments of affordable housing on the edges of rural communities, solely for local people. The role of rural housing enablers to deliver those are crucial, and I consider Connecting Communities in Berkshire to be the gold standard there. The team works in partnership with developers, landowners, local authorities, parish councils and local people to try to build truly affordable housing in rural exception sites. It is currently working to deliver affordable housing in Beenham, identifying housing need and suitable land in partnership with the parish council and the local community.”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. Nearly 400 of my constituents have filled in my survey about the dangerously short slip roads on the A34 at East Ilsley and Beedon. They include Nick, who never uses the Beedon junction when his young family are in the car and is even considering moving house because he believes it is a real risk to their lives. Will the Minister meet me and raise the issue of dangerous junctions with National Highways, so we can make them safe for local people?”
“That is why I am so proud that this Government will deliver a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, make LGBT+ hate crime an aggravated offence and modernise the law on gender recognition. The best way to honour the LGBT+ people who have, throughout history, fought for our rights, often at great personal cost, is to never be complacent, to link arms as a community and to make it our solemn mission to ensure that Pride is not just our protest against the pernicious effects of shame, but something felt freely by every LGBT person finally allowed to just be who they are.”
“Every time in our history that an LGBT person has steeled their nerves and held hands in the street, every time they chose to tell a colleague or friend the pronoun of their partner or chose to express their gender, and every time they chose love over fear, they showed an almighty act of strength. It is the most powerful political act there can be—an individual act of defiance, of courage —and today we stand here because of each and every one of them. We have achieved so much as a community, but I want to conclude by reflecting on the work still to do, and the importance that this Government place on advancing LGBT+ rights, because our journey is not complete when there is still so much hate towards gay and trans people, while conversion practices still take place and while our gender recognition laws remain out of date.”
“However, I want to use my speech to celebrate not those who have achieved prominence, but everyday people who have persisted—who, in living their lives and having the courage to be themselves, are the reason we have made the progress we have. The real challenge for every LGBT+ person is not a battle with their career or their personal ambitions; the real battle each and every one of us faces is a battle with shame. When you are told that you are disgusting or when you are told that there is something wrong with you, it eats at you—it eats at your very sense of self.”
“When I was at university, they passed the Equality Act 2010, which outlawed discrimination against me, and then when I was 26, I embraced my now wife in Parliament Square as equal marriage became law. It is because of all those things that today, my wife and I have two wonderful children and the love and respect of our families, and I am able to stand here today as a proud lesbian MP. It is a pleasure to speak in this debate for LGBT+ History Month. The debate is an important chance for us to reflect on our history and the brave pioneers who have come before us, and it has been wonderful to hear many of their stories today.”
“It is a huge privilege to speak in this afternoon’s debate. There have been so many wonderful contributions, and I thank all colleagues for them. The question that I think I have been asked the most since I became an MP is, “Why did you want to get into politics? Why did you decide to become an MP?” I am often asked that by groups of A-level students or by kids in schools, and the honest answer is, “Because I know that politics changes lives, because it has changed my life.” I grew up under section 28, feeling like who I was, was something to be ashamed of. When I was 16, people in this place scrapped section 28 so that my school could no longer deny my existence. When I was 17, they passed a law to allow civil partnerships and give me belief that I could have a relationship that was viewed as equal.”
“No more empty rhetoric from the Conservatives or Reform; these are concrete steps to secure our borders, and I will be proud to vote for Second Reading today.”
“Most importantly, this Bill delivers a range of counter-terror-style powers that I believe will enable us systematically to dismantle the vile criminal gangs who facilitate small boat crossings and risk lives. It introduces new offences, so that we can use every tool possible to put gang leaders away; new powers to seize devices, check biometrics and share data; and a new role for our new Border Security Command, so that we can ensure that all agencies work together. No more empty rhetoric; instead, a common-sense, intelligence-led approach to border security. We are taking down the gangs and building the international relationships that we need to regain control. We have turbocharged our asylum system so that we can return people with no right to be here and allow those granted asylum the chance to work and contribute. A real plan.”
“4WC.] (Correction) Whereas the Conservative party spent years pursuing the fiction of the Rwanda scheme to send a sum total of four volunteers, on our watch 32 charter flights have returned migrants across the world, enforced returns are up by 24% on the year before the election, and our streets have been made safer through the removal of 2,500 foreign criminals. The Bill before us does two really important things. First, it removes from the statute book the fallacy of the Rwanda scheme—the so-called deterrent that saw 84,000 people cross the channel between the day it was announced and the day it was scrapped. Secondly, the Bill removes a hodgepodge of unenacted and unworkable clauses, whose sole purpose in law is to act as a monument to Conservative failure.”
“It also meant that millions of pounds were being spent unnecessarily while our public services were on their knees. Enough is enough. This Government are determined to secure our borders. Whereas the Conservative party chose the path of sounding tough but failing to deliver, since the election this Government have rolled up their sleeves. Whereas the Conservative party picked fights with France, we have made landmark deals with international partners. Whereas the Conservative party spent nearly £9 million a day on hotels for asylum seekers, we have restarted processing to save the taxpayer £4 billion a year over the next two years, and to end the use of hotels. [ Official Report , 11 February 2025; Vol. 762, c.”
“I rise in support of this important Bill, which is a crucial step as this Government regain control of our borders after the Conservative party lost control. My constituency is a diverse and welcoming place. We have a long and proud history of migrants from around the world coming to work and contribute to our community, and we have a proud history of welcoming refugees fleeing persecution and abuse. That compassion is part of who we are as a country, but our compassion must always come alongside control and a system that is fair. That is why my constituents are right to be angry about illegal crossings. When the last Government lost control of our borders, it risked lives and undermined our national security, and meant that people could cheat the system.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for the powerful speech she is making, and I am so sorry to hear about her friend. Does she agree that we also need specialist support for those experiencing post-adoptive depression? Although they have not gone through the same physical process as birth parents, it can be equally devastating.”
“While I welcome the firm commitment that the Secretary of State has made to a new Royal Berkshire hospital, my constituents will share my disappointment at the delay to its construction. I agree that the blame for the delay lies squarely with the Conservatives, who promised new hospitals without setting aside the money to pay for them, but will my right hon. Friend visit the Royal Berkshire hospital to discuss the interim capital funding that we will need as we wait for wave 3, and to see for himself how important it is that our new hospital is built as soon as possible?”
“T5. Will the Minister join me in congratulating local volunteers who are fundraising for a new roof for the grade I listed St Bartholomew’s church in my constituency, and will he meet me to discuss the future of the listed places of worship grant scheme, which is so important for them to hit their fundraising target?”
“In Hampstead Norreys, raw sewage ran for months down the main street; in Compton, residents had to erect a sign to ask drivers to drive slowly so that they did not splash schoolchildren with putrid water. Enough is enough: we must restore our chalk streams to their former glory, so that the Pang—captured so wonderfully by Kenneth Grahame in “The Wind in the Willows”—can continue to be “a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.””
“It has said it will review the issue, but that is not good enough: we need real action, and I call on Thames Water for just that. I welcome the actions the Government have taken to tackle the water companies that have been acting without accountability for too long. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will finally penalise water bosses who pollute our water. I am looking forward to working with the Minister to clean up the Pang, the Kennet and all our chalk streams—an ambition I know she shares. The beautiful west Berkshire villages nestled along the banks of the beautiful River Pang have suffered terribly as Thames Water has pumped raw sewage into the river.”
“However, the Pang and the Kennet have seen a devastating decline in recent years. According to Environment Agency data, the Pang’s ecological status has gone from good in 2016 to moderate in 2019, and it is now rated as poor. Last year, I tested the Pang with local campaigners from the Angling Trust and found that phosphate levels were three times what they should be. That leads to increased algae, depleted oxygen and significant damage to wildlife, plants and fish. Action for the River Kennet has estimated that Thames Water’s sewage works account for 52% of the phosphate pollution in the river, but Thames Water has so far refused to include phosphate stripping in its plans for the sewage works at Hampstead Norreys.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) for securing this vital debate. I will focus my speech on the protection and restoration of our country’s precious chalk streams—precious because of not just their unique ecology but their unique association with the English countryside. There are estimated to be only around 200 chalk streams in the world, and the vast majority are in England. I am proud that two of them—the Pang and the Kennet—run through my constituency. Not only are their nutrient-rich waters home to a rich diversity of species, but they are beloved by local anglers, dog walkers and families. Their beauty has inspired many, with the Pang said to be the inspiration for “The Wind in the Willows”.”
“Does the Minister agree that the Conservative party left our prisons in crisis, with drug and drone use rife? Will he outline the urgent steps that his Government are taking to ensure that such colossal failure can never happen again?”
“My hon. Friend’s constituency neighbours my constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire. In addition to the beautiful chalk stream, the Kennet, I also have the beautiful River Pang, which has unfortunately been decimated by the sewage outflows under the previous Government, with children walking to school through raw sewage in the streets—an absolute disgrace. Does he agree that the measures in this Bill will get tough on failing water companies such as Thames Water?”
“Q2. I welcome the swift and decisive action this Government are taking to secure our borders after the Conservatives lost control. In particular, I welcome the world-first deal struck with Iraq last week to tackle smuggling gangs. Does the Prime Minister agree that international co-operation, shared intelligence and joint law enforcement are the best way to end the vile smuggling trade?”
“I have been an MP for five months. I have had some wonderful moments in my constituency and in this place, but there have also been some tough and sobering moments. One of those was soon after the election, when I sat here listening to the Chancellor’s statement on the public spending inheritance. I heard about the huge hole in the public finances, the promises made without the money to pay for them, a promised new hospitals programme with no money behind it, and promised compensation for miscarriages of justice and promised funding for Ukraine that were not in the Conservatives’ budget. I was truly shocked by the sheer scale of Conservative economic mismanagement and—I will admit—I was intimidated by the sheer scale of the challenge to put it right.”
“The hon. Member should go on Google. In the months that have followed, I have been proud that this Government have been willing to make the hard choices necessary to protect our economic security, and have taken the long-term decisions necessary to fix the foundations of our country and finally prioritise our broken public services. We are investing in the NHS, rebuilding our crumbling classrooms and recruiting thousands of teachers to end the era of government by press release and empty promises. That is why I support this legislation.”