Neil Duncan-Jordan
MP for Poole · Labour · United Kingdom
“One in four children in Poole is living in relative poverty after housing costs, which shows the impact of high rents and their effect on the cost of living.”
“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Alec, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate. Like all hon. Members who represent a coastal constituency, I am lucky to represent such a beautiful area.”
“The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ban political donors from receiving public contracts with Governments of political parties” to which they have donated, “And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declar…”
“I rise to present a petition, alongside a corresponding online petition, which has been signed by more than 4,000 UK residents, calling for a ban on political donors getting contracts from Governments they helped to fund. Big money donors do not give out of kindness; they pay for access and influence.”
“One data centre, even a modest one, uses the same amount of electricity as 100,000 homes. The bigger the data centre, the more electricity it uses. Very few of them run off renewables, so that is another issue we need to address.”
“We know that if it is left to the market, firms will often reach for the crudest form of automation, stripping out roles and degrading the work that remains. The alternative is that we start to advance the case for dignified work, and recognise that that will mean having meaningful worker involvement in every step of the process.”
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“The poorest pensioners in our society are those who are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it, and those who are just a few pounds above the threshold and miss out on passported support. Means-testing, by its very nature, is simply not the best way to get help to those who need it most, so will the Minister reconsider the recent decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance?”
“What reassurance can the Minister give to hospices such as Julia’s House, which serves my constituents, which are concerned by the planned increase in national insurance contributions and the impact that will have on the services they provide?”
“I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. Sewage is a massive issue across the south-west, and in Dorset in particular, and a constant source of frustration for my constituents. One issue that comes up time and again is the excessive profits that private water companies are making. Does he agree that it is time those companies were brought back into public ownership?”
“Does my hon. Friend think that there needs to be an impact assessment carried out by the Government on the way the current rules impact particularly on low-income families?”
“May I, too, associate myself with the tributes paid to John Prescott? Over the past few weeks, a number of parents have contacted me to ask whether school transport can be brought into the scope of the bus fare cap. Will the Minister agree to look at that?”
“I also recognise the £600 million grant funding for social care for local authorities, but the entire sector urgently needs reform, especially if we are to realise the Government’s stated aim of moving healthcare from hospital to community. Finally, I again express my concerns about the decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance. I am looking forward to meeting the Minister with responsibility for pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Emma Reynolds), tomorrow to discuss that further. I hope we can explore what further support we can give to those who are just above the pension credit threshold. There is much to welcome in this Budget, but those with the broadest shoulders need to carry the heaviest burden.”
“I have received representations from hospices in my constituency about the increase in national insurance contributions for employers, and I urge the Chancellor to consider granting hospices an exemption, in recognition of the difficult and much-needed work they do. The announcement of £1 billion of additional funding for SEND is to be warmly welcomed, and I am keen to see how that funding will be distributed to benefit the children and families who have been struggling for so long. The announcement of compensation for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal and the infected blood scandal is a welcome step in recognising those injustices, but I urge the Chancellor to see what similar support can be given to women born in the 1950s who were never properly informed about the changes to their state pension age.”
“I should place on record that my wife is a hard-working NHS employee, and she will thank me for saying that. I have today met representatives of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which has raised serious concerns about the waiting times that children with conditions such as motor neurone disease face in accessing community services and hospital treatment. I am hopeful that children’s health will be targeted for additional resources in the Budget, because if we can tackle children’s health early, we can help to reduce poor health in later years. I welcome the key point in the Budget, which is the recognition that increasing public spending—on health, for example—benefits those on lower incomes the most. Likewise, the Budget concentrates increases in tax on the households with the highest incomes, as it should.”
“This Government have inherited a Britain that is now the most unequal country in the G7 bar America. The UK’s 50 richest families own 50% of the country’s wealth, and our tax system exacerbates this inequality with unfair loopholes that benefit those who have wealth rather than those who go to work. What steps—”
“For the last few weeks, I have been conducting independent tests, with colleagues from Bournemouth University, for nitrates and bacteria in the lovely Poole harbour and the surrounding waters. I have noticed, from talking to colleagues, that the frequency of official testing and the number of sites at which those tests are carried out have been reduced significantly by the Environment Agency over the years. Will the commission look at those issues? Will testing and the frequency of testing be included in its work?”
“We know that 2 million older people currently live in poverty in this country, with millions more with incomes just above the poverty level. Does the Minister agree that the Government should set up a pensioner taskforce to look at how pensioner poverty can be tackled once and for all?”
“Does the Minister agree that the problem is that wherever we draw the line, there will always be those just above who end up being poorer because they do not gain the benefit and do not get the passported access that gaining the benefit gives? Those individuals end up being worse off than the people who do claim. That is one of the problems with the means-tested system.”
“The key question with any means-tested-system is: where do we draw the line? By its very nature, the biggest losers will be those just above the cut-off point. In my constituency, around 19,000 people will miss out. The UK has long-standing problems such as poor housing that is difficult to keep warm, one of the lowest pensions in Europe, rising energy costs, and annual cold-related winter deaths among older people—I could go on, but I am running out of time. I urge the Government to think seriously about delaying this proposal and, in its place, putting forward a pensioner taskforce to look at how we can tackle pensioner poverty in the UK.”
“Means-testing is supposed to target help at those who need it most, but those people do not claim it. For decades, successive Governments have talked about needing to improve take-up, but even in the best year the take-up rate was 67%. Of course, some people do not claim it because they are unaware of what they are entitled to, but most are wary about having to answer more than 230 questions about their circumstances, and many charities such as Citizens Advice in my constituency do not have the capacity to help people fill the forms in because of cuts to funding over the years of austerity. We should also recognise that there is still a stigma attached to having to declare that you are struggling, and concepts around the deserving poor are as old as this building. I thought that in the 21st century we would be hoping for something better.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the chance to speak in this important debate. I felt compelled to do so because for nearly 20 years I was an active campaigner in the pensioner movement. I want to make it clear that the financial mess inherited by the Government is a result of 14 years of austerity and financial mismanagement, and I reject any suggestion that public sector workers are benefiting at the expense of pensioners. That is well known to be a crude attempt to divide working people, and we should reject it as such. In the short time that I have, I want to make the case for universalism as the cornerstone of our welfare state. We know from the latest figures that 880,000 older people are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it.”
“There is a great sense of pride in being here today and I will do whatever I can over the lifetime of this Parliament to repay the faith that the people of Poole, my party and my family have shown in me.”
“Banning zero-hour contracts, ending fire and rehire, and giving day-one rights on parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal will be significant achievements of this Government and will bring about lasting change that will benefit millions of working people, including those in my constituency. I will close by thanking some significant people who put me here today: the residents of Poole for having the confidence to vote for a Labour MP for the first time in the history of the seat; my wonderful Poole Labour family for their commitment to the cause and a tremendous sense of camaraderie; and my wife Helen for believing that this was possible.”
“It offers local families a chance to buy the things they need at very low cost but, importantly, in a way that retains their dignity. Without that work, many more families would be in severe financial difficulty. That is why I welcome the King’s Speech and the commitment to make work pay, as set out in the employment rights Bill. As a former full-time trade union official used to negotiating with employers and representing members, I am well aware of the need to reset the balance in the workplace to enable working people to organise as a way of improving their terms and conditions, as well as making the improvements needed to address low pay and inequality in the workplace.”
“You will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that a rising tide raises all boats. It is important for Members to understand that not everyone in Poole is a multimillionaire. Although the most expensive land in the country, known as Sandbanks, might be home to footballers and celebrities, nearly 7,000 residents in Poole struggle to cover essential costs from their monthly income, according to Citizens Advice. One in three of those are in work. In Poole, like the rest of the country, that got worse during the years of austerity and then the cost of living crisis. That is why I want to pay tribute today to people such as Mel Meadowcroft and her team of volunteers, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting, who run the community food store in St Gabriel’s church in Hamworthy.”
“The link to the sea played its part in world war two, when Poole was the third largest embarkation point for the D-day landings of Operation Overlord, and the local Marine base played a key role in the Falklands conflict. Today, the marine industry continues to play a significant role in the town, whether through the manufacture of yachts, the fishing industry or associated tourism. Of course, the most famous nautical connection is the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary. I was happy to add my name to the early-day motion, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore), on the RNLI’s anniversary, and to pay tribute to the men and women who have volunteered over the years to save others, irrespective of who they are or where they come from.”
“Having listened to a number of maiden speeches over the past few days, I am aware that new Members wax lyrical about how beautiful their constituency might be, and I will not deviate from that format. Anyone who has visited my constituency as a tourist knows that the beaches at Branksome Chine and Sandbanks are world class. Poole Park is a superb example of Victorian municipal pride, winning awards for its well managed green spaces, which are much needed in today’s busy world. The park borders Poole’s magnificent harbour. The harbour area has been inhabited since the iron age. It became a major trading centre with Newfoundland in the 16th century, and by the 19th century nine out of 10 workers were involved in some kind of harbour activity. We even had the odd pirate.”
“That is why I wholeheartedly support the proposal from my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House for a Modernisation Committee that will look again at the culture and working practices of the House. I hope to support its work in whatever way I can. I would also like to express my thanks to my predecessor, Sir Robert Syms. He and I share a pride in representing the constituency of Poole. He served the House and his local residents for 27 years. Even in defeat, he was generous enough to offer me his assistance in acclimatising to parliamentary life, and for that I am very grateful. I also owe him an apology. After an exhausting three recounts, which lasted until 11 o’clock on the morning of 5 July, I forgot to thank him properly for his service. I hope I can rectify that today and wish him well for the future.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this debate. I congratulate you on your recent election, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Sureena Brackenridge) on an excellent address. I look forward to hearing many more such passionate and powerful contributions from her in future. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the parliamentary staff who have provided such excellent support and guidance to me, and I am sure to many others, over the past two weeks. I am sure that you can recall, Madam Deputy Speaker, what it was like when you first arrived here. Having the support of those staff has made the transition to Westminster much easier. As a newly elected MP, I have to say that this is unlike any other workplace I have ever attended.”