Adam Jogee MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

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  I am pleased that the hon. Member has mentioned Margaret and Godfrey. Just to reassure them, there is as much love for both of them on the Labour Benches as there is on the Liberal Democrat Benches.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

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  It is a real pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter), who gave a powerful and moving maiden speech. I reassure her that I will be in the trenches alongside her in the fight to support those with dementia and their families. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon), who gave a very good maiden speech, and my near neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier). Team Staffordshire hunt as a pack, and I was delighted to be here to listen to him. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate. I thank the Leader of the House for ensuring that it has been held in Government time, because each and every person who lives, learns and works in our United Kingdom, and each and every person who moved here to work in our national health service, on our railways, in our schools or on our building sites, deserves to be heard, listened to and celebrated. I am proud to be British. I am a proud son of a Zimbabwean-born dad and the proud grandson of a Jamaican who came to our country in the 1940s to help us to win world war two, as many other black and Asian men did in the great war and in years subsequent. I am proud to be black—a black British Member of Parliament, words that even 40 years still seemed so impossible and so far off. I acknowledge those who have gone before me. I am the first black Member of Parliament in Staffordshire’s history. Following in the footsteps of my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton), who, following the death of Jack Dromey, became the first woman and the first black person to represent a Birmingham constituency, I am the first black man to represent anywhere in the west midlands in Parliament. If we think about the contribution that black people such as my grandfather made to Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford, it shows how far we have come, but also how long it has taken. As we have heard, black history is British history, certainly in the context of our United Kingdom. As we approach Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, when our United Kingdom comes together to reflect and acknowledge the sacrifices of all the men and boys, and women and girls, who went to war and contributed at home, I want to remember all those who left the colonies, as they were then, and gave their lives for freedom. Nobody here or outside this House should ever forget that we would not have beaten the Germans on the beaches of Normandy, at Gallipoli, or at Burma, as my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) noted, without the bravery and valour of young men—black, white and Asian. They left their green island homes and the African continent for the ravages of war. They were on the frontline in the fight against tyranny, fascism and hatred, and their bravery won the day. For many of those who returned from the frontline, our United Kingdom became their home. These black men and women rolled up their sleeves, put their shoulders to the wheel, and helped to rebuild a nation ravaged by war. Homes were built. Our buses were back on the roads. Railways worked once again. Our national health service was established. Restaurants opened and sold food with spice, seasoning and everything nice. Fabric shops and tailors ensured that our country had some of the best dressed people on the world stage, and our United Kingdom bounced back. So much more happened, and we as a country would not, and could not, have done it without the sacrifices and contribution of the black British community. That contribution lives on. Two weeks ago, I was delighted to welcome the Staffordshire Black Business Network awards 2024 to Keele University in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the incredible contribution that black businesses make across our county, and I am very grateful to my hon. Friends the Members for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) and for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) and my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner), who is next to me now, for joining me at that event. From brand-new start-ups to long-standing pillars of our high streets, town centres and communities, black and ethnic-minority-led businesses contribute more than £25 billion to the UK economy every year. Last week, I was delighted to cut the ribbon and open officially a new black-owned business in Newcastle-under-Lyme. I pay tribute to Gloria, the owner, and her family for their determination and grit, and wish them all the best. Their new store focuses on African clothing, so I will be going to buy some ties at the weekend—with my own money —and I look forward to showing them off in this place. As we celebrate Black History Month, we must also reflect on the promise of our country. To think that my grandfather arrived on a boat, and here I am today—that would not happen in many other parts of the world, but it happened in our United Kingdom, and we should never forget that. I am proud of my race, but it does not define me. It inspires me, yes, and it has opened doors—and, regrettably, it has probably closed a few, too—but it also allows me to show those who come after me that anything is possible. Showing that example, and not pulling up the ladder, as some have done, is how I will approach my responsibilities. Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II said that she had to be seen to be believed, and she was right. She set an example in rebuilding and repairing Britain’s relationships with the former colonies. I would not vote for the shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), on any day of the week, but it is important for our country, as the shadow Minister noted earlier, that we could have a black woman as Leader of the Opposition in a matter of days. It is not my place to interrupt private grief, but if she does win, I hope that she enjoys her role in opposition for a very, very long time indeed. I now serve with the highest ever number of Labour black men in Parliament—that is wonderful. There are my hon. Friends the Members for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba), for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson), for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey), for Norwich South (Clive Lewis), for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) and for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson), and, of course, the Foreign Secretary, our right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy). It is amusing that, for all my frequent appearances and contributions in the Chamber since the election, I have been confused for my hon. Friend for Buckingham and Bletchley, who is taller and better looking than me; for my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law), who rocks a grey suit in a way I never could; and for my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead, who, considering he is 15 years older than me, has definitely won that one—I had it down as 20 years originally, and had to check with him so as not to age him. I take all that as a compliment. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde), I want to acknowledge all the black staff in this House, led by the Serjeant-at-Arms, who has just left the Chamber. Over the past decade, I have been a local councillor and served as mayor. Now, as a Member of Parliament, I have had the honour of attending Black History Month events in local schools, churches and community hubs. I have listened to people—children in particular—speak of their lived experiences good and bad, and to pensioners recalling the stories of their ancestors. The overwhelming feeling that I come away with every year at the end of this month is of how proud we are, and rightly so, of the black British contribution to our communities. There has been much talk of reparations in recent days. I want that conversation to start with a British Government who take the Commonwealth seriously. That conversation starts by ensuring that we reflect on the legacy of the British empire and our collective and complicated history. We do that by creating a level playing field in work, health and education; by properly and effectively trading with the Caribbean and Africa—as much as I love Australia and New Zealand, we must do more and go further—through a curriculum that tells all of our histories; and by establishing genuine and real links between our leaders. I hope that the Foreign Secretary and his team will lead by example. I want to see more ministerial visits to southern Africa, the Caribbean and other parts of the world, because on those visits we can show the respect that equal partners deserve. That would go so far in acknowledging the contribution that our forefathers made and that the black community is making today, and would show that this new Government get it. This is a joyful and hopeful debate, and I have enjoyed every single speech, including that of the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty)—although I will pick up on a couple of things with him outside the Chamber. It has shown the best of us. My being here was not inevitable, but it was possible. The fact that I am here shows how far the black community has come, and reminds us of what we need to do to lift everybody up and of how we must all hold on to the age-old value of anything being possible in our United Kingdom.

• 23 Oct 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  For 14 years, my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme had to suffer flatlining wages, in-work poverty, and a bust economy that served nobody. Can I urge the Deputy Prime Minister to use the Employment Rights Bill to turn the page on the last 14 years, give our businesses the support they need, and finally restore dignity, prosperity and opportunity to the good people of Newcastle-under-Lyme?

• 23 Oct 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 23 October.

• 22 Oct 2024 · Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to have my genuine friend intervene. He served honourably and nobly in the Northern Ireland Assembly. His point about the importance of the CPA branch in Northern Ireland, and of branches across our United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, is well made. As the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) noted, 33 of the Commonwealth’s members are small states, and they include many island nations, such as Jamaica, the land of my grandfather’s birth. There is something very important about the leaders of small islands and small nations being at the table with the leaders of countries such as Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and, yes, the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland. We all know that the Commonwealth’s roots go back to the British empire, and that is a complicated history for all of us. We should not forget, or airbrush out, in taking the steps forward that this Bill will help us to take. We must embrace our history and our collective experiences. My grandfather came here to serve King and country on a British passport in the 1940s. We would not have beaten the Germans on the beaches of Normandy, or at Gallipoli, without the bravery and valour of young men—black, white and Asian—from across the Commonwealth, or the colonies as they were then. Today, any country can join the modern Commonwealth. The last two countries to join were Gabon and Togo in 2022. Their admittance was interesting because neither had age-old colonial ties to the United Kingdom—indeed, there was very little that bound them with Britain—and that in many ways proved a step in the right direction. There is more to do on this. I am very proud of my Zimbabwean roots, but it is a matter of deep personal sadness that a nation that once hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the presence of Her late Majesty now sits on the outside looking in. With membership comes responsibilities, expectations and standards, as is the case for any club or team one joins. That is why the Bill is so important. I hope that the discussion on Zimbabwe is given a thorough and detailed hearing when the leaders gather in Samoa. I am one of few Members who can claim to represent the birthplace of a leader of a Commonwealth country. The sixth Prime Minister of Australia, Joseph Cook, started off in the Labor party but ended up a Tory— [ Interruption. ] I thought Opposition Members would enjoy that. He was born and raised in Silverdale in my constituency, and after leaving our shores for Australia, he went on to hold the highest role in the land. It is a legacy we are very proud of in Newcastle-under-Lyme. A couple of weeks ago, I was at St Luke’s primary school in Silverdale, where there is a fantastic plaque that honours the memory of Cook and cherishes the ties between our community and Australia. The Bill is important, because it heralds, I hope, a change in British Government policy. We cannot just engage when it suits us, or when we feel like it; we cannot and must not allow the bonds to fray, the contact to cease, or let the phone calls go unanswered. We have seen many examples across Africa and the Caribbean and, increasingly, in the Pacific of the Chinese Government having people on speed dial. The perception—certainly mine and in many other parts of the world—is that the United Kingdom, for at least the past 30 years or so, has failed effectively and properly to seize the opportunities that the Commonwealth provides. I am pleased that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary are both going to the Pacific—there are competing demands on senior colleagues from all of us every day—but Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth always said that she had to be seen to be believed, and she was right. That is why is important for the Prime Minister to make the admittedly long journey to the meeting. Our departure from the European Union was meant to lead to a global Britain agenda, and I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to make sure that that agenda becomes a reality. The Bill and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association will help us to do that. They show our allies and friends across the Commonwealth that we take our relationships and our responsibilities seriously, that we understand the example we must set, and that we are determined to build, as Gordon Brown would put it, a renewed Commonwealth with a renewed purpose for new times. As the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) noted, if the Bill is passed, colleagues will engage with parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth through the CPA, as I will in the period ahead, and will have something positive to say, which is important. The viability and future of the Commonwealth is on the line if we do not get this new relationship right. The new Government have a lot to do to get our country back on track, and this is part of it. Being good stewards at home and good neighbours abroad are not mutually exclusive. We must do both, and we can do that by supporting the Bill.

• 22 Oct 2024 · Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I will happily give way to the Member of Parliament who represents my in-laws in South Antrim.

• 22 Oct 2024 · Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis). I enjoyed his detailed and comprehensive remarks. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate on this important Bill, but I start by paying tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for his maiden speech, which shared his story and the promise of our country. I declare my interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the Commonwealth, a role I was elected to before the summer recess, and my newly minted role as a member of the executive of the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The Commonwealth is all about creating opportunities, and never more so than today, because I have the opportunity to give my first speech without a time limit, which I will enjoy. I welcome the Minister to his place. It is the first time I have had the opportunity to speak with him on the Front Bench. I am looking forward to working with him and the Foreign Office team in the years ahead. I have known my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary for most of my life. I had the benefit of being his constituency twin during the election campaign, so he had the great pleasure of being able to visit Newcastle-under-Lyme and enjoy our warm hospitality, not least at the Victoria pub on Brampton Road. The Bill has been through the wars and was rudely interrupted, as we have heard, by the general election. I am very pleased that the Government have brought it forward so speedily. Where we can work together and make cross-party progress, we should do so as often as we can. I join the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns), in acknowledging the work of the former Member for Basingstoke, Dame Maria Miller. I also acknowledge all the CPA staff, led by the excellent Sarah Dickson, who I believe may be watching the deliberations this afternoon. The Bill is about our standing on the world stage, and our role as a leader in the fight for human rights, respect, decency and togetherness. As the Minister pointed out, it grants international status to both the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the International Committee of the Red Cross, enabling both those reputable and long-standing bodies to benefit from the immunities and privileges of all other international bodies, as set out in clauses 1 and 2. Those immunities and privileges include the power to confer the legal capacities of a body corporate on the CPA and the ICRC; to grant the organisations, their information and staff certain privileges and immunities commensurate with their functional needs; to provide that references to international organisations in general legislation include from now on references to the CPA and the ICRC; and to allow for certain confidential information. As ever, the United Kingdom must lead by example, so although the Bill may feel technical in nature, as the shadow Minister said, there is a wider point here about our leadership at home and abroad. That is why it is so important that we keep the CPA headquartered here in the United Kingdom. The Bill has my full support and, I hope, judging by the comments of the Liberal Democrat spokesperson and the shadow Minister, it will have support right across the House later this afternoon. This may not be the most oversubscribed Second Reading debate since the general election, but that should not be misinterpreted as a lack of support for, a lack of faith in, or a lack of commitment to the Commonwealth, its legacy and its potential. With that in mind, and given that the Bill will help improve our reputation with our Commonwealth partners and friends enormously, I wish to take a moment to talk about the Commonwealth, and what it means for today’s world and for people in Newcastle-under-Lyme and right across the global community. As we look to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting taking place in the Pacific, we can see that this Bill is an important and long overdue step being taken by the United Kingdom. In Samoa, Heads of Government, women, men and young people from across the Commonwealth will come together to share ideas, best practice, values and thoughts for moving our global family forward, and for making their deliberations mean something in each of our communities and nations. That is important, because our world is in a state of real flux. We at once seem ever more interconnected and as though we are being driven further and further apart. Political leaders across the world seem more interested in putting up barriers and walls than tearing them down, more interested in what divides us than what unites us, and some have no interest in bringing people together. That is a matter of deep concern to me, but it also shows the power and the importance of the Commonwealth family of nations. The Commonwealth is a voluntary organisation of 56 independent and equal countries—perhaps not equal in size of economy or population, but equal as their leaders sit round the table, engage and listen. Our Commonwealth family is made up of about 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries, sun and snow, global north and global south, palm trees and oaks, kangaroos and cattle, and women, men and children who all deserve a chance to get on in life, to succeed and to feel safe and secure.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  I have sore calves after this morning, Madam Deputy Speaker. A child-centred Government are exactly what people in Newcastle-under-Lyme want, but the disgraceful state of special educational needs and disability provision in our schools means that we have more to do. How does this announcement, which I welcome, sit alongside our commitment to overhauling the SEND system?

• 17 Oct 2024 · International Investment Summit · Hansard source

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  The Minister is making a very interesting and important speech, and she has set out exactly what this Government are doing to benefit my constituents. Could she find some time to meet me so that we can discuss how together we can ensure that the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire more widely can benefit from the investment secured at the summit this week?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Criminal Justice System: Capacity · Hansard source

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  My constituents will welcome the clarity that the Lord Chancellor has provided today. With reference to her point about the long-term plan for the justice system, a plan that we have to get right, may I ask her to keep in mind the need for a proper, robust and accessible legal aid system?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last week, I had the opportunity to visit TMT First, a business in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It delivers technology lifecycle services for the circular economy, specialises in the repair, refurbishment and recycling of mobile technology, and processes more than 250,000 devices every year. But with the mountain of electrical waste estimated to grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030, we need to act and act fast. I invite the Leader of the House to visit TMT First in Newcastle-under-Lyme, as it is on her way home. More importantly, can we have a debate on how we can support our businesses to do more recycling and repairing of things, rather than simply replacing them? Our economy and environment need that.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Driving Test Availability · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, which is a nice thing to be able to say from the Back Benches here. He raises an important point and as he touches on insurance, I wonder whether I can bring in the issue of inadequate public transport, particularly in Madeley and in Betley in Newcastle-under-Lyme. I increasingly receive letters and emails from people who see their ability to secure a test after they have failed the first one now being pushed further and further away. The relevant period is rather like the five months that my hon. Friend refers to, but there is a double whammy because of the lack of any viable, meaningful, and affordable public transport, particularly in Madeley and Betley. Without that, and with the pressures of available driving tests being pushed further and further away, many of my constituents, like those in Bracknell, are left at breaking point.

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  Even I, as a loyal Labour Member, would say that there are more fun things to do before bedtime that read the manifesto, which I see my near neighbour has considered very seriously indeed. For him to amend the Bill, it has to have had its Second Reading. Will he vote for the Bill tonight?

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my near neighbour for giving way.

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the former Deputy Prime Minister for giving way. He is right: I have not been here as long as he has. I am enjoying his audition for the shadow Cabinet when the new leader arrives, but will he join me in the Aye Lobby this evening, yes or no?

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  Listen, 20 votes hold, and I will give my answer in a moment. It is not for me to set Government policy, but I look forward to the right hon. Gentleman joining me in the Lobby tonight and getting this Bill through.

• 14 Oct 2024 · Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks · Hansard source

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  My constituents are proud to be British, just as the people of Gibraltar are, and I join the Minister in acknowledging Gibraltar Day. I am afraid, though, that some in this House have not listened to her responses. Will she be as clear as possible, in answering my point, that this Government will only ever stand with the people of Gibraltar for as long as they want us to stand with them?

• 14 Oct 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source

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  Sing it!

• 10 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Birthday greetings to the Leader of the House from me and my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Will she join me in paying tribute to all the volunteers and members of the team at Newcastle-under-Lyme food bank? They do wonderful work supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. With that work in mind, can we have a debate on this Government’s plans to tackle food poverty?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Northern Ireland City Deals · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State has talked about his engagement. Local authorities have a really important role to play in stimulating and facilitating growth, so can he keep local authorities in mind as he seeks to keep engaging, and as he ultimately gets us the solution that people want?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Higher Education: Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  Another example of the great decisions the people of Staffordshire made is that my hon. Friend is now sitting on the Government Benches as the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North, which we are all grateful for. He raises an important point for two reasons: first, Danny Flynn is a constituent of mine, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and has spent many years doing amazing work with his team at the North Staffordshire YMCA, based in—

• 9 Oct 2024 · Higher Education: Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  I was just about to say that it is based in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell). Secondly, the organisation has an undiluted and clear commitment to ensuring that people from many different backgrounds are able to access the opportunities they need and deserve in order to meet their full potential.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Higher Education: Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention—it would not be an Adjournment debate without it. He raises an important point that I will come to later in my remarks. It is not just the financial pressures that young people face that have an impact on their mental health. Other pressures include the inability to secure affordable, accessible and safe places to live, as well as trying to keep down a job and study at the same time, which is pushed and caused by some of the financial pressures that he referred to. I thank him for his kind comments—I am not sure whether that is better for his street cred or for mine, but I take the compliment. The “Keele in Town” programme will see an empty 19th century building, in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre, made into a mixed-use facility for the community. I have already touched on this, but it is important. It will have meeting spaces offering digital connectivity to the community, helping to drive productivity and boost skill levels. The programme includes working with our brilliant local FE institutions.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Higher Education: Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point. In previous years she has worked and lived in Newcastle-under-Lyme, so she understands the power and importance that the issue has for a wider north Staffordshire family. I was talking about the excellent Newcastle college, which is further education rather than higher education, but it is important because it is from there that our wonderful institutions at Staffordshire and Keele get their young people. I was there last Friday, presenting the student of the month awards and meeting young people who look forward to staying in Staffordshire for university. Let us focus on students for a minute. In 2022-23, 34,535 students enrolled for a degree at a higher education provider in Staffordshire. These are young people to whom we will be looking for leadership and inspiration in the years ahead. Following our departure from the European Union, the proportion of EU students in Staffordshire has decreased, while the proportion of overseas students has more than tripled, from 2.3% to 7.8%. That speaks to the challenges facing the sector not just in Staffordshire but right across Great Britain.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Higher Education: Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  I will happily give way to my constituency neighbour.