Andrew Pakes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Apr 2026 · Child Poverty Taskforce · Hansard source

  More

  One of the worst legacies of the previous Government is that 43% of children growing up in Peterborough are living in poverty. Nearly 10,000 children will be affected by the lifting of the child cap in Peterborough alone. Will the Chancellor assure me that, while we have made huge progress, we will keep a razor-like focus on child poverty as we deal with the cost of living crisis and the fallout from the war in Iran?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

  More

  The Chancellor is right: this was not our war, but its impacts are being felt by businesses and families in my constituency. What is almost as shocking as the recent price hike is how exposed our country is because of a decade of under-investment by the Conservative party in nuclear, onshore wind and updating our power networks. Can the Chancellor reassure me that while we keep a razor-sharp focus on the cost of living for families, we will also do our utmost to speed up the development and renewal of our energy networks, so that we can power this country from our own sources and not just rely on imports?

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  I wholeheartedly endorse my hon. Friend’s comments. It is not just the fact of having a lido: it is about the community and volunteer spirit that builds around it, which adds something greater than just a pool. Peterborough is a working city. The lido was built in an era of recession and global uncertainty and it represented an important investment in public health in our city. Today, on its 90th anniversary, we face similar shadows: a decade of austerity and cuts for public services and local government; a world facing anxiety; and families still worried about living costs. Since its opening in 1936, Peterborough lido has remained a constant feature in our city. It has withstood many changes: changes in management, bomb damage during world war two, multiple threats of closure and demolition, and, most recently, the covid pandemic. Why does it matter? It matters because swimming and the public good go together. No only did we nearly lose our lido, but two years ago the Conservative council closed our only public indoor pool as well. We are now the only one of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the country without an indoor public pool. I am glad that the new Government have listened, and, thanks to the work that I helped lead, the Chancellor has provided £20 million through the growth mission fund so that we can now have both a majestic lido and a new indoor pool, which is being built.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  Brilliant—I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. The only correction I would make is that it was not my achievement. It was the achievement of the friends group, the campaigners in the council and its good officers, who have all worked together to rebuild our lido after a difficult period, learning from the successful campaigns in other places around the country. At a time when prevention is the overriding health priority and physical activity is recognised as the key to lifelong health and wellbeing, these accessible and inclusive facilities have a vital and powerful role to play. Swimming remains one of the most popular activities in England. Each year, around 12.5 million adults go swimming, and over 4 million people enjoy swimming outdoors, including in lidos. I pay tribute to all those involved in promoting the benefits and enjoyment of swimming, including Swim England and Future Lidos, both of which have helped me to prepare for this debate. I also pay tribute to the award-winning City of Peterborough swimming club, and to the swimmers, parents and volunteers who support it. There are no finer volunteers in our communities than the parents who give up their weekends and early mornings to help their children and other children to engage in the beauty of sport. I could not make this speech without recognising the incredible role of Friends of Peterborough Lido. In particular, I pay tribute to the wonderful Clare Marshall, who this week stood down as chair after many successful years of shepherding the group. I know from speaking to many hon. Members and hon. Friends across the House that friends groups and volunteers are vital to saving our lidos and keeping them in rude health. I welcome the Minister. We have a shared love of community sport and facilities. However, as the evidence suggests, this issue cuts across Departments and is not restricted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, so I will put a couple of friendly questions to him. What assurances can the Minister give the House that the Government understand how swimming is integrated across public health, DCMS, local government and a range of Departments? Can he reassure us that the Government, as a whole, understand the importance of these facilities? What role do lidos and swimming play in the Government’s commitment to grassroots sport and public leisure? And with a little cheek, I invite him, on his way home to his constituency, to join me for a dip at some point during the 90th anniversary of Peterborough lido. We will even supply him with a cuppa and a camera to record the moment for posterity. Peterborough lido is not just a pool; it is part of both our heritage and our future. It is about the memories made and the memories still to come. It is one of our key leisure and visitor attractions. Its 90th anniversary is a city celebration, not just a pool celebration. Last year, I was privileged to help form Peterborough’s first ever tourist board and to serve as its inaugural chair for the first year. Peterborough brings together the art deco jewel of our lido with our cathedral, our museum, our green spaces—including the John Clare countryside and Nene Park—and our history in Flag Fen. I am also proud that Peterborough Museum will host a civic exhibition on the importance of our lido, with a documentary being recorded later in the year. Our lido, like so many lidos, is in the heart of our community, which is where they should stay. For that to happen, we need to safeguard these assets for the long term. The public sphere has been much eroded over the last decade, but together we can rebuild it. Through community ownership and involvement, we can strengthen these bonds, which will become much easier with Government support.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that lidos are critical to public health, but they need to be accessible and affordable for people from all parts of our communities. We need to build that as we go forward. That links to my next point about the generations that built many of our lidos and the echoes of that today. Built in the lido boom of the 1920s and 1930s, Peterborough lido proudly celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  Tomorrow!

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  I agree on both points. I will talk later about how I am blown away by the dedication of so many of the volunteers who have supported and built our lidos over a long period, and particularly during some very dark years in funding for some of them. Nowhere is the happiness and pride that I have talked about greater than in Peterborough. Our art deco lido is a jewel in our city’s crown and, after a number of years on the down, it is now on the up. Two years ago the lido faced a bleak future because of the nature of local government funding cuts. Despite great enthusiasm from swimmers, it had seen better days. I am pleased to say that the council was forced to think again after more than 2,500 people got involved in the campaign to save our lido, and I am pleased to have played my part. Last year, the lido, with support from the council and residents, went on to have its best ever season.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you for chairing this debate, Mr Efford, and I thank everyone for sharing their experiences. We in government talk a lot about connection, the importance of communities coming together and pride in place. Nothing brings us together more than the pride in our lidos and public baths, as we have heard today. The one person I would single out is Kitty Wilkinson, and the wonderful story told by my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns). It was working men and women, through generations gone, who fought for public health and the ability for people to wash after a day’s work. They transformed and created a movement that has led to today’s lidos, and it is the passion of volunteers today that will keep lidos in rude health for years to come. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the impact of public baths and lidos on local communities.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of public baths and lidos on local communities. It is a pleasure to speak in a debate that I think should be called in Hansard , “For the Love of Lidos”. It is a delight to open this debate on the value of our public baths and lidos. It could not be timelier, as Peterborough lido is set to open for its 2026 season this coming weekend. I am delighted to see so many colleagues. That shows the love of lidos in our communities, how important they are and how much interest they generate around the entire country—not just in my constituency. The UK stock of public outdoor pools represents deep cultural heritage, serving our communities for over a century and generating health, happiness and pride in our places.

• 24 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my right hon. Friend for the serious approach she has taken to the conflict, unlike the hokey-cokey approach we have seen from the Conservative party. Peterborough is willing to play its part in developing our energy infrastructure, and we have already had £1 billion-worth of private investment to upgrade the gas networks based out of Peterborough, but my constituents know that the price hike is not just about what is happening now in the middle east; it is about that decade when we did not build the energy infrastructure the country needs. Will she reassure me that her plan will speed up new nuclear, speed up investment in renewables and get the country building the energy infrastructure we need if we are to tackle this challenge for the long term?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you, Mr Speaker. As the Member of Parliament representing the constituency where the temple is based, may I put it on record that I am deeply disappointed not to have had a conversation with the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who has used parliamentary privilege to state some untruths about something that is subject to legal action?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am sorry, Mr Speaker, and I apologise to the House. The hon. Member for Harrow East has stated things that are not factual in relation to this. One of the great blessings I have as a Member of Parliament is joining communities to celebrate festivals such Diwali, Hanukkah and Vaisakhi. In the coming hours, I will be joining many members of my community to celebrate Eid. Does the Leader of the House recognise the divisive, exclusionary, hateful language that some people have used to describe a community iftar in recent days? That has shown that it is not about British values; seeking to divide and to drive hatred is the antithesis of that. Will he join me in wishing well all those who will be taking part in Eid in the Park in Peterborough in the coming hours, showing off the best of my city? Will he also provide parliamentary time for a debate on the language that we use about social cohesion and bringing our faiths together rather than dividing them?

• 18 Mar 2026 · Student Loans · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome this week’s announcement of the new deal for young people beyond university. One of the challenges in a seat like Peterborough is that not enough young people get to either apprenticeships or university. Does the Minister agree that one of the challenges we face is that we spend so much time in this place and in the media debating university routes as the path to success, but we do not spend half as much time as we need to discussing apprenticeships? The youth guarantee starts to put that right.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my right hon. Friend for the care and consideration he has shown in putting this package together. I am delighted today to be joined in the House by some inspiring apprentices from Caterpillar in my constituency, who have been talking about their experiences of moving into work. This matters in Peterborough, because we have one of the highest levels of youth unemployment for a generation, and it needs tackling. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that the work we are doing will not just benefit large employers such as Caterpillar, but put in place opportunities in the supply chain for small and medium-sized enterprises, so the brilliance of the apprenticeships we have at Caterpillar is extended to more and more young people in Peterborough?

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

  More

  Like many people in my constituency, I said prayers over the weekend while watching the events unfold. It is clear that the region is in a perilous state, and we need to de-escalate, follow the rule of law and get peace back on the table. I have a related question on the region for the Prime Minister. As he will know, many in the House were passionate about ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring that aid and humanity got in. We know that there have been closures of ways into the west bank and Gaza over the weekend. What reassurance can the Prime Minister give us that while we look towards Iran, we will not lose sight of the humanitarian need in Gaza and on the west bank?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I will try to make some progress. We have inherited an economic and moral failure by the previous Government, and this Bill will start to put that right by injecting money into the pockets of families and supporting children. It is also why I welcome the youth guarantee and the focus on earning and learning for this Government. The DWP has described Peterborough as a national youth unemployment hotspot, and it is a national hotspot for child poverty, too. Through the work of this Government to address the needs of children in poverty—the expansion of family hubs, the support for breakfast clubs, the investment in schools and early years alongside the investment in further education and apprenticeships—we are beginning to turn the tide. What matters to the people of my constituency is having the chance to get on in life, to support their children and to have pride in their community and their families. Today, with this Bill, which I hope all Members will vote for, we begin to restore pride in our community by giving dignity back to parents in difficult situations.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I entirely endorse my hon. Friend’s comments. It sounds as if we may have had similar childhoods, only in different parts of the country. The statistics cited in this debate do not sit in isolation. It is no coincidence that, alongside high levels of child poverty, Peterborough also has some of the highest levels of low-paid and insecure work in the country. At the last count, and going by the Government’s definition, one in three working people in Peterborough are in chronically insecure work—largely zero-hours shift work, which the Conservative party voted to keep in our economy, while we voted to eradicate it. Peterborough has one of the highest numbers of adults with no qualifications. Despite our city’s wonderful industrial heritage, nothing says more about the wasted opportunities of the last 14 years than the 70% drop in level 2 and level 3 apprenticeships in Peterborough—that comes at a cost to the country. Although I have painted a picture of the difficulties that many families face in my city, I pay tribute to the incredible ingenuity, determination and grit that parents demonstrate—often in difficult times and despite the adversity that they face—to do their best, look after their children, raise ambition and give people jobs and opportunities. We were sent here to serve them, and we will help them by voting for the Bill. To be honest, the Conservatives have some brass neck to talk about poverty, as do our colleagues and friends in Reform UK. At one point, I thought that they were plastic Tories, but now that the transfer window has closed, I just think that they are Tories. I represent a wonderful, brilliant and diverse city, so the naked racism in the Reform amendment, which talks about denying support for hard-working families based on the birthplace of the parents, is an affront to democracy and to British values.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am wearing a deep heat patch for my bad back, so there would be no fight from me today. I apologise to the House for the passion I have for British values and the hard work of people in my community, who I will stand up for every day against the plastic patriots and others who seek to attack them.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I think that my community is full of wonderful British people—people who stand up for British values, and who go out every single day and work to do the best for their children and community. If you want to have a fight based on British values, bring it on, because every day Labour Members will defend—

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I wholeheartedly agree. There is something wrong with society when Members of Opposition parties, including my Liberal Democrat colleagues, do not mention the long-lasting impacts of austerity on our public services, our welfare provision and the support given to families.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  It is a very unusual way to defend food bank use to say that it is because poverty is now being counted in a better way. The Trussell Trust is very clear that when Labour was last in government, food banks existed as an emergency provision for when people fell through the cracks of the welfare system. The industrialisation of food banks is shocking, as is the justification of it by the Conservatives.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Certainly. Many of my food banks would support the single policy that we are voting on today, so I hope the right hon. Gentleman will join me in the Lobby tonight to vote to eradicate food banks. This Bill will put money into the pockets of families. It will not just lift their children out of poverty but—as my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge), who is no longer in her place, said—put money into the local economy. If we ever wanted a symbol of the legacy of Tory failure in government, it is this: in my city of Peterborough alone, nearly 43% of children are growing up in poverty. In the North ward of Peterborough, which is a two-minute walk from my house, six out of 10 children are growing up in poverty. That is a stain on our society, and I am dedicated to eradicating it. I am proud of the work that my council does, but this policy will help. I am proud of the focus of Peterborough city council, pushed on by groups such as Peterborough Citizens, which has ended the practice of children sleeping in bed-and-breakfast and hotel room accommodation. I was equally proud in the autumn to welcome the Prime Minister to Welland Academy, where he made the national announcement of the roll-out of free school meals for all children on universal credit. An incredible 16,000 extra children will benefit from free school meals this September because of the action taken by this Government, which will be delivered in the coming months. We all know that we need to do more. The Bill is an investment in our country’s future. The single act of voting for it will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, including 10,000 in Peterborough. As many hon. Friends and comrades in this place have said, almost half of the families on universal credit are in work. Child poverty makes it harder for children to get on in life, and that hurts our economy. I am pleased to see that some Conservative Members have returned to the debate. I thought for a while that the lights were on but nobody was home—it turns out that that applies just to their policy on child poverty rather than to them as individuals. The Conservatives would do well to remember that these figures are not merely statistics; they tell a story of lost opportunity, of lost moments of childhood, and of lost potential not just for the affected children but for our local economies.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I first put on record my thanks to my Deep Heat patch; three hours of bobbing with a bad back has been a very special introduction to this debate. I welcome the opportunity to highlight an issue that is the driving mission of so many of us and the reason why we are in this House. Like many Members, I had the opportunity over December to attend services at some of the wonderful churches across Peterborough. That was not just Christmas spirit; there is nothing more majestic than the raising of voices “to the newborn King” by a packed congregation in a 900-year-old cathedral. At every service, I met congregations dedicated to helping others in my city. Child poverty was at the heart of those conversations—the impact of child poverty on the children themselves, but also its corrosive impact on parents and on all of us in society. Nothing goes to the heart of Labour’s values more than addressing the corrosion that poverty causes in young lives, and I am deeply proud to speak in this Second Reading debate on one of the most important pieces of legislation that this Government are bringing forward. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Peterborough food bank volunteers and our Care Zone furniture volunteers, whom I have met consistently since being elected, for the incredible work they have done to support and help families and children in need. I also thank the volunteers at KingsGate community church, who do so much to help families in need with food and debt advice, and to navigate the still-too-clunky networks of the DWP and the state. That help is needed; we all know the national statistics. The hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) mentioned the Trussell Trust, and I looked up the figures in preparing my contribution: in 2010, the last year of the Labour Government, the Trussell Trust reported that just over 43,000 emergency food parcels were handed out; in the last year of the Conservative Government, more than 3 million food parcels were handed out.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I would adore it.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I agree with my hon. Friend. I put on the record my tribute to all food bank volunteers, not just for holding me to account and making sure that I am here today to support policies like this, but for making the case that he so powerfully makes: they want food banks to no longer exist. Whenever I speak to Christians Against Poverty, churches, mosques, temples and so many of the faith communities that are important to the social infrastructure that holds poverty at bay for so many families, they all say to me that they wish that they did not have to provide food banks and that they could spend more time doing other things. It is our job, starting today with this Bill, to put that into practice for them.