Jo Stevens MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Jun 2025 · Employment: Wales · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady will know that the Government’s No. 1 mission is economic growth. We are creating jobs all across the country, we are building the economy and we have fixed the foundations. We will hear more from the Chancellor this afternoon on what will happen in the years ahead.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Employment: Wales · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Many people in Wales will be looking forward to visiting the new Universal Studios theme park in her constituency. In Wales, we are supporting a thriving creative industries sector, which our industrial strategy has rightly identified as providing more potential for huge economic growth in the years ahead. We have confirmed £10 million to upgrade Venue Cymru in Conwy—the largest arts centre in Wales outside Cardiff—and £5 million to fund repair works to the Newport transporter bridge, both of which play a crucial role in the tourism economy. The Welsh Government are also investing £12 million in the Elan valley lakes Project through the mid-Wales growth deal.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Devolution: Crown Estate · Hansard source

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  I wish to start by paying tribute to Sir Billy Boston, the trailblazing Welsh rugby league legend who received a knighthood this week. It is fitting that Sir Billy is first recipient of a knighthood for services to rugby league, and I commend those colleagues who have campaigned so hard for this well-deserved award. This Government are totally focused on taking maximum advantage of the opportunities that floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea presents for Wales. The industry has the potential to create more than 5,000 jobs and bring £1.4 billion of investment into the UK economy in coming years. We do not support devolution of the Crown Estate, as that would risk market fragmentation, jeopardising those jobs and the significant investment that Wales deserves.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Devolution: Crown Estate · Hansard source

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  I listened carefully to the right hon. Lady’s question, and I am sure that she would not wish unintentionally to mislead the House. The situation regarding the Oxford-Cambridge line was an error made by the Conservative Government in the 2021 spending review, and as she knows, heavy rail infrastructure is reserved, not devolved, so for every heavy rail project in England, Barnett consequentials do not apply. The UK Government fund that is funding East West Rail is also directing funding projects in Wales, such as the redevelopment of Wales’s busiest station, Cardiff Central; improvements to level crossings in north Wales; and upgrades to the south Wales relief lines. I know that all 27 Welsh Labour MPs are looking forward to hearing what the Chancellor has to say today about rail investment, after all their excellent advocacy on behalf of people across Wales.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Devolution: Crown Estate · Hansard source

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  I am afraid that I will not take any lectures on the Crown Estate from the SNP, whose mismanagement of the Scottish seabed has seen Scottish assets sold off on the cheap. We are focused on doing whatever it takes to secure the more than 5,000 jobs, and billions of pounds of investment, that the Crown Estate can help to unlock for Wales.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Devolution: Crown Estate · Hansard source

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  I refer the right hon. Lady to my previous answer.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Devolution: Crown Estate · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If we were to devolve the Crown Estate and introduce a new entity, that would risk market fragmentation, complicate existing processes, and delay further development offshore, jeopardising those jobs and that investment. Even if it could be done without risking the revenues, that would not automatically lead to more money for the Welsh Government, because any revenues they retained would likely be offset through reductions to the block grant, as is the case in Scotland. Meanwhile, Wales would no longer benefit from Crown Estate assets and profits in England.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Wales · Hansard source

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  Actually, the positive impact that our UK and Welsh Labour Governments are having is clear in how the Welsh economy is changing. Employment has increased significantly in Wales, unemployment and economic inactivity have fallen, and real total wages have increased right across the UK.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Wales · Hansard source

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  Obviously, the Royal Welsh Show is a landmark event in the calendar in Wales every year. I would be happy to offer the hon. Member a meeting with the Minister responsible for farming at the Wales Office.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Wales · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady’s party, which was in government for 14 years, was in power when Wales got 1% of the rail enhancement budget, although it has 11% of the whole UK network. Her party is responsible for the historical underfunding of Welsh rail, and we will hear from the Chancellor this afternoon about what this Government are going to do about it.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Wales · Hansard source

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  We have transformed the relationship with the Welsh Government, and our two Labour Governments are delivering on the priorities of the people of Wales. Together we have delivered a record-breaking budget settlement for the Welsh Government; NHS waiting lists have fallen for four months in a row; tens of thousands of new jobs have been secured through inward investment; and pay rises are helping people across Wales, following the record increases to the national and living wage.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Wales · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point. Ensuring that coal tips across Wales remain safe is of the utmost importance and, unlike the Conservative Government, we committed £25 million of funding this year for essential work to keep tips maintained and safe. Quite why Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives voted against that additional funding in the Senedd is beyond me. They need to explain that to our former coalmining communities.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Nuclear Power · Hansard source

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  Yesterday we announced the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation. We are investing £14.2 billion to build Sizewell C, and we confirmed Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred bidder to build the country’s small modular reactors. I met the chair of Great British Energy Nuclear last week to discuss how to maximise the opportunities for Wales of new nuclear projects, and I will continue to work with the Energy Secretary and the Welsh Government to ensure that Wales’s supply chain and workforce benefit from that investment.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Nuclear Power · Hansard source

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  Almost all the UK’s nuclear power stations are currently due to come offline in the 2030s. It is this Government who are changing that, setting out our plan to end the years of Tory failure to invest or deliver on nuclear. We will deliver the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Nuclear Power · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will know that the Sizewell C consortium, for example—a group of more than 200 nuclear supply chain companies—has a memorandum of understanding with the Welsh Government that will result in an investment of up to £900 million in the Welsh nuclear supply chain. Great British Energy Nuclear acquired the Wylfa site last year, which previously hosted a nuclear power plant and is the best potential site in the UK for new nuclear deployment.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  Music tourism is a huge part of the Welsh visitor economy, and I was very sad to hear about Mike Peters’ death. Mike and The Alarm were the sounds of my teenage years when I was growing up in north Wales. He was a proud Welshman, a hugely talented musician and a man of incredible resilience. As well as bringing music tourism to north Wales, he dedicated much of his life to charitable work to support blood cancer patients, and I know he will be missed.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  Wales is the second-best recycling nation in the whole world.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  In 2024, British residents took over 7.5 million overnight trips in Wales, and during these trips they spent a total of £2.24 billion. Wales’s tourism sector is thriving, as was clear to see last month during the visit of the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith), to Elan Valley Lakes, which will benefit from an £11.8 million investment from both the UK and Welsh Governments. According to the Welsh Government, if a visitor levy were to be introduced by all Welsh authorities, that could potentially raise up to £33 million.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  Investment in Cardiff airport is a matter for the Welsh Government. I recognise the importance of Cardiff airport to the economy of the South Wales region, with thousands of jobs stemming from the airport and the economic ecosystem supported by it. Airlines such as Tui and Vueling have recently added several new destinations and extra flights from Cardiff airport. In the light of the Welsh Government’s sustained support for Welsh tourism, I am delighted to welcome today’s news that Tui is expanding its services at Cardiff, with more new routes and an increase in flights to places such as Tenerife and Mallorca.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I definitely believe that the UK is stronger with the four nations working together.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  In Wales, the partnership between our two Labour Governments is delivering on the people’s priorities. NHS waiting lists have fallen for three consecutive months. We are creating tens of thousands of jobs in every corner of Wales through our freeports, investment zones, support for steelworkers, inward investments and thriving green industries.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  Tata made the decision to close the blast furnaces in January 2024, six months before the general election. It closed the coke ovens in March 2024, when an agreement on the grant for the electric arc furnace had already been made. The hon. Gentleman might remember that blast furnace 5 closed down on polling day. The timeline was fixed for that electric arc furnace to be delivered. In 10 weeks, we negotiated a better deal, with better terms and protections for the whole workforce at Port Talbot. There were no immediate compulsory redundancies. We saw the best voluntary redundancy package ever offered by Tata to its UK workforce. We saved 5,000 jobs, and 385 acres of land are being released for development, regeneration and future opportunities at the site. All in all, this was £1.3 billion investment deal. That is very different from the situation in Scunthorpe.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. Driving down NHS waiting lists is a shared priority for both the UK and the Welsh Labour Governments. As she says, waiting list have fallen for three consecutive months as a result of our two Governments working together. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru voted against an extra £600 million for the Welsh NHS, and Reform would sell off the NHS to the highest bidder.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  Many congratulations to Wrexham. I am delighted to see them promoted, and very sad to see Cardiff relegated. My hon. Friend is right: the Government understand that work is crucial not just to our health and wellbeing, but to improving our living standards. That is why we announced last week a £10 million pilot in Blaenau Gwent, Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire to support people back into work. We will not sit by and let the Tories’ broken welfare system continue, which has condemned people to a life without work. These Trailblazer projects will help more people in Wales back into secure, well-paid jobs.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Strengthening the Union · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. and learned Member for his question. As I said in reply to an earlier question, we want to make sure that trading is made easier and that we remove the red tape and barriers. Those are the discussions that we are having at the moment with the EU.