John Slinger MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister join me in praising all the staff past and present, the council’s chief officer for leisure and wellbeing, Tom Kittendorf, and the portfolio holder, Councillor Maggie O’Rourke, on the recent 25th anniversary of the Rugby art gallery and museum? I was glad to attend and pay tribute to staff for the huge contribution they make to the three C’s: creativity, culture and community. Does my right hon. Friend agree that municipally run institutions such as that are gems shining bright in our towns, and that this Government will do all they can to empower them?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  I don’t think you would want to hear me do that.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  I have heard a rumour that a local authority found in one of its municipal buildings a vast store of unused but usable musical instruments. Will my hon. Friend ask her colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government if they might gently ask other local authorities to do a little audit to see whether they have similar stores? If they do, the instruments could be distributed to primary schools, in particular, where they are very much needed.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for securing this incredibly important debate. It is vital that we discuss these issues in this House. I am one of those few MPs who has found a happy middle ground between orchestra and hip-hop. I will go into a bit of detail on that: I learned the violin from the age of seven, played in orchestras, and latterly ended up playing in rock bands—not playing the violin, but playing the guitar and the keyboard, and singing. I know from personal experience that a background in music improves many aspects of our lives, such as discipline and creativity. It actually teaches people the value of hard work towards an objective, and it provides both hard and soft skills. I sometimes say to people—I mean this with no disrespect—that all too often music is regarded as sitting around the campfire singing “Kumbaya”. I am all in favour of doing that—indeed, I have done so. However, it is far more than that; it is so much more than the mere pleasure and enjoyment of creating the music. It is a stable bedrock to build one’s life on, but I fear that over the past 14 years the opportunity to do so has been stripped back by Conservative Governments. Students of Paddox primary school tell me that their music department budget has been steadily eroded, and most of the existing music activities are the result of the passionate and dedicated music teacher, Mrs Pearson. A priority of mine as an MP is to give more of a voice to young people, so I am glad to do that. Vanessa from Paddox primary school’s student council explains that there is a strong mandate for an orchestra or band as an extracurricular club. Isabelle speaks for the silent majority of year 6 students, who are sceptical that body percussion music is an adequate substitute for the playing of actual musical instruments in the end-of-year production. Sally Ann, on behalf of many, strongly commends the benefits of peripatetic music lessons, and is dismayed that this is not an option available to everyone. There is so much young passion for music, so much creative potential, and yet by the time they are in their mid-teens, precious few students take music qualifications, as was set out by my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green. This all contributes to a downwards spiral in too many cases: a lack of space in the curriculum means few, or often no, music lessons for too many students; fewer students take up the subject, so fewer teachers become qualified; and university departments are closing because of poor uptake—they lack the placement opportunities because of a lack of lessons in the curriculum. The cycle must be broken. After 14 years of the previous Government, the mean yearly budget for music departments in maintained schools was £1,800; in academies and free schools it was £2,200; in independent schools it was £10,000. The Labour Government cannot continue to allow 93% of the student population to be let down. Furthermore, the Conservative Government only allocated enough funding to cover 40% of the cost of music hubs. The remaining cost can only be covered by families, and inevitably this often means only the most privileged and economically thriving. According to the Independent Society of Musicians, the gap between private and state music education has become, sadly, a chasm. I am really glad that this Government have made significant steps in the right direction: providing £25 million for instruments in schools this academic year; introducing the music opportunities fund, which will support 1,000 young people and children; and changing progress 8 measures to include creative arts subjects, an issue on which I have engaged with my hon. Friend the Minister. I know that she takes it very seriously and is doing great work; however, I respectfully call on the Government to go further. Music has as much to offer young people as maths or science. I therefore endorse the recommendations of Birmingham City University academics and the ISM—let me put on record my gratitude to the Birmingham City University academics for the time they spent briefing me and for all they do to research this important area. They and the ISM recommend giving music teachers equal priority by increasing bursaries and recruitment, in order to put music at the heart of the curriculum in the upcoming curriculum and assessment review—I know that my hon. Friend the Minister is considering these matters very seriously. They also recommend reforming the EBacc to prevent music being sidelined, making GCSE and A-level music more accessible and appealing, and creating a sustained pipeline for music education. We must fundamentally view music in a different light, adapting the motto “Sports for all” to “Music for all”. Hon. Members will not be surprised to hear that, representing the town of Rugby, I am a passionate supporter of sports. They provide people with wonderful lifelong skills. However, it is my personal view that a disproportionate amount of attention is given to sport in our educational settings and, frankly, in society in general. That needs to be reversed. We need a change, frankly, in the culture of our entire society. That goes beyond the powers of any of us in this Chamber, and indeed perhaps even those of Ministers, yet we must all engage in seeking, really, a revolution in people’s attitude towards music. My dad began learning the trombone in his middle age, and his life has been transformed by the joys that music education and performance have given him. When we had a chat recently, he said that we perhaps should have a “duty of candour” not to abandon one of the most successful aspects of our creative life in schools and beyond. Caroline Lumsden, my former violin teacher, agrees, saying that we must democratise music. We must make it available to all students, regardless of wealth, and recruit more specialist music teachers, especially in primary schools, because we all know that earlier intervention is better intervention. As I have mentioned, we must intervene at the very beginning of people’s lives and break any destructive cycles. Caroline and her late husband Alan moved into the village next to the one I grew up in, creating a wonderful music school called Beauchamp Music Group, which started in her front room and then expanded into the dairy of the farm, which still contained dairy equipment. Latterly, they developed the barn into a space that even a full orchestra could play in and where summer courses could take place. That transformed my life. Even my academic abilities improved when I started learning the violin—probably not enough, but they improved none the less. That experience added to the education at the superb comprehensive school I was privileged to attend, Newent community school. Its head, Mr Landau, was a true believer in music and gave huge backing to my music teacher, Miss Wrenn. She was head of music, and through her dedication and inspired leadership of that department, the students in that state comprehensive school were able to participate in peripatetic lessons. Lots of us took GCSE and A-level music. There was a brass band, a jazz band and a rock band. There were chamber concerts each term. There was a junior orchestra and a senior orchestra. We even wrote the music for one of the school’s dramatic productions and played in the pit orchestra. It was truly incredible and wonderful. However, I would imagine that latterly it has become harder for schools to achieve such a level of provision. Thanks to those dedicated educators, thousands of young people’s lives were transformed. In a recent meeting that I helped to organise, the chief medical officer for Scotland, quite incredibly but aptly, described investment in the creative arts as a public health intervention. In my view, anything that we can do to invest in music education and the creative arts more broadly is also a hard and soft-skills intervention. It is an anti-crime, community-strengthening, child development and community cohesion intervention. It is an intervention in local economies and our exports. It is an intervention that boosts jobs. Going back to my “Kumbaya” point, it also drastically improves wellbeing, fun, happiness and joy in our lives as individuals and communities. Yet despite the best efforts and the genuine belief of the Minister and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in this cause, there is a chance that the system simply does not quite get it. To be clear, that is in no way to denigrate the excellent work of my hon. and right hon. Friends the Ministers, who I thoroughly believe want to do everything that they can to improve music education. But, as I alluded to earlier, I think the broader system—society at large and parts of the media—do not fully get just how important music and creative arts education are. I again thank my ministerial colleagues for all the work they have done. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green for securing this important debate. I conclude by saying that no student from Paddox primary school should have to give up their passion. No one should be denied the opportunity of a musical education. I challenge any hon. Member here to defy the mandate of Paddox primary school’s student council.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  I merely want to correct the record. I hope it is understood that I am not claiming to be a hip-hop artist; I do not want to get the wrong booking or anything like that. I played in a rock band, which probably sits somewhere in between, not a hip-hop band—much as I like hip-hop.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  It is on SoundCloud, actually.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Music Education · Hansard source

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  I very much appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s comments. Does he agree that this is the cultural and societal-level challenge that I referred to in my speech, whereby music is seen in some way as a flowery activity for an elite or a tiny minority of the population? Perhaps it is seen as something that men or boys would be less inclined to do—as dancing is—and it is regarded as a particular niche. That is not helpful, because we need to show that music is for absolutely everybody and that it has benefits to offer all, just as we do when we talk about sport.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Change Grow Live charity, which helps people to overcome alcohol and drug addiction and recently opened a new recovery hub at its central Rugby office? I have seen for myself its holistic approach, from professional medical support to art sessions and the impressive ambassador programme run by former service users, which gives people dignity and hope. Does the Leader of the House agree that it would be good if we could debate the contribution made by such charities?

• 2 Jul 2025 · British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty · Hansard source

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  Clearly, language such as “surrender” is inflammatory and inappropriate. Conservative Members of this House wax lyrical and make a song and dance about national security. Will my hon. Friend remind them that on their watch, our armed forces were hollowed out, with the Army reaching its smallest size since the Napoleonic wars, and spending never once reached 2.5%? Is it not true that Labour is the party of strong defence and strong national security?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that we are driving growth across every part of the country with investments at the spending review, including £15.6 billion for transport projects in city regions and additional support that I saw myself in Warwickshire with the launch of an electric bus fleet, including buses built at Alexander Dennis in this country; and that this shows a Government who are investing in the future prosperity of our country?

• 26 Jun 2025 · G7 and NATO Summits · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, which shows that international co-operation and the ability to forge relationships of trust and human empathy are signs of strength, not weakness. Our country is stronger for his leadership and pursuit of peace globally through diplomatic means. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that we can deter war and defend our allies such as Ukraine only if outward-looking diplomacy is backed up by ever stronger armed forces and an ever stronger economy; that those matters ought to unify all in the House; and that it is very unfortunate that we have seen petty, party political games from the Leader of the Opposition?

• 26 Jun 2025 · BBC World Service Funding · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for securing the debate. He is not only an hon. Friend, but a running partner of mine. On Tuesday, in Parliament, I had the pleasure of attending a BBC World Service panel, where we heard from the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) on many things, such as how he regrets that the Government in which he served insisted that the World Service should largely be funded by the licence fee. The fee, paid exclusively by British residents, must now tenuously cover 75% of the cost of the World Service, a service designed almost entirely for an external audience, but which has huge public benefit to the British people, if not a huge British public consumption rate. At the time we are debating this subject, Russia and China have invested up to $9 billion in informal soft power, which is quite a bit more than we spend. They do so because propaganda, often disguised as news, works. It works today, as it did in previous decades and indeed centuries. British children spend an average of 127 minutes a day on TikTok, a Chinese app, and we saw Russian propaganda influence in the elections in Poland and Moldova recently. This is not the time for Britain to draw back. I continue to salute the BBC Russian team, which I visited earlier this year with the right hon. Member for Maldon on an Inter-Parliamentary Union visit. That team counters misinformation with impartial and accurate journalism, at significant personal cost. Our greatest tool for soft power must be brought back from the brink, because once that point is reached, it will be increasingly difficult for us to recover such international influence.

• 26 Jun 2025 · BBC World Service Funding · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. Of course, military action would be unthinkable in those cases, but what is thinkable is the truth being promulgated through impartial media. In that panel earlier this week, we heard, for example, that after closing the Voice of America service, the US Agency for Global Media has failed to regenerate any Iranian listenership, or the amount of Iranian listenership that it used to have, for its broadcasts covering the current Iran-Israel crisis. Presence breeds trust, and the presence of the truth, in my view, is an absolute must. Currently reaching about 400 million people a week in 42 languages, the BBC World Service is adapting rapidly and becoming more informative, engaging and appealing to a broader audience in an incredibly competitive attention economy. Clearly, the World Service has immense potential to bring people and nations together, and I am delighted that the most recent Budget increased funding by 31%. Despite the significant budgetary pressures on the FCDO, I wish to use all the soft power that I possess to encourage my hon. Friend the Minister to do all she can to increase funding for the World Service and provide a cast-iron guarantee into the future. This is the crucial moment. We have an opportunity to prevent a diminution in our international power, just as that soft power and our British broadcasting values of tolerance, truth and impartiality are needed most. More than ever, we need to increase and protect the funding. When those values prosper, so do the world, freedom, hope and democracy.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Day · Hansard source

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  In my hon. Friend’s very powerful and moving speech, she has spoken about the efforts of the entire community. The right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) talked about the importance of the national endeavour to remember those who have served, and those who continue to serve, irrespective of party. In that spirit, I would like to put on record that former Conservative councillor Kathryn Lawrence is doing wonderful work with her team at the Hillmorton branch of the Royal British Legion. I have met her many times and worked with her, and will continue to do so. Indeed, I will be taking part in the ceremony on Saturday. It is in that spirit that we should support our armed services.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Day · Hansard source

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  As we are discussing the armed services’ recruitment problems, does my hon. Friend agree it is very helpful that this Government were able to deliver an above-inflation pay rise of 4.5% for service personnel, recognising their extraordinary professionalism? In combination with last year’s 6% headline award, that represents a cumulative pay award of 10.5% since July 2024, which can only help with the issues he is discussing.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Day · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend knows that recently I had the great privilege of visiting our base in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where I saw for myself the dedicated service of the troops and their officers, who are doing huge work to help that regional government, thereby enhancing regional and British security. They are a credit to this country and we owe them a debt of gratitude. We should also remember that there are so many servicemen and women overseas who are doing difficult work, sometimes in harm’s way. On Armed Forces Day, we must remember all those serving officers and soldiers as well.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Nuclear-certified Aircraft Procurement · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend join me in praising the Rugby No. 1 branch of the Royal British Legion, who I believe are in Tesco this week for a service, and the Hillmorton branch of the RBL, who will be holding a ceremony on Armed Forces Day? I was pleased to see that this commitment will support 20,000 jobs across the UK in the years to come, with over 100 UK-based suppliers contributing to the F-35 programme. Does she agree that this demonstrates that our national security and economic security go hand in hand, and that this Government will deliver that?

• 25 Jun 2025 · Criminal Justice · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way on that important point. Will he join me in acknowledging the excellent work of organisations such as Futures Unlocked in Rugby? I recently met John Powell, its operations manager, as well as its trustees and volunteers. Those small charities do so much work to help ex-prisoners transition to life outside prison. I was hugely impressed. They often do work that the Probation Service cannot do, despite its best efforts, after 14 years of underfunding under the previous Government.

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the new national armaments director should have as one of their priorities making sure that the welcome uplift in spending by this Government means that SMEs really get a fair share of that, and that that will do great things for constituencies such as my hon. Friend’s and mine, where there are many smaller and medium-sized businesses that seek to benefit from that process?

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend give way?

• 24 Jun 2025 · Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria · Hansard source

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  I fully appreciate how important it is for local communities to have the most influence over road safety measures in their area, but can my hon. Friend expand on the forthcoming road safety strategy? Can she tell us whether there will be an even clearer drive from central Government towards, perhaps, a “vision zero” approach, and towards giving local communities even more impetus to reduce speeding? It is, in my view, and probably that of many other Members, selfish and reckless of people to exceed a speed limit that they are required by law to abide by.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Incontinence · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for raising this very important subject. My hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) and others mentioned the importance of greater and better provision of public conveniences. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to encourage cafés and other organisations in town centres to make better provision for people suffering from these issues? Perhaps some of the campaigns that have been alluded to can help to make those spaces available. They should by no means replace what public conveniences should do, but having such places in town centres can assist vulnerable people.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Some 96% of UK prisoners are men, most wars are started by men and most war criminals are men. As we work for a better future here and abroad, where conflicts and unilateral actions are sadly gaining the upper hand, does the Leader of the House agree that we must do more to bring the perspectives of women to the fore, as we did earlier this week? Does she further agree that while the majority of men are not the problem, some key problems are largely caused by men, so it is vital that we better educate boys and young people, and detoxify masculinity, so that over time we might reduce violence at home and abroad? Can time be found for a debate on this topic?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Support for Entrepreneurs · Hansard source

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  18. What support his Department plans to provide to entrepreneurship incubators in towns.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Support for Entrepreneurs · Hansard source

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  Towns like Rugby have a proud industrial heritage and an exciting present, and we are building a dynamic and sustainable business and industrial future. It was very welcome that the Chancellor revised the Green Book to make sure that investment and economic growth are spread more fairly across the country, beyond the major city regions. Can my hon. Friend set out what support may be available for towns like Rugby to attract and encourage people to start and grow their own businesses—for example, entrepreneurship hubs in towns rather than cities, so that they can play a role, and targeted tax reliefs for firms setting up in places like Rugby?