Lee Anderson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q13. In Ashfield, four workers, including two nurses, were kicked out of their HMO, only for Serco to put four illegal migrants in their place. One of those illegal migrants was a Pakistani national who went on to rape a vulnerable young girl in a park in Ashfield. He is now doing 14 years in prison. That monster was allowed into this country by this awful Government. If the Prime Minister is really serious about protecting young women and girls, does he agree with me and Reform UK that every single illegal migrant coming to this country should be detained, not allowed to claim asylum and then deported?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is making a passionate and very intelligent speech. Is he aware that we are also importing from China wind turbines—windmills, if you like—that are stuffed with asbestos?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady is making a very passionate speech. She seems to be an expert on this subject, so could she advise the House by how much it would reduce the Earth’s temperature if this country became net zero right this minute?

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  Those are very wise words. It is very encouraging to hear that whoever becomes the next PM will treat this issue seriously. Let me go back to my original request. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that the scheme can share 100% of any future surplus with all members and their spouses from its next valuation? I think that will be in March 2027. Will that be announced in the autumn Budget? That is my first ask. The trustees have asked if they can be given total control over future surpluses. The scheme has £7.8 billion in assets. That is a lot of money—our money, and we want it back. We are not asking for much.

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Members of both schemes need the justice that they deserve. I live in a coalmining community; I was born there, and I have lived there all my life. I feel incredibly proud of the contribution that my community has made to this country, but I feel incredibly sad when I look at what has happened since all the pits closed in the ’80s and ’90s. As I said, that is because of union leaders and politicians in this place who destroyed our industry, and they will never be forgiven for doing that. However, politicians in this place now have a chance to make some amends and give the miners the justice that they deserve.

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  It is heart-warming to know that former miners are living out their final years in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. He is quite right; they need to live in dignity, and a fairer surplus sharing agreement would allow them to live a more comfortable life. Let us not forget that once they get the extra money, they will spend it in the local community. I have to give credit to the Government for the investment reserve fund for both schemes. They made a promise, and they stuck to it—fair play. But we must battle on to get more justice for the miners, because they deserve it for the service that they have given to our great country.

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his wisdom, and he is quite right. I am sure that many of the ex-miners watching this debate will be very encouraged by his intervention. I have two questions for the Minister. Will he commit to working with the scheme’s trustees to ensure that 100% of any surplus is shared with any members and their spouses?

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  Justice and fairness are the two key words in this debate.

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  First, I would like to declare an interest: I am a former coal miner and a member of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. In the 1950s, there were over 700,000 men working in the pits in this country—people like my grandads, great grandad, dad and uncles—in fact, I cannot remember any male member of my family not working down the pit in the 1950s and 1960s. When I went underground for the first time in the 1980s, there were still around 170,000 men working in the coal mine. Now we have probably about 112,000 former miners still living. There are around 38,000 members in the BCSSS, and of course many of them will be women—women who worked in the industry, or widows of men who did. I am no spring chicken—I am getting on a bit—but I am one of the youngest members in the scheme, the average age of a member being about 78 years. One of the questions that we must ask ourselves is: how many members of the scheme will be left in 10 years’ time? I reckon there will be half as many as there are today, because members of both schemes—the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the BCSSS—are dying every single day. All we are asking for is one simple thing: fairness in the surplus sharing arrangements. It is hard to explain what it was like to work down a coalmine—there is one other hon. Member in the Chamber, the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery), who knows what it was like—but it is like nothing else. I worked at four different pits in my time as a coalminer. I started off at Sutton colliery and ended up at Welbeck colliery in north Notts. I did not need an alarm clock to get up to go to work on a day shift—I could hear my dad’s alarm clock going off. He would wake up and he would get me up, and he would take me to Sutton colliery, where we would do a shift together. Most sons are proud to follow their dads into the workplace, and it was no different for me. I was very proud to follow my dad into the coalmine. I grew up in a coalmining community, where lads followed their dads into the pit—that was the norm. It was the best education I ever had, to be honest—better than any school or college—because it taught me how working-class people think. Those tough, hard men who worked down the pit were products of where they were born. If they had been born in a village like mine 60, 70, 80 or 90 years ago, there was a high chance that they would end up in a coalmine. Those men did incredibly dangerous jobs to put food on the table, pay the rent or a mortgage, and maybe, if they were lucky, get a week in a caravan in Skegness once a year. That was our life. Mining was more than just a job. The miners did not stop turning coal once they left the pit, had a bath and went home—they would still be talking about it in the miners’ welfare at night-time, or at a football match on a Saturday. It was just a way of life that was bred into the mining communities. There will be ex-miners watching the debate who will know exactly what I am talking about when I say that the experience of working at a pit was different from working in any other industry. There was the smell of the pit head bath, which I can still smell now; the sound of laughter in the bath as hundreds of men stood there naked, washing each other’s backs to scrub away the coaldust, the dirt and the grime; and the feeling of your ears popping as you went through the air doors to reach shaft side, before you went underground. What ex-miners really remember is the danger, the noise and the heat, and the sense of unity they had with their fellow working miners. It is the sort of unity we see now among the ex-miners who are still here, fighting for a fairer deal under both pension schemes. I started in the pit a year after the miners’ strike of 1984-85. My dad had been a striking miner. He was on strike because he knew that closing the pits would kill communities. He was right, and 40 years later, we are still recovering. It was the fault of politicians and union leaders that communities were divided. They killed an industry that had served us well in this country. Some men, like my dad, went on strike and others worked. Looking back, I have no problem with either group. I knew men in South Yorkshire who wanted to work but were too scared to go to work, and likewise I knew men in Nottinghamshire who wanted to go on strike, but they thought it was pointless—and it was pointless. Communities of decent, hard-working miners were ripped apart because they were being used by people in high places, who had personal scores to settle. Well, we have politicians and people in high places now who have the chance to make amends for this injustice.

• 22 Jun 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, and I agree 100% with the point he has made. I thank all Members who have turned up tonight—I would have expected a few more, because there are probably 200 coalfield constituencies in this country. Please, Minister, give justice for the miners.

• 9 Jun 2026 · North Belfast: Violent Attack · Hansard source

  More

  Of course, the Secretary of State will know the answer to this question: did the assailant enter the United Kingdom as an illegal migrant or asylum seeker?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Child Sexual Offender Data · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady has come out with quite a few interesting bits of data. I wonder if she has any data on how many white British working-class girls have been systematically raped.

• 1 Jun 2026 · Child Sexual Offender Data · Hansard source

  More

  I have spoken to several rape gang victims. Many of them tell me that they are fed up of hearing politicians call them brave. They want bravery from politicians; they want real action. Does the Minister agree that any British national who is convicted of a sex offence against children should be locked up for life, and any foreign offender should be deported?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Child Sexual Offender Data · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for giving way; he is being very generous with his time. I met the panel of the rape gang inquiry just a few months ago. I asked that information from the inquiry of the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) be passed on to that panel, and they agreed on that.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Houses in Multiple Occupation · Hansard source

  More

  I think it is a matter for local councils to decide. In my constituency, HMOs are a big problem, and I am glad that my council has used article 4 in some areas, although I would like to see it rolled out to the whole constituency. We have druggies, criminals and other wrong’uns living—sometimes six in one small house—in streets that were once considered good places to live. The decent folk who can afford to leave those streets are leaving, in their droves, but the problem is that the investors—the landlords—then buy up their houses and turn them into HMOs. Other decent people, however, cannot afford to move, and have to stay and put up with a life of misery. The problem is becoming worse and worse. Labour Front Benchers, and indeed Back Benchers, bang on about emptying the hotels that are full of illegal migrants, and no one wants a hotel full of illegal migrants in their area. Nobody wants young, fighting-age males—400 of them sometimes—from backward cultures that treat our women as second-class citizens roaming our streets, but the hotels are now being emptied. Where are these young men going to go? I will tell you where they are going to go: they are going to go into an HMO on a street near people in this Chamber; near my family, near my friends, near my neighbours. We have had enough of this. We have enough of our own home-grown nuisances in this country without importing even more to live in HMOs.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Houses in Multiple Occupation · Hansard source

  More

  I do agree with the use of article 4 to put HMOs through the planning process. I have forced my local council to do that, but unfortunately it is doing it only in certain areas. I would like to see it being done throughout the constituency.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Houses in Multiple Occupation · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend, and I will put what I think he is trying to say more succinctly: the proliferation of these HMOs is turning some of our areas into ghettos. I have seen in Ashfield that, because of HMOs being filled with young men, some young girls are frightened to walk the same streets. They have even changed their route to school. That is unacceptable. It is not right that, in 2026, young British girls are having to change the way they walk to school. It is not fair on our citizens. As I said, the illegal migrants who have been dispersed among our communities in HMOs are mostly young men from backward cultures. Some have medieval views towards our women and girls. Women and girls tell me they are more afraid now to walk our streets than they have ever been. Nobody deserves that. To make matters even worse, this Government—and, to be fair, the previous Government—have allowed Serco to hoover up HMOs on seven-year deals and fill them full of illegal migrants, which means it is now even more difficult for British people to find accommodation. This has also led to a huge increase in rents in places like Ashfield. The increase in HMOs in places like Ashfield has meant that people who were born and bred there are becoming homeless in our own town. That is an absolute disgrace. Normal, hard-working people in Ashfield are being made homeless by companies and landlords seeking more profit as their homes are converted into HMOs. In Ashfield, there are supposedly 110 asylum seekers living in this sort of accommodation at the taxpayer’s expense. It is shameful that we have had nurses kicked out of their HMO—nurses who work at my local hospital; the same hospital where I was born—to be replaced by illegal migrants, because Serco has taken over the contract. We are supposed to be here in this place to make people’s lives better, but we are making them worse. There is a solution to all of this, because HMOs should not be a problem; it is the management of them that is the problem. I recently spoke to Richard Purseglove in my constituency, who runs Purseglove Property. He has housed thousands of people over the past 15 years in HMOs with zero antisocial incidents. He told me that, done properly, HMOs are convenient, affordable housing for nurses, key workers and single professionals. I agree with him: HMOs can be a good thing for people in need of housing—I think we all know that. The problem is that there is no regulation of HMO management. HMO management is different from a standard let. When we let six unrelated people—normally men—live together with no checks in place, what could possibly go wrong? Well, there is plenty going wrong, and it is making the lives of my constituents a living hell. HMO owners cannot do Disclosure and Barring Service checks. They cannot use Clare’s law. They can ask potential tenants difficult questions, but the applicants have no obligation to answer truthfully. What could we do to make HMOs in our communities more acceptable? Well, we could legislate, for one thing: introducing licensing for HMO managers and owners; and qualifications, training and accountability. Landlords and managers must also be held accountable for managing their properties, as well as for disruptive behaviour. That should be a condition of any licence granted. We need vigorous background checks on all tenants. There should be a separate licensing agreement or a tier for agents housing higher-risk people—people with mental health problems, vulnerable adults and so on. There should be access for licensed HMO managers to proper safeguarding tools—as I said before, DBS checks and access to Clare’s law. There should be a statutory limit on how many HMOs can open up in one particular area. My last ask for the Minister is to stop placing illegal migrants in HMOs. Detain and deport for the sake of our young women and girls.

• 28 Apr 2026 · Houses in Multiple Occupation · Hansard source

  More

  What would the Minister advise me or my local authority to do to stop HMOs kicking out working people in Ashfield and putting in illegal migrants?

• 28 Apr 2026 · Houses in Multiple Occupation · Hansard source

  More

  I am speaking about this subject tonight because over the past six years, I have been contacted by hundreds of families in Ashfield who have raised serious concerns about the impact that houses in multiple occupation are having on my community. Anyone can set up an HMO overnight, with no qualifications, no training and no checks. All they need is a few thousand pounds in the bank and a mortgage. They can buy a cheap terraced house somewhere in the midlands, in the north, or in a place like Ashfield, and turn it into an HMO. This leads to thousands of unscrupulous investors living thousands away from places like Ashfield buying up properties there and filling them with people who, quite frankly, I do not want living in my community—people who are criminals, people who are thieving of a night, people who are creating antisocial behaviour. They are filling our streets full of wrong’uns. Then the local politicians, the police and the councillors sit there scratching their head, asking themselves why crime is on the up in the area.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Security Vetting · Hansard source

  More

  Mr Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you and your office, but I will not withdraw: that man could not lie straight in bed.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Security Vetting · Hansard source

  More

  The problem the Prime Minister has got is no one believes him. The public do not believe him, the MPs on this side of the House do not believe him and his own gullible Back Benchers do not believe him. So does the Prime Minister agree with me he has been lying?

• 20 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T5. Some 25% of Selston high school has had to be closed down because of structural problems. It has submitted a bid to the school rebuilding programme. Can the Minister please ensure that it gets the funding it needs to reopen its doors?

• 26 Mar 2026 · Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Craniocervical Instability · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. Huge thanks go to the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for securing this debate about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a condition I had never heard about until this Session of Parliament. Just a few months ago, a young lady came to see me in Ashfield. Hannah is 17 years old and has the condition. She asked me to take part in this debate, so I am here to speak up on behalf of Hannah in Ashfield—she is, by the way, not the only person in Ashfield who has contacted me about this condition. I asked Hannah to make a diary of her typical day, to see how her condition affects her. I know she will be watching this debate. These are her words, and I will read them out exactly as she has printed them: “Every day I live with pain and joint instability in most areas of my body, especially my back, neck and legs. Painkillers don’t work for me, and I can’t get a physio referral as my whole body is affected and there isn’t a service for what I need as I am still classed as a child. Therefore, I get no support. I am fully dependent on others to get around as I can’t self-propel my wheelchair due to frequent shoulder dislocations and lack of grip. I am still waiting to be seen by wheelchair services and have been on the waiting list for 18 months. My chair was brought by my parents but is no longer fit for purpose. I am not eligible for an electric wheelchair as I am classed as an ambulatory user. So, at 17 years old I am reliant on others completely to get around. Due to my chronic fatigue and POTS I have to pace myself. I cannot go to college as it is too much for me and therefore have to be home educated. Even with pacing I spend a lot of time in bed due to pain and exhaustion. I am probably up and about a few hours a day every other day. I can’t do much for myself as I have tremors and spasms in my hands, face and legs. I can’t cook safely, I have been refused my provisional driving licence due to my double vision, and I can’t go out independently because I can’t walk far. Health services don’t understand EDS and I get dismissed a lot. I fall between the gap of children’s and adult services so get no support. This has an impact on my mental health and wellbeing as I feel overlooked and undervalued. Social care gives me 110 hours per year (2 hours per week) to spend on a support worker to go out, but the payment for this is £84 per month. So, the reality is that this gives me just over 1 hour a week if I was to pay someone the NMW. I am awaiting a review but there is a waiting list which I have been on for 6 months. I just want to be more independent, in less pain and be able to socialise with my friends but this is impossible. I have a couple of very good friends, but they are busy with their lives doing things that I can’t do. I am very isolated with nothing to help me. My health is deteriorating all the time, and I worry for my future.” Those are the words of Hannah from Ashfield. As we can see, her main concerns are a lack of wheelchair access, a lack of services and a lack of understanding. She is now on a waiting list for social care support, and she has been told that she will not be contacted until June 2026 to even start the process. Unfortunately, over the past week, I have heard from a few other constituents; they also asked me to attend this debate, but I am here on behalf of Hannah. She has been let down by a system that we in this room control. We are responsible for that system; we are lawmakers and legislators. If we cannot alter the system to help people like Hannah, we should not be here. My one ask of the Minister today is to give hope to Hannah and the rest of the families in this country who suffer from this awful condition.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

  More

  Antisocial behaviour in social housing in my community is creating a living nightmare for some council and social housing tenants. Does the Minister agree that if we have prolific offenders responsible for antisocial behaviour from these council houses, the tenants should be asked to leave? They should be kicked out and never given social housing again.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Hatzola Ambulance Attack · Hansard source

  More

  Does the Minister agree with members of the Jewish community who think the hate marches increase the risk of antisemitic attacks, and if he does, will he ban them?