Luke Myer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is talking about small businesses. Last week, I was proud to host members of the Federation of Small Businesses here in Parliament, who welcomed the Budget, particularly the increase in the employment allowance, which will see the smallest businesses benefit—250,000 of the smallest businesses better off now than they were before the Budget. Are they wrong?

• 3 Dec 2024 · Critical Minerals: Domestic Production · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentions the critical minerals list; it is my view that the list needs to evolve to keep up with the increasing demands that we face, and to account for the production of minerals that we have in this country. In my part of the world we produce polyhalite, a fantastic crop nutrient fertiliser that has huge potential for our food security. Would he agree that the critical minerals list needs to account for minerals such as polyhalite, so that we can ensure our economy is growing into the future?

• 28 Nov 2024 · Tourism: Coastal Towns · Hansard source

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  The coastal village of Skinningrove is home to a fantastic tourist asset, Land of Iron, which is the leading ironstone mining museum in the country. I am campaigning for it to receive national status as the national ironstone mining museum. Will Ministers consider meeting me to discuss that request, and would they like to visit?

• 28 Nov 2024 · Tourism: Coastal Towns · Hansard source

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  2. What recent assessment she has made of the contribution of tourism to the local economies of coastal towns.

• 20 Nov 2024 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  Just last night, Guisborough Town FC in my constituency suffered a break-in and burglary. I am grateful to Cleveland police for responding, and for meeting me this morning to update me on the situation, but there simply are not enough of them on the streets. Can the Minister give me an assurance that this Government will prioritise frontline, visible, neighbourhood community policing once again?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome that announcement by the Secretary of State. It should shame every politician in this House that today veterans who have served our country are still sleeping rough on our streets. Can the Secretary of State set out the steps he will take to ensure that homes will be there for heroes?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Rural Broadband · Hansard source

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  The data issue that the Minister is raising is precisely what we have been experiencing. Looking at it on paper, from the maps, the villages have fantastic signal and broadband, but that is just not people’s experience. I am grateful to the Minister for meeting me recently to discuss this and for the roll-out we are going to see from the Government in East Cleveland.

• 12 Nov 2024 · Tackling Image-based Abuse · Hansard source

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  So many young women are having their life destroyed by the proliferation of deepfakes and AI-enabled images. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill introduced by Baroness Owen—the Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill—would go some way towards addressing the issue, and that the Government should look favourably on it?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Small Boat Crossings · Hansard source

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  One of the most colossal failures under the previous Government was the chaos in the channel and the associated backlog in the system, yet the Conservatives seem to have come here today to tell the British people that they had it all under control. Can the Minister reassure my constituents of the serious steps she is taking to disrupt the gangs, speed up returns and end this chaos.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Police Funding · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) on securing this debate. Although his focus is of course on the PSNI, the general issues he raised concerning policing are echoed across the United Kingdom. I hope to raise some of those issues that are affecting my constituents. Last week in my constituency a fire was started in Marton, shop fronts smashed in Guisborough, a pharmacy broken into and its contents burglarised and staff assaulted. Police officers responded and arrests were made, but those are not individual, isolated incidents—that is a pattern and picture of crime across the country. It is a picture of criminals who feel emboldened and residents who feel unsafe. I am grateful to the Policing Minister for taking the time to meet me to discuss police funding in Cleveland, the area I represent. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise these issues here as well, because this is what people are dealing with every day. People feel afraid to leave the house; they do not feel safe in their communities, They do not feel confident that when they call the police, the police will come, or that crimes will be investigated when they report them. They do not feel confident that the courts will see justice done, and certainly not timely justice. That is why we need a change. In my part of the world, we have seen major cuts to our police force. We have lost more than 200 officers net since 2010—a 12% reduction in full-time equivalent officers—and all the while demand has gone up. Our officers work incredibly hard under extraordinary pressure, and although they make arrests, the broader criminal justice system is creaking at the seams. Prosecution rates have fallen over the past decade, victims wait months and even years for cases to come to trial and judges have been advised to delay sentencing because of the lack of prison capacity. The system is in crisis and it has been allowed to get to this point after years of systematic underfunding and a lack of support. That is why investment in our criminal justice system is crucial. Investment has to come at all four stages of the system. It has to come into our prison estate, and I welcome the £2.3 billion investment announced in the Budget last week to expand our prison capacity and ensure that we have the necessary prison places. Investment needs to go into bringing down the court backlog so that cases are heard in a timely fashion and victims feel that justice will be served. We need investment in visible community policing again. Residents desperately want a named officer for every community, who understands their village or town, knows the families and the history, and can tackle issues before they escalate. That was the cornerstone of the consent-based model of British policing for decades, and it has been eroded in recent years; it must be restored. We also need investment in prevention. The previous Labour Government were famously tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. They provided funding for Sure Start and targeted schemes such as the safer school partnerships and the family intervention projects. That is what the new Labour Government need to do. When I was in local government, we invested heavily in setting up a specialist team to tackle the exploitation of vulnerable children and young people by organised criminal gangs. It was about getting upstream of the process and making sure that vulnerable children were diverted. That saved the state money in the long term and ensured that those young people had opportunities. This Government need that kind of ambition, and I believe they will have it. We need that investment; we need to make sure that our police have the resources they need to do their jobs; and we need to take back our streets and make them safe again.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Higher Education Reform · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s leadership not just on the funding, but on the reform that the sector needs. The previous Government’s approach to regulation put ideology over evidence, and one example of that is in the role of the designated quality body. It was there to check on quality and standards in higher education, but it had to give up that role because the regulatory climate that the previous Government brought in was non-compliant with international standards. Can the Secretary of State assure the House that the regulatory approach that she will take will be different from that of the previous Government and ensure that our higher education sector continues to be world-leading?

• 4 Nov 2024 · Budget: Implications for Farming Communities · Hansard source

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  I am proud to represent proud North Yorkshire farmers in my constituency. Will the Minister set out the steps he will be taking to ensure that small family farms will be protected by the Government? Additionally, will he endorse polyhalite, a fantastic crop nutrient fertiliser that is produced in only one place in the world: North Yorkshire?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Independent Safeguarding Board Review · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend to her role; she is doing a fantastic job. My constituent has been involved in that process. Can she help to secure a meeting with my constituent to discuss the findings and the work in more detail?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Independent Safeguarding Board Review · Hansard source

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  4. What steps the Church has taken in response to the findings of Sarah Wilkinson’s independent review into the Independent Safeguarding Board.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s historic investment in carbon capture and storage technology for Teesside and Merseyside. This week I have been at the sector’s conference, and the feeling there is that this is a Government who are delivering after years of delay. Will the Prime Minister recognise the unique potential that Teesside has for jobs, prosperity and economic growth into the future?

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

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  I rise to welcome the Bill and the cross-party support for it that we have seen in this debate. Seven years ago, I was in the education sector and I worked with a group of trainee paramedics. Those trainee paramedics were deployed on that night in Manchester to the scene of the bombing. They were students, and they ran into the danger and into scenes that are scarcely seen outside battlefields. The support they needed is the reason I support the Bill. I think it is right thing to do. I commend the campaigning by Martyn’s family and by all others who have campaigned for justice for victims of terror. This is the right Bill, because its provisions are common sense. The tiered approach is the right one to ensure that an undue burden is not placed on small businesses and that the legal duty on providers is a reasonable measure. There was another group of students from that university who, sadly, were affected by terror that same year, just weeks before. They were referred to earlier by the former Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel). One is a friend of mine, Travis Frain, who I know Members across the House will be familiar with. He has been campaigning passionately for victims of terror for years, since his experience in that incident. He carried out a survey of over 300 victims of terror, and found that 76% of victims were either unable to access psychological treatment, or rated it to be poor or abysmal. That is unacceptable. That is why Travis has been calling for guarantees on minimum standards for access to psychological treatment and physiotherapy, as well as legal and financial assistance for victims of terror. He has also been calling, as the right hon. Lady referred to, for the publication of the review that was carried internally within the Home Office, so that campaigners can campaign on those recommendations and ensure they are put into action. We know further actions are needed, but the Bill is an important first step to move towards justice for the victims. It is a fitting tribute to the victims, the families and all those who ran towards the danger.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Job Creation: Industrial Communities · Hansard source

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  5. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on job creation in industrial communities.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Job Creation: Industrial Communities · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s response and last week’s fantastic announcement about track 1 carbon capture investment in Teesside. Teesside has extraordinary potential for green jobs, whether in sustainable aviation fuel with Alfanar or in carbon capture, hydrogen and so much else. Does the Minister agree that only with Labour’s plan for clean power by 2030, Great British Energy and our national wealth fund can we create well-paid long-term jobs in the industries of the future?

• 7 Oct 2024 · Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage · Hansard source

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  I strongly welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s commitment to delivering for Teesside and to delivering thousands of good green jobs in clean industries—delivery after years of delay. He mentioned Solent earlier, and he knows the risk that delay can pose to CCUS and to jobs. Does he therefore agree that it is absurd for the Conservative party to try to claim credit for this proposal after failing to deliver for 14 years, failing to commit any resources and leaving our industries in the lurch?

• 11 Sept 2024 · Port Talbot Transition Project · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to introducing a new steel strategy. Steel is not a sunset industry; it is critical for our economy and national security. I know that he is a friend of Teesside. Will he give us some clarity on the status of discussions around investment in steel in Teesside at the moment?

• 5 Sept 2024 · Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  5. What recent progress his Department has made on introducing an industrial strategy.

• 5 Sept 2024 · Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  A key plank of our industrial strategy must be green jobs, which Teesside is perfectly positioned to deliver. Inward investment is important—I had a positive meeting this week with a company that wants to invest millions in green fuel—as is backing British manufacturers, which will require the development of the country’s skills base. Will the Minister provide assurances about his work with the Department for Education to ensure vocational education is protected, and British manufacturing is protected as well?

• 19 Jul 2024 · Planning, the Green Belt and Rural Affairs · Hansard source

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  Having listened carefully to the debate on His Majesty’s Gracious Speech, I am grateful for this opportunity to make my first speech in this Chamber. It is a privilege and an honour to represent the communities of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, where I was born and raised. Much of this debate has sought to pit rural and suburban against each other, but as a representative of both, I know that we can deliver for both, and that is precisely what I expect this Government to do. Distinguished predecessors have represented my seat. In maiden speeches, politicians often say that they stand on the shoulders of giants, but rarely is it so true as in my case. My predecessor, Sir Simon Clarke, was a giant not only in physical terms but within his party, particularly in his admirable zeal for planning reform—an issue on which he campaigned and stood up to his own party. It is fitting that today’s debate places such emphasis on those reforms. This Government are committed to building the homes and infrastructure that this country needs. Measures such as the planning and infrastructure Bill will start to create the jobs and growth that we need. I will push for Teesside to be at the heart of that work. If the House will permit me, I would like to pay tribute to two other predecessors from my party. First, Tom Blenkinsop, who some in the House will remember, not only served his party and constituency but served his country in the Royal Military Police. Dr Ashok Kumar, who was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald) in his maiden speech, was my MP growing up. He was a tenacious constituency MP, whose model I hope to follow. Ashok once said that our constituency is a microcosm of British society. He was right. It is not particularly left or right wing, but it is full of decent people who want the best for their families. Our identity is complex. Officially, we are in the north-east, but we are also proudly in Yorkshire, as part of the historic North Riding. We have been called Cleveland and Langbaurgh, and today we are told that we are in the Tees Valley. Whatever we call it, our home is an incredible place. My constituency sits between wildly different landscapes at each point of the compass. To the north, we find the beach, where the North sea fret washes out over the seafront at places like Skinningrove. To the south, we leave the beautiful market town of Guisborough and meet the vast, wild purple of the North York moors. To the east are the rolling fields of East Cleveland—rural North Yorkshire at its best. There are proud villages and towns from Loftus to Lingdale, Skelton to Stanghow, and Brotton, where I grew up. I am proud to be our constituency’s first MP from the villages, and I hope to serve them well. To the west, we find suburban south Middlesbrough, home to many working families and, in Marton, to the birthplace of one of this country’s greatest explorers, Captain James Cook. If we venture further, those communities give way to the towering chimneys and snaking pipes of industrial Teesside, once the beating heart of Britain’s economy—the “infant Hercules” as Gladstone called it. It is home to a 300-year economic relay race from one major industry to another: first fishing and agriculture, then coal, then iron and steel, and then chemicals. The saying on Teesside is, “We built the world.” Steel forged in Teesside furnaces found its way into the Sydney Harbour bridge and spanned the Victoria falls. When Churchill’s war Cabinet met in their underground bunker not far from here or when the ball hit the net at Wembley, it all happened under structures of Teesside steel. Today, we are perfectly positioned for the green jobs of the future. We already produce around half the country’s hydrogen. With the right industrial strategy, we can create jobs in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and clean power—wind, nuclear and solar—and in our port. If our engineering capabilities are harnessed, we can lead the world again. Legislation such as the Great British Energy Bill, the Crown Estate Bill and the planning and infrastructure Bill can deliver that. Teesside is more than just a place; it is the people. Like steel, Teesside is an alloy—a meld of the different communities that shaped us, from the miners and the Methodists to the labourers who came from Ireland, ironworkers from Wales, sailors from Japan, Jewish refugees from the pogroms of Europe, trade unionists, chemical workers, and so on. These are the small and disparate atoms that Teesside took on and blended into our culture, strengthening it into something solid and secure, bonded together with values of fairness, respect and a collective responsibility to look out for the community. We see that today in so many local community organisations, from the Guisborough Bridge Association and East Cleveland Good Neighbours to the eco-shops we see in Marton, Coulby Newham and other places. We know what it is like to experience economic hardship; we now have levels of poverty and destitution that have not been seen in decades. When times get tough, it is easy to fall into the habits of division and blame. It is much harder to take that common pain and channel it into a common purpose, but that is what Teessiders do best. It was there in times of economic shock, whether from globalisation or the global pandemic. It was there in the floods and the food banks. The instinct, the base code of the people of Teesside, is to come together and look out for those in need—community in the face of adversity. That is our spirit, embedded like ironstone deep in our culture—the unbowed and unbroken spirit of the infant Hercules. That is what we are about. And with the powers set out in these Bills, the devolution to take back control of services and the investment in the jobs of tomorrow, we can once again drive prosperity on Teesside and prosperity across Britain, rebuilding our communities and rebuilding our country.