Navendu Mishra MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  People in Stockport and Greater Manchester have suffered for many years with poor service and unfair treatment by managing agents. Does the commitment by the Government to protect leaseholders mark a break from years of weak regulation by the coalition and then Conservative Governments?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Animal Welfare Strategy for England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) on securing this important debate. There are many Members present for this debate, so we can tell how popular it is. I welcome the ambition of the Government’s animal welfare strategy for England, but it could be strengthened further. It contains important commitments that, if delivered, could significantly improve the lives of millions of animals. I am a long-standing supporter of animal rights, and I have consistently raised these issues with current and previous Governments. As a Labour MP, I pay tribute to the work of the Labour Animal Welfare Society. In the past four or five weeks alone, around 7% of correspondence to my constituency office has related to agriculture, animals, food and rural affairs. The most common issues include calls to end animal testing, phase out cages for farm animals, strengthen hunting bans and bring an end to trophy hunting. I welcome that the strategy responds to many of those concerns, particularly by making it a key priority to end the use of crates and cages, and by committing to a ban on trail hunting and the use of snare traps. Given the scale of ambition in the strategy, and the Government’s stated aim to deliver it by 2030, prioritisation will be essential. Farmed animals must be at the heart of delivery, simply because of the sheer numbers involved and the scale of potential welfare gains. Overall, the strategy represents a significant opportunity to transform animal welfare in England, but ambition must now be matched with urgency, clear timelines and strong legislation. My time is limited, so I will cover just a few points. The Government have proposed a consultation on banning electric-shock collars but, sadly, there is no firm commitment and there are further delays. I want to see an immediate ban on the use and sale of electric-shock collars for pets. Furthermore, cats are bred without adequate safeguards. Many female cats are in ill health and are overbred, and male stud cats experience poor welfare. The Government must do more to address harmful breeding practices. Lots of organisations and charities have raised concerns about microchipping. The strategy should commit to introducing a single point of search for microchipping databases. As the strategy notes, there are 23 databases, so anyone scanning a cat may have to check multiple databases. The Government must urgently include provision for a single point of search. Some Members have already covered the issue of banning trophy hunting imports. I find it disappointing that a ban was not part of the animal welfare strategy. A recent survey shows that more than 80% of people support a ban. The Government should introduce a Bill as a priority. On 29 August 2025, I tabled written parliamentary question 71178. The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), responded: “The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies”. I want to see urgent progress on that. Early-day motion 86, “Ban on trophy hunting imports”, was tabled on 19 October 2021 by our former colleague Sir David Amess, who was tragically killed; I pay tribute to all his work on animal welfare issues over many years. I was the second person to sign the early-day motion so when, sadly, Sir David was brutally killed, I was asked to take it over—my record on this issue goes back a long time. I urge the Government to push a bit harder. On male chick culling, the Vegetarian Society last year launched a campaign called Ban Hatch and Dispatch. Approximately 45 million male chicks are culled each year, primarily through gassing. I urge the Government to ban male chick culling and support the smooth implementation of mandated in-ovo sexing in British hatcheries. I thank all the organisations that campaign on these issues, in particular Humane World for Animals, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust and Compassion in World Farming, which have supplied us all with briefings.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  This announcement is excellent news for northern towns and cities. Manchester airport is a large employer in my constituency, but since covid we have sadly lost direct connectivity from Stockport station into Manchester airport, so I think it is important to restore some of the pre-covid timetables. Can I also encourage the Secretary of State to look at the Access for All scheme? Unfortunately, it is far too slow, and far too many train stations do not have disabled access. To make rail better for everyone, we need to make it friendly for people with mobility issues.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my officership of an all-party parliamentary group. In past years, protection uplift funding for Greater Manchester fire and rescue service has been calculated based on inaccurate data, meaning that Greater Manchester receives significantly less money than regions with far fewer buildings. Will the Minister correct this error, so that GMFRS has the necessary resources to carry out essential inspection and enforcement activity across Stockport and Greater Manchester?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and in particular the donations from trade unions through my constituency Labour party, of which I am proud. This landmark legislation will finally address the imbalance in the sector. Since Mrs Thatcher’s [ Official Report , 10 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 6WC.] (Correction) privatisation of the railways, the taxpayer has been funding the huge cost of infrastructure, while private operators and shareholders have benefited by taking all the profits. For too long, companies have been cashing in while passengers pay the price with poor service. It is time to put passengers first and profits second. I have raised this issue with the Secretary of State a number of times: Reddish South station in my constituency has one train a week, and that is simply unacceptable. Friends of Reddish South Station, who I have met a number of times, have been campaigning for proper passenger rail services at the station for many years. I hope that, with GBR, proper rail services will be restored to Reddish South station. In the latest reporting period, the station recorded 102 passengers in an entire year. The recent increase in housing around Reddish South and changes in Reddish over recent years mean that we need proper rail services and connectivity. Sadly, three out of five train stations in my constituency—Brinnington, Heaton Chapel and Reddish South—do not have step-free access. I want the Access for All scheme to be increased in size. Unfortunately, the scheme is very slow and the roll-out tends to involve a need to apply for funding. The north’s rail stations have poor accessibility; fewer than half the stations have step-free access. Some stations in the north have benefited from Access for All, but progress has been slow, with an average of only three stations per year in the north benefiting from step-free access. In response, the north’s mayors and political leaders have been pressing for the devolution of Access for All funding to mayoral strategic authorities, to ensure that decisions on local stations are prioritised locally and taken locally. It is simply unacceptable that disabled people, people with mobility issues and people with health conditions are discouraged from using the railways by issues with step-free access. I pay tribute to Nathaniel Yates, a young local campaigner who has been campaigning for step-free access for a long time; Nathaniel was able to say hello to the Rail Minister during a recent visit to my constituency. At Stockport station, which is one of the five stations in my constituency, and which recorded over 4 million entries and exits in the latest reporting period, the Passenger Assist scheme is not adequately staffed. Avanti is responsible for staffing at the station, and a number of staff members and passengers have told me that the coverage is simply not good enough. Davenport station is in a neighbouring constituency, but I also want to see step-free access there, because many people from my constituency use Davenport station. Local councillors Wendy Wild, Paul Wright and Dickie Davies have been campaigning for step-free access at the station for a long while. Sunday services continue to be a significant issue with Northern Rail. I have met Friends of Heaton Chapel Station twice in recent weeks, and a number of passengers and members of the group tell me that Northern’s Sunday services are simply not good enough. Northern is also failing to staff ticket offices adequately, in particular at Brinnington, in my patch. I raised that with the company in October; it is now December, and the station still does not seem to be staffed adequately. The ticket office needs to be staffed properly. I have also raised this issue previously in the House: funding for British Transport police is quite concerning. We had the sad attack in Huntingdon, and I pay tribute to the rail workers and passengers on the train, but British Transport police’s coverage is not good enough. It needs more funding. Staff at Stockport station frequently tell me about the low presence of BTP officers. I met British Transport police recently, on 28 November. Unfortunately, crime is up by 5.4%, antisocial behaviour incidents are up by 9% and violent offences are up by 14%. BTP is facing an £8.5 million shortfall in the next financial year after receiving just a 4.6% uplift against the force’s 9.8% request. I have very limited time, so I will finish on the point of rolling stock companies, which are one aspect of the large-scale profiteering on the railways. The firms typically pay in excess of £200 million per annum in dividends, and Office of Rail and Road data tells us that they paid out £275 million last year. I would like to see more work on that. Thank you for allowing me to contribute to the debate, Madam Deputy Speaker.

• 25 Nov 2025 · Immigration Reforms: Humanitarian Visa Routes · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this debate, and it is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests relating to Labour Friends of Taiwan, given that my comments are about the Hong Kong community. More than 40 constituents have been in touch with me regarding the BNO scheme. I will not repeat the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe, but more than 200,000 people from Hong Kong have used that visa route. I have met several people who have used the BNO scheme to come to the UK, as well as a lot of activists from my constituency, and the two key points they made were that decisions to come to Britain three or four years ago were based on the existing rules and that the proposed new requirements would create real hardship for those who are already working extremely hard to integrate and to contribute to Britain. I would like the Government to exempt the BNO visa scheme from the B2 English requirement, and I welcome the Home Office’s position that the community have a “uniquely strong attachment to this country”. We need common-sense exemptions from the language requirement for ILR, including for infants, people with disabilities and pensioners. Everyone in this Chamber will be very aware of the deep historical ties, dating back to Hong Kong’s time as a British territory, and our unique shared connection. The BNO scheme should be exempt from the contributions rule. For many people on the scheme, it is challenging to have annual earnings of over £12,570 for a minimum of three to five years, for a variety of reasons that I do not have time to list. We are not talking about small numbers; we are talking about a large number of people. People both young and old from Hong Kong have been very emotional when speaking to me about the uncertainty of their future, so it is important to get this right. There are several faith groups in Stockport, and across Greater Manchester and the north-west, but two faith groups in particular have been going out of their way to support the newly arrived community from Hong Kong. St Mary’s church is the oldest parish church in Stockport, and I want to place on record my thanks to Rev. Andy Crook and Rev. Chris Blunt for supporting the community. They have a weekly worship in Cantonese each Sunday, and at the Methodist church in Stockport, the Hong Kong fellowship meets regularly to support people with languages—they also have socials and all of that. I reiterate the cross-party strength of feeling on this issue to the Home Office.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) on securing this important debate. In January, there was flooding at Meadow Mill in my constituency, with almost 200 residents impacted. I thank the Meadow Mill residents association for all the work it has done in representing residents but also raising real concerns. I have corresponded with a number of residents, and I met the association just a few weeks ago in my office. One of the main issues they face is that the building’s owner is unable to secure insurance against the flood risk. That is quite concerning for leaseholders, who are liable to pay out of their own pockets for any future flood damage to Meadow Mill, which may run to hundreds of thousands of pounds, if not more. Although none of the residential units was impacted by the flooding on new year’s day, the water filtration system, boiler and electricity substation were affected, which meant there was no water supply, heating or electric in the flats, so all residents had to evacuate. That should have been avoided, because the mill was only recently converted into flats. It is a serious issue. Generally speaking, Stockport does not really suffer from flooding; it is usually the constituency of my neighbour, the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison), that has the most significant issues. However, with climate change and a number of other factors, it is something we are increasingly facing. I do not want to repeat points that others have made, but the issue of funding for the Environment Agency is quite serious. I have met the agency, and I appreciate all the work it does, but it has no earmarked funding for work in my constituency, which is a concern. We also have an issue in Reddish, where a bridge collapsed in January. It will cost more than £1 million to repair, and Stockport council tells me that it cannot facilitate the work without central Government support. Across the borough, which includes three constituencies, the cost of damage is around £4.3 million—a serious sum. We need much better drainage systems and much more investment in the Environment Agency, but we also need more protection for residents, whether they are tenants or owner-occupiers, from the risks that come with insurance and the additional costs. On behalf of Meadow Mill residents, I want to raise that issue with the Government. I thank the firefighters, North West ambulance service and Greater Manchester police, but also Stockport council staff who went above and beyond in supporting residents. I take this opportunity to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, in particular with regard to the Fire Brigades Union, but I am very grateful to them for doing all they can. I will finish by inviting the Minister to come to Stockport to try some of our award-winning beer, but also to meet residents of Meadow Mill.

• 5 Nov 2025 · Conflict in Sudan · Hansard source

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  Some 3.5 million children under five years of age are suffering from acute malnutrition. In January 2025, the former Biden Administration said that it judged that “the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan.” Do the British Government share the opinion of the former Biden Administration?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate, and I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) for doing so much on this issue. In January 2025, the Biden Administration said they judged that the RSF and associated militias had committed genocide in Sudan. I have had a number of constituents from the Sudanese community in Stockport and across Greater Manchester contact me about the horrors taking place in Sudan. Does the hon. Member agree that our own Government should make a similar assessment?

• 3 Nov 2025 · Huntingdon Train Attack · Hansard source

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  My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this brutal attack, and of course I pay tribute to the amazing courage and bravery of the train crew, as well as the first responders. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi), I have serious concerns about the funding arrangements for the British Transport police. Can I encourage my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to work with the Secretary of State for Transport and her Department to make sure that BTP’s funding arrangements are good going forward?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Pride in Place · Hansard source

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  The £5 billion investment in the pride in place programme means that Brinnington and Stockport will benefit from a £20 million investment. What does the Minister think of the former Government’s levelling-up slogan, which in reality was a levelling-down agenda for opportunity, ambition and trust?

• 9 Sept 2025 · Free-to-air Broadcasting: Cricket Participation · Hansard source

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  Lancashire, perhaps.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Free-to-air Broadcasting: Cricket Participation · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) on securing this important debate. I agree with him that cricket is a fantastic sport. I also love cricket. Where we disagree is that my drink of choice when I go to watch cricket is cider, and I think that the test format is the supreme format of the game, although I appreciate that people enjoy other formats. I am proud to represent a constituency that has several cricket clubs, including Stockport cricket club, founded in 1855; Heaton Mersey cricket club, founded in 1879; and Heaton Mersey Village cricket club. Before the parliamentary boundary review I also represented Offerton cricket club, which is now represented by my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), and which also has a rich history. I do not want to repeat the points made by the hon. Member for Cheltenham, but participation in cricket could be a lot better, particularly among young people from lower-income backgrounds, and young people who do not go to private schools or boarding schools. The 2023 report of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket warned of an elitist culture “driven…by the lack of access…in state schools”. They reported that, at the time, 58% of England players had been privately educated. The data will have changed over the last two years but so much more could be done. I wish to declare an interest as a member of the all-party parliamentary group for cricket. I place that on record. I love cricket, but as a Labour party member, who many people would call quite left wing, some people say to me that cricket is not really a sport enjoyed on the left. I make the argument that the majority of people who play and watch cricket across the world are from countries in south Asia and in the Caribbean islands. Many countries in Africa also enjoy cricket. We should make sure that cricket is introduced to young people in schools at all levels across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is a lot more to be done. I know that the ECB funds many programmes, and that Sport England supports several cricket programmes, but I do not think it is enough. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced a £2 million investment in programmes aimed at engaging black and south Asian communities and state-educated children. That is good, but £2 million will not scratch the surface in the 4,000-plus secondary schools in the UK. It amounts to about £480 per school if shared around. That is not much. There are also reports in the media—hon. Members can look them up if they are interested—that the latest deal between the ECB and Sky for television broadcasting rights is approximately £220 million. That is a lot of money. I was just speaking to one particular member of the House Service before I came into this debate, because I know he enjoys cricket. He said that the TV licence fee that most of us pay should contribute towards enabling people to watch live cricket games. A lot of people are excluded because they cannot afford the £35 to £40 per month to watch Sky Sports. A lot more could be done, and it should not be left to the Government. The ECB should be doing more, and Sky could be doing a lot more. We need to have a genuine debate about including more people from low-income backgrounds in cricket. I want to finish on a more historical point. I have not mentioned this since I was elected to this House about six years ago, but according to data from the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, the ACS, the earliest known reference to the sport being played in Lancashire has been found in the Manchester Journal , dated Saturday 1 September 1781. It concerned an 11-a-side match played the previous Monday, 27 August, at Brinnington moor—Brinnington is the ward I live in—between a team of printers and one representing the villages of Haughton and Bredbury, who were the winners. As Bredbury was in Cheshire, that account is the earliest reference to cricket in that county, going back to 1781, which is quite special. There are so many fantastic sports available across the board these days, but cricket is so special. I do not think there is a sport that is more English than cricket. So much more could be done to encourage more young people and people from various backgrounds to play cricket.

• 16 Jul 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q9. In Stockport, approximately 20% of families live in social housing. After Stockport Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors blocked the Greater Manchester spatial framework proposal in 2020, the need for social housing is even more critical. Far too many families are living in insecure, overcrowded accommodation and waiting years for a suitable family home. I welcome Labour’s record-breaking £39 billion investment in social and affordable housing, and I want to ensure that communities such as mine in Stockport are prioritised. Can the Prime Minister confirm that these homes will be built and will be affordable? Will he look again at suspending the right to buy?

• 15 Jul 2025 · West Coast Main Line · Hansard source

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  I will come back to the right hon. Lady in a minute. I will just make the point that reliability is far too poor. If we compare the annual performance for Avanti between April 2024 and March 2025, just 39.9% of Avanti trains were on time, which is a drop of 3.6% compared with the previous year. That is ridiculous. The more we look into the data for Avanti, the worse it gets. We talk a lot about climate change and global warming. If we want people to use public transport, we need to make sure it is reliable and affordable, and that people can access facilities in cases of health or mobility issues. On the specific aspect of Stockport station, perhaps I should join my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich in his campaign to get his local station rebuilt. I would definitely want the Government to prioritise, with almost 4 million passengers, the Stockport station infrastructure. I want to make a point about freight. Of course passenger services are important but, as my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich pointed out, around 40% of all UK rail freight uses the west coast main line corridor. We need to think about freight services as well, because we need to take heavy goods lorries off our roads. We must ensure that the freight option is attractive and reliable. The service known affectionately as the Thunderbird rescue service involves locomotives that sit at strategic locations on the west coast main line in case a train breaks down and they have to come out to shift it. On Friday, when we left the House of Commons after private Members’ Bills, I was on the train to Stockport while my colleague was on a different train to Cheshire that broke down because it overheated. That added two extra hours to her journey home. These are serious issues. The hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) made the point that when it comes to maintenance and reliability, Network Rail has let us down. Of course, 14 years of austerity have had an impact on its budget, but there needs to be some accountability for Network Rail. We all want a big stick when it comes to Avanti, but Network Rail bears some responsibility as well. I could say so much more, but I know that many colleagues want to speak, so I will limit my frustrations to what I have said. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich.

• 15 Jul 2025 · West Coast Main Line · Hansard source

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  The data I have says 41.6%—the right hon. Lady is depriving Avanti of a crucial 1%. The service is simply not good enough. A lot of us were told that privatisation would mean more competitive pricing for tickets and greater choice, but what choice do I have if I want to go on a fast train from Stockport to Euston? The only choice I have is Avanti. This is a good opportunity to welcome the plan for Great British Rail that was in the Labour party manifesto last year. But we need to make sure that we learn from the mistakes of privatisation and do not repeat the errors that were made.

• 15 Jul 2025 · West Coast Main Line · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Connor Naismith) on securing this debate. Unfortunately, I think my contribution will add to the long list of grievances I have against Avanti, but of course the west coast main line is used by other operators as well. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—in particular, donations from trade unions to my constituency Labour party. My hon. Friend made the point about the state of Crewe station. The state of Stockport station is not much better. For the last reporting period, 3.8 million entries and exits were made at Stockport station, which makes it a major category B station. The infrastructure at the station is simply not good enough. Often the lift is broken, so people who are disabled or have mobility issues or health conditions are not able to use the services. The main door, which is frequently broken, has been replaced, but the general state of the station is not good enough. I am grateful to the staff members who work there. The facilities they have for their rest breaks or when they change shifts are simply not good enough. With such a high volume of passengers at Stockport station, we need to do better. I urge Network Rail, which owns the station, and Avanti, which manages it, to do far better. The point has already been made about the private aspect of Avanti. Profits made by Avanti West Coast are turned into dividends for its parent companies, and ultimately their shareholders. In the latest declared accounts for the year to March 2024, Avanti declared that it paid a dividend of £8.1 million to the parent company, FirstGroup, in 2024, and a dividend of £11 million in 2023. That means that a total of £19.1 million has been paid in shareholder dividends in just the last two years, so the point about value for money is quite serious. I did a little bit of research before coming to this debate. It is just under two hours from Stockport station to Euston if the train runs on time—which is quite rare, to be fair. If travelling from Stockport to Euston during peak hours, an anytime return ticket would cost £386 for an adult, which is ridiculous. The off-peak return is slightly less at £113. The current minimum wage for someone who is 21 or over is £12.21 per hour; for 18 to 20-year-olds it is £10 an hour; and for 16 to 17-year-olds it is £7.55 an hour. Unless someone is a business traveller or has a generous expense account, I am not sure how many people can pay £386 for a standard class ticket for a peak return from Stockport to Euston.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, and I particularly thank her for the announcement just a few days ago of £2.5 billion for the public transport network in Greater Manchester. That is very welcome news. I have been campaigning for a long time for the extension of Manchester’s Metrolink tram network into my constituency, and I thank the Secretary of State and the Chancellor for funding the extension to Stockport town centre. I have one ask. Reddish South train station in my constituency is one of the quietest railway stations in the UK, with just one service per week. The Friends of Reddish South Station group are very active, and I was with them on Sunday. Will the Secretary of State restore proper passenger services at Reddish South train station?