Sarah Smith MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am sure that I am not the only Member who came to this place because I felt that the voices of the people I wanted to represent are seldom heard, and I felt a duty to ensure that they were heard in decision making at the highest level. While I am the Member of Parliament for everyone in Hyndburn and Haslingden, and I recognise that many people in my constituency might support the principle of an assisted death, when I vote today, I must consider the perspective of the many hundreds of people who have written to me for whom this Bill is a terrifying prospect. Many of those who have written to me are disabled; caring for severely disabled children or family members; people who are getting older, and who worry that they will become a burden; or people who know that because of the colour of their skin, they will face different treatment in our NHS, and who worry about what that would mean for them or their elderly parents. We must all consider the privilege that we in this place hold. We have the confidence to challenge a doctor’s assessment, and to turn down the suggestion of assisted death, and the belief that we might be able to afford the care that we need when we are older, and so can make a true choice about how we might die. However, we must remember that this is not the experience of most people, and certainly not the experience of those with lower levels of education, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, those with disabilities, or those who are struggling to make ends meet. For them, the suggestion made by a doctor may easily sound like a decision based on what is best for them. The likelihood of their mental capacity being accurately assessed is far lower than it would be for many of us. For them, and indeed for most of us, the assessment of how long they have left to live is often hugely inaccurate.

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more. Those people cannot escape the often unintentional prejudice that they face every single day in their engagement with our health services. They know that the Bill would treat them unequally, and they are begging us not to pass it into law. Disability rights groups have shared with us that introducing assisted dying devalues the lives of disabled individuals by framing dependence as an intolerable condition, and one not intrinsic to all our lives. Relying on each other is what makes our society strong, and we must not tolerate a situation in which individuals make decisions from which they cannot return on the basis that they perceive themselves to be a burden. This law, if passed, will almost certainly further increase the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest, given that people living in more deprived areas are likely to acquire complex multi-morbidity seven years younger than those in the richest areas, and are far more likely to feel that they are a financial burden on their family. It is reasonable to anticipate that this will lead to people with less money dying younger. Is that the legacy that those voting for this Bill today want? In Hyndburn and Haslingden, I have seen how systemic failures in social and palliative care have added to the suffering and challenges that many in my community have faced. Like many of us, I have sat with loved ones as they were dying without the palliative care that they needed. According to Marie Curie, one in three people die without good palliative care. During these debates, we have heard so many horrific stories of death, and of course we must do all we can to avoid those situations. I spoke with one of the most highly regarded palliative care nurses in the world, who has spent most of her career in South Africa with children who have AIDS and who die far too young. She told me that, in her decades of practice, in which she has cared for thousands of patients, she could bring to mind only two patients whom she was unable to offer a good death, with the right treatment and care. Assisted dying is not a choice if palliative care is not provided as an alternative. As it stands, the cost of assisted dying is supposed to come from the existing health budget. Research by Sue Ryder found that if we offered consistent palliative care to every patient who needed it, we would need to double NHS funding for that care; it would cost around an extra £300 million a year. We have to be clear about the priorities and honest about what is possible. This Bill intends to force the NHS to implement assisted dying within four years. Given the budget constraints and capacity limitations, it is just not realistic to say that we can simultaneously improve palliative care and introduce assisted dying. We are taking 10 years to implement the proposed SEND reforms, yet we expect to do this within four. This Bill should provide that assisted dying will not be introduced until palliative care is fixed, and it fails to do that. Furthermore, the evidence from other countries is overwhelmingly that introducing assisted dying leads to decreased investment in palliative care. In closing, it was a Labour Government who introduced the national health service, with the aim of securing “improvement in the physical and mental health of the people of England and Wales and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness”. It is that mission that NHS staff have signed up to deliver. Let this Labour Government not be the one to bring in a Bill that effectively entirely undermines and changes that founding purpose of the NHS, and let us instead vote today to kill this Bill.

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend give way?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend confirm how many amendments were accepted in the House of Lords, and that it was about 90 peers who were involved in supporting all the amendments tabled?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Online Safety · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the work done by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) to finally take back control of our children’s safety online. Tackling misinformation and disinformation is also a part of creating safe online spaces. I have been leading, with my constituent Debbie Duncan, a campaign to tackle tragedy trolling. Will the Secretary of State meet me to find out more about the importance of trying to protect victims who have lost people in suspicious circumstances, when that horror happens to them?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Before the summer, I raised the concerns of my constituents in Hyndburn about the proposals for a Pennine-Lancs authority, which could become the most deprived in the country. As Ministers undertake the review, will they look at that issue very closely and consider the perspectives of my constituents?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State mentioned in his statement that part of the driver of the proposals is that he wants to do something about areas of high deprivation. However, the plans presented today would make East Lancashire one of the most deprived unitary authorities in the country. What will the Government do to support areas like East Lancashire, if these plans are pursued, to ensure that we do not become a place of incredibly high deprivation, and that we are an area that benefits from economic growth?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Haslingden Old Road in my constituency has been shut for two years due to a landslip. Will the Minister support me in urging Reform-led Lancashire county council to get this road reopened, as it is such a vital backbone going through my constituency?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that it is incredibly important that there is certainty that the reforms we are making will create a better system, rather than risk making things worse?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation · Hansard source

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  Shabir Ahmed’s crimes are the worst imaginable, and we are all just horrified to learn that he has now been released. As the Government look at every option to remove this vile individual, can the Minister confirm when he expects to bring forward those options and legal solutions to this situation?

• 2 Jul 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that it would also give some comfort to my poor residents on both Ribblesdale Avenue in Accrington and Lyndon Park estate in Great Harwood, who are currently faced with the impending truth that FirstPort will shortly be their managing agent? They are rightly terrified about what that might mean for them and what expense it might add, as well as the failure of such organisations to manage local parks and so on. Taking the steps that she mentions will help give my residents confidence that they will have the protections they deserve.

• 29 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Before being elected to this place, I spent many years looking at how we can tackle the NEET crisis. Does the Secretary of State agree that we should be ambitious for our young people and aim to have 0% NEETs?

• 15 Jun 2026 · Russian Shadow Fleet · Hansard source

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  While our brave servicemen and women were defending our national interests over the weekend, today it has been reported by the BBC that Russian state operatives were linked with arson attacks on our Prime Minister. Just last week, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was meeting Errol Musk in Russia, and the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) has said that he would not block that same individual from joining his party. Does the Secretary of State agree that there is no greater threat to our national security, nor anything more unpatriotic, than this dangerous rise in far-right politics across our country?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  It is an incredible honour to speak today in this debate on the life and legacy of Jo Cox, and particularly challenging to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) and her incredibly moving words. It just makes those of us who were not Jo’s best friends incredibly jealous. We all can recognise that close sisterhood that we have with our closest friends. Like everyone else, I put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) not just for securing today’s debate, but for the amazing, wonderful sister that she is. I thank her for how she has welcomed in later intakes of MPs and, as somebody who came to the House in 2024, the latest intake of MPs in particular. Legacy is often a concept that it is hard to distinguish, but with Jo, her legacy is tangible because of how she chose to conduct herself and lead her life. It has had a lasting impact not just on this place, as we have heard today, but in our communities up and down the country and around the globe. I will never forget the first constituency Labour party event I attended. Fortunately, it was not a CLP meeting on a Friday night, because perhaps I would not have gone back. [ Laughter. ] It was an event for women that Jo hosted on her boat before she was elected. True to who she was, it provided an inclusive, empowering and welcoming space for women like me who were just seeking to understand how we could bring change to our communities. Today, more than ever, we need to be the change by creating those spaces, when so much in the political discourse is desperately seeking to intimidate and put off women and minority groups. Jo lived by the words she expressed in her maiden speech that we have heard so often today, that “we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.” —[ Official Report , 3 June 2015; Vol. 596, c. 675.] It can be hard to hold on to that truth, given the division and vitriol we have seen expressed on our streets, in our media and online, but hold on to it we must as forces seek to polarise us further away from each other in a most un-British way. Like Jo’s constituency of Batley and Spen, Hyndburn is a diverse community with a significant number of people who come from, or who still have connections with, Kashmir. It is made up of a number of towns, but it is a place where people often feel ignored and forgotten, and where the simple blaming of others can be a tempting answer to the far more complex questions that we know our society faces. In many ways we are more connected than we have ever been but, just as profoundly, we are more disconnected than ever before. An Office for National Statistics survey in 2025 found that about 40% of 16 to 29-year-olds have felt lonely at times—and that is while they supposedly have the world in their back pockets or in their hands. I believe that the sense of feeling alone has increased. For connection to bring people together, heal mistrust, clean up untruths, and identify the commonalities and common purpose between people and groups, it must be grounded in relationships, which the online world does not enable well. People hide behind a keyboard or anonymity and say things that cause a huge amount of hurt and harm, while bots and algorithms push misinformation and disinformation, with no regard for facts. Owing to the growth of social media, everyone can now be publishers; we can share our opinions from behind a keyboard, even opinions that we do not truly believe. With the development of AI, we can also all be producers. However, unity and authentic cohesion are built on listening, engaging, breaking bread together and enjoying being with each other. Much of how we communicate and trust our fellow human beings is by being there in person and showing up, to understand our differences and find our common ground. As MPs, we all know that community can and will be messy, but it is wonderfully messy, as people from all walks of life come together and find out that, against all the evidence to the contrary—perpetuated online and through the media—our hopes, values and convictions are often similar, if not just the same. Community is where disagreements can be resolved through respectful dialogue. A healthy society and democracy depend on our ability to bridge differences, find common ground and move forward together rather than apart, but too often we see disagreements framed as moral conflicts that demand that people choose sides—all or nothing. This kind of polarisation pushes us into opposing camps, and makes it harder to recognise our shared values and aspirations. A recent report by Hope not Hate found that the far right is seeking to engage young people, particularly boys and young men, by using platform algorithms to guide them towards increasingly insular spaces where extremist views are reinforced and intensified. The same approach exists on the far left, often targeting young women and girls. This is perpetuating a sense of polarisation on moral grounds, and targeting people who are actually just desperate for a sense of belonging and an understanding of this world. Online harm is a real threat, with nearly three quarters of my constituents recognising that boys and girls are being subjected to different forms of online harm. Tech companies must do more to protect our young people and our older people, and I urge the Government to be bold and brave in making sure that they do what is required of them, both morally and legally. Since I became an MP, I have been supporting my constituent Debbie Duncan following the tragic death of her son Jay while he was on holiday in Tenerife. Since those heartbreaking events, Debbie has been hounded by what we have termed “tragedy trollers”—content creators seeking to capitalise on her grief by promoting disinformation, conspiracy theories and actual threats of violence. This has caused harm while Debbie has been navigating the worst nightmare that any parent can face. We must tackle the assumption that anyone is fair game online, especially those serving in public life, but Debbie did not ask for any public attention, let alone the limelight. She is now bravely campaigning for action to be taken against the trolls and the platforms to ensure that no family have to face this sort of abuse at the worst moment of their lives. My hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley and Jo’s wider family also faced that type of abuse following Jo’s death. It is unforgivable and morally indefensible. I hope that the Government will take action on this and the wider issue of misinformation, because the risk that the rise in misinformation poses to our communities and to our democracy cannot be ignored. We must all choose to confront the climate of hostility, division and malevolence that allows this online practice to fester, which also falsely claims to offer our young people a sense of belonging or empowerment. If there is a key lesson we can take from Jo’s life, and there are of course many, it is that hope is not passive. It is something we build through action, service and our commitment to one another. At a time when forces seek to divide us, we must honour her legacy not simply by remembering her words, but by living them—choosing dialogue over hostility, community over isolation and common purpose over division. She believed that a fairer, kinder, more tolerant world was possible, and the most fitting tribute is to ensure that both our words and our actions take us closer to that reality.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that we would be wise to heed the warning of what happened in the run-up to the first world war in Germany? Fundamentally, radio was a new media then, and there was no regulation of it. Where we landed was the first world war. If we do not recognise that history is in many ways repeating itself as we stand here now, we could pay the significant and ultimate consequence for that.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  I have similar fond memories, as I was also a member of the Tower Hamlets constituency Labour party for many years. I am sure that my hon. Friend remembers the important role Jo played there, not least because it has frankly been a difficult place to do politics for many years. Having the light of someone like Jo was so transformational for those of us who were really involved in the area all those years ago.

• 1 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. I welcome the Government’s commitment to defence procurement that supports British jobs. However, Mr Speaker, tens of thousands of jobs in Lancashire are reliant on fast jet production. Britain needs new jets, and we need to maintain the skills for the next generation of jets. Will the Secretary of State commit to protecting jobs, maintaining those critical skills and providing the jets we need for our country’s defence by ordering British-made Typhoons for the RAF?

• 20 May 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. My constituent Debbie Duncan set up a petition calling on the Government to tackle tragedy trolling, which has attracted over 18,000 signatures. Does the Minister agree that it is time for action, and will she support a debate to help take this forward?

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The House may not know this, but Hyndburn was the engine of the industrial revolution, for it was in Oswaldtwistle, where I live, that James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny back in 1765, which revolutionised the cotton industry. This spinning machine enabled subsequent advancements in textiles machinery, which ultimately paved the way for the mechanisation of the entire manufacturing process. What is often missed in the story about James is that he faced opposition to his invention by the weavers, who smashed up his house and forced him out of town. The spinning jenny brought down the cost of yarn, and it was natural for those workers to be fearful of the impact that this would have on their livelihoods. It was right that they sought to protect their future, but through this innovation and those that followed, the mills in Accrington, Oswaldtwistle and Great Harwood, and the workers who powered them, became the backbone of our economy. Today, I believe that we can draw lessons from that history. We stand once again on the precipice of a new industrial revolution. We stand at a point in history that will be examined closely by future generations. AI is a bright new technology that offers us huge hope and opportunity. Indeed, when I asked it what the biggest opportunities of AI are, it told me that it is less about replacing humans and more about expanding what humans can do at scale. However, there is also plenty to be wary of. AI is going to cause the greatest amount of disruption, particularly to industries such as coding, law, accountancy and other highly skilled professions. Alongside this technical revolution, there is the fact that the era of globalisation as we know it is over. The risk of being dependent on foreign capabilities for our data storage, our defence capabilities and our manufacturing, and for the skills that we need to build our economy and support our businesses, so that they can thrive, cannot be overstated. The solution is to back British business, to buy British, to make British bricks—ideally, the Accrington Nori bricks—to build British houses, to be proudly patriotic, and to create the conditions in my constituency and across this country for our businesses to thrive, to invest, to grow and to create the jobs that are needed. I was pleased to see in the King’s Speech that we will “deploy the power of an active State in partnership with business and enable reforms that support higher growth and a fair deal for working people.” I urge the Government to go further and faster on that commitment, whether it is on procurement policy, energy policy or cutting red tape. We need an industrial strategy that outlines how investment will deliver the jobs, supply chains and sovereign capability in the skills and infrastructure that we need for the future. This is not a time for making tweaks around the edges; it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the scale of the challenge and to build back better. In places like Hyndburn, we need active intervention by the state on things like infrastructure. For example, there is an opportunity for a freight terminal in Huncoat, and the chance to support RedCAT, a catapult in my constituency that needs funding to help businesses bring products to scale. That could be a game changer for many local businesses—Senator Group, Emerson & Renwick, What More UK, Rospen Industries, Langtec, Fagan & Whalley, and so many more. I want to cover briefly the importance of skills. I am proud of the progress that the Government are making in this area, and I am pleased that the current Session will focus on apprenticeships, tackling youth unemployment and, of course, a plan for SEND. I hope that these plans will put colleges, such as those in the East Lancashire Learning Group, at the heart of the Government’s ambitions. It is time that college teachers had pay equity with other teachers. It is time that colleges received the respect that they deserve, and the funding that they need to help our most vulnerable and disadvantaged students. We can be the Government who put right the wrongs of the Tories and finally unlock the potential of millions of young people. Before I close, I offer one final word to my hon. and learned Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and to her successor as Economic Secretary to the Treasury. There is £120 million sitting there, stuck in children’s tax funds for children who lack the capacity to access them. If we can break this, that money will go directly into local economies across the country. I hope that point is not lost as my hon. and learned Friend takes on her new job. The King’s Speech is clear in its ambition to increase growth, expand investment and improve our public services. It is a Labour programme due to the fundamental belief that underpins it: that access to opportunity is for all. I look forward to working with colleagues to support and strengthen the Bills that will come before us in the Session ahead.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Pride in Place: Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I have established a Get Hyndburn Working group, which is bringing together local organisations, schools, the Department for Work and Pensions, voluntary sector organisations, the college and our training providers to tackle economic inactivity and look at the high levels of our young people who are out of work, training and education. Does the Minister agree that Pride in Place funding could play a key role in supporting these place-based, collective approaches to tackling such issues?

• 13 Apr 2026 · Pride in Place: Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  15. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Pride in Place funding on levels of community cohesion in Hyndburn constituency.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) for securing this debate. As the motion states, it is vital that Parliament keeps a spotlight on the SEND system as the Government work to bring about the necessary reforms. “Necessary” is the right word, because the system that this Labour Government inherited is not working for families, for children, for local authorities, for our health service or for our teaching professionals. The last Government left the system close to breaking point, and it is this Labour Government who are building a system that works. In Lancashire, the Government have increased the high needs block allocation to £223 million in 2026-27, a 56% increase on the 2018-19 allocation. They also committed an extra £19 million towards capital investment last year, with £23 million coming in this year—an uplift of £4 million to support the capital costs. Like councils across the country, Lancashire is benefiting from 90% of its SEND deficit being written off. However, my constituents in Hyndburn still face a lengthy wait for an EHCP to be finalised. Lancashire county council has issued only 17.3% of its plans within the 20-week requirement, so I am interested in the Minister’s plans to improve the accountability of local authorities. I am losing count of the number of families that have been in tears in my surgeries due to the failures of our county council, currently led by Reform, in making sure that we meet the needs of our children when they need that support and in providing certainty for parents in getting the education those children all deserve. Parents and carers are desperate for a system that works with them, not against them, as we have heard in a number of contributions this evening. How we do the reform is as important as the reform itself. That is why I called for the Government to ensure they put the voices and views of parents, carers and young people at the heart of their reforms. It is undoubtedly evident that they strengthened the plans and, through the time the Government took to try to get this right, helped to positively shape the Government’s approach. Many of my constituents found that engagement refreshing and helpful. I was also delighted to welcome the Schools Minister to Haslingden high school, where we had a great morning with young people and the headteacher. I am delighted that the Government’s ambitious road map for change recognises that the reforms cannot be piecemeal. It addresses the system as a whole. I do not have time to outline the many facets and focuses outlined in the White Paper, but I believe it starts to provide a road map for how we can deliver the change for every child, wherever they live, in order to end the postcode lottery in which they currently exist. A more consistent, earlier, clearer and fairer system is within reach. We need to be ambitious for our children, delivering expert SEND provision in every mainstream school, where no child is left behind.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Pothole Repairs: Strategic Road Network · Hansard source

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  15. What steps she is taking to repair potholes on the strategic road network.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Pothole Repairs: Strategic Road Network · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Hyndburn and Haslingden are blighted by potholes, which cost them hundreds of pounds, but to add insult to injury, twice recently the Reform-led county council has come out and repainted our road markings before coming a day later to complete resurfacing works on the same bit of road. Lancashire county council has had record levels of funding from this Government, with £100 million confirmed over two years. Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that the council is refusing to update residents on its repair times and whether it is meeting their demands and requirements?

• 17 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  While this war of choice is raging, Netanyahu’s forces have been murdering innocent Palestinians—men, women and disabled children —in the west bank, so what further action will the Foreign Secretary take to stop Israel repeating what happened in Gaza in the west bank and in Lebanon?