What Britain's parties say and do in public, recorded from the source.
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Labour Party
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Conservative and Unionist Party
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Liberal Democrats
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Reform UK
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Scottish National Party
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Green Party
Latest entry 11 Nov 2026
Plaid Cymru
Latest entry 10 Nov 2026
Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,942 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
Creating high-quality jobs across Wales is a priority for this Labour Government, which is why we are backing major growth sectors across the country. We have delivered £2.5 billion for small modular reactors at Wylfa, supporting at least 3,000 jobs. Alongside that, new AI growth zones in north and south Wales are expected to create more than 8,000 jobs.
The UK Government growth funding has been transformational across Wales, delivering jobs in local communities across all parts of the country. Last week, we announced £134 million for the Cardiff capital region, which has already created 7,000 jobs and is fast on its way to delivering 25,000 jobs for the region. This latest investment will help cement Wales’s place at the forefront of technology and innovation, helping even more businesses to thrive and grow the Welsh economy.
Universities are a core part of our industrial strategy, as countries that lead in research and innovation also lead in growth and investment. Welsh universities play a unique role right across Wales by building and investing in our industries and businesses of the future. As a Minister in the Wales Office, I am bringing all the Welsh universities together in collaboration to help maximise R&D funding, deliver stronger results, and ensure that the impact reaches the communities that need it most.
There are absolutely huge benefits right across Wales. Wylfa is expected to support 3,000 jobs across north Wales. This is a generational commitment to the future of clean energy right across the country.
Absolutely. Through collaboration and working together, we are creating tens of thousands of jobs right across Wales. Our Welsh freeports and investment zones have the potential to deliver at least 25,000 new jobs in Wales. Our generational commitment to modernise Welsh rail will bring 12,000 jobs in Wales. This is about a collaborative effort right across the United Kingdom to help and support Welsh communities, but also communities right across the UK.
I will take no lectures from the Conservatives and the hon. Member when her party presided over completely unprecedented wage stagnation and businesses took blow after blow, with—to be specific—the worst wage growth performance of any decade since Napoleonic times. On our side of the House, the Chancellor announced just last week the great summer savings scheme, with a reduction of VAT from 20% to 5% over the summer to help families enjoy the summer and use hospitality venues. This will boost local spend and boost the local economy.
Our steel strategy will revitalise the UK steel sector, restoring domestic production, 50% of which will come from Wales, and securing supply for key sectors and national infrastructure. I really hope that the minority Plaid Welsh Government will support this work to support our Welsh steelworkers.
I am proud that this Government are resetting our relations with European partners to improve our economic and security co-operation following Brexit. The historic first UK-EU summit last year marked that turning point, and striking a deal is good for bills, good for borders and good for jobs. Our focus is on driving that forward and delivering a very strong EU-UK relationship.
Far too many young people are not in education, employment or training, which is why we have committed to a youth guarantee to grant young people right across the UK, including Wales, the choice to learn or to earn, backed by £820 million of funding. This week, we announced seven more youth hubs for Wales, helping young people build critical skills and find jobs. Those measures will be life-changing opportunities for young people, significantly reversing the increase we inherited from the Conservative party in the number of those not in education, employment or training.
The Prime Ministe has announced a generational funding commitment to Welsh rail and a pipeline of projects worth up to £14 billion. That long-term plan will transform connectivity across Wales. We will deliver that at pace, building on the strong start of the £445 million of investment already secured at the spending review.
I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent question. We have agreed a £14 billion long-term plan for Welsh rail, with work starting immediately, spanning 43 projects in every corner of Wales and unlocking around 12,000 jobs. New stations and faster and more reliable trains will connect people with communities and jobs right across Wales, benefiting the whole UK.
Q13. I welcome the Government’s willingness to take tough action to protect young people online. It reflects growing concerns about the harms that can arise from online platforms, including self-harm, suicide and poor mental health. The consequences can be truly devastating for those affected, including families in South East Cornwall whose experiences I will never forget. Individuals and companies are promoting and profiting from harmful material and behaviour online that would attract far greater scrutiny, rightly, in the offline world. Freedom of speech must be defended, but what we have online is often not free speech, but manipulated speech. Companies with influence over what millions of people see should be held accountable and made responsible. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree? What further action will the Government take to strengthen accountability and protect young people online before more lives are lost?
I note the definition on activities being “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom”, but does my right hon. Friend agree that we are getting into some tortuous territory? It could be properly argued that it is in the interests of the United Kingdom to seek to uphold basic human rights and have international humanitarian law observed consistently. That is in our collective and global interests, but we could find ourselves in situations where actors who we currently class as our allies, such as in the example he has given, use organisations to undermine that very principle. Is that not an example of how we need to think this legislation through?
FMC and Dynamic Metals, both of which are in my constituency, have no alternative but to import specialist steel, because if it is not made in Britain, they cannot buy in Britain. What message does the Minister have for those businesses, and will he look at changing harmonised system codes so that customs can better distinguish between generic and specialist steels?
I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of tackling illicit activity in high street shops. It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. Before I start, I want to put on the record my thanks to my hon. Friends the Members for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) and for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), who have been leading the dodgy shops campaign in Parliament. I am pleased to see that there are 50 MPs working to support this important issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes could not make it here today, but I will raise some of the issues that she asked me to raise. High streets are at the centre of our communities. When our constituents look at them, they judge how our towns feel and how they feel about our towns. In Halesowen constituency, people want to see our high streets succeed. We have many independent and successful shops such as Bella’s Beautiful Things in Halesowen, Betty Stitchkit in Quarry Bank, and Cradley Heath DIY in Cradley Heath. We also have fantastic community groups that work hard to make our towns beautiful, such as Halesowen in Bloom and Cradley Heath and Old Hill in Bloom, whose volunteers do fantastic work. But the truth is that, as the challenges to retail have increased, old established shops are closing and new shops are popping up in their place: vape shops, mini-markets and barbers. Although the majority of those shops are perfectly legitimate, there is increasing evidence that what the public suspect is true: many are involved in money laundering, counterfeit goods and other criminality. In fact, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, whose members are on high streets every day, tells me that in some areas up to half of mini-markets and vape shops have links to organised crime.
Absolutely. My hon. Friend is completely right that we need to tackle those dodgy shops. I am pleased that the Government have made a range of announcements on that, but I will make further suggestions for where we might go even further. We see dodgy shops in Derby, and we do not just have to take the word of the CTSI. My constituents saw with their own eyes on the BBC in April that there was drug dealing in the open on Cradley Heath High Street.
I am glad my hon. Friend raised that issue. He shared with me some photographs of paraphernalia that looks just like a packet of Skittles or a packet of sweets. It is completely unacceptable that we allow businesses to market these things, which only encourage illegality, to children. In my constituency, an undercover reporter was able to buy cannabis, cocaine and prescription drugs over the counter right in the centre of our towns. Although the police have taken action and there have been a number of arrests, we should not have to wait for the BBC to expose a crime for action to be taken. My constituents ask, “Why is this shop, which has been so publicly exposed as dealing drugs, still open?” I do not yet have a satisfactory answer.
Yes. It is a really positive development, because it allows His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, trading standards and the police to investigate properly in those 12 months and build a case so that they can go after not just the shop but the people behind it. On Cradley Heath High Street, there is something that sits right in our faces: we have 12 mini-markets and vape shops right opposite the largest Tesco in the area. Although last year the Chartered Trading Standards Institute ranked Birmingham as the country’s No. 1 hotspot for dodgy shops, it is undeniable that the problem is going over the border into the Black Country and affecting our area.
My hon. Friend makes a really good point about the challenges that seaside towns face. I agree that this blight is affecting the whole country, so we need to look at all the hotspots. The impacts of this problem are really big. Organised crime costs the UK £47 billion each year. Money from the economy that could be invested in the private sector or public services instead goes into organised crime, funding violence, people smuggling and other criminal activity. The local impacts are really serious, too. Legitimate traders are seeing footfall decrease, as law-abiding people avoid towns. Parents are worried that their children can buy vapes and laughing gas under age, in the open. Local residents fear for their safety when they see knife crime and other criminality spilling out of these businesses. Our high streets are the heart of our towns, and our communities care deeply when crime starts to encroach upon them. However, there has been real progress. I welcome what the Government have achieved in the last few months. There has been a series of very positive announcements, responding to the calls from our communities to do something about these dodgy shops.
My hon. Friend makes a really important point. Local authority trading standards were underfunded and under-resourced by between 30% and 40%, according to some estimates, during the 14 years of Conservative government. Local authorities and the police need resources to tackle this crime. I will give some good statistics. The National Crime Agency’s Operation Machinize has led to 3,000 premises being raided and close to 1,000 arrests. The £30 million that the Government are investing in tougher enforcement with the new high street organised crime unit is also welcome. There are many issues that enable these shops to operate, so it is important that all agencies work together: the Home Office, trading standards, the NCA, HMRC, immigration enforcement and local police. Immigration enforcement is important because, as has been mentioned before, we see evidence that asylum seekers are being employed and exploited in these shops. They are sometimes being paid only £4 an hour, which is completely unacceptable. The new unit gives me real hope that we can achieve co-ordination, and that organised crime groups will not fall through the gaps between agencies and will face the full force of the law. We have talked about resources. Seventy-five new police officers have been recruited, and there are extra resources for customs and trading standards to prioritise the work. The tougher enforcement standards, including the doubling of closure orders to 12 months, are vital for this work. When tackling serious organised crime, the National Crime Agency employs the 4P approach: pursue, prevent, prepare and protect. The Government have taken positive steps to enable the authorities to pursue offenders, with more co-ordination, resources and tougher enforcement. There is scope to do more to prevent the opportunities for these dodgy businesses to open in the first place. There is a good example in the Netherlands, where the Bibob Act allows public authorities to conduct integrity checks on individuals and businesses before granting licences and permits.
I agree that it sounds like a very helpful proposal. On the subject of permits and businesses, there is much more the Government can do to restrict the permitting of high street bookmakers, which many Members have spoken about. In the Netherlands, public authorities are allowed to conduct integrity checks on individuals and businesses before granting licences and permits, and local authorities have the power to refuse applications if they think there is a serious risk that a permit could be used for criminal activities. I can see the benefit of that, as the police or other intelligence agencies could advise whether individuals are linked to organised crime, or whether it is reasonable to assume that 12 mini-markets and vape shops in one small town centre are operating legitimately.
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Why are they wrapping the windows? The first question must be: what are they trying to hide? We want our town centres to be welcoming, warm and open. That practice is completely against that type of approach. Could the Minister tell me whether the Government are considering similar measures to the Dutch Bibob Act? There are also far too many loopholes in Companies House, which BBC research reveals is wide open to abuse. Our dodgy shops group is proposing that greater powers be given to Companies House to identify and clamp down on fake company directors, with escalating fines or a “three strikes and you’re out” system.
I agree, and I hope the Government are looking to close some of the loopholes at Companies House and strengthen oversight of fake directors who are abusing the system. Finally, I am concerned about whether landlords can be complicit in the organised crime that we see. We propose increasing the transparency and accountability of landlords to deter complicity, but also more support for law-abiding landlords to take action against tenants suspected of breaking the law. Will the Minister say more about whether the Government are considering increasing that accountability and the power of landlords to help to deal with illegality on our high streets? Cradley Heath High Street used to be the thriving heart of our community. I was appalled but not surprised to see drug dealing in the open in one of the shops in our town. Through under-resourcing and inattention, we have allowed the problem of dodgy shops to become a visible stain on our communities, so I welcome the Government’s really positive steps on that so far. The new taskforce, tougher powers and more resources will make a significant difference, but I call for those resources to be focused on the Black Country, which is becoming more of a hotspot, as people have heard in my speech today. I would like the Government to consider doing even more and at whether we could look abroad for lessons on further tools to use to prevent more dodgy shops from opening. I am referring to licensing, registration and requirements for landlords who knowingly or unknowingly facilitate organised crime. We need to get our high streets back to being the law-abiding, beating heart of our towns that we all want to see.
We can see the scale of the problem across the country from how many people have come to the debate today from different nations, cities, towns, seaside resorts and rural areas. It is great to see such interest. I am pleased about the steps the Government have taken so far. I thank the Minister in particular for taking away what the taskforce has been doing, which is really important work. We all know that a lot of this is down to cuts to trading standards and big cuts to police in the past, so the steps we are taking to resource those are welcome. I encourage the Minister to work with this group of MPs, as I am sure she will, as we go through changes and we can have some real results. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the matter of tackling illicit activity in high street shops.
I strongly support the change to the law being proposed today, to better protect our nation and our fellow citizens from those working for foreign states that want to disrupt and attack our way of life. While there has been debate today about the timeline, I personally welcome the swift and decisive approach being taken to protecting our national security. As we have heard from colleagues across the House, state-backed threats are evolving incredibly rapidly, so it is critical that legislation passed by this House adapts at the same speed and keeps pace with the complex threat environment. If that puts me at the hawkish end of the political spectrum, to use the words of the right hon. Member for Hertsmere (Sir Oliver Dowden), that is a badge I will wear with pride. Hopefully, through our discussions today, the House can send the clearest possible message: anyone who supports those backed by hostile states, glorifies or promotes their messages of hate, or is in the pay of foreign states that wish us ill can and should expect to face the full force of the British law. The Government and this House must always take firm action to defend our way of life and protect our citizens. Why is this Bill so important? As we heard eloquently from my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western), there is clear evidence that hostile states are actively trying to undermine our society by paying proxies to bring violence to the streets of Britain. We have seen this in the attacks on Iranian dissidents by criminal groups linked to Iran’s security services; in the attacks on Jewish volunteer ambulance services in London, for which an Islamist terror group with links to the Iranian regime has publicly claimed responsibility; and in the attacks on Ukrainian-linked property and the Prime Minister’s private residence by proxies linked to the Russian state. These acts are appalling, shocking and unacceptable. That is why I am pleased that, in addition to introducing the measures that we are discussing today, the UK Government and 23 other countries issued a joint statement on 10 June that condemned the egregious actions we have seen across Europe, North America and Australia by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other organisations. As the statement said powerfully, “Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately.” What action must we take to tackle these serious and growing threats? As Members across the House have set out, the Bill before us seeks to give our law enforcement agencies and security services greater powers and flexibility to address these serious matters. The Bill includes three new offences related to supporting, assisting, or receiving benefits from activists or organisations that are threatening the UK. As colleagues have said, it builds on existing legislation dealing with non-state terror groups, following the recommendations of the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. In a small way, I have seen for myself the growing challenges that we face in the wider threat environment. I am a member of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, which involved the Royal Air Force last year and the Royal Navy this year. Together with colleagues from across the House, I have had the privilege of meeting senior military and security personnel at home and abroad. Having visited operational bases here at home, and been briefed by British and NATO force leaders in Europe, it is clear to me just how complex and rapidly evolving the range of threats we face in our country is. It is clear that conflicts on foreign shores are playing out on British soil. It is clear that the range and sophistication of the attacks we face—physical attacks, cyber-attacks and interference in democracy—have grown. It is clear that the military, the security services, the police and other law enforcement bodies needs to work in an increasingly sophisticated way to deal with those hybrid threats. It is clear that hostile activities from state and non-state actors are increasingly linked, and that our laws must evolve quickly to give those tasked with defending us the tools that they need in the modern age. Before I conclude, I will raise some issues with the Minister; I would be very grateful if she would address them in her closing remarks. The first picks up a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington, and by other Members, about public knowledge. The tactics that we have been discussing are intentionally hybrid and hidden; they are designed to complicate and obfuscate, and in some cases, it takes our security services many months to work out exactly what is going on, and to give confident public statements. As right hon. and hon. Members across this House have said, it is critical that we can better explain the nature of the threat to our citizens, residents and constituents, so that the significant investment that we are making in our military and security services is understood, but also so that citizens can help defend themselves and this country, including from individual cyber-attacks and other measures. My second question, which draws on a point made by the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Dame Karen Bradley), is about integration. Given the complexity of what we face and the need for the police, the military, the security services and others—not just in our country, but across allied nations—to work together in a much more sophisticated way, are we confident that those organisations have the necessary resources, and is the Minister confident that they have the freedom to break down bureaucratic silos and work across organisational boundaries to get this done? I hope that across the House today, we can be clear that state-backed aggression, attacks and disruption are not just attacks on people, property and organisations, as appalling as those things are; they are attacks on our way of life, on our values, and on democracy itself. I hope we can unite to show that we will take action—decisive action—and will take it today.
9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help create new jobs in Wales.
Universities in Wales and Scotland are engines of job creation through the crucial role they play in fostering innovation. Will the Minister please update the House on what the UK Government are doing to fuel innovation in Welsh universities?
May I put on record my thanks to the Home Secretary and the team for the speed with which they have addressed the major issues in the Bill? I also thank the Home Secretary for making it clear on Second Reading that the Bill’s provisions will not apply to humanitarian organisations.
The Secretary of State had some cheek earlier, but Wales had 27 years of Labour and has had less than six weeks of a Plaid Cymru Government, so we have work to do, and we are getting on with it. The Port Talbot steelworks fire caused huge damage, but not a single penny of Labour’s £2.5 billion steel fund has been guaranteed for steel in Wales. Instead, millions are being spent from this fund to support steel at Scunthorpe, leaving Welsh workers fearing they have been pushed aside. Will the Government stand up for Welsh interests and guarantee a fair share of the steel fund to all steel sites in Wales?
I am interested to hear the Minister’s response, but she is muddying the waters, because what she said does not relate to the steel fund. I am specifically talking about the steel fund and the contribution it will make to Wales; we know that that money is going to Scunthorpe. On another matter, next week it will be a decade since the EU referendum, and the promised Brexit dividend is still a fantasy unicorn. The Welsh economy is at least £4 billion smaller and exports are down £1.1 billion. Over the same period, Northern Ireland—still in the single market, remember—has seen gross value added per head grow 20% faster than in Wales. We see the damage, and we know the solution. Wales, of course, is very much an exporting economy. Surely the Minister knows that the right thing to do by Wales and the rest of the UK is to rejoin the single market and the customs union.
Building on what the Minister said about employment costs, we have heard about the pressures that many hospitality businesses, particularly pubs, are feeling following the reduction to the threshold on the increase of the rates. As part of the work that the Minister is undertaking to review things in the round, could he focus on the possibility of increasing the employment allowance for smaller businesses in the sector? That could be a very welcome relief for them.
Funnily enough, in the first 100 days of this Labour UK Government the Prime Minister cut winter fuel payments for vulnerable pensioners, whereas in the first 100 days of the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government, an extra £55 million is being invested in free childcare for parents. Does the Secretary of State concede that, unlike Labour, Plaid Cymru is focusing on making a difference to people’s lives and lowering the cost of living for households in Wales? Actions speak louder than words.
May I ask about jobs? I appreciate that the Minister has answered a lot of questions about tariffs, but a lot of my constituents work in Trostre, which is in the constituency of the hon. Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith). We have talked a lot about the £2.5 billion steel fund. Nearly two years later, sites such as Trostre are still waiting, with no commitments, no timelines and no certainty on investment. No answers were found in the steel strategy, which was published in March. Can the Minister give me a straight answer on when Welsh steel sites will see investment from the steel fund?
Order. Can I make sure that we all understand that lots of Members want to speak? If you start debating with the Minister now, we will lose time. Please respect that, and I encourage you to come to the end of your speech.
I encourage everybody who wants to speak to bob. I intend to call the Front Benchers at about 3.28 pm, which gives everybody else an informal time limit of four minutes. If Members do not stick to that, I will have to put on a formal, and shorter, limit, so please respect each other. I thank Saqib Bhatti for sticking very nicely to his time limit.
How about that for timekeeping? I thank every Member for staying so disciplined within the time limit.
Before I call the Minister, I remind him to leave a couple of minutes at the end for the Member in charge to wind up.
Minister, please watch the time.
After this debate, we all feel very thirsty for an ice-cold lemonade.
I will call Liz Twist to move the motion and then call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. As is the convention in 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.