Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Register of interests
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Totals add only the entries that declare an amount received: payments for work, donations, gifts, and funded visits (register categories 1.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Ongoing employment is listed but not added, because its figure is a rate rather than a sum received. Each entry is dated by when the benefit happened, not when it was registered, and placed under the party the member sat for on that date. A member who changed party therefore has a separate total for each.
Unpaid director of Addiction Recovery Now Ltd, a company limited by guarantee. The company researches addiction issues and seeks to promote visible recovery in society.
Member of the Commission on Alcohol Harm, established by the Alcohol Harm Alliance (a consortium of over 50 non-governmental organisations) to promote evidence based policies to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.
I just want to say something that I think everybody in this House recognises, which is that the Home Secretary is probably the first person in this job for two decades or more who has really got to grips with this system, and she has achieved a great deal. She also puts up with people projecting on to her what they think her views about immigration should be. Will she say why rebuilding public confidence in the immigration system is so important for social cohesion?
I spent an hour with one of my constituents, James, last week, who was shot in the face in the Falklands war, and I have met him many times to work on these issues in recent months. I welcome Jack Ford, who is in the Gallery, and I give my fullest, strongest backing to what the Minister has said today.
I want to raise two things. First, how are discussions with our allies in the Latin American region—Uruguay and Chile in particular—going, and will the Minister ensure that they are a focus of the talks she is having? Secondly, I want to say this as gently as possible, but we must find a way to assert our sovereignty against what are often spurious claims against us in international courts that basically allow our foes to challenge sovereignty. We have seen it recently, and we are seeing it again now.
<Question HRSContentId="{DF1602C4-0E1A-47A5-9C1C-8AC752D684D8}">11. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{0252DC33-A1F5-4109-A2B0-93FBE5D9728A}">What steps he is taking with local leaders to attract private investment into areas that have historically received lower levels of investment. </QuestionText></Question>
Last month, Liverpool city region’s visitor economy reached £6.8 billion, and our productivity growth is currently running at four times the national average. The region has an incredibly exciting plan to redevelop Central station in the city centre and link it to Lime Street. It would be one of the most important growth stories and opportunities for the whole of the north of England, and it would drive billions in investment from the private sector. When the Minister visits us for the party conference, will he take a bit of time to meet Mayor Rotheram and the leader of the council, Liam Robinson, to see their exciting plans?
I welcome the Minister’s strong message today, standing alongside the Falkland Islanders in their desire to remain British. We have 14 overseas territories with over a quarter of a million people. May I ask that we take this opportunity to consider how we can better represent all those people <span id="870" class="column-number" data-column-number="870"></span>for whom we as a Parliament, and as a Government, have a responsibility, for their health and education, and for the relationship between Britain and our overseas territories?
I am delighted to be here to support the hon. Member’s debate on the future of British horseracing. Aintree racecourse is in my constituency. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and declare my interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on racing and bloodstock.
I have been passionate about horseracing since I was very young. Despite the challenges it currently struggles with—and I will say a few words on that when the hon. Member has concluded his speech—British horseracing is the best in the world. It is a global leader in what it <span id="80WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="80WH"></span>does, and people want to be part of it, but it needs the Government, and the industry as a whole, to find strong leadership from within and to work together to make sure that this incredible product is protected for the future.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I once again congratulate the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) on securing the debate. I will not repeat all the points colleagues have made; people know my passion for the sport. I know the Minister enjoys horseracing and is keen to be supportive to the industry. I look forward to what the Government and colleagues in Westminster can do, working with the racing industry in the years ahead, to take it from strength to strength.
I will start with the strength of British horseracing. There was a battle last year over the racing tax because the Government were going to look at horseracing in the same light as online casinos and gambling. That was totally and utterly wrong; horseracing is an incredible industry, employing up to 100,000 people across the country. It is important to all our communities, with 60 racecourses across the United Kingdom. It attracts a remarkable amount of investment, especially flat horseracing, through all the work around breeding racehorses for a global industry. The Treasury does not quite understand the investment that horseracing brings into this country; I would like to see it do a better job.
I share concern and opposition to the way in which affordability checks have been brought about and implemented. I do not know of any other significant public policy such as this, which will have a major impact on the revenues that go into the Treasury, that can be made and implemented by a quango outside the view of Parliament and away from Government Ministers. I would like the Minister to be honest about her Department’s remit over the Gambling Commission, and where authority for this policy lies. Where does authority lie when we want to challenge it because it is not working?
It has already been mentioned that the impact is on the black market, on people who do not go racing, who are at home and decide to use a virtual private network—which can be done easily—and gamble where there are no rules. They do not know who they are gambling with, where the money they may receive has come from or the links to criminality that we can be certain are pervasive. The Treasury should look first and foremost at the criminality and the potential loss to the black market of people who want to gamble legally. I have worked long and hard over many years on all types of addiction. I know good things can be done to improve the behaviour of bookmakers, regulation and health support for people who struggle with gambling. Mrs Harris, you have spent many years in this place and I am sure you are watching this debate from the Chair with interest.
Let me make a couple of more general points. This incredible British product, which captivates many parts of the globe and makes some of the most successful and wealthy individuals want to come and play British horseracing, is something we do not make enough of in this country. It is powerful for our diplomacy, for investment in this country and for bringing people together, including the working-class communities up and down the country who get so much enjoyment from attending a day at the races. We need that to continue. There needs to be a <span id="87WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="87WH"></span>much broader review of the financing of British horseracing that takes account of the money from bookmakers, the levy and so much more.
I will finish my contribution with one little fact: breeding is currently a loss-making activity in this country. The number of thoroughbreds being bred each year has been in decline for several years. It is very difficult to make a profit in the current climate, and that should not be the case. There needs to be better leadership from within horseracing and better link-up with Government, and we need to appreciate what we have in this country.
<Question HRSContentId="{70812DB8-8F68-4BCA-AE02-9DC3D22C846D}">19. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{ECC33C7D-E1F8-4D73-86D4-A9703C3A93E6}">What the evidential basis is for his Department’s policy on rent control.</QuestionText> </Question>
There is an injection of housing investment in some parts of my constituency, but sadly it is by landlords who are taking advantage of low house prices to turn family homes and whole terraces into houses in multiple occupation, charging sky-high rents for people to live in single bedrooms, undermining the local community. The Minister has told me a few times that the Government are opposed to rent controls, but will he look again at the evidence and start to consult? It is clear that we need to see rents come down in this country, especially in the most deprived areas.
I thank the Chancellor for her statement. May I ask her to do something for a specific group of people? Constituents who have to rent their home in the private rented market, especially those in more deprived communities like mine, will see their energy bills go up, but their biggest outgoing each month will still be their rent, which all too often is exploitative in areas like mine. We had rent controls in this country from the first world war up until the dying days of Margaret Thatcher’s Government. What can she do, thinking outside the box, to tackle this issue?