Daniel Zeichner

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (7 May 2015 – present).

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1. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Gentleman, although I am not sure that the Liberal Democrats are always quite so bold when it comes to local decision making. It is a pleasure to support the measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. I have known him for many years, and he certainly knows Cambridge well. The measures on rough sleeping will be strongly supported in the city of Cambridge. They are the right thing to do, because they also help tackle a problem that I have talked about before, which I described as the pauperisation of the public realm. Over the last few decades, too many of our city centres and towns have not had the investment and care that they needed. That goes some way towards explaining how we can be a country that, by international and historical standards, is well off, yet has a general sense of unhappiness. The fragmentation and privatisation of public services and spaces, widely attributed to decisions made in the 1980s, have come back to haunt us. I was pleased to hear the suggestions in the Chancellor’s speech, echoing the comments made by the Prime Minister over the last few months, that address those points.

   Hansard source
2. 28 Oct 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

   As I said, I think it goes back over decades, and it needs to be reversed. I thought the most radical measure in the Chancellor’s statement was the fiscal devolution. I am someone who, along with many others in the Chamber, has argued for business rates retention over many years. I look forward to seeing how that plays out. I represent a young city, and I am confident and optimistic about the future if we can give our young people the opportunities they need. I was pleased to hear about the measures to support innovation and entrepreneurs. At the Innovate Cambridge summit last week, we were told by local people that as an innovation cluster by density, Cambridge ranked second in the world and first in Europe in 2026. Just a few months earlier, the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board published research showing that the growth corridor has produced 740 university spin-outs—almost 70% more than the fabled Bay area in America—and produces more scientific publications per resident than anywhere else in the world. As we know, all too often we manage to generate tremendous start-ups, but have a problem with scale up. The points in the statement about the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank can help us use the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor to drive prosperity for the whole nation, not just the region. I welcome the announcement of the flexibility that will be offered to the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation, which will allow us to be innovative in the way we use public funds to also pull in private funds. I welcome the optimism and confidence that the Budget brings, but I add one word of caution. The success and strength of cities such as Cambridge, and of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor, is based on the strength of our universities. Colleagues will know that universities are facing acute financial pressures, made more difficult by some of the measures that are being taken to address international students. The changing attitude of UK Visas and Immigration on visa applications is increasing the pressure, while the introduction of the international student levy will increase the financial pressure. I strongly urge my colleagues on the Front Bench to talk to Universities UK and look at alternative ways to fund maintenance grants. I understand and appreciate that there are long-term structural issues, but it is dangerous to allow universities to get so close to the financial brink, and it potentially undermines the success of the Ox-Cam corridor and cities like Cambridge. We should be optimistic about our future. That we have the talent to succeed is based partly on the fact that we attract talent from across the world. We need to remain competitive internationally. Innovation and knowledge are things that we are good at in this country. They should be celebrated, and there are measures in the Budget that will be strongly welcomed by innovators, but we need to ensure that they are not undermined unintentionally as the Government seek to address other issues.<span id="333" class="column-number" data-column-number="333"></span>

   Hansard source
3. 15 Oct 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Sustainable Farming Incentive

   The plain truth is that, when the Conservatives introduced this scheme in the previous Parliament, it was a complex scheme and the IT systems in particular were not in place to administer it properly. Conservative Front Benchers know that. These IT systems take years to develop. Colleagues at the Rural Payments Agency have done a heroic job working around the existing systems. That is why it is so difficult to make this scheme work in the difficult circumstances across the country. Does my hon. Friend agree that a little contrition from the Conservatives would be welcome as we try to fix this system?

   Hansard source
4. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   UK Coach Industry

   Given the importance of the coach industry, I wonder whether my hon. Friend agrees that parking arrangements for coaches have never been given proper consideration. In a city like Cambridge, a tourist hotspot, it is a long-running problem.

   Hansard source
5. 12 Oct 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Rejoining the EU

   Yes. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward. This feels like old times for some of us here. I remember leading two Petitions Committee debates and speaking in the legendary 2019 debate, when some 6 million people had signed the petition, including over 28,000 in Cambridge. Today I am grateful to the 323 in Cambridge who have done so. I doubt very much whether many of those 28,000 have changed their minds, but I think quite a few others possibly have. I agree with the petitioners: we should be in the EU. We should never have left. Sadly, there is not a simple on/off switch. Coming out was long, painful and costly, and I fear that going back in will be equally so. I remember being asked by people—sometimes people who had fallen for that ridiculous slogan, “Get Brexit done”—“When will Brexit be over?” They looked pained when I told them the answer was never, because leaving the EU did not and could not solve the shared problems that we will always have to tackle with our neighbours. It just took away a long-established, albeit far from perfect, mechanism for dealing with them, which means we need other mechanisms: the cumbersome and opaque EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement and the shadowy joint committees. As was famously observed about democracy in general, it might not be good, but it is better than all the alternatives. I think it is much better than the worst alternative. I was fiercely proud to be a citizen of Europe, and I was furious at having my rights torn away. Sir Edward, you require short speeches, so here are two reflections from my ministerial experience. First, in my many encounters with ministerial colleagues across the European Union, I was always struck by the warmth and generosity and the lack of rancour. They want us back, as many now openly say. Secondly, I would also reflect that the EU has not stood still. It has changed to meet changing circumstances, which creates some serious challenges for us. But it could also offer opportunities even for the talismanic fishing sector, which was promised so much and gained so little from Brexit. Current discussion in Europe around reform of the common fisheries policy, as well as the offers made to Iceland, offer potential new opportunities. Even on precision breeding, an area of particular concern to the food sector, the European Union is moving closer to our position. How frustrating that we are on the very fringe of such discussions because we chose to exclude ourselves. In conclusion, I am pleased that the Prime Minister has opened up the debate, but our first priority must be to secure a closer relationship. The phytosanitary agreement <span id="20WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="20WH"></span>is a really important step, not least to help tackle the grievous treatment of Northern Ireland. There never was and never can be a solution to that border conundrum without close alignment. Whether it is customs union or single market, Switzerland or Norway, the truth is that every version has advantages and disadvantages, and they need to be assessed calmly because 2016 did not do anyone credit. Some said, “Apocalypse Now”; some said, “Heaven on earth”. Frankly, both were wide of the mark. The best deal was the one we had, and it was thrown away. Now we should support the Minister and the Government in trying to salvage the best we can. But, in the end, we are Europeans, and we should be in.

   Hansard source
6. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Topical Questions

   I welcome the announcements on school meals, but given that young campaigners at Bite Back last week identified that some three quarters of secondary schools do not provide meals that meet Government standards, what can the Minister do to boost enforcement?

   Hansard source
7. 9 Sep 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Bus Stops

   My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the location of bus stops. I am so frustrated when I have taken the train to Cambridge, arrive at the station, see the bus, but have to walk 200 yards around the platform, come out of the station and walk 200 yards back to the bus stop, to find the bus has gone. Why are bus stops such a low priority?

   Hansard source
8. 9 Sep 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Bus Stops

   I recall, as a shadow Minister, visiting a major institution in the country and sending the management into panic when I asked them where the bus stop was to get back to the station. They had to go and ask the cleaner, and the cleaner told me, “You won’t find it because it’s not marked.” I said, “How does anyone know where the bus comes?” The cleaner said, “The people who use the bus know.” Is that not, I am afraid, an indication of the low priority given in some places to the bus as a mode of transport?

   Hansard source
9. 7 Sep 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

   Topical Questions

   I welcome the Government’s plans to deepen devolution, but can the Minister reassure me that they will mean no alteration to the commitment to a Cambridge development corporation?

   Hansard source
10. 7 Sep 2026·Parliament·Daniel Zeichner

    Local Government Reorganisation

    Devolution and local government reorganisation are different things. To be honest, they should probably be considered separately, but they have become so interlinked and intertwined in this debate that it is impossible to do so. If we are to have a stronger devolution settlement, it is right to spend more time getting it right. Does the Secretary of State agree that any new structures that emerge should be based on economic growth and dynamism, rather than having to be built on existing districts? Those building blocks were established in a very different economic era.

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