Joe Morris

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (4 Jul 2024 – present).

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1. 3 Nov 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Young People and Work: Milburn Interim Report

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. In the north-east, almost one in five young people—over 53,000 young people—are not in education, employment or training. Every week, whether I am in Haltwhistle, Haydon Bridge, Allendale, Bellingham, Prudhoe, Hexham itself, Throckley or any of the other 200 communities that make up my constituency, I meet young people who are being failed in different ways by a system that has for a long time failed to perform for them. For a long time, constituencies like mine simply have not been part of the national conversation on this issue. Rural youth unemployment has been off the political agenda for quite some time. I think it was in 2012 when the Commission for Rural Communities warned that rural NEET numbers were rising fast and no one in government was taking overall responsibility for it. In my communities, this is a crisis that is rooted in decades of complacency and failure to take on the underlying factors. It is hard enough for young people to find a job at the moment without having to worry about a bus that may never arrive or a train that may not be on time. I want to touch briefly in the short time I have—I would make a longer speech if I had time—on the requirement for post-16 travel support. We must make sure that any holistic system that comes forward works for the entirety of the communities it serves. In Northumberland, the post-16 support that does exist is targeted largely at the central Alnwick to Morpeth corridor rather than at west Northumberland. The Morpeth Conservatives who run the country council are largely occupied with making sure the system works for that corridor rather than being a holistic solution for the entire county. That is not something that happens by accident; it is due to the ongoing neglect of the west of the county by the county council. Let me ask the Minister three further things. Will the system be rural-proofed from the start, will the Government look further at councils to bolster the post-16 travel duty, and will they back vocational and SEND provision closer to where young people live, even in rural communities where the headcount is naturally smaller?

   Hansard source
2. 3 Nov 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Train Services: Extreme Weather

   It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for securing such an important—and, given the weather on Sunday, timely—debate. When the weather turns, the Tyne valley finds out very quickly how well looked after its railway has been over the years. Last Tuesday, for example, 20 services were cancelled across the Northern network because of Storm Boelo and the whole Carlisle to Newcastle line was disrupted. I grew up in my constituency and know what the morning after a particularly rough bit of weather looks like: people get a message on their app saying “Cancelled” or see that message at the train station, they make an apologetic phone call to their boss or client, and they wait for news at home, in the station coffee shop or just hanging around under the shelter. But this is about far more than just one storm. Extreme weather is no longer the exception. Heavy rain, flooding, landslips, high winds and extreme heat are all hitting the safe and reliable running of services, and climate change is the driving cause, as has been said. The problem is that our railway was not built for this. Most of our infrastructure is of Victorian origin. Around 90% of Network Rail’s assets in my constituency were installed before the year 2000. Our rails are stressed. We exceeded the standard operating limit of around 30° in 2022. Track has been recorded at 51°. The July 2022 heatwave alone cut performance by 40% to 50% and cost £30 million in lost revenue in a single week. We have seen that replicated every year since. The result is buckled track, sagging wires and failing embankments. Those are the headlines, but behind each disruption is a personal story. In Haltwhistle, closure of the line turns hospital appointments into an ordeal. In Haydon Bridge or Bardon Mill, it means people potentially losing out on a day’s work. In Corbridge, Riding Mill or Stocksfield, it means commuters being forced on to roads that could be flooded or blocked. In Prudhoe or Wylam, it means people being forced on to a bus that carries a fraction of what a train can. Rural lines like those in my constituency feel it first, and feel it worst. Cities have other routes. In the Tyne valley, when the railway goes, all that is left is the A69, which immediately becomes congested. I want to add to the weather problem the trains problem. I recently wrote to Northern about the lack of capacity between Hexham and Newcastle and across the west of my constituency, including the absence of extra trains when Newcastle United are playing at home. It is hard to square the aspiration of a modern, passenger-focused railway with the fact that predictable surges in demand are managed by existing timetables. Northern has been candid with me that too much of the fleet is approaching the end of its operational life and needs ever more repair. Those units become unavailable unexpectedly because Northern runs many different types of train and not all are compatible with all routes, which limits its ability to move units around to strengthen services. I am grateful for that honesty, but thinking it through again, when a storm hits and units fail, there is no spare train and no flexibility. An old fleet and an old network are asked to cope with a climate that neither was designed for. That is what 14 years of putting off tough decisions looks like to rural communities in my constituency, some of which face extensive difficulties even getting to the central train line. In Bellingham, Slaggyford, Knarsdale, Allendale or up in Stamfordham, an unreliable local bus that has been cut by the Morpeth Conservatives often does not arrive on time or at all. I welcome the Government bringing the railway back into public hands and the new trains programme—the Minister is aware of my enthusiasm for that—but the structures are not resilient. Let me put a few challenges to the Minister. First, we need sustained investment in resilience rather than simply repair. We cannot answer extreme weather with more cancellations and permanent reliance on precautionary speed restrictions. Will he look at longer-term funding for renewals and maintenance so that the embankments, drainage and track are built for the climate that we have now and the one that is coming over the hill? Secondly, we need safety and reliability together. The choice is not between accepting disruption and taking risks. Train drivers see and tell me of ageing infrastructure and extreme weather at first hand. Their experience must be part of how we plan for the decades ahead. Will the Minister make sure that it is? Thirdly, we need spare capacity. Will the Minister press Northern on how the new trains programme will give the Tyne valley the flexibility to respond when something goes wrong—and when something goes right, like when there is a full stadium on a Mags or Newcastle Red Bulls match day? Fourthly, we need a plan for the day if it goes wrong. We need proper replacement services, early and honest information, and a recovery plan in place for rural lines before the storm, rather than my constituency feeling like it is consistently improvised after the fact. There is a bigger argument too: if we wish to hit our climate goals we need to get more people and more freight on to rail. Domestic transport accounts for 30% of our territorial greenhouse gas emissions and road vehicles represent around 90% of that figure. Rail is a fraction of that. A single freight train could replace up to 129 lorry movements. We cannot ask people to switch to rail and give them a railway that falls over at the first sign of trouble. The people of the Tyne valley and my constituency more broadly are not asking for luxury; they are simply asking for a railway that works when the weather does not.

   Hansard source
3. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Council Housing

   Sir Jeremy, it is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship. Across the span of one of England’s largest constituencies, housing, or the lack of it, is one of the main drivers of people coming to my constituency surgeries. It is one of the main drivers of people in desperate need of a place to call home, as my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) has just movingly set out. It is an issue that needs to be taken far more seriously, not just in this place but across the country. The particular lack of access to affordable and social housing in some of our most rural communities is something that has escaped much of the national debate in recent years. Unfortunately, I must say that the Morpeth Conservatives, who run Northumberland county council, are currently engaged in what I can only describe as an ongoing misinformation exercise about the impact of <span id="99WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="99WH"></span>trying to provide more housing. It is very clear to me that what is needed across Northumberland is appropriate development of the homes that are needed to allow people to build lives and communities, and to keep those communities together and functioning, but also to provide long-term stability to young people growing up in those communities, so that they know they will be able to have a life where they have grown up, should they wish to, rather than growing up with their noses pressed against the windows of communities that they will never be able to be part of because they cannot get a home there. I will not keep colleagues’ attention for too long, but the crucial thing, from where I stand, is delivering those homes in areas where people can have access to them, where they can be rented at a reasonable rate, and, crucially, ensuring that they are not removed from circulation but are accessible to local people, so that those people can work in the pubs, shops and businesses that keep the lifeblood of our communities moving. Without that, we will continue to see younger people forced out of rural communities, forced to leave their families and unable to care for their elderly relatives. That is something that comes up far too often—time and again—in my regular constituency surgeries.

   Hansard source
4. 27 Oct 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Council Housing

   On that point, will the hon. Lady give way?

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5. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL] (First sitting)

   No!

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6. 20 Oct 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [LORDS] (Second sitting)

   May I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to bear in mind and consider the impact on residents near airports in my constituency who are affected by airport drop-off charges? They also have hire vehicles that create a bit of a nuisance to public spaces, green spaces and gardens across my constituency.

   Hansard source
7. 15 Oct 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Sustainable Farming Incentive

   As my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) said, upland farms by their very nature have to be larger. I met upland farmers in Northumberland recently and I heard their frustration that window 1 of the SFI excluded them simply because their farms were too big geographically to be included in it. Will the Minister commit to work with me, other Northumberland MPs, my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle and the NFU uplands group to ensure that a redesigned scheme properly supports upland farms?

   Hansard source
8. 15 Sep 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Saudi East-West Oil Pipeline

   May I echo the comments of the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) about heating oil, and express my concern for rural communities in my constituency? Does this not demonstrate the urgency of—as the Minister said—moving away from unstable oil from unstable parts of the world, and the need to double down on domestic production of renewables, not just to generate energy, but to increase our renewables production capacity? Will the Minister join me on a visit to Humshaugh Net Zero to see community energy projects in my constituency that already have widespread public support and are doing more to generate energy in Northumberland?

   Hansard source
9. 10 Sep 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

   Topical Questions

   <Question HRSContentId="{B0F021B9-FC36-4633-92D1-6C40E606A001}">T8. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{3CD832E5-A982-45BC-AD65-67ABEC8248D3}"></QuestionText>I welcomed the announcement that the First Secretary of State and the Prime Minister made over the summer on reforming procurement to benefit British businesses. On my summer tour of my constituency, I met large groups of local farmers, who have seen previous procurement reforms not quite benefit farmers as they would have liked. I visit farms in Northumberland, unlike my predecessors, so will the Minister join me on a visit to a local farm to discuss how procurement can benefit British farmers?</Question>

   Hansard source
10. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Joe Morris

    Israel and Palestine

    I congratulate the Foreign Secretary on his statement and the manner in which it was delivered. I want to ask about international collaboration and how the allegations of war crimes can be addressed and compiled so that those responsible can eventually be brought to justice. I am thinking not only of the situation in Gaza and the west bank, but of the actions in southern Lebanon. Can the Foreign Secretary illuminate me on the plans to ensure that the allegations of the alleged crimes are properly compiled?

    Hansard source

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