Christmas Adjournment

Alan Campbell Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir Alan Campbell)]

It is a pleasure to close this debate, and I thank all Members who have contributed this afternoon. I am grateful to the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), for granting time for this debate. Next time he asks me to protect time for debates because it is getting squeezed, I will have a bit more sympathy with him.

Like any other Member, particularly those from earlier intakes, I am reminded today of the legacy of Sir David Amess, and of his dedication to the people of Southend and to this place. I know that he is more associated with the summer recess Adjournment, but this is a time when we think of him. We are also reminded of the loss of our honourable friend Jo Cox as we head towards what will be the 10th anniversary of her murder. My thoughts, and I hope those of the House, are with Sir David’s and Jo Cox’s families at this time. We remember colleagues and friends, but we are also reminded of the importance of Members’ security; I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and Mr Speaker for making that a priority. However, it is also important that we ensure that respect is at the core of our debates in this Chamber—by and large, today has risen to the occasion—and that we encourage kindness, both in this place and in our constituency.

We have heard from a range of Members on various subjects. Unfortunately, I will not have time to discuss each speech in turn; there were 26 Back-Bench contributions, and there will have been three Front-Bench contributions, which is quite an achievement, given the time available. I will just recognise those who spoke: my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell); my hon. Friends the Members for Newport East (Jessica Morden), for Brent West (Barry Gardiner), for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland), for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law), for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett), for Blackpool South (Chris Webb), for Luton South and South Bedfordshire (Rachel Hopkins), for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer), for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury), for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer); the right hon. Members for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), and for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn); the hon. Members for Harrow East, for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde), for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone), for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), for Leicester South (Shockat Adam), and for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers); and, last but not least, my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson). If I have omitted anybody from that list, I apologise, and if Members have made specific requests for a response from me, I will endeavour to respond in the coming days.

I want to pick up on one or two of the themes of today’s debate. As the shadow Deputy Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), has said, the highlight of today has been the passionate way in which Members in all parts of the House have spoken about their constituency and their constituents. In this wide-ranging debate, we have seen that Members’ knowledge of and closeness to their constituency, and the amount that they care, are sometimes underestimated and underrated by people who follow our proceedings. That is about pride in place, as my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South demonstrated—he is a fantastic advocate for the fine town of Blackpool.

We learned a number of things that we did not know before, or at least I did not know before. We learned that in Romford, there is a Margaret Thatcher House, which I had not come across before. [Interruption.] It is the hon. Member for Romford’s office. He talked about a roundabout; I was very surprised that he has not named that roundabout after Mrs Thatcher, but perhaps you can turn any direction on that roundabout, not just right.

We have learned from a number of people about the importance of volunteers and community organisations. I pay tribute to all of them, including those in my constituency. They act selflessly and work tirelessly—not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. We owe them a great deal, because as I have said on a number of occasions at business questions, they are the golden thread that runs through our communities. Rightly, we also paid tribute to all the people who will be working throughout Christmas—the emergency services, NHS staff, local authority workers, shopkeepers, shop workers and so on—at what will be a particularly busy time for them. I put on record my thanks, and those of the House, for all they do.

The hon. Member for Strangford reminded us about the central message of Christmas. He was absolutely right to do so, as was the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham, and I thank him for that. We were also reminded by my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay about what is happening in Ukraine, and what has been happening there for far too long. We hope that the new year will bring a lasting and just peace to that country. He highlighted the importance of our own national security—that is central to what the Government are doing—throughout the year, not just at this time.

A number of Members raised the hunger strikes. It would be remiss of me not to comment on them. The right hon. Member for Islington North was very gracious when he said that he had raised the matter at business questions, and I had taken it up. He asked if I would do so again; I will certainly make that commitment to him, but I have to say to him, and to others who have raised the issue, that the welfare and wellbeing of prisoners, whether they are on hunger strike or not, is absolutely central to the Prison Service and for Ministers. It is really important that we appreciate that the Deputy Prime Minister takes a keen interest in what is happening, and hopes that we can find a suitable outcome. I also say, very gently, to those in this House and outside, that we could not get further from the truth than to say that the Government or the Prison Service were trying to break the bodies of the people on hunger strike. We want to find a settlement to this, and I give a commitment to take back to the Deputy Prime Minister what has been said here. Hopefully, we can find a suitable way forward.

MPs speak movingly in this place; they rightly speak their mind. I include among those MPs my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase, who talked about tragic loss in his constituency. He was absolutely right to do so. We also found common ground in paying tribute to not just the volunteers who sometimes make the political system work, but our office staff, who are, quite frankly, the unsung heroes on these occasions. I pay tribute to my office staff, as well as the staff of every other Member. I want to express my gratitude to House staff, including the Doorkeepers, cleaners, Clerks, catering, security, broadcasting and Hansard, those involved in visitor experience, as well as our constituency teams, and the civil servants who come together to make this place function. They continue to show an amazing commitment to this place and, through that, to the democratic process.

Of course, Madam Deputy Speaker, our thanks go to you, Mr Speaker and the other Deputy Speakers for everything that you do on our behalf. As we rise for the Christmas recess, I offer my best wishes to all Members and staff, and to those watching and listening, and I hope for a peaceful, safe and happy Christmas and new year.