Oral Answers to Questions

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Wednesday 6th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her role and thank her for her tribute to Baroness Kinnock and to Allan Rogers. Glenys Kinnock was an inspiration to our Labour movement, to her many friends and colleagues around the world, but most of all to her family. As the Kinnock family grieve, we send them our love and deepest sympathy.

On public spending in Wales, the Prime Minister promised, when abandoning HS2, that the north Wales main line would be electrified, at a cost of £1 billion. In the past eight years, construction costs have increased by 7% a year, because of the Government’s economic mismanagement. Will the Minister confirm that the last time any cost assessment was done on electrification was in 2015 and that the scheme will now cost between £1.5 billion and £1.8 billion?

[Fay Jones]

I join the hon. Lady in her comments about the Kinnock family.

It is important to recognise that this Government are the first in many decades to commit to that project. I am sorry that she appears to agree with her colleagues in the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay, who seem to say that this is not a priority; Conservative Members feel that electrification and economic growth in north Wales is a priority, and I am sorry that she cannot agree with that.

[Jo Stevens]

If it is such a priority, why has nothing been done since 2015, when the cost assessment was undertaken? The hon. Lady’s Government promised to electrify the south Wales main line, but they did not do so. They promised to improve journey times and connections between south Wales and London, but they did not do that either. She has not given an answer on whether the Government will fully fund electrification, so how can she stand there and claim to the people in north Wales that this project has any prospect whatsoever of being completed by this hapless Government?

[Fay Jones]

I say again that the hon. Lady’s party has already dismissed this project as not a priority. I also say again that north Wales is a priority for this Government; we are determined to level up right across this country and especially to focus on areas that the Welsh Labour Government, in south Wales, have completely ignored.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

This month has seen dreadful news for steel businesses and steelworkers in Wales. Steel is an energy-intensive industry, and its operating costs during the cost of living crisis have rocketed. Thirteen years of Conservative Governments have seen decline, offshored jobs and damaged communities.

Steel is integral to a modern economy. Labour will put Welsh and UK steel at the heart of our wider industrial policy, building wind turbines, railways and investing in carbon capture and storage and in hydrogen infrastructure. Other than creating a cost of living crisis, what is the Government’s plan for our steel industry and for steelworkers’ jobs?

[David T. C. Davies]

First of all, the news from Liberty in Newport was very disappointing and is very concerning for many people. That has not come about as a result of actions by the UK Government, as I think the hon. Lady will recognise; there are other issues pertaining there.

The UK Government are completely committed to the steel industry. We demonstrated that with a £30 million loan to Celsa during the covid crisis, and we have demonstrated it with the various schemes that have been brought forward to support industries with high energy use. We are developing a scheme that will enable those in the industry, such as Tata, to decarbonise. We are also in discussions with Tata about how we can support it further over the coming years.

[Jo Stevens]

Steelworkers need a Government on their side. The industry needs a partner that can provide stability, not sticking plasters. Floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea is a real opportunity for our steel industry and the wider supply chain in Wales. It would also help to mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis for many Welsh businesses in the supply chain. If the Government do not provide the necessary stability, we will see platforms being built in France and Spain and floated over to the Welsh coast, which would be absolutely unconscionable. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the Crown Estate leases will use local supply chains in Wales?

[David T. C. Davies]

I have met the Crown Estate on a number of occasions to discuss the next bidding round for the sites out in the Celtic sea. Obviously we hope to develop the industry. I agree with the brunt of the hon. Lady’s question, which is about the importance of developing a floating offshore wind industry off the coast of Wales. I have been trying to ensure that the supply chain is as local as possible. That is why we have supported the conversations between developers and the Crown Estate; it is also why I have personally visited Pembrokeshire to ensure that the growth deal there supports the new infrastructure at the dock that can allow those projects to be floated out to sea. We are actually doing a great deal to support the floating offshore wind industry in Wales.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty the Queen

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Saturday 10th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

So many words have been said and written already about the late Queen, but I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak from the Back Benches today and pay tribute, on behalf of my constituents in Cardiff Central, to the late Queen.

Cardiff Central is a really young constituency; the average age of the people I represent is among the youngest of any constituency in the United Kingdom. So for nearly every one of them and for me, the late Queen is the only monarch that we have lived under. Being the constituency at the centre of the capital city of Wales, we were lucky in having the late Queen visit on many occasions. She always received a very warm Welsh welcome. In 1948, Princess Elizabeth, as she then was, was the first ever person to be awarded the freedom of Cardiff, and in July 1953, just a month after her coronation, she made her first official visit to Wales as Queen, visiting Cardiff Central, where thousands of well-wishers lined the route of the royal procession to Cardiff city hall. It was during the British Empire and Commonwealth games in 1958 that the Queen, in a recorded message to those assembled at Cardiff Arms Park, announced her intention to make her son Prince Charles—now King Charles—the Prince of Wales. Yesterday, our new King announced his decision to pass the title on to our new Prince and Princess of Wales, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Wales.

The late Queen was a dedicated patron of many charities and organisations across Wales including, for 50 years, the Welsh Rugby Union. To mark the centenary of the WRU in 1980, she wrote a message on a rugby ball which was relayed all the way from London via numerous rugby clubs in Wales before it eventually arrived at Cardiff Arms Park, where a joint England and Wales team played a joint Scotland and Ireland team in a special game to mark the centenary. In 1999, when we hosted the rugby world cup final at the brand new Millennium stadium, the Queen presented the trophy to the winning Australian team. Very many people have fond memories of those royal visits to Cardiff Central, and on behalf of my constituents I send our deepest sympathy and our gratitude to King Charles III and the royal family. It is gratitude for the late Queen’s absolute dedication to a lifetime of public service, her dignity and her decency. Thank you, Ma’am.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

The boss of oil giant BP said last month that it had more money than it knows what to do with, which is completely the opposite situation to that of households right across Wales that cannot cope with record inflation and astronomical energy bills under the watch of the right hon. Gentleman’s Government, so why will he and the Chancellor not agree to a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas producers?

[Simon Hart]

There are two points I would like to make. The first one I have already made, which is not to prejudge what the Chancellor is going to say in his statement in a few minutes’ time, which will address this and I hope numerous other issues that are occupying the minds of Members across the House, in fact. As far as the second point is concerned, I am afraid a slightly well-trodden path of the Opposition is to confront every possible problem by finding somebody and taxing them. We do not believe that is necessarily the answer, because we want energy companies to be part of the solution and also to be part of future and ongoing investment in energy infrastructure, and they will not do that—and will not be able to do that—if all the Government’s responses are simply, as I say, to identify them and tax them. It may be a populist gesture, but it is not actually going to solve the problem that we both wish to try to resolve.

[Jo Stevens]

I am afraid the Secretary of State is completely out of touch with public opinion on this. Polling this week, published by 38 Degrees, shows that 69% of the Welsh public say that the Government’s energy bill loan package is not enough to help those struggling with their energy bills, and 67% support Labour’s windfall tax because it would mean £200 off energy bills now and £600 off energy bills for the hardest-hit households in Wales. This would be a tax on the unexpected profits of oil and gas companies, so why is he on the side of those oil and gas companies, not on the side of the Welsh public?

[Simon Hart]

I think that just defaulting to a 38 Degrees petition as if that is some kind of solution to a very complex and long-standing problem is a cheap and populist way out of this. We are taking a more responsible view, as I hope she will hear from the Chancellor later. There have already been numerous interventions—for example, we have provided an additional £180 million to the Welsh Government in this particular context—so I urge the hon. Member not just to press the petition button and think that that is all the Opposition have to do. We have to do a lot more than that if we are serious about addressing the long-term challenges that face us all. None of us is without this: we all have constituents with these problems and we all know exactly the challenges she refers to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

May I welcome the new shadow Secretary of State, Jo Stevens, to her new position, and thank her for what she did previously?

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker; happy new year to you, and, if I may, blwyddyn newydd dda i chi i gyd—happy new year to all.

I am afraid I was a bit disappointed with the Secretary of State’s answer to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) about HS2 reclassification as an England-only rail project, because it is utterly illogical to designate it an England and Wales project. Crossrail has an England-only classification; HS2 should as well. In addition to that missing £4.6 billion of rail funding for Wales, the analysis of his own Treasury colleagues confirms that HS2 will result in an economic disadvantage to Wales estimated at £150 million every year. Levelling up will remain an empty Government slogan unless he persuades his Cabinet colleagues to cough up, so will he do that?

[Simon Hart]

May I also welcome the hon. Lady to her place? I much enjoyed our time on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee where we worked in harmony on many different subjects for quite a long time, and I was hoping we might be able to continue that habit across the Dispatch Box; things are starting quite well, I think. However, I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question and look forward to further discussions. I would just point out that there has been more than £430 million of rail funding so far, including £125 million for the core valley lines and £58 million for Cardiff Central station; I could go through the list but I think Mr Speaker would stop me. This constant refrain, and going over old ground, about whether HS2 has any benefits for Wales is an overused cliché; we all know there are significant direct and indirect benefits to Wales from the HS2 project and that will continue to be the case.

[Jo Stevens]

There is another conversation the Secretary of State should be having with Cabinet colleagues about HS2 and Wales. Ministers have previously confirmed that around 2 million tonnes of steel will be used across HS2, but I am going to upset him again by mentioning that £4.6 billion that the Government are cutting from Wales. The Transport Minister has just confirmed that there is no target for the use of UK or Welsh steel in HS2 construction, so will the Secretary of State commit today to making the case in Cabinet for a Welsh steel target for HS2 construction to protect Welsh steel jobs, and will he come back to the House to confirm that he has done that?

[Simon Hart]

I am very happy, as ever, to make the case for Welsh steel; indeed, we have done so on numerous occasions, and if the hon. Lady is in any doubt about our commitment to it she need only turn her mind back to the beginning of the pandemic when nearly 1,000 steelworkers in her own city were saved as a result of Government intervention. Our commitment to Welsh steel, and in particular its being used strategically and extensively in UK infrastructure projects, is completely undiminished, and I am always happy to join forces with her to make that case.

Lobby and Media Briefings: Journalists' Access

Jo Stevens Excerpts

Tuesday 4th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

I am grateful for that view from a senior Member of the House. My right hon. Friend is correct: what we are seeing here is a very normal operation whereby a specialist briefing is offered. That is a good thing, and we are doing that to support the other ways in which we are already an extremely open and accessible Government, providing briefing and access through a range of channels so that people can be well-informed.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

Mr Speaker:

“Attacks on media freedom are attacks on human rights…Too often, it is governments who are the source of threats to media freedom. Governments—which are responsible for protecting human rights—instead are the ones to violate them.”

Those are not my words, but words taken directly from the global pledge on media freedom that was signed last July by the then Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt). The Minister clearly does not understand what media freedom means; does she understand what hypocrisy means?

[Chloe Smith]

I do not think the hon. Lady understands that her party has been the worst of all on this point. Her party is the one that has offered to open up journalists’ tax returns and has had to provide bodyguards to journalists. All that is because the leader of her party is of the kind of bent that looks down a camera and says, “Change is coming.” Well, the British people ensured that he was the one who was changed. The hon. Lady should heed that.