Business of the House

Jon Trickett Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his Committee’s work, including in the run-up to estimates day. They were good debates; they perhaps had slightly less time than had been anticipated, but it was right that the Security Minister came to this House to update Members on a very important security matter. I join the hon. Gentleman and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean), in wishing everyone involved a happy Holi.

I am sad to hear of the disruption that happened at celebrations in Harrow. I will not comment on the incident because it would not be right for me to do so—there is a police investigation taking place. However, any form of religious hatred is abhorrent and has no place in our society, wherever it happens. I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman on the importance of the language we use as politicians inside and outside this House. I will consider his request about social cohesion and see what we can do in the next few weeks to address his very real concern.

[Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) (Lab)]

I welcome what the Leader of the House said about youth unemployment—it is essential that we tackle this problem. Unlike the Conservative party, which was happy to have 3 million people out of work under Mrs Thatcher, Labour must tackle unemployment. There is also the problem of graduate unemployment. Yesterday we had a 27-year-old constituent who came from a working-class family in an isolated pit village and who managed to get a degree. They were landed with large amounts of debt and have now spent more than a year trying to find a job. Having researched that problem, I find that it looks as though the number of graduate jobs available in our country has fallen by 45% in the last few months. I am sure the whole House feels uncomfortable about that. Can we have a debate about graduate employment, particularly in rural areas?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I agree with my hon. Friend that these matters are of concern. For graduates in particular, the lack of graduate jobs is a concern, as are other matters around jobs in the economy. I suggest that he seeks an Adjournment debate on these matters. They will not be resolved in the short term, and parties across this House will have to put their thinking caps on about the job situation for graduates going forward, not least because of the impact of AI and technology on the economy. It is essential that we engage with and adopt AI and technology, but they have implications for the kind of jobs that are out there going forward.