Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Monday 29th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I know we have corresponded on this recently, and I know my right hon. Friend is taking a close personal interest and has been involved directly and personally in multiple cases. In my most recent letter—I am not sure if it will have arrived yet—I have said that we will as a Department work with her.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)]

I thank the Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State for their comments about the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in my constituency last week. There is obviously now a criminal investigation ongoing and a charge of attempted murder, so it would not be wise to speculate, but as education is devolved in Wales, will the Secretary of State pledge to work with the Welsh Government to ensure safety measures, following the various investigations having completed their work?

[Gillian Keegan]

Yes, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I am always willing and ready to work with anyone from the devolved Administrations.

Budget Resolutions

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I hope the House will forgive me if I do not follow the hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) in being relentlessly partisan. We are dealing with enormously complex issues.

I listened to the Chancellor’s peroration—his hymn of praise to a low-tax, deregulated economy—and it brought a tear to the eye of a weary Thatcherite. But having sat through 50 Budgets, because there are sometimes two a year, and having listened to so many Labour and Conservative Chancellors, I know that, when one reads the small print the next day, one tends to find that the Chancellor has taken by stealth what he has given publicly.

I know that we face one of the greatest challenges in our history, with the pandemic, but the truth is that we are now taxing people higher than at any level since the Attlee Government. As we pursue levelling up, are we going to bring in ration cards on eggs and meat, as the Attlee Government did? I am looking now at the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who I hope is listening to every word I am saying. We are—to quote the Prime Minister in another context—at “one minute to midnight” in terms of our future as a tax-cutting Government. With mortgages going up, inflation going up, and a £3,000 increase per household to fund £150 billion of spending, soon we will be paying £1 trillion in tax. Who will pay for this? It will be the people who elect us Conservative MPs and middle earners in middle Britain. Even beer will go up. Inflation may be up to 5% next year, putting at risk the forecasts of the Chancellor. We are breaking the triple lock on pensions, which I think is probably necessary, which might result in another £30 billion being taken out of the hands of pensioners over the next two decades.

On inheritance tax, we are freezing the band, so more and more people with modest homes are being brought into inheritance tax. On the health and social care levy, we might be taking up to £85 billion off older people. With the fiscal drag on income tax, we are bringing another million people into the higher tax level—and this is a Conservative Government. This is what the Chief Secretary to the Treasury must do: every time his colleagues beg him for more money for this and more money for that, he has to say no.

We should bear in mind what happened in 1945. The coalition Government during the war were the highest-taxing Government in history and the most regulating Government in history—we regulated people’s private lives more than we have ever done in the past 70 years, including during the pandemic. What was the result? It was a Labour Government. People looked at the coalition Government and they turned to what they thought would be the real McCoy, namely, a Labour Government. So get a grip. I know that we have these challenges. I probably could not do any better, but we have to get a grip now.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Sir Edward Leigh]

No, because I am only allowed six minutes.

I use the NHS. I do not have private health insurance. I do not use private health. I rely totally on the NHS. Fantastic care has been given to me by nurses and doctors, but it is a bottomless pit. The more we increase funding of the NHS above inflation, the lower the productivity. We saw that in the Labour Government under Blair and Brown and it is happening now. We are even seeing it now with GPs quite disgracefully refusing to see people. So we must grip the NHS. We heard the Education Secretary half an hour ago. His own budget now is being squeezed because of the huge increases in health spending. If we are to match the Chancellor’s wonderful peroration to create a low-tax, deregulated economy, the most important Minister from now on is the procurement Minister—the Minister who has the courage to say no.

I do not wish to sound relentlessly critical. I do not pretend that any of us could do any better, but we have to be honest and true to our Conservative instincts and tell people that they should not always rely on the state. We should help them to get out of the clutches of the state. To tackle health spending and to relieve pressure on the NHS, the Major Government allowed people of pensionable age to claim tax relief on private health insurance. That was fiercely opposed by the Labour Government. Mr Major is hardly a right-wing extremist. He was prepared to do it. He was prepared to take millions out of relying on the NHS by giving tax relief. It was a bold Conservative idea to wean people off the state.

Why are we a property-owning democracy? It is because, for many years, we gave tax relief on people’s mortgages. Families who before could only leave a few sticks of furniture to their children became property owners. As they became property owners, they became Conservatives. That is why these planning reforms are so important. That is why it is important for my children, who are in their 20s and 30s, to be allowed to get on the property ladder. By easing planning controls, we can build more and get people on the property ladder. That is a true Conservative idea. We have to have the courage to propel that view forward, whatever people might argue from a nimby point of view. I am probably as good a nimby as anyone else. We are all nimbys when it comes to our personal lives and people who want to build around us, but we have to build more. We have to help our young people—a strong Conservative idea.

Look at our tax system. We have the longest tax code in the world after India. Look at the poisoned chalice that Gordon Brown left us in the 45% tax increase. We have never had the courage to get rid of that. People are driving themselves up companies and creating wealth, but instead of flattening out taxes, which is what Nigel Lawson did, we have not yet had the courage to get rid of that higher tax burden.

When it comes to levelling up, Gainsborough South West ward is the 27th most deprived ward in the country. I am very proud of the fact that we have achieved some levelling-up funds, but the process was directed not at endless schemes or at consultants, but just at infrastructure —on repairing the historic houses in the marketplace, which is something that we could control.

As I end my speech and obey your summons, Mr Deputy Speaker, to speak for fewer than six minutes, let me say to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury: be bold, be Conservative and get people out of the clutches of the state.

Schools and Colleges: Qualification Results and Full Opening

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I am very aware that my constituency neighbour, who has been out campaigning and doing everything he can to get all children in his constituency back into school, is a real champion of their educational achievements and what children are doing right across Dudley North. He is right to highlight that study, and the fact that there will be more harm done to children by their not returning to school than by coming back to school. We all know the benefits, and this is not just about education; it is also about the physical health and mental health that children gain from being back in school. That is why it was vital to open schools before the summer, and that is why it is so vital to have every child back in school enjoying the true joy of what school is able to offer them.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)]

Diolch yn fawr, Mr Deputy Speaker. Watching the A-levels results fiasco from back home in Wales, it seemed that the policy of the Labour Government in my country closely resembled the policy of the Secretary of State’s Department. Can he outline how closely the Governments were working together?

[Gavin Williamson]

It is fair to say that the Scottish National party in Scotland, the Conservatives in England, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in Wales, and the Democratic Unionist party and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland had a very common approach. The Labour party, as well as all parties, has been of the view that calculated grades and moderation within the system were an important part of ensuring fairness within the system. It was a common political consensus across the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Monday 10th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

We are spending record amounts on school funding—£42.4 billion this year—but we accept that schools are facing some cost pressures. We are helping schools with their resource management, and we are providing national buying schemes so that they can buy things such as energy and computers more cheaply.

We are also introducing a free teacher vacancy scheme, which is being rolled out later this year—it has already been piloted in Cambridgeshire and the north-east—and which will save schools £78 million a year.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Is the Minister aware that the Treasury has not funded the teachers’ pay increase for Welsh teachers, and therefore that, if there is to be a pay increase for teachers in Wales, it will mean redundancies, a reduction in provision for pupils with special educational needs and a reduction in school investment budgets?

[Nick Gibb]

We have managed to fund the pay award from within the Department for Education’s own budget, and we expect the Welsh Government to be able to do the same.

Higher Education and Research Bill

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion: House of Commons & Ways and Means resolution: House of Commons
Tuesday 19th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The Bill will help in two ways. Not only will it naturally bring the research councils together under one umbrella organisation; it will give that organisation a much more powerful voice when developing links with the business community. I know from the time I spent in industry before entering the House that the link in Britain between academia and research and business is a strong one, but one that can be strengthened further. As we consider how our country will be successful as we navigate through the Brexit process, making the most not only of our young people’s talents, but of our most world-class research institutions and the brains within them will be key.

The Bill will bring into being a new body called UK Research and Innovation that will strengthen the strategic approach to future challenges, while maximising the value of the Government’s investment of more than £6 billion a year in research and innovation. UKRI will provide a strong, unified voice for the UK’s research and innovation funding system on the global stage, cementing Britain’s world-leading position. UKRI and the Office for Students will work closely together to ensure that there is a co-ordinated, strategic approach to the funding of teaching and research in England.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Welsh universities have traditionally had an awful deal out of the seven research councils structure. In 2014-15, we received 2% of the total budget, whereas our population share would demand at least 5%. Does the Secretary of State think that that 2% is fair for Welsh universities, and what will the new structure do to address the situation? Would it not be better to create four research councils for the four component parts of the British state and Barnett-ise the funding?

[Justine Greening]

The Bill is about strengthening our capacity to do world-beating research. The money will follow where the excellence is. I have no doubt that there is significant excellence in Wales. That is why there has been significant funding for some of our world-class research that is taking place in that part of the UK. The Bill is about enabling the seven research councils to add up to more, as Sir Paul Nurse said, by bringing them under one umbrella.

The Bill will ensure that the UK is equipped to carry out more multidisciplinary research and to better respond with agility and flexibility to the latest research challenges. By bringing Innovate UK into UKRI, we will harness the opportunities across business as well, so that business-led innovation and world-class research can better come together and translate our world-class knowledge into world-class innovation. Innovate UK will retain its individual funding stream and continue its support for business-led technology and innovation.

We are protecting in law, for the first time ever, the dual-support research funding system in England—a system that many people consider to have underpinned universities’ confidence to invest in long-term research and that has contributed to our well-deserved global reputation for excellence.

The formation of UKRI will provide crucial support during this period of change in our relationship with the European Union. As we face new challenges, we need a strong and unified voice to represent the interests of the research and innovation community across Government, across Europe and around the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend’s approach is commendable, as is the work that he is doing in Corby to secure Tata Steel’s future. As I hope he understands, there is a limited amount that we can say about what is a very commercially sensitive process, but let me reassure him that we are doing everything we can.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is of strategic importance to the economies of Wales and the wider United Kingdom to keep the blast furnaces in Port Talbot operational following any future takeover? Will he consider introducing a steelmaking-specific enterprise incentive scheme, as advocated in the management buyout option, to provide the fiscal incentive that is required to safeguard steelmaking in Wales?

[Sajid Javid]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman in that I, too, want to see a future for steelmaking in Wales, and we are doing everything that we can to help with that. He mentioned the management buyout proposal. We are taking a very careful look at that, and would, of course, be willing to work with those involved.

Trade Union Bill

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Brennan]

I am coming on in a few moments to talk about the so-called respect agenda, and I hope that I will then answer the hon. Gentleman’s point. Our amendments would ensure that devolved Administrations could decide how best to engage with their staff and trade unions when delivering devolved public services, rather than being subject to a highly partisan central diktat—I believe this what the hon. Gentleman was referring to—from a Government in possession of no mandate in many parts of the UK.

I can recall the Prime Minister travelling to Wales when he was first elected, and declaring that when it came to Wales and the other devolved Administrations, he would govern on the basis of respect. He called that his “respect agenda”. With that promise in mind, the Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones, wrote to the Prime Minister expressing his concerns about the Trade Union Bill and its complete lack of respect for the role of the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales. He pointed out that the Supreme Court, in its judgment on the Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill, ruled that depending on a UK Government Bill’s impact on devolved services, it could be subject to a legislative consent motion, even if it could also be classified as relating to matters that were otherwise reserved. Our Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, wrote today to the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, calling for a legislative consent motion; she has also called for Scottish local authorities, regardless of political persuasion, to refuse to implement changes when there is no consent.

I want to make it clear that our commitment to solidarity for all workers means that Labour opposes the Bill on behalf of workers and trade unions throughout the United Kingdom. We believe that simply devolving employment and industrial relations—for example, to Scotland—would play into the Conservative Government’s hands, and would result in a race to the bottom on workplace rights and privatisation, which could only have a detrimental impact on workers throughout the UK.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Can the hon. Gentleman confirm that the Welsh Government will present a legislative consent motion in relation to Wales? I can assure him that he will have the support of Plaid Cymru if they do.

[Kevin Brennan]

I think that I would be equally guilty of arrogance were I to assume the role of devolved Ministers in the Welsh Government. However, the letter from the First Minister clearly indicated that a legislative consent motion was under consideration.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Skills (Nick Boles)]

We have heard fierce argument in Committee and today from those who would seek to exclude some areas of Great Britain from the reach of the Bill, or who would seek to allow coverage in those areas only with the consent of the bodies to which certain other responsibilities have been devolved. Nothing in the Bill need cut across the positive relationships that we have heard about between unions and Government in Scotland and Wales.

There is nothing to stop union representatives using paid facility time to fulfil their union duties to help represent working people. All the Bill does in relation to facility time is introduce measures that have already been introduced in the civil service, and union duties are still admirably and adequately fulfilled in the civil service.

It is important for the productivity and prosperity of Great Britain as a whole that arrangements pertaining to employment matters apply consistently across the whole country. Employers do not see boundaries when engaging staff. Many employers have employees in all three countries, in London and in various English authorities. Having different employment laws applying would produce a complex situation, involving much confusion and cost for business.

[Jonathan Edwards]

As the Minister will be aware, this Bill does not apply to Northern Ireland because these issues are devolved. Is he aware of the comments by Dr Stephen Farry, the Minister in Northern Ireland? He said:

“I do not believe that there is a case for winding back the clock in terms of trade union reform or that such regression would also be supported by the Executive and the Assembly.”

Is it seriously a surprise to the Minister that that Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales agree with those points?

[Nick Boles]

I am sorry we were not able to hear from the hon. Gentleman directly, because I am sure he has much to contribute. He will be aware there is a particular historical record in Northern Ireland, which is why, quite a long time ago, employment law was devolved to Northern Ireland. That historical record, I am glad to say, does not apply elsewhere in Great Britain. This is why employment and industrial relations law are clearly reserved matters under the Scottish and Welsh devolution settlements. It is entirely in order for the Government to propose that the Bill applies to the whole of Great Britain and does not require the consent of the devolved Governments or any local authorities.

Trade Union Bill

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

I rise to oppose the Bill in the strongest terms on behalf of Plaid Cymru. As the son of a retired trade union shop steward and the representative of an area steeped in coal-mining history, I value the role the trade union movement has played in advancing the lives of working people since it was legalised in 1871. It should be remembered that a royal commission in 1867 advocated the legalisation of unions as it would benefit both employees and, crucially, employers. My party believes that instead of pursuing further draconian measures aimed at restricting trade union activity, a speedy inquiry on industrial relations and employee rights should be convened to look into the role trade unions should play in a modern economy and the challenges faced by working people, such as zero-hours contracts, low pay and the increasing lack of workplace rights.

If we are serious about creating a more socially just society, trade unions have a vital role to play. Instead of reducing their influence, I would like to see Government action to increase workplace democracy. In Germany, for instance, in an economy that has outperformed the UK’s over many decades and is more balanced both in terms of industrial sectors and geographical wealth, trade unions play a key economic role in formulating industrial strategy. In the German legal framework of co-determination, representatives also sit on company boards, giving workers a direct say on company strategy and the hiring of management. I would also add that Germany’s decentralist federal governance system has also greatly helped to distribute its economic success more evenly geographically, unlike in the UK.

The Bill has been labelled the biggest attack on trade union activity for 30 years and follows a long line of anti-trade union laws brought in by Conservative Governments, most of which were not overturned by Labour Governments between 1997 and 2010.

[Chris Stephens]

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that there are trade union traditions within many of the political parties, even the Conservative party, which has the equivalent of what can only be described as a “walk out”—a privilege denied to the trade union movement in this country?

[Jonathan Edwards]

I am grateful for that well-made point. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his excellent speech as the spokesman for the SNP.

By my counting, there were 10 Acts between 1980 and 1996 that attacked the trade unions. The coalition Government, much to their shame, tied in a further assault on trade unions with the issue of trust in politics in the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.

The Bill aims to make it more difficult to take industrial action by forcing unions to give further notice before striking, introducing even higher thresholds for successful strike ballots and further restricting the right to picket. I note from elsewhere—this is critical to how the Bill will work—that the Government are minded to allow employers to bring in agency workers in the event of a strike. They are consulting on that currently. The Bill will undermine facility time, which will reduce the ability of union officials to represent their members at work.

The UK has some of the most restrictive trade union laws in the western world. It is a shame that an early priority for the new Government is to bring in another Bill at rapid speed, less than a week after three separate consultations on some of the measures in the Bill were completed. That raises the question of whether the consultations were valid exercises.

The Bill applies to Wales, Scotland and England. It does not apply to Northern Ireland, where employment law is a devolved issue. Regressive measures such as those in the Bill should make progressive politicians and individuals in Wales consider whether the responsibility for these issues should be devolved, instead of being held here in Westminster. I note that the Scottish Government are keen to press ahead with the devolution of employment rights. If these issues were devolved to Wales under a future Plaid Cymru Government, I suggest that there would be an alternative scenario to the one that we are faced with here today with this Bill—a scenario where the role of trade unions in the workplace and public life is enhanced, helping to shape economic and industrial strategy; one where trade unions play a pivotal role in the management structures of the public and private sectors; and one where the pay and conditions of employees are strengthened to resemble European norms.

Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Toby Perkins]

I accept that some progress has been made. There was a real rebirth in apprenticeships over the second half of the previous Government’s time in office and the current Government have said a lot about apprenticeships. However, I was disappointed that they did not support our amendments on apprenticeships, and people will feel short-changed because the Bill represented a real opportunity for the Government to take substantive steps on apprenticeships.

The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that many employers recognise the importance and value of apprenticeships. However, the number of under-19 apprenticeships is falling, and there has been a big increase in the rebadging of programmes that were previously known as back-to-work schemes as apprenticeships. I hope that the hon. Gentleman does not mind me saying that he was the oldest new Member of the 2010 generation. Older workers are incredibly important, as is demonstrated by the vigour with which he performs his tasks, and no one would describe him as an apprentice, but many older workers with a huge amount to offer our economy are being classified as though they are apprentices.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

The hon. Gentleman talked about the need to tackle the problem of low-wage jobs. Today’s report by the Office for National Statistics indicates that workers in Wales earn an average of £473.40 a week, whereas the UK average is £518 and the London average is £660.50. How would a future Labour Government tackle that wage inequality?

[Toby Perkins]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I am glad that Members can cite important statistics by the ONS in the Chamber, given the importance of our having statistical accuracy which we have heard about.

On the hon. Gentleman’s specific question, we have a commitment on the living wage for businesses involved in major Government contracts, as well as to increasing the minimum wage to £8 by 2020. We also have a broader commitment to a skills-based economy in which we can create jobs that deliver wages that people can live on, as ultimately that is what will make the biggest difference to increasing wages, rather than the use of Government regulation as a silver bullet.

The small business community took pleasure from the arrival of a small business Bill. We give the Government credit for bringing forward a Bill with the words “Small Business” in its title, as such businesses have been overlooked in recent years. However, sadly, the opportunity to include in the Bill many of the measures that we proposed to benefit small business has passed us by. Provision on late payments is a classic example, as the Government had a real opportunity to support a late payment plan that would ensure that the onus to pursue payment—eventually through the courts, but initially through invoicing—was removed from small businesses that are owed money. Despite the sensible evidence that the Committee heard from the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile), among others, about why small businesses do not pursue their big business customers, the Government did not support our measure, which was backed by the Forum of Private Business and the Federation of Small Businesses, and would have been a significant step forward. However, on a more positive note, the Government talked yesterday about how they could strengthen the prompt payment code and ensure that businesses with payment terms of longer than 60 days would not be considered to be prompt payers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Edwards Excerpts

Thursday 10th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

My hon. Friend describes a trend that is apparent across the country. As I said a few moments ago, almost half a million new jobs were created last year, and I am delighted that Kettering is sharing in that positive story.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Every week when Parliament is sitting, I get on the train in one of the poorest parts of the European Union and get off in the richest, with a twelvefold difference in wealth per head between west Wales and inner London. Does the Secretary of State acknowledge that the only way to address this record of shame is to fiscally empower the nations and regions of the UK and have a deliberate strategy, as in Germany, to redistribute wealth between the wealthiest and the poorest parts?

[Vince Cable]

In many respects, the Welsh economy is sharing in the wider picture. Its unemployment rate is slightly lower than the national average. My hon. Friend the Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams), who represents that area of Welsh Wales, is very active in promoting that part of the country, which benefits substantially from European assistance.