Crime and Policing Bill

Lola McEvoy Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

Many of us—possibly including myself, if I am being completely candid—would be completely flattened by that, but not Sarah. She turned that pain into a mobilising force and a determination to push for action. Working with Spike Aware UK, she has been campaigning for a specific offence of spiking for some time, and she is as excited as I am to see that finally being brought forward by the Government in the Bill today. This real, meaningful change will ensure much more focus, much more action and hopefully much greater awareness of the damage that spiking can do, of the seriousness of the offence, and of the seriousness of the consequences that will hopefully now follow it.

[Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his brilliant articulation of Sarah’s story, which for too many of us, including myself as the MP for Darlington, is not uncommon. Before I was elected as the MP, I raised this issue in Darlington because a number of people there had been affected by spiking. Does he agree that bringing this provision into law today is important because for so many people—often women and vulnerable people—not being believed when they report being spiked is one of the big barriers to seeking justice?

[Alistair Strathern]

A lot of us have been inspired by my hon. Friend’s campaigning before she arrived in this place, and her intervention is a powerful example of why. It is exactly that moment—that lack of belief—that far too many victims of spiking are encountering when they go to the authorities at the moment, and it is that lack of belief that we are looking to completely undercut in legislating to make this a specific offence today.

Sarah reached out to me because, excited as she is about the Bill, she rightly wants to ensure that we are delivering it as fully as possible. I know that it is the same motivation that made the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East table his amendment. I thank the Minister for taking the time to speak to me about this amendment on Friday. I know from the conversations she has had with officials that they are confident that, as drafted, the Bill would capture the fullness of possible offences related to spiking.

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[Wendy Morton]

As we have heard, the Bill is broad in scope. Before I turn to the couple of amendments that I support, I want to recognise that the Bill’s scope is evidenced by the breadth and number of amendments and new clauses. It is worth gently reminding ourselves that a number of the measures were carried over from the Criminal Justice Bill, which sadly fell due to the general election almost a year ago, though there are obviously new clauses and amendments. I hope the Minister is in listening mode, in change mode and is willing to work across the House, and I hope that she accepts some of these amendments, because they would go a long way to further improving this legislation.

I have read through the Bill, and much of it goes right to the heart of the communities we seek to serve and represent. There are topics in the Bill that regularly pop up in my inbox and I am sure into colleagues’ inboxes as well. I want to cover two specific areas. The first is fly-tipping and littering—an issue that I have spoken about on many occasions in this Chamber since I was first elected. I support the amendments and new clauses tabled by the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers).

In an intervention earlier, I touched on the cost of littering to the country. I think I said that it was £1 million, but I meant £1 billion; I hope that can be firmly corrected, because it is a big difference. The principle is the same—it is money that could go back into our communities—but £1 billion spent on managing littering and fly-tipping is a huge amount of money that could otherwise buy a huge amount of services for constituencies up and down the country.

[Lola McEvoy]

Does the right hon. Lady’s calculation of £1 billion account for how people feel, for the degradation of pride in areas where people fly-tip, and for the failure of local services to be able to afford to collect and clean up rubbish tips on the side of our roads? I wonder if there is a multiplier effect in how people feel about their areas because of all this fly-tipping.

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. There is a social and community cost that is difficult to evaluate. I am fortunate to have some fantastic volunteers and groups, including the Wombles group, that go out and litter pick. I do not mind going out and helping when I can. There is a great sense of a community coming together, but nothing is more frustrating than litter picking a street, walking back and finding that one of the tossers has just tossed some more litter out of their car.

[Wendy Morton]

That is an important point about pride in where we live and about hope. As I travel around the country, I often take a mental note of the number of potholes I drive across; there is a noticeable difference from one authority to another. I have to say that Walsall is quite good at the moment when it comes to filling potholes.

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about litter and communities. My local authority of late has been successfully prosecuting some litterbugs. I have seen a couple of examples on social media just this week of individuals who have been treating the high street in Pelsall as their own personal litter bin, and the local authority has gone after them and fined them. That sends a strong message, but there is more we can do. Although much of this is about clearing up after these people, we also need deterrence to stop this happening. A lot of it is down to a lack of respect for the community and antisocial behaviour, for want of a better word, and it is a burden that we should not expect the taxpayer to keep shouldering. We have reached something of a tipping point, and we need to do something more than letting people walk away with a slap on the wrist.

Whether it is bin strikes, as we have seen in Birmingham, rural fly-tipping or littering, a lot of our communities feel absolutely fed up and overwhelmed, and they want action. I support the amendments tabled by the shadow Minister because, taken together, they form a serious and joined-up response that would help to protect and support not only our communities and those who want to keep them clean, but the local environment and wildlife too.

Similarly, it is often local farmers who face the burden of fly-tipping. When fly-tipping happens on their land, the cost of removing it falls to them. It hardly seems fair that they are left to foot the bill for waste that they did not create. Amendment 172, on clean-up costs, seeks to address that. I have heard time and again from frustrated landowners and farmers that the system often punishes the victims of fly-tipping, not the perpetrators.

[Lola McEvoy]

Does the right hon. Lady have any thoughts on the idea that people who hire somebody privately to take away their rubbish are often being held accountable for that third-party company dumping the rubbish illegally? People are at a loss to know what they are supposed to do.

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes another important point about tackling waste crime—I think that is the technical phrase for it. Again, that is something that I see locally. Enforcement matters, but there also has to be strong reminder—I hate to use the word “education”, so perhaps “reminder” is best—to our constituents: if somebody comes to you and says they will clear your rubbish away, your need to think carefully about where they are putting that rubbish. In my constituency, fridges and mattresses have been dumped. I was driving down Bridle Lane last year and saw a whole lorry or van-load of rubbish that had been fly-tipped in the middle of the road. That meant that the road had to be blocked. That is outrageous and it needs to stop.

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[Jo White]

I agree with my hon. Friend—those orders could be used.

The Bill strengthens the ability to seize motor vehicles when they are used in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance, but this is a nationwide problem, and I ask the Minister for a private discussion to consider whether the Bill can be strengthened to make it criminal to organise, promote or attend an unofficial road-racing event.

I welcome the Bill because it respects and recognises the daily risks our shop workers face. My constituent went to buy a pint of milk in his local Sainsbury’s at Easter time. He was queuing up for the milk when somebody rushed in and swept the whole shelf of Easter eggs into a bag. They call it “supermarket sweep”, and it is the new form of shoplifting. It is not someone sneakily putting something in their pocket or bag—it is people stealing food to order very publicly, and it is food that is worth a lot of money.

[Lola McEvoy]

In my constituency of Darlington, I have witnessed people doing what my hon. Friend described so often that it is now a common source of conversation between me and the assistants working in those shops. Does she agree that USDAW’s campaign to protect shop workers, which has been going on for years, is brilliant and that it is excellent that this Labour Government are going to finally introduce the right punishments for people who commit aggravated assaults against shop workers?

[Jo White]

USDAW was the first union I ever joined, and I very much support its campaign. I share the fear that shop workers have, because there is nothing they can do. They have to sit or stand and watch the crime happen, for fear of being assaulted or abused—that is the advice that USDAW and their management have given them. The law has to be strengthened to protect them. They have to go to work every day and face that fear, which creates inordinate stress. That is unacceptable.

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[Graham Leadbitter]

I am pleased to hear that work is ongoing throughout the country.

I should have said at the start that I am speaking to amendment 2, which stands in my name. The SNP recognises that there have been calls for further legislation on licensing, which is what my amendment relates to. The SNP tabled a similar amendment in Committee relating to off-road bikes.

Everyone who uses our roads and paths is responsible for respecting other road and path users and for following the rules and guidance in the highway code. Unfortunately, a significant minority of road users are not respecting the rights of other road users and are riding motorised vehicles illegally on our roads and paths. In the worst cases, they have caused serious injury and death to either themselves or other people, causing huge heartache for the families affected.

[Lola McEvoy]

I commend the hon. Member for making that important point—these young people who are using off-road bikes are not only tearing up communities and green spaces, but putting themselves at severe risk. I commend him for bringing that point to the House, because it is such an important one.

[Graham Leadbitter]

It goes to the point made by the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas), who talked about his experience as a young driver and being a more responsible driver now. I would echo that myself, and I am sure most people recognise that in themselves. Some of it is inexperience, sometimes it is just plain stupidity, but that education is important to help tackle the issue, and ensure that people understand the potential consequences of such actions both for themselves and for other people.

A particularly good education piece was done in north-east Scotland, when children from all over the area went to a large venue and were given a hard-hitting and pretty blunt message, including videos of serious road accidents where people had been either seriously injured or killed. When they went into the venue they saw a fine-looking car; when they came out, that car had been crushed as if it had been in an accident. That was a hard-hitting experience, and lots of young people came out of it with a new respect for driving and using motor vehicles.

I turn now to off-road and quad bikes, and particularly e-bikes, which the amendment is focused on. The SNP supports Police Scotland and its partners in dealing with illegally modified vehicles and the misuse of off-road vehicles. The Scottish Government are considering ways forward, in partnership with Police Scotland and local authorities, to tackle vehicle nuisance and related safety issues. That includes continuing to liaise with the UK Government—a lot of work has gone on behind the scenes between the devolved Administrations and the UK Government, and I welcome that work by the Minister and her civil servants, which has been helpful. The ongoing collaboration ensures that Scottish interests are considered in any UK-wide decisions affecting road safety.

We are also considering further options, including liaising with the UK Government on a cross-party basis, and community engagement regarding the potential use of mobile safety camera vans to deter registered vehicles from speeding on public roads. The amendment calls on the Government to conduct a consultation on licensing and tracking the ownership of e-bikes and e-scooters, which in many cases are required to be insured, although the public are generally not aware of that.

I will make a final plea to the insurance sector, which I think could be doing a lot more to make it clear to people what insurance does and does not cover. The modification of vehicles—that was raised earlier by the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White)—is one such issue, and I do not recall seeing a great deal about that in insurance documents I have received over the years. The insurance industry could do a lot more to increase public awareness and try to tackle such issues and support the Scottish and UK Governments in their objectives.

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[David Smith]

I will make progress.

The new clauses seek to address a perceived problem of police actions that were over-zealous in a handful of cases by making a fundamental change to abortion law that would put more women at risk while also risking the lives of infant children.

[Lola McEvoy]

My hon. Friend is giving a speech that I think many Members will find difficult to hear from such a wonderful friend and colleague. Does he agree that many women are already facing incredibly difficult situations, and many could already have a late-term abortion for which they could order pills online? We do not want to criminalise those who are not doing that. It is entirely wrong to criminalise people for taking action. Does my hon. Friend agree that the majority of women are doing the right thing?

[David Smith]

I absolutely do agree that the vast majority of women are doing the right thing, but I do not believe that we can cover all eventualities through such a fundamental black-and-white change in the law.

The real problem is that the temporary pills-by-post abortion scheme brought in during covid, which does not require in-person appointments, has been made permanent. That is why I added my name to new clause 106. In-person appointments would remove any doubt about the gestational age of a foetus within a narrow range, and massively reduce the likelihood of successful coercion, which is something I have seen throughout my work, as I have mentioned. This would consequentially remove the possibility of egregious police overreach, which I know my hon. Friends are so concerned about.

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[Emily Darlington]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Lola McEvoy]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Julia Lopez]

I am afraid there is simply not enough time.

That failure is now being used to justify the loosening of abortion laws still further due to a recent uptick in cases of women being investigated. I have looked carefully at the arguments being pushed for decriminalisation, and with those from the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), I see that the bogeyman of the US right is back. Apparently, unless we agree to these amendments, evangelical religious groups paid for by US cash are going to start rolling back women’s reproductive rights in this country. This is utter nonsense. We are in the UK, and we have a very different and a more balanced national conversation. This is not pro or anti life. It is not extremist to want protections for viable babies, and it is not anti-women to say that coercion or dangerous self-medication should not be outside the reach of the law.

We also see the argument made that this is solely a woman’s health issue and nobody but she should have a say over what happens to her body, but that is to ignore a very inconvenient truth that has always stalked the abortion debate: this is not about one body; there are two bodies involved. Like it or not, this House has a duty to consider the rights of a woman against the safety and morality of aborting the unborn viable child without consequence. It is not extreme or anti-women to say that a baby matters too. I accept that new clause 1 does not decriminalise a doctor or third party carrying out an abortion outside existing time limits, but let us step back and ask why we have criminal law at all. It is not simply to punish, but to deter.

The former Justice Minister Laura Farris has expressed concerns that the challenge of prosecution for infanticide will become greater. She has also raised similar concerns about prosecuting coercive partners if the termination is no longer a criminal offence.

[Tom Hayes]

I want to start by aligning myself with, and commending the speeches of, my hon. Friends the Members for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge), for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis), for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes), for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) and for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy). I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues and was proud to listen to what they had to say today. And because of what they had to say today, I have less to say, which will allow more people to speak.

I have been sent here by my constituents to defend and further their right to safe and illegal abortion. My inbox has been inundated with messages from constituents who are concerned, and who want to be able to have safe and legal abortions. They want to be removed from the criminal justice system, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gower said, because we have situations where clinically vulnerable women, who have gone through some of the worst experiences that anybody can go through, will in some cases be arrested straight from the hospital ward, hurried to cells and made to feel unmitigated levels of shame and guilt, on top of the physical and mental traumas they have already experienced.

[Lola McEvoy]

My hon. Friend is articulating exactly the point, which is that very few women, if any at all, take the decision to have an abortion lightly. It is an incredibly difficult, painful and hard decision, which is physically and mentally very tough to deal with. Does he agree that that is the crux of what we are doing here: alleviating some of the pain that those women are having to go through?

[Tom Hayes]

I thank my hon. Friend for that really powerful intervention. I completely agree. If in this place we can do one important thing today, which is to send a signal that we wish to alleviate that pain, then we should do it.

Immigration and Home Affairs

Lola McEvoy Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)]

It is customary to pay tribute to the speaker before me for his first contribution to this House, but, let us face it, that was quite a polished contribution that he has had 21 years to prepare—so thank you to him.

This is my maiden speech as the first woman to represent Darlington from the Government Benches. I wish to pay tribute to Baroness Chapman, the first female MP for Darlington, for paving the way. She smashed that glass ceiling and now I have the privilege of serving our town in a Labour Government. Representation matters, and I will use my platform to highlight the issues facing women in the town—issues such as low-paid work, additional care responsibilities, the childcare crisis, menopause discrimination, maternity services and poor paternity rights. I will also be a champion for women’s health and support services.

I wish to pay tribute to the work of our police and crime commissioner, my friend Joy Allen and her team, on ending violence against women and girls in the town and to Harbour and Family Help, which do exceptional work in very difficult times. I am proud that this Labour Government will bring forward strong legislation to tackle this important issue.

I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Peter Gibson, first for his respect throughout the general election campaign and secondly for his work ethic. Trust in politicians across both sides of this House is at an all-time low, and Mr Gibson worked tirelessly to communicate positively to everyone in Darlington about the work that he was doing. People thanked him for it, and I will emulate it. I genuinely wish him well.

I am a product of my constituency and proud of it. I am from good stock: west end star Zoe Birkett of “Pop Idol” fame went to my high school; “Big Brother” winner and men’s mental health campaigner Anthony Hutton is a Darlington resident; and we have a proud and active veterans community. In fact, two of the brilliant Doorkeepers in this Chamber told me earlier that they know Darlington well because of their training at Catterick Garrison, just outside my constituency. I thank Dan Smith, an active campaigner for veteran support in Darlington, for his work for our town and for his friendship to me during the campaign.

We have a bustling business and hospitality community across the town. We have Dan the Bakerman, whose sourdough is nationally acclaimed, the Echo 3 and Hatch coffee houses, which keep me caffeinated, and Claire from the Cheese & Wine Shop who herself welcomed our Prime Minister and Chancellor very recently.

We have a brilliant sporting community, from Spraire Lads football team, which my brother used to play for, to the Headlanders netball club and the Hundens Lane bowls club to name just a few. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Quakers, Darlington’s football club, which have a very famous alumni in the Three Lions’ best ever goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford. Like many of us from Darlington, I love the town, I like a laugh, I work hard and I do not like to be taken for a fool.

I was sent here to right the wrongs that have led to too many in our town being let down, and I will do just that. I will not lose sight of those who sent me and went above and beyond to put their time and trust in me—my teachers, the St Augustine’s community, my Labour family and, of course, my parents, my brothers and my husband, all of whom have had their personal lives thrust right into my political story, not entirely through choice, but in the name of our common goal, which is a better future for our community.

I am lucky to be here. I got a second chance on a vocational master’s degree at Newcastle University, where I was taught on the job how to be a journalist. I come from a long line of people who have done better for themselves than was expected for them and I will dedicate my time in Parliament to knocking down barriers to opportunity for everyone in our town, so that no matter their postcode they can live the life they want, well.

I was inspired by those who went before me on our brilliant Northern Echo paper, which was founded in 1870—two years after the constituency of Darlington—and still boasting fantastic campaigning journalists. They include Chris Lloyd, the town’s historian—I am mentioning him in this speech so that he will help with my new blue plaque scheme for the town—and Kayleigh Fraser, who is still chasing me for a quote. Sorry, Kayleigh.

This Saturday just gone, I had the joy of visiting a new tourist attraction in Darlington—Hopetown, named after the area of the town in which I grew up, where Darlington’s famous contribution to the railways and the industrial revolution was based. The new attraction incorporates our railway heritage and has incredible artefacts, top-of-the-range art installations and digital interactive educational points to tell our story to visitors. I am telling Members this because I welcome everyone—on both sides of the House—to come and visit. When they do, they must try the Black Diamond ice cream; it is already taking off on social media.

I have huge pride in the town’s industrial contribution and I am delighted to be the first Darlington Member to represent Heighington and Coniscliffe, and with them come their beautiful villages and even more railway history. Mr Deputy Speaker, this is for you to note especially. I learned something new about my home town this weekend. Before the establishment of the railways, our clocks were not standardised and Darlington operated a full four minutes behind Westminster, so, as those who know me well will attest, I still like to operate on Darlington time. As a nod to tradition, I shall be keeping to my town’s original time for the duration of my time on these Benches.

One of the artefacts that caught my eye in the museum, among the railway medals and the framed timetables, was an award from 2019 for the manufacturing giant Cleveland Bridge. Like so many brilliant companies over recent years, Cleveland Bridge has ceased trading. What makes this company particularly of note is its vast global contribution. It built the Sydney harbour bridge and, in fact, the former Health Secretary and Labour Darlington MP, the right hon. Alan Milburn, referenced it in his maiden speech two decades ago. I am determined that our manufacturing contribution in Darlington is not consigned to museums and the history books. We are proud people and we are grafters. We do not need handouts; we need a Government who allow our brilliance to shine again. I have already had the excellent engineering firm Cummins to Parliament to discuss making our area a green hydrogen cluster and ensuring that hydrogen is at the heart of our decarbonisation strategy. I look forward to working with my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald), an expert in green hydrogen and the future of steel, in his new brief.

Over the course of the campaign that led up to my election, the biggest thread from the people of Darlington, from people of every income, background and political persuasion, was that the cost of living is too high and public services are at breaking point. I firmly believe that this Government must urgently tackle the mental health crisis blighting our town and region. In my own network, I know seven men who have died by suicide. Mental health waiting times and services for men, mothers, children and veterans are way behind where they need to be. I will be relentless in my approach to improving our mental health services for everyone in our town. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who I know shares my passion for equity between mental health and physical health, will not be able to avoid me, just as soon as I can work my way around the Palace labyrinth.

As a woman in politics, I am frequently offered unsolicited advice and told that I need a thick skin, although I firmly believe that those with too thick a skin have been ruling this Chamber for too long, and I am here to represent ordinary people with compassion, because I am one of them. I am only too aware of the emboldening effect that online platforms give bullies and harassers. I think we have reached a fork in the road and I will use my position to stamp out online bullying, not just for those who are victims of it now, but for the next generation, who I believe we have a duty to protect.

This Labour Government are committed to tackling climate change and wealth creation, and that is an opportunity for our region that must be grabbed with both hands. That is why I have already visited Hitachi with my neighbour and friend the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland), to put my full support behind efforts to secure the future of skilled and essential jobs at the Newton Aycliffe plant that employs many of my constituents.

The Treasury and many other key Departments have a presence in my constituency, providing skilled graduate jobs, which we welcome and want to build on. I will be a champion for public money being better spent. I have made my career improving public procurement contracts, fighting for working people to earn a wage they can live on and have decent terms and conditions. I will use that experience to ensure that when public money is spent in Darlington, it provides the best possible bang for our buck in impact and outcomes for our town. I will be a loud voice on this issue and will work with everyone and anyone who believes, like I do, that we can get our regional economy thriving with decent jobs for local people, so that people can work hard and earn enough to save for their future, and have safe, secure housing and spend quality time with their families. I am very fortunate that the Chancellor will be visiting her second office in Darlington regularly and I am committed to maximising the opportunity that brings to benefit my community.

My constituency and everyone in it has the potential for a bright future, and I will do everything I can to secure it. While I want to make our country better, my priority is improving the lives of those in my home town, those who raised me, those who have sent me here—the good people of Darlington. So, in keeping with my railway theme, full steam ahead!

[Several hon. Members rose—]