Christmas Adjournment

Luke Myer Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Two weeks ago in my constituency, there was a terrible fire on Errington Street in Brotton. I visited a couple of days later and spoke to residents and to Accent Housing, which manages two of the four affected properties. It was clear that it was a devastating fire. It affected two families with young children, and an elderly pensioner.

The way the community came together afterwards to support those residents was truly remarkable. There is still some way to go. Over the road from those properties lives a young man called Steffan Bentley, who I went to school with. He took it upon himself to organise a crowdfunder. Our area is not the richest part of the world, but within a few days, it had raised over £2,000 to support those families. A whole range of other support took place, too. Our local councillors organised support, and pubs and village halls opened to support those residents.

That story just reminds me of who we are in East Cleveland and across Teesside. As we look to Christmas, we see that spirit of community coming out across our area—in our church halls, our food banks and our warm hubs. That is what the spirit of Christmas is truly about, and it is what we on Teesside have always been about.

There has been a long effort from many politicians over the years to tell a slightly different story of England—one that is about individuals working hard, pulling themselves up and putting themselves first. We have seen a shift towards an atomised England in which we lead parallel lives. Well, that is not what I have seen in Brotton in the past couple of weeks, and it is not what I see every day. I think that we are a nation of George Baileys rather than a nation of Scrooges. I wish all my constituents, everyone who works here, and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, a very merry Christmas.