Safety of the Jewish Community

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to speak in this debate on Jewish safety, and to represent one of Britain’s oldest seaside Jewish communities as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East. Jewish families in Bournemouth have built businesses, strengthened our heritage and contributed to civic life, and we have had a number of Jewish mayors, including Louis Barney, Gabriel Jaffe, Michael and Anne Filer, Pamela Harris, Ben Grower, Barry Goldbart and Lawrence Williams.

I was privileged to attend the consecration of the new synagogue for the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation in East Cliff—my neighbourhood—in the presence of the Chief Rabbi just a few short months ago. It marked a new chapter in the life of the Jewish community in Bournemouth. The new shul has been refurbished, and throughout the building there are colours inspired by Bournemouth’s sand, cliffs, piers and breakwaters. The light-filled main prayer hall has a series of stained-glass images, many of which recreate those from the old Wootton Gardens synagogue. I was pleased to visit that synagogue many times, including for its farewell concert, which showed that a new start means that we must also say farewell.

My Jewish constituents deserve what every citizen deserves: to feel safe. The statistics tell part of the story: Dorset police tell me that they recorded 26 antisemitic crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to May, and every one of those crimes matters, but statistics alone cannot explain what it feels like when fear enters everyday life. For that, we must listen to the people in Bournemouth, so I encouraged my constituents to get in touch ahead of this debate.

Ann told me that she has removed the Star of David necklace that she wore throughout her life because she no longer feels comfortable openly displaying her Jewish identity. Stefan from East Cliff and Springbourne wrote:

“We are alone, we are afraid.”

At the age of 73, he has never experienced such open antisemitism, and he speaks now of conversations taking place around dinner tables that many had hoped belonged to history. David, a retired rabbi, said that British Jews regard themselves as British citizens first and foremost, and he spoke of generations of Jewish people serving our country in our armed forces, of prayers being said in synagogues each week for the royal family and the Government, and of a public duty throughout our town.

I know some Jewish patients in my constituency are reluctant to identify their faith when admitted to hospital, because they fear how they may be treated. I want them to know that, following Lord Mann’s review, the Government are requiring anti-racism training aimed at tackling antisemitism and other racism in the NHS. Another constituent, who is not Jewish himself, showed solidarity by writing to me about friends who feel unsafe and threatened.

Josephine, who has happily lived in Bournemouth for more than two decades, told me that she never expected to face continual hostility and intimidation. She and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the synagogue, but they felt compelled to employ security guards for the event. Adele, who is 82, spoke movingly of her grandparents who found safety, democracy and peace of mind in our country, and she tells me:

“All we ask is to live here in peace and free from fear.”

Derek describes the reality that many Jewish people now live with, following the atrocities of 7 October and the war that followed, which has left many Jewish people spending their time, in his words, “watching our backs”, relying on police protection and the Community Security Trust to guard places of worship and community events.

Several members of the community have been in touch to talk about a particular incident in Bournemouth Square last year. Alongside Jewish residents and Christian supporters, a small protest—

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

Order. I am afraid we now have to move on to the wind-ups.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing this important debate. It has been a powerful morning in this Chamber, in terms of both the challenges but also the stories of hope on this difficult issue. I want to start by expressing my solidarity with Jewish communities across the country and with everyone who is experiencing antisemitic abuse, intimidation or violence.

[Tom Hayes]

On a point of order, Sir Christopher. I was under the impression that there was no time limit. I was not warned in advance of the need to reduce the length of my speech. I have deliberately solicited the views of my constituents, which I want to put on the official parliamentary record, about an issue that affects them very deeply, which is their feeling of insecurity and discontent in our country because of antisemitism. I am concerned that they have been unrepresented on the parliamentary record because you, as Chair, have artificially circumscribed the time limit. I ask that I be given the chance to speak fully and represent my constituents’ views in their entirety.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

I did not impose a time limit, but there is always half an hour at the end for the wind-ups. You have been a Member of this House now for over two years. You must realise that in an hour-and-a-half debate, there is an hour for the speeches and half an hour for the wind-ups.

[Tom Hayes]

indicated dissent.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

You are shaking your head; I am sorry you have not been able to learn on the job, but I am not going to accept criticism for calling the Front Benchers at half-past to enable them all to participate in this debate and, hopefully, give a chance for the person who initiated it to have a few words at the end. I am almost lost for words, because the hon. Gentleman should have realised when we got to half-past that that was the end of the time for Back Benchers and when the Front Benchers start speaking. But anyway, perhaps—

[Tom Hayes]

Further to that point of order, Sir Christopher.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

No, I am not going to accept a further point of order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will learn from what has happened this morning.

Dover and Portsmouth: Protests

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

Of course people are scared and angry about the fact that, as they see it, the borders are not secure. As the right hon. and learned Lady will know from her time in the Home Office, we have come some way since then, and have improved the system significantly. More than 1,000 boats and engines have been seized, system-wide arrests are up by 70%, 48,000 crossings have been prevented, there has been a 40% increase in French boots on the ground, and we have increased surveillance technology. There has been a huge 42% drop in the number of boats coming over, and we have removed more than 80,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals. People are right to express a view, and it was disingenuous of the right hon. and learned Lady to suggest that I was calling those people racist, when I had made it very clear that there were people in Portsmouth who were concerned, and that local residents were coming out because they were angry. We have heard about that, and the actions of those people are very different from those of the racist thugs we see in other places—and who were there as well—and from the whipping up of hatred online. We will continue to bear down on illegal boat crossings.

Let me pay tribute to Kent and Hampshire police. Kent police dealt with 1,300 calls to 999 on Saturday, and Hampshire police dealt with 1,000. While these incidents were going on, a lot of work was being done to keep us safe across the counties.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

We should be opposed to gangs wherever we find them, whether they are gangs of smugglers or mass gangs in Southampton and Dover, and I wish that this House was a little more united in its resolve to oppose both types of gang. Peaceful protest strengthens our democracy; what weakens our democracy is intimidation and the abuse that we have seen. This Government passed the Crime and Policing Act 2026 because we wanted to tackle concealment linked to criminality. Those powers apply in police-designated areas where protest is happening under certain conditions. In Southampton and Dover, we clearly saw concealment linked to criminality in non-police-designated areas. Will the Government consider extending the parameters of the 2026 Act to tackle that?

[Sarah Jones]

We keep all legislation under review when it comes to public order, and there is a big piece of work that Ken Macdonald—Lord Macdonald—has done for us, which we are considering. There are other powers on face coverings in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, but we will always look at these things.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I inherited three asylum hotels in Bournemouth, and I know that the Home Secretary is working through a complicated process to close those hotels. I have asked on 5 January, 9 February, 9 March and 8 June whether the Government have positive news about the closure of any of the asylum hotels in Bournemouth. I ask again today. Can she give an update, please?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I thank my hon. Friend for the tremendous campaigning he has done in this House on behalf of his constituents. There may be further good news to come, but this Government have a commitment to end the use of all asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament, and we are on track to do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that important point. We know that those hotels across the country are providing a focal point for people to do things that they absolutely should not do, and we condemn that behaviour in the fullest terms. Our No. 1 goal is to shut the hotels—that is the priority—and I make that commitment to the community of Perth. Alongside that, we work with the local police to ensure that areas are supported and that all tools are used as effectively as possible. I can support the hon. Gentleman in that.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

We are a patient people and a compassionate community in Bournemouth, but there is a feeling in town that, with our three asylum hotels, we are being asked to do more than our fair share. Will the Minister please set out for my constituents that Bournemouth is uppermost in his mind as he closes hotels and that Bournemouth’s asylum hotels are being prioritised for closure?

[Alex Norris]

My hon. Friend raises that issue with me very frequently indeed, and for good reason. I totally accept his characterisation. The people of Bournemouth have three such hotels, which is an extraordinary pressure not just on public services but on community tensions. I do not want those hotels open a minute longer than they have to be, so Bournemouth is absolutely uppermost in our minds.

Immigration Policy

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

It is tricky, because the right hon. Gentleman talks with power and vigour that was lacking from his colleagues in their 14 years in government. Indeed, he may well know, as colleagues on the Opposition Front Bench certainly know, that they paid people to leave the country, because it is in the taxpayers’ interest. There are choices between measures that work and measures such as leaving the ECHR, which are fantastical and would just lead to years and years of arguing, disruption and no impact.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Some say that this Government are controlling our borders in spite of our progressive values, but no, we are securing our borders because it is in line with our Labour values. In my constituency, residents want to feel safe, and they do not feel safe with our borders not yet controlled. In wanting to tackle illegal ads, will the Minister set out what this Government are doing to stop illegal working, particularly within Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats??

[Alex Norris]

My hon. Friend is right, and I make exactly the same assessment of the position in Nottingham that I make of the position in Bournemouth. Those are people who leant into the Afghan scheme, the Syrian scheme, the Hong Kong British national overseas scheme and the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but who are rightly fed up about the three hotels in Bournemouth and the impact on their community. My hon. Friend’s vigour in working for the closure of those hotels is well known. As for the question of illegal workers, to prevent them from using those facilities we have introduced new punishments. People who work in the gig economy and are using the substitution of labour to circumvent legal working rules will be caught and punished, and we are doing that at record levels.

Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mike Tapp]

I thank the right hon. Member for his question about his three constituents. I will let him in on a little secret: perhaps that media coverage is a result of the Home Office’s efforts to get this information out there as widely as we possibly can. There is no intimidation here. This is about a secure border and modernising. Equivalent nations around the world are doing exactly the same. On the individual circumstances he mentions, I cannot answer today, but let us get together on Monday and go through them.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

On behalf of my constituent David, I want to ask: has the ETA regime created a de facto UK passport requirement for British citizens? I also want to ask a question on behalf of my constituent Dolores, whose son, Tommy Roberts, an aspiring Royal Marine, was murdered in Bournemouth, aged 21, by somebody I will not name in this Parliament, who should not have been in this country. I thank the Minister for Border Security and Asylum for meeting me recently about this matter. We are not past Brexit, because that murder was possible as a result of a lack of intelligence sharing. Will the Minister share how, through these changes, the Home Office is taking action to stop illegal migrants and foreign criminals coming into our country?

Police Grant Report

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

The 2026-27 settlement delivers a cash increase nationally but once again fails to address the structural unfairness faced by rural forces such as Dorset. It does not properly reflect rurality, seasonal population increases or the cumulative impact of more than a decade of underfunding. Dorset police is consistently one of the worst-funded forces in the country. It ranks in the bottom 10 nationally for total funding, receiving around £203 million, and sits at roughly 26th out of the 43 forces on a per capita basis. Despite covering over 1,000 square miles of largely rural geography, Dorset police remains at below the national average for funding per head and far behind most urban and metropolitan forces. The 2026-27 settlement does nothing to change that relative position.

The settlement assumes that police and crime commissioners will raise tax by the full £15 band D precept. In Dorset, that assumption is particularly problematic. Around 51% of Dorset police’s funding already comes from local council tax payers, compared with a national average of 34%, and as little as 20% in some of the better-funded force areas. Because Dorset has a smaller and slower-growing council tax base, even the same £15 increase raises far less in real terms than it does in urban areas. This settlement therefore locks in a reliance on council tax in a way that systematically disadvantages rural counties. We have already seen where this kind of Treasury assumption can lead. Similar flawed assumptions in fire service funding have resulted in plans to close fire stations in Maiden Newton and Charmouth. Once again, decisions are being based on unrealistic expectations of local funding, with consequences for rural communities.

Although the Government have stated that the recent 2.4% police pay settlement is fully funded nationally, in Dorset it is very different. For Dorset police, our settlement alone requires £500,000 of savings to be found locally. Over the past three years, the force has had to make £2.8 million in savings, with a direct impact on staffing levels. Meanwhile, seven forces nationally are able to generate surpluses year after year, while six forces, including Dorset, are forced to find savings just to stand still or, in many cases, regress. This is not a fair or sustainable system. It makes a mockery of the Government’s neighbourhood policing guarantee, even after the proposed long-term reforms. Dorset is one of the 11 forces that has still not returned to 2010 officer levels, and when neighbourhood policing funding is examined in isolation, Dorset is the worst-funded force in the country.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Over the weekend I went on a walkaround with my local police officers in Boscombe and Springbourne, and they were talking about the need to make sure that, particularly over the summer months, neighbourhood police teams were not seeing—in their words—significant abstractions of police officers from our communities into the seafront and the town centre, because Bournemouth particularly sees very high levels of tourism and large numbers of people coming in from outside who sometimes cause criminality. They also welcome the neighbourhood guarantee, which will see an increase in neighbourhood police forces. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to ensure that we keep our neighbourhood police forces in their neighbourhoods?

[Edward Morello]

I thank my fellow Dorset MP for his intervention. He will know that we welcome a huge number of tourists, who are vital for our local hospitality and tourism economy. While we want people to come, this does put an incredible strain on our local police forces and the funding needs to reflect that population increase.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The testimony of the victims that the hon. Gentleman has heard from is absolutely horrifying, and the grooming gangs scandal was one of the darkest moments in this country’s history. Victims and survivors of these hideous crimes deserve justice, and we will make sure that they get it. Our inquiry is a full, statutory independent inquiry, with all the powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 to deliver justice. I urge the hon. Gentleman and anybody else who has heard any allegations or evidence of criminality to share it with the police immediately.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

T3. I respect everyone’s democratic right to protest within the law. In Bournemouth, Dorset police is being forced to spend around £100,000 policing protests at the three asylum hotels, which were opened by the Conservatives at eye-watering expense. Often protests have to be managed by neighbourhood policing teams that we, as a Labour Government, are rebuilding. That means that police are spending their time policing protests rather than out on the beat in their neighbourhoods. When will Bournemouth’s asylum hotels begin to close, not just because they are bad for the people living in and around them, but because of the huge cost to our local police force and the abstractions to our neighbourhood policing teams?

[The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Alex Norris)]

My hon. Friend is a doughty champion for his community. He has raised the issue of these hotels with me on multiple occasions and I know that he will continue to do so until they are closed. He is exactly right; for the reasons he mentions, hotels are a very bad place to accommodate those seeking asylum. He will have heard the commitment from myself and the Home Secretary: we will get them closed, and we will do so within this parliamentary term.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

The hon. Gentleman knows that this is not purely a financial arrangement. We know that hotels have a profound social and economic impact on communities in this country. We believe that big military sites are better places to house asylum seekers. I appreciate that that is a point of difference, but the hon. Gentleman needs to know that when he advocates against our proposals to use larger military sites, he is saying yes to the use of hotels across the community. To say otherwise simply does not stand up—that is the choice. His view is very clear, as is ours.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I recently visited an asylum hotel in my constituency and have spoken separately with people living there and in the community surrounding the hotel. It is clear that ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers is in the best interests of not only asylum seekers, but the neighbouring community and the taxpayer. The Minister and I have had many conversations about this. Can he confirm when the Government will begin ending the use of asylum hotels in Bournemouth?

[Alex Norris]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I can assure his constituents and hon. and right hon. colleagues that he persists with me on this issue on virtually a daily basis, including over the Christmas period, which was very welcome indeed. I could not be clearer: we do not want to see hotels in Bournemouth used for this purpose. As my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand) said, that is part of the wreckage that was left by the previous Government. We want that to change. I know that colleagues want information as soon as possible. I am asking them to be a little bit patient. It may not be too much longer before they start to hear news in this space.

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

I repeat that the numbers have stayed relatively flat. I think that the hon. Member is imputing a motive to those individuals that has not yet been stood up by any of the data or the evidence. He will know that we are pursuing discussions in relation to a youth mobility scheme with our partners in Europe.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

T5.   Because of antisocial behaviour, including drug dealing and public injecting, Upper Charminster community action group has activated a community safety trigger, and this month we will have a case review. I thank the group and Queen’s Park councillor Sharon Carr-Brown for their focus on antisocial behaviour. Will the Minister set out what the Government are doing to tackle antisocial behaviour in Bournemouth and beyond?

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

Antisocial behaviour is a scourge that has gone untackled for too long. We are funding hotspot policing in our town centres and other areas in which antisocial behaviour is rife; that is having an impact. Our neighbourhood policing guarantee, which will mean 3,000 more police on our streets by next March, will have an impact. We are introducing respect orders, which will be a really useful tool to tackle prolific antisocial behaviour offenders. The message has to be loud and clear: we will not accept this behaviour, and the police are responding.

Police Reform

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I join the hon. Member in praising her local team. She is right to talk about staff. There are about 1,000 staff who support police and crime commissioners. We will work with them to transition—where they need to be transitioned, and where they carry out statutory functions that we need to continue—to local authorities. It is not by any means the case that they are all losing their jobs. It is very important to stress that the function continues as is for the next two years. We will continue to work with staff, and I will be talking to police and crime commissioners about the transition a lot, I suspect.

The hon. Member highlights one of the challenges of the move to the mayoral model: there is legislation going through Parliament, and some decisions are yet to be made. I am very happy to work with her on how things will work going forward, but we are very clear about the model that we want to introduce. Where there are moving parts, we will work as best we can to make sure that we get the right outcomes.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Having sat on a police and crime panel, let me say that I am thrilled to see the abolition of the police and crime commissioner model. This will save £20 million a year, which is the equivalent of an extra 320 special constables. In my area, the Liberal Democrat council is introducing pointless town councils, which raises local taxes. We as a Labour Government will bring down local taxes by abolishing the PCC role, which is very good news.

I want to put on record my thanks to Dave Sidwick, who has been an excellent police and crime commissioner. He is Conservative, and I am Labour, but it does not matter. We work together in service of the public, and that has yielded very good results. I must confess to having regularly experienced difficulties accessing my chief constable in Dorset. Could the Minister please set out what she thinks are reasonable expectations when it comes to a chief constable engaging with local Members of Parliament, particularly on important issues to do with policing and community safety?

[Sarah Jones]

I repeat what I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy): it is incredibly important that chiefs have a good relationship with their local Member of Parliament. It is a two-way street; Members of Parliament bring a huge amount of insight, from all their conversations with constituents, about what is important to their local community and what its fears are, and about where crime is occurring. It is very important that police chiefs have that relationship with them, so that we can help each other to deliver better services.