Chi Onwurah MP: Climate Timeline

Chi Onwurah is the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West.

We have identified 30 Parliamentary Votes Related to Climate since 2010 in which Chi Onwurah could have voted.

Chi Onwurah is rated Good for votes supporting action on climate. (Rating Methodology)

In favour of action on climate: 23
Against: 1
Did not vote: 6

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Chi Onwurah's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Chi Onwurah

09 Dec 2024: Tweet
RT @KiMcGuinness: Green energy will create jobs and opportunity across the North East and achieve our net zero goals. I joined PM @Keir_St… [Source]
26 Nov 2024: Tweet
It was great to join People, Planet, Pint for one of their regular get-togethers @theforthhotel in #Newcastle to explore climate change and green issues hosted by @small99uk. Check out the QR code to learn more ???????? https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1861455047952933036/photo/1 [Source]
15 Oct 2024: Tweet
Great to meet with @GrenEnergyLtd to discuss the importance of decarbonising heat, and how, with the right regulatory support, the North East can play a leading part in driving sustainable and renewable heating. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1846103457196814618/photo/1 [Source]
31 Aug 2024: Tweet
Fab #BigBikeRevival drop in @The_Cycle_Hub showcasing support for Newcastle cyclists inc @CyclingUK_NE, @RYBike, @WATBike and of course the Hub itself with its Cycle Centre Express. Cycling is such a great way to get around, stay fit, save money and fight climate change! https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1829934078637805612/photo/1 [Source]
20 Aug 2024: Tweet
RT @jamesrbuk: Except: there *is* a prize for being among the first to decarbonise. If you work out the tech, you can sell it to other coun… [Source]
24 Jul 2024: Tweet
RT @IIPP_UCL: IIPP's Labour and Climate Change Lecture Series by Prof @DamonSilvers is available to stream now! Understand the connection b… [Source]
19 Jul 2024: Tweet
RT @Chris4SN: Pleased to serve the Prime Minister & govt in the energy & net zero dept as Parliamentary Secretary to @Ed_Miliband. Energy s… [Source]
08 Jul 2024: Tweet
RT @IIPP_UCL: IIPP's Labour and Climate Change Lecture Series by Prof @DamonSilvers is available to stream now! Understand the connection b… [Source]
28 Jun 2024: Tweet
RT @henrietta999: Armstrong is at last being widely recognised as a pioneer in the use of renewable energy – and as the man who – 160 years… [Source]
21 May 2024: Tweet
RT @LabourSJ: Mad, bad, and dangerous. The government's approach to net zero has put off investors and threatened our national security.… [Source]
24 Apr 2024: Parliamentary Speech

We all know that space is not just for the stars. Members from constituencies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England have all emphasised—I am sure Members from Wales would, too—the potential and actual contribution that it makes to their economies. The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) particularly emphasised that point. The space industry impacts everybody and everything, from climate change monitoring and rural broadband to transport and agriculture. It is vital for security—just look at Ukraine—and for telecommunications.

Full debate: Space Industry
25 Mar 2024: Tweet
RT @vaughangething: Great to welcome @Keir_Starmer to Ynys Môn today to discuss the massive green energy opportunities on the island. Our… [Source]
19 Mar 2024: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: Tackling the climate crisis will cut bills, create jobs, and boost energy security. But Rishi Sunak has never cared abou… [Source]
23 Jan 2024: Tweet
Decarbonisation will not mean deindustrialization under Labour, it'll mean jobs and cheaper energy bills. And British steel! https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1749880965860594097/photo/1 [Source]
23 Jan 2024: Tweet
Decarbonisation will need mean deindustrialization under Labour, it'll mean jobs and cheaper energy bills. And British steel! https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1749875281278439706/photo/1 [Source]
22 Jan 2024: Tweet
Fantastic to speak at the #NetZero Design Innovation workshop in #Newcastle hosted by @NorthumbriaUni in partnership with @DesignCouncil and highlight the unique role of #design and the opportunities #innovation provides for creating strong green economies across the UK. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1749477292420526530/photo/1 [Source]
21 Jan 2024: Tweet
The Tories are paying Tata Steel half a billion pounds to slash jobs and destroy our sovereign steelmaking capacity. Labour would invest in British current and future green steelmaking capacity and jobs. This is not about climate change, but Tory weakness & incompetence. https://twitter.com/SKinnock/status/1748242908862464143 [Source]
09 Jan 2024: Tweet
In Sydney meeting w leading players Australian innovation to see what we can learn - @ARENA_aus funds critical Net Zero innovation such as solar panel efficiency improvements to accelerate their commercial rollout driving jobs & clean tech https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1744543602988966208/photo/1 [Source]
13 Dec 2023: Tweet
“I’m going to meet and talk to the leading people in the world who are working on establishing and hitting #climate goals and I’m going to listen to what they have to say...” As #COP28 ends here's why I went, in Newcastle World ???????? https://www.newcastleworld.com/news/newcastle-central-mp-chi-onwurah-speaks-up-for-the-north-east-at-cop-28-4441842 [Source]
12 Dec 2023: Tweet
Great to meet with CEO of @royafrisoc @JanetRoganRAS at #COP28. Africa’s resources are put under increasing strain from climatic change, despite contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions. We will work together to ensure African voices are better heard in this debate. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1734522778005471560/photo/1 [Source]
11 Dec 2023: Tweet
It was brilliant to meet @ca4sh_global to discuss the potential for soil carbon sequestration in Africa. Africa is suffering greatly from climate change, despite not having contributed emissions on the scale of developed economies - but it can contribute solutions! @AfricaAPPG https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1734255102133719097/photo/1 [Source]
11 Dec 2023: Tweet
I'm here at #COP28???? to represent the views of constituents who have written to me about the urgent need for climate action As discussed here with Nissan, the biggest car maker in the UK, the move to Net Zero will create good, green job opportunities for people in the North East https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1734232753908986325/photo/1 [Source]
11 Dec 2023: Tweet
RT @EnvironmentAPPG: @AlokSharma_RDG @CommonsEAC @Dunne4Ludlow Many APPG members amongst the UK parliamentary delegation to #COP28, includi… [Source]
09 Dec 2023: Tweet
RT @MarkWatts_: Great meeting with the UK Parlimentary delegation today at #COP28 to discuss all things climate and how C40 cities are lead… [Source]
09 Dec 2023: Tweet
I'm here at #COP28 to represent the views of constituents who have written to me about the urgent need for climate action. As discussed here with Nissan, the biggest car maker in the UK, the move to Net Zero will create good, green job opportunities for people in the North East https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1733503927042109691/photo/1 https://twitter.com/ChronicleLive/status/1732857511001092209 [Source]
09 Dec 2023: Tweet
My first 24 hours at #COP28 what I've learnt and what it means for #Newcastle & the world - some real progress but a lot more to do if global warming is not to go catastrophic on us . Global stocktake & #FossilFuel phase out still under discussion. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1733420087334273163/video/1 [Source]
08 Dec 2023: Tweet
I'm here at #COP28 to represent the views of constituents who have written to me about the urgent need for climate action. As discussed here with Nissan, the biggest car maker in the UK, the move to Net Zero will create good, green job opportunities for people in the North East. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1733178388607639929/photo/1 https://twitter.com/AS_North_East/status/1732814916430799107 [Source]
07 Dec 2023: Tweet
RT @AS_North_East: ???? ????Newcastle MP @ChiOnwurah Onwurah spearheads the North East's green revolution at #cop28 in Dubai, emphasizing regiona… [Source]
02 Dec 2023: Tweet
RT @Keir_Starmer: The Tories see net zero as a device to divide - for Labour it’s an opportunity to make working people better off. Our cl… [Source]
30 Nov 2023: Tweet
RT @hoxtonfarms: ???? Ahead of #COP28, we joined @StartupCltn for it's ClimateTech Reception. It was great to hear from @ChiOnwurah about how… [Source]
23 Nov 2023: Tweet
RT @simon_sat: Particularly happy to hear @ChiOnwurah highlight the role of the space sector in monitoring and mitigating climate change. W… [Source]
22 Nov 2023: Tweet
RT @bmra_uk: Today, Cameron Leitch, BMRA's Policy and Public Affairs Executive, is attending The Net Zero & Energy Management Expo. Pictur… [Source]
16 Nov 2023: Tweet
I raised Net Zero in the chamber yesterday. Today @HistoricEngland has published local data on the need for retrofitting skills to deliver Net Zero for England’s historic buildings. Find out more ⬇️ https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/climate-change/delivering-net-zero-local-data-demand-for-retrofitting-skills [Source]
15 Nov 2023: Parliamentary Speech

Climate change presents huge challenges and huge opportunities. Labour would champion university clusters and spin-outs as engines of sustainable regional growth, but right now great green job-creating businesses such as Low Carbon Materials, a Durham University spin-out, and Airex, an award-winning retrofit start-up, are bogged down by Tory red tape, with some new products subject to 11 different regulators. Will the Minister adopt Labour’s proposal for a regulatory innovation office to unblock the system, end damaging uncertainty and drive much-needed growth?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
14 Nov 2023: Parliamentary Speech

I am immensely proud of our local food banks such as West End food bank, Newcastle United supporters trust food bank and Kenton food bank. I am proud of the work of our council, and I am proud of the work of all the charities helping Geordies to survive, but it should not have to be this way. Newcastle’s wonderful industrial heritage inspired me to go into engineering. Whether it is renewable energy, life sciences, start-ups or innovative manufacturing, Newcastle has exciting prospects for the industries of the future and a green industrial manufacturing future. In our long-standing areas of strength, such as our world-renowned hospitality sector, which adds more than £300 million of GVA each year in my constituency, I can see enormous potential for growth, helped by Labour’s plans on business rates, energy markets and the planning system.

Full debate: Economic Growth
11 Nov 2023: Tweet
RT @AfricaAPPG: On 16th Nov in run up to #COP28 our @UKParliament inquiry asks what more the UK could do to support JUST #EnergyTransition… [Source]
10 Nov 2023: Tweet
Brilliant as ever to catch up with Sir Mark Walport of @RoyalSociety. We discussed the UK's exceptional science base and how to ensure its future success - which is critical to growing the economy, tackling climate change, and making our NHS fit for the future. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1722982450039488580/photo/1 [Source]
09 Nov 2023: Tweet
Great to see new tri-mode trains coming to @LNER. Green innovation will play a vital role in reaching Net Zero. https://twitter.com/LNER/status/1722530026812268684 [Source]
08 Nov 2023: Tweet
RT @jreynoldsMP: Labour backs our fantastic steelworkers. We cannot allow Britain to lose the ability to make primary steel. Decarbonisati… [Source]
06 Nov 2023: Tweet
“I believe that by being bold and ambitious we can build the green industrial economy we need and fight climate change.” Me in @politicshome ???????? https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/innovation-key-making-britain-clean-energy-superpower [Source]
11 Oct 2023: Tweet
It was also great to speak about SMEs with @SME4LABOUR, women in engineering with @bookingcom, engineering for Net Zero with @RAEngNews, and Labour's mission to use data for the public good with @policy_exchange. In total, 18 fantastic events. Roll on #Lab24! https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1712175389731086800/photo/1 [Source]
10 Oct 2023: Tweet
RT @LauraHall1995: Fantastic to hear from an all woman @RAEngNews NEPC panel on #engineering & #netzero the with @Rachel__Skinner @ChiOnwur… [Source]
26 Sep 2023: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: The British people want a plan to cut energy bills, boost wages, and tackle the climate crisis. That is why Rishi Sunak'… [Source]
26 Sep 2023: Tweet
RT @DamonSilvers: Read my oped w Mariana @MazzucatoM on the lessons of the #StandUpUAW strike for how to effectively fight climate change.… [Source]
26 Sep 2023: Tweet
Brilliant to visit @EQUANS_UK @NewcastleHelix & discuss how district heating & cooling can help decarbonise cities like ours. Labour would work in partnership with businesses and communities to make Britain a clean energy superpower. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1706672471385027042/photo/1 [Source]
13 Sep 2023: Tweet
The @RollsRoyce Nuclear Technology Demonstrator brought great UK innovation to @UKParliament for #NuclearWeek. I met apprentices from their Nuclear Skills Academy and discussed how different technologies, including micro-reactors & #SMR can help to us decarbonise our economy. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1702004156792271124/photo/1 [Source]
19 Jul 2023: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: Businesses are sounding the alarm ???? The Conservatives have given up on climate leadership Their failure means higher ene… [Source]
21 Jun 2023: Tweet
RT @NewcastleCC: Very excited! We're proud to be nominated in the Leadership in Responding to the Climate Emergency and Chief Executive of… [Source]
20 Jun 2023: Tweet
RT @SCIupdate: 'I'm excited by the role engineering and science can play in addressing climate change', @ChiOnwurah talks about the potenti… [Source]
20 Jun 2023: Tweet
RT @RoyalSocBio: We are facing climate change, and the need for a net zero economy. We need to inspire young people, and to show them that… [Source]
17 Jun 2023: Tweet
Fab nature crafts session w the Friends of Leazes Park, engaging with people of all ages on #climatechange biodiversity & the environment as part of @biggreenweek You're never too old to make your own bunting! https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1670048598724161536/photo/1 [Source]
08 Jun 2023: Tweet
To celebrate #WorldOceansDay2023, I spoke @ukparliament reception on the importance of marine climate research and ocean-based climate technology. Labour will deliver a science-led, joined-up plan to halt & reverse biodiversity loss for the benefit of people & planet. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1666781266039980033/photo/1 [Source]
30 Mar 2023: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: ‘Green Day’ summarised: ❌ No removal of the onshore wind ban ❌ No new money for energy efficiency ❌ No net zero mandate… [Source]
7 Mar 2023: Parliamentary Speech

I have a few specific questions. First, can my right hon. Friend commit that the £1.65 billion from the science budget that was returned to the Treasury last week as part of the supplementary estimates will go back to the science budget and has not been lost? Secondly, I am interested in what she says about Horizon. Will she say when the negotiations will begin? She rightly says that they cannot go on forever, but how long will she allow them to continue before plan B is enacted? Finally, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that in areas such as battery technology, which is a responsibility of her Department, of the Department for Business and Trade and of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, there is a united and coherent approach across Government so that investors know what the policy is and who to deal with?

I commend my hon. Friend for all the great work that he does and has done consistently over the years. I know that he held a meeting here to dive deep into this issue again and to raise its profile. Of course the work is important geopolitically, but it is also important to addressing net zero. We work closely with partners. Our approach is global, not just internal, which is key to the framework.

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. This highlights how the Department will be working hand in hand with other Departments. On this agenda, we will be working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It is our Department that will be focusing on innovation and the technologies of tomorrow, but it is incumbent on us to work with the other Departments to deliver them in time to be ready for tomorrow.

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what is happening in his constituency. I think it will improve his constituents’ lives with more jobs and better paid jobs, but it will also improve the lives of all our constituents. This is how we drive forward our economy, how we grow our economy, how we create better paid jobs, how we improve our healthcare and how we tackle climate change. My constituents are asking me for all those things, and it is this Government who are delivering this proactive, outcomes-based approach.

Full debate: Science and Technology Framework
6 Mar 2023: Parliamentary Speech

As the recent Britishvolt investment shows, the north-east has real strengths in growing sectors such as battery technology, green energy and life sciences. Does the Minister agree that it is not possible for nationally controlled training programmes to really support people into employment in these emerging sectors? Will he therefore devolve responsibility to those in local areas who know local skills and local opportunities?

Full debate: Topical Questions
24 Jan 2023: Tweet
RT @NadiaWhittomeMP: Today my Climate Education Bill returns to Parliament. The climate emergency will affect every aspect of our society.… [Source]
21 Dec 2022: Tweet
Addressing #biodiversity loss is an essential part of addressing climate change. But the Govt's failure to set targets on water quality & habitat protections undermined talks at #COP15. The Secretary of State has left Nature swimming in sewage but says its Labour's fault. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1605490371970023430/video/1 [Source]
20 Dec 2022: Tweet
Addressing #biodiversity loss is an essential part of addressing climate change. But the Govt's failure to set targets on water quality & habitat protections undermined talks at #COP15. The Secretary of State has left Nature swimming in sewage but says its Labour's fault. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1605249223464812544/video/1 [Source]
19 Dec 2022: Tweet
RT @danieltravers: Positive roundtable to provide input to @ChiOnwurah and @alanwhiteheadmp on where climate tech provide growth under a… [Source]
15 Dec 2022: Tweet
A productive roundtable with @alanwhiteheadmp & @ClimateSubak stakeholders on the future of #climatetechnology????????‍???? We discussed the potential of clean tech under a Labour government, barriers to scaling up, and creating a skills agenda to deliver clean power by 2030 ???? https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1603384133748752384/photo/1 [Source]
15 Nov 2022: Parliamentary Speech

As my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) emphasised, net zero and growth are not in opposition. Partnership between the market and the state presents the opportunity to build world-leading industries that will last for decades and spread wealth across the country. Labour believes the UK has huge potential for new green industries, such as clean steel, as championed so passionately by my hon. Friends the Members for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald), for Newport East (Jessica Morden) and for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock).

Full debate: Britain’s Industrial Future
15 Nov 2022: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: Great to see my friend @DavidLammy at #COP27. A Labour Government will bring a new era of UK climate ambition and leadersh… [Source]
15 Nov 2022: Tweet
Working People and Climate Change https://t.co/LQrPuoqiEw [Source]
14 Nov 2022: Tweet
RT @UniofNewcastle: Coverage of the paper by @meteogreen @HayleyJFowler & @metoffice showing that climate change could alter lightning patt… [Source]
11 Nov 2022: Tweet
RT @Keir_Starmer: Britain should be leading the way to tackle the climate crisis. Visiting a wind farm in Grimsby, I spoke with industry l… [Source]
10 Nov 2022: Tweet
When I asked Rishi Sunak to invest in the #NorthEast to combat #ClimateChange he became a marketing man for the oil companies fuelling the global warming which floods the #NorthEast. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1590351476358287360/video/1 [Source]
10 Nov 2022: Tweet
When I asked Rishi Sunak to invest in the #NorthEast to combat #ClimateChange he became a marketing man for the oil companies fuelling the global warming which floods the #NorthEast. https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1590351476358287360 [Source]
07 Nov 2022: Tweet
RT @Ed_Miliband: Rishi Sunak is a fossil fuel PM in a renewable age. This is the man who had to be dragged even to go to COP27, and who o… [Source]
31 Oct 2022: Tweet
At the @bmf_merchants Levelling up to Net Zero, I spoke to women - & some men - driving innovation to deliver a more sustainable building sector. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1587023574371635200/photo/1 [Source]
19 Oct 2022: Vote
Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
18 Oct 2022: Tweet
#COP26 was about promises. #COP27 should be about delivery. But African countries are still lacking the investment they need to address the #ClimateEmergency. I chaired a special meeting of @AfricaAPPG w/ the Africa Minister to discuss @FSDAfrica's research on closing the gap. https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1582362420580057092/photo/1 [Source]
03 Oct 2022: Tweet
It was great to visit @ORECatapult's test facility in Blyth to see their work to drive forward renewable energy innovation. Labour will double offshore wind by 2035 & our plan for clean power by 2030 will save the British people £93 billion off their energy bills. #NetZero https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1576960666258223104/photo/1 [Source]
25 Sep 2022: Tweet
RT @hannahdordi: At a packed #Lab22 event on “Climate for Growth: Levelling Up Through Green Innovation”. Following @Keir_Starmer’s pledge… [Source]
26 Aug 2022: Tweet
RT @DanielZeichner: The supply of CO2 matters given its extensive use in food production. Yet the Govt is sleepwalking into another suppl… [Source]
20 Jul 2022: Tweet
Listening to Tory #ClimateChange Minister refuse to condemn the Tory leadership candidates approach to the #ClimateEmergency underlines that we can have no confidence in the Government on the most important issues. #VONC https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1549350883762339841 [Source]
19 Jul 2022: Tweet
I have no confidence in this govt because the candidates to replace the PM are in a race to abandon #netzero. As Britain boils we know if we do not meet the #climatechallenge, the Sahara is coming for us, & if they think Net Zero is expensive try costing the alternative! #VONC https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1549350883762339841/video/1 [Source]
18 Jul 2022: Parliamentary Speech

I have no confidence in this Government because they have decided to do without a science Minister, even as they say that science is essential to our economic recovery. I have no confidence in this Government because, as our nation faces a lethal heatwave—one so severe that the rail links between Westminster and my constituency have been severed, and the NHS is braced for a wave of heatstroke victims—the Prime Minister prefers to play “Top Gun” rather than turning up for Cobra meetings. I have no confidence in this Government because the candidates to replace the disgraced Prime Minister are so mired in mud-slinging that they barely mention health, education, jobs or the environment, and have now cancelled further debates because they are so embarrassing. I have no confidence in this Government because they appear to be in an arms race to slash taxes, cut the state, and “postpone”, or abandon, our commitment to net zero carbon emissions.

As we swelter in this country, we should remember that the whole of Europe is less than two thirds the size of the Sahara desert. If we do not meet the climate challenge, the Sahara is coming for us. If the Government think that net zero commitments are “expensive”, they should try costing the retrofitting of air conditioning in every home and school and every other building in the country. That will be but a small part of what it will cost us.

Full debate: Confidence in Her Majesty’s Government
07 Jul 2022: Tweet
RT @MarshallJulian: Are you a woman in science, addressing air quality & climate change? If so, consider applying for this $5k prize: htt… [Source]
03 Jul 2022: Tweet
RT @jreynoldsMP: Labour’s plans will bring down bills, create jobs and help achieve net zero A Labour government will re-energise Britain’… [Source]
28 Jun 2022: Tweet
RT @NewcastleCC: The Newcastle Youth Climate Change Summit takes place on Tuesday 5 July at The Common Room. This is a unique opportunity f… [Source]
28 Jun 2022: Tweet
RT @lucyharper: Net zero is a global challenge that’s inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers - @ChiOnwurah speaking at @… [Source]
28 Jun 2022: Tweet
Constituents sometimes ask me what difference #climatechange will make to them - well a 30-40% in rainfall increase by 2050, warmer air holds more water so when it does rain, more rain falls in a short time - so that's more #toonmonsoon events causing chaos & costing millions. https://twitter.com/ChronicleLive/status/1541741952152096768 [Source]
22 Jun 2022: Tweet
W the @AfricaAPPG looking at trade, regulation, climate change & technology @CHOGM2022 Business Forum it was a pleasure to meet so many dynamic entrepreneurs working for a prosperous, sustainable Africa https://x.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1539661432111132673/photo/1 [Source]
11 May 2022: Parliamentary Speech

What is the Government’s response? This Queen’s speech is remarkable for what is not in it, not what is: there is no emergency budget, with a windfall tax to get money off people’s bills, as Labour has called for; and it contains no employment Bill, although the Government promised one. We needed a real plan for growth to get our economy firing on all cylinders, with a climate investment pledge, and a commitment to buy, make and sell more in Britain. Instead, the Government hike national insurance; cut universal credit; have real-terms pay cuts for public sector workers; freeze the rate of local housing allowance; and freeze the cap on childcare costs that UC claimants are entitled to. Each of those decisions make it even harder for my constituents to deal with rising costs.

The Government have failed to rise to the challenge of the digital age, just as they failed to rise to the cost of living crisis, and failed to rise to the challenges of covid, of climate change, and of child poverty. They look at our northern cities and see problems to hide from, not opportunities for investment. Whether we are talking about short-term or long-term planning, this Government are failing. Britain deserves better and I look forward to a Labour Government who are on the people’s side.

Full debate: Preventing Crime and Delivering Justice
24 Jan 2022: Parliamentary Speech

In Newcastle, we have been waiting seven years—seven years—for real-time integrated bus information of the type that Londoners take for granted. Now we hear that the £3 billion bus improvement funding is less than half that, and much of that is going on zero-emission buses, meaning even less money for our bus improvement plan, which includes real-time information. Will the Secretary of State commit to levelling up bus transport in the north so that we are no longer under-served, overcharged and underinformed?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
13 Dec 2021: Vote
Subsidy Control Bill — Schedule 1 - The subsidy control principles - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
24 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

As well as comparing with London, we also need to compare with the unfortunately often more convenient and cheaper alternative that my constituents have: the car. As we recently saw at COP26, we want to move away from car journeys towards more journeys on public transport. However, it is cheaper for a family of four to take a car into the centre of Newcastle to go and see the latest Peppa Pig film—I am sure the Prime Minister will approve of that, given that most of my constituents cannot afford the 700-mile round trip to Peppa Pig World—than it is for them to get a bus there and back.

I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for that intervention; she is absolutely right. As well as the challenge of climate change, the quality of air in Newcastle is of great concern to my constituents and hers. It is not rocket science—the technology is there to have cleaner, greener buses. The Secretary of State for Transport keeps on saying that there are thousands of such buses about to come on to our streets, but we have yet to see them in Newcastle. That is part of the investment that we need to see.

Full debate: Bus Services: North-east England
2 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

It is a real pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake) and her incisive comments. I grew up in a council house in North Kenton, in Newcastle. I went to excellent local state schools, and the NHS made me well when I was ill and saved my mother’s life when she had cancer. I start with that to acknowledge the personal debt I owe to public services. It is a debt that we surely all feel all the more deeply, given the dedication of public service workers during this pandemic, but apparently the Chancellor does not. Yes, he talked about public services. Indeed, he mentioned them 13 times, but unfortunately this Budget is all talk, smoke and mirrors from a Government with no plan to address the three critical crises we are facing: the cost of living crisis, the climate crisis and the covid crisis. There is so much wrong with this Budget, but in the short time I have today, I will highlight five areas: universal credit, science, transport, local government and protecting our communities.

We do not generally think of science as a public service, but it is certainly a public good and the foundation of our future economic prosperity and global competitiveness. The Chancellor echoed the Prime Minister’s talk of a science superpower, but he went quickly over the bit where he actually broke the Prime Minister’s commitment to doubling the science spend by 2024-25, delaying it by two years at a cost of £8 billion in private sector investment. In science, as elsewhere, levelling up is nothing but a slogan. The Chancellor’s £1.4 million global Britain investment fund purports to spread economic opportunities across the UK by investing in life sciences, the automotive industry and manufacturing. Those are all sectors the north-east has considerable strengths in and they are critical for addressing climate change. Yet, for example, Government investment in life sciences is just £22 per person in the north, which is two fifths of the £55 per person invested in the south—in the midlands, it is just £16 per person. How will we deliver good, green, sustainable jobs across the north-east, and indeed in all our regions, without investment in science?

Full debate: Budget Resolutions
21 Sep 2021: Parliamentary Speech

The Prime Minister’s climate change spokeswoman recently announced that she would not be buying an electric car because of the lack of charging infrastructure and battery capacity. In 2018 the UK produced a quarter of Europe’s electric vehicles, but that is set to fall to just 4% by 2030. Motor manufacturers predict that tens of thousands of good jobs will be lost.

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
14 Jul 2021: Parliamentary Speech

The Government talk excitedly about global Britain, but Labour wants to see an interplanetary Britain, powered by a booming space sector. Space is not just for the stars; it impacts every household in the country. From climate change and rural broadband to transport and agriculture, from our smartphones to our credit cards, the UK space sector helps us all prosper. The satellites at risk from space debris are central to providing those services.

Full debate: Space Debris
17 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

We heard from the hon. Member for Wantage anecdotal evidence of parcels being prioritised by Royal Mail. The UK parcel market is highly competitive. Although Royal Mail continues to hold the largest share, at 35%, other providers, such as Amazon and Hermes, are on the rise. What recent assessment has the Minister made of competition in this market? What impact does cross-subsidy, which is prevalent in Amazon’s retail sector, have? What is the impact on the environment and our climate change commitments of charge-free delivery, which is associated with, for example, Amazon Prime, which encourages parcels to be ordered and delivered individually?

Full debate: Royal Mail
7 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

It is vital that we get the Advanced Research and Invention Agency right. Today we will hear many Members—although not as many as we had thought—raise a wide range of important issues such as climate change, regional and national economic development, international development and democratic accountability, but at the heart of this debate is science, which now plays such a critical part in all our lives.

My hon. Friend refers to some of that world-beating research. I chair the all-party parliamentary group on HIV and AIDS. There has been a great degree of concern among some of our global health all-party groups about the cuts that were and are coming to global health research. I totally support the amendments that we have tabled on climate change; there is also a critical link between climate change and global health. Does my hon. Friend agree that we absolutely need to continue that world-beating research, because it has so many benefits for health not just globally, but in this country too?

As hon. Members have indicated, UK science is not only inspiring; it can also be groundbreaking and is a key economic driver. Our university research base alone contributes £95 billion to the economy, supporting nearly 1 million jobs in scientific institutes, charities and businesses of all sizes. Research by Oxford Economics commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that each £1 of public research and development—such as the money to be spent on ARIA—stimulates between £1.96 and £2.34 of private research and development, and we cannot recover from the pandemic without inspiring and initiating more private sector investment in research and development. Together, private and public sector research can help to address the key challenges facing humanity—from climate change to inequality, from pandemics to productivity.

The first major issue with the Bill is the absence of a mission for ARIA, which has already been raised. What is ARIA for and what is it working towards? Labour’s amendment 12 would require ARIA to have a specific mission for ARIA’s first decade, and we want that mission to be climate change.

On the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, I fail to see why he thinks that pedantry can make up for a lack of argument. Climate change is a core mission. We are not seeking to hem in the agency with absolute linguistic barriers for what exactly should be done, but we want it to have a direction. We want to know where it is going and what it is seeking to do. The core mission, as I intend to set out in detail, will be climate change. I do not intend to limit its interpretation of climate change, but I will set out the reasons why climate change will be its core mission.

I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention, which gives me the opportunity to clarify again that the difference between a flu virus and a coronavirus virus may be significant in medical terms, but it is not what we are talking about. We are talking about climate change—the existential challenge. We are not saying that it should be one part of climate change. To say that it is like preparing for one virus as against another virus is not an equivalent comparison. This is a much vaster challenge. Indeed, I think that she answered her own question. If something more important than climate change comes along in the next 10 years, with climate change being the existential challenge of our times, we would have significant issues to face as a Parliament. If she can think of something more important than climate change coming along in the next 10 years, would she like to intervene on me and suggest what that might be?

The UK Government have set the most ambitious climate change target, which is to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035. Would it not be ridiculous if ARIA were to pursue something that undid that good work?

Absolutely. As my hon. Friend says, the UK has set the most ambitious climate change target, but the Committee on Climate Change has said that the Government are currently on course to miss their manifesto commitment of achieving net zero by 2050. Amendment 12 aims to support the Government in that mission.

I now wish to make some significant progress in my comments, so I will not take any more interventions for a while. The lack of mission is a concern shared by many. The renowned economist Mariana Mazzucato suggested during the evidence sessions that achieving net zero should be ARIA’s mission. The Secretary of State said that ARIA needs a “laser-like focus”, but failed to provide it. The Institute of Physics said that a clear mission is “essential”, and the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, the right hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) raised concerns about ARIA’s lack of focus and purpose. The president of the Royal Society said that

Full debate: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill
07 Jun 2021: Vote
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill — New Clause 1 - Human Rights Abuses - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
26 May 2021: Vote
Environment Bill — New Clause 24 - Prohibition on burning of peat in upland areas - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
23 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

Again and again, UK science has pushed back the boundaries of knowledge, shrinking the vast expanses of ignorance which, as the pandemic has shown, may threaten humanity’s very existence. And science is a key economic driver. Our university research base alone contributes £95 billion to the economy, supporting nearly 1 million jobs in science institutes, charities and businesses of all sizes. Research by Oxford Economics commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that each £1 of public research and development stimulates between £1.96 and £2.34 of private research and development in the long run, and together they help address the key challenges facing humanity, from climate change to inequality, from pandemics to productivity. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) said, Labour recognises that the UK needs new mechanisms to support high-risk/high-reward research. As such, ARIA is a step in the right direction. The United States Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency programme, which the Secretary of State cites many times in his statement of policy intent, has helped give us inventions from the internet to Siri, from cyborg insects to GPS technology.

“ARIA should be oriented around societal challenges with broad buy-in that define the 21st century and can just as effectively stimulate cross-disciplinary innovation, for example climate change”.

Full debate: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill
23 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

Everyone who has had a coronavirus vaccine knows of the deep sense of gratitude to scientists. In facing the challenge of climate change, future pandemics and technological change, we look to science. At the general election, the Prime Minister promised to double science spend. Instead, we appear to have a £1 billion cut to the science budget plus a £120 million cut to our overseas development science as part of a “new settlement” that protects

Full debate: Horizon Europe
17 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

From the gravitational constant to the structure of DNA, and from jet engines to the worldwide web, the UK has a proud tradition of science, innovation, research and development that is renowned across the world. Our university research base contributes £95 billion to the economy, supporting nearly 1 million jobs in science institutes, charities and businesses of all sizes across the country. Twenty per cent. of the UK workforce is employed in a science or research role, and those are good, high-wage, high-skilled jobs that are helping to solve key challenges facing our country and planet—climate change, disease and productivity—and helping to ensure that the UK stays globally competitive.

Full debate: Research and Development Funding
8 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

It is the greatest crisis that this country has faced since the second world war, and the Chancellor offers us a partisan and peripatetic Budget—partisan because it seeks to shore up the majorities of Conservative MPs, regardless of need or national benefit, and peripatetic as it jumps from area to area and sector to sector, giving and taking with no vision and little ambition, with nothing on social care, nothing for our key industries, nothing for Newcastle and almost nothing on climate change.

Full debate: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
4 Feb 2021: Parliamentary Speech

The Government talk excitedly about “global Britain”, but Labour wants to see an interplanetary Britain powered by a booming space sector. Space is not just for the stars. As we have heard, it impacts every household in the country—from climate change and rural broadband to transport and agriculture. From our smart phones to our credit cards, the UK space sector helps us all to prosper. The Government have made commitments to develop a new space command, designed to

Full debate: UK Space Industry
13 Jan 2021: Vote
Financial Services Bill — Schedule 2 - Prudential regulation of FCA investment firms - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
15 Dec 2020: Parliamentary Speech

Of the £5 billion of new online spend because of the pandemic, 40% has gone to one website, Amazon. Many small businesses are afraid that they will not make it through the winter because of a lack of Government support, and they have Brexit and climate and technological change to deal with too. So I want to ask the Minister this: what is the plan for small businesses to survive covid and build back smarter and greener? I am talking not about vague promises, but about firm commitments to help businesses invest in new technologies, as Make UK has called for, or to target procurement to support net zero businesses, as the Institution of Civil Engineers proposes. Or are the Government just going to let business down again?

Full debate: Covid-19: Support for Businesses
2 Dec 2020: Parliamentary Speech

Across the country, only 8% to 10% of premises are connected to full-fibre broadband, compared with 97% in Japan. We are an innovative nation, but our innovation needs the digital platform to allow our small businesses to grow, particularly as our economy shifts online and we face the challenges and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, with its implications for everything from manufacturing to smart cities and addressing climate change.

Full debate: Broadband Rollout: Devon and Somerset
30 Nov 2020: Parliamentary Speech

As a chartered engineer, I want to finish by celebrating the potential of 5G, which can truly transform our businesses, our industries and our daily lives. It will not only vastly improve our connectivity and browsing experience but support new enabling technologies, from the internet of things to artificial intelligence. If the first industrial revolution was powered by engines, the fourth will be powered by data. As hon. Members have observed, 5G is essential for innovations from driverless cars to smart cities, and to addressing the climate emergency through monitoring and improving our energy efficiency. Some estimates predict that 5G could mean productivity savings for the UK of up to £6 billion a year on top of energy and waste reductions that internet of things devices could enable.

Full debate: Telecommunications (Security) Bill
12 Oct 2020: Vote
Agriculture Bill — After Clause 42 - Contribution of agriculture and associated land use to climate change targets - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No
29 Sep 2020: Vote
United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — New Clause 6 - Economic development: climate and nature emergency impact statement - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
11 Mar 2020: Parliamentary Speech

It is a great pleasure to speak in this important debate. Although the Budget and, unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis will take the headlines today, the climate emergency and our transition to a net zero economy remain the greatest challenges facing humanity. We will have to change many aspects of our society to address them, and that includes what we drive.

Under the Government’s plans, 15 years from now internal combustion engines will no longer be sold new in this country. Moving away from petrol-based engines is a challenge, but also a huge opportunity for the UK automotive industry. Transport makes up 26% of emissions and the automotive sector can make a dramatic contribution to achieving a net zero economy and saving our planet. That will require a massive rise in the number of electric vehicles in the UK.

Indeed, I should say that I underwent a revelation when I realised that the increasing demand for electric storage caused by the unpredictable or cyclical nature of many renewable energy sources, such as wind and tide, could be balanced quite literally by the fact that every car owner in the future will have a significant battery storage capacity sitting on their drive. That is true during the lifetime of the battery, but it is also a factor afterwards.

Recycling plants, touching on the point made by the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts), do need to be regional. Electric vehicle batteries are classed as hazardous waste, and the further they are transported, the greater the risk. As we have the skills in the north-east to support such a plant, we would welcome one in our region. We are a global leader in electric vehicles. The Washington Nissan plant introduced electric cars to Europe in 2011, creating a brand-new lithium battery plant from scratch in 18 months. Washington’s Envision-AESC factory is the first of its kind in the UK and leads the world in battery technology. It is eager to expand and exploit the new market opportunities offered by the lithium-ion technology revolution, and it has the knowledge to do so. We are going to need at least five battery gigafactories across the country to meet our decarbonisation targets—let us have one in the north-east. I know that that is more a matter for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but I hope the Minister will speak to BEIS about it.

Full debate: Electric Car Batteries: Disposal and Recycling
26 Feb 2020: Parliamentary Speech

Climate change is the biggest challenge facing us all, and as politicians we must rise to that challenge. I was reminded of that a couple of weeks ago, when speaking at Newcastle’s youth climate strike. The concern of the young speakers about the climate emergency was matched only by their lack of confidence in politicians’ ability to address it. I think, and hope, that we can prove that we have the ability to make real change and achieve net zero in time to save the planet. Today’s debate has touched on several issues that contribute to that objective, associated with energy efficiency.

Insulating our homes to a high standard is essential to tackling the climate emergency, and will ensure that we tackle the fuel poverty crisis in our country—a national scandal, with 10,000 people tragically having died last year because their homes were too cold. At the last election Labour put forward proposals to deliver warm homes for all, with the largest upgrade of UK housing since post-war reconstruction. That upgrade would have cut more than £400 off the average bill, thereby eradicating the vast majority of fuel poverty; reduced childhood asthma by more than half a million cases; and cut the UK’s emissions by 10%. The programme would have created 250,000 skilled construction jobs through the 2020s. Through a climate apprenticeship programme, the training and skills needed to access those jobs would have been available to all.

Labour will not have the opportunity to deliver those policies in this Parliament, but I urge cross-party co-operation on meeting our energy objectives. If we are serious about tackling climate change and fuel poverty, nothing less than a nationwide, large-scale programme will do. I was impressed by the suggestions made by the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) on how to achieve such a large-scale building programme, and the incentives in his constituency to succeed in it.

Unfortunately, the Government’s pledge to invest £9.2 billion in improving the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals does not go far enough. There is no real ambition about ensuring that homes are insulated. Plans introduced in 2018 to insulate 17,000 solid-wall homes are noble, but at that rate it would take 400 years to insulate all 4 million such homes in the UK. In its recent report, “Engineering priorities for delivering net-zero”, the Institution of Engineering and Technology—I declare an interest as a fellow of that institution—set out some of the challenges and emphasised that 80% of the homes we will be living in by 2050 have already been built, as the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) stated.

“The proposals will allow new homes to be built to lower energy efficiency standards than homes built today. This is a depressing step backwards rather than the huge leap forwards we need to take in the face of the climate emergency.”

The Government’s own Committee on Climate Change has said that the proposals do not go far enough to protect against overheating, flooding and water shortages. We have been reminded very effectively in the past few weeks of the importance of protecting against flooding.

We must be ambitious when it comes to any aspect of reducing our energy consumption. With the UK set to host COP 26 in Glasgow later this year, we have a chance not only to be ambitious for our own country, but to be an example of ambitious climate policy around the world. We need to look at how we can begin to move towards making buildings more energy efficient. As we heard, buildings account for 37% of UK carbon emissions. Ensuring that homes, the largest contributor to that figure, operate at their peak must be a priority. Ensuring that proper insulation is installed in all homes—particularly the homes of those with low incomes—would have many beneficial consequences. Not only does installing insulation increase the overall energy efficiency of homes and reduce their carbon output, but it reduces the pressures of high energy bills.

In conclusion, I have five questions for the Minister. Will he bring forward measures that focus on energy efficiency, which is vital not only to tackle the climate emergency but to reduce fuel poverty? Will he put in place a well-funded and ambitious plan to insulate existing solid-wall housing? Will he increase the amount available to landlords to spend on uplifting properties to band E? Will he put in place measures to improve energy efficiency in rented properties and new build properties? Will he give local authorities the power and resources to achieve more ambitious climate targets?

We face a climate emergency. This Parliament was the first to pass a motion declaring a climate emergency. We need action by the Government to ensure that we meet the challenge of that emergency.

Full debate: Energy Efficiency Measures: Net Zero Buildings
05 Feb 2020: Vote
Transport - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
13 Jan 2020: Parliamentary Speech

Before and during the election, I spoke to business leaders and owners, many of them Conservative voting, who were absolutely appalled at what they saw a Conservative Government doing to the business environment, particularly in the north-east. My job and that of MPs across the region is to improve our constituencies’ prosperity, enabling high-wage, high-skill jobs in the region. We have advanced manufacturing integrated supply chains that criss-cross the channel backwards and forwards multiple times, and we want more such supply chains as part of a green industrial revolution that will build a net zero economy by investing in green technologies and manufacturing.

Full debate: Britain in the World
29 Oct 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Much of our additional R&D spend would be drawn on by our industrial strategy missions, such as investing in carbon capture and storage as part of our commitment to decarbonise our economy, delivering hundreds of thousands of green jobs in the process. We propose a £250 billion national investment bank, made up of a network of regional development banks that would properly put regional needs first and restore regional decision making. Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce said that 77% of service sector firms and 74% of manufacturers were having difficulty recruiting staff. Labour’s national education service will support reskilling, delivering education free at the point of demand from cradle to grave and ensuring that we have the skills that businesses need.

Full debate: Northern Ireland Economy and Innovation: Government Support
22 Oct 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Electric vehicles represent a fantastic opportunity to combat climate change and boost manufacturing jobs. That is why Labour is committed to investing £2.3 billion in three new battery gigafactories, £3 billion in support for manufacturing new car models, and £3.6 billion in our electricity grid and charging infrastructure, and we will also provide targeted interest-free loans for new electric cars for up to 500,000 people a year. We will do all that while retaining membership of the world’s largest customs union. Apart from a few ad hoc pots of money, the Government are proposing green licence plates. When it comes to climate change and manufacturing, is it not true that the Government are all hot air and no action?

Full debate: Electric Vehicle Technology
3 Oct 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Newcastle’s experience of the industrial revolution was captured in the excellent BBC series “A House Through Time” with David Olusoga, which showed a mixture of life-changing technological progress and huge social problems, as in many other cities. We are now in the midst of what some consider to be the fourth industrial revolution—although how to count them is not agreed—powered by data and renewable energy, instead of labour, discipline and steam.

I am an internet of things believer. I have studied it, lived it and effectively built bits of it all over the world. It has huge economic and social benefits, as well as environmental benefits, ranging from energy management to tracking endangered species. We cannot address climate change without the internet of things. It allows the monitoring of energy usage but also enables a smart grid. IOT can literally save the planet, which is just as well now that it accounts for 8% to 10% of European electricity consumption.

Full debate: Internet of Things: Regulation
25 Jun 2019: Vote
Delegated Legislation — Value Added Tax - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No
5 Jun 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Much of our additional R&D spend would be drawn on by our industrial strategy missions, such as investing in carbon capture and storage, which my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North also mentioned, as part of our commitment to decarbonise our economy by 2050 and to deliver hundreds of thousands of green jobs in the process. The Government’s refusal to commit to funding a carbon capture and storage facility on Teesside is another example of their unwillingness to invest in the green technologies of the future.

Full debate: Industrial Strategy: North-East of England
16 May 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Earlier this month, the House unanimously declared a climate change emergency. Does the Minister agree that when it comes to tackling the catastrophe that is climate change—or, for that matter, challenging the overweening arrogance of the tech giants or protecting our citizens—we are stronger and have more influence as a consequence of international agreements, and that those agreements therefore enhance rather than diminish our sovereignty?

Full debate: Topical Questions
21 Feb 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Our automotive sector is a global success story, although, as we saw in the sad announcements from Honda and Nissan, it now faces challenges due to technology, climate change and Brexit. It is clear that this is not all about Brexit. As I said, there is technology and there is climate change. However, the automotive sector is one of the most competitive and highly integrated industrial sectors. When there is one disabling factor that is a unique disadvantage for UK producers—Brexit is a unique disadvantage for UK producers—we are more likely to lose in the competition for future investment. The inability or the decision of this Government to not take a no-deal Brexit off the table means that our investment is falling.

Full debate: Future Free Trade Agreements
12 Feb 2019: Parliamentary Speech

Our car industry is a global success story facing existential challenges—climate change, technology change, market change and Brexit. As 80% of our imported parts come from the European Union and 80% of cars made are exported, including half to the European Union, motor manufacturers say a no deal could mean £4.5 billion in tariffs, affecting hundreds of thousands of jobs. The Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Watford (Richard Harrington) are known to favour a customs union in private, but with 45 days to go, do they not have a duty to make the private public, to take no deal off the table and to stand up for a permanent customs union and British jobs?

Full debate: Motor Manufacturing
31 Oct 2018: Parliamentary Speech

In the same month that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading authority on climate change, set out the devastating consequences for human civilisation of a business-as-usual approach and the scale of ambition needed to avoid dangerous climate change, what did the Chancellor do? He did not even mention climate change, and the Red Book was little better. The Chancellor left the carbon price support unchanged and said that the Government would seek to reduce the rate if the total carbon price remains high—that is as clear as mud. The Chancellor tinkered at the edges of the climate change levy, a policy introduced by Labour but undermined by his predecessor, George Osborne, who removed exemptions for renewable energy. The Government did announce a £315 million industrial energy transformation fund to support businesses to increase their energy-efficiency. That sounds good, but when we realise that it will be paid for entirely by money saved from scrapping capital allowances for energy and water efficiency, which enabled businesses to claim back the costs of investments, we see that it is really just rearranging the furniture.

What else was there? As has been said, the Government announced £20 million for nuclear fusion. I do not know whether the Chancellor’s understanding of nuclear fusion is as limited as his understanding of blockchain, but these figures should illustrate the challenge here: £20 million is 330 times smaller than the €6.6 billion the EU will contribute to one nuclear fusion experimental facility in France—this is not even a drop in the nuclear ocean. Of renewable energy—wind, solar and tidal—not a single mention was made, at a time when electricity and gas wholesale prices are rising, and we enter another winter with household bills surging and millions facing fuel poverty. There was £10 million for urban tree planting and a commitment to purchase £50 million-worth of carbon credits from tree planting, although it is unclear whether that is new funding. The lack of action on climate mitigations is disappointing.

Labour is serious about achieving a net zero emissions economy before 2050. We are developing policies to dramatically decarbonise energy and insulate 4 million homes in our first term, as part of our green jobs revolution. We believe in the power of people, the power of leadership and the power of government to address what are frankly existential challenges. After eight years of austerity and counting, it is evident that the Tories have given up on this. This Budget shows the Tories giving up on the planet, too. They lack both ideas and the courage to do what is needed. They must step aside.

Full debate: Budget Resolutions
17 Jul 2018: Parliamentary Speech

Moving to electric vehicles should be transformative for our country and our £77 billion car sector, creating new markets and jobs in manufacturing, services, the supply chain and battery recycling. What are the Government doing? Their Faraday challenge does not cover manufacturing or skills, they have ditched renewable energy investment, delayed the £400 million investment in charging infrastructure and allowed the takeover of GKN’s world-leading battery technology, and yesterday they voted for a customs plan that will sever automotive supply chains, putting more than 800,000 jobs at risk. Is it not the Government’s role to help create high-skilled, high-productivity jobs, not destroy them?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
20 Oct 2016: Parliamentary Speech

We need an industrial strategy that is geared towards stable jobs, tackling the great challenges of our time such as climate change and narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Working from first principles, we can put together mission goals for a new economy and develop the industrial strategy that delivers them. From building a green future to closing the gender pay gap; from balancing the economy beyond the financial services to tackling youth unemployment, industrial strategy can contribute to addressing those great challenges.

Full debate: Industrial Strategy
06 Sep 2016: Vote
Finance Bill — VAT on Installation of Energy Saving Materials - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
09 May 2016: Vote
Housing and Planning Bill — Planning obligations and affordable housing - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No
03 May 2016: Vote
Housing and Planning Bill — Neighbourhood right of appeal - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No
14 Mar 2016: Vote
Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 8 — Decarbonisation target range - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
14 Mar 2016: Vote
Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 3 — Carbon capture and storage strategy for the energy industry - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
26 Oct 2015: Vote
Finance Bill (Ways and Means) (Payment of Corporation Tax) — Chapter 5 — Supplementary provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
08 Sep 2015: Vote
Bill Presented — Devolution (London) Bill — Clause 45 — CCL: removal of exemption for electricity from renewable sources - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No
19 Mar 2015: Parliamentary Speech

T3. Earlier this month, I spoke at North East Call to Action’s time to act day, which brought together organisations and people from across the region who wanted the UK to lead in combating climate change through decarbonisation and to build a long-term sustainable economy based on clean energy, green technology and skilled jobs. When I reminded them of the Prime Minister’s promise that this should be the “greenest Government ever”, there was widespread laughter. Why does the Secretary of State think that was? ( 908184 )

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
12 Mar 2015: Parliamentary Speech

The environment is clearly a key part of preventing and combating climate change, and that was one of the performance indicators. However, the Secretary of State has reduced from 38 to six the number of people working on climate change, and the Committee on Climate Change gave her Department a mere three out of 10. Does the Minister agree that in so trivialising climate change, the Secretary of State is putting at risk our long-term economic and environmental future?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
11 Sep 2014: Parliamentary Speech

Newcastle university, also in my constituency, was founded on local strengths such as marine, electrical, civil and chemical engineering, as well as agriculture and medicine, and they remain key strengths of the city and the university today: global reach and local roots. Today, the region remains a global base for manufacturing innovation. It is the only English region with a positive balance of trade. As well as the industries and companies that my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North spoke of, we have fantastic facilities such as the National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth and the Centre for Process Innovation on Teesside, which were both set up with the help of One NorthEast—regrettably abolished by this Government. In Newcastle, we have recently opened the Institute for Sustainability.

Energy-intensive industries and carbon reduction are crucial to the north-east economy. There is not, and should not be, any contradiction between the two. The transition to a low-carbon economy is a huge opportunity for the UK, with the potential to be a major source of jobs and growth. However, that transition is being put at risk as a direct result of this Government’s failure to develop a long-term, sustainable energy policy. They have failed to get behind green businesses. The UK is falling behind with investment in green growth, meaning that jobs and industry that should be coming to this country are now going overseas. I have spoken to the senior management at companies that would prefer not to be named who have said that the lack of a clear long-term energy strategy is putting off investment that could create jobs tomorrow, next month and next year. That is clearly detrimental to our economy overall.

The lack of an overall energy strategy and an integrated strategy for supporting energy-intensive industries is putting jobs and investment at risk. Conflicting signals from this Government about support for green energy versus terminology such as “green crap”—I think that was it—has seen the UK’s attractiveness to renewables investors slide down international tables. If we want to support the real economy and to build a long-term, sustainable economic environment, businesses need to know what they can expect from Government. They need long-term regulatory and policy certainty, and they are not getting that from this Government.

As my hon. Friend said, the carbon price floor was intended to create a floor underneath the EU emissions trading scheme, but since the collapse of the ETS price, energy-intensive British firms have been faced with far higher energy bills than European competitors. We need to know how Government are going to support these vital industries over the next five, 10 and 20 years, because that is the kind of life cycle they have for building plant and investing in countries. We need a long-term energy policy that supports and drives green growth and creates jobs in a low-carbon economy—a policy that gives investors the certainty and confidence they need to invest by committing to decarbonising the power sector by 2030. Yet as a direct result of this Government’s mixed messages, we are falling behind.

The industries need support from Government and a clear, long-term direction of travel. They need action in a number of areas, including fixing the broken energy market, as Labour has promised to do; exploring new sources of green energy, such as clean coal; and specific and long-term support so that they can continue to compete internationally.

In government, the Labour party was more courageous in this area than many others. The Climate Change Act 2008 made us the first country in the world to introduce a legally binding framework to tackle climate change.

I am listening with interest to the hon. Lady, but does she not agree that the Climate Change Act is actually one of the reasons why we got ourselves into this awful situation in the first place? We are taxing industries in order to try to solve a problem that I am not even sure exists.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but his final comment gave away his position. He said that we are taxing a problem he is not even sure exists, but the consensus on the need to address climate change is global and we certainly owe it to our children and our children’s children— [ Interruption. ] The hon. Gentleman is chuntering, but I am afraid I cannot follow him. The Climate Change Act is not responsible for climate change; it is a response to climate change and one that is necessary for the long-term sustainability of our economy and the global economy.

I have been listening very carefully to the hon. Lady. To say that members of the energy-intensive industries want us to go further and faster than other countries with the green stuff is a bit of a leap. Although no one disputes that we must decarbonise, the issue we need to address—the hon. Lady has not yet done so—is the extent to which we need to do that more quickly and more unilaterally than others. That is a fair question.

I shall soon bring my remarks to a close, but I wanted to say that the previous Labour Government established the Sustainable Development Commission, the Committee on Climate Change, and the Warm Front scheme to tackle fuel poverty, and they invested in low-carbon industries. The economy was growing, but the air quality in our towns and cities nevertheless improved. Our CO 2 emissions fell by 10.8 million tonnes in our final year in government, when our greenhouse gas emissions were 66 million tonnes lower than in 1997. We helped 5 million households to get better insulation and keep warm, which reduced emissions and saved consumers money at the same time.

The next Labour Government will carry on that work. We recognise that a secure, clean energy mix is vital to powering our economy, meeting our climate change obligations and protecting customers from bill rises driven by events overseas. A long-term strategy should look at and support innovative new techniques, such as carbon capture and storage and underground coal gasification. Five-Quarter, a company spun out from Newcastle university, is leading the world in looking at the development of underground coal gasification as a clean way to deliver electrical power.

My key point is that aggressive action to tackle climate change is not incompatible with a strong manufacturing base. With the right strategies and support in place, the north-east can be the vanguard for a UK that competes globally in manufacturing and labour-intensive industries, while also setting an example in tackling climate change.

Full debate: Energy-intensive Industries
5 Feb 2014: Parliamentary Speech

That imbalance is a question not only of social justice but of UK competitiveness, and it is a key factor in the gender pay gap. Traditionally male jobs traditionally pay more than traditionally female ones. Key political and social questions about climate change, genetically modified food, healthy ageing and an expanding population have science and engineering at their heart, and I do not believe that it is acceptable to lock out 50% of our population from making their contribution on those important questions.

Full debate: Children’s Toys (Gender–specific Marketing)
28 Nov 2013: Parliamentary Speech

9. If he will set a target to decarbonise the power sector by 2030. [R] ( 901307 )

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

This Government talk loudly, and at times obscenely, about the costs of decarbonisation, but they say little about the benefits, such as the potential for green jobs on Tyneside, which leads the world in clean power. If the delay is not causing the lack of investment, why has investment in clean energy fallen by billions of pounds since this Government came to power? And what is the Secretary of State going to do to bring more green jobs to Tyneside?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
6 Jun 2013: Parliamentary Speech

4. What his assessment is of the potential effect on the UK wind industry of not setting a target to decarbonise the power sector by 2030. ( 158077 )

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
5 Jun 2013: Parliamentary Speech

Q6. The north-east has renewable energy industries ready to invest, but they need certainty. Yesterday MPs from all parts of the House voted for a decarbonisation target. Given that the Prime Minister’s majority was slashed to just 23, will he show some leadership, think again and back British industry and green jobs? ( 157106 )

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
04 Jun 2013: Vote
Energy Bill — Clause 133 — Financial provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
04 Jun 2013: Vote
Energy Bill — Clause 10 — Direction to offer contract - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
04 Jun 2013: Vote
Energy Bill — Clause 1 — Decarbonisation - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
03 Jun 2013: Vote
Communities and Local Government — Clause 42 — Duty not to exceed annual carbon dioxide emissions limit - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye
24 Apr 2013: Parliamentary Speech

We have no roadmap, no plan, no targets and no framework to help us assess whether we are on the right track to attract more girls into ICT. Can the Minister explain what the Government are doing? Can she say how, for example, if I am a teacher in a primary school in Newcastle, I can find out what resources are available to make ICT more appealing, and what incentives there are for doing that? What steps are the Government taking to use subjects which do engage girls, such as climate change, to make ICT more appealing? Will removing climate change from the national curriculum make that easier or harder? How is the Minister ensuring that primary school teachers in particular have the right ICT skills themselves, given the higher salaries paid in the private sector? Research shows that because of the cultural factors relating to ICT and girls, the quality of teaching is a far more important factor in girls’ decisions in relation to ICT than it is in boys’ decisions.

There is also an intangible loss, but a hugely important one, to our society. Many of the challenges we face, such as climate change, an ageing population with greater health needs and a world of 7 billion people, have technology at their heart, but we are handicapped in addressing them because technology does not have a place in our hearts. Technology will never have the position it merits at the heart of our society and economy if it remains the preserve of such a narrow section of society. To drive our economy forward sustainably, ICT needs to be a part of our society and our culture. Given the challenges we face as a nation, we cannot allow ICT to remain such a male occupation.

Full debate: Girls and ICT Careers
17 Oct 2012: Vote
Relationship, Drug and Alcohol Education (Curriculum) — New Clause 22 — Interpretation of the green purposes: duty to assess impact on the Climate Change Act 2008 - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
4 Sep 2012: Parliamentary Speech

Science and engineering are an important part of our economic prosperity, especially now we are seeking to rebalance our economy, get out of a double-dip recession made in Downing street and at the same time address that grave legacy of the first industrial revolution: climate change. Research compiled by Josh Lerner of the Harvard Business School, looking at the last 100 years of growth in various economies, suggests that only 15% of growth in any economy can be accounted for by increasing inputs. That means that 85% of growth in economic output must come from innovation. Science and engineering drive innovation; without them, we will lose our place as a leading economy. Other countries know this. Some 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006 alone. In the UK, more young people chose to study fine art than physics. Fine art is a fine choice, but so is physics.

The consequences can be serious. The BBC’s approach to scientific balance seems to be culled straight from the world of politics, without any understanding of scientific method. Even though the vast majority of scientific evidence supports climate change, the BBC will put up one pro-climate change and one anti-climate change scientist and think that that constitutes balance. Equally, its general interest programmes will be chock-full of historians, artists, celebrities and journalists, but with few engineers or scientists.

Full debate: Science and Public Service Broadcasting
11 Jun 2012: Vote
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
28 Feb 2012: Parliamentary Speech

The first industrial revolution was fuelled by coal and we are now having to deal with the consequences in the form of climate change. Clean coal, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned, is any technology that reduces harmful emissions from burning coal or avoids the need for burning coal altogether to generate electricity in a more sustainable manner.

I agree with the hon. Lady’s remarks on clean coal. She mentioned 2025, which might be a realistic time for this technology to come in, because it is unproven. Does she acknowledge an issue that all hon. Members know about, given the dependence of regions on coal, which is that the previous Government signed the EU large combustion plant directive, which mandated that, by 2015, five of our biggest coal stations will come off-stream, way in advance of any realistic prospect of CCS working? I hope, eventually, that that technology will work.

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman supports clean coal technologies. The previous Government made huge efforts to ensure that we were on track for sustainable energy to meet the appropriate emissions concerns. I will mention the timetable for carbon capture and storage, on which, as he rightly says, current coal generation capacity is dependent.

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the debate. Does she agree that terminology is important? Using the words “renewable energy” all the time, rather than “low-carbon energy”, can muddle the debate. Effective clean technology, should it be proved to work, will be low-carbon energy, and that is the sort of descriptor we should be using, rather than “renewable”.

My concern is the real possibility that if the UK does not act now, companies will not invest here; they will reprioritise their investments away from carbon capture and storage and away from the UK. The economic potential of clean coal extends further than the direct jobs created in the industry and the supply chain. As has been mentioned, it could bridge the gap to longer-term renewable energy and could keep energy costs down in the short and medium term, which will be a better deal for home consumers and for industry. In the north-east, that is particularly important, because we have many world-leading but energy-intensive industries such as chemical processing. Developing integrated clean coal processes has the potential to supply the energy needs of those important sectors in the north-east and elsewhere.

DECC’s continued delay played a significant part in the failure of the Longannet CCS demonstration project in 2010. In November last year, the Department promised that the money would be reallocated to other CCS projects, but in the autumn statement, the Treasury raided the CCS fund to spend on other projects. Coal-burning power stations still provide 28% of our electricity, rising to 50% in times of high demand. Many coal-fired stations are dependent on testing the viability of retrofitting those new technologies so as to be able to continue production past 2015, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Warrington South (David Mowat).

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way a second time. She mentioned China, and it is important for us to look at what is happening on carbon emissions not only regionally and nationally but internationally. I was lucky enough to be in China only two weeks ago, with the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change. The Chinese put coal production in 2010 at 3.24 billion tonnes; they forecast 3.9 billion or almost 4 billion tonnes of coal per year by 2020, and then they are looking to reduce production to a steady output of around 2 billion tonnes by 2050. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is really up to us to use our engineering and manufacturing skills to get carbon capture and storage on line in the UK, giving us a great opportunity to export our manufacturing to the likes of China, which will make a huge difference overall?

I welcome the recent announcement from DECC that takes us a step closer to the first CCS commercial demonstration project; it is long overdue. We are now told, however, that the demonstration will take between four and eight years. Does the Minister not recognise the importance of being ahead of the curve in demonstrating and scaling such technology? Instead of a programme of support and a stable policy environment from the Government, we continue to see confusion. I am sure the Minister agrees that a proper energy policy requires security and a diverse source of supply. How can he reassure the House that he is doing everything to ensure that we capture the benefits of clean coal? We also need certainty. What assessment have the Government made of the economic potential for clean coal, and when will he be in a position to make a long-term decision on whether the Government will support it?

Full debate: Clean Coal
14 Sep 2011: Vote
Prime Minister — Clause 42 — Domestic energy efficient regulations - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
14 Sep 2011: Vote
Prime Minister — New Clause 1 — Energy efficiency aim - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye
8 Jun 2011: Parliamentary Speech

By using machine-to-machine communications to reduce the amount of energy being used, we reduce the number of power stations we have to build. To a certain extent, the Department of Energy and Climate Change is aware of that. It acknowledges the importance of smart meters and ultimately of smart energy grids.

Full debate: Machine-to-Machine Communication
19 May 2011: Parliamentary Speech

As the former managing director of a risk rating agency, the Secretary of State must be well aware of the corrosive effect of uncertainty on any business, yet he refuses to give green energy the clarity it needs on carbon capture and storage. After the photovoltaic fiasco, the “carbon four” coup and the building regulation bombshell, has he lost all credibility among the green industries?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
16 Dec 2010: Parliamentary Speech

This week, Eaga—the green energy company that is headquartered in Newcastle—placed 1,400 people on notice of redundancy as a direct result of the 70% cuts to the Warm Front programme that the Government have implemented. Considering 18% of Newcastle constituents live in fuel poverty, will Newcastle not suffer twice over as a result of the Government’s approach to fuel poverty?

Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions
16 Jun 2010: Parliamentary Speech

First, population and economic growth across the world are stoking demand. Secondly, the global financial crisis has made it extremely important that we grow other sectors. Thirdly, climate change is making many of our ways of building and manufacturing things inefficient. Fourthly, the population of the western world is ageing. That is a good thing; it is good that people are living longer, but it requires different markets and goods— for example, more automotive goods. Finally, globalisation means global markets and global industries.

On the Opposition Benches, we believe that we need to grow our way out of the global financial crisis. The challenges I have enumerated give us many opportunities for growth in the UK, in the north-east in particular; for example, in renewable energies such as wind power, which is why the previous Government invested in NaREC—the New and Renewable Energy Centre—a world-class testing facility for wind turbines in Blyth. Sustainable transport provides another opportunity for growth, which is why the previous Government invested in it by giving grants to enable Nissan to build the electric car facility in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson).

Full debate: Industry (Government Support)
8 Jun 2010: Parliamentary Speech

I know that I should not touch upon controversial subjects, which is why I am so glad that what I am going to say is entirely uncontroversial. During the election, all parties were in agreement that the economy needs to be rebalanced in favour of manufacturing. Newcastle, with our great universities, specialising in medicine, design and engineering, our industrial heritage and strategic assets, has an essential role to play. We can help the UK to meet two of the great challenges that face us—securing sustainable energy resources and supporting an ageing population. These sectors need to be part of the new economy. We need to build up our science and manufacturing base and foster the spirit of innovation that led George Stephenson to invent the steam engine and make his fortune.

Full debate: Economic Affairs and Work and Pensions

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