Ian Lavery

Ian Lavery

Labour — Blyth and Ashington

Speaking in the House of Commons on 29 October 2025

Debate

Engagements

Contribution

Q8. The big four banks have been allowed to abandon our high streets, basically closing their branches with impunity. Between 1999 and 2025, my constituency alone lost banks in Guide Post, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Bedlington and Blyth. Meanwhile, those banks made more than £40 billion profit in the last year alone—they are absolutely drowning in cash. The manifesto pledge to roll out 350 banking hubs is to be welcomed, but its quirky—almost bizarre—qualifying criteria need detailed revision. Will the Prime Minister commit to a wholesale review of personal face-to-face banking, which would enable local residents and businesses, alongside many vulnerable people, to access their own money in their own time on their own high street?

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