Jarrow Crusade
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Contributions
[Wera Hobhouse in the Chair ]
Kate Osborne (Jarrow and Gateshead East) (Lab)Labour
I beg to move, That this House has considered the legacy of the Jarrow Crusade on the 90th anniversary. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. The Jarrow crusade is now rightly remembered as a pivotal moment in UK history, not just in my brilliant constituency of Jarrow and Gateshead East but across the UK. Jarrow is a town with a proud history of people organising together to stand up to injustice and demand something better—one that refuses to accept that poverty, exploitation and inequality are simply the natural order of things. On 5 October 1936, 200 unemployed men left Jarrow to begin a near-300-mile journey to London. Their petition represented the hopes of a community devastated by industrial decline and mass unemployment. They demonstrated the strength, solidarity and determination of the people of Jarrow. Ninety years later, their story is still relevant and needs to be heard. Standing with the marchers’ descendants in front of No. 10 this week, with the original petition box that they carried all that way, was extremely moving. The Prime Minister bringing the descendants into No. 10 for a cup of tea and a discussion, and listening to their memories and our history, helped to right the historic wrong by giving the families the welcome that the marchers should have received back in 1936. I place on record my thanks to the Prime Minister and his team for the time they spent with us all and for helping to host the events this month. Listening to memories and stories of those crusaders from their children has been moving and inspiring. It is a real honour to lead this debate today. Our history must be remembered and celebrated for the benefit of a new generation, but it must also be used to move forward, to learn from and to build a better world, because while some progress has been made, there is still a lot to do. Those marchers in 1936 were demanding the right to work, the dignity of providing for their families and the opportunity to build a future for their community. They were fighting against health inequality, poverty and a lack of housing. Ninety years later, many of those challenges remain. In my constituency, 39% of children still live in food poverty, too many people are still in insecure work, and the north-east is still being left behind. Across South Tyneside, the number of people aged 18 to 21 claiming unemployment benefits is 61% higher than the national average. Local weekly earnings remain below the national average. Almost a century on from the march, generations are still growing up in and around Jarrow unable to find suitable work and with high levels of inequality and poverty. Since becoming Jarrow’s MP in 2019, I have had to confront what those circumstances mean for the people I represent. We know all too well the lasting consequences that the loss of industry can have on a community. After the closure of the shipyards, skilled workers were left without jobs, families faced poverty and uncertainty, and the businesses and communities that depended on the shipyards suffered too. The loss of industry was not confined to the factory gates; it reached into people’s homes, affected children’s prospects, undermined the confidence of an entire town and shifted our identity. We see similar challenges playing out now. These commemorative events and today’s debate are about remembering those who bravely marched to demand better, but they are also about looking to the future and embracing the potential of the north-east, because the challenges that faced working-class communities then continue to face them. We must appreciate the progress we have made and recognise what remains to be done. Thanks to this Labour Government, good steps have already been taken to deliver for our community, and I welcome them. Our landmark Employment Rights Act 2025 means that workers can feel more secure, valued and stable, with stronger rights to dignified, unionised work that pays well. Access to decent work that pays fairly and provides security is intrinsic to ensuring that no community like ours is left behind. Similarly, thanks to the Pride in Place programme, I have secured £20 million for our community. Priorities for the investment include creating opportunities for young people, rebuilding our town centre and strengthening community organisations. Strengthening community organisations matters, because investment alone does not change communities; giving communities a voice in what that change looks like does. For too many families in Jarrow, being in work does not provide the financial security that they deserve. Parents are working hard, but their wages are still insufficient to provide the opportunities that they want for their children. Too many young people are struggling to find secure, well-paid employment that would allow them to build a future in the communities where they grew up. Those are the same fundamental challenges that the Jarrow crusaders marched to confront 90 years ago, and they are why we cannot afford to be complacent about the progress we have made. Although we can and should celebrate the progress that the Government have made, and the welcome new steps of our Prime Minister, it is clear that we still need more investment in the north-east to create well-paid and secure jobs and to give local people more of a say in decisions that affect their lives. That includes bringing shipbuilding back to the Tyne, with more jobs, more apprenticeships and more investment. We must build on the industrial heritage of the north-east, which has a history of skilled, hard-working people that continues to define my constituency to this day and will do so long into the future. I put it on the record how pleased I was to hear the Chancellor mention Jarrow and the crusade in one of his speeches, and how pleased I am that he met apprentices from Balaena. Will the Minister commit to pushing for more shipbuilding and other investment in the north-east and to tackling youth unemployment and poverty with good, highly skilled, well-paid jobs and education opportunities for our communities? I also ask him what further steps the Government are taking to ensure that communities such as Jarrow are at the heart of plans for industrial growth and that the jobs and opportunities created by that investment benefit local people. As we mark 90 years since the Jarrow crusade, will he join me in recognising not only the extraordinary determination of those who marched then, but the importance of continuing the fight for decent jobs, dignity at work and opportunities for working-class communities today? It has been wonderful to bring the hope that the Prime Minister has been speaking about back to the north, particularly the north-east, and to share our history with a new generation. The greatest lesson of the Jarrow crusade is what ordinary people can achieve when they organise, work together and stand up for one another. By the centenary in 2036, I want us to be able to celebrate real progress in tackling poverty and creating opportunities for every child in Jarrow, and I hope the Minister joins me in that commitment.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)Democratic Unionist Party
It is always a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) for setting the scene incredibly well. It is no secret that I love history, but I love the history of social politics as well, and this story is a great example of that key issue. The nature of my life, and I suspect the life of most of us here, is to look out for those who are less well off. Our job, and my privilege and honour as the MP for Strangford, is to chase the bread-and-butter issues. Having read this story over the years, I am pleased that the hon. Lady has brought it forward. It is not just a significant historical moment for her constituency; it holds immense importance for workers across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I will mention this later in my speech, but the shipworkers at Harland & Wolff in Northern Ireland were of a similar mind and made a similar protest to that of the men from Jarrow. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place; I have absolutely no doubt that we will get an encouraging response to our requests. I am also pleased to see the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune), and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney). It is incredibly encouraging to hear that, 90 years after the Jarrow crusade, the men’s descendants were invited to Downing Street. That is a real privilege. It is an acknowledgment of the significance of their work—those 200 men marching some 300 miles—that they were recognised centrally in Government by our Prime Minister. It endorses that campaign of many years ago. That has offered a sense a closure for many whose ancestors have passed on, as the difficulties that their families faced have finally been formally acknowledged. The determination of those formidable men who marched almost 300 miles to make their case for employment was admirable. We must remember that they did not take the train, a vehicle or a horse and carriage; they walked 300 miles, because they believed in the campaign. As someone who loves history, I love the idea that people thought so much of the campaign that they did that. Although they probably returned from London feeling dejected because they had not achieved their goal, I want to make a point about what they did achieve. They achieved the establishment of some social reforms. They achieved the right to have work. They were perhaps the first people to see the NHS and the welfare system introduced, as it was later by the Labour Government. Those were the key social issues that they were chasing way back then. They may have felt dejected some 90 years ago, but the Jarrow crusaders can claim that their walk introduced some of those social reforms. It introduced the issues to which the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East referred: better housing, the right to better working conditions and the right to secure work. Shipbuilding is an industry that Northern Ireland shares with the north-east of England, and both have experienced the consequences of industrial decline. When the Jarrow men were marching some 90 years ago, men in Belfast were doing something similar—maybe not as far as 300 miles, but they were out protesting in support of the Jarrow men. Both communities have experienced the consequences of industrial decline, striking or taking action over job losses and increasing poverty. Poverty was as rife in Jarrow as it was in Belfast and in other parts of the United Kingdom. However, we must never be tempted to write off shipbuilding and engineering as industries of the past. With the recent investment in defence, there is an opportunity to rebuild industry in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and support job creation. In his response to our requests, the Minister will undoubtedly tell us about the progress that the Government are making. I can see that progress in Belfast with Harland & Wolff: the Government are handing out contracts to ensure that Harland & Wolff can recruit in Belfast again—not like it did when there were 25,000-odd workers, but 1,000 or 2,000—and establish itself at the forefront of modern shipbuilding. That is good news for Northern Ireland, for the shipyard in Belfast and for my constituents in Strangford, who are only 15 or 20 minutes away from possible employment. I want to make a plea, if I can. Today, too many young people across the United Kingdom feel, as the men who took part in the Jarrow crusade did, that their efforts are being ignored. As elected representatives, we always encourage our constituents—especially our young people—to apply for jobs, but some young people say to me, “I’ve made application after application, and I haven’t even had a letter of response from the employers,” so many of them despair. I am really encouraged by the Prime Minister’s commitment to try to help young people. He is saying the right things, but the right words mean something only when they become the reality. He said that young people today face “an economic catastrophe and a moral failure”, and he and the Government have indicated that that must be righted. I will tell a quick story about my youngest son. He is a young man now, married with two children, but I remember that when he first applied for a job he made something like 70 applications. Unfortunately, not one was successful and he did not get one reply—that was even more discouraging. If someone writes you a letter, you might not agree with them, but for goodness’s sake, you should write back and tell them that. It was disappointing, but then a part-time job came up. It was only four hours—this was when he was just 18, 19 or 20—and he said, “What should I do?” I said, “You take the job, mate, and I tell you what: make sure you are 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes later.” He did, and then the job was eight hours, then 16 hours, then 24 hours, then 36 hours and then 40 hours. Then he became the deputy manager of the shop, then the manager and then the manager of another shop. Those are the things that give our young people encouragement. In the Prime Minister’s commitment, I see an opportunity to encourage our young people and give them hope for the future. Not that I am better than anybody else, but when the Prime Minister came here to take his oath, I saw him beforehand. I remember him from when he was last here in 2015. I shook his hand, gave him a hug and wished him well. I said, “Prime Minister, our people need hope. Our people need encouragement. That’s what I ask you to do for our people.” The Prime Minister’s word has been “hope”, not because I said it to him, but because he appreciated—perhaps we both appreciated—what the word was to be. The concern must be acted upon. I call on the Government to grow British industry and invest in job creation to ensure that our young people are supported into employment. The 200 men who marched from Jarrow some 90 years ago should never have had to walk to London to make their demands, but they did, and they perhaps changed a part of history. That encourages us all as we look forward. Similarly, young people today should not feel that they have to go to extreme lengths to be heard by the Government. Like the Prime Minister, I hope for a change that makes a difference, encourages our young people, lifts this nation and makes us more united so that we can do better for our people and young people of the future. To the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East, I again say well done.
Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)Liberal Democrat
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) for her work in securing this debate and keeping the march in public and political discourse. The descendants of the marchers have a strong voice and champion in this place. The Jarrow crusade stands as a reminder of the devastating impact that chronic poverty and mass unemployment can have, as was experienced in Jarrow during the 1930s. Led by David Riley and former MP Ellen Wilkinson, the Jarrow crusade highlighted many of the challenges that Britain faced in the 1930s. The global depression had devastating repercussions for areas of heavy industry such as Jarrow. Many towns and cities that relied on industry passed through a period of intense industrial depression. Many towns, including Jarrow, saw the closure of shipyards and steelworks, which meant that thousands of jobs in critical sectors were lost. Thousands of jobs were lost across Jarrow. Of the 8,000 people previously employed, many of them skilled workers, only 100 remained in work, often in unreliable and unstable positions. In October 1936, 200 unemployed men set out from Jarrow on a 26-day journey to London to demand jobs and investment for their town, following the widespread unemployment after the closure of Palmer’s shipyard. The marchers aimed to arrive in Westminster at the opening of Parliament to present a petition signed by 12,000 residents of Jarrow. While there was no immediate support provided, the publicity that accompanied the crusade helped to generate some renewal for the town, and the relationship between large businesses and the Government remained under scrutiny. On the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow march, we are confronted with an alarming unemployment crisis that is not restricted to just one sector and that extends far beyond the town of Jarrow. Within this concerning picture, the trajectory of youth unemployment has been even worse. The joblessness rate for 16 to 24-year-olds currently stands at an alarming 15%, but in London, that figure is 25%. That is the highest youth unemployment rate in more than a decade, and the first time on record that the UK’s youth unemployment rate has exceeded the EU average. The symbolism of the Jarrow march ending in the country’s capital is ironic because it no longer represents the hub of employment opportunities that it did a century ago. While London sends the Treasury a net £43.6 billion a year, unemployment in the capital is on the rise. Londoners are not seeing the same opportunities that were available even a decade ago, while businesses in London are struggling under increasing financial pressure. Average employment costs have increased by 11% since Labour took office, which disproportionately affects sectors that traditionally offer entry-level jobs. Policy decisions taken by this Government are making it impossibly hard for businesses to provide young people with a chance to get their foot on the career ladder. We must do everything we possibly can to bring young people into work. Let us cut national insurance contributions, fairly implement the secondary legislation from the Employment Rights Act 2025 and invest to create a skilled workforce by properly reforming the apprenticeship levy, which will benefit jobseekers and employers alike. The Liberal Democrats recognise the courage and determination of the marchers, and while we may not have a similar symbolic protest currently, the challenges facing our towns and cities need the same urgent attention as the town of Jarrow did 90 years ago. We believe that the Government need to listen to communities and take meaningful action to tackle poverty, boost industry and create good, well-paying jobs.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)Conservative
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse—I think for the first time. I congratulate the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) on securing this debate to recognise the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow march. Her predecessor secured an Adjournment debate on the 75th anniversary; I am pleased that the hon. Lady went down the route of a Westminster Hall debate so that more colleagues had the opportunity to contribute. I note that some of the Members who contributed to the 75th anniversary debate are here today—I am, of course, referring to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). I asked my team if they could find out whether he was there and they said, “He’s not that old!” I said, “I didn’t mean the march—I meant the debate.” He spoke with eloquence and integrity about the need to get young people back into work, which is something I recognise, as I have a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old. I confess to being very jealous that the new Prime Minister has had a hug with him and I have not. I must ask the forgiveness of the hon. Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East, because Jarrow is over 300 miles from my Bromley and Biggin Hill constituency, so it is not a place that I am overly familiar with. However, as the former home of the Venerable Bede and the original home of one of the most important Bibles in the world, the Jarrow codex, the town is steeped in historical significance. In the early 19th century, a coal industry developed before the shipyard was established in 1852, becoming the first armour plate manufacturer in the world. Over the next 80 years, more than 1,000 ships were launched from Jarrow. Jarrow has had a lasting impact on the direction of our country, and the Jarrow marchers on that crusade undoubtedly played their part in that. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for bringing some of the families of the marchers to Downing Street this week alongside a copy of the original petition. I also pay tribute to the Prime Minister for receiving them at No. 10. It will surprise nobody that I rarely speak ill of Stanley Baldwin, but failing to receive the original marchers was wrong, so I am pleased that the current Prime Minister received their families. That rights a historic wrong, and I would like to hope that any Prime Minister of any party would have done the same. While it was an inherently political event, what makes the Jarrow march stand out in my eyes is how it avoided being too partisan. All the local political parties—Labour, Conservatives and Liberal—gave their support to the march, as did the town’s churches and business community. On top of that, during the journey down to London, the Jarrow marchers received sustenance and hospitality from local branches of all the main political parties. The Jarrow march was triggered by industrial jobs being lost following the collapse of Palmer’s shipbuilding and iron company and the closure of the shipyard. That is a lesson for today. When we look at the news of the recent 4,000 job losses at Britain’s biggest car manufacturer, the risk of losing our industrial base could not be clearer. Once those industries are gone, it will be incredibly difficult to get them back. This has been a good-natured and well-intentioned debate, so I say the following out of respect. I want the current Government to consider the chemical, automotive, steel and many other factories and plants that are shutting down because of crippling energy policies, £66 billion in tax rises and burdensome red tape, such as the Employment Rights Act. As a result of that, there are 176,000 fewer jobs available now than when the Government took office. Our industries need to be supported and currently many feel they are not. Opposition Members do not want to see communities go through what Jarrow experienced in the 1930s, but I fear that we risk seeing our country deindustrialising before our eyes. As we remember the Jarrow march today, I hope the Minister can set out how the Government plan to create the conditions in which countless businesses across the country can manufacturer competitively in Britain. Cornelius Whalen, who at his 2003 was the last survivor of those who marched the full distance, described the march as “a waste of time”. I respectfully disagree. His family and the families of all the marchers should be proud. History now remembers the march very differently; the Jarrow marchers rightly have an immovable place in our country’s history. Their legacy is far-reaching and will continue to inspire people for years to come. I am proud to be here on behalf of the Opposition to recognise their important contribution to our national story and to hold the Government to account on delivering for British industry and manufacturing.
The Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment (Chris McDonald)Labour
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) for securing this debate. She follows in the proud footsteps of her predecessor Ellen Wilkinson, who was the MP for both Jarrow and Middlesbrough. As we have heard, there is an incredible history of the Jarrow march. For anyone interested, I can strongly recommend Ellen Wilkinson’s book, “The Town that was Murdered”. My own copy is at home on my bookshelf, so I have borrowed the House of Commons Library’s copy. I will be returning it later today, so Members may wish to take it out and study more about the social conditions in Jarrow at the time. As we have heard, in October 1936, around 200 unemployed men set out from Jarrow and walked almost 300 miles to London asking for the opportunity to work. They carried with them the hopes of a community and a petition signed by 12,000 of their neighbours, but they were ignored by the Government of the day. Those men and their community will not be ignored by history, nor by this Government. The story of the Jarrow crusade cannot be separated from the story of British industry and shipbuilding. Today, we recognise the UK’s civil maritime sector as it should have been recognised then, as a strategic national asset underpinning prosperity, resilience and security. Shipbuilding ended in Jarrow, but the wider Tyneside retains ship repair capability at Hebburn—a yard recently acquired by Balaena Tyne during my tenure as the shipbuilding Minister. I am pleased to offer reassurance to my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East that as Minister for Investment, I am concerned with ensuring that we continue to attract investment into British shipyards. I am working with ministerial colleagues to maximise the opportunity of Government procurement, including opportunities for Hebburn. Those areas where modern shipbuilding, ship repair and marine fabrication continue benefit from highly skilled, well-paid industrial jobs, and they are often areas of the country that are otherwise lacking in alternatives. That contributes to the growth in every postcode scheme that the Prime Minister has committed to across the whole of our United Kingdom. When I was the shipbuilding Minister, I was pleased to visit Harland & Wolff in Belfast and learn from the managing director. When I asked him, “What is your greatest concern?” he said, “The lack of space,” which is quite remarkable at Harland & Wolff. It shows the strength of British shipbuilding and the opportunity for new orders. The pride in skill that we saw in Jarrow and that I have seen in British shipyards was demonstrated during the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders dispute of 1971 to 1972. Faced with liquidation and threatened job losses, shop stewards representing 8,000 workers staged a disciplined work-in: they kept the yards operating and continued to build ships under contract. The campaign helped to secure Government investment and preserve shipbuilding employment on the upper Clyde. A firm tradition of shipbuilding continues today. The sector supports more than 38,000 skilled jobs across the country. The Government are expanding the role of the National Shipbuilding Office to oversee civil shipbuilding decisions and to use procurement more strategically to give British yards and supply chains a clearer pipeline. The forthcoming shipbuilding and maritime technology action plan will seek to align procurement, innovation and industrial capability, to improve pipeline visibility, to accelerate technology adoption, and to strengthen UK supply chains across defence and civil maritime markets. The Government are investing £440 million in UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions research and development between 2026 and 2030: the largest Government investment yet in the UK commercial maritime sector, including £150 million for zero emission infrastructure and vessels, and £120 million for clean maritime demonstration projects. The tragedy at Jarrow—for it was a tragedy—was that the shipbuilding industry and the community that depended on it were left at the mercy of the market, not to improve efficiency or productivity but to effect consolidation that would raise prices. For shipbuilding, a project-based industry with high fixed costs and high economies of scale, that was a disaster. The community in Jarrow understood the need for industrial transition; they had already transitioned from mining to shipbuilding. They were asking for a transition from shipbuilding to steel. The Government of 1936 took a free market approach; this Government take a different approach: supporting a transition. Alongside our plans for shipbuilding we are reindustrialising the UK, building on our industrial strategy. Reindustrialisation is creating more, better, well-paid jobs in manufacturing and industry, including in those sectors critical to the UK’s resilience. It is bringing back jobs, pride and decency to the places that deindustrialisation most badly affected. But saying what we will do is not enough; we also know how we will address the situation. The jobs plans that we have set out will ensure that workers have the opportunity to develop the skills they need for the jobs in growing areas, and there are opportunities across the whole country. We have published job plans for digital and technologies, clean energy, life sciences, financial services, construction, and professional and business services. They set out practical actions to tackle workforce and skills challenges. The jobs plans for professional and business services and for construction were published on Monday and will support 22,500 new under-25 apprenticeships a year in businesses such as accountancy, legal services and consultancy. That comes alongside 40,000 construction placements annually, as part of a previously announced construction industry ambition to create 100,000 jobs a year. Over the next year, the Government will further cut industrial energy costs, roll out further jobs plans in partnership with employers, see our new apprenticeship units and technical excellence colleges train people for growing industries, and strip back unnecessary administrative costs to businesses. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune), was generous in his remarks, particularly those relating to the Prime Minister, and in his criticism of Stanley Baldwin, but it has been nearly a century so I do not think he is going to get any comeback from that. He also expressed his concern about deindustrialisation in the UK, so I remind him that under the previous Government we lost around 50% of our automotive output, 30% of our chemicals output, 50% of our steel output, and around 30% of our ceramics output. This Government have made efforts to support those industries, to reinvest and to reindustrialise. Last year, as Industry Minister, I announced a £350 million chemicals resilience fund, a ceramics support scheme, £2.5 billion of support for the steel industry through the steel strategy, the critical minerals strategy, and of course the nationalisation of British Steel. This Government remain committed to supporting the growth of and investment in our industry. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) mentioned the issues affecting young people and their employment. That was also a great concern for those who marched in Jarrow. The social conditions in Jarrow were quite appalling and were the sort of social conditions that can be found today in parts of the country where there are high levels of unemployment. Unemployment and poverty also result in cramped and squalid housing conditions, such as those found in Jarrow at the time. There were high levels of ill health among young people, particularly tuberculosis, and there was a shortage of food, as was noted at the time by the very low consumption of milk by children in the local area. This was compounded by the inability of the local council to raise local taxes sufficiently high enough to provide relief for local people—a product of the inequality of land values in places like Jarrow compared with other parts of the country. In fact, Ellen Wilkinson, in her book, makes a direct comparison with the property taxes that were able to be raised in Westminster, a comparison that my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash) made in his own area, so the problem persists until this day. What the town council in Jarrow did do with the resources that it had available was always put education first because it knew, as we know, the success of our country and industry depends on the next generation of people who will build, design and operate the industries of the future. I know my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East has made a particular point during this anniversary of working to include young people in the commemorations of the Jarrow Crusade. It is vital that our young people have the opportunity to understand the histories and values of their forebears. I do hope that Elise and Imogen had a very memorable meeting with the Prime Minister at Downing Street. It is also important that we support our young people to access work opportunities, which they were asking for, but were rejected, in 1936. With around 1 million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. Our measures are helping more young people take their first step into work. Since announcing an additional £2.5 billion to create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn by 2029, we have begun rolling out youth guarantees across Great Britain. The youth guarantee gateway is now available in jobcentres. We are expanding youth hubs. We have launched the £3,000 youth jobs grant and are rolling out the jobs guarantee. Youth hubs are a crucial part of our youth guarantee. They bring together the employment skills and wider support that young people need to move into work, training or education. By expanding the network to over 360 locations across the country, more young people will be able to access personalised and wraparound support in their local community.
I commend the Minister for his comprehensive and helpful response to the things that we have asked. He is outlining the programme, strategy and focus here in the mainland, which I certainly encourage. There are lots of good things in the Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that we could all learn from. I know the Minister has been to Harland & Wolff in Belfast. He was keen to go; I remember him telling me he was going there. Has he had a chance to discuss strategies so that we can maybe develop them ourselves and try to work more consistently across all the nations to improve opportunities for young people, wherever they may be?
The hon. Member makes an important point. The solutions that will help young people get into work are understood well in local communities, because they need to respond both to the needs of that local community and the needs of local industry. There are, both in Northern Ireland and in many places around the country, excellent collaborations between industry and local colleges, particularly in Northern Ireland with the work being done around the Short Brothers aerospace location, where there are excellent opportunities for young people and close working with local further education colleges, for instance. I am sure there are lessons there that could be learned in other parts of the country, too, so I thank him for making that point. We commissioned Alan Milburn to independently review the crisis of young people not in employment, education or training, and we will consider the findings in the interim report to continue to build our reforms. We look forward to the final recommendations being received shortly. We remember not only the men who marched, but, as the shadow Minister said, the people who provided them with support and assistance along the way. Those working people showed solidarity, offering shelter, food and medical supplies. Just like the marchers in 1936 and all the people from around the country who supported them, this Government recognise the value of secure work, fair pay and opportunities to progress. Employment laws have not kept pace with modern working patterns. Too many workers lack the protections that they need at work, and responsible businesses face unfair competition from those willing to exploit gaps in outdated employment laws. That is why this Government came up with our plan to make work pay, which will modernise employment rights to respond to a changing labour market and create a fairer, more secure economy for workers and business. Evidence drawn from UK and international research, alongside economic modelling, suggests that the Employment Rights Act can support a better-functioning labour market, more secure work, better job quality, improved productivity and fairer competition, and will have a positive, direct impact on economic growth. More than 18 million employees are expected to benefit from the new protections, with lower-paid workers in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail seeing the biggest gains. Analysis suggests that the north-east is likely to be one of the UK regions that benefits the most from the measures in the Employment Rights Act. Many of our reforms are already making a difference for workers. Employees now have access to family-friendly rights from day one of employment, up to 1.3 million more people are eligible for statutory sick pay, and we have made it easier for workers to connect with trade unions. We also created the Fair Work Agency, bringing the enforcement functions of three predecessor bodies together so that employment rights can be enforced more effectively and efficiently. Together, our reforms ensure that economic progress is shared by the people and communities who create it. Ninety years ago, the men of Jarrow walked to demand something fundamental: the chance to work, to contribute and to build a better future for their families. Their journey stands as a reminder not only of the consequences of economic decline, but of the resilience, determination and solidarity of working people. I share that belief in the dignity of work, as do all working-class communities. As we commemorate the Jarrow crusade, we have the responsibility both to remember their story and to learn from it. Through investment in industry, support for skills, stronger workers’ rights and renewed opportunities for young people, we will build an economy in which every community can succeed.
I thank the Minister for his detailed response; it will mean a lot to the descendants of the marchers and members of our community who may be watching this debate. I also thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his engagement and support, and all those who came along to my exhibition on the Jarrow crusade earlier this week. As I leave this debate, I reflect on the legacy left behind by the brave men who marched for better. To the descendants of those who marched, to those watching at home and to the people of Jarrow, this debate belongs to you. Your voices matter today as much as those voices did in 1936. The greatest tribute we can pay to the Jarrow crusaders is not simply commemorating their march, but continuing their fight for decent work, dignity, solidarity and a fairer future, for our community and every community. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the legacy of the Jarrow Crusade on the 90th anniversary.
Sitting adjourned.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5423159.