I recently had the pleasure of participating in this year’s Christmas adjournment debate in Parliament. It was lovely to reflect on some highlights from the past year, although I unfortunately did not get the chance to give my whole speech in the House. You can find the full text of this below.
I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone across Luton South and South Bedfordshire a very merry Christmas, restful festive period, and happy new year!
It is always a privilege to represent my home town as an MP, so I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on some highlights from 2025.
As ever, I was lucky enough to attend some wonderful local events across Luton South and South Bedfordshire, celebrating our local communities and the mix of diverse and vibrant cultures in our area.
As I do every year, I celebrated St Patrick’s day with the Luton Irish Forum, which had its 26th annual festival and parade—and of course D’After Party, which was great craic too. I was also glad to join the 1Eid festival and Desi Fest Luton in Wardown Park, as well as the Luton Turkish association’s annual Turk Fest in Stockwood Park.
At Luton Town Hall, we marked Ghana’s 68th Independence Day and our annual Windrush Day. I was delighted to join the Luton Sri Lankan Welfare Association for its Tamil new year and Vesak celebrations in High Town. I visited the Guru Nanak Gurdwara and the Shri Guru Ravidass Sangat to mark important religious events, I attended the Holy Ghost Catholic church’s diamond jubilee anniversary, and I was warmly welcomed at my local Mandir on Crescent Road for its Diwali and new year celebrations.
And all that is before we get to the villages in south Bedfordshire! I was glad to attend Kensworth and Studham’s village fairs, celebrate St George’s day fun at the Heathfield centre in Caddington, join Appledown Dog Rescue and Kennels for its dog show and fête in Eaton Bray, and go to the fabulous Greek festival at St Charalambous church in East Hyde. These events are a beautiful and perfect representation of everything that Luton South and South Bedfordshire is about: coming together, regardless of religion, culture or background, to celebrate and uplift each other.
But this year, unfortunately, we have seen a devastating increase in overt antisemitism, racism and Islamophobia. That is why it is more important than ever that people in my constituency stand united and make it clear that we are one town of many voices, one constituency of many cultures, and that our diverse communities only make us stronger and more compassionate. I appreciate Luton council’s work to make it clear that there is no place for hate in our town. I also pay tribute to the work of our local faith and civic organisations, including Luton Council of Faiths, to drive that message forward.
Looking ahead, next year will mark 150 years of Luton as a borough, reminding us more than ever of the importance of local democracy and civic participation. As part of UK Parliament Week, I was delighted to visit the 5th Stopsley Guides, St Margaret’s Catholic Primary School and Foxdell Primary to answer many questions about my role as their MP. I enjoyed meeting River Bank Primary and Totternhoe Church of England Academy on their visit to Parliament.
It is so important that local governments have a say in shaping what matters most in their communities. I therefore very much welcome the £1.5 million Pride in Place Impact funding which has been awarded to Luton.
This will be important in empowering local residents to make decisions about what they want to see so they can feel a sense of pride in the communities they live in.
I would also like to re-iterate my comments regarding the Local Government Finance Settlement announcement yesterday and thank the Minister for Local Government and her MHCLG colleagues for their hard work on this.
In Luton, this will make an incredible difference, with the first funding settlement linked to deprivation meaning our council will benefit from £139.3 million over the next four years.
This will be vital in beginning to reverse decades of decline caused by Tory austerity and allow the Council to provide the public services my constituents deserve.
I also very much welcome our commitment to improving democracy, bringing forward the Elections Bill, which will including lowering the voting age to 16 and introducing automatic voter registration.
It has been clear across many visits this year how much young people in my constituency care about their peers as well as their local communities, and have a fundamental desire to make things better for the future.
I therefore also welcome the announcement of our government’s National Youth Strategy, informed by 14,000 young voices, to make sure young people are seen and heard, supported with services they need to thrive. I hosted a workshop alongside my friend the hon. Member for Luton North where we consulted with youth organisations across our town, and I am glad to see many themes from their feedback reflected in the strategy.
The importance of music, arts and creative industry cannot be underestimated when shaping young people and helping them access opportunity. I pay tribute to Luton Music Service who do great work across our schools to ensure access to music from a young age.
Their success can be measured by the brilliant achievement of Luton Youth Funk Band, who I had the honour of watching perform at the Youth Music Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in November. This was an amazing recognition of their talent on a national level, and they should all feel very proud.
I have championed the importance of arts and music education for many years in this place and I am glad to see the government has brought forward our curriculum review, which emphasises the need for a broader curriculum, with improved access to music education.
I wish the whole House, all the staff and, of course, my fabulous team a very merry Christmas and all the best for next year.