Last month, I had the honour of leading an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons to make a case that, in truth, makes itself – for Government support for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT).
For over two decades, the CRT has been supporting communities like mine in Newcastle-under-Lyme – working with the people too often overlooked – the ones who kept this country’s lights on, who built its wealth, and who were then cast aside when the pits were closed and the cameras moved on.
This is not about sentimentality. It’s about delivery. It’s about building pride and prosperity in places that have seen too little of either for far too long. And it’s about recognising that if we are serious about “levelling up” – or whatever language we now choose – then coalfield communities must be at the heart of that mission.
In Newcastle-under-Lyme, the CRT supports local charities, works with our football club to give young people access to free weekly sport, and builds the infrastructure of the third sector so that local organisations aren’t fighting alone. That’s what proper regeneration looks like – not from Whitehall, but on the ground.
And still, with all this good work, their reach remains limited. Not because the need isn’t there – it is. But because the funding isn’t.
This isn’t a handout. It’s not even a grant. It’s an investment – in people, in place, in potential. One that delivers real returns. One that helps create jobs, rebuild skills, improve health and wellbeing, and make people feel proud of where they live again.
That’s why I believe the Government should back a new wave of investment in the CRT: a £50 million capital programme that would allow it to scale its work, unlock long-term income, and deliver the kind of targeted, community-driven change we all say we want to see.
What struck me during the debate was just how many colleagues – from North Staffordshire to the East Midlands, from the valleys of Wales to the Scottish coalfields – spoke with exactly the same conviction, pride, passion and urgency.
It shouldn’t surprise us. So many of our communities have different postcodes but the same story: economic decline, a sense of abandonment, and generations of people who’ve had to fight harder than they should just to get by.
This Labour Government – the first elected since the Conservatives cut CRT funding – has the chance to put that right. We’ve already begun addressing historic injustices, like the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. But backing the CRT is about the future as much as the past. It’s about what regeneration should mean in practice – not big announcements, but trusted delivery. Not more bureaucracy, but backing what already works.
Too many people in coalfield areas have lost faith in politics. After years of promises with nothing to show for them, who could blame them? But this is how we show things can be different. That things are different.
This is what Labour in government should look like: community wealth building, partnerships not diktats, pride in where we come from and where we’re going next.
The CRT was set up by a Labour government to serve the public good. Its track record shows it hasn’t stopped. With a modest investment and a bit of political will, it could go even further.
I hope the Government listens. I hope the Minister’s upcoming meeting with the CRT is a productive one. And I hope we can move quickly from warm words to real support.
Because our people deserve better than what they’ve had – and more than a pat on the back for their history. They deserve a future.
And that’s the heart of the case many of us made in last Tuesday’s Adjournment Debate. From all corners of this United Kingdom, colleagues came together to share how the Coalfields Regeneration Trust has made a difference in their communities, and how much more it could do with proper support.
Let’s use this moment not just to restore what was lost, but to build something better. Let’s give our coalfield communities the tools, the trust and the funding to lead their own renewal.
