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Happy St George’s Day!
Look at what I spotted in Pelsall, a St George’s Day Post Box Topper – thank you to the very talented Nikki for always putting a smile on our faces.
School mornings just got easier for families in Portsmouth as 750 schools open free breakfast clubs today, offering 30 minutes of free childcare, a healthy start for kids and a little more breathing room before the school bell rings.
Parents will be supported with additional time at the start of the day to attend appointments, get to work on time and run errands.
In total, this means parents will be able to save up to 95 additional hours and £450 per year if their child attends free breakfast clubs every day.
This amount rises to a saving of up to £8,000 every year when combining Labour’s free breakfast clubs with further support through the expansion of government-funded childcare and new school uniform cap on branded items.
In February Court Lane Junior Academy in Portsmouth was named as one of the first 750 schools to provide all their children with access a free breakfast and at least 30 minutes of free childcare, every day, helping to support parents getting into work.
With the cost of everyday essentials stretching budgets, these clubs will be a lifeline for working families simply trying to get by.
When you’re raising a family, every penny counts and that’s why the Labour government is stepping in to ease the pressure and put money back in parents’ pockets.
No matter the postcode or the pay packet, every child deserves the same chance to thrive. That’s the principle behind this rollout — real support for families in every corner of the country, so no one is left behind
Delivering on Labour’s Plan for Change, the landmark free breakfast clubs are proven to get more children school-ready and break down barriers to growth, with schools urged to buy British when sourcing nutritious food for the clubs.
These clubs sit alongside Labour’s action to tackle the cost of living, with inflation falling for two months in a row, wages growing faster than prices and fuel duty frozen. Together, they show Labour’s Plan for Change is delivering for working families.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“I am delighted to see free breakfast clubs open their doors today to nearly 180,000 children across the country including here in Portsmouth.
“The new clubs prove that Labour’s Plan for Change is putting children first, supporting working families and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
“We are cutting the cost of childcare and school by up to £8,000 for Portsmouth parents while ensuring their children get the best start in life.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“As a parent, I know that the combined pressures of family life and work can often feel impossible to juggle. That is why our manifesto promised to make parents lives easier and put more money in their pockets with free breakfast clubs. Under a year since we came into office, this government is delivering that through our Plan for Change.
“The rollout of free breakfast clubs is a truly game-changing moment for families in this country. They mean parents will no longer be hamstrung by rigid school hours and have the breathing space they need to beat the morning rush, attend work meetings and doctors’ appointments, or run errands. And crucially, it means better life chances for children.
“By making these clubs free and universal, we’re doing something that previous governments have never done. We’re going further and faster to deliver the change working families deserve. That’s the change this government was elected to deliver.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
“Free breakfast clubs are a central part of our Plan for Change. At a time when there is so much pressure on families, they provide real help with the cost of living and ensure children start the day with a nutritious meal.
“On top of the hectic school run, parents should not have to worry about how to balance work and getting their children fed and ready for school. These clubs will break down barriers and help children settle in, focus and get the most out of their learning.
“We are delivering on our promises and giving every child the best start in life while making sure families get the support they need, wherever they live.”
According to new government data, parents are also motivated to take up free breakfast clubs because of the improvements they can have on their wellbeing.
Many see them as is an opportunity to socialise with other children before school (30%) and spend more time doing the activities they enjoy (28%) – offering a supportive start to the day that leads to better behaviour, and better life chances.
The rollout delivers on the government’s manifesto promise to ensure state schools offer free breakfast clubs to all pupils; while supporting its Plan for Change milestone to ensure tens of thousands more children start school ready to learn.
The post Portsmouth Free Breakfast Club opens as Labour Government slashes cost of childcare and school by up to £8,000 appeared first on Stephen Morgan MP.
Impressive to visit the Faith in Families Cwtch Mawr Multibank in Swansea – part of a network of multibanks set up by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to alleviate hardship as families struggle to cope with the cost of living.
I’m keen to see the services of this Multibank expanded here to Llanelli and the rest of Carmarthenshire where it would provide back-up to existing groups and foodbanks who deal with families in need and who would be able to call on the Multibank to provide additional items that they are short of.
I am pleased Carmarthenshire County Council accepted a proposal by Councillor Martyn Palfreman to support its expansion into Carmarthenshire and I’ll be working with councillors and others to make sure this happens.
I was in Parliament over the weekend supporting emergency legislation aimed at saving British Steel, after the government took the rare step of recalling MPs for a Saturday sitting. The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill will allow the government to take control of British Steel and intervene to keep Britain’s last blast furnaces going. It gives ministers the power to take control of steel assets, order materials to make steel and ensure steel workers are paid. Anyone breaching this law could face a jail sentence of up to two years.
The ability to produce low-carbon steel from scratch is vital to our net zero transition. The UK needs steel to build wind turbines and upgrade our railways. The least carbon-intensive way of doing this is to manufacture it here in electric arc furnaces powered by green electricity. This has the added benefit of maintaining high-quality green jobs.
British Steel’s collapse highlights the issue with allowing essential sectors of the economy to remain in investors’ hands. When these sectors are profitable, company executives extract high returns for their shareholders. When they are not, company executives go to government with caps in hand safe in the knowledge that these companies are too important to fail.
We have seen the consequences of privatisation playing out similarly across our water and energy sectors in recent years. Again and again, the public has paid whilst shareholders rake it in. It would be irresponsible of the government to let the public take on the risk of a loss-making company without a plan to ensure that they also share in the rewards. It would be wrong for the government to put large amounts of public money into British Steel without giving the public a say in how they are run.
I was pleased the government did not rule out the prospect of nationalisation but am concerned that it took financial collapse to prompt state action. Nationalising key industries like steel shouldn’t be done as a last resort; it is an essential prerequisite to securing their future. With steel under public control, not only would the government be able to protect precious manufacturing jobs in neglected regional economies, it would be able to position Britain as a genuine leader in green manufacturing. That’s the kind of ambition we need to see from the government here.
The post Saving British Steel appeared first on Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
Landmark new figures published this morning show that, thanks to the Labour Government’s action, over 1,500 extra GPs have been recruited since 1st October, joining practices in the South East.
Amanda Martin MP has today welcomed the increased GP capacity that will help fix the front door of the NHS and increase appointments to bring back the family doctor. Bringing back the family doctor and ending the 8am scramble for appointments were key manifesto commitments in the General Election.
The news of 1,500 extra GPs recruited comes after the Labour government removed red tape which prevented surgeries from hiring doctors soon after coming into office. The recruitment boost, part of the government’s Plan for Change, will help end the scandal of patients in Portsmouth struggling to see a doctor. People will be more readily able to receive the timely care they deserve, helping to shift healthcare from hospitals to the community, easing pressure on local GPs and cutting waiting lists.
The Labour Government has also provided the biggest boost to GP funding in years – an extra £889million on top of the existing budget for general practice along with new reforms to free up GPs from red tape and box-ticking targets so they can spend more time caring for patients.
Since Labour came into power, the Government has delivered over two million extra appointments, meeting its target seven months early, and the waiting list has fallen five months running, down by 193,000.
Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North said: “We all know how important the front door to our NHS is. But when I knock on doors in our community, local residents regularly vent their frustration after enduring the ‘8am scramble’ and the difficulty that they have in getting a GP appointment.
“I promised residents in Portsmouth that we would help bring back the family doctor and I’m delighted to see over 1,500 examples of Labour continuing to deliver on that promise.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Rebuilding our broken NHS starts with fixing the front door. We inherited a ludicrous situation where patients couldn’t get a GP appointment, while GPs couldn’t get a job. By cutting red tape and investing more in our NHS, we have put an extra 1,503 GPs into general practice to deliver more appointments.
“The extra investment and reforms we have made will allow patients to book appointments more easily, to help bring back the family doctor and end the 8am scramble.
“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took to increase employer National Insurance that we are able to recruit more GPs and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will get the NHS back on its feet and make it fit for the future.”
The post Amanda Martin MP welcomes over 1,500 extra GPs recruited to help end ‘8am scramble’ and bring back family doctor in Portsmouth North appeared first on Amanda Martin MP.
Speaking in the emergency debate on the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill, George Freeman backs the Bill and calls for an active industrial strategy to secure UK sovereign industrial security for steel and other high growth sectors.
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with me, as a card-carrying advocate of industrial strategy, that this argument applies to some of our other key high-growth sectors, such as fusion, quantum and space? We have to accept that the days of easy globalisation are over and be a bit more strategic about how we support our emerging industries.
Mr Speaker, you know that I could answer that question all day, but you would rule me out of order, so I will confine my remarks to the Bill. However, I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He is absolutely right, and that is why we have to work harder across the House to build a consensus about the big calls that we need to get right for our future.
Patients in Manchester Withington are set to benefit from more services at their local pharmacy following record investment for community pharmacies by the Labour Government through its Plan for Change.
Labour promised to shift care from hospitals into the community and community pharmacies will play a vital role in delivering patient services at convenient locations under this plan, as well as helping the Government’s wider objectives to build an NHS fit for the future.
Under the Conservatives, years of underfunding and neglect left the sector facing significant financial shortfalls, impacting community pharmacies on local high streets and patients in Manchester Withington. The package announced on Monday 31st March is the first full-year funding package agreed by the sector since 2023, providing community pharmacies with an extra £617 million over two years.
The investment comes alongside reforms to deliver a raft of patient benefits so that people can more easily access care and support on their high streets.
The reforms include:
The reforms will not only improve access for patients, but they will also free up GP time and help cut waiting lists.
Jeff Smith, MP for Manchester Withington said:
“After years of neglect under the Conservatives, we saw the pressure and even closure facing community pharmacies across Manchester Withington.
“This Labour Government promised they would shift the focus of care from hospital to community and, through today’s deal, that is exactly what they are delivering for high streets and patients in our community.”
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said:
“Community pharmacists are at the heart of local healthcare, and we want them to play a bigger role as we shift care out of hospitals and into the community through our Plan for Change.
“We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse.
“This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future. “The agreement shows how this government is working in partnership with community pharmacy to deliver more care for patients closer to their home, freeing up GP appointments, and catching ill-health earlier and preventing it in the first place.”
The post Universal Studios Bedford Confirmed appeared first on Mohammad Yasin MP.
After fourteen years of Tory failure, our town centres and neighbourhoods are plagued by anti-social behaviour. Whether it’s street drinking, harassment or vandalism on the high street or noisy and intimidating off-road bikes, people in Leicester are fed up.
This action is long overdue, especially the Government action on shoplifting and supporting shopworkers, which cannot come soon enough.
The flagship Crime and Policing Bill is a vital step towards the safer streets for Leicester promised in this Government’s Plan for Change.
The post Labour Introduces Plan to Make Leicester’s Streets Safer appeared first on Liz Kendall.
Here in Bassetlaw, most people work hard all their lives, pay their dues and want to live comfortably. What unites many in anger is the known benefit fraudster, who lives down the street.
With billions of public money lost last year, it is time at long last for real action against the fraudsters. Those who are milking the system, be it the workshy or those feeding the coffers of organised crime. I have lost count of the number of times that I hear from local people that benefit fraud is happening and nothing seems to be being done about it.
I welcome the government’s new Fraud Bill, which will allow for the seizure of luxury goods, bags of cash, and mobile phones as evidence of fraud, and stronger powers to go after those who receive money they are not entitled to. Where there is an outright refusal to repay, it is right that their driving license should be taken away.
Banks and building societies will be able to flag when they spot fraud, such as expensive holidays aboard, or a wage going in whilst benefits are also being claimed. These powers will include strong safeguards, protecting the real vulnerable and the sick.
I cannot abide the thought of the hard-earned money of Bassetlaw people funding the luxury lifestyle of the fraudsters. Labour is the party of working people, and this is our values being put into action. I want to see the first raid take place in Bassetlaw.
This is also why I back the additional powers in this Bill that will pursue those who ripped us off during Covid pandemic, including the previous government’s greedy friends who grabbed the PPE contracts and the fake company owners who took the business loans. We cannot allow time limitations to act as a barrier. We want our money back, the thieves jailed and anyone who lined the pockets of their mates also feeling the long hand of the law on their collars.
The post Worksop Guardian Column 05/02/25 appeared first on Jo White MP.
An abridged version of this article ran in The Times on 3rd February 2025
In 2007, in the pages of this newspaper, I argued that Britain should seize the moment and move Heathrow to the Thames Estuary, freeing up the congested west London site for much-needed housing while creating a world-leading transport hub fit for the 21st century. It was an ambitious plan—perhaps too ambitious for a nation that has lost its appetite for grand infrastructure. Seventeen years later, what do we have? The same tired debates, the same dithering, and now, a third runway proposal that represents the absolute minimum of what could be done. It is not a vision; it is a concession to stagnation.
Throughout history, Britain built infrastructure that transformed cities and continents. The Victorians laid thousands of miles of railways across India and Africa. British engineers built the world’s first underground railway in London, the great docks of Hong Kong, and the vast shipping hubs that made global trade possible. Ours was once a nation that saw scale and complexity as challenges to be overcome, not reasons to prevaricate. Today, while China constructs floating airports in Hong Kong and Dalian, we are still arguing over a few extra miles of tarmac at an aging airport hemmed in by suburban sprawl.
The case for expanding Heathrow is undeniable. The airport operates at near capacity, with any disruption causing delays that ripple across the global aviation network. Additional capacity is needed. But the third runway is not a bold leap forward—it is an unimaginative compromise. The design is a relic of a bygone era when Britain was still willing to approve large infrastructure projects but had already begun its slow descent into cautious incrementalism. Surely for a solution we should be looking beyond the immediate horizon, daring to create something transformative.
Compare this to the grand infrastructure ambitions of Asia. Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok, which replaced the legendary but perilous Kai Tak airport in the 1990s, was built on reclaimed land. It was a marvel of engineering (mostly British), completed in just six years. Now, China is taking the concept even further: Dalian is constructing a floating airport, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. This is a country that doesn’t simply accept geographic limitations—it overcomes them. Britain, meanwhile, is paralysed by protest groups, endless consultations, and political hand-wringing.
A floating airport in the Thames Estuary—an idea proposed and swiftly dismissed—would have been a statement of ambition. London could have had its own Chek Lap Kok, a world-class hub unencumbered by the constraints of Heathrow’s location. Instead, we are left with a piecemeal expansion of an outdated site, in a project that will take decades and still leave Britain trailing behind.
The environmental argument against expansion is often cited as a reason for delay, but it is a red herring. Modern aviation is rapidly advancing towards lower emissions and greater efficiency. If the concern is air pollution and carbon footprints, the answer is not to stifle airport expansion but to embrace new technology, support cleaner aviation fuels, and invest in modern air traffic management. Britain should be leading these efforts, not using environmental concerns as an excuse for stagnation.
The economic cost of our hesitation is immense. Aviation is a key driver of trade, tourism, and investment. Heathrow’s constraints mean we lose out to European rivals, with airlines shifting long-haul routes to Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. The third runway, even if built, will do little to reclaim lost ground. By the time it is operational—assuming it even survives the judicial challenges that will inevitably come—other nations will have long since surpassed us.
What Britain needs is a fundamental shift in mindset. We must stop viewing major infrastructure projects as necessary evils to be endured and start treating them as national priorities. This requires reforming our planning laws, streamlining approval processes, and fostering a political culture that celebrates engineering excellence rather than recoiling from it.
The third runway at Heathrow is not the answer—it is a symptom of our decline. Instead of an afterthought tacked onto an aging airport, we should be considering radical alternatives: offshore airports, high-speed rail integration to regional hubs, and a renewed commitment to infrastructure that places Britain at the forefront of global connectivity. We were once a nation that built the world’s most advanced transport networks, that pioneered engineering breakthroughs others only dreamed of. We can be that nation again—but only if we stop settling for mediocrity and start daring to think bigger.
The world is not waiting for Britain to catch up. While we squabble over a single new runway, China is building entire new airports on water. The contrast is stark, and the lesson is clear: boldness breeds success, hesitation ensures decline. If Britain truly wishes to remain a global player, we must abandon the timid incrementalism of the third runway and embrace the kind of audacity that once made us great.
Kit Malthouse 1st February 2025
Christmas is a very special time. It's when we come together with friends and family to take stock, and give thanks for what we have.
Some years – in the best of times, this is cause for celebration.
Other years – it's more complicated if we're missing loved ones,
affected by illness, or facing money worries, homelessness, or loneliness.
Sometimes – let’s be honest, for many reasons, Christmas can just be about getting through it, and that's ok!
Because regardless of the year that’s been, or the circumstances you find yourself in, Christmas offers everyone a precious gift – hope.
Rushanara Ali MP statement on the anniversary of Bangladesh’s Victory Day 2024.
Last week I was sworn in as the MP for South Shields for the fifth time, and each time it strikes me how incredibly honoured I feel that you have put your faith in me as the first female MP to represent you in Parliament. It was a truly historic night as the UK elected […]
The post It is the honour of my life to be re-elected as your MP for South Shields appeared first on Emma Lewell MP.
The post Toby Perkins MP supports Chesterfield Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation appeared first on Toby Perkins Labour MP.
Entries for submitting your photographs for the Rhondda Calendar are now open.
The top twelve entries will be show cased in the 2018 Calendar with prize money for the top three entries.
Proceeds from the sale of the calendar will go to local charities.
Deadline 31st August 2017!
The post Rhondda Calendar 2018 appeared first on Chris Bryant.