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Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed the Labour Government’s announcement that ground rents will be capped at £250 a year, bring relief to families who have faced unfair and escalating charges for years.
The Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, confirmed the cap as part of a wider package of measures.
Mr Morgan also welcomed the Government’s commitment to ban new leasehold flats, delivering on Labour’s manifesto pledge to bring to an end the outdated leasehold model.
Alongside the cap, the Government has published the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which will strengthen the rights and protections of more than five million leaseholders. The Moving to Commonhold consultation has also opened, giving people the chance to shape the next phase of reform.
The announcement also builds on the recently passed Renters Rights Act and Labour’s landmark planning reforms, aimed at ensuring everyone has a safe and secure home.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“This necessary decision marks a long overdue step that will make a real difference to Portsmouth’s leaseholders, who have been trapped in an unfair system for too long.
“Despite pledging to fix this problem in 2017, the Conservatives failed to do so. That is why Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised the very reform that has now been delivered with this Government’s recent announcement.”
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed said:
“If you own a flat you can be forced to pay ground rents that can become completely unaffordable. We said we’d be on the side of leaseholders – which is why today we are capping ground rent – helping millions of leaseholders by saving them money and giving them control over their home.
“The leasehold system has tainted the dream of home ownership for so many. We are taking action where others have failed – strengthening home ownership and calling time on leasehold for good.”
The post City MP welcomes Labour’s plan to protect leaseholders in Portsmouth appeared first on Stephen Morgan MP.
Labour will support 2679 children in Central and West Newcastle with free breakfast clubs.
I’ve spoken to Secretary of state for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, about the impact of Labour’s rollout of breakfast clubs – how they boost attendance, attainment and life chances.
That’s the difference Labour is making.
UK Government Solicitor General Ellie Reeves announced a major expansion of the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme across Wales.
The expansion will mean more victims of rape and serious sexual assaults, who face their cases being dropped by prosecutors, will be given the right to have their case reviewed by a different prosecutor before any final decisions are made.
Following positive feedback from an initial pilot, the scheme will now expand to three more CPS Areas. Beginning with CPS North West in January, followed by CPS Yorkshire and Humberside in early February, and CPS Cymru-Wales in April.
Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli and a longstanding campaigner on these issues, said:
“Violence against women and girls is rightly being treated as a national emergency. That’s why a key part of the government’s VAWG strategy is to ensure that victims in Llanelli and elsewhere are given better support, to help rebuild trust in the criminal justice system.”
“Keeping women and girls safe needs action as well as words, whether it’s through supporting victims, apprehending abusers or stopping violence before it starts. This change is an important building block that puts more power into the hands of victims when they bravely come forward and speak up.”
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves MP said:
“Rape and sexual assault are abhorrent, causing long-lasting physical and emotional trauma to victims. The brave survivors who come forward deserve to have confidence that their voices have been truly heard.”
“This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls, and following a positive pilot, I have decided to significantly expand the Victim’s Right to Review into three more areas, including Wales.”
“This will increase routes to justice and above all, it will ensure victims are given fairness and dignity.”
Siobhan Blake, National CPS Lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences, said:
“For survivors of rape and sexual offences, the possibility that their abuser may never face justice can be deeply distressing.
“Victims deserve absolute confidence that every decision is made with care and expertise. Our specialist prosecutors usually get it right first time, but when we don’t — and a case that could have continued is stopped — an apology alone can never feel like justice.
“Victims who have taken part so far have told us that simply having this option makes a positive difference. I’m pleased we are now expanding the pilot so we can gather the evidence we need to understand the full impact and how best to support victims.”
These measures form part of the government’s VAWG strategy, which will halve violence against women and girls in the next decade.
The Strategy is focused around 3 key pillars:
• Stopping violence before it starts – challenging misogyny and promoting healthy relationships.
• Apprehending abusers – specialist rape and sexual assault teams in every police force.
• Better support for victims and survivors.
Under the current system, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. While victims can ask for the decision to be reviewed under the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) scheme, this will not change the outcome. The pilot gives victims of rape or serious sexual abuse the right for their case to be reviewed by a different prosecutor before any final decisions are made, and the chance to continue proceedings remains. If that prosecutor determines there is enough evidence, the case will continue
Jeff Smith MP voted to scrap the two-child limit in Parliament, lifting 450,000 children across the UK out of poverty.
Speaking after the second reading of the Bill, Jeff Smith MP said:
“Lifting children out of poverty is an investment in this country’s future.
“Growing up in poverty means children are less likely to do well at school – with less than a quarter of children in the lowest income households getting five good GCSEs.
“They are four times more likely to experience mental health conditions. And they are more likely to not be in education, employment, or training and to face a life on benefits.
“By voting to end the two-child limit we are giving children the opportunity they need to succeed in life.
“And from April this year, at least 380 children living in Manchester Withington will benefit.”
Removing the two-child limit is the single quickest and most cost-effective way to lift children out of poverty – 450,000 by this measure alone, rising to 550,000 with other measures in the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy.
Other measures in the Child Poverty Strategy include support for working families to stop children growing up in B&Bs, expanding childcare for families on UC and helping parents save up to £500 on baby formula.
Measures in the Bill are due to come into effect from April 2026.
In Parliament today I asked the Secretary of State for Defence, will Canada be asked to join the JEF? You can Listen to my question and the response from the Secretary of State below.
The post Defence Question 02/02/2026 appeared first on Emma Lewell MP.
Published in the Sunday Express
FARMER Sir David Ralli hopes to spare villagers the nightmare of flooding by building giant storage basins on his land.
Residents in nearby Saham Toney, Norfolk, who have repeatedly been swamped by water running down from higher ground, are already safer thanks to the reservoir.
Sir David, who descended from the Victorian Greek immigrant merchants Ralli Brothers, was approached more than five years ago to “sort the problem out” with nature-based solutions.
The 79-year-old said: “The idea was to hold the water up, because the big problem at Saham Toney was that the roads come down at two
different angles and the force of the water hits the village at one specific point.”
Some farmers have contributed to the flooding – and droughts – by draining their land and moving pipes underground.
The two-year project with which Sir David is involved includes two large storage basins located upstream of the village and 14 dams.
The owner of Panworth Hall Farm, who is helping to defend 30 homes, said: “This is our first winter with the basin. In time, it will be interesting to see [the impact]. It’ll probably take two years to fill up. By that time we may have deer and ducks.” Steven Halls, senior flood risk officer with Norfolk county council, said the village has been flooded at least four times in five years.
He added: “We’ve had some extreme weather in those five years which may have exacerbated things. We’ve had flooding problems here since the 80s. It’s an inherent problem. Our job is to find holistic and multi-functional options and schemes. So, we try to work with landowners who have the local knowledge to find these places where we can hold back the flow. We call it slowing the flow. We’ll never be able to stop it but we can manage and reduce the water.
“It’s not just for flood risk. There’s ecological benefits as well.we’ve got newts around the farm which we’re hoping to provide habitat for in time. These aren’t just big bomb craters. They have multi-functional use.” Proud grandad Sir David’s land is managed to benefit the environment as part of the government’s sustainable farming incentive. And a parcel of it may host part of a 4,500-acre solar park farm being developed by German energy firm RWE in around six years.
Concerns have been raised about the loss of good agricultural land to solar panels – and how that could affect food production.
But farmers struggling with the uncertainty of government policies are diversifying to secure the future of their farms. First generation farmer Sir David said: “We never know what they’re going to do.they don’t tell us.”
Last week Storm Chandra caused flooding in some parts of the East of England.
It coincided with Mid Norfolk Tory MP George Freeman presenting a Ten-minute Rule Bill in the Commons. He said: “Flooding is no longer a rare event. It is becoming an annual trauma for thousands of homes, with serious consequences. “The recent storm highlights the problem, with torrential downpours leading to significant surface water run-off which overwhelms drainage systems. Yet developers continue to build on floodplains, and flooded homeowners find nobody ultimately responsible.
“In Norfolk we have over 30 bodies with responsibility for flooding but each year it gets worse. This cannot go on. “My Bill is about giving power and funding back to the Internal Drainage Boards and local councils with powers to force developers and water companies to properly upgrade drainage when big new housing estates are built. “Local authorities and internal drainage boards need clear responsibility, proper funding and the tools to protect homes before floods happen – not just mop up afterwards.”
His Bill will receive a second reading on July 10.
The Chancellor is backing British pubs with the announcement of a major support package, as the government recognises the challenges facing the industry and the vital role they play in building strong local communities.
Pubs have faced significant pressure as their numbers have fallen by nearly 7,000 since 2010, a roughly 15% reduction and amongst the highest across hospitality overall. The sector has also raised concerns around the way they are valued for business rates purposes.
Recognising the value they bring and the challenges they face, the government is introducing a support package to save the average pub an additional £1,650 in 2026/27. Around 75% of pubs will see their bills fall or stay flat over the same year with the pub sector as a whole paying 8% less in business rates in 2029 than they do currently.
Amanda Martin MP welcomed the news saying: “I know just how much pressure our local pubs have been under, which is why I have been meeting with landlords across Portsmouth North, writing directly to every pub in the constituency, and raising their concerns with ministers ahead of last year’s Budget and since. Our pubs are at the heart of our communities, and I’ve been clear in my conversations with government that they need fairer business rates and long-term support to survive and thrive.
I’ve lobbied hard on behalf of local publicans, and it’s really welcome to see the Chancellor listening and backing pubs with real action. This package will make a genuine difference to pubs in Portsmouth North and help protect the vital role they play in bringing people together and supporting our high streets.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “If we’re going to restore the pride in our communities, we need our pubs and our high streets to thrive. We’re backing British pubs with additional support, and our new High Streets Strategy will help tackle the long-term challenges that our much-loved retail, leisure and hospitality businesses have faced. Thriving local businesses, bustling high streets and pride restored in our communities – that’s what this government is delivering.”
Other sectors continue to benefit from the £4.3 billion support package and from permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
The government is also launching a review into how they are valued. The review will be carried out by the government alongside businesses and their representatives as well as valuation experts, ensuring that any decisions that follow will be implemented for the 2029 revaluation.
Over the last decade, changing consumer habits, increasingly working from home and shopping online, combined with the pandemic and the increase in energy costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have had a significant impact on all high street business.
Recognising this, the government is also announcing a High Streets Strategy to reinvigorate Britain’s communities. Working alongside businesses and representatives, this cross-government strategy will be published later this year and will look at what more the government can do to support our high streets.
This government is committed to supporting pubs build sustainable business models over the long-term. In the spring, the government will consult on further loosening planning rules to benefit pubs, helping them add new guest rooms or expand their main room without local planning applications. We will continue to engage with the sector to ensure other retail, leisure, and hospitality premises also have sufficient planning flexibilities.
The Chancellor also announced today £10 million of funding for the Hospitality Support Fund over three years – upped from £1.5 million for one year announced last April – to support pubs across the UK. The additional funding aims to help over 1,000 pubs provide extra services for local communities, including creating community cafes, village stores and play areas to help pubs bring locals and families together and boost their footfall. It will also support people who are furthest from the labour market to move into jobs in hospitality.
As part of further licencing reforms, pubs and other licensed venues will be able to open after midnight for Home Nations’ games in the later stages of this summer’s Men’s FIFA World Cup, meaning more time for fans at the pub while boosting takings behind the bar and supporting jobs in hospitality. The government is also bringing forward a consultation to allow them to open late for other big events such as Eurovision.
The government will legislate later this year to increase the number of temporary events pubs and other hospitality venues can hold to help screen other World Cup games or host community and cultural events.
This support comes on top of the £4.3 billion package the Chancellor announced at Budget 2025. This includes capping business rate bill rises by 15% for most businesses from April, or £800 for the smallest, next year as pandemic-era reliefs end and new revaluations take effect.
This government is committed to reforming the business rates system and has already begun the work. At Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced a permanent 5p cut in the business rates multiplier for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, funded by a higher tax rate for the most expensive 1% of properties.
The post Govenment Announces Support Package that Backs Pompey Pubs appeared first on Amanda Martin MP.
This week Labour has published its draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
For too long, leaseholders and homeowners with unadopted estates have paid through the roof for
substandard service from unscrupulous managing agents and freeholders.
Every year, homeowners pay £600 million to freeholders. And in 2024, service charges reached an
average of £2,300 a year, increasing well above inflation.
Labour’s Bill will take direct action on the cost-of-living crisis for leaseholders.
The Government is capping ground rent at £250 a year, and moving to a peppercorn after 40 years.
The legislation also establishes commonhold as a default tenure, bans new leasehold flats, and creates
a route for leaseholders who want to transition to commonhold to do so.
More plans are also in the works to make it easier for leaseholders to enfranchise, and to ensure that
managing agents and freeholders are held to account for poor practice.
Every week I see in my constituency inbox the costs which homeowners are forced to pay for
substandard service. Working people deserve managing agents and freeholders who work for them,
and that is exactly what Labour’s Bill will achieve
The post Labour is protecting Leaseholders from unfair charges, and capping ground rents appeared first on Liz Kendall.
The Member of Parliament for Barking, Nesil Caliskan, is celebrating a government announcement on ending leasehold and cap on ground rents: “Since I became the MP for Barking, I have been fighting against dodgy developers and housing management companies who have been ripping people off,” she said. “It is clear the system is broken.”
The government has announced a total ban on new leaseholds, with current leaseholders given the choice to switch to commonhold as part of the new Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill. There will also be a cap on ground rents of £250, drastically reducing the cost of homeownership for people across the country.
Nesil Caliskan has called out developers, freeholders and housing managing companies across Barking for their exploitative practices and unaffordable service charges. Last year, for example, she slammed HomeGround, a freeholder in Barking Riverside linked to many allegations of poor transparency and exploitative fees: “They have made the dream of homeownership a living nightmare for so many families in Barking & Dagenham.”
Commenting on the wider reforms, Nesil Caliskan MP said: “Freeholders and management companies have exploited the basic need of people to have a roof over their head for too long, charging sky-high fees for poor service.
“I have seen families living with no heating or hot water and elderly people forced to climb flights of stairs because the management company failed to do basic lift repairs.
“I’m glad that now people in Barking & Dagenham will be able to have a say over their own futures, and we are seeing the back of this feudal system.”
Baroness Amos, Chair of the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, has issued a public Call for Evidence, asking women and families to share their experiences of maternity and neonatal care in England.

The Call for Evidence is designed to ensure that the voices of women and families, including fathers, partners and non-birthing partners, are heard. The investigation seeks to understand the full range of experiences of maternity and neonatal care.
Responses to the Call for Evidence will be used to inform the development of national recommendations to shape the future of maternity and neonatal services in England. The Call for Evidence consists of two surveys: one for women and people who have been pregnant to share their experiences of maternity and neonatal services; and one for people who have supported someone through pregnancy.
The Call for Evidence is open to the public until 17th March 2026. Responses can be submitted here: matneoinv.org.uk/call-for-evidence
It has been designed to allow everyone to have the chance to respond. It is available online, with easy-read versions, translation into seven languages, and a postal option for those who prefer not to respond online. Interpreter support and one-to-one interviews are also available for people who would like additional help to respond.
This is an important opportunity for women and families to share their honest experiences of maternity care and drive improvements to the system for all. I encourage everyone who has used maternity services to make your voice heard.
The post Call for Public to Share their Experiences of Maternity Services appeared first on Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
The post December Newsletter appeared first on Mohammad Yasin MP.
The closure of Banbury Museum would be a devastating blow for our town. I have created this petition to urge Cherwell District Council to find alternative funding, so the museum can continue to serve our community. Please see the petition below: https://www.change.org/p/save-banbury-museum-and-gallery-urge-cherwell-to-source-alternative-funding
The post Banbury Museum Petition appeared first on Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury.
Sure Start was life-changing for so many people in Bassetlaw, transforming the lives of children by putting in place family support in the earliest years of life. Sure Start, introduced by the last Labour government, helped level the playing field for children from lower income families, with research showing that children who attended a Sure Start centre were much more likely to perform better at school.
The previous Government cut community services, scrapping Sure Start, leaving a gaping hole in family services. When they left government, one in four families with children under five couldn’t access local children’s centres, rising to one in three lower income families. Speaking to local families in Bassetlaw, I hear time and again an ask for more support around SEND, youth services, and early development.
I welcome the news that the Government are building on the proud legacy of Sure Start, and reviving family services by rolling out 1,000 ‘Best Start Family Hubs’ by April 2026, including here in Bassetlaw.
Best Start Family Hubs will be a one stop shop for parents needing support, including on difficulty breastfeeding, housing issues or children’s early development, and other services such as:
The post Giving Children in Bassetlaw the Best Start in Life appeared first on Jo White MP.
It was great to call into Neighbourhood Watch in Pelsall again and catch up with Edwin and Andrew.
We discussed a range of local issues across the Rushall, Shelfield, Pelsall, and Brownhills Neighbourhood Watch area. Our focus was on how we can work together as one community to address these challenges.
It was also fantastic to hear about Project Phoenix – a pilot community-run initiative launched by Walsall Council! This project is dedicated to building a stronger community right across our Borough, and I’m really keen to see the positive impact it will have.
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.
The post Toby Perkins MP supports Chesterfield Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation appeared first on Toby Perkins Labour MP.