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Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North, has joined the campaign for fathers to be given “Extra Time” with their families, backing a campaign from Movember and The Dad Shift to improve paternity leave in the UK.
Ahead of England’s opening World Cup match and in the week of Father’s Day, MPs are donning World Cup shirts provided by The Dad Shift emblazoned with the campaign call.
The shirts have been customised so on the back, instead of a player’s name, the MP’s role as a caregiver is highlighted, whether that be as a Mum, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Nana, Mate or Friends. Beneath the shirt number 2 campaigners add “WEEKS ISN’T ENOUGH” referring to the two weeks on less than half the minimum wage currently offered to British dads – the least generous offer in Europe.
Photos attached show Amanda Martin MP wearing the shirt out and about and are released as new research from Movember and The Dad Shift found that:
As MPs take the campaign to their constituencies, campaigners have been keen to remind people that over half the paternity leave currently claimed in the UK goes to higher earners, because the low pay makes even 2 weeks unaffordable to most working blokes. The government meanwhile is currently running a review of Parental Leave due to conclude this December with an announcement expected in January.
Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North and Co-chair of the Labour Men and Boys Group said: “Fatherhood matters – to children, to mothers and to dads themselves. As England prepares to step onto the pitch, this campaign is a reminder that dads shouldn’t only be brought on for injury time at home. I support giving fathers more meaningful time with their families in those crucial early weeks and months.
Local Cosham dad Sean added: “We’re excited about the government’s review of parental leave and expect real action to support working dads across the country coming out the other side of it. The Westminster bubble might have other obsessions, but around here it’s clear – folk are focused on the cost of living, family, and football.”
The Dad Shift co-founder George Gabriel said: “Just 3% of parental leave currently goes to dads. It’s like forcing mums to play the full 90 minutes and then sending on fathers for injury time. That’s not good for anyone and it’s exciting that there’s finally some real moment to change it. Two weeks isn’t enough time to bond with a new baby, support a partner, or find your feet as a parent. The shirts make the point simply: dads need extra time.”
MPs have donned their shirts, provided by The Dad Shift, in support of Movember’s Extra Time With Dad landing in Men’s Health Week and follows a celebrity-led launch event in Westminster featuring fathers, campaigners, sports personalities and MPs calling for change.
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Firm answers on funding for the new Ysgol Heol Goffa are now needed from Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Government to reassure pupils, parents, staff and the local community.
Any more uncertainty, dither or delay would be unacceptable.
I’ve written to the new Plaid Welsh Government Education Minister urging her to reaffirm the commitment made previously to provide support to make the long awaited new school a reality.

The Prime Minister has appointed Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan MP as Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Sharing news of the appointment, Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“I am delighted to be appointed Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs. Being asked by the Prime Minister to serve our country in this role is an immense privilege.
“Alongside the Environment Secretary and team, my focus will be clear: driving a green economy, protecting our natural environment and ensuring our rural and coastal communities truly thrive.
“I look forward to working with others backing our world-leading food, farming, and fishing industries.”
The role includes food security, trade, science and innovation, and lead for the Marine Management Organisation, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and Sea Fish Industry Authority.
The post City MP appointed Minister of State appeared first on Stephen Morgan MP.
AI-generated videos depict the Reform UK leader in brawl with Bank of England governor. Read more in The Times (£).
For too long, people have told me they want to see more police on our streets. You have told me you want officers who are visible and part of daily life in Worksop. Not hidden away, but an active presence in the town centre, where people can see them and speak to them.
That is why I welcome the plans for a new police station on Bridge Street. It will put policing back in the heart of the town. It gives shoppers, visitors, businesses and residents more confidence that the police are on hand to keep the town centre safe.
The plan is for Nottinghamshire Police to move from their current base inside Queen’s Buildings to Bridge Street. Bassetlaw District Council has agreed to transfer the building to the police. There is still a process to follow, but this is a major step in the right direction.
I also want to be absolutely clear that this new police station will not come at the expense of policing in Retford, Harworth, or anywhere else in Bassetlaw. This is not about creating one single police station for the whole district.
Before the general election, I met with Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden. We agreed then that a stronger police presence would be a joint priority. I am pleased that this commitment is now moving forward.
We should also be honest about how we got here.
Over many years, local policing and justice in Bassetlaw has been hollowed out. The closure of custody cells in Worksop was a travesty. It meant people arrested locally have to be transported to Mansfield instead. I have heard first-hand from local police officers about the time this takes out of their day. An arrest can mean officers spending valuable time travelling to and from Mansfield, when that time could be better spent responding to crime and supporting residents here in Bassetlaw.
The loss of Worksop Magistrates’ Court created the circumstances for the prison cell closure because the costs of running them were shared with the police.
These decisions did not happen by accident. They followed years of cuts and a policy that expected towns like ours to make do with less. The result has been that important public services were taken further away from the people who rely on them.
The new police station is a chance to turn the page. It will not fix everything on its own. But it is a clear sign that Worksop is being listened to again.
Re-instating custody cell provision in Worksop remains a key campaign priority for me. I will continue to demand that we get this investment.
When someone is arrested in Bassetlaw, there must be the appropriate provision here in our area.
This new station is very welcome. It is progress. But it must be the start, not the end.
The post New Police Station Is a Win for Worksop, But We Must Go Further appeared first on Jo White MP.
Jeff Smith MP is joining Postcode Lottery, to host a virtual funding workshop for local charities, volunteer organisations, and community groups in the area. This session will give local organisations in the constituency advice on how they can apply for funds to make a difference in their community.
The live Zoom event takes place on the 10th of June at 11am. To attend contact funding@postcodelottery.co.uk.
To date, players of Postcode Lottery have raised over £1.5 billion for good causes and are now raising over £20 million a month for thousands of charities, covering every constituency in the country.
Over £114,000 has been raised for local causes in Manchester Withington, making a real difference to many good local organisations.
Manchester Withington MP, Jeff Smith said:
“I am pleased to co-host this funding workshop with Postcode Lottery to provide local charities with the tools they need to access funding. I know there are many charities in my constituency that would greatly benefit from additional funding, and I encourage them to attend the workshop to learn more about the opportunities available to them.”
Head of Public Affairs at Postcode Lottery, Nick Cook said:
“The money raised by players of Postcode Lottery is already having a huge impact in communities across the country.
We want to do as much as we can to help local charities and good causes successfully apply, particularly at a time when many are losing out on essential funds.
Our free virtual workshop is a useful opportunity for smaller, local charities to find out about the funding available, get advice on applying and ask us any questions they may have.”
Applications for the Mayesbrook and Rippleside Pride in Place Board opened this week and Nesil Caliskan, MP for Barking, is calling on local community champions to apply.
In March, Nesil Caliskan MP successfully secured a £20m investment for Barking constituency from the government’s Pride in Place fund. Mayesbrook Park and Rippleside have been chosen by the government has the beneficiaries of the funding. The money is for investment in local projects over a 10-year period, and local people get to decide how the money is spent.
The projects will be steered by a Pride in Place Board, made up of local community champions, local councillors and the Member of Parliament.
Nesil Caliskan says:
“I’m so pleased that Barking has been given £20 million over 10 years from the Labour government’s Pride in Place fund to drive change and improvement in our local area. I campaigned in Parliament for Barking & Dagenham to receive more funding from the Pride in Place pot and I’m glad we can now make a material difference in our local area.
“I am forming a Pride in Place board made up of local residents and community leaders to decide how the money is spent. Applications are open now, so if you live in the area and want to improve your neighbourhood, please apply. I look forward to joining you to kickstart projects in Mayesbrook Park and Rippleside.”


It was a wonderful afternoon on Saturday as we celebrated the Licensing and installation of Reverend Jennifer Elizabeth Mayo as the new Priest-in-Charge at the Parish Church of St. Mark, Shelfield & High Heath.
I know just how long the local church and our wider community have been waiting for this moment, and the sheer joy and warmth in the room on Saturday showed exactly how much this means to everyone.
A massive, warm welcome to Reverend Jenny! We are absolutely thrilled to have you here, and I know our community is looking forward to supporting you and working alongside you in this exciting new chapter for St. Mark’s.

The Supreme Court ruling of April 2025 caused considerable fear and distress amongst transgender people living in the UK and their loved ones. I am acutely aware of the very real harm this climate is causing to individuals and their families. It is particularly alarming that there have been reports of trans people seeking to leave the UK as they no longer feel safe here.
I share concerns that the latest guidance from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will only further harm and marginalise trans people and risks excluding them from facilities they have used without incident for a long time. The government’s own equality impact assessment acknowledges the widely negative impact it is likely to have on trans rights: from excluding trans people from facilities to outing them without consent and safeguarding risks for trans women forced to use men’s services.
It specifies that trans women should not be permitted to use women’s facilities in places such as hospitals, shops, and restaurants. It also stipulates that people may be asked to confirm their birth sex where a service provider considers it “necessary and proportionate” to do so. Requiring trans people to confirm their birth sex in this way is an unacceptable infringement of their human rights: in particular, their right to privacy and dignity.
I also worry about the broader consequences of this decision for AFAB women who may not conform to traditional notions of femininity. This guidance could have worrying implications for their dignity, public perception and safety.
Trans people deserve to live with the dignity, freedom and safety to participate fully in public life. This guidance represents a significant step away from this aspiration. I recently raised my concerns in Parliament around the EHRC proposals, the implications for trans people and the wider LGBTQ+ community and the need for trans-inclusive guidance on sex-based spaces.
I have signed Early Day Motion 240, aiming to disapprove the draft Code of Practice for Services, public functions and associations laid before the House of Commons on the 21st May. I have also added my name to Early Day Motion 1251, which recognises that transgender transition liberates trans people to be their true selves, condemns baseless fearmongering in the media, and calls on the Government to fulfil its statutory public sector equality duty to trans people.
I will continue to advocate firmly to ensure that trans people, and all members of the LGBTQ+ community, are able to participate fully in public life as their authentic selves, free from discrimination, and welcomed and respected accordingly.
The post Statement on EHRC Guidance on Sex-Based Spaces appeared first on Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
Healthy Start value was increased by 10% in April. It’s been a long campaign. I am continuing to work with Sustain: The Alliance For Better Food And Farming, The Food Foundation, Feeding Britain and the Department of Health and Social Care as we push for maximum take up.
The post Healthy Start Scheme Bill appeared first on Emma Lewell MP.
What I’ve been up to throughout March March has been a busy month, both in Westminster and in the constituency. In Westminster, a lot of my time has been spent on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, where we have been doing pre-legislative scrutiny of commonhold and leasehold legislation. I asked constituents to
The post March Update appeared first on Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury.
The post March Newsletter appeared first on Mohammad Yasin 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.
The post Toby Perkins MP supports Chesterfield Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation appeared first on Toby Perkins Labour MP.