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Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed Ofgem’s confirmation that the energy price cap across Britain will coming down by 7% (£117) as a result of choices announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the 2025 Autumn Budget.
Portsmouth billpayers are set to also benefit from this major progress, which is helping to bring down the cost of living and is a result of Labour’s wider actions to bring an end to the current era of high energy bills.
This price cap reduction comes on top of the expanded Warm Home Discount, which has meant nearly 6 million families are receiving £150 off their energy bills this winter period.
Additionally, Labour is delivering the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades through the Warm Homes Plan and investing record amounts in clean homegrown power to get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“By bringing down energy bills, Labour is standing up for Portsmouth’s consumers on the issues that matter to them and clamping down on bad behaviour by energy companies”
“This Government is reducing standing charges, acting on the forced installation of prepayment meters, making automatic compensation quicker, fairer, and easier, and overhauling the energy market.
“Ofgem’s announcement demonstrates the substantial progress that is being achieved by this Government to address an issue I know is a top concern for Portsmouth people”.
The post Stephen Morgan MP welcomes energy price cap reduction for Portsmouth billpayers appeared first on Stephen Morgan MP.
When I joined Facebook in 2005, you had to be over 18.
20 years later, children as young as 13 are growing up with almost unrestricted access to social media shaping their lives and brains.
The Tories’ failure to act over those years amounts to negligence of the highest order
Parliament TV: https://x.com/i/status/2026358095639691290
Last autumn in the Budget, those with the broadest shoulders were asked to pay their fair share so costs could be taken off energy bills.
Today, it’s been confirmed that as a result, energy bills are set to fall by £117 from April this year.
This is welcome news, but there’s still much further to go to end the era of high energy bills for good.
That’s why Labour are delivering the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades through our Warm Homes Plan and investing record amounts in clean homegrown power to end dependence on fossil fuel markets.
Amanda Martin MP has welcomed a £150 million funding package to turn the tide on ailing high streets, which will target areas in need of support including Portsmouth.
The funding is designed to bring people back into their local high streets by supporting independent local businesses, improving neglected shopfronts and opening empty units.
As areas identified and chosen for support for the Pride in Place Programme, with both Landport and Paulsgrove set to receive £20 million for each area over the next ten years, our city will be a recipient of this funding.
The newly announced package will be the first step in the Government’s upcoming High Streets Strategy, which will build upon action already taken to:
Commenting, Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North, said: “Our shopping areas and city centre have been neglected by the last Government and a lack of local leadership on the council has held back the investment our city desperately needs.
“This funding and new powers from this Labour government is renewal in action, led by local people who know their neighbourhoods best, and backed by the government which is choosing unity over division.
“Having spoken with Portsmouth people and local businesses, I know the difference this funding will make to restore pride in place in our community”.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed said: “Our high streets are the beating heart of Britain — where communities come together and local businesses can grow.
“Town centres have suffered from high streets falling into decline, and that is why we’re taking action to turn the tide with this crucial investment and more to come.
“We have listened to what people are telling us and that’s why we’re giving them the power and control to breathe new life back into our high streets and restore the sense of pride communities feel, building on our transformational Pride in Place programme”.
Other steps taken by the government to regenerate high streets include:
More details on the High Streets Strategy, including how funding will be allocated to specific places, will be announced in the coming months.
The post High streets to receive funding from £150 million package to restore community pride appeared first on Amanda Martin MP.
Every time I visit a school in Banbury and North Oxfordshire, I know that I am seeing the future in front of me. The children in these classrooms are the teachers, engineers, artists, footballers – and maybe even politicians – that will shape our country into the next century. But they are facing a world
The post SEND Reforms appeared first on Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury.
I am getting a huge number of messages from people about potholes across Bassetlaw. Our roads are falling apart and it cannot go on like this.
Many drivers tell me they are worried about damage to their cars. They say they have to swerve to avoid deep holes in the road. People are facing huge bills for car repairs to fix damage to tyres. I have even heard about license plates being ripped from cars by deep potholes in some areas.
Recently, I was contacted by residents who live on Sheffield Road in Blyth. The road there is in a terrible state. Large lorries hit the crater holes at speed, and the impact is so strong that nearby houses shake, day and night. Some residents are struggling to sleep through the night because the vibrations are so bad. Some have even seen cracks appear in their brickwork. That is simply not good enough.
I am pushing for the whole road to be properly resurfaced, not just patched up. I am pleased that this request has now been put forward to the County Council as part of next year’s roads budget. I will keep pressing for it to be approved.
I see the ‘dob jobs’ taking place, but this is a quick fix and not a permanent solution. In some cases, the roads crumble again within weeks. The County Council recently spent £75,000 on flags for lampposts. While I love to see our flag flying, is this really the priority when our roads are in such a bad state?
We have heard plenty of excuses. The councillor in charge of roads has even tried to blame my husband, John Mann, the former MP for Bassetlaw. But I have lived here in Bassetlaw for over 25 years, and I have never known our roads to be in such poor condition. Over the past few months, I have reported over 50 potholes across Bassetlaw. But when I go to report them, I often see that they have been reported many times before, and no action has been taken.
Many people ask me what is being done about it. Here are the facts. Nottinghamshire County Council is in charge of looking after our roads. It runs this service through its company, VIA. The Council has been given an extra £8.3 million from the government to fix roads. This is on top of the £70 million it already has for road repairs. I plan to meet with the County Council very soon, alongside other Nottinghamshire MPs of all parties to discuss the issue.
The Council is saying it plans to buy a special machine called the JCB Pothole Pro. It costs about £200,000 and is meant to repair potholes more quickly. However, I am concerned that the previous Conservative administration looked at this in 2021, and found that the machine did not save money, could damage kerbs, and had problems on narrow roads. Most importantly, it did not fix potholes any faster than normal repair methods.
I will be keeping a close eye on how this money is spent. What matters most is that our roads are maintained and properly repaired. My message is clear, use the money and get on with the job.
The post Potholes are the main concern for Bassetlaw residents appeared first on Jo White MP.

Jeff Smith MP has welcomed the Labour Government’s announcement that ground rents will be capped at £250 a year, calling it a “long overdue step that will make a real difference to leaseholders in Manchester Withington.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, confirmed the cap as part of a wider package of measures.
Jeff Smith said the change will bring relief to families who have faced unfair and escalating charges for years.
“I have met many residents who have been ripped off for far too long. This cap will save some families hundreds of pounds a year and finally puts an end to one of the worst injustices in the leasehold system.”
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.
Jeff 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.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“Good news for homeowners, we’re capping ground rent at £250. That means if you are a leaseholder, and your ground rent is more than £250, you’ll be paying less.
“And I’ve spoken to so many people who say this will make a difference to them of hundreds of pounds.
“That’s really important because the cost of living is the single most important thing across the country.
“So this is a promise that we said we’d deliver and I’m really pleased that we’re delivering on that promise.”
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.”
Jeff Smith, Labour MP for Manchester Withington, said:
“This is fantastic news for leaseholders in Manchester Withington who have been trapped in an unfair system for too long. The Conservatives promised to fix this problem back in 2017 but didn’t. I am proud that a Labour Government has delivered where the previous Tory Government failed. When I stood to be your local MP in July 2024, our manifesto promised this reform, and I’m delighted this protection for leaseholders is being brought forward by Labour.”
George Freeman hosts a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children of Alcoholics.
I took part in a debate on the government’s genocide risk assessment in Gaza. Since Israel launched its offensive in 2023, we have seen actions which clearly constitute a genocide: targeted attacks on civilians and journalists, the forced displacement of people from their homes, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, the weaponisation of starvation and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and universities.
More than 70,000 people have been killed, with entire bloodlines wiped out. Yet the government still refuses to designate what is happening in Gaza as a genocide. When governments avoid the term genocide, it is not because facts on the ground are unclear. It is because the implications are inconvenient. They would require us to stop arms sales and suspend military cooperation, for instance. History will not describe what is unfolding in Palestine as a war, an invasion or just an occupation; it will describe it as a genocide.
The post There is Still a Genocide Happening in Gaza appeared first on Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
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.
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.”
The post December Newsletter appeared first on Mohammad Yasin 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.