Another busy week in Westminster, with the focus being on the Budget and the Chancellor’s statement on Wednesday.
With the Budget looming large, you may have missed the passing of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which passed the House of Commons on Tuesday. This represents the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in a generation, cementing the Government’s commitment to powering up our regions. The idea is straightforward: putting power in the hands of local leaders, unlocking economic potential, reviving communities, and delivering for local people.
Greater Manchester has, of course, been an early beneficiary and pioneer of devolution, and I am pleased to see the expansion of current powers, which will benefit my constituents across Stretford and Urmston.
The Bill aims to rebuild local government and empower mayors with new powers over planning, housing, transport, and regeneration. These changes are important to achieving improved public services and better living standards, ensuring politics is done with communities, not to them.
Following the G20, the Prime Minister updated the House of Commons on talks with the UK’s partners aimed at securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Progress was made on an updated peace framework, and the Prime Minister reaffirmed the core principles that Ukraine’s sovereignty must be maintained, Ukraine must be able to defend itself and Ukraine must determine its own future.
This focus on security is essential, especially as Putin continues to test UK security through incidents involving Russian ships in British waters. The UK will hold the G20 presidency in 2027 and the Government intends to use it to strengthen British leadership and promote growth and stability.
On the climate front, the UK joined over 190 countries at COP 30. The final agreement may not contain all the ambition I hoped for, but it does commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and tripling annual finance to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. A broad coalition of 83 countries endorsed the idea of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, recognizing that this transition is necessary to address the climate crisis—the greatest long-term threat we face globally. Clean energy is also crucial domestically for energy security, lower bills, and economic growth. I will continue to support this Government’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis because we owe it to future generations.
The big news for the week came on Wednesday, with the Chancellors Autumn Budget. In my view, the Budget makes fair choices to deliver on the countries priorities of cutting the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting lists, and tackling our debt and borrowing.
To put more money into people’s pockets we will be taking £150 off energy bills, with poorer households saving up to £300 when combined with the Warm Homes Discount.
Importantly, in my view, the Budget also makes considerable progress to tackle child poverty. The decision to remove the two-child limit in full, from April 2026 will lift 450,000 children out of poverty nationally, including nearly 3000 children in Stretford and Urmston. This policy, coupled with other measures, is projected to deliver the largest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since records began. I know from my meetings with Trussell Trust and others, that this policy, introduced by George Osborne in 2017, is the biggest single driver of child poverty. We should never punish children for the choices of their parents, and I welcome this measure.
At the same time, the Government’s continued commitment to the pension triple lock for this Parliament, means that pensioners on the full new state pension will receive an extra £575 a year from April 2026.
Record investment in our NHS has also already achieved a reduction in the total elective waiting lists by over 230,000, the largest fall in 15 years, and delivered an extra 5.2 million appointments in England. The Government will now go even further, with 250 new Neighbourhood Health Centres expanding more services back into communities so people can get better, faster care locally.
I was also pleased to see that measures to ensure that those with broader shoulders will contribute more through fair reforms that have been avoided for too long. Taxes on property, dividend and savings income will be increased by 2p, addressing the unfairness in how different forms of income are taxed. The Government is also tackling imbalances in the property tax system, with a surcharge on residential properties in England worth £2 million or more – meaning a £10m mansion does not pay less than a terraced house in Old Trafford.
I was also pleased to see that the government remains committed to substantial investment, including £120bn of public capital investment across the Parliament for energy, roads, and rail.
Back in the constituency on Friday, I was in Tesco Stretford in the morning and met with members of staff to discuss community projects they are supporting locally. I also donated to the Trussell Trust Christmas collection and chatted to volunteers at their stall in the lobby.
I then went over to the Stretford campus of Trafford College to talk about the important issue of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding in the further education sector.
We talked about how their specialist provision is unlocking education and transforming lives for our local young people. Further education is sometimes an overlooked part of educational provision for young people with SEND so it was a useful opportunity to discuss this directly with a local provider.
After lunch, I visited an Unbound CIC session in Stretford. Their mission is to empower survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery to rebuild their lives and provide workshops free of charge with certification upon completion.
I met with staff and volunteers as well as some survivors and presented certificates for completion of a beauty therapy course. It was wonderful to see their achievement despite going through so much.
Saturday morning was spent on the doorsteps in Partington speaking to residents. It is important to me to talk directly to constituents about the issues that are important to them and really helps inform my work in Parliament.