Wednesday last week saw the State Opening of Parliament, marked by the King’ Speech. As we look toward the new parliamentary session, this has laid out an ambitious agenda designed to deliver a stronger, fairer Britain. We are living in a world more volatile and dangerous than at any point in our lifetimes, facing the compounded effects of the 2008 financial crash, Brexit, the pandemic, and ongoing global conflicts. With this in mind, the government has recognized that incremental change is no longer enough; we must forge a new path that breaks away from a status quo that has failed working people for too long.
At the heart of this new session is a commitment to unblocking barriers to growth. The government is adopting a robust industrial strategy to create high-paid jobs, supported by an economic plan aimed at driving down inflation and interest rates. Key legislation introduced to support this mission includes Bills on European Partnership, Nuclear Regulation, Competition Reform, and Steel.
The focus remains on getting Britain working again. While the UK currently boasts the highest GDP growth in the G7 and lower unemployment than most OECD countries, the challenge is to build further resilience. The new Youth Guarantee, a £2.5 billion investment, will provide hiring bonuses and paid job placements to ensure young people do not face the lifelong consequences of long-term unemployment.
Importantly to me, the agenda prioritizes rebuilding Britain’s crumbling public services. The upcoming NHS Modernisation Bill and Social Housing Renewal Bill are designed to ensure that opportunity and health are not determined by one’s background, but by talent and effort.
These new plans do not exist in a vacuum; they build upon a transformative 2024-26 parliamentary session in which over 50 pieces of legislation were passed. We have seen the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation through the Employment Rights Act, the outlawing of no-fault evictions, and the establishment of Great British Energy to lower bills. These efforts have already lifted 450,000 children out of poverty and brought NHS waiting lists to their lowest level in three years.
It would be remiss of me not to touch upon the upheaval in politics following the local elections the week before last.
Firstly, I’m proud of the election campaign we fought here in Trafford. We did unfortunately lose some seats, and some long-standing, talented councillors. I want to pay tribute to Judith Lloyd in Longford ward, Aidan Williams in Bucklow-St Martins ward, Fianna Hornby in Gorse Hill and Cornbrook ward and Karina Carter in Davyhulme ward and thank them for their diligence, hard work and public service over the years. I also want to give my thanks to Cath Hynes, Emma Hirst and Mike Cordingley as outgoing councillors who decided to stand down at these elections – they will also both be missed.
I’m also pleased to see Trafford rejecting the politics of hate and division, with only 2 seats going to Reform UK across the borough. Here in Stretford and Urmston, Labour were ahead in total votes across the constituency.
It is crystal-clear that for those voters thinking of voting tactically to beat Reform, the party best placed to do that in Stretford and Urmston is Labour.
Of course, the media last week was dominated by talk over the Prime Minister’s future. This was a particularly difficult set of local elections for the Labour Party and of course it is right that Keir, as leader, takes a share of responsibility for that. On the doorstep, I heard real frustration. People want to see change, and they want to see it faster.
That’s a fair expectation; we were elected on a manifesto of real change. We chose long-term solutions over quick fixes, and I understand why that frustrates people when they’re facing real problems now. That’s something that the Labour Party must now reflect on and respond to. My focus for now, is on working hard for the residents of Stretford and Urmston, both in Parliament and at home.
Friday back in the constituency was a busy day for me. I started off with a meeting with a NEU representative, to discuss the proposed restructure and redundancies at Flixton Girls School – they have balloted members and have started industrial action in protest at the proposals.
I then went over to the George Carnall Community Hub. While I was Leader of the Council one of the first things I did was to cancel the previous administration’s plan for this site and start the process to bring it into use for the local community so it was a pleasure to see the progress they have made.
Also, on site they host offices for the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and PROvision, which is a post-16, SEMH specialist provider, and Sixth Form to Egerton High School, offering a range of courses.
It was over to Urmston Sports Club over there to meet a constituent and member, and discuss some casework they have on site that I am looking to help them with.
After a quick coffee stop in the town centre, I hosted the first of two consultation events in the constituency, with parents of SEND children. The purpose was to gather their views on the governments SEND reform proposals. It was an emotional discussion, and it struck me just how let down most in the room felt with the current system, and how worried most were about aspects of the proposed changes. I’ll be feeding their views directly into the consultation.
To round my week off, I then went on to the second consultation event, again with local parents, this time focusing on access to social media for children under 16. The Government has said that it will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions for children under 16, regardless of the outcome of this consultation, and it was interesting to hear the view of parents as to what shape those restrictions should take. Again, I will be feeding views I heard directly into the consultation.
Representing my constituents’ views is a huge part of my role as a Member of Parliament, so I really value these opportunities to listen. I will certainly be looking to hold more of these soon.