The manufacturing in my constituency isn’t the “dying industries of the past”. If you want electric cars, they need (eg) aluminium engine surrounds and foam seats - both of which are energy intensive, and energy costs are crippling

If your tween persuades you to buy K-Pop Demon Hunters ramen, it’s very important not to add more than a pinch of the soup sachet as it is very spicy From a mama who learned this then hard way

Just had this flagged with me. This is disgusting. If Kemi Badenoch had one ounce of leadership in her, she would condemn this. I don’t want any faux sadness from her or Nick Timothy when one of us is hurt or worse. This is how low the Conservative Party have sunk.

I see all the usual suspects banging on about how this will increase inflation, cost jobs, we should let the market decide blah. At some point they'll have to come to terms with the abject failure of their strategy to bring either prosperity or stability to the UK but I guess today is not that day.

“My argument is simple: we should use more of our own steel.”

We should be really proud: this is a UK government stepping in to secure the UK steel industry

🚨Clearly there's loads of news today so there's a chance this gets ignored but... it is a BIG deal. Britain, the country that invented free trade as we know it, is raising steel tariffs to 50%. Biggest tariffs since Brexit. A massively symbolic moment. news.sky.com/story/waters...

The Steel Strategy is out tomorrow. With the timing out of the safeguards, action is necessary to combat vast global oversupply and get the proportion of steel back up to 50% UK produced. I am proud we are acting to protect sovereign capability and good jobs

UK sets targets to boost steel making and cut imports

The Steel Strategy is out tomorrow. With the timing out of the safeguards, action is necessary to combat vast global oversupply and get the proportion of steel back up to 50% UK produced. I am proud we are acting to protect sovereign capability and good jobs

60-40% in the Commons PLP, 15-85% in the Scottish PLP - this is the definition of divisive inside the Labour Party Let’s just get on with delivering our manifesto rather than returning to this yet again

The PM is at his best when he speaks from his values about tolerance and what crosses the line - in his conference speech, and again today at PMQs, defending the right of Muslims and all faiths to bear witness openly and in our public spaces

If your kids are too big now to benefit and you beggared yourself on childcare costs - I know. I feel it too. I am sorry we weren’t electable for all those years. But Labour governments = help for families. It’s who we are and what we are for x

Stop and read this Labour has HALVED the cost of childcare Make sure everyone in your life knows just what we have done to help cut families’ costs

Glad as always to speak at the launch of the Manufacturing Commission SME manufacturers’ report. I majored on energy costs as you would expect Read the report here policyconnect.org.uk/report/small...

This is such poor, desperate, spin. The bill passed stage 1 with a large margin and it has been defeated in stage 3 with an equally big margin. It is almost if scrutiny kills assisted suicide! bsky.app/profile/paul...

Wonderful news from Scotland. So many congratulations to my colleagues campaigning against assisted dying who never gave up.

Am pro encouraging more babies. But this ain’t it. Encouraging unsafe sleeping, obsessed with these stupid boxes (I didn’t want my precious baby in cardboard, why should anyone?! And cash is better than stuff, always)

Big news for devolution and regional growth! The Chancellor has just set out how an unbalanced and overly centralised country has held us back. So mayors in England will in future get a defined share of national taxes rather than relying on grants. More detail to be announced at the Budget.

Sat in the statement on Neets today. Honestly the shadow front bench was shocking. Almost nothing to say about youth unemployment. Just this weird yen to immiserate people - wanting to plunge kids back into poverty and pinch benefits off disabled people

Very pleased with this. Prosperity for the West Midlands runs through more decisions on spending taken locally

NEW: short units that can be funded through the growth and skills levy for existing employees announced: EV charging point install Electrical fitting/assembly Mechanical fitting/assembly Modular building assembly Solar PV install Welding AI leadership All Industrial Strategy priority areas 😍

Great announcements on Neets: 💥 £3k for an employer to take on a Neet young person 💥 Youth Guarantee up to 24 💥 £2k for an SME to take on a young apprentice Being out of work when you’re young scars you for life - and many never recover We’ll give hope and opportunity back to young people

"If we are to tackle male violence against women and girls, these websites have to be shut down" Our Chair @tonia-antoniazzi.bsky.social urges Government to outlaw pimping websites to stop sex trafficking 👏 Full speech 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026...

Best part of 20 years ago I worked with some of the early women's centres diverting women offenders from custody - Anawim, Calderdale, Together Women and so many more Incredible seeing money going into these services that make sure women who don't need to be in prison aren't sent

What do they expect MPs (and their staff) to do? With people phoning, emailing, banging on the constituency office door, turning up in Central Lobby. Just tell constituents you’re not interested?

They are still talking about how MPs shouldn’t do casework over on X. Honestly. Come to my ends - abandoned by much of the state for 14 years, high unemployment, 21k on the housing list - and then try being high-handed and dismissive about the problems local people face

UK energy costs in manufacturing are existential. If we want to have domestic capability to make the products of steel, chemicals, aluminium, ceramics, we need to bring forward the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme asap - and work out what more we can do - as Make UK point out

GOOD NEWS from Sandwell Council's housing repairs team... - in the past year more than 86,000 repairs have been completed - more than 95% of emergency repairs are done within 24 hours - resident satisfaction with repairs is now 95% - 91% of complaints in Q3 2025 got a timely response vs 67% in Q2

Fujitsu has paid nothing toward a £2bn redress bill yet still profits from public contracts. 2,500 sub-postmasters are still waiting for their full claim to be paid; 1,500 are still to receive any money. Business & Trade Committee new report, out today: 👇 committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Great talking to residents in Princes End with Cllr Archer Williams and candidate Joanna Quaye. Pic taken before it started bucketing with rain - but we kept going!

Bit blowy today but a lovely cuppa chai at Simply Cafe in Dudley Port

We won’t allow firms to gouge consumers under the cover of the conflict in the Gulf. Right that the CMA are investigating the heating oil market, including reports of some suppliers cancelling previously agreed orders to try and raise prices www.gov.uk/government/n...

It’s grimly fascinating. Proper “rich man in his castle, poor man at the gate” know-your-place stuff. They think making good speeches and doing charitable works means lawmakers should inherit a right to make law for the rest of us.

Popped over to X (yes, I know) and previously sensible people seem to be defending the idea of hereditary peers. We all know the Tories quietly retained them for the inbuilt advantage - but to see outright defence of hereditaries as a better method than life appointment is quite something

And it is done. Who your dad is no longer gives you a guaranteed say on the law of the land. We have tonight done what so many Labour people have sought to do throughout our history: no more hereditary peers

Just the most brilliant afternoon with the other members of the Business and Trade select committee learning about AI, work, job displacement and industrial uses - ahead of launching our enquiry into AI, jobs and growth soon

Asked the Chancellor about support for industrial energy costs given what is going on in the Middle East - and pushed for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme - which will cut bills by 25% - to be brought forward asap

Reform voted against it Remember that when they come round Friar Park and Princes End pretending to understand and asking for votes from low income families Let’s send them packing

Last night we passed plans to make school dinners free for children in all families on universal credit from September 2026 This will cut poverty by another 100,000 children And it will help 1000s of parents in my ends, cutting a weekly bill and making sure every kid eats well at lunchtime

Labour MPs just voted to expand free school meals to half a million more children, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty. The Tories and Reform UK voted against. Only Labour will give children growing up in our country the best start in life.

Tonight, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is back in the House of Commons. A reminder of the amendments we're backing, and why 👇

And once again Bluesky is outraged to discover that Labour has a tradition that isn’t liberal (I have my own criticisms of Blue Labour, but I am bemused by the furore every time someone Labour says work has dignity, place matters, relationships matter, change isn’t always good)

Happy 145th birthday Ernie!

Signed this letter along with 30 other Labour women MPs. It’s time for our court system to prioritise victims and survivors

Loved going to Asda Great Bridge to meet the young people doing a Supported Internship. They showed me the real work they were doing and told me about their hopes for the future This scheme gets 60% of completers into jobs - compared to a 4% employment rate for learning disabled yp. Magic

Happy international women’s day x

Have been a bit frustrated by some of the conversation about Labour's voter coalition. I've written about who the "Hero Voters" actually were, how we won them, and what we need to do to earn their support next time. chriscurtismk.substack.com/p/who-actual...

The contrast is absolutely clear Labour focussing on mainstream inclusive schools where every kid is stretched and can thrive and find their path Reform bussing a few lucky kids to a grammar school and dumping three quarters in a secondary modern

Congratulations Cllr Julie Griffiths!