There's more substantial policy direction in this Burnham speech than the median commentator expected, I hope it's not too tedious for them to rewrite their articles...

Loads to like in that speech - reindustrialisation, Buy British procurement, an actual understanding of LHA and TA (!) and commitment to build council homes, technical education, denser town centres, commitment to fiscal rules, growth before spending promises - and a powerful No 10 to drive it all

Delighted by the new powers on social housing - that the funding stayed with Homes England but was allocated to WMCA area and the Mayor gets some nebulous “say” but not the decision was always a nonsense

Good. We badly need good jobs in WS10, DY4 and WV14 Will be tuning in to listen

If anyone is looking for a site for a large employer, come to Sandwell! Me and the council’s chief exec were literally at a new company just moved in this last Thursday, helping make sure they get all the help and networks they can to achieve their growth goals

Looking forward to hearing more about Andy Burnham’s economic policy tomorrow. I can’t get to Manchester so will be watching on TV like everyone else. I hold the 19th Reform target in the country, Makerfield is the 30th: hoping for clear plans for deindustrialised places like T&W and devo to WMCA

Job done England (even if it was a bit slow at times) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

These areas need a concerted industrial strategy over decades to bring good jobs back - we are at the end of year one

Previously unreported details in this Also worth a read for those who doubt the importance of automotive manufacturing to the UK economy - other people know its value

Went to Pat’s Homemade Bakes in Wednesbury. My usual FB commenters on about how I just went for a photo opp. Nope, I went for CAKE!

I stand by my record – including putting us on course for a record reduction in child poverty – and if the Tories think that makes me a 'spiteful class warrior', it tells you everything you need to know about them.

The constant chatter about private schools reminds me exactly why I do this job. We’re raising more money than expected, school offer days passed smoothly, and we’re injecting money into state schools. My focus remains on the schools attended by the majority of kids in this country.

Kemi lost her head at PMQs - and afterwards too. It's not the first time. She's compared me to a Gestapo officer. I wonder what it is about a working class woman driving record investment in state schools by ending private schools' tax breaks that the Tories hate so much.

Commentators, columnists and opposition politicians were apocalyptic with claims that ending private schools' tax breaks would overwhelm the state sector. The data shows those predictions were wrong. www.lbc.co.uk/article/priv...

Proud as always to stand up for Amazon workers prevented from getting their union GMB recognised in the Coventry warehouse yesterday

Better second half please England

Today was a good day. Loved supporting the West Mids supply chain automotive reps in their meeting with the Industry Minister Chris McDonald - really great on the ground experiences that he needs to know to do his job well

I haven’t done a today in Parliament for a while, so… Today I am hosting Unite officers and reps from automotive meeting the minister and MPs, and speaking at the All-Party Group on Manufacturing’s energy costs roundtable (1/

Keir Starmer has changed our party and our country for the better. He brought Labour back from electoral oblivion, has restored our reputation abroad, stabilised the economy and will lift half a million children out of poverty. We owe Keir a huge debt of gratitude.

Keir Starmer changed our party and our country for the better He made the UK respected in the world again, led huge improvements in workers’ and renters’ rights, and lifted half a million children out of poverty. Thank you Keir.

If we’re doing manufacturing discourse: UK manufacturing delivers about 10% of GDP but drives 42% of exports and nearly half of business R&D, pays around £40k a year (above average), and supports 2.3m jobs - with 50k vacancies

Belonging to the union meant UNION BENEFITS so yes, people are longing for a secure wage and benefits! Can’t blame anybody that would prefer a stable job you could build your life on, to the gig economy that strangles your life😩

Fantastic news. Need to be really clear this is about being proud of how we do things in the UK and not wanting to be dictated to by the American Wild West approach Oh, and let’s give up on this “start voluntary” stuff. JFDI.

Our thoughts tonight are with the family and friends of the driver who died in the crash near Bedford today, and with the passengers injured in the accident. We want to thank the emergency services who responded so quickly to help those on board and are still at the scene.

Thousands of outsourced workers coming back in-house: this is what it means to have a Labour Chancellor working with trade unions to make sure work really does pay for working class women and men

Take the bosses’ snacks, then form a union anyway.

It has long been an open question as to how departments and public bodies believe that X meets the SAFE framework that the government communications service uses to assess platform suitability. I have never got a clear answer to this question.

Excited to be working with @peopleshealthtrust.bsky.social on this major new programme in Birmingham and the Black Country. We want all renters to have strong rights that are protected - let's make it happen. www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk/news/stories...

This is Sarah Pochin's video message in full. I swear I'm not making it up: “England won the football last night, and thank goodness they did, because on the occasions that England lose their football matches, the incidence of domestic violence goes through the roof. So, boys – keep winning.”

Great piece from Tony Burke, formerly of Unite, about developments in the UK car industry - it’s great news that Chery are taking on one of the lines at Nissan in Sunderland yorkshirebylines.co.uk/business/tra...

UK unemployment rate falls to 4.9% and wages grow more than expected

Security staff, cleaners and caterers are as much a part of the team as anyone else in government. They should be properly treated as such.

We’ll take that. Next time start Marc Guehi please Thomas

Ministers were right to introduce new steel tariffs to protect our steel-makers, but I’ve heard too much evidence that they’re not quite right. That’s why I’m calling on ministers to get the details sorted by the end of the month.

As England kicks off our World Cup journey, let’s fly the flag for England and fly the flag for everyone. Our flag belongs to all of us, not just some of us. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Been a long day in Parliament but I’ve finally got out of there, got a beer, got my flag, and I’m ready 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Bloody love the insourcing of cleaning, facilities and security across the civil service announced today, thanks to the Chancellor and the unions for pushing it No more outsourcing. Decent rights for everyone. Labour looking after the working class - just as we were formed to do

Stood to argue for the downstream steel industry at the UQ about steel tariffs - ministers have got the detail wrong, need to look again, and need to protect fabricators

Bag of nerves for the first England game tonight 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It has been ten years since Jo Cox MP was murdered by a far-right extremist while serving her constituents in Batley and Spen. Today, we pause to remember Jo and her belief that “we have more in common than that which divides us”.

Have I ever mentioned that Michael Olise used to play for Palace?

🧵1/ Kemi Badenoch’s characterisation of Bridget Phillipson as having “acted like a Gestapo officer” over private school VAT fees are contemptible, unbecoming of any parliamentarian and demonstrate - yet again - that Badenoch is completely unfit for public office.

Not just on X. I was asked about this in person in the pub on Sunday lunchtime after the Remembrance parade last November…

So sorry to hear of the passing of Roy Hattersley, a Labour titan. He helped renew our party so we could win – and change lives – once again. His book, Choose Freedom, is an essential view of socialism as an enabling force – securing freedom from poverty, ignorance, fear.

Delighted to see @edconway.bsky.social’s new podcast Stuff Matters - for anyone interested in actual things, how we get them, how they work - and what they mean for our economy and society I loved Ed’s book Material World - can’t wait to give this a listen

‘A giant of the Labour movement’: Roy Hattersley, former Labour deputy leader, dies aged 93

Much precious Parliamentary time is about to be spent to force through a deeply flawed bill. Such complex legislation is fundamentally unsuited to be a PMB. The threat to use the Parliament Acts reflects poorly on its promoters. I urge colleagues to consider why so many disabled people fear it.

Absolutely infuriating that one of my colleagues has decided that what Parliament should focus on in the coming months - given everything going on in the world and here at home - is bringing back the assisted dying bill. Head in hands.

‘X accused of giving racists impunity after failing to take down ‘n-word’ and ‘p-word’ abuse’ - @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/technology/2...