Author: admin

NEWS STORY : Badenoch Criticises Labour Rivals Over EU Rejoin Debate

STORY

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticised Labour figures who have suggested that Britain should rebuild its relationship with the European Union, arguing that the debate showed the party lacked a clear plan for the country. Her comments came after Wes Streeting called for the UK eventually to rejoin the EU and Andy Burnham indicated support for a closer European relationship.

Badenoch said that policies such as removing VAT or green levies from energy bills would be harder to pursue inside the EU, presenting the issue as a question of domestic policy freedom. Her intervention sought to draw a contrast between the Conservative Party’s approach to Brexit and Labour’s internal dispute about future relations with Brussels.

The comments show that Europe is again becoming a live dividing line in national politics. Although the Government has not adopted a policy of rejoining the EU, senior Labour figures’ remarks have allowed opposition parties to argue that the party is being pulled back into the Brexit debate.

17/05/2026
PRESS RELEASE : UK deploys new low-cost anti-drone system in the Middle East [May 2026]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 17 May 2026.

British citizens and regional partners will be better protected against drone attacks as the Royal Air Force deploys a new low-cost anti-drone weapon on operations in the Middle East.
- UK deploys new low-cost missile system to defend UK citizens and partners in the Middle East from drone attacks.
- Ministry of Defence worked rapidly with industry to move from testing to deployment in months.
- Strengthens Typhoon fighter jets as backbone of UK combat air.
British citizens and regional partners will be better protected against drone attacks as the Royal Air Force deploys a new low-cost anti-drone weapon on operations in the Middle East.

The new Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) will be fitted to RAF Typhoon fighter jets so that they can destroy targets precisely and at a fraction of the price of missiles currently used.

Rapid procurement and testing work by the Ministry of Defence and industry partners BAE Systems and QinetiQ has enabled the system to move from testing to deployment on operations in less than two months.

March saw a successful test strike on a ground-based target, and RAF Typhoon pilots from 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron conducted successful air-to-air firing in April, demonstrating the system’s ability to defend against drone attacks.

The system has now been deployed on operations in the Middle East with sorties flown by 9 Squadron RAF Typhoon fighter jets as part of the missions to defend British people, interests and partners from threats.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP said:

This has been a superb effort working with industry to test and deploy this system in a matter of months, which will help the RAF shoot down many more drones at a much lower cost.

Our Typhoon fleet is the backbone of UK and NATO air defence, with the RAF protecting European’s Eastern flank from Russian drone incursions and defending our partners across the Middle East.

The APKWS uses a laser targeting system which turns unguided missiles into low-cost precision weapons able to take down enemy drones and other threats. Developing low-cost systems provides a more effective and sustainable means of countering the increasing threat of drones to UK forces and partners.

Simon Barnes, Group Managing Director BAE Systems Air sector, said:

Our priority is to ensure the Royal Air Force and its allies have the advanced technologies they need today and into the future, to keep them ahead of evolving threats. This capability demonstrates Typhoon’s exceptional versatility and underlines its continued role as the backbone of combat air across Europe and the Middle East.

Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer, QinetiQ, said:

From engineering expertise to live trials, our teams are providing the fundamental support needed by our armed forces, to deliver the urgent capabilities that ensure the UK and its allies remain safe and warfighting ready.

UK aircraft continue to operate across the Middle East and are ready to defend British people, interest and partners from threats. Pilots and aircrew have surpassed 2,500 flying hours since the conflict in the region began, equivalent to over three months of continuous flying on defensive missions.

Air Commodore Donal McGurk, Air 11 Group Deputy Director Operations:

We welcome the speed of development and meticulous testing behind the deployment of these missile systems for use on our Typhoons. They are a valuable addition to the air defence package we are already employing with agility across the Middle East.

UK ground-based and helicopter-based air defence assets are also deployed at very high readiness to support Gulf partners, including the Sky Sabre system in Saudi Arabia, the Lightweight Multirole Missile in Bahrain, and the Rapid Sentry and ORCUS systems in Kuwait.

Today’s news comes just weeks after the Ministry of Defence signed a multi-million-pound contract with to buy Skyhammer interceptor missiles for the UK Armed Forces designed to counter Shahed-style attack drones. In January, the Ministry of Defence committed over £650 million to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon fighter jet fleet, securing over 1,500 jobs across the UK and ensuring the fleet will continue protecting British skies until at least the 2040s.

This Government is backing UK Armed Forces with the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War – hitting 2.6% of GDP from 2027.
17/05/2026
NEWS STORY : Minister Dismisses Labour Leadership Speculation as Pressure Continues

STORY

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has dismissed speculation about a Labour leadership challenge as “froth and nonsense”, saying the Government should focus on delivery rather than internal debate. Her comments came after a series of public interventions from Labour figures following the party’s poor local election performance.

Keir Starmer has resisted calls to stand down and has described his Government as a long-term project. Ministers loyal to the Prime Minister have argued that Labour must demonstrate discipline and concentrate on policy delivery, particularly on public services, economic growth and living standards.

The political pressure has nevertheless continued, with Wes Streeting saying he would stand in any future leadership contest and Andy Burnham seeking to return to Parliament. Any formal Labour leadership challenge would require sufficient support from MPs before a contest could be triggered.

17/05/2026
NEWS STORY : Streeting Says He Would Stand in Any Labour Leadership Contest

STORY

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he would stand in any future Labour leadership contest, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer after a difficult period for the Government. Streeting, who recently resigned from the Cabinet, said Labour needed a clearer political direction and argued that the party should hold a full contest if the leadership became vacant.

Streeting also used his intervention to call for a closer relationship with the European Union, describing Brexit as a serious mistake and saying Britain should ultimately seek to rejoin the bloc. The comments place Europe back near the centre of Labour’s internal debate at a time when the party is also facing pressure from Reform UK in several areas that voted heavily for Brexit.

The remarks come as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham seeks a route back to Westminster through the expected Makerfield by-election. Starmer has said he intends to continue in office, but the public interventions from senior Labour figures have underlined the scale of unease within the party following recent election setbacks.

17/05/2026
NEWS STORY : UKHSA Updates Response to Hantavirus Cruise Ship Outbreak

STORY

The UK Health Security Agency has said the Government is continuing to work with the NHS, local authorities and UK Overseas Territories in response to the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship. UKHSA said people currently at Arrowe Park and those isolating at home are being closely monitored, with a further individual leaving Arrowe Park to complete their 45-day isolation period at home after clinical and public health assessments found it was safe to do so.

A medic from Ascension Island who developed symptoms has arrived at the High Consequence Infectious Disease unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for specialist assessment. UKHSA said the individual is not a confirmed case, but had been medically evacuated as a precaution because hantavirus cases can deteriorate rapidly and Ascension Island does not have a specialist infectious diseases unit.

UKHSA is also working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and UK Overseas Territories to relocate nine asymptomatic contacts from St Helena and Ascension Island to the UK, where they are expected to complete their self-isolation at Arrowe Park. Dr William Welfare, UKHSA’s Director of Health Protection in Regions, said teams would continue to support all those affected and added that the risk to the general public remains very low.

16/05/2026
Wera Hobhouse – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

The speech made by Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

It is an honour and a pleasure to take part in this King’s Speech debate. I am a member of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, and I look to grow our economy and get Britain working, with a special focus on the green economy and its many opportunities and challenges.

The regulating for growth Bill promises a framework that supports innovation, yet current proposals from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero risk doing the opposite. Under the plans for the new home energy model, any technology other than a heat pump or heat battery could automatically receive an energy performance certificate rating of D. In practice, that means that innovative zero-emissions systems would be treated the same as fossil-fuel heating. That would make many new technologies commercially unviable and leave consumers without practical alternatives where heat pumps are not suitable. The plans are already affecting innovative businesses in Bath, including Luthmore, which has developed a pioneering, zero-emission alternative to the gas combi boiler. Combined with exclusion from support schemes, VAT barriers and delays in the assessment process, such policies risk pushing Britain’s clean tech innovators overseas instead of backing them at home.

I am encouraged by the announcement of an energy independence Bill in the King’s Speech. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now the war in the middle east have laid bare the need to go much further and faster to secure our energy supply, which means getting off the rollercoaster of global prices. In the midst of an energy price crisis, cheap, home-produced energy has never been more vital. There is huge nationwide potential for growth in small-scale renewable energy generation, especially by community groups that can distribute the benefits locally. Nobody in the House will be surprised to hear me say that we Liberal Democrats are the greatest champions of community energy.

Community energy puts people at the heart of their energy future by allowing them to generate, manage and own their own local renewable energy projects. These are projects run by the community, for the community. One of many pioneering projects is Bath and West Community Energy in my constituency, which, because of surplus income from renewable energy projects, has been able to donate to more than 100 community projects across Bath in the past decade.

What really worries me, when hearing in the ESNZ Committee about proposals for community energy and the way the Government look at that, is that it is only about an ownership model, rather than a beneficiary model. Community energy should also benefit consumers of energy, not just the energy producers. I get it—it is about both. It is not one or the other, but we must focus on ensuring that the community benefits from community-generated energy.

Community energy projects also strengthen energy security by diversifying sources of energy, reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels. In 2025, community energy groups saved people almost £2 million on their fuel bills due to energy efficiency upgrades. However, community energy schemes currently generate less than 0.5% of the UK’s electricity. With the right support, that could increase by 20 times, powering more than 2 million homes and saving more than 2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

However, there are two main blockers to the rapid expansion of community energy projects. The first major barrier is a shortfall in Government funding to scale up energy generation projects. While the £15 million Great British community energy fund is welcome, it has led to minimal growth. I hope that through the energy independence Bill more funding will be allocated to these projects so that their potential can be realised.

Another major barrier facing community energy projects is the prohibitive cost of accessing energy markets to sell the electricity that they generate. This is what I mean: there are now more than 600 community energy groups operating across the UK, yet not a single one is able to sell power directly to local customers. Although it is legally possible, the various regulatory burdens and obligations associated with energy licensing rules make the cost of selling power to local people impossibly high.

In the 2022-23 Session, legislation was brought forward to unlock the potential of community energy and selling directly to local people. The proposal was supported by the current Secretary of State and more than 320 MPs across the House. We have a Secretary of State for Energy who supports reform of local energy supply, but we are still waiting for the legislation to make that reform a reality.

We Liberal Democrats welcome the regulatory changes promised in the local power plan, in particular the commitments from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to establish a route to market for unlocking a smart local energy system. However, if community energy initiatives want to plan ahead with confidence, the Government must provide clear detail on how and when these reforms will be implemented. One option is to untangle completely the licensed supplier model that we currently have and to ask Ofgem to establish a local supply licence. The proportioned costs could create the ability for community schemes to sell to local customers if they wish and make a viable business model. The other option is to have current licensed suppliers offering contracts for the export of community energy to local residents.

Whichever route the Government choose, we need to see action. We must see the necessary regulatory changes in the energy independence Bill to establish a workable model for local energy supply so that community energy products can scale up, become commercially viable and play their full part in delivering a cleaner and more resilient energy system.

16/05/2026
Adam Thompson – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

The speech made by Adam Thompson, the Labour MP for Erewash, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

On behalf of the people of Erewash, I give thanks to His Majesty the King for his Gracious Speech to the entire nation yesterday. This King’s Speech recognises the simple fact that Britain cannot afford to leave its future at the mercy of global markets, hostile states or instability abroad.

For too long, Governments assumed that the hand of the free market would always act in Britain’s interests. For too long, we outsourced vital industries without considering the long-term consequences and underrated the ability of our businesses to export physical goods to the world. We have been globally pigeonholed strictly as a post-industrial service economy. When dictators spark conflict abroad, British families feel the impact through rising bills and a falling standard of living. Working people in Erewash know that all too well. Britain has been left exposed because we failed to build our own energy resilience.

Ilkeston in Erewash is proud of its iron manufacturing heritage, yet we have watched industries like iron and steel decline as production has moved overseas in search of cheaper labour and lower standards. Steel is not just another commodity; its manufacture is strategic infrastructure, in and of itself—infrastructure that underpins our national defence capabilities. That is why it is unacceptable that British Steel has been let down by overseas owners who do not act in Britain’s best interests. We cannot outsource our national security any longer.

Harriet Cross

I completely agree that we must protect British industries such as steel and oil and gas refining—they are all vital. The carbon tax is a reason why these industries are declining and moving overseas. From what the hon. Member is saying, it feels like he agrees that we should get rid of the carbon tax. Is that correct?

Adam Thompson

I am not sure the hon. Member and I are necessarily on the same page. I was focusing purely on the renationalisation of the steel industry, which is an important part of the King’s Speech. Indeed, in this King’s Speech, the Government have recognised that markets alone cannot protect the national interest. Sometimes the state must step in to safeguard jobs and to keep Britain safe. Nationalising British Steel means protecting almost 100,000 jobs from unfair foreign competition. I am proud that this Government are going to bring British Steel fully back into public ownership.

I have spoken to many businesses and business owners in Erewash, and they report that they have struggled since we left the European single market. They have faced mountains of paperwork and massive delays at our borders. These hurdles do not just frustrate exporters; they directly impact their ability to turn a profit. I am glad that in the European partnership Bill we seek to solve that problem, by streamlining trade and making it quicker, cheaper and simpler to do business with Europe.

Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Would he agree that the European partnership Bill is particularly important to many small businesses in vital supply chains in the automotive sector and other key areas of our economy, which will benefit directly from that well thought-through measure?

Adam Thompson

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. Indeed, I am going to talk momentarily about one of the businesses in my constituency. When I discuss this topic, I particularly think of Cluny Lace in Ilkeston—not in the automotive sector, but a brilliant high-end lace manufacturer. It was workers from Ilkeston who produced Princess Kate’s wedding dress and Queen Anne’s tablecloth. Cluny Lace is an internationally renowned producer and exporter of high-quality British goods, supplying the European high-end garment manufacturing industry, in particular.

Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)

The hon. Member mentioned small businesses and delays at the border. Is it not true that the problem of double tariffs for small businesses when importing from third countries and then into the European Union will only be solved by us rejoining the customs union?

Adam Thompson

The hon. Member raises a point that I was about to touch on. When I met Charles Mason, the managing director of Cluny Lace, he told me at length about how post-Brexit export and import difficulties have caused him immeasurable pain, because the lace that we make in Ilkeston can only be dyed in France, where they have professionals with the appropriate expertise. Moving the lace to France for that part of the process, then back to England for further processing before sale, and then often back into Europe, has become all but impossible for his company. What was once a frictionless part of Cluny’s manufacturing process and sales chain, is now a crippling quagmire of tariffs and business model-breaking roadblocks.

For businesses across Erewash, whether they are producers, suppliers or distributors, a closer trading relationship with Europe means less time navigating bureaucracy and more time growing their businesses. Businesses in Erewash have also suffered from increased energy costs. If we want lower bills for working people, we must break our dependence on volatile global gas prices. British families will not see meaningful long-term reductions in energy costs until we produce more clean, affordable energy, here at home.

In Erewash, such a transition is not theoretical; it is obviously visible on our local skyline. Sawley, in my constituency, on the banks of the River Trent, lies adjacent to the former Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish). Ratcliffe was the UK’s last coal-fired power station; it closed its doors for the final time in September 2024.

As we move forward, my task as the MP for Erewash is not simply to help the country move on from coal, but to ensure that Erewash is at the heart of what comes next, and that my constituents benefit from the new investment, the new jobs, and the cleaner, more secure energy future that this Government are delivering through this King’s Speech. That is why I am excited about the Government’s energy independence Bill, which will shield our economy from the fossil-fuel price shocks that have caused half of the UK’s recessions since the 1970s.

This Government are bringing industry back to Britain, with well-paid engineers working in clean energy, powering steel production in the east midlands and across the country. On the ground, that means that families in my constituency—and the constituencies of hon. Members across the House—will no longer wonder how events thousands of miles away affect their bills or their ability to book a holiday.

Families in Erewash voted for change in 2024. They are tired of limited opportunities and of feeling vulnerable every time the world becomes more unstable. They want more control over their lives. With this King’s Speech, we are bringing industry home, investing in British jobs, and putting control of our future back into the hands of working people.

16/05/2026
Alison Griffiths – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

The speech made by Alison Griffiths, the Conservative MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

Businesses in my constituency are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for a Government who stop making it harder to employ people, harder to grow and harder to invest. Right now, too many feel that Labour is taking the country in the wrong direction. Through my business club and regular conversations with employers across Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, I keep hearing the same thing: costs are rising, confidence is falling and businesses are becoming more cautious about taking people on. In a coastal constituency, that really matters. Our local economy depends on innovation powered by fantastic small and medium-sized enterprises and on the entrepreneurs who pour everything into growing them. These are not massive corporations with endless room to absorb new costs. They are businesses working hard to keep people employed, keep high streets going and keep our communities alive outside the summer season.

James and Marcus Fenton, who run Meridian Medical in Littlehampton, employ around 130 people locally in skilled manufacturing jobs. It is a family-run business and a living wage employer. It should be exactly the kind of business the Government are backing. Meridian is a British success story, exporting highly specialised medical devices around the world, but it is now becoming one of the businesses that tells me the UK is becoming a harder place in which to invest and grow.

I also heard recently from Mark and Liz Warom, the founders of TEMPLESPA, a science-led, Mediterranean-inspired premium skincare brand run by my constituents, whose products I highly recommend. Their clear view is that firms are becoming

“more cautious on hiring and investment due to rising costs.”

They are worried about rising employment costs, higher borrowing costs, growing compliance burdens and energy prices that remain far too high. That is the real-word impact of the Government’s decisions. When businesses stop hiring, young people pay the price first. The first job in a café, the apprenticeship, or the hospitality role in a pub or hotel all give young people the chance to get on the ladder and earn their own money.

The Government talk constantly about growth, but businesses in constituencies such as mine are asking a very simple question: when will this Government stop making growth harder? If we really want to get Britain working again, we need to start backing the businesses that actually create the jobs.

16/05/2026
Andrew Pakes – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

The speech made by Andrew Pakes, the Labour MP for Peterborough, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling), and to speak in a debate on work in support of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. There are few Secretaries of State who have a work ethic as strong as his, and I thank him for that.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate on the Loyal Address. The phrase “Get Britain working” goes to the heart of the challenges facing both this Government and the country, and I will start by welcoming today’s growth figures.

Debates such as this and the programmes of any Government will make no difference without stability as a foundation. I say kindly to colleagues on all sides of the House that economic stability matters. After the revolving door of Ministers and policies in the past decade, stability is not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have. From economic stability we can create the opportunities, fix our public services and share prosperity across our country.

Nothing goes to the heart of Labour’s mission to grow our economy more than the dignity of work. Nothing will propel that growth more quickly, more justly and more sustainably than creating the jobs and opportunities to sit squarely behind the programme of this Government and the policies put forward in the Loyal Address. But equally, nothing says more about the challenge the Government face and the opportunities the Government need to pick up than the 70% drop in apprenticeships we inherited after the past decade of Conservative rule.

These are challenges writ large in my constituency of Peterborough. In 2023-24 apprenticeship figures hit the lowest level in the six years for which data is available, with a fall in achievements across all apprenticeship levels. That not just an economic failure, but a moral failure that we inherited from the previous Government. Therefore, I welcome the focus in the King’s Speech on creating jobs, support and opportunities for young people to succeed. This is an agenda that builds on the existing achievements around apprenticeships and youth employment.

Over the past couple of years I have spent as a Member of this House, I have met businesses, education providers and young people who have been shut out of opportunities for too long because of the bureaucratic nature of our skills system and the apprenticeship levy. It is this Government who have the opportunity to change that. The DWP has itself described Peterborough as a national youth unemployment hotspot, so the Government’s moves in the King’s Speech are welcome. I am pleased to put on record that Peterborough and Cambridgeshire were chosen for one of the first pilots for the youth guarantee, with up to £10 million over two years to support young people into education, employment and training. We get the welfare bill down by increasing opportunities and backing the next generation of taxpayers, something that this Government are focused on.

Within the city I represent, we have the appetite to meet the Government’s ambition to address those issues. Peterborough College’s JobSmart provision is a great example of working with stakeholders—the DWP, Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service and the combined authority—to get more people into work. The youth employment hub, opened recently at Peterborough United, funded by the Government’s youth guarantee and opened by our Secretary of State and mayor, is a physical example of the bricks and mortar investment in our young people, as is the new Green Technology Centre opened at Peterborough College last year. This takes traditional apprenticeships and training opportunities, and updates them for new green skills such as EV mechanics, heat pump installation and sustainable construction skills.

I welcome the expansion of the youth guarantee and the focus on expanding work experience and guaranteed employment for young people; the jobs guarantee, our promise of a work placement for all, with costs paid for by the Government; the youth jobs grant, a £3,000 grant for businesses that hire a young person who has been on universal credit for six months; and a £2,000 grant for small businesses that take on an apprentice. For cities like mine it could be transformative, creating opportunities and getting more people into work.

I look forward to the legislative programme that will follow changes recommended in the Timms and Milburn reviews. It cannot be right that we write off so many young people as unfit to work, with a life on benefits. It also addresses something bigger: a greater inequality for too long between vocational and university education. This is not just about policy; it is cultural. For too long, we have made apprenticeships a second-class option. We have created a bias in our schools that favours university over apprenticeships. That, in turn, has been compounded by the destruction, under the previous Government, of careers advice and work experience for young people in cities such as mine. For a working city such as Peterborough, that legacy has been a disaster for people and for economic growth.

I welcome our new university in the city, Anglia Ruskin University Peterborough, which does things differently. It has a focus on local students, business relationships and degree apprenticeships, growing our talent in the city, so that the talent of our city can grow the economy for this country as a whole.

I also want to talk about jobs for the future and how we build jobs for the next generation of young people coming through. One third of people working in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are employed in occupations that will be directly affected by the transition to the green economy. Major local companies such as National Gas and Caterpillar are already driving innovation in sustainable industries. Peterborough sits at the heart of the national gas transition and hydrogen networks. We could truly be the King’s Cross of the green industrial revolution for hydrogen. This transition from blue collar to green collar jobs and skills is one of the hallmarks of this Government’s achievements so far. I welcome the £800 million private sector investment that National Gas recently put into Peterborough and my region, and its choice of Peterborough as its new regional headquarters. We have the talent in our city which allows those jobs for the future to be grown, with Government support.

I will say one more thing—a friendly piece of support, but I would like to stretch my elbows a bit—which is that what I know perfectly about my city is the potential of the young people who live in it. I also know the struggles that Peterborough college and further education have had to put up with. I welcome the investment the Government have put into further education, but I also know that my colleges could support many more small businesses and many more young people if they had the physical resources to do so. We are on the journey and we are making the investment to change that, but if we could do it faster, we in our city could deliver more for young people, but also for the Government’s ambitions.

The appetite is there from learners, providers and businesses. The drive exists to meet Labour’s ambitions for new homes, clean energy and infrastructure, but we need the means to deliver it. It is a privilege to speak in support of the Loyal Address. We can get the job done with the Government’s support and with the Prime Minister’s support.

16/05/2026
Steve Darling – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

The speech made by Steve Darling, the Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Walsall and Bloxwich (Valerie Vaz). One would normally imagine that the King’s Speech was an opportunity to press the reset button, but I fear that Labour Members are searching for another reset button at this time. We Liberal Democrats fear that the King’s Speech is somewhat timid in its ambition, and does not drive the change that many of our communities have a thirst for.

I will focus on youth unemployment and our NEETs—those not in education, employment or training. This is a massive challenge for our society. People are three times more likely to be unemployed if they are under the age of 25. To be fair to the Government, the issue was not created on their watch, but during their watch, they built on what happened under the Conservatives, due to the pressures on the system. When I meet young people, I know that they have faced a lethal cocktail, when it comes to being work-ready. There was the covid crisis through much of their educational life; there is the pressure cooker of social media, which eats into their confidence; and finally, there is the cost of living crisis, which young people are not immune from. It may mean not only that they have less opportunity, but that mum or dad face real pressures, so there are some real challenges.

I pay tribute to organisations in the Torquay and Paignton area of Torbay that support young people, such as Eat That Frog, Sound Communities, Doorstep Arts and the South Devon college, which have all benefited from the shared prosperity fund. That ended without a replacement, and the world is therefore a poorer place, particularly for youngsters who had adverse childhood experiences and are on the margins of employment.

As we have seen, the tax on work—the national insurance hike—has really hit opportunities for employment hard. Employment in the hospitality sector has shrivelled, with the loss of more than 100,000 jobs. It is a cold hand on the heart of the west country and our hospitality industry. When I speak to organisations such as Splashdown, a water park in Paignton, they say that they have money to invest, but fear a further economic shock. Sadly, Wild Planet Trust, which managed Paignton zoo for many years, had to pass the zoo over to a Dutch company, because the national insurance hike had a massive impact on its ability to make the figures work. Other businesses across Torbay, whether it is the Livermead House hotel or the outstanding Rock Garden pub and restaurant, tell me that they face real challenges and have had to shrink the number of youngsters they take on just to meet their budgets, partly due to inflation, but also because of the national insurance hikes, so we face some real challenges there.

I say to the Government that we need to think about driving positive changes, because at the moment, it appears that they are papering over the cracks, rather than getting to the root causes of problems in our economy and helping to grow the opportunities for young people across the United Kingdom. I was pleased that the Secretary of State talked about Access to Work, and the Disability Minister often refers to Access to Work as the best kept secret, but the reality is that the system is broken. We are looking at 37 weeks for decisions on Access to Work applications, and people are losing job offers. The No Limits café in Newton Abbot, which served my constituents from Torbay, closed after a lack of liquidity in its finances because of delays in payments. We need to ensure that there are no behind-the-scene cuts to Access to Work through the Government failing to make inflationary increases to what people can claim, as was highlighted by the Disability News Service only last week.

The Liberal Democrats fought the last general election on a pledge to clean up our waters, be they seas or rivers; the cost of living crisis; and the NHS. In Torbay and across the whole of Devon, we are looking at hundreds of redundancies in that service. The argument we regularly hear from the Government is that they have put up national insurance rates in order to invest, but we have had hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts to our services in Devon. That means fewer job opportunities for our people in Devon, which is hitting some of our most deprived communities.

In conclusion, we need to back our communities. We Liberal Democrats believe that nobody should be enslaved by poverty, ignorance and conformity, and we need to set the foundations for supporting communities. However, the communities we really need to work with much more closely are our friends on the other side of the channel; we need to build stronger working relationships with our European partners to grow our economy.

16/05/2026