Category: Speeches

  • Seamus Logan – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    Seamus Logan – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by Seamus Logan, the SNP MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    I rise to address the issue of getting Britain working again, but also to make some observations on this Government’s chaotic performance since July 2024. The focus of today’s debate is on employment, and I will come to that, but so many Labour Members seem utterly preoccupied with the employment of one person: the Prime Minister. No vacancy exists, apparently, but at least one, maybe two, possibly three candidates may apply for said position. I am happy to provide a reference, but it will not be a good one.

    This shambolic and unstable Government are in stark contrast to the political stability that we have enjoyed in Scotland since 2007. We will continue to enjoy that stability for another five years following our landslide victory in the Scottish parliamentary election on 8 June —a landslide victory bigger than Labour’s in July 2024, with 58 of our successful applicants being sworn in today in Edinburgh.

    Prior to the election and over the last six months in particular, so many Labour MPs from Scotland used their valuable question time in this Chamber to attack the SNP. So many of them told us that the people of Scotland would reject the SNP, but last Thursday, the people of Scotland rejected the Labour party, rejected the Reform party and, indeed, rejected the notion that this is a United Kingdom.

    Peter Swallow

    The hon. Member said that the victory secured by the SNP at the elections earlier this month was bigger than the victory secured by this Government in 2024. Could he clarify whether the SNP won more or less seats at that election than it previously held? Has the SNP’s majority increased or decreased?

    Seamus Logan

    The plain fact of the matter, if we look at the percentages, is that it was a bigger landslide. Labour Members would also do well to take consideration of the now 73 MSPs in favour of independence for Scotland.

    This Union has now been served with its redundancy notice, like so many workers in Scotland these last two years—like the workers in Grangemouth, who should have been treated in the same way as the steelworkers in Scunthorpe, the 1,500 jobs that could have been created at Ardersier, or the derisory coastal growth fund allocation to our precious fishing industry. Now this chaotic Government have turned on their leader, scapegoating him for their collective failures. The wonder of it all is that the branch manager of the Labour party in Scotland has not resigned, for he carries responsibility for this abject failure of the Labour party in Scotland.

    We have not abandoned our pensioners, the vulnerable, the disabled, our young people, our students, our apprentices or our children. Unemployment is lower in Scotland than in the rest of these islands. Most of all, we have not demonised the many thousands of people who come from abroad to work in our essential services, or those who seek sanctuary from war, famine or persecution. They are not taking away our jobs, houses or GP appointments, as some populist politicians would have us believe. Years of austerity managed that and, sadly, Labour is continuing in that vein with its planned assault on the welfare system.

    Is the former Health Secretary now ensuring that the King’s Speech included a relentless focus on the health service, on labour shortages in social care, on an end to the privatisation of our health service, on the availability of lifesaving drugs, and on reassuring this House about the hidden costs of the US-UK pharma deal by publishing his Department’s impact assessment? No. He focuses on his own personal ambitions to enter No. 10 Downing Street. He should not have been allowed to resign; he should have been sacked.

    Finally, I wish to highlight the Palantir contract, which was discussed recently in Westminster Hall. Many Members from across the House spoke about it, and only yesterday I learned that NHS England has allowed staff from the US tech firm and other contractors to access patient data before it has been pseudonymised, despite internal fears of a

    “risk of loss of public confidence”.

    An internal NHS briefing has said that it would allow

    “unlimited access to non-NHS staff”

    to part of the NHS’s federated data platform, which holds identifiable patient information. That should concern everyone in the House, no matter their political persuasion. Indeed, it should concern everybody in the country. Members across the House have called for the Palantir project to be reviewed next year, and I urge whoever replaces the erstwhile Minister for Health Innovation and Safety to act on that misuse of our NHS data.

    In conclusion, the Scottish National party will continue to have a relentless focus on matters relating to health and social care that are reserved to this Parliament during this Session, and on matters that adversely affect our small businesses. But the real solution to these issues is to give the people who live in Scotland the democratic right to bring this Union to an end, and allow Scotland to become an independent nation if it so chooses. The concept of Britain just is not working any more.

  • Kate Osborne – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    Kate Osborne – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) for her brilliant opening contribution to the debate on the Gracious Speech.

    I acknowledge that this Government have delivered—from renters’ rights and ending no-fault evictions to the new deal for workers, education, Great British Railways, bringing NHS waiting lists down, lifting children out of poverty, and work on violence against women and girls. All that good work deserves to be talked about and celebrated, but it must also be acknowledged that people need more. They are desperate for change following decades of neglect. Unfortunately, the measures in the King’s Speech, although they are in the main welcome, are not the bold moves that we need. We need a Government who will tackle extreme wealth inequality in the UK and deliver for communities, and we need to go back to giving people hope.

    We need to ensure that our Government have received the message from the local elections last week: people are unhappy with the direction we have taken and, as it stands, we do not have the trust of our communities. It was devastating to see the two councils from my constituency, South Tyneside council and Gateshead council, which Labour have held for 50 years, fall to Reform. We let those communities down, and we need to deal with that.

    We must build on the things that we have delivered, such as the new deal for workers, instead of focusing on divisive commitments such as the digital ID scheme and the removal of jury trials—two things I remain opposed to. When we move away from our Labour values, we let the country down, let our communities down and, scarily, leave a gap for the far right to move into and exploit people’s fears, desperations and legitimate need for jobs, housing and security.

    Housing, security and jobs are particularly needed in the north-east. My constituency of Jarrow and Gateshead East is commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow crusade—the march for jobs—yet my residents are facing the same problems as those marchers. For decades, successive Governments have neglected the north-east, and the north-east made its feelings clear last week.

    We need a Government who take action to improve our communities. The Labour party is the party of the people and the party of workers, and that is the Government we need to see now—a Government who deliver for people and who deliver change that communities can see. We need actions, not words. We need to drastically redistribute the wealth, so that it is invested in communities. We need to rebuild trust locally and nationally, with bold and ambitious policies and action.

    There are some highlights in the Gracious Speech, including the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, the Hillsborough law, legislation to clean up the water industry, the nationalisation of steel, the £45 billion to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail, the legislation to support small businesses and stop late payments, and the licensing for private hires—all subjects that I have spoken about many times in this place and at events in Parliament. But we need to do much more than this tinkering at the edges. We need to legislate to bring water back into public ownership. We need to stop the scandal of water company bonuses. It is an absolute disgrace that they are profiting from the pollution they are dumping into our waters.

    It is also welcome to see proposals around education for all, but we must ensure that any reforms to special educational needs and disabilities do not push children into a one-size-fits-all approach. The SEND consultation ends next week, and we must listen to the views that are submitted. The consultation responses need to be read thoroughly, not filtered by AI. We must have a genuine consultation and ensure that the reforms do not harm SEND children with the most complex needs.

    Around 1.7 million children are now identified as having special educational needs. I know that MPs are all being inundated with correspondence from constituents, and many of us have held our own consultation meetings. In my constituency, I have 5% more children with SEND than the national average, and the same issues have been raised in every one of my local consultations. My constituents are worried about their loss of legal rights and their children being forced into mainstream schooling.

    Sense, the national disability charity, has said that while inclusive mainstream education should be strengthened, that must not come at the expense of specialist provision. Disabled children with complex needs must continue to have access to specialist settings where those are the most appropriate environments for them to thrive. I completely agree with Sense, and it is evident that many families are struggling to find adequate provision. I have held drop-ins in Parliament with people from across the political spectrum, and I want to thank Rory Bremner and Nick Ferrari for coming into Parliament to meet young people and their families and to listen to their stories.

    The last Government described the SEND system as broken, and of course they did a lot of the breaking with their destruction of local government budgets, but the system has been neglected for decades. It is in desperate need of reform and investment. We can and must get this right to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected.

    To that end, while I welcome the Gracious Speech, I will be bringing forward a simple amendment highlighting the difference that the right placement makes to a child with complex needs and the costs to families, life outcomes and the state when we get that placement wrong. We must ensure that those children with the most complex needs who cannot be placed into mainstream schools do not lose out with these reforms. I have written to the Secretary of State on this issue and would be happy to meet at any time to discuss it.

    I have an autism diagnosis, as do some of my family. It is something those close to me are aware of, but is something I have not spoken about publicly before. I know the impact it has when you are failed in school. This matters personally and politically to me and is something I care deeply about.

    I am hugely pleased to see in the Gracious Speech a commitment to bring forward a draft Bill banning abusive conversion practices. While it has appeared in many a Gracious Speech, I firmly believe that the Minister will bring forward a fully trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices as soon as possible.

    Wera Hobhouse

    Along with the hon. Member and other colleagues, I have been campaigning on bringing in a trans-inclusive conversion therapy Bill to ban that awful practice. Will she support me in asking for a proper timeline for when the legislation will be introduced?

    Kate Osborne

    Yes, setting out a timeline would be most helpful. I recognise the work of the Minister for Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey), and the time she has taken to speak to me over the last few months and even this morning, and she has committed to setting out a clear timeline as soon as possible.

    In every meeting I have had with the Minister on this issue, I have been impressed by her determination to finally deliver this legislation and by her understanding of the harm caused by continued delay. My one concern on the delay, which I have already raised, is that this is the only legislation in the King’s Speech where the promise is for a draft Bill rather than a Bill. We absolutely need to get this right, but we must not give people an excuse to delay and frustrate this vitally needed legislation.

    Earlier this year, I was proud to deliver a report at the Council of Europe calling on member states to ban conversion practices. I will continue to work with the Minister to take both the spirit and framework details of that report into consideration as the legislation is developed. Although I am happy with that particular commitment, we need bold, new, ambitious policies that people will feel in their pockets. People need to see change in their communities. People need action, not another year of delays and U-turns. Labour needs to do what it was elected to do: govern in the interests of workers and our communities and deal with the obscene levels of wealth inequality in the UK.

  • Danny Chambers – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    Danny Chambers – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by Danny Chambers, the Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    One of the main barriers to people getting back into work is poor mental health. We have very long mental health waiting lists, with a million people on them. Many of those people would rather be in work, and it is also good for their mental health to be in work.

    I want to highlight a initiative in Winchester that I have brought up before. It has won awards, including NHS awards. It involves Winchester citizens advice providing a person for two days a week in the local mental health unit, which is called Melbury Lodge, to help in-patients with all their life admin. People who are suffering from mental health issues, especially in-patients, are more likely than average to have debt, housing issues and other life admin problems such that, when they get discharged, they are back in the same situation as when they were admitted in the first place, and their mental health can deteriorate.

    The initiative is fantastic. It has been proven, through published peer-reviewed papers, that the people involved have a shorter duration of stay, are less likely to be readmitted and are more likely to engage with social services once they are discharged. Ministers will find it particularly interesting that every £1 spent on the project saves the NHS £14.08 through cost avoidance. I have met the team several times. Rolling it out in every mental health unit in the country seems like an absolute no-brainer. Given that it saves so much money and that the saving is so quick, there is no question that it cannot be afforded. This is not an investment that takes five, six or seven years to pay off; the savings are seen within months.

    I urge the Government to look at the project. I would be keen to have a meeting with the relevant Minister—whoever the relevant Minister turns out to be—and the team who are running this project, Winchester citizens advice and the Melbury Lodge unit. It could be hugely impactful in helping many thousands of people to get back into work. That is good for the staff, the patients and the taxpayer.

    We were heartened that the previous King’s Speech specifically stated that mental health would be treated as seriously as physical health. We were disappointed there was not a specific mention of mental health in this year’s King’s Speech. We urge the Government to remember to put the issue at the forefront of their efforts to try to get people back into work.

  • Guardian Newspaper – 2026 Statement about the Personal Conduct of Nigel Farage

    Guardian Newspaper – 2026 Statement about the Personal Conduct of Nigel Farage

    The statement made by the Guardian newspaper on 15 May 2026.

    The Guardian is concerned by the recent publication on Nigel Farage’s social media pages of the professional credentials of a photographer working on behalf of the Guardian while he was working lawfully in a public space. Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press.

    As part of the Guardian’s journalism covering Nigel Farage’s purchase of a £1.4m property in cash shortly after receiving a £5m personal gift, a photographer took pictures from a public path and showed his press card when asked to identify himself.

  • Andy MacNae – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    Andy MacNae – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by Andy McNae, the Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    His Majesty’s Gracious Speech announced a wide range of economic measures and fully recognised the vital importance of economic security, but I think we all understand that for that security to be meaningful, it must reach into every part of our country and every community. With that in mind, I make my comments from the perspective of Rossendale and Darwen, recognising that we have much in common with many other post-industrial towns and rural areas—places characterised by small towns and villages with close-knit communities, which have too often felt ignored and left behind.

    This Government have consistently put growth at the heart of their agenda and have rightly identified many of the actions that we need to see. We have heard announcements on Green Book reform, £113 billion of infrastructure investment pipelines, youth job guarantees, Pathways to Work, the industrial strategy, pothole funds, Pride in Place, and many more measures, yet when I knock on doors in Rossendale and Darwen, people are still asking, “Where is the change that we were promised?”

    When writing this speech, I looked back at others I have made over the last two years on this subject. In those speeches, I called for more to be done to address issues that are specific to small towns like mine: a move away from the orthodoxy that favours cities and mayoral authorities, where growth is easiest to define; a procurement strategy that insists on buying British; an industrial strategy that understands small and medium-sized businesses; and policies that reward grafters, entrepreneurs and risk takers. Frankly, I could have used the same text today, because the issues remain. We have not moved nearly far enough or fast enough to meet the needs of communities like mine. Last week’s local election results show us that starkly.

    There has been much talk about the changes that this Government need to make. We must grasp this moment to fundamentally rethink our approach to growth strategy; incremental will just not cut it, nor will being city-centric. We cannot justify Government investment flowing into the likes of Manchester while the towns of Lancashire do not even appear in the picture. We need to learn the lessons of the last two years and do better. If we are going to deliver growth and jobs for places like Rossendale and Darwen with the urgency our electorate demands, we must commit to a scale of action that matches the challenge. That means being willing to take risks, to demand joined-up action across Government and to do the hard things on a scale that impacts every community.

    What does that mean in practical terms? First, on infrastructure, we have to recognise that on its own, a city-centric approach will do little for communities like mine. Consider Northern Powerhouse Rail. It is a great project that will transform connectivity between cities and major towns across the region, and it is being presented in some quarters as a transformational project for the whole north-west, but when I ask the question, “What will this do for Rossendale and Darwen or any small towns along the route?”, the answer is, “Not much.” Rossendale will remain the only local authority area in the north with no commuter rail link, despite being only 15 miles from Manchester. Darwen will continue to have a patchy and unreliable occasional service. That is why we need to change the way in which we think about such projects, and be far more ambitious in our goals—for instance by thinking in terms of growth corridors, with the requirement that these big projects bring a positive impact to every community. That would include physical infrastructure and connections for small towns as an integral part of the projects, as well as an insistence on buying locally.

    We need a similar approach to industrial strategy. In Rossendale and Darwen, we have many great businesses, including creative and innovative manufacturers, but none employs more than 500 people and few fall into what have been identified as national priority sectors. That is entirely typical of many places across our country, where such businesses employ the bulk of the local workforce. We need to get behind those businesses, and have a much more comprehensive and urgent industrial strategy that truly understands their challenges and opportunities. First and foremost, the strategy must embed “buy British” at its heart, using the full power of Government procurement to support our businesses. Frankly, the lack of a procurement Bill in the King’s Speech is a concern that I hope we can address.

    We need to bring down business costs, particularly energy, and open up access to risk-tolerant finance, and we need a tax and regulatory system that encourages employment, enterprise, risk and productivity. Alongside that, we need to restore our town centres and community spaces. Pride in Place is a great programme, and I am proud to have brought this investment to Rossendale, Rawtenstall and Darwen. That £20 million over 10 years will enable us to make significant changes, but for every town that has this support, there are many others that do not. Surely the case for investment in Bacup, Stacksteads and Whitworth is just as strong. In any case, we will enjoy the full value of this investment only if it is aligned with improvements in transport, skills and infrastructure that address the underlying constraints on our local economies. We should build on what works, and go bigger and wider with Pride in Place. We should front-load investment to increase the speed and scale of change, while ensuring that we are delivering the infrastructure that can release the full potential of places such as Rossendale and Darwen.

    I could list lots of other areas for action, but fundamentally, we need a change in mindset. For too long, geography has meant destiny. Small towns such as Bacup, Whitworth, Rawtenstall and Darwen have been at the back of the queue, left behind as big towns and cities shout louder and offer seemingly easy solutions. We need to break that cycle and ask, “What does this do for our towns?” That question should be embedded in every investment strategy and decision process.

    We must be willing to commit to strategies that insist on doing the hard things while providing the procurement policy, fiscal flexibility, regulatory framework and sustained leadership to drive delivery. We must learn the lessons of the past, and not allow established orthodoxies and a desire for easy wins to stand in the way. We simply cannot afford to fail the communities that need us most.

  • Peter Bedford – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    Peter Bedford – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by Peter Bedford, the Conservative MP for Mid-Leicestershire in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    They say that a week is a long time in politics, yet during this short debate we have seen the Health Secretary leave the Government. Amid the open revolt and factional infighting, one thing remains abundantly clear: whoever will be steering the ship, this Labour Government lack both the courage and the political capital to confront the spiralling cost of welfare. We hear endlessly about the soft left, the hard left and the moderate left, but the story time and again with every Labour Government is that they eventually run out of everyone else’s money.

    The numbers are stark. We have a welfare bill projected to rise to over £103 billion by the end of the decade—a figure that continues to surpass the revenues that the Government receive in income tax—and more than 4 million people are now claiming personal independence payment. Meanwhile, unemployment continues to rise, and nearly a million young people are not in education, employment or training. This is simply unsustainable. The Conservatives firmly believe in a safety net for those who genuinely need support, but what we have today is no longer a safety net; it is a fishing net that traps people rather than encourages them to stand on their own two feet.

    I have seen the value of this support at first hand. I grew up in a single-parent household with my two younger brothers. My mother could not read or write. I can remember us turning the sofa upside down at the end of the week to get loose change to put in the electricity meter. Labour Members often think that we on the Conservative Benches are far too privileged to understand real poverty, but that is simply not the case. Many of us on these Benches have experienced poverty in our own upbringings, and because of this lived experience we know where support is needed and where it is being abused.

    Sadly, we face a culture today in which some treat dependency as a way of life—a badge of honour, even—and in which, for generation after generation, families are boarding the benefits gravy train. We have all heard stories—perhaps in conversations on doorsteps during the recent local elections—of people claiming every benefit going, while ordering a Deliveroo every night and purchasing the latest 60-inch television. Those are luxuries that millions of hard-working constituents have to think twice about before buying.

    In our alternative King’s Speech, we have set out sweeping reforms that would end this welfare madness. Our welfare reform Bill would restore fairness, ensure that support goes to those who truly need it and ensure value for taxpayers’ money. We believe in the dignity of work and personal responsibility. We will ensure that benefits are restricted to British citizens, so that people coming to this country cannot simply ride on the coat-tails of British taxpayers. We will ensure that PIP is not awarded on the basis of lower-level health conditions that—let me put this bluntly—are just some of the normal challenges of everyday life that we all have to contend with.

    We will ensure that the people of 6 am Britain—the families who have to tighten their belts because of the spiralling cost of living—do not simply have to pay for the children of those who choose not to work. We will ensure, through the introduction of a household benefit cap, that people are always better off in work than out of work. These reforms are essential if we want a fair society and economic prosperity for our country.

    However, welfare reform must go hand in hand with reforms that encourage businesses to get people back into work. That is why I am proud that the Conservative party has set out exactly what we will do to get Britain working again, and our approach is a direct contrast to the actions of the current Government. From the hiking of jobs-destroying national insurance to the burdensome regulations introduced in the Employment Rights Act, these rising costs are forcing businesses to think twice before hiring extra staff. This Government have become a barrier to economic growth. Labour is no longer the party that its name suggests; it has become the welfare party.

    As our alternative King’s Speech makes clear, we would repeal damaging aspects of the Employment Rights Act, from the hospitality “banter ban” to the absurd qualifying periods, in order to give businesses the confidence to hire once again. We would back our private sector—the actual wealth creators—and we would not bow to trade union demands.

    Most importantly, our plan would tackle youth unemployment. It is shameful that one third of graduates are not in graduate-level jobs and youth unemployment stands at a staggering 18%, and that this Government seem utterly uninterested in doing anything about it. A future Conservative Government, on the other hand, would back our young people by expanding the number of high-quality apprenticeships under our apprenticeship guarantee and by showing young people that there are multiple training routes—not just through a degree—to build a successful career and life.

    This Government have no plan for welfare reform, no plan for jobs, and no plan for growth, but the Conservatives do. Our alternative King’s Speech shows that we are serious about governing, restoring fairness and rewarding hard work, and about getting Britain working again.

  • David Smith – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    David Smith – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    The speech made by David Smith, the Labour MP for North Northumberland, in the House of Commons on 14 May 2026.

    It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), whose comments on community energy I will come to in a moment.

    It is a real honour to speak in this debate on the Loyal Address on behalf of my constituents in North Northumberland, where the electricity grid is owned by Warren Buffett, the water system is overseen from Hong Kong and most of the buses are run out of Miami. Across many decades and multiple Governments, we have made ourselves a society where everything can be bought and sold for the right price, but the things that matter are often slipping away.

    We heard renewed commitments in the King’s Speech from the Government to improve our economic security, whether by ensuring a fair deal for working people, responding to the Timms and Milburn reviews on welfare or delivering an energy independence Bill. I welcome those commitments. According to the pollster More in Common, seven in 10 Britons feel that our country is “on the wrong track”, and

    “many are starting to conclude that the problems…lie…with the system itself.”

    This is a long-term trend. The job of the Government must therefore be to cast a vision of the future that transforms the status quo and then implements it. But what does that future look like, and how does it relate to the economic issues of work, welfare and energy?

    The late Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said:

    “We are each a letter in God’s book. Like a letter, we have no meaning on our own, but joined together in families, communities and nations, we form sentences and paragraphs and become part of God’s story.”

    Even if we do not share his religious views, Sacks’s message is clear: life must be lived together. Sacks called this a covenant. We are used to talking in terms of a social contract—a phrase we hear a lot—but the social contract asks, “What am I getting out of this?”, while the social covenant asks, “What do we owe each other?”. We therefore need to legislate for a society that helps us to think about what we owe each other.

    Work remains central to the task of transforming the country. This is one of the Government’s top priorities—we are, after all, the Labour party. Work is also the main way that we contribute to our shared national life. However, our national relationship with work is threatened. One million young people are not in education, employment or training, and AI is threatening a period of disruption that we have not seen since the days of the spinning jenny. We have done many worthwhile things already to improve work; the Employment Rights Act 2025 was a landmark piece of legislation. However, we need to go further to restore the way that we see and do work.

    The UK is below average among major nations for in-work training, so we should require employers to invest in their employees’ skills with training opportunities. We should also incentivise a stakeholder economy in which more staff share in the value that they help to create, and replicate the European model of giving ordinary workers seats on company boards. In short, the success of the company should be linked to the thriving of its employees. The steel industry nationalisation Bill creates the perfect opportunity for us to model that for the rest of the economy. Working together in a covenantal Britain, we can see that change.

    Covenant also speaks to our social security system. According to the last data available, 24 million people in the UK are receiving some form of benefits, including pensions. The total cost of our welfare system is greater than our income tax take, and that strain is weakening our togetherness and the idea of fairness on which the system relies. We need a new Beveridge report for the 21st century. The original report identified—in anachronistic language—the five giants as want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. I suggest that the giants of 2026 are: poverty, worklessness, isolation and hopelessness.

    I welcome the Government’s upcoming response to the Milburn and Timms reviews. We are a party that will always support the most vulnerable in our society, and it is right and just to support those who cannot work or who need help to work. We need a welfare system that is based on contribution and in which people are delighted to say, “Yes, I am my brother’s keeper.”

    Finally, I welcome the Government’s commitment to energy security and the energy independence Bill in the King’s Speech, but without a covenantal relationship between Government and community, we will lose support for the green transition. King’s College London has found that the share of those who support net zero sooner than 2050 has halved since 2021. Meanwhile, energy price rises are already affecting parts of our country and our economy, as we all know. When the first American missile was launched into Iran, some of my constituents’ heating and hot water prices doubled. A covenantal response to that is to say, “Let’s work with local communities to meet their needs now instead of pressing on towards jam tomorrow,” so if a wind farm is created in the vicinity of a community with the consent or ownership of that community, the community should benefit financially.

    We must also acknowledge that many of our constituents will be reliant on oil and gas for decades to come. In my constituency of North Northumberland, for example, 14,000 properties are not on the gas grid. Let us rebuild our energy security and supply using a realistic mix of options, and let us leave everything on the table so that it serves everyone.

    In conclusion, the dead end of unfettered market capitalism has been broken by its own failure to deliver decent jobs and affordable energy. We all now need our future to be built on something that brings both economic security and restored social relationships. In short, we need covenant. The Labour mission was never simply to get on in life, but for all of us to share in prosperity and common endeavour. Nye Bevan once said:

    “We have to build a party that is capable of expressing the desires of the people who sent us here—not just their immediate desires, but their deeper longings for a just and generous society.”

    The task is to build on this King’s Speech and create both a story and programme that speaks to these longings in work, welfare and energy. To do this, all of us —Government, party and country—need to commit to a new social covenant.

  • Wera Hobhouse – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    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.

  • Adam Thompson – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    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.

  • Alison Griffiths – 2026 Speech on Getting Britain Working Again

    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.