What else to be writing about on a warm couple of weeks in July than the future of our country.
In the chamber, we continue to debate policy, discuss bills and bring forward legislation that will benefit people across the United Kingdom. Despite all the outside noise, the role of parliamentarians in Westminster does not stop.
This is against the backdrop of the tumultuous news that came out of Downing Street in the early hours of the morning on June 29th. The street was full as the Prime Minister delivered his important speech, the announcement that he would step down, and a leadership election would ensue.
I heard the news from Keir Starmer with sadness. Having worked with him in the first year of the Labour Government as his Private Parliamentary Secretary, I know he is a principled man who had the best interest of the country at heart.
Despite existing since 1900, Labour has rarely had a platform to bring about the change that people desperately need, having spent the majority of those 126 years in opposition. In fact, in the history of this organisation, only 6 people before him had served as a Labour Prime Minister. Each one of them is remembered for being principled and fair, and delivering change for working people across the country. Keir Starmer’s legacy will be much the same.
Far from what you may read, his tenure helped improve our economic outset, reset the balance for workers & renters, and ended austerity after 14 miserable years.
The Employment Rights Act enacted the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. The Renters Rights Bill served to protect renters, ending no fault evictions and treating those who rent with dignity and respect. The NHS 10-year plan gives a fresh set of ideas to transform our health services, with waiting lists dropping at an unprecedented level.
Our children have a better future to look forward to with vital protections being brought in through the Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill, safer streets with more police officers delivered in The Crime and Policing Bill and a new road safety strategy, giving local communities more say about their roads and allowing more people to be safe when travelling.
He oversaw the Great British Energy Act, transitioning into greener energy and renewables, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs and bringing energy bills down over the long term, ending the greater reliance on overseas oil and gas.
And most importantly, his government lifted 450,000 children out of poverty, making a real difference in every corner of the country, giving children and families hope for the future.
It is a legacy to be proud of, and I am grateful to have worked with the Prime Minister and his Government to deliver so much of this positive change on behalf of my constituents.
I want to be clear, the reason why I did not want the Prime Minister to stand down is the same as to why I do not want a General Election. In a chaotic world, with a cost of living crisis, war in Europe and in the gulf, we need stability more than anything. To risk our safety and progression for yet more uncertainty would be disastrous.
Our Manifesto in 2024 offered hope to millions across the country, it is vital that we enact with the trust given and deliver the change people rightly expect.
More support for our high streets, amendments to business rates, faster sustained growth, further improvements to our infrastructure and cheaper bills, I am still committed to these goals, and I know that the public rightly still expect this.
I know Labour is ready to deliver.
Having done so much, whoever is the next Prime Minister will be ready on day one to go even further.
The changes that this Labour government have delivered will make a huge difference in the years to come, I am ready to work with whoever becomes the next Prime Minister to go further and faster with the pace of change, delivering a real legacy that the 8th Labour Prime Minister can be proud of.