Here you can read the eNews for April 2026

The Prorogation of Parliament is the end of a Session and this session ran from July 2024 to April 2026. The Commons is summoned to the Lords where the leader of the Lords reads out the Government's end of session report and the remainder of the Bills which were passing between the Lords and Commons last week  are given Royal Assent when the Clerk says in Norman French as each Bill is read out: "Le Roy, le veult" The Sovereign agrees.

There have been 50 Acts of Parliament passed to improve the lives of working people across Britain and in addition to those the following were passed on 29 April 2026. These include:

• The Employment Rights Act, the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation.
• The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act, establishing Great British Rail – a publicly owned and accountable body to improve rail services and keep fares low.
• The Great British Energy Act, establishing a publicly owned organisation to bring clean energy and cheaper bills to British consumers and industry.
• The Renters’ Rights Act, providing renters with security and dignity in housing by outlawing no-fault evictions amongst other protections for private renters.
• The Removal of Two Child Limit Act, bringing 450,000 children out of poverty and providing security to working families by removing the arbitrary two-child benefit cap.
• The Water (Special Measures) Act, reversing the Tory decline in environmental standards and accountability in the water industry, empowering consumers and holding water bosses to account.
• The Crime and Policing Act, tackling violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour and retail crime, whilst rebuilding public confidence in policing and the wider criminal justice system.
• The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, making good on our promise to give back control to local communities and provide mayors with unprecedented powers to deliver growth.


The new session starts with the King's Speech where his majesty attends the Lords and reads out the Government's programme for the next session. this will take place on 13 May 2026.

International Workers' Memorial Day takes place on 28 April every year. It is a day to remember all those poeple who went to work and never came home. It honours everyone who has died simply in the course of and as a result of doing their job. 

Around the world more people die at work then they do in war, according to the Trades Union Congress figures. The official figures state that 124 people died at work in the UK in 2024/5.But when other factors including work-related illness, incidents when travelling and suicides caused by the pressure of work are taken into account the number s closer to 50,00 work-related deaths a year. 

On this day we remember the dead but we fight for the living .

The Vaisakhi procession this year took place on Sunday 26 April 2026. We were joined this year by the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority Richard Parker and the Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster. This year there were additional stops: The Indian Muslim Association presented flowers to honour the holy book ( (below top right) and then the procession was greeted by representatives from the Hindu Temple (bottom lower right).  The organisers of the Gurdwara decided that all the communities should come together in a show of unity. 

 When I spoke to the Sikh media I said that given the events national and international, I was pleased that the Hindu and Muslim communities came together with the Sikh community to show we would not be divided and that we all support equality for everyone and this show of unity gives us hope for the future.  



The photo on the left shows the first stop we made at the Indian Muslim Association offices and the Al Farooqui Mosque. The photos show Jag Mavi BEM ( third form the right) one of the organisers of the event, to his right, The Mayor WMCA Richard Parker and the PCC Simon Foster to my right.  At the Pleck Gurdwara I met Cllr R K Mehmi. 

I chaired the First Delegated Legislation Committee on 27 April 2026, the draft Vaping Duty Stamps (Requirements, Reviews and Appeals) Regulations 2026.

This Statutory Instrument sets out the administrative requirements that businesses must follow when using duty stamps. Duty stamps are highly secure labels with physical and digital features which verify that duty has been paid. It introduces a requirement for duty stamps to be affixed to vaping products at or before excise duty becomes payable. However, it specifically excludes goods imported or produced before 1 October 2026.

The Regulations provide the detailed regulatory framework required to give effect to the vaping products duty regime introduced by the Finance Act 2026. It introduces the concept of vaping product producers and UK representatives of overseas businesses for duty stamps purposes. It also ensures that decisions made in relation to UK representatives are subject to rights of review and appeal.

The legislation was passed retroactively came into force on 1 April 2026.