Articles

This has been a jaw dropping week of audacity by the Government. First with the Henry VIII powers under the EU withdrawal Bill to amend secondary legislation, fixing the composition on select committees against all the rules and conventions and not voting on a motion because the Government would lose.

We stand with Barcelona. How many more times will we have to mourn the loss of innocent lives? People enjoying a visit to an iconic cultural spot, the youngest life lost – a 7 year old.

My emergency debate in the last week of the Parliamentary term was a polite parliamentary request to grant the Opposition a chance to hold the government to account on their policies.

One of the benefits of the general election campaign was that I was able to meet many more parents of schoolchildren in my constituency when out campaigning on days when I would usually be working in the House of Commons. A big topic of discussion was school funding. The Conservative government was and still is planning on making huge cuts to the funding of schools in Walsall. For example Moorcroft Wood Primary School will lose funding that amounts to a cut of £514 per pupil or the equivalent of losing 3 teachers.

Much has happened since I last wrote this column in April with our country suffering murderous terrorist attacks, and last week the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. We witnessed exemplary responses from our emergency services, local communities and those caught up in these events. Our thoughts and prayers remain with those bereaved and those recovering from physical and psychological injuries.