‘Partygate’ is now paralysing government. Johnson must resign

01 Feb 2022

Many people have written to me about the Downing Street parties during lockdown. I know people feel very strongly about it and I can understand why. We all made huge sacrifices during lockdowns over the last two years. I know many people who took almost impossible decisions not to see…

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This week in Parliament

14 Jan 2022

This week has been rife with mixed emotions in reaction to revelations that the Prime Minister attended an illegal party in the Downing Street gardens in May 2020. People across the country are feeling outrage, anger, despair, regret and a plethora of other emotions in response to this disrespectful flouting…

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Hospitality sector faces a bleak Christmas: I ask the Chancellor to step up

23 Dec 2021

(Update: Response from the Treasury has also been shared below) The recent increase in Covid infections has affected all of us. However, the hospitality sector has been one of the worst hit. They were relying on this period to recover their losses from the previous two years. But, they are…

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My highlights from 2021

22 Dec 2021

I know it’s been a tough year for everyone – and I’m always going to do my best to help, campaign, and be a voice in parliament for all of you, in good times and bad. To update you on what I’m doing as your MP, here is my round-up…

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How will Bristol hospitality businesses be affected by Omicron?

16 Dec 2021

The hospitality industry usually relies on the busy period at Christmas to balance the books over the year. But increasing fears about Covid are increasingly deterring customers from bars, restuarants and nightclubs. I know many of Bristol’s fantastic hospitality businesses are desperate after an almost impossible two years, where they have…

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New Covid measures are necessary to keep us safe

14 Dec 2021

Today I voted on new Covid measures. This blog sets out how I voted, and my reasoning. The threat from Omicron Omicron is a new threat on top of the existing variants of the Covid virus, and we need to act swiftly to limit its spread. Throughout the pandemic, as…

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Bristol’s healthcare system now on high alert: How you can help

12 Nov 2021

Our healthcare system in Bristol is under unprecedented pressure from Covid, flu, staff shortages and a huge backlog of life-saving treatments pushing every part of the health system. I’ve written today to the Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid to ask him to do everything possible to ease the…

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Crisis? What crisis? Tory budget ignores desperate situation for many in the UK

03 Nov 2021

Many of you wrote to me about what you wanted from the Budget Statement. Almost all emails on the topic asked for one of four things: Tackle the health and social care crisis Invest in firm climate action Help those affected by rising cost of living Bridge education needs by…

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Seizing the opportunity of COP26: My weekly speech on Parliamentary business

29 Oct 2021

As so many of you know, the UK is host of the COP26 climate summit. This means the government has a once-only opportunity to get an international agreement on halting climate change and the biodiversity and nature crisis. Will this government rise to the occasion and make history? Or will…

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Matt ‘hopeless’ Hancock may be gone – but this still matters

09 Jul 2021

We all know that Matt Hancock was a useless Health Secretary – even the Prime Minister admitted it. Yet he was unable to sack him. Over the last few weeks I have been prodding Jacob Rees-Mogg on why he kept his job so long. Even by the standards of this…

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What the PM and ministers could learn from England’s football team

08 Jul 2021

The Prime Minister and the government could learn a lot from the Gareth Southgate School of Leadership. The England players and manager exemplify the best of British values. They stand up to racism and inequality. They succeed through hard work and discipline. And they are able to learn from their…

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Why did the PM keep a “hopeless” Health Secretary?

18 Jun 2021

We’ve now seen text messages proving that the Prime Minister knew “hopeless” Hancock was failing to protect care homes – so why did he keep him in the most important job through a global health crisis? I asked Jacob Rees-Mogg whether this was why the government had failed so badly.…

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“Predictable, predicted and avoidable, if government had heeded the warnings in April.” Reaction to Coronavirus restrictions extending beyond 21 June

15 Jun 2021

The Prime Minister announced to the Press yesterday that the current level of coronavirus restrictions will remain in place  for four more weeks, until 19th July. Unfortunately, in contravention of the Ministerial Code and to the frustration of the Speaker and many MPs trying to represent their constituents, he failed…

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As Covid cases rise again, why won’t the government learn from mistakes?

27 May 2021

We cannot go through the experience of the last 14 months again. Yet this government seems uninterested in learning from the mistakes it made during the Covid crisis. At Business Questions today (watch here), I asked the Leader of the House to urgently set out details of the Covid inquiry.…

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Bristol: Please get tested, and help control the new Covid variant

11 Feb 2021

A new variant of COVID-19 was found in Bristol recently, making it even more important that we do all we can to control the virus. The ‘Bristol variant’ is a mutation of the more infectious version of the disease first identified in Kent. As a ‘variant of concern’, the mutation…

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My event for taxi drivers in Bristol West

04 Feb 2021

On Friday 22 January, I held an online meeting for taxi drivers. Taxi drivers in Bristol have been hard hit by the pandemic. While drivers have been offering an essential service during this time, they have had little financial support or government guidance – and continue to have one of…

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Coronavirus transmission in schools – my views

13 Jan 2021

Many constituents have written to me about Covid transmission in schools. I have been contacted by many teachers, parents, pupils and school staff who have told me of their concerns about returning to school, particularly when the national Covid rate and hospital admission number remain so high and so worrying.…

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Support for the hospitality and nightlife sector

12 Jan 2021

Over the past few weeks I’ve been speaking to BARBIE, Business West, Bristol City Council and my colleagues in the Labour Party to try and ensure that I am doing everything I can to support businesses in the hospitality and nightlife sector. The hospitality industry is the third largest UK…

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Housing, homelessness and the new variant of COVID-19

04 Jan 2021

I sent this letter to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick before Christmas. I am yet to receive a response – to this or my previous letters. With evictions restarting next week and many homeless hostels unable to open fully, we urgently need answers to these questions.

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Why the vaccine makes me hopeful

22 Dec 2020

While things may seem gloomy, the COVID-19 vaccine is the light at the end of a very long tunnel. In these dark days it shows us the route back to some kind of normality. Several people have written to me with questions about the various Covid vaccines. As many of…

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Last-minute shoppers: Your chance to support independent Bristol businesses this Christmas!

21 Dec 2020

Over the last few weeks I have been promoting some of the excellent small businesses in my constituency, via social media. Bristolians have sent some great options, many of them new to me. You can find lots of ideas in my tweets here, or on my Instagram. Bristol has some…

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