Topics covered on this page:

• Labour Party leadership
• Representation of the People Bill

Labour Party leadership

Last updated August 2026

I know many of you had strong opinions about the right course of action in the run-up to Keir's resignation. Two years ago, following 14 years of austerity and cuts to our country, Britain really was broken from crumbling schools to roads, a justice and prison system full and an economy that was in neutral. I'm proud of what the Government has achieved over the last two years with Keir as Prime Minister, and I will do what I can to support Andy in his work to continue to build on this progress and take it yet further.

In the first week alone of being Prime Minister, Andy made three very positive announcements to provide more cost-of-living support and to allocate greater relief for certain hospitality businesses. A good start.

The renewed focus on devolution also presents real opportunities for us. For example, the devolution of powers relating to local skills funding is a positive step which I strongly welcome.

More widely, my role, as I see it, stays the same across this transition. I will continue to act as a national voice for Warwick and Leamington in Parliament, and advocate on a range of issues - everything from helping local retail and hospitality businesses thrive to support for JLR and our local automotive industry to advocating for the humanitarian and social needs of Palestinians - precisely as I did when Keir was Prime Minister.

I would also like to take this opportunity on the positive steps that have already been taken over the last two years. The Labour Government has already:

• Lowered NHS waiting lists by 500,000. 
• Legislated to pull 450,000 children out of poverty. 
• Banned no-fault evictions.
• Doubled free-childcare entitlement.
• Increased minimum wage above inflation.
• Brought several rail companies into public ownership.
• Given all children in households receiving Universal Credit free school meals.
• Launched 676 Family Hubs across England to support families and build on Sure Start legacy.
• Restored employment rights with day-one rights, extending statutory sick pay and improving access to flexible work. 
• Delivered legislation to hold water companies to account, with Severn Trent Water recently fined £4.2m for pollution incidents in 2025.
• Recognised the State of Palestine.
• Overseen 6 interest rate cuts.
• Set up Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund. 
• End VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools.
• Abolished the hereditary peer system in the House of Lords.
• Ended the use of offshore trusts to avoid inheritance tax.
• Established a pension tax on the most valuable homes.
• Delivered an increase of 2,283 FTE personnel in neighbourhood policing roles in the first 6 months of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Representation of the People Bill

Last updated August 2026

The Representation of the People Bill is a package of political reforms put forward by the Government, which delivers on a range of reforms promised in the 2024 Manifesto.

Key proposals in the Bill as it stands include extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, improving voter registration systems, and introducing safeguards against foreign interference and inappropriate political donations. The latter issues are the ones that I have been working on. The legislation also addresses the increasing role of digital campaigning by strengthening transparency requirements for online political material. In addition, as part of a move towards automated voter registration, individuals will be required to opt into the open electoral register rather than opt out. This is with the aim of increasing participation, particularly among younger and lower-income groups who are less likely to be registered.

Because of the scope of the Bill, and given that it touches on so many crucial topics, a range of MPs (including me) from across the House have tabled amendments to add extra sections to the Bill. These include both small edits as well as new clauses (identified by a number preceded by 'NC'). My 11 amendments, for example, range from NC92 to NC103.

Only a small proportion of these amendments will be selected for debate or voted on, and we are currently awaiting the Speaker's decision as to which will be taken forward. Because of the sheer number of different amendments that constituents have asked me to vote in favour of, I will set out my position more directly after this has taken place and we know which will be debated.

The amendments which I have been contacted the most about, among others, are:

• NC31 - calling for a National Commission on Electoral Reform
• NC56 - requiring the Secretary of State to publish a timeline for implementing automatic voter registration.
• NC71 - proposing a £100,000 annual cap on political donations

Meanwhile, the amendments that I have tabled, as you might expect, focus on national security and protecting our democracy from foreign interference, in relation to my role as Chair of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy (JCNSS). They include topics such as restricting cryptocurrency donations to political parties, limiting donations from overseas voters.