Topics covered on this page:

• Labour Party Conference 2026
• Labour Party leadership
• Representation of the People Bill

Labour Party Conference 2026

Last updated October 2026

At this time of year, I receive a wide variety of invitations to meet with different campaign organisations at the Labour Party Conference, which takes place this year at the end of September.

These organisations contact me directly to invite me, and a minority also ask their supporters to email a duplicate invitation to their MP. Every, I receive a vast number of invitations which all focus on these three specific days. Unfortunately, this year, because of being ill, I did not go to the Labour Party Conference so was unable to accept any of these invitations.

However, my personal approach is that these few days aren't a be-all and end-all as far as meetings are concerned - after all, I have meetings week-in, week-out, all year round. So to reassure all those who wrote to me inviting me to meet with particular organisations, that I was unable to meet last month doesn't mean I won't anyway over the course of the year.

This seems like a good opportunity to talk slightly more broadly about this year's Labour Party Conference and the announcements which came out of it. You may have had a chance to see at least parts of Andy Burnham's speech - if not I recommend it, and here's a slightly shortened version:

Some personal highlights for me were:

Social care - Finally working to put social care on an equal footing with healthcare, including creating a National Care Service to end the scandal of high care fees. The social care crisis is a massive issue, and it will take significant political courage to fix it. Theresa May, if you recall, tried and quickly bottled it! A solution is long overdue.

Water sector reform - more on this later in this newsletter.

Fixing Farage and Johnson's failed Brexit - for too long, Brexit has been the elephant in the room. The reality is that it has has made us poorer, and has cut us off from our neighbours and natural allies at a time when we need to be working together the most. So Andy was right that we need to revaluate our relationship with the EU, and I look forward to seeing the different options of what this could look like.

Above all, this speech demonstrated the Prime Minister's patriotism and passion that he has for our country to be better. One section particularly grabbed my attention: "Britain is not perfect. It can be better and we will make it so. But it still stands for something worth saving, worth fighting for." To me, that sums up what we're fighting for. This is what real patriotism is, not the hatred and division peddled by a small group of false patriots. We are stronger together than we are divided.

It also showed his willingness to take the necessary decisions and be upfront about trade-offs, the change to the triple lock being a prime example. Currently, the state pension increases annually in line with inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. And that will remain the case for the remainder of this Parliament. Then, from April 2030, the proposed adjustment to the 'triple lock' would retain the link between pensions and inflation, earnings or 2.5% but earnings should be considered over a longer time frame, not every year. And that is the simple difference. The state pension will continue to go up every year but be more in line with our economic growth as a country, while also freeing up money - an estimated £15 billion a year by 2040 - for the new National Care Service.

So overall, I thought there were lots of positives and was pleased to see a proactive vision for our country's future.

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.