2021

The Environment Bill returned to the Commons on Wednesday 20 October 2021. It is concerning the Bill is not bold enough to match the scale of the climate and ecological crisis we are facing. The Bill allowed water companies to dump raw sewage into our rivers and seas. I voted for an amendment to stop sewage in our rivers. The amendment was rejected: Ayes: 268 and Noes: 204.

A debate was sponsored by and moved by Gill Furniss MP (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) on Yemen, in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 20 October 2021.  Gill is the Chair of Labour Friends of Yemen. I intervened to ask Gill : “I do not think that my hon. Friend knows how important this debate is to me. Having been born in Aden, and now seeing it war-torn in such a way, I am extremely concerned about what is going on there. I would like to return, at some stage, and I feel that, with the help of Martin Griffiths,  we can possibly find a road to peace. Does my hon. Friend agree?”

Which? the well known consumer rights champion held an event in Parliament on Wednesday 20 October 2021 to explain the upcoming Online Safety Bill. Which? welcomed the draft to the Bill but outlined several concerns and recommendations to ensure the Government tackles scams and fraudulent activity online. 

As a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music, I attended a meeting on Tuesday 19 October organised by UK Music to launch their latest report.  The meeting was addressed by UK Music’s Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin.

Jamie for the presented the finding’s of UK Music’s report which looks at the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on musicians and music industry. The report found that in 2020, the music industry contributed £3.1 billion to the UK economy which showed that there was a 46% decrease from £5.8 billion in 2019. 

I showed my support on Tuesday  19 October 2021 for the Long Live the Local Campaign.  Launched in 2018, the campaign  raised awareness on July 6th 2021 to celebrate the important social, cultural and economic role pubs and breweries play in Britain, and to remind people that they cannot take them for granted. Britain’s pubs and breweries contribute £26.2bn GVA and supports 936,000 jobs. The Campaign among other issues calls on the Government to invest in pubs and breweries through the reform of the unfair tax burden – specifically lower VAT & Business Rates for pubs and lower Beer Duty.