On 12 May 2024 I appeared on BBC Sunday Politics from the Midlands. The other guest was Daniel Kawczynski MP.

You can view the BBC Sunday Politics show on the website

 

I celebrated with the Portuguese community, the 25 April Carnation Revolution at the Portuguese Embassy on Wednesday 8 May 2024. The Carnation revolution so called because people threw carnations at the soldiers and tanks that rolled in to Lisbon to overturn 40 years of dictatorship.

Ambassador Nuno Britto and Stephen Hammond MP Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Portugal are pictured with me. 

Ambassador Britto spoke about the time when the Portuguese rose up to claim freedom on that day. He said democracy must be celebrated and is a work in progress. It is so important to ensure that there is democracy rather than dictatorship. We raised our glasses for a toast to Freedom. 

 

I attended the launch of the Report " Force for Good Impact Report, which was launched by Merlin Entertainment and the Purpose Coalition wirth Rt Hon Justine Greening on Wednesday  8 May 2024 in the House of Commons.  The Coalition measures organisations against a set of sector -relevant social impact criteria. by breaking down barriers to opportunity. 

The goals were designed following Justine Greening's experience as Secretary of State for International Development who led the delegation to the convention of the United Nations ( UN) that established the  2015 UN sustainable development goals. These goals are applied in the UK context. 

Merlin is active across 15 Purpose Goals but is specifically focused on showcasing best practice and upscaling its social impact in key areas of strategic expertises as identified in the impact report.  

On Wednesday 8 May 2024, the House of Commons considered the Finance (No.2) Bill in a Committee of the Whole House. The Bill implements a number of tax changes, including those announced at the Spring Budget on 6 March. Key measures in the Bill include a trigger to end the windfall tax early under certain market conditions where profits decrease, changes to child benefit eligibility, tax reliefs for the creative sector and changes to property taxation. I did not oppose the Bill at its Second Reading in April.  I consider it shows that the Government still has no plan for growth to get the UK out of recession, is still raising taxes on working people, and will oversee the biggest hit to living standards on record.

I supported several efforts to address concerns I have with the Bill and the Government’s record on tax. I am concerned, for example, that the tax burden on working people and pensioners is rising as a result of freezes in the income tax personal allowance and the higher rate threshold from 2021-22 to 2027-28. These freezes will create 3.7 million extra taxpayers by 2028-29, as well as meaning that 2.7 million more people will be paying the higher rate. I therefore supported a new clause that would have required a review of how many people will be liable to pay income tax at 20% and 40%, comparing figures for the current tax year with those for the three preceding and three subsequent tax years. I also supported a new clause requiring a review of how many pensioners will be liable to pay income tax this year and in each of the next three years, and what the average pensioner’s tax bill will be in each of those years. Unfortunately, these clauses were both defeated. In addition, we need to provide stability and certainty on corporation tax, by capping the headline rate at 25% of the whole of the next Parliament. I also consider we need to strengthen the windfall tax on oil and gas companies raise more revenue to support the UK’s energy transition, while offering as much certainty as possible to the affected companies by ensuring it ends by the end of the next Parliament. I supported new clauses addressing these issues, but unfortunately they were also defeated.

Consideration of the Bill will continue in Committee.

New Clause NC1  I voted in favour and the results was: Ayes: 211 Noes: 276 
New Clause NC4  I voted in favour and the results was: Ayes: 212 Noes: 274 
New Clause NC2  I voted in favour and the results was: Ayes: 195 Noes: 266
New Clause NC3  I voted in favour and the results was: Ayes: 198 Noes: 269

The Committee had gone through the Bill (Clauses 1 to 4, Clauses 12 and 13 and Clause 19) and made no amendments.

Bill (Clauses 1 to 4, Clauses 12 and 13, and Clause 19) to lie upon the Table.

Derbyshire Day was celebrated with many small businesses who brought their products to the Jubilee Room in the House of Commons on Wednesday 8 May 2024. The event was organised by Pauline Latham MP. I was delighted to sample home made ice cream by the Bluebells Dairy.  It was delicious. Like all farms they diversified during Covid and have placed their product in mostly National Trust properties in Derbyshire. They hope to expand. The farm is also open for visits. 

Bluebells Dairy website https://bluebelldairy.co.uk/