Latest News

• Weekly Round-Up :: 31 March 2023
  The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee met this week to investigate the plans for the future of the Government estates. I know this sounds very dry, but the buildings and land the Government owns is where a lot of taxpayers money is spent. The Government constantly try to say that they are moving organisations and bodies out of London to level up the country. But as ever with the Conservative Party, the rhetoric isn’t […]
• 27.27% of personnel in the greater Bristol area in lowest grade accommodation, as Karin Smyth MP demands Homes fit for Heroes
  A quarter of service personnel in the greater Bristol area are living in the lowest grade of service accommodation, shocking figures have revealed. MOD data uncovered by Labour shows that 110 of personnel in the the greater Bristol area live in Grade 4 Single Living Accommodation, the lowest rating given by the Ministry of Defence. Across the country, almost 39,000 members of the armed forces live in Grade 4 accommodation. A further 4,360 […]
• Karin backs Keir Starmer’s Mission for Make Britain’s Streets Safe mission.
  Bristol South MP, Karin Smyth, has given her full backing to a package of new policy initiatives unveiled by Keir Starmer today as he launched the “Make Britain’s Streets Safe’ mission. At a keynote speech delivered today in Stoke-on-Trent, Keir Starmer outlined how the next Labour Government will put law and order at the centre of government activities. Keir Starmer confirmed that within a decade, a Labour Government will halve both the level […]
• Weekly Round-Up :: 17 March 2023
  The tradition of Budget week has continued for another year. We start off with a Budget being announced on the Wednesday and headlines running it’s delivered a land of milk and honey. Then people delve into the small print and see just how bad things actually are. The Chancellor said we will avoid a recession… technically. Alarms bells started to ring as soon as I heard that. What we’ve since learnt is the independent Office for Budgetary […]
• Karin Smyth MP slams Tory Budget for “completely ignoring” the West Country
  Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, spoke of her frustration towards the Tory Government for “completely ignoring” the West and South West regions in this year’s Budget. The only mention in the Red Book was money for potholes in Devon. A fact Karin Smyth derided due to the chronic cuts to local government finances for the last 13 years. During her speech, the MP for Bristol South focussed on three shortcomings enshrined within the Budget. First, […]
• Weekly Round-Up :: 10 March 2023
  This week the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) met to question the Institute for Government about the value of the Civil Service People Survey and whether the results are used effectively by government departments to address the concerns raised by civil servants. In the past the PCS, the civil service’s largest union, has expressed concerns that departments have failed to follow-up on staff issues. Issues around […]
• Karin Smyth MP calls on Government to “get a grip” of rising childcare costs
  Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, has called on the Government to breakdown the barriers of opportunity by ‘getting a grip’ of rising childcare costs. The Government is knowingly underfunding the 15 and 30hrs childcare entitlements by over £2/hr. This is forcing providers to cross-subsidise leading to astronomical costs to parents paying for additional hours. The cost of a fulltime nursery place for a child under two has risen by approximate […]