Politics right now is in turmoil because of the utter mess that the Conservative Party is in. Following last week’s drama of the Prime Minister resigning we now are forced to watch Tory MPs having a public slanging match over who should next wear their crown and become Prime Minister.
It starts with them running the country into the ground: watching the public realm becoming tatty and underinvested. Then they realise the mess they’ve got themselves into so start to blame everyone around them.
Come the 5 September we will know who Conservative Party members have elected as their leader and by extension our next Prime Minister.
Now, Labour tried to hold a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and Government this week only for it to be blocked by Boris Johnson. This goes against the convention that all no confidence motions tabled by Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition are accepted.
In a bizarre twist the Government then tabled their own no confidence motion for next week. I will be voting to have no confidence in this utter shower.
On top of all these shenanigans I continued to do what MPs should be doing: holding the Government to account and putting forward alternative plans. The week started off with a speech at the Future of Social Care Workforce event in Parliament. I spoke about Labour’s plan for the future of care to ensure care workers get better pay, terms and conditions and full rights at work.
It was also a pleasure to meet children from local schools in Parliament. Not only does Parliament provide excellent tours, but they also ensure schools have tailor-made lessons in the world-class education centre. I joined them for three in-depth Q&A session about my job and the place I work. I can tell you for free that they were some stars of the future in that room!
Tuesday saw me attending the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Sir John Major – former Prime Minister – was our witness and I grilled him on the Government’s action on the Northern Ireland protocol, if it’s alright for governments to take illegal action knowingly and standards in public life.
Unison held an event in Parliament this week and I spoke as the Shadow Care Minister about Labour’s plans for social care. For me, the most important issue of care is making sure we acknowledge – and legislate – with one key fact in mind: the majority of care responsibility falls to women. If we fail to address this issue, we fail to support carers and those in receipt of care. I also talked about how levelling up is not being pushed within the care agenda and this is to the detriment of the country.
Today, I visited the new Hartcliffe Way Refuse and Recycling Centre with Cllr. Kye Dudd, Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste and Energy. So important that we increase recycling in Bristol and this new centre will help us do just this.
I finished off the week with my annual ‘Money Matters’ event at St. Augustine’s Church. This was great event helping people with the cost-of-living crisis. Thank you to all that came and supported this important event.
If there are issues you want to raise with me as your local MP, please get in touch by emailing karin.smyth.mp@parliament.uk or by calling 0117 953 3575.