Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper responds to President Trump’s latest outburst.
“The job of the British PM is to take decisions in the national interest of the U.K., not in the interests of other countries… we don’t outsource foreign policy to other countries”.
#bbclaurak
Graphic listing casework successes in the Northfield constituency over the last week, including: Fixing broken street lights Fixed burst water pipe Cleared flytipping DWP compensation (pensions) Two surgical appointments secured for constituents
Much of an MP's work is casework - fixing problems when someone is stuck in a queue for too long, or when a public or private agency hasn't resolved it.
Here are some of the casework successes across Birmingham Northfield this week 👇
Ahead of World Book Day, it was great to meet @unison.org.uk members to celebrate the work of library staff.
It was really important that we fought to save all Northfield constituency's libraries. Now that better funding is in place under Labour, hours are being extended again.
Many thanks to @leighinghammp.bsky.social for joining us on the doorstep in Northfield today!
01.03.2026 17:13 — 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Great to be back in Manchester for the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Lots of positivity on the doorstep and people turning out to vote for Angeliki Stogia and Labour.
Amazing rally for our rights with union activists tonight, with
Angela Rayner reminding us what's at stake tomorrow.
A New Deal for Workers with Labour, or workers' rights in the bin with Reform.
Join us tomorrow to help unity win over division: events.labour.org.uk/event/511742
Good to bring some West & East Midlands MPs together to talk to @heidialexander.bsky.social about the need to improve rail services within the Midlands, including:
🛤️Track upgrades to reduce journey times
🚄More carriages for overcrowded CrossCountry services
🏫More decisions taken locally
Reform’s Danny Kruger criticises UK’s ‘totally unregulated sexual economy’
Asked what role a political party could have in undoing the sexual revolution, Kruger said: “A limited but important one.”
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I wrote something for the Birmingham Mail ahead of the Government's SEND reform proposals.
It's not right that the barriers to support are higher than twenty years ago. The system needs to change, and there is much to welcome in these plans.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
It's clear who Reform UK stand for - and it's not workers.
They seek to sow division, while committing to throw our hard-won rights on the scrapheap.
labourunions.org.uk/stop-reform/
Some might call it naïve, some might call it stupid, but I'm very hopeful about the SEND reforms announced today. Yes, there are issues with funding and people power to make this happen, and I know very many of my friends who have children with special needs and disabilities will be very worried about their future, but when you dig down into it, what the government are trying to do is what we all want really.
For the education system to be set up for these needs in the first place, for it not to be an issue if they need an adjustment to the norm as it is widely understood that normal is just a setting on a washing machine. Your child needs coloured paper? No problem! No need for endless meetings, that's a need we can meet. Your child needs a calm space to regulate after playtime? We'll find a way to make that happen.
I get that these things cost money and time hat is yet to be explained but before we panic (on both sides as parents and educators) can we just stop and think a bit. If our schools were set up as neurodivergent and disability friendly as standard, then everyone thrives. It is no extra work, funding isn't an issue. This becomes the norm. It's in place for physical disabilities already and has been for a while. We just need to extend that thinking to special needs too.
Before you bite my head off, I realise using the word 'just' is very loaded and triggering for many. There will be so many things to unpack from all of this, and so many people will be angry and stressed. But fewer people needing EHCPs is a good thing. Done properly, it really is. The aim is never to get more people onto EHCPs, it's simply to get more peoples' needs met. And this might be the answer.
My views on the SEND reforms news today.
This is my view as a parent of 2 children with SEND and as someone who cares deeply about the welfare of staff in the education system.
Hawkesley Pride in Place community meeting this Friday 👇
23.02.2026 23:26 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0Our excellent colleague @thurrockjen.bsky.social has written an important piece on the need for SEND reform
23.02.2026 12:52 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Ahead of tomorrow's Schools White Paper and SEND consultation, it's important to say that the way @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social and @georgiagould.bsky.social have engaged with MPs has been exemplary.
They have listened, and I have faith that they will continue to listen.
Good news! The Representation of the People Bill will see major electoral reforms to improve our democracy!
The Representation of the People Bill will:
✅ Let 16-17 year olds vote in UK elections
✅ Crack down on foreign interference with stricter donation rules
For too long too many children haven’t had the support they need to succeed.
That must change.
Labour will transform our schools system so every child can achieve and thrive.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Why does the government have to reform the SEND system?
Because the current set up is completely broken - from our recent report, fewer than half (just 38%) of SENCOs report they are able to provide all or almost all of those with EHCPs in their school with the full support set out in their plan -
Kings Norton Park
18.02.2026 16:24 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
It's an important day as Tory anti-worker restrictions are made a thing of the past.
The Employment Rights Act is one of this government's most important achievements. Now we need to see it through. @labourunionsuk.bsky.social
Parliament is sometimes compared to a supposed 'golden age.' It's helpful to remember that individual MPs are more consequential than they were in the past.
(The author, Michael Ryle, was a clerk in the House of Commons from 1951 to 1989).
Make taxi drivers wear uniforms - to continue the transport theme.
17.02.2026 14:07 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
The potholes on Rednal Road are a menace, and they have deteriorated further following the bad weather.
Our petition to get Rednal Road fixed can be signed below 👇
laurence4northfield.com/posts/fix-re...
Pictured is an absolute clown of a candidate standing for Reform in the Gorton and Denton, Matthew Goodwin. The words “reform will give incentives to women who have more children and penalise those who don’t. Change is coming.”
I thought this was an AI mock up because no man would be so monumentally idiotic, insensitive and intrusive as to punish women for not having children…but then it is Reform.
Reform are not on yourside.
Reform not care about women’s safety.
Reform only see us as baby making machines.
Looks like we're in line for a new round of Employment Rights Act alarmism.
The Times claims, from a CIPD survey, that 'more than half of businesses expected an increase in workplace conflict.'
In reality, far more employers said each measure would have no impact on conflict or would reduce it.
‘I wouldn’t touch a Jewish woman’: Meet the Reform team in Gorton and Denton
manchestermill.co.uk/goodwins-gan...
The rain it raineth - but we keep going.
Good to be back out on the doorstep in Shenley in support of Labour's candidate Kiran Gulia.
Great canvassing team out this morning in Kings Norton North in support of Carmel Corrigan.
Unsurprisingly, the state of Rednal Road came up. We're on the case.
Thank you!
14.02.2026 12:56 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
It's official - Birmingham is no longer bankrupt.
There's no underestimating the scale of the challenge ahead. But this is an important moment for the city.
laurence4northfield.com/posts/birmin...
Like buses, our two reports into Railways have come at once!
This week the Transport Committee has published our two reports; one into ending 'boom and bust' in the rail investment pipeline & another report into the railways bill.
You can read below 👇
committees.parliament.uk/committee/15...
