Liam Byrne MP

A few personal reflections on what happened in Munich this weekend.

It felt like America First met Europe Resolved.

But the challenges for the UK are stark: open.substack.com/pub/liambyrn...

I am a proud patron of NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).

I was honoured to join George Freeman MP, Jonathan Ashworth, Tony Adams and others, at last week's annual Stafford Ward Memorial Lecture in Parliament - part of #COAWeek2026.

Thank you NACOA nacoa.org.uk

It’s gone to press! My new book Why Populists Are Winning is published on 26 March. It asks a simple question: why is this happening - and how do we beat it?

2 MONTHS TO SAVE UK STEEL

This week, Tata Steel told us there are 2 months left to save UK steel.

The UK risks becomes "dumping ground of the world".
- No steel strategy
- No consultation response
- Parliament in the dark

Read our letter:

This Elections Bill is progress.

But we cannot restore trust in politics while crypto donations - direct or indirect - remain legal.

I’m optimistic ministers will act to ban crypto-political donations after the Ryecroft Review.

But we’re readying amendments to help make the case….

Small businesses now face pandemic-level pressures - without emergency support.

£112bn in unpaid invoices. Energy costs doubled. £4.2bn crime bill.

Small Business Strategy Report from the Business & Trade Committee published today:

committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Parliamentlive.tv Business and Trade Committee

Tomorrow: the Business and Trade Committee questions leading corporations - do UK-US deals deliver real jobs, real investment and real security or leave British firms exposed to wishful thinking made in Washington?

📺 Watch live from 2.30pm, Tues 10th Feb parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

The cost-of-living crisis isn’t just economic - it’s political.
When prices rise faster than wages & rip-offs go unpunished, trust collapses. Consumer harm now costs Britain £71bn a year. Populists thrive in that vacuum. So how do we de-rig the market?

Substack: tinyurl.com/4vvxss54

Huge news for families in Hodge Hill and Solihull North

The two-child benefit limit is being scrapped. That's 450,000 children lifted out of poverty by 2029.

For the 7th most deprived constituency in Britain, this investment in our children's futures is essential.

The UK’s economic security regime is not fit for the future. The Government’s response to the Business and Trade Committee report falls short of addressing this challenge.
Only 4 of 25 recommendations accepted.
I raised this in the Commons yesterday because the stakes are too high to ignore:

The two-child benefit limit is being scrapped. That's 450,000 children lifted out of poverty by 2029.

In Hodge Hill and Solihull North - where nearly half of kids are growing up in poverty - this matters.

Life happens - job losses, bereavements - our safety net needs to be there.

Britain risks becoming "the weak link in Western economic security defences."

Our Committee's verdict: the Government accepted just 4 of 25 recommendations. Allies have raised serious concerns with us.

Economic security is not just a slogan.

Report: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

📣 Seven priorities. One mission: Britain's economic future.
Our Business and Trade Committee has just launched our agenda for the year ahead - shaped by hundreds of businesses, unions and consumer groups right across the country.
Full details: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Why does everything cost so much now?

But Britain’s cost-of-living crisis isn’t just about prices going up – it’s about standards breaking down.

So, what’s gone wrong?

The Business & Trade Committee is determined to get answers.

📺 Watch 3rd Feb, 2:45pm

parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

Europe is reacting fast to the new world disorder. And Britain risks being frozen out, trapped in a deal from the past and the modesty of our ambitions. Here’s my personal reflections from a week in Paris, Brussels and Berlin. substack.com/@liambyrne/n...

Europe is reacting fast to the new world disorder. And Britain risks being frozen out, trapped in a deal from the past and the modesty of our ambitions. Here’s my personal reflections from a week in Paris, Brussels and Berlin. substack.com/@liambyrne/n...

When I speak to constituents, the message is clear: people want to feel safe and see officers on our streets.

This week's policing reforms deliver exactly that:
- Named neighbourhood officers
- Faster responses
- Less paperwork
- More patrols

Read more in my piece in the Solihull Observer:

📢 Update on Pavement Parking
Following up on the pavement parking video I shared earlier this week, I’ve now received a written response from the Transport Minister, Lillian Greenwood MP, which you can read here:

Good to spend time last week with Masud Gharahkhani, President of the Norwegian Parliament, and a cross-party delegation.

We discussed the key issues of green energy, trade and how the EU’s internal market is shifting - a practical conversation about shared challenges.

As Keir Starmer arrives in Beijing, here’s a few thoughts - and warnings - about where the UK-China relationship goes next…. open.substack.com/pub/liambyrn...

Today in Parliament - 26/01/2026 - BBC Sounds Mandy Baker reports as the home secretary announces a policing revolution.

Great to speak to BBC R4 on trade deals, tariffs and the Business and Trade Committee report on the UK-India Trade Agreement. We discussed how China and the US are using trade as a weapon of coercion and how Brexit has cost our economy £180 billion.

Listen from 13:00

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Today, on Holocaust Memorial Day, let us honour, reflect & act for peace.

Let us remember the six million Jewish men, women & children who were murdered, & the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution.

Let us commemorate the persecuted populations of Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia & Darfur.

Why Sanctions Aren’t Stopping Russia (Yet) President Trump’s Greenland stunt grabbed headlines - but it distracted from a bigger danger. Russia’s war economy is still thriving. Here are five urgent ways to strengthen sanctions, shut oil…

President Trump’s Greenland stunt grabbed headlines - but it distracted from a bigger danger. Russia’s war economy is still thriving. Here are five urgent ways to strengthen sanctions, shut oil loopholes, target the shadow fleet and crack down on crypto laundering.

youtu.be/wXh2yF7qrXc?...

Excellent to sit down with our brilliant Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, to talk through next steps for the East Birmingham Development Corporation. It’s the key to redeveloping sites, training local workers, building the new tram links to the new Blues ground - and creating local jobs.

As the PM & his team ready to visit China, here’s my speech on why a new, hard headed UK-China strategy is now essential: open.substack.com/pub/liambyrn...

Replay: Is there a solution to wealth inequality? Meet the Leaders with Liam Byrne MP and George Freeman MP LoginDonate

Great to join Vicky Pryce and George Freeman to discuss my book, ‘The Inequality of Wealth: Why It Matters and How to Fix It’.
Thank you Radix Big Tent for arranging the discussion – and thank you to everyone who contributed thoughtful questions!
Listen here: www.radixbigtent.org.uk/events/repla...

But there’s a serious risk: Government plans to cut nearly 40% of the trade staff needed to help businesses use the deal.

Ratification is only the start. Ministers must now set out a clear, properly resourced plan to turn promises on paper into exports in practice.

The deal could add £4.8bn to GDP annually by 2040, lift bilateral trade by £25.5bn, and deliver major export gains - autos up 311%, spirits up 180% - and including first UK access to India’s central government procurement.

Today the Business & Trade Committee publishes our report on the UK–India CETA as Parliament begins scrutiny.

Our analysis shows £400m a year in initial duty savings for UK exporters, rising to £3.2bn within a decade.

They do it by enforcing rules - especially through sanctions.

That’s why today the Business & Trade Committee is holding a confidential session to examine whether UK trade sanctions on Russia are genuinely working.