Liam Byrne MP

Today we publish the Report on our pre-appointment hearing for the Chair of the Competition & Market Authority. At our hearing I set out the key issues we debated.

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

25 February 2026 - The UK's trade sanctions regime - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament 15:00 - The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House

Sanctions are not statements of intent. They are instruments of enforcement.

But the regime is not watertight. Reports are mounting of UK-made goods reaching Russia via third countries.

The Business & Trade Committee is demanding answers - today at 3:30pm:
committees.parliament.uk/event/26618/...

In the light of last week's arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Business and Trade Committee today announced the next stages of our work on special trade envoys.

Listen to the statement here: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=932...

24 February 2026 - Appointment of Doug Gurr as Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament 13:45 - The Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Today, the Business & Trade Committee questions Doug Gurr on his suitability to become permanent Chair of the CMA.

The CMA has an important job to do for British consumers and businesses. We want to understand how Mr Gurr intends to do it.

Live from 2.30pm: committees.parliament.uk/event/26617/...

In the the light of last week’s news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Business & Trade committee meets today to agree next steps. We’ll update the House at around 2:30pm. Watch here: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

Walk into any supermarket & you feel it - basics that somehow cost more each week. But here's the hidden crisis: dodgy sellers, unsafe products & subscription traps are costing British families £71.2 billion every year. I've made the case for why fixing this matters in the Solihull Observer.

#WhyPopulistsAreWinning by @liambyrnemp sets out a bold plan to rebuild the radical centre of Western politics. It is a field manual for democratic renewal

Get 25% off using code FEB26 between 17-20 February at @Waterstones #WPreorder

Pre-order now: tidd.ly/3ILVt3N

I was very pleased to recently welcome His Excellency Mr. Bader A. Almunayekh, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UK, to the House of Commons for a productive conversation.

As we navigate Britain's post-Brexit trade landscape, strengthening our international economic partnerships is key.

Last week, our Business and Trade Committee published its Small Business Strategy. We set out a 10-point plan to turn this around.

High streets don't die by accident. Want the full picture?

👀Watch our deep-dive on YouTube: buff.ly/VXr8FqB

SMEs are 99.9% of UK businesses. They ARE our economy. Right now, they're being pushed to the edge.

£112bn in unpaid invoices. 38 stores closing every day. Energy bills doubled. 69,000 hospitality jobs gone.

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...