News

This week, the Welsh Government have announced that from next Monday (July 6th), two households will be able to meet indoors and form a ‘bubble’. This will be very welcome news to so many families up and down the country who have been missing their loved ones!  It's important to still make sure you’re familiar with the guidance: both households must stay the same – there can be no chopping and … [Read more...]

It’s been a week of virtual meetings – by now I’m getting quite used to seeing people on a screen rather than in the flesh as it were! I started off the week with the Northern Irish representatives of their equivalent to our All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm. The gambling industry and its pernicious influences are no respecters of borders and so it is vitally important that … [Read more...]

It’s been a busy week this week with some important issues being raised both in and out of Parliament. Tuesday marked four years since the brutal and senseless murder of our dear and inspiring colleague, Jo Cox. We remember her for her dedication to public service, her compassion and her determination to make life better for everyone. As you will have seen, today the Welsh Government have … [Read more...]

This week is Carers’ Week, during which we recognise the invaluable work our carers do, both paid and unpaid, in homes up and down the country caring for our loved ones. The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the work that carers do into the spotlight and an astounding 4.5 million more people have become unpaid carers over the last couple of months, bringing the total to 13.6 million.  We must ensure … [Read more...]

Parliament returned physically this week after the recess and we all had to return to London in order to vote in person on the UK Government’s plans to end the ‘hybrid Parliament’.  It was farcical to see MPs attempting to socially distance (some more successfully than others) as they queued across the Parliamentary estate in a set up resembling the entrance to Disneyland!  The ‘Mogg conga’ took … [Read more...]

This week has been difficult for many and rather confusing as the lockdown restrictions changed for England but not for Wales. We need to continue to follow the Welsh Government guidelines and only leave our homes for exercise, to go shopping for essentials, and to meet medical needs. It is still not allowed to travel for exercise and as we’ve seen from police reports, they are continuing to issue … [Read more...]

It was a difficult start to the week as the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday night saw Wales and England’s approach to the coronavirus diverge significantly for the first time.  Although the Prime Minister announced that restrictions would no longer be as tight for England with people now able to go out more than once for exercise and allowed to travel for exercise, this is not the case for … [Read more...]

It’s been a busy week of virtual All-Party Parliamentary Group meetings.  I started off on Monday with a meeting of the APPG on Gambling Related Harm, where we focused on gambling advertising during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the more general issue of gambling advertising in sport. Some of you may have seen that last week, the gambling industry had agreed to stop all TV and radio … [Read more...]

It has been an incredibly busy week here in Swansea East! We started the week with a win as gambling companies are to end TV and radio advertising during the lockdown. While I welcome this decision, I wish it could have been put in place six weeks ago, to prevent so much damage being done in the interim. During this worrying time, many people will be turning to whatever makes them feel better, or … [Read more...]

The word ‘unprecedented’ has been used with unprecedented regularity over the past few weeks, but I shall use it once more to describe our return to Parliament in a virtual sitting, with MPs asking questions using videolink. I’m glad that the House’s authorities have found a way to ensure that Parliamentary oversight can remain a feature of our governance and democracy, and I’m really grateful for … [Read more...]