The ‘packed legislative agenda’ MPs can expect on return to parliament

Published

3 months ago

September 1, 2024

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Bills on renters’ reform and water company regulation are set to be among a “packed legislative agenda” for parliament when MPs return from their summer recess, says Commons leader Lucy Powell.

The House of Commons sits again on Monday and two “historic” bills are expected to be laid before politicians in the first week.

One will focus on bringing rail operators into public ownership, while the other will establish a “fiscal lock to deliver economic stability”.

In the coming weeks, the new Labour government is expected to focus on “levelling up” workers’ rights, “strengthening” tenants’ rights, and cracking down on water firms that “fail to deliver for their customers and the environment”.

It also plans to tackle the “root causes” of the energy crisis and tighten the rules around MPs’ second jobs.

On Thursday, the Great British Energy Bill will also receive a second reading following the summer break.

It aims to ensure long-term energy security, alongside the establishment of the UK’s state-owned energy company.

The Modernisation Committee – which aims to drive up standards, address the culture of politics, and improve working practices in the House of Commons – is expected to be up and running in the autumn.

Energy shake-up

In the House of Lords, The Crown Estate Bill, which sets out greater powers for the government to borrow and invest, will have a second reading.

The government hopes this bill will support the partnership between Great British Energy and the monarchy’s property firm to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind, new technologies and support UK supply chains.

The Crown Estate owns the vast majority of Britain’s seabed, stretching up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland, and leases parts of it to wind farm operators.

‘Labour ready to roll up sleeves’

Ms Powell said: “This new Labour government is full of energy, full of ideas and full of drive to deliver our mandate for change. That’s why we’ve announced a packed legislative agenda focused on the people’s priorities.

“After 14 years of the Conservatives, we’ve had to act quickly and act drastically to stop the rot at the heart of our country’s finances, our public services and our politics.

“Now as we return from the shortest summer recess in history, Labour is ready to roll up our sleeves and pass the laws we urgently need to fix the foundations as we build a better Britain.”

It comes as the Budget is set to be announced in October, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously warned will be “painful”.

Lucy Powell will be on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News from 8.30am

Politics

NY Supreme Court allows Greenidge to keep mining, but challenges remain

Published

1 hour ago

November 15, 2024

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NY Supreme Court allows Greenidge to keep mining, but challenges remain

The state Department of Environmental Conservation botched the permitting process, but it still gets a do-over.

Politics

UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September – slower than expected

Published

1 hour ago

November 15, 2024

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UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September - slower than expected

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, despite the small positive GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, the economy shrank by 0.1% in September, dragging down overall growth for the three month period.

The growth was also slower than what had been expected by experts and a drop from the 0.5% growth between April and June, the ONS said.

Economists polled by Reuters and the Bank of England had forecast an expansion of 0.2%, slowing from the rapid growth seen over the first half of 2024 when the economy was rebounding from last year’s shallow recession.

And the metric that Labour has said it is most focused on – the GDP per capita, or the economic output divided by the number of people in the country – also fell by 0.1%.

Reacting to the figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Am I satisfied with the numbers published today? Of course not. I want growth to be stronger, to come sooner, and also to be felt by families right across the country.”

“It’s why in my Mansion House speech last night, I announced some of the biggest reforms of our pension system in a generation to unlock long term patient capital, up to £80bn to help invest in small businesses and scale up businesses and in the infrastructure needs,” Ms Reeves later told Sky News in an interview.

“We’re four months into this government. There’s a lot more to do to turn around the growth performance of the last decade or so.”

New economy data tests chancellor’s growth plan

The sluggish services sector – which makes up the bulk of the British economy – was a particular drag on growth over the past three months. It expanded by 0.1%, cancelling out the 0.8% growth in the construction sector.

The UK’s GDP for the most recent quarter is lower than the 0.7% growth in the US and 0.4% in the Eurozone.

The figures have pushed the UK towards the bottom of the G7 growth table for the third quarter of the year.

It was expected to meet the same 0.2% growth figures reported in Germany and Japan – but fell below that after a slow September.

The pound remained stable following the news, hovering around $1.267. The FTSE 100, meanwhile, opened the day down by 0.4%.

The Bank of England last week predicted that Ms Reeves’s first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought.

Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) forecast that inflation will return “sustainably” to its target of 2% in the first half of 2027, a year later than at its last meeting.

The Bank’s quarterly report found Ms Reeves’s £70bn package of tax and borrowing measures will place upward pressure on prices, as well as delivering a three-quarter point increase to GDP next year.