According to reports, Keir Starmer is planning to lay a bill that could lead to closer regulatory ties with Brussels, particularly on agrifoods.

My office is now closed for the festive break. While my emails will be monitored until the office reopens on Monday 5th January, only urgent casework will be dealt with. In the meantime, here are some useful contact details if you are in an emergency, as well as some local organisations that are open over the next two weeks.

The end of the year feels like a good time to reflect on my first full year as your MP, and my priorities for next year.  It’s been a very busy 12 months! Along with my team, I have assisted over 11,000 constituents and spoken on your behalf on a wide range of issues from the Budget to the climate crisis, digital ID and problems with the DWP.   We ended the year with Labour’s second budget, and I have to admit I was pretty disappointed with it overall.   The only bright light

In 2023/24, people phoning the DWP collectively spent more than 753 years waiting for calls to be answered. Judging by the experience of one of my constituents, the situation hasn’t improved much since then. Recently, I met with someone who spent nearly two weeks calling the DWP every day to find out why his ESA had stopped without warning. Each time he was cut off without a reply. And I guarantee he is not the only one. So, how can the Government ensure when vulnerable claim

This week we held a Westminster Hall debate on digital ID, prompted after nearly 3 million people signed a petition calling for this policy to be scrapped. It was standing room only in the debate for some time as MPs clambered to speak on this controversial measure. Some were in favour. The vast majority were not. And to be honest, I’m not surprised. Since announcing this policy, the government has done nothing to defend it. Yet its flaws are obvious. It will cost an estimate

This week I met with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby to discuss the prospect of Totnes getting a Banking Hub. We agreed that a town like Totnes which services many outlying rural villages, has a host of independent shops and a thriving weekly market, and has an influx of visitors every summer should have access to banking services. We also agreed that the current criteria for assessing the need for a Banking Hub which relies solely on the access to cash is i