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Pat McFadden

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Commons | Commons Chamber

Can this Labour government get Britain working again?

MPs clashed over how to cut inactivity and youth unemployment, with ministers backing training, apprenticeships and a youth guarantee, while critics said higher business costs, weak reform and an unsustainable welfare bill mean the Government still lacks a clear plan.

An editorial cartoon showing a large pair of work boots being pulled in two directions: one side toward a toolbox labelled training, apprenticeships and support, and the other toward a tightening benefits clip, representing the debate over whether to help more people into work or make welfare harder to claim. In the background, the UK economy looks strained with a slow-moving conveyor belt, a hospital queue and a worried young person waiting for an opportunity.

Debate preview95 speeches | 40 speakers

Dan Jarvis

Backbencher (MP) | Commons | Commons Chamber

Britain’s threat level is severe — but are ministers acting fast enough?

Ministers said the UK now faces a severe security threat and outlined plans to fund policing, protect Jewish communities and tighten laws on foreign interference, while MPs pushed for faster action on antisemitism, the IRGC and state threats from China, Russia and Hong Kong-linked networks.

An editorial cartoon of the UK Government in Parliament trying to shield the country from hostile foreign interference while MPs press for faster action. A minister stands at a large green shield marked with a simple Union Jack motif, holding it up against dark, shadowy hands reaching in from the edges, while a few loose papers labelled with a small, plain ‘law’ are being rushed forward in the background. The scene suggests urgency around national security, banning the IRGC, and strengthening counter-extremism and protest laws. Bold, modern British cartoon style, bright but serious colours, clear shapes and expressions, one main subject and one main metaphor, 16:9 composition with the key action kept safely within the central area, no dense text.

Debate preview36 speeches | 18 speakers

David Burton-Sampson

Backbencher (MP) | Commons | Commons Chamber

Should MPs give notice before visiting another MP’s constituency?

David Burton-Sampson complained that the Member for Newark visited his constituency without warning, prompting a reminder from Judith Cummins that MPs should normally give advance notice unless the visit is private, and that the point has now been placed on the record.