Well, it’s been quite the summer already! It feels like a lifetime ago that I sent out the last newsletter at the end of May, but I’m delighted that the people of Bristol East have put their faith and trust in me again to be their MP, for the sixth election in a row. It is also a great honour to have been appointed Minister for Climate, in the Department for Energy, Security, and Net Zero. With Labour in Government and Ed Miliband at the helm, we will make Britain climate leaders at home and abroad.

I will be doing everything in my power to be a voice for the community and deliver positive change at a local and national level. After 14 years in opposition, it’s so refreshing to now be able to work in tandem with a Labour Government that has already been busy at work: scrapping the Rwanda deportation scheme, putting pressure on Netanyahu to implement a ceasefire in Gaza, lifting the onshore wind ban, meeting with junior doctors to settle the industrial dispute, and much more.

We have now had the State Opening of Parliament and the first Labour King’s Speech in 15 years. It’s an ambitious and important package of Bills, including:

• A Planning and Infrastructure Bill to streamline the process for approving critical infrastructure, and overhaul rules on compulsory purchase of land.
• A Renters’ Rights Bill, will ban no fault evictions and extend a series of building safety rules for social tenants.
• A new state-owned energy investment and generation company, GB Energy, will be created by the Great British Energy Bill.
• A National Wealth Fund Bill will set up a new fund to invest £7.3bn over five years in infrastructure and green industry
• A Water (Special Measures) Bill will make the bosses of private water companies personally liable for lawbreaking, and give the water regulator new powers to ban bonuses.
• A Passenger Railway Services Bill will allow the government to renationalise nearly all passenger rail services, when existing contracts expire. A new body, Great British Railways, will oversee this.
• A Better Buses Bill will allow a wider range of local leaders to take over responsibility for running bus services
• Football Governance Bill, will set up a regulator for the top five divisions of men’s football.
• A Mental Health Bill will tighten rules on sectioning people, and change the rules on care for people with learning difficulties.
• An Employment Rights Bill will ban the “exploitative” use of zero-hours contracts and introduce new workers’ rights promised ahead of the election.
• A Crime and Policing Bill will give police new powers to tackle antisocial behaviour and make assaulting shop-workers a specific crime.

Plus plenty more, which you can read a full summary of here – BBC Round-Up.

_{What I’ve been doing in Bristol…}

In the rest of my newsletter I want to give a bit of a round-up of what I got up to on the campaign trail in Bristol, and mention a few of the brilliant organisations and people that I met along the way.

Jubilee Pool

I visited the much-loved Jubilee Pool in Knowle to speak with trustees and local volunteers about their journey to becoming a registered charity and bringing the pool into community ownership. While trustees and local volunteers have done a fantastic job, the pool still faces funding challenges, exacerbated of course by the cost-of-living crisis and sky-high energy bills.

Our new state-owned energy company, GB Energy, will make available each year up to £600m in funding for local authorities and up to £400m low-interest loans for communities. Putting solar panels on roofs of community buildings is just one example of how this might help bring down bills – or even make them money.

Circumstance Distillery

Circumstance is just one of a growing number of independent breweries and distilleries across Bristol. Although their products are often superior, they are at a disadvantage compared to big producers. It can be difficult to make a profit after rents, business rates and energy bills are paid; larger drinks corporations are far more able to absorb these costs.

Labour is committed to supporting small businesses, including by replacing business rates with a new system that will help level the playing field. We also discussed alcohol duties and what other steps could be taken to support the independent sector. In Bristol we have a thriving night-time economy, overseen by the Bristol Nights partnership. Businesses like Circumstance, offering something different to the usual fare, are a crucial part of what makes our city so special.

Trinity Centre

It was a pleasure to catch up with Emma Harvey, the CEO of Trinity Community Arts, at the Trinity Centre. It’s so good to see how the centre has developed over the years, with so much going on there. Trinity is a member of the Music Venue Trust, which champions grassroots music venues. I’ve been a patron of MVT since it first started, and I will do all I can to support places like Trinity and other venues in Bristol..

Redcatch Community Garden

I was delighted to visit Redcatch Community Garden in Knowle to meet with Kate, Mike and Heather from the garden team. They have taken a disused bowling green and turned it into a beautiful and thriving hub of activity that supports the health and wellbeing of the surrounding community. Their work is far reaching and an inspiration to other blossoming Community Gardens around the city and beyond.

Initiatives like this show that Bristol East is full of community champions rolling their sleeves up and getting on with the job – and I am proud to represent these people.

Step and Stone at The Park Centre

Step and Stone in Knowle is an artisanal bakery with a difference – a bakery that champions difference. Their mission is to bake an assortment of delicious goodies alongside people with learning disabilities, in a professional kitchen environment that teaches them the skills they need for the workplace. It was a pleasure to visit their kitchen in The Park Centre and meet with the team creating an inclusive workforce pathway to employers who welcome difference and value everyone’s unique talents and attributes.

This Labour Government will ensure that the minimum wage is a genuine living wage, that doesn’t discriminate based on age and takes living costs into account. We’re committed to supporting people with health conditions and disabilities into employment, arming them with the confidence and skills they need to thrive. I wish trailblazing organisations like Step and Stone every success.

LettUs Grow

Towards the end of the campaign I got the chance to visit the new and exciting LettUs Grow site in St Anne’s. LettUs Grow are a team of brilliant engineers and scientists passionate about sustainable food growing who have created indoor farms using aeroponic technology that can grow healthy, locally produced salads, vegetables and fruit without the need for soil. Companies like this give us hope. Labour will create the conditions that support innovation, job creation, unlock investment and support our commitment to decarbonise the country and get to Net Zero.

Building a National Care Service

In between campaign visits I went along to Age UK’s ‘Tea with your Future MP’ event. I had a good conversation over tea with Funlola, one of their excellent volunteers, about NHS dentists and GP appointments, antisocial behaviour and how we can combat loneliness.

Home care workers can be a vital lifeline for older people. It was good to catch up in Easton with Muna Abdi from Primeway Care, which provides social care services across Bristol. It’s a great example of a community-led business, which has now expanded to Sheffield, London and Birmingham. As their local MP I will continue to offer them my support.

Labour will reform social care and create a National Care service to deliver high-quality, consistent care and where workers are paid fairly. Services will be locally delivered, with a principle of ‘home first’ that supports people to live independently for as long as possible.

Hustings

I took part in several hustings in the run-up to the election, beginning with City of Bristol College. This is the first generation to grow up worse off than the generations before it, a shocking trend that Labour will reverse. It was a great opportunity to tell them about Labour’s plans to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote, to put mental health support workers in every secondary school, and to make owning their own home a realistic hope for the next generation.

I also attended a hustings at the Trinity Centre, hosted by Bristol City of Sanctuary, Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers, and Bristol Refugee and Asylum Seekers Partnership. The hustings, moderated by a refugee from Russia, covered a variety of issues affecting refugees and asylum seeker, from the climate crisis and its impact on migration, to the awful Rwanda policy, and the impact it would have on vulnerable asylum seekers if implemented. Fortunately, we now have a Labour Government, which scrapped the scheme on day one. Sadly the Tory candidate didn’t turn up to defend his government’s record, but other than that it was a fascinating and constructive discussion.

Lastly I spoke at the Trussell Trust’s hardship hustings, also at the Trinity Centre, to discuss poverty and the factors behind it. It’s a disgrace that food banks are still handing out millions of food parcels every year. Many people who use them are in work, but it’s low-paid; others are there because of delays to their benefits, or sanctions. It’s simply not true, as the Tory candidate tried to suggest, that it’s just a case of people not being able to manage their finances. While lots of good work is being done locally through Feeding Bristol and Your Holiday Hub, people shouldn’t have to rely on food banks to survive. Labour will work to tackle hardship, ensuring work pays and our social security system stops people from slipping through the cracks.

Violent Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

Across Bristol East, I heard from voters that they didn’t feel safe and, in particular, were fearful about their teenage children’s safety on the streets. Bristol has seen a tragic spate of knife crime incidents, but residents were also worried about drug-dealing, persistent lower-level crime, and antisocial behaviour.

I visited Clifton Place, which had recently been the site of a stabbing. I spoke to local police officers, who told me about the challenges they faced trying to maintain a presence amid cuts and reduced staffing levels. I also attended a police-led community meeting at Easton Christian Family Centre, to discuss the rise in knife crime, openly visible drug-dealing and antisocial behaviour in the area. The Chief Inspector for East Bristol, VIcks Hayward-Melen, assured us that police presence in the area would be increasing from now on, and that the police would be holding monthly meetings with residents to ensure good communication. It’s positive to see bridges being built between police and the community.

Labour has plans to address these problems for good. We’ll put 13,000 extra community police officers on the streets, and introduce Respect Orders for persistent ASB offenders. We’ll also make it much harder for young people to purchase knives, and identify those at risk of falling into crime earlier, setting them up with youth offending teams and personalised rehabilitation plans, so that no-one slips through the cracks.

Gaza Update

Many voters also raised their concerns about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, and Labour’s response to it. I understand those concerns, but I wanted to correct a lot of the misinformation that had been circulating regarding what Labour did and didn’t support. I posted this video, outlining Labour’s (and my) views on the issue. Labour has for months been calling for an immediate ceasefire; we support following the evidence and legal advice on arms exports; we have consistently supported the findings of the ICC and ICJ, including the ICC’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders; and we have been calling for an immediate restoration of UNRWA funding.

Within days of entering government, we have already started to demonstrate what we stand for. The Foreign Secretary has reiterated our support for an immediate ceasefire; the Prime Minister spoke to Netanyahu directly, and put pressure on him to bring one about; and we will be dropping the UK’s challenge, lodged by the previous government, against the ICC’s ruling. Under Labour, the UK will once again be a voice for peace, for human rights and for international law on the world stage, and we will fight for a ceasefire.

BBC Politics West

In June I went live on BBC’s Politics West, alongside the Conservative candidate for Gloucester, the Reform candidate for Bath, and the Liberal Democrat candidate for Glastonbury and Somerton (who has also now been re-elected). We spent much of the programme discussing Rishi Sunak’s woeful response to the Tory betting scandal. I then had the chance to rebut the myths around the supposed cost of getting to Net Zero; the truth is, it’s a massive economic opportunity for us, and, because renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels, will bring down energy bills too.

I also discussed the drastic decline in NHS dentistry, and how many constituents are struggling to get the treatment they need. Since being elected on 4th July Labour has already hit the ground running. Our Health Secretary Wes Streeting has met with the British Dental Association (BDA) and started work to:

•Fill the gap of appointments with an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year.

•Flood ‘dental deserts’ with new dentistry graduates, with ‘Golden Hellos’ of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in under-served areas.

•Supervised toothbrushing for 3 to 5-year-olds, to prevent children having to attend hospital to have their rotting teeth pulled out.

•Reform the dental contract, rebuild NHS dentistry and make sure everyone who needs a dentist can get one.

Last but not least…

I’d like to thank all of the brilliant members who volunteered their time during my re-election campaign. Your hard work – whether that’s through canvassing, leafleting, organising community events, or even providing much-needed refreshments for hungry volunteers – kept us all going and it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

It was great to revisit areas of Easton, Old Market, St Jude’s, Barton Hill and Lawrence Hill which, following boundary changes, have come back into Bristol East after 14 years, and to welcome residents in Knowle into the fold. And once again, I’m so pleased to continue representing residents in areas like St George, Stockwood, Brislington and St Anne’s which have stayed in the constituency and played a vital part in keeping Bristol East a Labour stronghold.

I’d like to thank the staff at Mario’s café in Stockwood, 25a Old Market, The Greenbank pub in Easton, Café Conscious, Grounded in Brislington, the Sugar Loaf in Easton, Laila on Church Road and of course Desi Dera on Stapleton Road who ensured my volunteers and I were well looked-after during much-needed pit stops throughout the campaign. I look forward to coming back – and to frequenting other small businesses I didn’t get a chance to visit – over the five years ahead.

Casework Update

Once Parliament was dissolved, my team were only able to raise cases that were urgent and time-sensitive. Throughout June, my team raised 25 new urgent cases while continuing to work on existing ones.

The highest portion of casework was local government issues, as my team continued to assist constituents with cases involving assisted bin collections and Council Tax re-assessments.

We were delighted to assist constituents with increasing their HomeChoice banding to reflect their urgent need to move. Whilst it is the job of Bristol City Council to allocate social housing, my team are happy to advise and support constituents with their HomeChoice applications alongside other professionals.

As the boundaries of Bristol East have changed, we have already started working on cases from people living in the Easton, Lawrence Hill, and Knowle wards. We are happy to help wherever we can, so please get in touch if you have any issues you would like to discuss.

Best wishes,

Kerry McCarthy

Labour MP for Bristol East

Minister for Climate