To see some of the work I have been up to recently you can give my newsletters a read. Sign up to my regular newsletters here.

 

Latest Newsletters:

Banner with blossoms and the title Kerry McCarthy Spring 2025 Newsletter
Banner with blossoms and the title Kerry McCarthy Spring 2025 Newsletter

Spring Newsletter

Firstly, can I apologise for taking longer than usual to get this newsletter out. It’s been even busier than normal in recent months, and of course I’ve had to prioritise what’s most urgent, including constituency casework. As always, I’ve tried to give a flavour of what I’ve been up to in Bristol East, and what the Government has been doing. Please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments, or if you need any assistance. My team and I are here to help.

 

Across Bristol East 

Brislington Meadows. I’ve been posting regular updates on my Facebook page, including the explanation I received from Homes England about recent works, which had caused concern about environmental damage, and my response to the news that Keepmoat will be the development partner. I recently met with Keepmoat, yesterday and made clear my continued opposition to the development, while asking them about their plans. It looks as though a further range of consultation around the site will begin in late June. I will post a fuller update on Facebook shortly, but if you don’t use Facebook please drop me an email and I’d be happy to update you.

East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood. Since my last newsletter, there have been several developments, including the controversial installation of measures in Barton Hill during the early hours, and, the start of the trial itself. A further public consultation will take place in September. I will continue to relay constituents’ views to the Council, and ask for steps to be taken now to alleviate some of the problems that have been identified. I remain broadly supportive of the overall scheme, but it needs to be done right, and the Council needs to listen when people tell them they’ve got it wrong. 

Welcome to Mayor Helen! A huge congratulations to Labour’s Helen Godwin who was elected as Mayor of the West of England Combined Authority on the 1st of May. She will make a fantastic mayor. I’m looking forward to working with her to improve Bristol’s public transport, address the housing crisis, and deliver more jobs, skills and essential infrastructure for our city region, whilst protecting our natural environment.

Kerry McCarthy stood outside the Avon Street Sainsburys with two police officers.
Kerry McCarthy stood outside the Avon Street Sainsburys with two police officers.

Community Visits 

I am proud of the multicultural society that we have built in Bristol East. It was a pleasure and privilege to join three separate Iftars, as local Muslims broke their daily fast during Ramadan: the Grand Iftar at Bristol Cathedral, the Sudanese Community Iftar and the Bristol Central Mosque Iftar. All were great events, but I particularly want to highlight the Grand Iftar at the Cathedral which was a wonderful example of people from all faiths, and none, coming together to celebrate each other and our shared humanity.

I also enjoyed visiting Evergreen Primary Academy and meeting with their student Council. The school does a fantastic job in educating its pupils on democracy, and the pupils (pictured above) certainly had lots of questions to ask me!

I have become increasingly concerned about reports of antisocial behaviour around Newtown, the Dings and Avon Street. I met with Police and staff at the Sainsburys on Avon Street to hear how they’ve been affected by shoplifting and abusive, often violent, attacks on shopworkers. I’ve contacted the Policing Minister and our local Police and Crime Commissioner, Clare Moody, to raise my concerns and call for action. 

As people may know, I have a longstanding interest in food policy and food justice. I enjoyed visiting FoodCycle at their community meal at the Wellspring Settlement, and meeting Bristol Food Network. I look forward to joining more events during Food Justice Fortnight in June.

Another passion of mine is live music, I am a patron of the Music Venues Trust, which has recently launched a second community share offer to help small venues, including the Croft in Bristol. I have been making a point of visiting local venues recently, including Loco Klub, a fantastic, imaginative and rather hidden underground space next to Temple Meads Station that offers theatre, music, spoken word and club nights.  

I took advantage of the spring weather to go for a walk with Samuel Malley, from the Friends of Stockwood Open Space. Green spaces like this play a vital role in a city like Bristol. Far too few people realise we have such an expansive  nature reserve in this part of the city. 

I met with NextGen Circle and Bristol Pakistani Cricket Club to discuss their ambitions for community ownership of Netham Park Pavilion. The Pavilion is a hugely under-utilised resource, and it has been disappointing to see previous proposals for community ownership collapse. I was inspired by the idea of different communities, and different sports coming together, and I am hopeful that this time will be different. 

In Westminster 

Many constituents have contacted me about the ‘Pathways to Work’ Green Paper and I am aware of the alarm that it has caused. I am keen to offer reassurances where I can; we will not means-test PIP or offer vouchers, the heavily criticised Work Capability Assessment will be scrapped, and people with the most severe disabilities and health conditions, that will never improve, will not have reassessments. The government will be introducing additional tailored support to help get people into work, and a ‘right to try’ guarantee, so people can start a new job without fear of losing their benefits if it doesn’t work out. I know many concerns remain and. I have written to the Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, and met with local disability organisations recently. 

Several Bills have now concluded their journey through Parliament, including: 

  • the Great British Energy Act, setting up the state-owned company to invest in renewables 
  • the Water (Special Measures) Act, holding water bosses to account for sewage spills 
  • and the Employment Rights Bill, which has yet to receive Royal Assent, but will represent the biggest increase in workers’ rights since the 1970s.
     

The Government is rolling-out three key policies to support parents: free breakfast clubs for all, new school-based nurseries and 30 free hours of Government-funded childcare. 750 schools, including Summerhill Academy in Bristol East, will take part in the breakfast club pilot from the end of April, while 300 new or expanded school-based nurseries will open in September. Our new childcare offer should save families roughly £7,500 per year.

I could highlight a half dozen other steps forward the Government has taken over the past few weeks as we work to rebuild Britain, from  unveiling hundreds of new green buses,  to falling NHS waiting lists and announcing 13,000 new neighbourhood police officers. The work of rebuilding Britain is long – but we are making solid progress.

Gaza and the West Bank

The war in Gaza continues to rage on, with devastating consequences. Many constituents have contacted me to express their distress and horror at the ongoing bloodshed and destruction. 

Israel’s actions following October 7th have been wholly disproportionate, completely intolerable and entirely indefensible. With this new expansion of the conflict, civilians in Gaza face starvation, homelessness, trauma, bombardment and displacement. The UK Government has made its position clear, with the Foreign Secretary calling it “extremism”, “repellent” and “monstrous” in his latest remarks. We have also made clear that blocking international aid is abominable and risks breaching international law. I am deeply alarmed at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nation’s (UN) warnings of the threat of starvation for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians. I also continue to strongly condemn the settler violence in the West Bank, and the expansion of illegal settlements, and I welcome the Government’s new sanctions on individuals and organisations involved.  

Please find below the Government’s most recent statement published in conjunction with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and French President, Emmanuel Macron: 

PDF image of the joint Gaza statement agreed between the UK, France and Canada
PDF image of the joint Gaza statement agreed between the UK, France and Canada

Resetting our relationship with the EU 

The Prime Minister and Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, hosted a Joint UK-EU Summit in London this week. As the The first joint summit since Brexit, it marks an important, mutually beneficial reset in our relationship. It means: 

  • A better deal for UK business, with less red tape and improved access to EU markets 
  • Food and drink products flowing more freely between the UK and the EU, helping lower prices, support farmers and boost choice on supermarkets shelves 
  • Closer co-operation on energy security, without UK business being hit with increased taxes 
  • Better sharing of security intelligence data 
  • Less time queuing at airports 

I was also pleased to see progress on linking carbon markets, youth mobility and tackling irregular migration. While further talks are needed, this week represents a major step towards a closer, UK-EU relationship, putting our country’s best interests first. 

 

As Minister for Climate 

In my last newsletter, I promised a full update about my role as Minister for Climate, but as this one is already a bumper edition, will save that for next month. I can say however that we are making solid progress with GB Energy passing into law, putting solar on schools and other buildings, decarbonising our public buildings and other measures. 

As a result of all this action the UK has leapt forward in the Climate Change Performance Index, from 17th in 2024 to 3rd6th in the world in 2025 (the first three spaces are kept blank to signify how we must all do more – and we will!) 

 

Casework Roundup 

In addition to continuing to work diligently on existing issues, my team and I have taken on 293 new cases since March. 

We were able to help several constituents get their housing issues resolved. From helping to increase their HomeChoice banding to finally addressing long-standing damp and mould, it’s always rewarding to see people get the decent homes they deserve. I was pleased to successfully support constituents in challenging homelessness decisions and long-term housing offers. 

My team have been able to get benefit claims, including Pension Credit and Universal Credit (UC) claims, into payment after errors from the DWP. In addition, I was glad to hear HMRC accept that a constituent was not liable for a large overpayment. Given the huge stress and anxiety caused by money troubles, my team and I are always glad to help wherever possible. 

Finally, I recently heard the fantastic news that a constituent’s mother and sisters have finally been able to join them from Afghanistan. It is a huge relief to know that the family are once again together and safe – and able to begin rebuilding their lives in Bristol. 

You can contact me by emailing kerry.mccarthy.mp@parliament.uk or calling my office on 0117 939 9901 between 10am and 1pm (Monday to Friday). Alternatively, you can complete my online booking form to request a surgery appointment. My team and I are always here to help. 

 

Best Wishes,

Kerry

 

 

 

December 2023

Autumn 2023

September 2023

May/June 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

2022 Review 

Merry Christmas 2022

December 2022

October 2022

August/September 2022

June/July 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

New Year Newsletter 2022

November 2021

September 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

New Year 2021 Newsletter

Winter 2020 Newsletter 

Autumn 2020 Newsletter

January 2020 Brexit Update

Previous monthly newsletters

Summer 2020

May 15th Coronavirus Update

April 16th Coronavirus Update

March 2020 Newletter – Coronavirus Update 

March 2020 Newsletter – Coronavirus

February 2020 Newsletter

January 2020 Newsletter

November 2019 Environmental Newsletter

October 2019 Newsletter

September 2019 Newsletter

August 2019 Newsletter

July 2019 Newsletter

June 2019 Newsletter

May 2019 Newsletter

April 2019 Newsletter

March 2019 Newsletter

February 2019 Newsletter

January 2019 Newsletter

December 2018 Newsletter

October and November 2018 Newsletter

September 2018 Newsletter

August 2018 Newsletter

July 2018 Newsletter

June 2018 Newsletter

May 2018 Newsletter

April 2018 Newsletter

March 2018 Newsletter

February 2018 Newsletter

January 2018 Newsletter

December 2017 Newsletter

November 2017 Newsletter

My latest Brexit update

January Brexit Update

My Environmental newsletters

November 2019 Environmental Newsletter

July 2019 Environmental Newsletter

May 2019 Environmental Newsletter

March 2019 Environmental Newsletter

October 2018 Environmental Newsletter

August 2018 Environmental Newsletter

May 2018 Environmental Newsletter 

Feb 2018 Environmental Newsletter

November 2017 Environmental Newsletter

May 2017 Environmental Newsletter

 

Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search