Trump’s completely unrealistic and unreasonable section 232 tariffs on UK steel must be removed

14 Sep 2020

Donald Tump’s Section 232 tariffs have severely hit UK steel companies’ exports to the US. I reminded Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Trade, that any UK-US trade deal must exempt the UK from Section 232 tariffs, or else the government must walk away from the negotiating table. She agreed,…

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Chaos In Kent – Future Relationship with the European Union Committee

09 Sep 2020

In the Commons Future Relationship with the EU committee I asked three customs experts what the percentage likelihood is of ‘chaos in Kent’ in January. Their responses were 80%, more than 50% and 75%. I hope they are wrong. Stephen Kinnock: Many thanks to the panel for joining us today.…

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Our Future Relies On The Steel We Make Here In The UK. Britain, We Need Our Steel

22 Jul 2020

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) and hear a detailed update on the work of the IPU. As we head back to our constituencies this evening, we will reflect no doubt on an extremely challenging period for our country and our constituencies.…

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Future Relationship with EU Committee – Protecting The Security Of Our Citizens

21 Jul 2020

Stephen Kinnock: Many thanks to our panel for some really insightful analysis and views today. I wanted to ask you to do a bit of blue-sky thinking. I know that might be slightly unusual for this sort of session, but we are in uncharted waters. My point is that the…

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Future Relationship with the European Union Committee: Money Laundering

20 Jul 2020

Stephen Kinnock: I am conscious of time, so I would like to fire in a couple of quick questions on money laundering. Our entire panel will be aware of paragraph 82 of the political declaration, which explicitly commits both the EU and the UK to finding modes of co-operation on…

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Port Talbot steelworkers in my constituency make the best steel that money can buy

25 Jun 2020

Port Talbot steelworkers make the best steel that money can buy but the pandemic has seen demand for steel fall off a cliff. The Government need to back our steelworks with the emergency loans it needs to survive the pandemic. Steel will underpin the economic recovery, but first, we need…

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Government’s response to the impact of Coronavirus on steel industry is not acceptable

16 Jun 2020

The UK Government need to recognise the vital strategic importance of steel and support the industry. To date their record on this has been poor: while steel makers in France and Germany received funds from their respective governments to help them through the crisis in just ten days, steel makers…

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Steel industry must underpin manufacturing renaissance

04 Jun 2020

If  something positive is to come out of the coronavirus crisis, I hope that the UK Government will finally recognise the need to support industries of vital strategic, foundational importance, such as the steel industry. So far their record on this has been poor: it took French and German governments…

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We cannot allow arbitrary lines to divide our communities

02 Jun 2020

The Government has brought forward legislation for future constituency boundary reviews. Although it is welcome that they have dropped the arbitrary figure of 600 constituencies, the legislation is still flawed and if it proceeds unchanged then it risks severely weakening our democracy. Stephen Kinnock: I start by thanking my hon.…

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Michael Gove and David Frost answer question from the Committee on the Future Relationship with the EU

27 May 2020

On 8 November 2019 the Prime Minister vowed that there would be no checks on goods being transported from Great Britain into Norther Ireland. Last week the UK govt confirmed there *would* be checks. In the Committee on the Future Relationship with the EU I asked Michael Gove if boris…

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Social care staff deserve to have their ‘thank you’ payment in full

04 May 2020

I was delighted to sign this letter calling on the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions to make an exception in these exceptional circumstances, and ensure that the £500 payment to social care staff is not subject to tax or benefit deductions. Welsh…

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Steel APPG Letter To Chancellor Industry Liquidity

01 May 2020

I’m pleased to be one of cross-party group of 25 steel MPs and peers who’ve signed this letter urging the Chancellor to replace current £50m loan ceiling with one linked to total company turnover. There can be no post-pandemic economic recovery without a strong & healthy steel industry

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My Letter To Rishi Sunak Urging Him To Back British Steel

27 Apr 2020

Following on from my question to the Acting Prime Minister in Prime Minister’s Questions about government support for the British steel industry, I’ve written to the Chancellor urging him to back British Steel. It is the backbone of our entire manufacturing sector, it underpins everything from automotive to life-saving NHS…

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Michael Gove Answers Questions On The Impact Of Coronavirus On UK-EU Negotiations

27 Apr 2020

In a meeting of the Future Relationship with the EU Committee Michael Gove told me that 47 civil servants have been taken off EU negotiations to deal with Covid-19. This is rightly so, tackling the virus must be the Government’s number one priority.  But the re-deployment raises concerns over whether…

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Protecting the Welsh economy after Covid-19 pandemic

24 Apr 2020

It’s deeply worrying that Port Talbot is in the top 100 towns identified in research by the Centre For Towns and the University of Southampton as being most economically at risk from the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Wales is likely to be the worst affected region in the United Kingdom.…

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There can be no post-pandemic economic recovery without a strong and healthy steel industry

22 Apr 2020

For the first time in it’s 700 year history Parliament sat virtually and I was one of the Members to take part in Prime Ministers Question via Zoom. Dominic Raab was standing in for the Prime Minister and I asked him about support for the British steel industry. I told…

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UK Government help for vital charities needed during coronavirus outbreak

31 Mar 2020

Many charities and community organisations in Aberavon, and across the country, have been doing tremendous work to support the most vulnerable in our communities during the coronavirus crisis. Many have been on the frontline, playing a crucial role in the national response to coronavirus. They have answered the UK Government’s…

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Coronavirus: Recently Self Employed

29 Mar 2020

I teamed up with Roy Rickhuss of Community Union to write to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, setting out how the Government can do more to support people who have recently gone self-employed and who don’t currently qualify for the new Income Support Scheme. 

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Coronavirus: Statutory Sick Pay And Self Employed

22 Mar 2020

I signed this important letter to the Chancellor, but we’re still waiting on him to introduce new measures for self-employed people and to increase statutory sick pay. Before Parliament shuts he should introduce Norway model – paying 80% of each worker’s average earnings over past 3 years, for 3 months.

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Covid 19: The self-employed and businesses need clear information on what support is available to them

18 Mar 2020

I made the case that Statutory Sick Pay should be paid by government upfront, rather than asking businesses to claim back. The system must also be clearer about what is available for self-employed people who don’t qualify for the new ESA payment. Stephen Kinnock: On this point about statutory sick…

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Tackling regional inequality must be central to creating a fairer Britain

17 Mar 2020

For far too long our economy has focused on wealth, power and opportunity in our major cities, and this has come at the expense of industrial, rural and coastal areas. The result has been wealth and talent has moved from villages and towns in communities like Aberavon to cities. These…

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