Brexit Would Be A Betrayal Of The Moral, Political And Economic Principles That Have Underpinned Our Post-War Journey From Imperial Power To Global Partner

22 Apr 2016

Prospect Nation states have been grappling with the forces of globalisation for thousands of years, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Ever since the Romans landed on our shores we have been an integral part of the international community, buffeted by the winds of commerce, military conflict and geo-politics.…

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The Steel Crisis Is Not A Political Football But A National Emergency

14 Apr 2016

Progress The parliamentary Labour party has raised the steel crisis in parliament 208 times since the general election. From urgent questions to opposition day debates to ministerial questions to PMQs and Westminster Hall, we have deployed every tool in the parliamentary toolbox to hold the government to account. But our…

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Boris Johnson: Man of steel

07 Apr 2016

The Times Just over a month ago Boris Johnson discovered that he’s a Brexiteer. And only a few weeks later he’s come out as a Man of Steel. Two damascene conversions in one month. Could it be a record? Building on his well-established track record as a passionate defender of…

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Boris is playing politics with steel workers’ lives, says Port Talbot MP

05 Apr 2016

The Sun Tory bungler Boris Johnson has suddenly discovered he cares about British steel. Just as last month he suddenly discovered he was in favour of leaving the EU. This man’s opportunism knows no bounds. Boris was in Wales today, but he didn’t come to Port Talbot – I’d guess…

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The fate of the British steel industry is in the Prime Minister’s hands

04 Apr 2016

From the Sun on Sunday  THE fate of the British steel industry is in the Prime Minister’s hands. His words and deeds over the next few days will determine the future of our manufacturing base — and of our national security. Our focus for the crunch Tata board meeting last…

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The Government’s Response To The Steel Crisis Has Been A Mixture Of Incompetence And Indifference

04 Apr 2016

From The Sunday Mirror With the steel crisis of this week we have seen the Tory government at its incompetent and indifferent worst, and it is my constituents and thousands like them all over the UK who are paying the price. That Tata would announce that they planned to sell…

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Steel’s not a sunset industry – it’s the lynchpin of our economy

01 Apr 2016

New Statesman The British government has been in a state of denial about the steel crisis, ever since David Cameron moved into Downing Street. They have time and time again failed to act. The steelworks at Port Talbot is the beating heart of my constituency, and in my year in Parliament…

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As MP for Port Talbot, I believe Brexit would be disastrous for British steel

31 Mar 2016

Guardian On Tuesday Tata Steel announced its intention to sell the entire Strip Products division of its UK steel business, including the Port Talbot works in my Aberavon constituency. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Tata Steel announcement, on both local and national levels. Locally, the Port…

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Steeling ourselves for the future – the Government must now act to save Port Talbot

30 Mar 2016

LabourList Tata Steel’s decision to seek a buyer for the entire strip products division of its UK operation will have a direct impact on up to 40,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the country. As such it is without doubt amongst the most important business decisions that post-War…

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Steel 2020

15 Mar 2016

Labour List As we opened our papers this morning or scrolled though the news on our phones we will have been greeted with the latest updates on the civil war taking place within the Conservative Party, made a little more juicy thanks to a certain someone who is most notable…

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Three reasons why the government will struggle to secure a good exit deal if Britain votes to leave the EU

09 Mar 2016

City AM The path from now until referendum day on 23 June will be dominated by what is the most important debate our country has faced in a generation. There will undoubtedly be a fair amount of emotive rhetoric, and quite rightly so. But it is equally important that the…

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Britain in Europe, Europe in Britain: the new patriotism in action

31 Jan 2016

Labour Movement For Europe Labour must not allow the EU referendum to be about deciding whether or not Polish plumbers or Latvian taxi drivers are allowed to claim tax credits. Rather, we must ensure that we make this a referendum about what sort of country we want to live in,…

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David Cameron Urged To Press Ahead With Swansea Tidal Lagoon And Told To Build It With Port Talbot steel

25 Jan 2016

Western Mail A Welsh MP has called on the UK Government to “show some leadership” by giving a full commitment to using British steel for the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project. Following the announcement that Tata Steel will cut over 1,000 jobs in the face of a growing industry crisis, Labour’s…

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A Disgrace That David Cameron Is Not Helping Our Steel Works

22 Jan 2016

The Mirror I am calling on the Government to guarantee they will buy British steel for these ships. These contracts are worth hundreds of jobs British steelworkers will feel incredibly let down if the steel for the Global Combat Ships is bought from foreign firms. We produce the best steel…

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Cheap Chinese Steel The Greatest Issue For Industry, Says MP

22 Jan 2016

BBC Wales Online Dumping of Chinese steel is the greatest issue that the British steel industry faces, Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has said. It follows Monday’s announcement of more than 1,000 job losses at steel giant Tata, 750 in Port Talbot. He said: “The European Union sets the rules…

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Don’t Ban Putin From Britain, But Russia Should Lose The World Cup

22 Jan 2016

The Times Yesterday’s report into the death of Alexander Litvinenko was shocking and deeply disturbing. But it was not a big surprise, as we have always known that this terrible act had a connection to the Russian state. The government must now send a strong signal to Moscow: state-sponsored murder…

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Look to Davos for partners for a new kind of growth

22 Jan 2016

Progress I worked at the World Economic Forum in Geneva from January 2009 until 2012, and I will never forget the febrile mood of my first Davos in January 2009, just a few months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. I don’t mean the personal sense of ‘new kid on…

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Time for Tata Steel, the workforce, the trade unions and the government to pull together

08 Jan 2016

The Mirror Britain’s largest steelworks is at risk of closure with thousands of jobs at stake. Union leaders and local politicians are calling for bosses Tata to come up with an urgent rescue plan for Port Talbot, warning: “It is 10 minutes to midnight.” The plant in South Wales is…

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Why it’s time to pull together to safeguard ‘truly iconic’ Port Talbot steelworks

08 Jan 2016

Wales Online Anyone who’s ever driven up or down the M4 between Cardiff and Swansea will have seen it – a vast industrial complex, with the two blast furnaces towering over the rest of the works, and the town of Port Talbot and the stunning Aberavon beach stretching off into…

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Splits and reshuffles? Let’s not go there

03 Jan 2016

The Guardian To say that 2015 was a difficult year for Labour party is an understatement. Still reeling from the crushing defeat at the ballot box in May, we rushed headlong into the most divisive leadership election in living memory and, from there, straight into a maelstrom of in-fighting, factionalism…

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Trading For Peace

30 Dec 2015

I contributed a chapter to Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East’s Making the progressive case for peace in Palestine and Israel: Labour Party policies to support the rule of law and human rights. My chapter is entitled Trading For Peace and you can read it below. Introduction The UK and EU’s public position…

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