Happy Friday everyone - here with a quick update on what I've been up to as your MP this week!
06.03.2026 17:09
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Happy Friday everyone - here with a quick update on what I've been up to as your MP this week!
The fact that we have again been able to produce a balanced budget is a massive achievement considering current difficulties and inherited debt from previous administration. Things continue to be really tough for local authorities and there are always more issues on the horizon.
you might spot me as one of the contributors in this
Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
NHS official pushed to add patient data to Palantir platform whilst also advising company
A lobbyist who worked directly for Peter Mandelson, on the Palantir board, and on the board of *four* NHS trusts.
Lobbying the NHS to hand over even more patient data to Palantir.
This absolutely stinks. Get Palantir out of the NHS. Sign my petition:
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
Party Total reported Donations accepted (excl. public funds) Public funds accepted Total accepted in this quarter Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland £65,140 £20,538 £44,602 £65,140 Conservative and Unionist Party £4,216,224 £2,401,452 £1,614,729 £4,016,181 Co-operative Party £131,180 £131,180 £0 £131,180 Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. £104,320 £0 £104,320 £104,320 Green Party £294,069 £189,010 £98,764 £287,773 Labour Party £2,043,007 £1,943,824 £31,836 £1,975,660 Liberal Democrats £2,190,101 £1,314,139 £749,173 £2,063,312 Open Party £197,151 £155,067 £0 £155,067 People Before Profit £8,605 £0 £6,453 £6,453 Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales £63,967 £30,000 £33,967 £63,967 Reform UK £5,473,000 £5,456,000 £0
The funding gap between Reform UK and the Greens is astounding.
New Electoral Commission stats today reveal the reportable donations in Q4 2025:
🟢 Green Party: £189,010
🟣 Reform UK: £5,456,000
Greens are bringing in barely 3.5% of Reform UK's large donations - but still polling around 20%.
1/ Thread on BBC & ITV bias towards Reform and against the Green Party. What can we learn from peer-reviewed research and investigative journalism? 🧵
Make no mistake: this is where fascism starts.
It goes from here to banning people from working, and then from marrying "true" citizens.
This is not any kind of over-reaction: we have seen this before and we know where it ends.
Reform must be stopped at all costs.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Dear Prime Minister, In recent days we have seen a deeply concerning escalation in conflict in the Middle East following a series of illegal and dangerously irresponsible airstrikes on Iran by the United States and Israel. You have now confirmed that UK bases will be used by the US for their operations in the area. This is a significant concession to President Donald Trump and one which risks drawing the UK into a dangerous conflict. During your campaign to be elected leader of the Labour Party, you spoke compellingly about learning the lessons of the Iraq war. In particular, you set out legislation you would pass as Prime Minister, ensuring that military action is only taken if: • The lawful case for it is made • There is a viable objective • Consent is given by the House of Commons. We agree that such legislation is needed to prevent the UK from being dragged into destructive, illegal and dangerous wars abroad, and so we have today tabled the Armed Conflict (Requirements) Bill. The Bill requires that 1. Before armed forces may be deployed for armed conflict, a Minister of the Crown must publish a statement setting out the reasons for the deployment, an assessment of its compliance with international law, the objective of the deployment and an assessment of the viability of that objective, and 2. Any such deployment must be approved in advance by a resolution of the House of Commons
I invite your support to pass this bill. In an increasingly unstable world, it is more important than ever that decisions about the UK’s involvement in military action abroad are taken carefully, soberly, and with the best interests of the British people at heart. We believe this piece of legislation would ensure that. Yours sincerely, Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Today I tabled a bill which would require any UK military intervention to have a lawful basis, viable objective, and approval by MPs - legislation the PM once said he himself would pass when he was running for Labour leader.
He supported it then, and he should support it now.
If it’s true Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick told a business audience last night that renewable companies are "screwed" if Reform get in, it tells you everything about their readiness to inflict national self-harm in pursuit of ideological war on climate action.
We would be happy to brief yours/& other interested MPs on need for meaningful changes to Setting Local Speed Limits guidance to give better direction & support to LAs on implementation of 20mph limits to help achieve ambitious casualty reduction targets in new RSS of 65% in next 10 years.
me too - bring it on 💚
Scottish policy is implementing 20mph as the norm in built-up areas not as the national urban default as in Wales which is a slightly different approach but arguably as effective and less controversial? It’s explained in this briefing www.20splenty.org/scotgov_says...
Yes English tories were largely to blame!! I still haven’t got 20mph limits where I am in Herts because of years of Tory opposition at county level - thank fully now disappeared as have new supportive administration but now have a Reform County Councillor who who is trying to block 20mph!!
What needs to happen is to make it much more straightforward for LAs - mainly making long awaited and needed changes to setting local speed limits guidance for highways authorities. Removing 24mph rule, ref to zones, guidance on TRO consultation, perhaps adopting Scottish guidance as a model.
Wales got a lot of things right and very few roads, or sections of roads are reverting to 30mph. Comms was main thing that needed improving and there was vocal politically motivated disproportionate opposition much more about the Labour government than the policy which has been transformational.
Surely this is a clarion call to accelerate the uptake of renewables and divest ourselves of fossil fuel reliance both for energy production and transport.
RoadPeace, the charity supporting people affected by road crashes, is no longer operating.
I asked the Mayor how he will step in to make sure survivors and bereaved families can still get the peer to peer help they need, support that RoadPeace used to provide.
Solidarity, Mothin 💚
Rachel, Zack and Mothin
There's nothing the establishment is more scared of them a calm, kind, thoughtful gardener who happens to be a Muslim man in politics.
We'll stand together. Solidarity Mothin.
Nice!!
Rachel Reeves and her chanting Labour backbenchers acknowledged Brexit was wrong during today's #SpringForecast.
Glad to see the govt finally recognising what Greens have said all along: Britain is stronger as part of the EU. It's time to kickstart talks to re-join.
The definition of sustainable transport modes should not continue to include “ultra low emission vehicles”. Sustainability cannot be reduced to tailpipe emissions, as even electric cars have huge environmental and social consequences.
actionnetwork.org/letters/dema...
@20splenty.bsky.social Rod do you know of any comparative case studies?
what sort of info are you looking for - we at 20’s plenty haven’t done a direct comparison in the different approaches taken and the effectiveness or not of each. The approach in Scotland has been different from Wales default 30 remaining & a quiet revolution happening with little objection.
not a blanket policy a default policy - local communities were asked to apply and most did. It wasn’t imposed on them and hasn’t been applied to all roads.
The YouGov poll (Greens on 21% second only to Reform and 5 points clear of Labour) is rightly making headlines. But Freshwater Strategy poll also has Greens on highest ever polling www.cityam.com/greens-close...
It's a common refrain for ministers to note Nigel Farage's absence from the Commons, but the stats do seem to back it up. So far this year he has spoken five times and voted seven times. As a very rough, smaller-party comparison, Ellie Chowns of the Greens has spoken 46 times and voted 24 times.
Clinical psychology is the only time where some people can speak freely & feel truly listened to.
There’s constant pressure to go faster, see more patients, take more on. But our quality comes from going slower, creating space to listen, taking the time it needs.
If we lose that, what’s the point?
The language of 'regime change' is effectively used to cancel the value of individual human life. It is dehumanising & sets the context for justifying brutality.
