Student Loans Letter to Chancellor
-
The Rt Hon John Healey MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
The Correspondence & Enquiry unit
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
Letter coordinated by Rethink Repayment
Thursday 6th August 2026
Dear Chancellor,
We write to you as a cross-party group of 121 MPs and peers to highlight a growing concern
across the country: the compounding financial pressure on recent graduates and early-career
professionals due to the current structure of student loan repayments.
While higher education remains a vital pathway for personal advancement and national
economic growth, successive governments' adjustments to repayment thresholds - together
with high interest and marginal tax rates - are placing an unsustainable burden on the next
generation of workers.
Across the country, we are hearing from young teachers, nurses, engineers, and entrepreneurs
who are facing historically high effective marginal tax rates. For many middle-income
graduates, the combination of income tax, National Insurance, and student loan repayments
means they see less than half of any hard-earned pay rise. At a time when the cost of living
remains a primary concern, this significantly diminishes disposable income, delays milestones
such as first-time homeownership and family formation, and disincentivises career
progression.
We are united in the belief that the current repayment framework requires urgent review, as
indicated by the Treasury Select Committee’s recent inquiry recommendations, to ensure it is
fair, sustainable, and supportive of aspiration.
We welcome the opportunity to meet with you alongside campaigners to discuss how we can
better support graduates while maintaining a responsible fiscal approach. We would be
grateful if you could reach out to Rethink Repayment on [email protected] to
organise a meeting.
Yours,
Co-sponsors:
Sadik Al-Hassan MP, Labour
Jas Athwal MP, Labour
Rt Hon Laura Trott MP, Conservatives
David Reed MP, Conservatives
Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrats
Oliver Gardner, Rethink Repayment
National Union of StudentsAnd the undersigned:
Abtisam Mohamed MP (Co-chair of APPG for Students)
Alex Sobel MP (Co-chair of APPG for Students)
Tahir Ali MP
The Lord Alton of Liverpool
The Baroness Altmann CBE
Gareth Bacon MP
The Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
The Lord Balfe
Apsana Begum MP
Saqib Bhatti MP
Bob Blackman CBE MP
The Baroness Blackstone
Sarah Bool MP
The Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted
Rt Hon Dame Karen Bradley MP
Aphra Brandreth MP
The Rt Hon the Baroness Butler-Sloss GBE
The Baroness Cash
The Lord Cashman CBE
David Chadwick MP
Danny Chambers MP
Bambos Charalambous MP
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Lewis Cocking MP
Victoria Collins MP
Daisy Cooper MP
John Cooper MP
Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Cox KC MP
Stella Creasy MP
Adam Dance MP
The Baroness Deech DBE
Carla Denyer MP
Charlie Dewhirst MP
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Cat Eccles MP
Will Forster MP
Zoe Franklin MP
George Freeman MP
Louie French MP
The Baroness Garden of Frognal
Dr Allison Gardner MP
Mark Garnier OBE MP
Rt Hon John Glen MP
Tom Gordon MP
The Rt Hon the Lord Hain
The Baroness Hamwee
Wera Hobhouse MP
Paul Holmes MP
The Rt Hon the Lord Howell of Guilford
Dr Neil Hudson MP
Liz Jarvis MP
Dr Caroline Johnson MP
Kim Johnson MPLincoln Jopp MC MP
Alicia Kearns MP
Afzal Khan CBE MP
The Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE (Julia King)
Ben Lake MP
Katie Lam MP
Alan Mak MP
Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP
The Baroness Manzoor CBE
Dr Brian Mathew MP
Jerome Mayhew MP
Rt Hon John McDonnell MP
Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Gagan Mohindra MP
Robbie Moore MP
Joy Morrissey MP
Rt Hon Sir David Mundell MP
Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison MP
Neil O'Brien OBE MP
Dr Simon Opher MP
Kate Osamor MP
Rebecca Paul MP
Toby Perkins MP
Lee Pitcher MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Shivani Raja MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Jack Rankin MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Joe Robertson MP
Anna Sabine MP
Jim Shannon MP
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP
Sir Alec Shelbrooke MP
David Simmonds CBE MP
Vikki Slade MP
The Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Carmen Smith)
Cat Smith MP
Rt Hon Sir Julian Smith MP
Andrew Snowden MP
Ian Sollom MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Patrick Spencer MP
Greg Stafford MP
Blake Stephenson MP
Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP
Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne MP
Bradley Thomas MP
The Earl of Clancarty (Nicolas Trench)
Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP
The Baroness Uddin
Martin Vickers MP
The Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe
The Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP
James Wild MP
Max Wilkinson MPRt Hon Sir Gavin Williamson MP
Rt Hon Sammy Wilson MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Claire Young MP
Total signatories: 121
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Protecting England’s Small Waters
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Emma Hardy MP
Minister for Water and Flooding
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Dear Minister,
Protecting England’s Small Waters
We are writing to draw your attention to the issue of small waters and urge you to recognise
these overlooked but critically important habitats in upcoming reforms to water policy.
Small waters, including ponds, headwater streams and small lakes, are a major part of
England’s freshwater environment and critically important for biodiversity. Because of their
small catchments, small waters are more likely to contain clean water, and support the species
which rely on this ever-diminishing resource.
In practice, almost all small waters have been excluded from statutory monitoring and
management under the Water Framework Directive. This has stymied investment in simple,
cost-effective actions like pond creation, and undermined nature recovery.
Government now has the opportunity to correct this oversight and bring small waters into
statutory monitoring and management. Because these habitats are comparatively quick and
easy to create or restore, this modest reform would drive significant near-term progress
towards England’s nature recovery goals.
Bringing small waters into the Water Framework Directive would enable the Government to
bring clean water back to England’s landscapes and begin reversing the long decline of our
freshwater wildlife.
In upcoming water reforms, we urge you to ensure small waters are properly recognised,
protected and supported as a vital part of England’s freshwater environment.
Yours,
Chris Hinchliff MP
Jeremy Biggs, CEO, Freshwater Habitats Trust
Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife and Countryside Link
Letter to Ministers Hardy & Morgan on bycatch
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Emma Hardy MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Stephen Morgan MP
Minister of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Date
Dear Minister Hardy and Minister Morgan,
A new report published by Wildlife and Countryside Link shows that thousands of animals are being killed when incidentally caught by fishing in UK waters every year. Urgent government action is needed to end this bycatch.
Bycatch is causing enormous suffering to individual animals and threatening the survival of some of our most-loved species, from dolphins to Atlantic salmon. Bycatch is a key reason the Government is failing to meet the legal requirement under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 to reach Good Environmental Status for UK seas by 2020. Bycatch is also limiting the Government’s ability to achieve the Environment Act marine protected area (MPA) target by killing designated species in MPAs, such as harbour porpoises. To meet the Government’s marine goals, action on bycatch is needed now.
The UK already has laws in place requiring reduction or elimination of bycatch. In addition to the legal targets above, The Fisheries Act 2020 requires the UK and devolved governments to set out policies to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive species. What we need is action to implement these requirements. There are solutions available to prevent bycatch, allow recovery of protected marine species and enable the UK to achieve its legal obligations.
We call on you to:
Deliver promised Bycatch Action Plans for all protected species threatened by bycatch, with quantitative, time-bound bycatch reduction targets and clear commitments to fisheries management measures to meet these targets.
Require remote electronic monitoring on all fishing boats in English waters, including smaller under-10m boats that are responsible for a large proportion of bycatch. This will finally reveal the true scale of bycatch and monitor whether bycatch mitigation measures are working.
There are clear examples of organisations working alongside fishers to deliver reductions in bycatch. For example, in Filey Bay, on the Yorkshire coast, a collaboration between fishers and eNGOs reduced seabird deaths from around 700 a year to just four or five by trialling new methods, such as heavier nets. In Scotland, trials of weighted ropes by the Scottish Entanglement Alliance in creel fisheries have shown success in reducing the risk of whales becoming entangled in fishing gear.
We urge you to set out plans for expanding these and other solutions fleet-wide through delivery of time-bound Bycatch Action Plans, supporting fishers to transition to fishing methods with a low or zero bycatch risk, and puttingin place the monitoring needed to be sure action is working. We also urge you to work with your counterparts in the devolved governments to deliver similar measures across the UK.
We call on you to end sensitive species bycatch in UK seas.
Yours sincerely,
Kerry McCarthy MP
Sarah Champion MP
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Carla Denyer MP
Barry Gardiner MP
Chris Hinchliff MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Ruth Jones MP
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
The Rt Hon Sir Julian Lewis MP
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
Toby Perkins MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Lord Randall of Uxbridge
Hannah Spencer MP
Lord Teverson
Baroness Willis of Summertown CBE
Baroness Young of Old Scone
Letter on Palestinian Refugees
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Urgent: Please ensure that Palestinians from Gaza are included in the first phase of Named Community Sponsorship
Dear Home Secretary.
We write to welcome the Government’s new Named Community Sponsorship route, announced by you and due to openfor applications this autumn. This scheme will enable communities to take direct responsibility for welcoming refugees. It is a scheme which we are hopeful of and want to succeed.
We understand that the first phase of implementation, expected to be announced shortly, will identify which groups ofrefugees are prioritised at the outset. Public reporting has suggested that Sudanese and Eritrean nationals are likely to be among those included. We have seen no indication that Palestinians from Gaza will be part of the first cohort, and we are deeply concerned that they may be excluded.
We do not raise this to diminish the urgent claims of any other group. The humanitarian crises in Sudan and Eritrea aregrave. We raise it because the humanitarian situation in Gaza is among the gravest in the world today, because many Palestinian families have longstanding family and community links with the United Kingdom, and because communities across the UK are already ready and willing to sponsor them.
Named Community Sponsorship is intended to harness the commitment and capacity of communities prepared to welcome refugees. In the case of Palestinians from Gaza, that commitment already exists. Faith communities, refugee organisations and local community groups stand ready to provide practical support for families rebuilding their lives. Including Palestinians from Gaza in the first phase would therefore reflect not only humanitarian need but also the practical readiness that is central to the success of the scheme.
We are asking for one specific and practical humanitarian decision: that Palestinian families from Gaza, subject to the same security, criminality and health checks as any other applicant, be included among those eligible for Named Community Sponsorship from the first phase.
We understand that the announced scheme would operate in partnership with UNHCR, who will determine the refugee status of the sponsored individuals; however, since neither UNHCR nor UNRWA can register Palestinian refugees to come to the UK at this stage, the standard referral pathway may not extend to Gazans - effectively excluding them. Therefore, we are asking that you establish an alternative mechanism for Gazans.
If the Government concludes that this is not possible, we respectfully ask that it publish the reasons for that decision together with a clear timetable for the inclusion of Palestinian families from Gaza.
We believe this would command support across faith communities and among organisations with long experience of refugee sponsorship. It would demonstrate that the scheme is guided by humanitarian need, practical readiness and fairness.
Given the urgency of the timetable, we would be grateful for an opportunity to meet with you before the first-phase announcement. We suggest that such a meeting include representatives of Communities for Palestinians and Citizens UK so that we can discuss the practical case for including Palestinian families from Gaza in the initial phase of the scheme.
We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP
Letter on the International Court of Justice’s landmark Advisory Opinion on Israel’s occupation
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The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Secretary of State for Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Affairs
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
(sent by email)
14 July 2026
Dear Foreign Secretary,
Re: Two Years On - the Government Must Act in Line with the International Court of Justice’s
Advisory Opinion on Israel
We write ahead of the second anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark
Advisory Opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, issued on 19 July
2024. We urge the Government to impose sanctions and other concrete measures to uphold its legal
obligations under this ruling and wider international law.
The world’s highest court, the ICJ, found that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT) is unlawful. It called for Israel to end this presence “as rapidly as
possible” and cease all new settlement activity.
Two years on, Israel has not only ignored the Court but deepened its illegal occupation. This
includes recent orders by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s army to seize large
areas of the Gaza Strip, alongside intensified annexationist measures in the occupied West Bank,
including the approval of plans to register land there as Israeli state property.
These examples underline how, without much bolder action, the Israeli Government will continue to
simply ignore the words of condemnation from political leaders and governments and deepen its
illegal occupation.
All States have an obligation to act.
The ICJ is clear that all States have an obligation not to recognise this illegal situation and “not to
render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory.
”
The Court also made clear that all States must “abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings
with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench itsunlawful presence in the territory” and “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist
in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the OPT .
”
Additionally, the ICJ reiterated the obligations of all State Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to
ensure Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
The Government’s Responsibilities
The ICJ’s Opinion identifies clear legal responsibilities on the Government.
Yet, despite acknowledging the Court’s findings, two years on, the Government has still not formally
responded or taken the steps required to meet its legal and moral obligations. Further delay is
simply indefensible.
The Government knows what needs to be done. It has rightly imposed widespread sanctions on
Russia for its illegal war on Ukraine. Yet there has been no such comprehensive response to Israel’s
actions in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
We are clear that international law cannot be applied selectively. The Government must apply the
same principles to Israel’s unlawful occupation as it does elsewhere.
In line with the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion and to uphold its legal obligations, we urge the Government
to act without delay by:
• Banning all trade in goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements and taking action
against companies profiting from or sustaining the illegal occupation.
• Imposing targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on all individuals and
entities complicit in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT , including political
leaders responsible for illegal settlement expansion and annexationist policies.
• Suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement until Israel complies with international law.
• Ending all arms transfers to Israel, including F-35 components and other equipment that may
be used in violations of international humanitarian law.
If the Government wants to show that its stated commitment to international law and human rights
is more than words, then it must act decisively and without further delay.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Burgon MP and Imran Hussain MP
Diane Abbott MP
Shockat Adam MP
Lord John Alderdice
Tahir Ali MP
Paula Barker MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Apsana Begum MP
Siân Berry MP
Lara Bird MP
Lee Barron MP
Olivia Blake MPBaroness Christine Blower
Ian Byrne MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Pat Cullen MP
Ann Davies MP
Marsha De Cordova MP
Carla Denyer MP
Dave Doogan MP
Lord Alf Dubs
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Cat Eccles MP
John Finucane MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Andrew George MP
Mary Glindon MP
Lord Peter Hain
Claire Hanna MP
Chris Hazzard MP
Lord John Hendy
Chris Hinchliff MP
Dáire Hughes MP
Rupa Huq MP
Adnan Hussain MP
Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
Kim Johnson MP
Afzal Khan MP
Ayoub Khan MP
Ben Lake MP
Peter Lamb MP
Ian Lavery MP
Chris Law MP
Brian Leishman MP
Clive Lewis MP
Baroness Ruth Lister
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Paul Maskey MP
Douglas McAllister MP
Andy McDonald MP
John McDonnell MP
Llinos Medi MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Lord Shaffaq Mohammed
Grahame Morris MP
Brendan O'Hara MP
Simon Opher MP
Kate Osborne MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Marie Rimmer MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Liz Saville-Roberts MP
Lord Prem Sikka
Lord Indarjit Singh
Cat Smith MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Jon Trickett MP
Baroness Pola Uddin
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
Nadia Whittome MP
Steve Witherden MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Cross-party Rosebank letter to the Prime Minister
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Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing as a cross-party group of Members of Parliament and Members of the Scottish
Parliament to voice our collective opposition to the Rosebank oil field.
The decision your Government now faces is about more than just a single oil development –
a defining test of your commitment to the UK’s economic resilience and climate security.
Opposition to Rosebank spans across parliamentary benches and the nations of the UK.
Approving this development would be fundamentally incompatible with our legally binding
climate obligations and, crucially, with the secure future that energy workers and communities
deserve.
it is
While the oil and gas sector has previously served an important role in the UK’s economy,
claims that Rosebank would guarantee UK energy security or protect jobs do not hold up to
scrutiny. Most of what would be produced by Rosebank would be sold on international markets,
while profits continue to flow overseas rather than revitalising the industrial communities
currently struggling in the North East of Scotland, the North of England and beyond. The oil and
gas industry has scaled back on domestic renewable investment alongside repeated rounds of
redundancies, leading to increasingly insecure employment for the workforce.
Approving Rosebank would markedly diminish the UK’s standing on the world stage. At a time
when global climate action requires bold leadership, approving one of the largest undeveloped
oil fields in the UK would undermine our international credibility and weaken our ability to lead
on the world stage.
Instead, we urge you to use this pivotal moment to signal a decisive shift towards the green
industrial revolution. This is not a political choice between jobs and climate. This is a choice
between prolonging our dependence on volatile, declining markets, or instead investing directly
in British clean energy manufacturing capabilities that will provide employment for years to
come. Our focus must be on creating secure, well-paid jobs that place oil and gas workers at
the very heart of a genuinely fair energy transition.
The decision on Rosebank will be one of the defining choices of your premiership. We urge you
to reject this development, cement the UK’s climate leadership, and work with us to build a
fairer, cleaner, and more prosperous future for all of the communities we represent.
Yours sincerely,
Sanctioning the government of Israel for the systematic torture and ill-treatment ofPalestinians in Israeli detention
-
Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Foreign Secretary
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
30/06/2026
Dear Foreign Secretary,
Re. Sanctioning the government of Israel for the systematic torture and ill-treatment of
Palestinians in Israeli detention
We write to express our deep concern that the government has yet to sanction members of the Israeli
government for the systematic torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, including children, in
Israeli detention.
Responsibility for the systematic and well-documented torture of Palestinian civilians lies with the
government of Israel, including Prime Minister Netanyahu.
While the sanctions announced in June 2025 against ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich
remain welcome, they have done little to change the government of Israel’s approach to Palestinian
detainees. Since the sanctions were announced, the systematic torture of Palestinians, including
children, has escalated, with near total impunity. For example:
• In February 2026, a report by the UN Special Rapporteur found that “torture has become integral
to the domination of and punishment inflicted on [Palestinian] men, women and children, both
through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings,
deprivation and the destruction of all means of life”.
• On 12 March 2026, the Military Advocate dropped charges in a case involving the alleged rape of
a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers, a decision praised by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The
rape was partially captured on CCTV footage.
• On 29 April and 18-19 May 2026, Israeli naval forces violently intercepted Global Sumud Flotilla
and Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessels in international waters, subsequently detaining members of
the flotilla and subjecting them to ill-treatment, including beatings. British nationals allege they were
beaten, with one shot in the leg. Footage of some of the degrading treatment flotilla members were
subjected to was published by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The above is illustrative of the impunity with which the government of Israel is able to treat civilians. We
urge you to take further steps to help end this impunity by sanctioning the government of Israel’s
Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yours sincerely,
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Member of Parliament for Poole
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Tel: 01202 160740
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.neilforpoole.co.uk
MPs
Shockat Adam MP Tahir Ali MP Paula Barker MP
Lorraine Beavers MP Órfhlaith Begley MP Apsana Begum MP
Siân Berry MP Olivia Blake MP Richard Burgon MP
Ian Byrne MP Ellie Chowns MP Jeremy Corbyn MP
Pat Cullen MP Ann Davies MP Carla Denyer MP
Colum Eastwood MP Cat Eccles MP John Finucane MP
Mary Foy MP Andrew George MP Claire Hanna MP
Chris Hazzard MP Chris Hinchliff MP Dáire Hughes MP
Imran Hussain MP Adnan Hussain MP Kim Johnson MP
Ayoub Khan MP Afzal Khan MP Ben Lake MP
Ian Lavery MP Brian Leishman MP Clive Lewis MP
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP Cathal Mallaghan MP Rachael Maskell MP
Paul Maskey MP Andy McDonald MP John McDonnell MP
Llinos Medi MP Iqbal Mohamed MP Abtisam Mohamed MP
Grahame Morris MP Brendan O’Hara MP Simon Opher MP
Kate Osamor MP Kate Osborne MP Manuela Perteghella MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP Adrian Ramsay MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Liz Saville Roberts MP Hannah Spencer MP Zarah Sultana MP
Desmond Swayne MP Jon Trickett MP Nadia Whittome MP
Steve Witherden MP Mary Glindon MP Alex Sobel MP
Peers
Baroness Bennett of Manor
Castle
Baroness Blower Lord Cashman CBE
Lord Davies of Brixton Lord Hendy KC Baroness Jones of
Moulsecoomb
Baroness Lister of Burtersett
CBE
Lord Sikka Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE
Baroness Uddin Baroness Warsi Baroness Janke
Baroness Sheehan Lord Mohammed of Tinsley
Letter to Andy Burnham MP
-
29 June 2026
Dear Andy Burnham MP ,
We are writing to you in recognition of the increasingly likely event that you become the
next Prime Minister.
As Green Party MPs, we were elected on a manifesto of real change. It could not be clearer
that the public are desperate for politicians to deliver on this. Where our agendas overlap,
and if there is prospect of delivering real change, we will work with this government in a
spirit of cooperation. Where the government fall short, we hold Ministers accountable.
People’s lives are getting harder. Everyday life has become unaffordable and public
services are under immense pressure. People no longer trust that politicians or politics
will deliver for them, with growing unrest in our communities. We have watched a
genocide unfold in Gaza, and successive Prime Ministers have refused to take the
necessary action. And last week we witnessed some of the impacts of the climate and
nature crisis, with the second ever heat-related red alert weather warning in our country's
history. These are just some of the many crises our country is facing.
While people’s lives are becoming harder, those responsible for fuelling these crises are
cashing in. In the first month after the US and Israel’s initial strikes on Iran, the share value
of just five North Sea oil and gas companies was boosted by £73 billion (Greenpeace,
2026).
What we need, what the public want, and what Keir Starmer failed to deliver, is a
fundamental break with this failing status quo. Not tweaks, not backslides, but immediate
action to end the complex and connected crises we are experiencing. But the public are
tired of hearing about ‘change’ and not feeling it.
The Green Party is clear on what real change looks like. So, if you become the next Prime
Minister, will you to take the following initial steps?
Fix our electoral system: Introduce proportional representation for all national and
local elections before the next General Election.
Tax wealth fairly: At the Autumn Budget, align rates of Capital Gains Tax with income
tax; introduce National Insurance on investment income in line with employment
income; and take necessary steps to introduce an annual tax on the wealth of
multimillionaires and billionaires.
Hold the line on new oil and gas and restore nature: Do not approve proposed drilling
at Rosebank, Jackdaw or Cambo, or allow new oil and gas extraction through tiebacks
to existing production facilities; and rapidly scale up action to reverse the loss of
nature by 2030.Take water into public ownership: Starting with Thames Water, use powers the
government already has to bring failing water companies into special administration
and back into public hands, not just public control.
Introduce rent controls: Roll out rent controls across the country, as you have called
for as Mayor of Greater Manchester and as the new Green Party Mayors are now
demanding, and fund councils to buy existing homes from private landlords.
Uphold international law: Accept the findings of the UN Independent Commission of
Inquiry that the Israeli government has committed genocide in Gaza, and impose
comprehensive sanctions, including a full arms embargo.
This is of course not an exhaustive list of policies or actions needed to address the
multiple crises our country is facing. But taking immediate steps to deliver on the above
measures, which are hugely popular, would send a signal that you are serious about
changing course. Our constituents, and the country, need more than just a new manager.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Siân Berry MP
Carla Denyer MP
Re. Sanctioning the government of Israel for the systematic torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians in Israeli detention
-
Dear Foreign Secretary,
Re. Sanctioning the government of Israel for the systematic torture and ill-
treatment of Palestinians in Israeli detention
We write to express our deep concern that the government has yet to sanction
members of the Israeli government for the systematic torture and ill-treatment of
Palestinian detainees, including children, in Israeli detention.
Responsibility for the systematic and well-documented torture of Palestinian civilians
lies with the government of Israel, including Prime Minister Netanyahu.
While the sanctions announced in June 2025 against ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and
Bezalel Smotrich remain welcome, they have done little to change the government of
Israel’s approach to Palestinian detainees. Since the sanctions were announced, the
systematic torture of Palestinians, including children, has escalated, with near total
impunity. For example:
• In February 2026, a report by the UN Special Rapporteur found that “torture
has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on
[Palestinian] men, women and children, both through custodial abuse and
through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings,
deprivation and the destruction of all means of life”.
• On 12 March 2026, the Military Advocate dropped charges in a case involving
the alleged rape of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers, a decision praised
by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The rape was partially captured on CCTV
footage.
• On 29 April and 18-19 May 2026, Israeli naval forces violently intercepted
Global Sumud Flotilla and Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessels in international
waters, subsequently detaining members of the flotilla and subjecting them to
ill-treatment, including beatings. British nationals allege they were beaten, with
one shot in the leg. Footage of some of the degrading treatment flotilla
members were subjected to was published by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The above is illustrative of the impunity with which the government of Israel is able to
treat civilians. We urge you to take further steps to help end this impunity by
sanctioning the government of Israel’s Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin and Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yours sincerely,
Britain-Palestine APPG Letter RE Great Israeli Real EstateEvent in London
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Britain-PalestineAPPGLetter
Great Israeli Real EstateEvent inLondon
14.06.2026
DearForeignSecretary,
ThisSunday,the‘Great Israeli Real EstateEvent’ is set to takeplace inLondon. Land incities andtownsbuiltontheforceddisplacementofthePalestinianpeople, includingproperties in Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, will be available for purchase. One settlement among them is Gush Etzion, which is regarded by the UK government as part of
the occupied territory of the State of Palestine, as well as land in Jerusalem, encompassing occupied East Jerusalem, which has been illegally annexed by Israel.
Furthermore, the website advertising the event has made clear that its organisers are working with Bank Leumi, an Israeli bank financing construction in illegal settlements. As such, the event is firmly embedded in Israel’s project of colonial expansion, by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians, a practice which has contributed to the fragmentation and dispossession of the Palestinian people for over a century. While inviting new settlers to purchase stolen Palestinian land, Palestinian refugees who have been displaced by Israel, and their descendants, are denied the ability to exercise their inalienable, legally-enshrined right of return.
At Tuesday’s ministerial statement announcing asset freezes of a handful of organisations and individuals involved in illegal Israeli settlement activity and Israeli state-sponsored violence against Palestinians, a number of MPs from across the House raised concerns about Sunday’s event. In response to these questions, you stated that ministers are “pursuing that particular event”, but there was no commitment from you to take action to prevent it from taking place.
Allowing the event to proceed would not only be inconsistent with current UK Government guidance on settlement-related economic activity, it would stand in opposition to the government’s obligations under international law.
As you will know, on 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion, declaring that Israel’s presence and civilian settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian state are illegal under international law. The ICJ found that Israel's settlement policy breaches Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory, a practice that amounts to the crime of pillage, which is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Britain-Palestine APPG Letter
Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London
14.06.2026
The ICJ also determined that land confiscation, exploitation of natural resources, and settlement expansion amount to de facto annexation of Palestinian land. In turn, by fragmenting Palestinian territory, the opinion stated Israel's policies actively violate the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
The ICJ ruled that Israel is obligated to end its unlawful presence in the occupied territories as rapidly as possible, cease all new settlement activity, and pay full reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
Beyond the duties incumbent upon Israel, the Court emphasised that all United Nations member states are under an obligation not to recognise the occupation as legal and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's presence.
Accordingly, in order to uphold its obligations under international law, as well as to maintain consistency with its own guidance on settlement-related economic activity, the UK government must now take all necessary steps to ensure Sunday’s planned event promoting illegal activities does not proceed in our capital city.
We look forward to your response setting out the action that the government will take to address the matter.
Yours sincerely,
Project Gigabit Letter
-
Baronesss Lloyd of Effra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Digital Economy) Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
100 Parliament Street
London
SWIA 2BQ
Our Ref: SA17775
16 June 2026
Dear Baroness Lloyd,
Thank you for your letter outlining the changes to Project Gigabit in Norfolk.
We are deeply disappointed by this news, and very concerned on behalf of our respective constituents.
Connectivity issues in Norfolk are not new, we have been shouting about them for more than a decade.
Once again, it seems that central government do not see fit for people in rural Norfolk to receive a similar standard of provision to people in urban areas.
To see over 16,000 premises removed from the planned provision for Norfolk, when we are trying to grow our rural economy and improve our quality of living, is a cause of deep concern for us. Rural businesses who need a stronger connection to improve their prospects; young people who need a reliable internet connection for education and training; older people who just want to be able to sustain a video call with the andchildren - none of them should feel this is too much to ask for.
Rural residents and businesses should not feel they are second-class and can be cast aside when supporting them runs into difficulty.
There is now deep uncertainty for many of our rural residents about how their connectivity will be improved, and have been left in the dark at present about what the Government will be doing to ensure there is a plan to get them connected. These are individuals, families and businesses from a range of backgrounds, all facing unique challenges as a result of poor connectivity. As a matter of urgency, they need to know what the future holds for them.
In light of this, we would be keen to meet you at your earliest convenience to understand how the Government plans to support those affected by this news, and how quickly this can be clarified.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Medical Evacuation of Children in Gaza
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The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom
The Rt Hon James Murray MP
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department
22nd May 2026
Dear Secretaries of State,
RE: Medical Evacuation of Children in Gaza
We write to you as a cross-party group of MPs to urge you to reopen and scale up the UK’s medical evacuation programme for patients from Gaza, particularly children.
The war has devastated Gaza’s health sector. Hospitals have been decimated, essential medicines and medical equipment are in short supply, and critical services including oncology, advanced trauma care, cardiac treatment and neurology are largely unavailable. Ongoing restrictions on the entry of supplies continue to exacerbate shortages.
As a result, thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza have no viable pathway to life‑saving treatment, nor is there any realistic prospect that this will change in the near future.
Over 18,500 patients, including approximately 4,000 children, are estimated by the World Health Organization and Gaza’s Ministry of Health to require urgent medical evacuation. Both organisations warn that the true number is likely to be significantly higher due to mass displacement, poor documentation, and severely restricted access to functioning hospitals. Between July 2024 and March 2026, at least 1,092 patients died while waiting for evacuation, an average of 65 preventable deaths every month.
While we acknowledge the medical evacuation of 51 children for treatment in the UK last autumn, this figure remains vanishingly small when set against the scale of need, which continues to grow as conditions in Gaza further deteriorate.
Since October 2025, only 793 patients have been evacuated, compared with 1,700 during the much shorter January–March 2025 ceasefire. Following recent regional escalations, medical evacuations are again suspended entirely, leaving thousands in limbo as their conditions deteriorate. The burden of responding to this crisis has fallen overwhelmingly on a small number of regional states. Egypt, Jordan and the UAE have received 84% of evacuated patients. The regional countries have the expertise, but the needs outstrip any possible capacity to treat those who need it. The UK has the clinical capacity, expertise and moral obligation to do more.
Gaza’s health system cannot be rebuilt overnight, and critically ill patients cannot afford to wait.
We therefore urge you to reopen the UK’s medical evacuation pathway from Gaza without delay, working with international partners to ensure evacuations are predictable, scaled up, and delivered at pace.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Simon Opher MP
Dr Peter Prinsley MP
Dr Scott Arthur MP
Patricia Ferguson MP
Anneliese Dodds MP
Lee Dillon MP
Alex Sobel MP
James Naish MP
Peter Lamb MP
Kirsteen Sullivan MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Chris Hinchcliff MP
Clive Lewis MP
Susan Murray MP
Steve Darling MP
Ian Sollom MP
Layla Moran MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Grahame Morris MP
Andy McDonald MP
Ben Lake MP
Liz Saville Roberts MP
Ann Davies MP
Llinos Medi MP
Afzal Khan MP
Tris Osborne MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Cat Smith MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Cat Eccles MP
Ian Roome MP
Ian Byrne MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Claire Hanna MP
Marsha de Cordova MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Diane Abbott MP
John McDonnell MP
Andrew George MP
Mary Glindon MP
Apsana Begum MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Kim Johnson MP
Paula Barker MP
Torcuil Crichton MP
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Pat Cullen MP
John Finucane MP
Chris Hazzad MP
Dáire Hughes MP
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Paul Maskey MP
Tom Gordon MP
Shockat Adam MP
Alison Hume MP
Lizzi Collinge MP
Imran Hussain MP
Chris Murray MP
Andrew Slaughter MP
Kate Osborne MP
Brian Leishman MP
Vikki Slade MP
Uma Kamaran MP
Graham Leadbitter MP
Brendan O’Hara MP
Tracy Gilbert MP
Emma Lewell MP
Sarah Champion MP
Lee Barron MP
Rupa Huq MP
Ben Maguire MP
Bambos Charalambous MP
Rosie Duffield MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Sian Berry MP
Carla Denyer MP
Jas Athwal MP
Dr Beccy Cooper MP
Manuela Perteghella MP
Brian Mathew MP
Monica Harding MP
Matt Western MP
Joe Morris MP
Roz Savage MP
Cameron Thomas MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Richard Burgon MP
Stella Creasy MP
Ian Lavery MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Josh Babarinde MP
Tahir Ali MP
Debbie Abrahams MP
Steve Witherden MP
Clive Efford MP
Warinder Juss MP
Alison Bennett MP
Liz Jarvis MP
Cross-Party Letter on Fur Sale and Imports May 2026
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Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
19 May 2026
Dear Secretary of State,
We welcome the Government’s publication of the Animal Welfare Committee’s (AWC) opinion on the
responsible sourcing of fur, and Defra’s summary of responses to the 2021 Call for Evidence on the fur
trade. In light of this growing body of evidence and public support, we are writing to encourage the
Government to now make swift progress on introducing a UK ban on fur sales and imports.
The AWC’s opinion is clear that the welfare needs of animals farmed for fur cannot be met within
existing commercial production systems. It also raises serious concerns about the welfare impacts of
trapping, and concludes that existing assurance schemes and market mechanisms are not sufficient
to safeguard animal welfare. More than 96% of the almost 30,000 respondents to the 2021 Call for
Evidence strongly agreed that killing animals for their fur is wrong. Despite banning fur farming more
than two decades ago, the UK imports millions of pounds worth of animal fur from overseas every
year, creating a double standard.
We are concerned by recent media reports indicating that the EU reset could compromise the UK
Government’s ability to ban fur imports and sales. We would welcome your confirmation that
processed fur articles will not be treated as within scope of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS)
Agreement. The proposed working group on fur should now be convened without delay and asked to
recommend a pathway for a ban on the import and sale of fur.
We urge the Government to deliver on its recent Animal Welfare Strategy commitment to ‘uphold high
animal welfare standards in trade’ by ending the UK’s role in the global fur trade for good.
We should be grateful to receive your response to this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Ruth Jones
MP for Newport West & Islwyn
Paula Barker MP
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
Lorraine Beavers MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Siân Berry MP
Bob Blackman CBE MP
Richard Burgon MP
Irene Campbell MP
Danny Chambers MP
Sarah Champion MP
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Daisy Cooper MP
Alex Davies-Jones MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Sarah Dyke MP
Cat Eccles MP
Alex Easton MP
Patricia Ferguson MP
Baroness Fookes DBE
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Baroness Gale
Lord Gascoigne
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Wera Hobhouse MP
Baroness Helic
Baroness Hussein-Ece OBE
Alison Hume MP
Liz Jarvis MP
Terry Jermy MP
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Kim Johnson MP
Clive Lewis MP
Seamus Logan MP
Douglas McAllister MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Navendu Mishra MP
Josh Newbury MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Baroness Redfern
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Vikki Slade MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Lord Watts
Jo White MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Steve Witherden MP
Baroness Young of Old Scone
Supported by:
Claire Bass, Senior Director Campaigns and Public Affairs, Humane World for Animals UK
Sonul Badiani-Hamment, Country Director, FOUR PAWS UK
David Bowles, Head of Campaigns & Public Affairs, RSPCA
Elisa Allen, Vice President of Programmes and Operations, People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals UK
Iain Green, Director, Animal Aid
Lorraine Platt, Co-founder, CAWF
Mark Glover, Campaigns Director, Respect for Animals
Richard Bissett, Executive Committee, Labour Animal Welfare Society
Green Party MPs’ Response to SEND Reform Consultation
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The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP
Secretary of State for Education
Dear Bridget,
We are writing as Green Party Members of Parliament in response to the latest consultation
on proposed reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system.
Every child has the right to dignity, respect and the support they need to develop their full
potential. But the current SEND system is leaving far too many children and young people
unsupported and forcing countless families into a constant struggle just to access the help
their child needs. We therefore welcome the government’s ambitions for educational
reform, including earlier intervention and more inclusive mainstream education.
However, aspiration is not enough. Meaningful reform to the SEND system requires
sustained investment in people, capacity and culture. SEND reform will only succeed in
building a genuinely inclusive education system if the government protects legal rights and
provides urgent clarity on the details of implementation. Above all, the success of these
reforms will depend on whether they are accompanied by a bold workforce strategy that
delivers real staffing support on the ground.
Below, we have set out some specific concerns with the current plan for SEND reform.
Prioritise workforce capacity
The success of any attempt to reform the SEND system will depend on the capacity of the
workforce that delivers it. The number of children with Special Educational Needs continues
to rise rapidly (DfE, 2025), placing increased pressure on already stretched school staff. At
the same time, there are well-documented workforce shortages across the entire SEND
system, with the demand for teaching assistants, specialist staff and educational
psychologists significantly outstripping supply. Recent analysis by the Education Policy
Institute suggests that local authorities (LAs) in England would need to hire 1,400 additional
educational psychologists just to meet current levels of need (EPI, 2026), far exceeding the
extra 200 per year proposed in the government’s current plan. Meanwhile, there is a
longstanding nationwide teacher shortage, particularly in further education colleges, with
high workload and stress driving many staff to leave the profession (DfE, 2025; NAO, 2025).
While proposals such as Experts at Hand and Inclusion Bases have the potential to
significantly strengthen SEND support in mainstream schools, they will require a well-
resourced, highly motivated and appropriately trained workforce with sufficient capacity to
deliver them. As part of its plan for SEND reform, the government must therefore urgently
set out a long-term coherent workforce strategy that addresses the interlinked crises of
recruitment, retention, pay, training, wellbeing and workload.Protect legal rights
Children and young people with SEND must retain strong and enforceable legal rights
to the support they need. We are deeply concerned that the newly proposed
Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will not carry the same statutory duty to deliver the
provision laid out in them as Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which under
current proposals would be reserved only for children with the most complex needs.
This represents a fundamental shift away from enforceable legal rights towards a
system where support is increasingly at schools’ discretion, with significant
consequences for consistency and equality of provision.
While we welcome efforts to provide support for a wider group of pupils, this must
not come at the expense of accountability for those pupils. We echo the Education
Committee’s warning that “SEND reforms must not be based on any withdrawal of
statutory entitlements for children and young people” (Education Committee, 2025).
Watering down legal protections risks undermining parental confidence and
weakening families’ ability to secure appropriate support for their children.
We are particularly concerned that these changes may disproportionately affect
those least able to advocate for themselves within the system. The new ISPs must
therefore be supported by a clear statutory duty to deliver the provision they
specify, and it is vital that families retain a robust right of appeal.
We are also concerned that where legal duties do exist, structural bottlenecks across
education and health services mean that they will continue to be inconsistently
implemented. The principles set out in this plan must therefore be accompanied by
more detailed operational plans for ensuring compliance and delivery, including
timely assessments, diagnosis and early intervention.
‘Complex needs’ and EHCPs
The government’s current plan for SEND reform would restrict access to EHCPs and
highly specialised provision to those with ‘complex needs.
’ We are concerned that the
meaning of this term is not currently clear enough to enable adequate scrutiny or
confidence.
At present, there is no definition of what constitutes ‘complex needs,
’ nor how
decisions will be made about who qualifies for specialist support. The current plan
suggests that forthcoming need profiles within ‘Specialist Provision Packages’ will
define complex needs going forward. But the draft outline of Specialist Provision
Packages simply raises further questions about how these will work, particularly since
some children may require elements of support from multiple packages. Without
detailed examples and transparent criteria, there is a significant risk of inconsistency,
exclusion and increased local disputes.This lack of clarity also makes it difficult for families, schools, teachers and indeed
Parliament to adequately assess the likely impact of the reforms. The government must
urgently publish detailed guidance on who will qualify for EHCPs and Specialist Provision
Packages, including worked case studies. Clear definitions and operational detail are
essential to ensure the system is fair, consistent and trusted by families.
Culture change and co-production
Progress towards greater inclusion must be driven as much by culture and practice as by
structural reform. Too many children and young people continue to face barriers created
by inflexible behaviour policies, limited understanding of neurodiversity and
environments that do not meet their sensory needs. Without addressing these issues,
changes to systems and funding will have limited impact in the classroom.
We therefore welcome the proposed investment in new guidance, National Inclusion
Standards and SEND training for all staff in schools, colleges and early years settings. This
must include evidence-based guidance on how to design accessible and inclusive sensory
environments and how to embed inclusive practice in behaviour and classroom
management policies. It is essential that this guidance and the National Inclusion
Standards are genuinely co-produced. Tokenistic engagement and consultation are not
enough: the government needs to ensure that children and young people with SEND,
alongside their parents, carers and educators, are treated as equal partners in the design,
delivery and evaluation of SEND policy at every level. Lived experience must not be an
afterthought but a guiding principle of the system.
Special school capacity
While we support the government’s ambition to make mainstream education more
inclusive, this must be accompanied by a sufficient supply of special school places for
those children and young people whose needs cannot be met in mainstream settings. At
present, many areas face acute shortages of special school places and around two thirds
of special schools are at or over capacity (DfE, 2026), leaving families without appropriate
local provision. Increasing specialist support within mainstream, including through
Specialist Bases, will help to reduce reliance on special school placements. However, even
with these improvements in mainstream settings, demand for special school places is
likely to continue to outstrip capacity in some places, especially in the short term.
We are concerned that a rigid national push towards mainstream inclusion risks
overlooking this reality and failing those children for whom mainstream settings are not
suitable. Provision must be flexible, locally planned and responsive to need, rather than
driven by a one-size-fits-all national model.Tackle profiteering
At present, exploitative private companies are profiting from the SEND crisis by buying up
special schools and services and charging excessively high placement fees to LAs,
exacerbating an already unsustainable situation. Urgent action is desperately needed to
address this blatant profiteering.
While the government’s proposal to introduce national funding bands for independent
special school placements is a welcome step in the right direction, the current plans are
lacking in detail on what constitutes a “reasonable price” or how these bands will be set.
Without such clarity, it is difficult to be confident that these measures will meaningfully
curb excessive costs or protect public funds. We urge the government to be bold:
independent providers must not be allowed to continue charging, on average, more than
double the cost of state-funded special school provision (NAO, 2024).
Alongside stronger regulation and scrutiny of the independent sector, there must be a
rapid expansion of state-funded special school capacity to reduce reliance on
independent special schools. While the current plan for SEND reform proposes a total
£3.7 billion of capital investment, we are concerned by the lack of detail concerning how
much of this money will be invested in new special school capacity and how many new
state-funded special school places will be created. To ensure that special school provision
does not become increasingly dominated by the private sector, the government must
urgently proceed with building the state-funded special schools that are currently
planned for construction.
LAs must also be empowered with streamlined access to funding for increasing state-
funded special school capacity. We are concerned that requiring LAs to provide detailed
justification for using SEND payments to invest in new special school places instead of
mainstream settings will only create unnecessary delays. The government should trust
councils to exercise local democratic oversight and make data-led decisions based on the
local situation.
Reform admissions
Narrow attainment-focused performance pressures are currently disincentivising some
schools from admitting or retaining pupils with SEND. This is exacerbating inequities in
access and requires urgent government intervention. In a recent survey, 41% of senior
school leaders reported that some local schools actively discourage applications from
children and young people with SEND (Sutton Trust, 2026). The gap in access to high-
performing schools is especially large for children with SEND who are eligible for Free
School Meals and do not have an EHCP , with top schools taking in around 36% fewer
pupils in this category than live locally (Sutton Trust, 2026).We are concerned that the current proposals for SEND reform do not do enough to
strengthen fair admissions or ensure genuine accountability across all types of school,
including academies, faith schools and free schools. Restricting access to EHCPs risks
weakening accountability in admissions even further, since EHCPs are currently one of the
main mechanisms by which LAs can direct a maintained school to admit a child or young
person with SEND.
LAs must be given stronger levers to ensure equitable access across all state-funded
schools. They should have the ability to direct placements for children with ISPs as well as
EHCPs, including at academies, faith schools and free schools where necessary.
Accountability and performance frameworks for schools must also be rebalanced so that
inclusion and wellbeing metrics are treated as equal in importance to academic
outcomes, not as secondary considerations. We desperately need a new approach that
moves away from the current high-stakes testing and exam-driven accountability culture,
which incentivises exclusion and indirect selection, towards a broader, child-centred
assessment system.
We urge the government to match its ambitions with decisive action by safeguarding legal
rights, investing in workforce and school capacity and delivering a transparent,
accountable SEND system that meets the needs of every child and family it is meant to
serve. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these proposals further with your
Department.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP , Waveney Valley
Dr Ellie Chowns MP , North Herefordshire
Siân Berry MP , Brighton Pavilion
Carla Denyer MP , Bristol Central
Hannah Spencer MP , Gorton & Denton
Green Party Members of Parliament
RE: Windfall tax on those profiting from the war on Iran to tackle the cost of living crisis
-
Dear Prime Minister and Chancellor,
RE: Windfall tax on those profiting from the war on Iran to tackle the cost of living crisis
Across the UK, millions are barely staying afloat. Energy bills are bursting family budgets, childcare costs are washing away wages, businesses are struggling, and housing costs have skyrocketed. Many of the greatest problems people in the UK are facing right now will intensify as the impacts of the war on Iran continue to ripple through the economy.
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran as part of an illegal war, have caused chaos, killed civilians and have triggered the largest ever disruption to fuel supply, according to the International Energy Agency, sending crude oil costs surging over $100 per barrel in recent days. This has only worsened after the recent attacks on gasfields and LNG processing facilities in Iran and Qatar, which have caused gas prices to jump to four-year highs, with the impacts to be felt for many months and years to come.
Domestically, UK gas prices have more than doubled since late February. They are now at their highest since August 2022 and are likely to drive up energy bills unless action is taken to protect households and businesses when the next price cap is determined. Meanwhile, households are already grappling with the impacts of jumping fuel price increases, making simply getting by increasingly expensive. At the same time, experts are predicting major disruption to production and imports for agriculture inputs like fertilisers, risking further affordability issues for food and drink essentials in the months to come.
This crisis makes clear that the UK must end its reliance on fuels imported from overseas and invest in domestic renewable energy, to ensure British energy security is not left susceptible to global conflicts, disasters, or trade disputes. This will also help accelerate the UK’s transition toward a low-carbon economy, thereby reducing the likelihood of further economic shocks.
Sadly, there are some clear winners of the war on Iran. Oil and gas giants, big banks, agricultural input industries and defence companies will likely make record profits, at the expense of enormous human suffering. In recent crises, like those triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, the wealthiest households and super-rich amassed even greater fortunes - to the tune of hundreds of billions of pounds, while millions were left struggling. Time after time, when wars break out, or major crises unfold, companies across different sectors, alongside super-rich individuals, make eye-watering sums of money. North Sea energy firms are set to make bumper profits. According to new data, for every month that energy prices remain at 18th March 2026 levels, profits could result in over £200m in tax revenue through the Energy Profits Levy. Banks reap profits due to the Bank of England’s misguided decision to raise interest rates in response to supply-side inflation. Higher rates are paid by borrowers - whose mortgage costs are already soaring off the back of the Iran crisis - and the Bank of England itself, which pays interest on the risk-free reserves banks hold with them. The latter cost is ultimately borne by the Treasury, currently to the tune of £20bn per year.
It is not right that extraordinary profits, generated off the backs of ordinary people during periods of crisis, are siphoned off into private hands and corporate bank accounts. All whilst households and businesses are in urgent need of substantial support to cope with the affordability crisis. The government’s own cost of living champion has called for measures to prevent profiteering. We urge you to make this crisis a turning point for the UK. Taking bold action to systemically reform our tax system and invest in our energy security will build resilience in our economy to
withstand future shocks and make life affordable for people and businesses in the UK.
We are writing to you today, as leading organisations from civil society, urging you to:
Ensure a permanent and strengthened energy profits mechanism which captures all excess profits made by oil and gas companies - including windfalls during crises - and close all loopholes which encourage further investment in harmful fossil fuels.
Introduce a levy on banks specifically targeting UK retail net income, profits they have made directly from the UK public.
Apply additional excess profits (windfall) taxes to companies in sectors profiteering from this crisis and the war in Iran, for example big agribusiness, the defence industry and associated AI and tech firms.
Invest revenue from excess profits into direct support to households and businesses to help weather the shock of the affordability crisis, alongside accelerating bringing online mass-scale low and zero carbon solutions to build a resilient energy system in the UK.
The billions in revenue from the additional proposed taxes on windfalls from this crisis must be reinvested into providing direct cost of living support and making our economy more resilient to withstand shocks in the future.
We can break free of the war-energy crisis doom loop, invest in renewables and low-carbon solutions, support people to deal with the cost of living crisis and put Britain on a path to better living standards for everyone in this country.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this letter along with Sian Berry MP, Carla Denyer MP, Hannah Spencer MP and Dr Ellie Chowns MP. Tax Justice UK, Faiza Shaheen, Executive Director
Greenpeace UK, Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Director
Global Witness, Mike Davis, CEO
Women’s Budget Group, Dr Daniella Jenkins, Executive Director
National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary38Degrees, Matthew McGregor, CEO
PCS Union, Fran Heathcote, General Secretary
Positive Money, Sara Hall, Co-Executive Director
End Fuel Poverty Coalition, Simon Francis, Coordinator
Global Justice Now, Nick Dearden, Executive Director
Autonomy Institute, Will Stronge, Chief Executive
Patriotic Millionaires UK, Rebecca Gowland, Executive Director
Green New Deal Rising
350.org, Anne Jellema, Executive Director
Zero Hour, Amy McDonnell and James Sutton, Co-Executive Directors
Care Full, Ruth Hannan & Hannah Webster, Co-Directors
Stamp Out Poverty, David Hillman, Director
War on Want, Liz McKean, Executive Director
Fairness Foundation, Will Snell, Chief Executive
Compass, Lena Swedlow, Deputy Director
Equality Trust, Priya Sahni-Nicholas and Jo Wittams; Co-Executive Directors
Taxpayers Against Poverty, Tom Burgess, CEO
Debt Justice, Heidi Chow, Executive Director
Fuel Poverty Action, Stuart Bretherton, Campaigns Lead
Mainstream
Women’s Environmental Network, Kate Metcalf, Co-Director
Voices Adfocad, Mike O'Brien, Founder
Tipping Point UK, Louise Hazan, Co-Director
Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland, Lisa Hough- Stewart, Interim Director
WEAll Global, Stewart Wallis, Executive Co Chair
Culture Unstained, Chris Garrard, Co-Director
Possible, Hirra Khan Adeogun & Juliet Michaelson, Co-directors
Cost of Living Action, Conor O'Shea, Campaign Coordinator Financial Transparency Coalition, Matti Kohonen, Executive Director
Conflict and Environment Observatory, Doug Weir, Director
JustMoney Movement, Sarah Edwards, Executive Director
Tipping Point North South, Deborah Burton. Co-founder
New Economics Foundation, Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive
CLES (Centre for Local Economies), Dr Sarah Longlands
Oil Change International, Elizabeth Bast, Executive Director
Re: Government time to debate national security assessment on biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security
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The Rt. Hon. Emma Reynolds MP
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
23 March 2026
Re: Government time to debate national security assessment on biodiversity loss, ecosystem
collapse and national security
Dear Secretary of State,
Further to my letter of 3 February 2026, I write again about the Government’s national security
assessment’s stark warning that global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse pose a serious threat to
the United Kingdom’s security and prosperity.
Today, the United Nations warned that the planet is being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance
reach record high and its Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to "deliver climate
security, energy security and national security"
.
In this context, I would be grateful for an indication on when you will set a time to debate the Joint
Intelligence Committee’s report as indicated by the Leader of the House following my Business Question
[AC/IDC1226].
With thanks,
Adrian Ramsay
Letter to the Prime Minister to express our alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
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The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
20 March 2026
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing as Green Party MPs and Peers to express our alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
Already well over 1,000 civilians have been killed, including a reported 168 children killed by a missile now widely believed to be from the United States (Guardian, 2026). UNICEF has reported that the Israeli military's assault on
Lebanon is killing or injuring the equivalent of one classroom of children every day (Reuters, 2026).
In addition to the grave humanitarian impacts, the longer this illegal, unnecessary war continues, the greater the global economic fallout – to which the UK is particularly exposed because it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
In light of this, there are urgent questions your government must answer:
What steps, if any, is your government taking to ensure that B-1 and B-52 bombers taking off from RAF Fairford are being used for ‘specific, limited defensive purposes’– as you committed to?
What assessment have you made, if any, of how many Iranian civilians have been killed by US bombing missions from British air bases?
Are target lists for US strikes from British soil approved by the Ministry of Defence before each mission or audited afterwards?
Is the US being permitted to load banned cluster munitions at British bases?
What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used in violation of international law in Iran, including in the Tomahawk missile systems which may have been involved in the strike on the Shajareh Tayyerbeh girls’s school which killed a reported 168 children and 14 teachers, in the single deadliest known attack so far?
What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used by the Israeli government in violation of international law in Lebanon?
The UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons. It is therefore of the utmost importance that these questions are answered as a matter of urgency.
This illegal war is inflicting untold suffering and devastation in the region and will cause huge and long lasting human, political, economic and environmental ramifications, as well as the immediate impact on the cost-of-living for our constituents. We, as Green Party MPs and Peers, reiterate our calls for the UK government to:
Withdraw all permission for the US to use UK military bases for attacks on Iran.
End all arms sales to and military cooperation with the Israeli government.
Impose sanctions on government officials responsible for breaches of international law.
Condemn the actions of Trump and Netanyahu for their flagrant violations of international law.
Refuse any further complicity in this illegal war.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Carla Denyer MP
Siân Berry MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Letter to the Prime Minister on Bowel Cancer
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The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KC MP
Prime Minister
10 Dowing Street
London
SW1A 2AB
Dear Prime Minister,
Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, with someone diagnosed every 12
minutes. Around one in four people with bowel cancer will be diagnosed in an emergency
setting, often in A&E when the cancer is usually more advanced, and survival chances are
lower.
We want a future where this no longer happens—a future where symptoms are recognised
early, referrals happen quickly, and screening reaches everyone it should, so bowel cancer is
detected at the earliest possible stage. With 609,000 new bowel cancer cases projected in
England by 2040, we pledge to work with Bowel Cancer UK, and the Government to
prioritise reducing cancer deaths and help build a future where bowel cancer is found early,
not in A&E.
Together, we can ensure fewer families lose loved ones to a disease that is treatable and
survivable if diagnosed sooner.
Yours sincerely,
Danny Beales MP
Uxbridge and South
Ruislip
Paul Davies MP
Colne Valley
Helen Morgan MP
North Shropshire
Jim Dickson MP
Susan Murray MP
Shockat Adam MP
Dartford
Mid Dunbartonshire
Leicester South
Linsey Farnsworth
Jo Platt MP
Rt Hon Stuart Andrew
MP
Leigh and Atherton
MP
Amber Valley
Daventry
Adrian Ramsay MP
Waveney Valley
Tonia Antoniazzi MP
Gower
Brian Leishman MP
Alloa and Grangemouth
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Jim Shannon MP
Strangford
Dr Scott Arthur MP
Edinburgh South West
MP
Salford
Martin Vickers MP
Brigg and Immingham
Bob Blackman MP
Harrow East
Douglas McAllister
MP
West Dunbartonshire
Prevalence of Criminal Activity Across the Greyhound Racing Industry
-
The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP
Secretary of State
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
16 March 2026
RE: Prevalence of Criminal Activity Across the Greyhound Racing Industry
Dear Secretary of State,
I am writing further to the correspondence you have recently received from Animal Aid regarding criminal activity and animal protection concerns within the greyhound racing industry. I wish to raise serious concerns about evidence of potential criminality and regulatory failure in the sector, and to urge you to consider the case for a phased ban on the sport. Doing so would both support your Department’s priorities around animal protection as set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, as well as wider Government priorities.
New analysis compiled by Animal Aid demonstrates that the greyhound racing industry continues to fall short of its duty of care to the dogs it breeds, trains and races, and that its system of self‑regulation by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is shielding it from proper legal oversight. Since January 2025, the GBGB has published 128 breaches of its own rules, which Animal Aid assesses amount to 237 possible criminal offences. This includes cases involving dangerous neglect and failures to protect dogs from injury and death, potentially in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Despite these widespread failings, none of these incidents were referred to the police. Instead, suspected criminal activity continues to be addressed internally by the greyhound racing industry. The GBGB has imposed modest fines and reprimands, without external referral or escalation to statutory authorities. This raises significant concerns about the transparency and accountability of an industry in which animals are experiencing widespread harm.
Considering these concerns, I urge you to consider the case for a phased ban on the sport, which is necessary to safeguard animal protection. Such an approach would align with the Government’s commitment to high animal welfare standards and its ambition to deliver world-leading protections, reflecting the values of the UK as a nation of animal lovers.
I would welcome a meeting with you to discuss this issue further and to understand how the Department intends to respond to these concerns.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay
Member of Parliament for Waveney Valley