Green MP demands tougher powers for environmental watchdog after damning OEP report.
13th of January 2026
Green MP demands tougher powers for environmental watchdog after damning OEP report.
Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley and DEFRA lead for the Green MPs, said:
"Today’s Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) report lays bare the scale of the crisis and is a deeply damning indictment of the environmental record of successive governments. The report shows that the majority of the ten environmental targets set out in the Environment Act 2021 have little to no chance of being met by 2030.
"Rather than stepping up action, the Government is actively advancing policies that will further damage it, leaving little realistic chance of stopping the decline of iconic British species such as the hedgehog and red squirrel by 2030. The Government must recognise that halting and reversing the decline of nature is central to our wellbeing and to food security as well as a healthy environment.
"If the Government is serious about its climate and biodiversity commitments, it must give the OEP real teeth, including the power to sanction and fine Government departments and local authorities that fail to meet legally binding targets. This would not be an overreach. It would simply restore the level of environmental accountability that existed before Brexit. Without these powers, the OEP risks becoming a watchdog that can bark but cannot bite, while environmental targets remain unmet and nature continues to decline."
UK-Australia-Canada open letter calling to End Frozen Pensions
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the End Frozen Pensions campaign.
Dear Prime Minister,
We recognise and cherish the deep and enduring relationship between Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which has been built on shared history, values, and mutual respect.
As members of our respective Parliaments, we express our concern regarding the United Kingdom’s frozen pensions policy, which treats UK state pensioners residing in Australia and Canada differently from those residing in other overseas countries (such as the USA, Philippines, Israel and Türkiye). This policy unfairly denies annual pension uprating to pensioners now living in Australia and Canada, despite them having made contributions to the UK National Insurance system under the same rules as pensioners living elsewhere.
We urge the British Government to negotiate new reciprocal social security agreements with Australia and with Canada to end this longstanding inequity and ensure fair treatment for all UK pensioners.
We would be grateful for an urgent response.
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the End Frozen Pensions campaign.
Settlement Rights Open Letter
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The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
11th January 2026
Dear Home Secretary,
We the undersigned write to express our concern with the Government’s proposals to restrict settlement rights. They are unfair towards migrant workers who have put down roots, contributed to their communities and built lives here. This will undermine public services, social integration and the wider economy.
The British public believe in fair play: that if you work hard, follow the rules and contribute, that Government should tread lightly on your life. The proposal to double the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain to 10 years, rising to 15 years for those such as care workers, wrongly deemed “low-skilled”, alongside new conditionality is deeply unfair.
The proposals to change settlement rules would pull the rug from under migrant workers, including in social care who provide dignity and comfort to our loved ones, often in difficult conditions and for low pay. The Government must uphold its promises – we cannot simply change the rules halfway through an agreed process.
These proposals undermine the Government’s priorities for economic growth, reducing child poverty and strong public services. For instance, adult social care already faces around 110,000 vacancies, and as we await the Casey Review and the Fair Pay Agreement, these proposals risk pushing the sector closer to breaking point. While we support efforts to grow and train the domestic workforce, this is a separate task. Restricting the rights of the workers keeping the sector running will not grow the domestic workforce – it will only worsen care provision.
We make the following recommendations to the Home Office:
Halt the consultation process until a full Impact Assessment is published: The Government is making sweeping immigration reforms without transparency regarding its own forecasts on the economy, public services and communities with protected characteristics. It must restart the process with an Impact Assessment, together with a Child Rights Impact Assessment, with the starting point of treating people fairly as well as supporting the economy and public services.
Rule out retrospective application: The Government must immediately rule out applying new immigration rules to migrant families already in the UK. Thousands of families have planned their lives around current rules.
Upholding fairness, trust in Government and the dignity of work are core British values and essential to building
a country that works for everyone.
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP Andrea Egan Dr. Dora-Olivia Vicol,
Unison, General Secretary Work Rights Centre, CEO
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Neil Duncan-Jordan MP.
Letter to the Home Secretary on Gaza Students Policy
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INSERT HERE
The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP
Home Secretary
6 January 2026
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Abtisam Mohamed MP.
Dear Home Secretary,
We are writing to urgently to request a meeting regarding the Government’s evacuation policy
for scholarship students from Gaza, which ended on 31 December 2025.
From the initial application process through to the evacuation stage, students in Gaza have
faced delays, uncertainty, and confusion amid the daily horrors of life under bombardment and
siege. Despite this, dozens have successfully navigated the system and arrived here to start
their studies.
They were able to do so as new guidance confirmed the UK Government’s commitment to the
evacuation of scholarship students, as well as a further agreement for the evacuation of their
dependents. This was extremely welcome.
However, we understand that very few have been evacuated under the agreed policy for
dependents. In December, students were informed that despite previous assurances, no
dependents would be evacuated before the end of the scheme, and that students should take
the opportunity to leave Gaza without them. This included PhD student Mohammed Aldalou
bound for LSE, who has a severely autistic child and was expected to leave him behind in
Gaza.
PhD student Manar al Houbi campaigned for months to be able to take up her place at the
University of Glasgow. She was told repeatedly to either to leave Gaza without her spouse
and children, or to remain behind with her family in danger, abandoning her course.
Manar and her family were eventually evacuated at the end of last year, but this was not the
case for the rest who are still waiting. The wider scheme has now ended; and there is no
confirmed extension to the policy, which is causing extraordinary pressure and uncertainty for
the students. Time is critically short, and we believe that at the very least, an extension of this
scheme would bring both the compassion and the stability needed in these circumstances.
We would be grateful for an urgent response.
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Abtisam Mohamed MP.
Requesting Meeting on Trophy Hunting BanInbox
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Dear Secretary of State,
We are writing to request an urgent meeting.
We applaud many of the measures in the government’s new Animal Welfare Strategy. However, we were surprised and disappointed that banning imports of hunting trophies did not feature.
We are also concerned at suggestions that a ban may be highly selective. You previously stated that you sought to “ban the import of any goods that are related to trophy hunting.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKsLggGf5rY)
Several reports have spelt out the shocking cruelty involved in trophy hunting. This is an issue about which voters feel very strongly. It is also an issue about which there is virtual consensus in Parliament.
We would therefore be grateful if you would agree to a meeting at the earliest available opportunity to clarify both the scope of the government’s proposed ban and the timeline for introducing legislation.
Yours sincerely,
,
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting.
Letter to the Prime Minister urging a review of the business rates changes in the November 2025 budget.
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the Music Venue Trust.
Keir Starmer MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
Xx December 2025
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the decisions on business rates announced in the November 2025 Budget, which will have severe consequences for grassroots music venues (GMVs) across England.
We acknowledge the Government’s intended interventions to ease bills from business rates, including the transitional relief scheme and lower tax multipliers for hospitality. For grassroots music venues, however, these measures merely address symptoms rather than fixing the underlying problem.
Analysis of the incoming 2026 Rateable Values from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), conducted by Music Venue Trust (MVT), reveals a catastrophic picture. The GMV sector faces a collective £7.2 million increase in its tax base. Hundreds of venues will see rises of over 50% in their Rateable Value, with dozens experiencing increases of 100%, 200%, or more. In some cases, venues that have never previously been liable for business rates will now face bills of thousands of pounds. For venues operating on passion and razor-thin margins, these are not bills - they are closure notices.
Grassroots music venues are at the heart of communities and our constituencies. They provide jobs, entertainment, access to local culture, and vital platforms for emerging artists. Yet the VOA’s methodology values them solely as commercial property, blind to their cultural role, community function, and contribution as the research and development engine of the UK’s world-leading music industry.
This creates a direct contradiction: while the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan seeks to drive growth through culture, the VOA’s approach dismantles the very infrastructure on which that plan depends.
The November 2025 Budget compounds this crisis by reducing rate relief from 40% to zero, following the 2024 cut from 75% to 40%. The lower multiplier means a further reduction down to 12% instead of 40%. In 2024, the entire sector of 810 venues returned a gross profit of just £2.5 million yet was asked to absorb £7 million in additional premises taxes. Transitional relief cannot bridge this gap, nor that created by higher rateable values. Data from MVT shows that a venue with a rateable value of £30,000 will see its bill rise from £8,000 under 40% relief in 2025 to £11,000 with no relief in 2026, even on the lowest multiplier.
MVT projects that around 600 GMVs in England face an average 28% increase in business rates, with some reporting rises of 91%. Based on 2025 data, this will directly close 80–120 venues, place another 120–180 at risk, and lead to 200–300 closures over the next four to five years.
Of the 801 GMVs identified in 2025, 38.1% were registered as not for-profit entities, a 15.4% increase on 2024. Despite this number, very few venues receive discretionary rate relief due to dwindling local authority resources. MVT has repeatedly explored multiple avenues with local authorities to aid venues with business rates but, like transitional rate relief, it is merely a sticking plaster on a much deeper wound, and one that is now very rarely a viable option.
HMRC’s fiscal rules further exacerbate the crisis, as operators who can foresee future insolvency risk being deemed to trade recklessly. Once closed, these venues will not be replaced.
The fundamental flaw remains: the system is designed to value property, not cultural purpose. As long as venues are treated as speculative assets rather than cultural utilities, relief measures, however welcome, amount only to temporary stays of execution.
We therefore support the Music Venue Trust’s call for the immediate implementation of an emergency 40% rate relief for GMVs, akin to the relief granted to film studios in 2034, recognising GMVs as critical creative infrastructure.
Reform to date has not gone far enough and the effect on this sector is chilling. Events in these local GMVs sustain high streets across the UK by bringing visitors willing to spend money in hotels, bars, restaurants, shops, and taxis and other businesses.
Without urgent and thoughtful policy solutions, the outcome will be the continued closure of GMVs, with devastating consequences for communities, culture, and the UK’s music industry.
We urge you to act swiftly to safeguard this vital part of our national cultural infrastructure by introducing emergency rate relief for grassroots music venues and establishing a rapid inquiry into the valuation methods for event spaces.
Kind regards
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the Music Venue Trust.
Letter on Agriculture in Palestine
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Steve Witherden MP.
Hamish Falconer MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
19th December 2025
Dear Minister Falconer,
Agriculture has long been central to livelihoods and food security in Gaza. Yet widespread
destruction of farmland, irrigation systems, and storage facilities has devastated production.
Restrictions on seed imports, the lack of locally produced fertilisers and pesticides, and soil
degradation have deepened reliance on food aid. The Israeli Government’s blockade of aid into
the region has led to widespread famine and malnutrition, with children, older people and those
with pre-existing health conditions the most affected.
The UK Government should help establish humanitarian corridors for agricultural inputs -
including seeds, fertilisers, and machinery - and strengthen local food systems to reduce
dependency and restore dignity. Soil contamination and the loss of resilient seed varieties also
require urgent assessment and restoration to safeguard future harvests and resilience.
Agriculture has always been a key source of income and employment across Palestine, with
people frequently working into older age alongside their families. Older farmers who have lived
through recurrent conflict, hold the traditional knowledge to recover the local food systems for
their communities. But access to cultivable land remains limited, with mines, rubble, and
destroyed infrastructure preventing safe farming. The UK should facilitate debris clearance and
land rehabilitation, provide basic tools and seeds to smallholder farmers, and promote shared-
resource farming models that enable collective recovery and market access.
Following the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state, restoring land access and sovereignty is
vital. Many farmers cannot reclaim or cultivate land that has been destroyed, contaminated, or
deliberately targeted and without access to the right equipment. The UK should support land
clearance and safe certification, implement soil regeneration and replanting programmes, and
advocate for farmers’ land rights as part of a recovery that leaves no one behind.
Agricultural relief must intentionally include all marginalised groups – older people, children,
women, and people with disabilities - who are essential to rebuilding Gaza’s agricultural
foundation and ensuring a sustainable, dignified future.
This letter was written alongside Age International, and we hope that you will be able to meet
with us to discuss this further. We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Steve Witherden MP
Diane Abbott MP
Shockat Adam MP
Bell Ribeiro Addy MP
Baroness Alexander of Cleveden
Tahir Ali MP
Josh Babarinde MP
Paula Barker MP
Lorraine Beavers MP
Apsana Begum MP
Sian Berry MP
Olivia Blake MP
Baroness Blower
Richard Burgon MP
Dawn Butler MP
Ian Byrne MP
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Sarah Champion MP
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Marsha De Cordova MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Steve Darling MP
Ann Davies MP
Carla Denyer MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Cat Eccles MP
Tim Farron MP
Andrew George MP
Rachel Gilmour MP
Patricia Ferguson MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Claire Hanna MP
Lord Hendy KC
Chris Hinchliffe MP
Adnan Hussain MP
Imran Hussain MP
Baroness Hussein-Ece
Liz Jarvis MP
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 Lister of Burtersett
Seamus Logan MP
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Andy McDonald MP
John McDonnell MP
Llinos Medi MP
John Milne MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Layla Moran MP
Grahame Morris MP
Lord Oates
Brendan O'Hara MP
Dr Simon Opher MP
Kate Osborne MP
Manuela Perteghella MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Liz Saville Roberts MP
Roz Savage MP
Baroness Sheehan
Lord Singh of Wimbledon
Vikki Slade MP
Cat Smith MP
Jamie Stone MP
Lord Soames of Fletching
Alex Sobel MP
Jon Trickett MP
Valerie Vaz MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Lord Woodley
Mohammad Yasin MP
Adrian Ramsay, has welcomed the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, published today, but warned that it must have real teeth to deliver meaningful improvements for animals.
22nd of December 2025
Green MP for Waveney Valley, Adrian Ramsay, has welcomed the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, published today, but warned that it must have real teeth to deliver meaningful improvements for animals.
Adrian Ramsay said:
“There is much to welcome in the Animal Welfare Strategy, but it must have real teeth to deliver for animals. Ministers must set clear timescales to phase out crates and cages, properly support farmers through the transition and not allow imports that don’t meet UK standards.
“I welcome the action on snares, hunting and puppy farming. Puppy legislation must end breeding for extreme, unhealthy traits in dogs. The strategy could go further for animals, particularly by ending greyhound racing, as the Welsh Government is doing.
“Ending the use of farrowing crates and cages – as we called for in the cross-party letter I organised – is particularly crucial for tackling cruelty, and the strategy must set out how and when this will happen.”
Hunger Strikers - request for urgent meeting with David Lammy MP
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Dear Secretary of State,
We the undersigned MPs, are writing to implore you to meet with Imran Khan & Partners, the lawyers representing the 8 prisoners on hunger strike, immediately.
We note that Imran Khan & Partners wrote to you on the 9th December imploring you to meet with them "before our client’s health deteriorates beyond any possible recovery”. We draw your attention to the section of the letter which details the exceptionally urgent medical status of the prisoners, five of whom have already been hospitalised more than once. In particular the following extremely serious symptoms: pulse above 100 beats per minute, ketone levels above 4 (when they should be 0 in a non-diabetic person), weight loss of more than 10kg, deteriorating vision, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, hypoglycaemia, shallow breath, and signs of memory loss.
We are growing increasingly dismayed at the government’s lack of action to protect the health and well being of British citizens.
If you will not meet with the MPs who are representing the hunger strikers and their loved ones, then we plead with you to urgently meet with their solicitors and act to prevent a catastrophe.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP.
It is time to end the cruelty of cages and crates in UK farming
Originally published on the 12th of December 2025 on https://www.farmersguardian.com/blog/4523182/exclusive-adrian-ramsay-end-cruelty-cages-crates-uk-farming
The UK likes to believe it leads the world on animal welfare. We tell ourselves that we set high standards and that our farms reflect the compassion we hold so dear as a nation. Yet each year, millions of animals are trapped in conditions we would not allow our dogs or cats to endure. In far too many cases, hens are still confined to cages that offer less space than a sheet of A4 paper. Sows remain locked inside farrowing crates for weeks at a time, unable to turn around. Calves begin their lives alone in narrow pens that restrict natural movement. All of this continues despite mounting evidence, clear public concern, and workable alternatives.
Later this month, the Government is due to publish its Animal Welfare Strategy. It is a chance to meaningfully improve the lives of farmed animals. I led a group of 36 MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum, urging the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to use the animal welfare strategy to move towards a more humane treatment of farmed animals. This must start with a time-bound plan to phase out the use of confinement cages and crates in our farming system. However, regulation alone is not enough. The Government must offer financial and practical support to farmers so they can move to higher-welfare systems with confidence.
From talking with the NFU and farmers across my East Anglian constituency, it is clear that many support high welfare standards, and that they would welcome government support for improving welfare standards. They also often feel undercut by the megafarms – huge industrial units of hundreds of thousands of chickens or many thousands of pigs – which are becoming commonplace in East Anglia. Or they feel squeezed by the supermarkets driving down prices. Both these issues need simultaneous government action.
You might ask, Adrian, is this really a big issue? Well, there are almost eight million laying hens remaining in cages where they cannot even stretch their wings. About two hundred thousand pigs spend close to a quarter of their adult lives in farrowing crates. These animals live in conditions that deny their most basic instincts. Many countries in Europe have already recognised this and acted. They are moving away from cages for hens. Some, like Switzerland and Norway, have banned farrowing crates entirely. Research from Humane World for Animals shows that more than two-thirds of people in the UK oppose the use of farrowing crates, so there is growing public support to move towards a more humane system.
In our letter to the Secretary of State, we set out what must be done to bring the UK into line with international best practice. First, the Animal Welfare Strategy should set a timeline for the phase-out of farrowing crates, individual calf pens, and all cages used for birds. Second, the Government must back a funded transition package so that farmers can invest in new housing and management systems for their animals. Finally, stronger enforcement is essential. Too many existing laws go unmonitored and unenforced. New research from the Animal Law Foundation reveals that only 2.2% of UK farms were inspected in 2024, meaning 97.8% of farms received no official welfare visit at all. That means nearly all farms received no visit at all. This leaves both animals and law-abiding farmers at risk, while sending the wrong message to those, who do not follow the regulations. That means nearly all farms received no visit at all. This leaves both animals and law-abiding farmers at risk, while sending the wrong message to those who cut corners.
I was recently at an event where the problem was perfectly summed up. A country cannot claim leadership in animal protection while failing to check that its own laws are followed. When violations rarely lead to consequences, poor practice goes unchallenged. We would not tolerate it in any other regulatory area, nor should we accept it when animals are involved.
Alongside these measures, Greens would like to see trade rules reformed so that imports cannot be allowed where they fail to meet the same standards as are required in UK production. This is fundamental to supporting our farmers. We would also like to see action on supermarkets to stop the practice of driving down prices they pay to farmers to levels that stop farmers making a real living.
And of course, there are many other areas where I am advocating for farmers, such as the need for the Sustainable Farming Incentive to be reopened and put on a long-term footing that farmers can rely on – to help advance nature-friendly farming. Plus, I am pressing the Government to rethink its place on Agricultural Property Relief so that ordinary family farms are not impacted.
On my proposals for the Animal Welfare Strategy, many farmers already lead the way, and many more would join them if given the tools to do so. Higher welfare farming is part of a resilient food system because it supports healthier animals, reduces the risk of disease outbreaks and creates steadier supply chains that are less vulnerable to shocks. The Animal Welfare Strategy provides an opportunity to make improvements that reflect who we are as a country, while providing essential support to farmers for this transition. There’s strong public support for these changes and I hope the government delivers.
Proposed Restrictions on the Use of Terms Such as “Burger” and “Sausage” for Plant Based Foods
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by the Vegetarian Society.
LETTER TO MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
From Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom
Re: Proposed Restrictions on the Use of Terms Such as “Burger” and “Sausage” for Plant Based Foods
06/12/2025
Dear Commissioners,
We write as members of the UK Parliament to express our deep concern regarding the proposed ban on the use of everyday, well-understood food terms, such as ‘burger’, ‘sausage’, and similar descriptors, when used for plant-based products. Although the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, our markets, companies, consumers, and regulatory conversations remain closely intertwined. Decisions taken at EU level continue to influence global norms, international trade, and the direction of sustainable food innovation.
We urge you not to adopt these restrictions, as we are deeply concerned about the significant global impact they could have. The evidence is clear: existing legislation already protects consumers; consumers themselves overwhelmingly understand and support current naming conventions; and new restrictions would undermine economic growth, sustainability goals, and the EU’s own simplification agenda.
1. Current legislation already ensures consumer protection
The Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation provides extensive safeguards against consumer confusion. The European Court of Justice confirmed in Case C-438/23 that the current legislative framework is fully adequate to protect and inform consumers and to address misleading presentation when it arises1.
The Court also reiterated that existing rules already mandate transparency when expected ingredients are substituted - requirements that plant-based producers consistently follow.
This position has also been acknowledged at multiple points by the European Commission (see 2020 response2, 2022 response3 and 2024 response4).
2. Most consumers are not confused, however, a ban could increase confusion
1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:62023CJ0438
2 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-004966-ASW_EN.html 3 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2022-002681-ASW_EN.html 4 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-002312-ASW_EN.html
Research consistently shows that consumers intentionally choose plant-based alternatives and do not confuse them with animal meat.
The Advocate-General’s Opinion (Capeta, 2024) explicitly warns that banning familiar food terms could increase confusion, not reduce it5. Empirical studies reinforce this finding:
• BEUC study (2020): ~80% support use of terms like ‘veggie burger’6 • Smart Protein (2023): Only 9% of consumers do not recognise plant-based meat alternatives7
• Germany (2022): 92% identify plant-based alternatives correctly8
• Spain (2021): Only 13% oppose plant-based use of traditional terms9 • Portugal (2021): >95% understand that plant-based alternatives contain no animal meat10
• Greece (2024): ~82% do not oppose current naming11
• Empirical study on label clarity (Gleckel, 2020)12
These findings show an overwhelming pattern; most European consumers understand the terminology for plant-based foods well.
3. The proposed ban undermines competitiveness, innovation, and the single market
Introducing a denomination ban would run counter to the EU’s commitments on simplification and competitiveness. It would create administrative burdens, force companies to redesign packaging, and generate inconsistencies across languages and Member States.
This is particularly problematic given the rapid growth of the plant-based market: • Europe remains the world’s largest consumer market for plant-based alternatives13
5
https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=289831&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mo de=req
6 https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/beuc-x-2020-
042_consumers_and_the_transition_to_sustainable_food.pdf
7 https://smartproteinproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/Smart-Protein-European-Consumer-Survey_2023.pdf 8 https://www.vzbv.de/sites/default/files/2022-
04/220307_IFH%20K%C3%96LN_Verbraucherzentrale_Kennzeichnung%20von%20Ersatzprodukten_final.p df9 https://proveg.com/es/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/Resultados-estudio-nomenclatura-alimentos vegetales.pdf
10 https://www.atrevia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Relatorio_Upfield_FINAL_UCP.pdf 11 https://hellasveg.gr/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/survey-2024-final_EN.pdf
12https://ssrn.com/abstract=3727710
13 https://gfi.org/resource/plant-based-meat-eggs-and-dairy-state-of-the-industry-report
• The EU market grew 21% between 2020 and 202214
• Consumer trends show rising flexitarianism and reduced meat consumption15 • 31% of Europeans are reducing meat intake16
• Economic modelling demonstrates substantial opportunities: Plant-based dietary shifts could increase farm incomes by up to 71%17
• Alternative proteins could create 83 million jobs globally by 205018 • This sector is also a major opportunity for European farmers, with most crops used in plant-based dairy grown inside the EU (ProVeg International, 2022).
4. Plant-based foods support climate goals and European food security
Alternative proteins offer some of the highest emissions-reduction returns per euro invested, outperforming investments in electric vehicles and green building initiatives19.
They are also identified as one of the key ‘super-leverage points’ that can accelerate transitions across multiple sectors. Meldrum et al. (2023): The Breakthrough Effect.
Greater cultivation of pulses and legumes improves soil fertility and reduces fertiliser dependency, lowering production costs20,21. All of this shows that expanding plant-based options is aligned with environmental, economic, and food-security goals.
Conclusion
We recognise the importance of protecting consumers and ensuring clarity in food labelling. However, the evidence is unequivocal:
• Current EU law already provides full protection
• Consumers overwhelmingly understand and support the existing naming system • The proposed restrictions could damage competitiveness, innovation, and climate progress.
Clear labelling, not unnecessary terminology bans, is the best approach for consumers, producers, and the future of sustainable European food systems.
14 https://gfieurope.org/market-insights-on-european-plant-based-sales-2020-2022/ 15 https://smartproteinproject.eu/market-research/
16 https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2954
17 https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12530
18 https://www.climateworks.org/ginas-methane/
19 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/combating-climate-crisis-with-alternative-protein 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.03.024
21 https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.175
We therefore urge the Commission to reject these restrictions and maintain the current, proportionate, effective regulatory framework, which we firmly believe sets the global standard for best practice.
Yours sincerely,
Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom
Siân Berry MP
Irene Campbell MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Carla Denyer MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
Navendu Mishra MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Alex Sobel MP
Also supported by:
The McCartney Family
Giving staff time to travel sustainably is smart business - letter for the Financial Times
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by We Are Possible.Giving staff time to travel sustainably is smart business
Many employees would choose low-carbon travel for their holidays if they did not have to forfeit precious time off work. Sustainable Travel Leave, pioneered by the charity Possible, offers a simple fix: grant a small amount of extra paid leave when staff choose trains, coaches or ferries instead of flying.
The principle is straightforward. A London–Berlin rail journey cuts emissions by roughly 92% but takes seven hours longer than flying. Under the Sustainable Travel Leave policy, employers cover that additional time with a modest leave allowance.
Possible has already supported almost 200 employers to adopt the policy, and it is now spreading internationally as standard practice. Employees can make lower-carbon choices; employers face minimal disruption.
Six years’ worth of data shows that the extra amount of leave taken averages just three minutes per employee per month. Yet participating organisations report measurable gains: 74% say it increases staff motivation and wellbeing, 67% say it has aided recruitment efforts, and 81% say it helps embed sustainability across their operations.
We are calling on the Cabinet Office to offer Sustainable Travel Leave within the Civil Service. It is an ultra low-cost way to align workplace practice with the Government’s net-zero strategy while improving the public-sector employee offer. It also signals credible leadership at a time when voters expect consistency between climate ambition and day-to-day decisions. Crucially, it requires no new regulation, no subsidy and no complex administration.
The UK has repeatedly shown that people embrace climate-positive measures when they are practical and fair. Allowing employees modest time to travel responsibly is exactly that: commercially sensible, reputationally valuable and operationally light. It should become a standard part of the modern employment offer, in Whitehall and beyond.
Adrian celebrates small and independent businesses and encourages everyone to show their support in the lead up to Christmas
4th December 2025
This week, in the lead up to Small Business Saturday, Waveney Valley MP Adrian Ramsay visited a number of small businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk and attended A Taste of Suffolk, Wine and Cheese in Parliament.
Speaking after the event, Adrian said,
“Small and independent businesses are the backbone of our communities. They create local jobs, bring life to our high streets, and help our market towns thrive. Their success sends out benefits that reach well beyond any single town or high street.”
After speaking with Flint Vineyard, Adrian said,
“Waveney Valley is blessed to have a diverse and thriving independent business like Flint Vineyard just outside Bungay. It is creating outstanding wine - showing the diversity of what can be grown in East Anglia - and supporting local jobs. Reducing VAT for hospitality and reversing the employer National Insurance rise, as the Green Party has proposed, would ease pressure on small businesses like this.”
Adrian added that he always makes a point of visiting local traders.
“Whenever I am in one of our market towns, I try to drop into a few businesses, including local gems such as Zoe’s Kitchen, a beautiful cafe by The Mere in Diss. I talked to the owner about the challenges of rising costs and also about how there's a lot of support locally for our high streets.”
Cross-party Parliamentarians urge Government to end cruelty of cages and crates in UK farming ahead of forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy.
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Adrian Ramsay MP initiated this cross-party letter with Irene Campbell MP.
3rd December 2025
The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Dear Secretary of State,
We are writing as cross-party Parliamentarians to request that the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy includes a time-bound phase-out of all confinement cages and crates in farming, alongside a properly funded package of support for farmers to transition away from this practice.
Every year, millions of farmed animals in the UK endure severe and prolonged suffering confined to crates and cages. Around 8 million laying hens are kept in cages no larger than an A4 sheet of paper, unable to forage, feel sunlight, or fully stretch their wings. In addition, around 200,000 mother pigs spend nearly a quarter of their adult lives in farrowing crates, unable to turn around for weeks at a time and forced to nurse their piglets through metal bars.
The UK claims to have some of the highest farmed animal welfare standards. But despite progress in moving towards cage-free systems, millions of animals are still suffering daily, leaving us behind a number of European countries. Cagesfor hens are either banned or being phased-out in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Slovenia and Slovakia. Farrowing crates for sows are banned in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.
In the UK there is clear and growing public, professional and industry-level support for ending this cruel and unnecessary practice. Research from Humane World for Animals shows that over two-thirds of the public oppose the use of farrowing crates. The British Veterinary Association reports that 75% of vets are concerned about the welfare impacts of these crates. And many farmers are ready and willing to transition away from this practice, given appropriate support to do so.
This Government was elected on a mandate to deliver the most ambitious animal welfare improvements in a generation. To deliver on this promise, we call on you to ensure the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy includes:
A time-bound phase-out of farrowing crates for sows, individual calf pens, and all cages used for birds, including hens, partridges, pheasants and quail.
A comprehensive, funded package of support to help farmers transition to higher-welfare systems.
Adequate resourcing for enforcement bodies and enhanced enforcement powers.
Measures to ensure Parliament can properly track and scrutinise progress on the phase-out, and the Strategy more broadly.
We should be grateful for your response to this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP
Irene Campbell MP
Fleur Anderson MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Siân Berry MP
Bob Blackman MP
Olivia Blake MP
Richard Burgon MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Carla Denyer MP
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Sarah Edwards MP
Andrew George MP
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Andrew Gwynne MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Terry Jermy MP
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Clive Lewis MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
John McDonnell MP
Helen Maguire MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Manuela Perteghella MP
Peter Prinsley MP
Baroness Redfern
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP
Andrew Rosindell MP
Vikki Slade MP
Alex Sobel MP
Ian Sollom MP
Steve Witherden MP
Cross-party Parliamentarians urge Government to end cruelty of cages and crates in UK farming ahead of forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy.
3rd of December 2025
A cross-party group of over 35 Parliamentarians coordinated by Green MP Adrian Ramsay, have today written to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs urging her to ensure that the Animal Welfare Strategy - expected later this month - includes a time-bound phase-out of all confinement cages and crates in UK farming, alongside a fully-funded package to support farmers through the transition.
The letter urges the Government to commit to a phase-out of farrowing crates for sows, individual calf pens, and all cages used for birds. It also calls for adequate financial support to help farmers transition to higher-welfare systems.
Every year, millions of farmed animals in the UK endure severe and prolonged needless suffering inside cages and crates that restrict natural movement and behaviour. Sows in crates cannot turn around, while hens in cages can't even fully stretch their wings.
Speaking after submitting the letter Adrian Ramsay, the Green MP for Waveney Valley, said:
“We often say the UK leads the world on animal welfare, yet millions of animals remain confined in awful conditions that many other European countries have already moved away from. As a nation that prides itself on caring for animals, it is unacceptable that these cruel practices continue. The Animal Welfare Strategy is the moment to put this right and set a clear timetable for moving away from crates and cages.”
The MPs warn that failing to act would mean a wasted opportunity to deliver the ambitious and essential animal welfare improvements that voters were promised.
The letter also calls for stronger resources and powers for enforcement bodies, to ensure already existing laws surrounding animal protection are properly enforced.
This comes as new data reveals that only 2.2% of UK farms were inspected in 2024, meaning 97.8% of farms received no official welfare visit at all. The report, published by the Animal Law Foundation today, highlights the current state of monitoring and enforcement in UK farms.
Edie Bowles, Executive Director, The Animal Law Foundation said:
"The UK government cannot claim to be a world leader in animal protection while failing to enforce the laws that already exist.
"This is our third report, and it is also our third year of disappointment. Year after year, the evidence tells the same story: the system is simply not working. When only a tiny fraction of violations ever lead to consequences, the message to industry is clear: breaking the law carries no real risk."
ENDS
Full letter & signatories:
3rd December 2025
The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Dear Secretary of State,
We are writing as cross-party Parliamentarians to request that the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy includes a time-bound phase-out of all confinement cages and crates in farming, alongside a properly funded package of support for farmers to transition away from this practice.
Every year, millions of farmed animals in the UK endure severe and prolonged suffering confined to crates and cages. Around 8 million laying hens are kept in cages no larger than an A4 sheet of paper, unable to forage, feel sunlight, or fully stretch their wings. In addition, around 200,000 mother pigs spend nearly a quarter of their adult lives in farrowing crates, unable to turn around for weeks at a time and forced to nurse their piglets through metal bars.
The UK claims to have some of the highest farmed animal welfare standards. But despite progress in moving towards cage-free systems, millions of animals are still suffering daily, leaving us behind a number of European countries.Cages for hens are either banned or being phased-out in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Slovenia and Slovakia. Farrowing crates for sows are banned in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.
In the UK there is clear and growing public, professional and industry-level support for ending this cruel and unnecessary practice. Research from Humane World for Animals shows that over two-thirds of the public oppose the use of farrowing crates. The British Veterinary Association reports that 75% of vets are concerned about the welfare impacts of these crates. And many farmers are ready and willing to transition away from this practice, given appropriate support to do so.
This Government was elected on a mandate to deliver the most ambitious animal welfare improvements in a generation. To deliver on this promise, we call on you to ensure the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy includes:
A time-bound phase-out of farrowing crates for sows, individual calf pens, and all cages used for birds, including hens, partridges, pheasants and quail.
A comprehensive, funded package of support to help farmers transition to higher-welfare systems.
Adequate resourcing for enforcement bodies and enhanced enforcement powers.
Measures to ensure Parliament can properly track and scrutinise progress on the phase-out, and the Strategy more broadly.
We should be grateful for your response to this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP
Irene Campbell MP
Fleur Anderson MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Siân Berry MP
Bob Blackman MP
Olivia Blake MP
Richard Burgon MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Carla Denyer MP
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Sarah Edwards MP
Andrew George MP
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Andrew Gwynne MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Terry Jermy MP
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Clive Lewis MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
John McDonnell MP
Helen Maguire MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Manuela Perteghella MP
Peter Prinsley MP
Baroness Redfern
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP
Andrew Rosindell MP
Vikki Slade MP
Alex Sobel MP
Ian Sollom MP
Steve Witherden MP
A Letter on the Urgent Need for Targeted Prostate Cancer Screening
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Prostate Cancer Research
Dear Secretary of State,
We write united by a belief that no man should die because of his postcode, ethnicity, or GP access.
Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in UK men, with over 63,000 diagnoses and 12,000 deaths annually.i Today, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) meets to decide on prostate cancer screening. This is a defining moment for men’s health. The Government must be ready to act so that those at highest risk – men aged 45–69 who are Black, have a family history of prostate, breast or ovarian cancer, or carry BRCA1/BRCA2 variants, all of whom face at least twice the average risk of developing prostate cancer – are no longer left behind.ii
1) A growing inequity
The latest National Prostate Cancer Audit (2025) shows inequalities are deepening. Men in deprived areas are more likely to present with advanced disease and more likely to die.iii Our current opportunistic PSA testing system is unstructured, inefficient and unfair – a postcode lottery where some men succeed because they know to ask or can pay privately, while others are turned away despite repeated requests.
Yet the data hide what cannot be modelled: eroded trust among communities who feel abandoned. Black men, already at higher risk, often believe the system fails them. Families bear devastating emotional and financial burdens from late-stage disease – costs absent from formal modelling but among the most compelling reasons to act.
2) The evidence is now clear
The evidence shows screening saves lives. The 23-year follow-up of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer demonstrated a 13% mortality reduction – comparable to breast and bowel screening, with the numbers needed to screen and treat to prevent a death in line with those for existing programmes.v
Modern diagnostic pathways have transformed safety. Prostate Cancer UK’s 2024 analysis found harms reduced by 79% thanks to MRI and improved biopsy techniques.vi The Göteborg-2 trial confirmed pre-biopsy MRI halves overdiagnosis.vii
Today, the pathway is entirely different to when the UK NSC last evaluated screening: men have an MRI before any biopsy is considered; biopsies are carried out using safer transperineal methods; and low-grade cancers are far less likely to be detected – and, when they are, they are managed with active surveillance rather than treatment. Harms that once justified inaction have largely been engineered out.
These advances mean we now have the tools to deliver screening safely and effectively, yet the system is frozen waiting for next-generation trial data. Comments in The Times (3 October) suggest results from the upcoming TRANSFORM trial may take over a decade.viii Waiting would entrench inequality and allow preventable deaths. Evidence is strong enough to act now.Perfection must not be the enemy of progress.
3) Practical, affordable and efficient
Targeted screening is practical and affordable. Prostate Cancer Research’s 2025 report, Prostate Cancer Screening: The Impact on the NHS, with modelling by Carnall Farrar, shows additional annual costs would be around £25m – just 0.01% of the NHS budget – with modest workforce uplift and costs per screen comparable to existing programmes.ix Recent data also show a simplified MRI, taking 10 minutes, is as effective as current scans, opening the path to increased capacity within existing resources.x
The socio-economic benefits are substantial. Deloitte UK modelling found a five-year targeted programme would deliver a net benefit of £54m through earlier diagnosis, reduced treatment costs, and quality-of-life gains.xi Late-stage treatment averages £127,000 per patient vs. £13,000 for early-stage.xii Every delay costs lives and money.
Public support is overwhelmingly behind action: a nationally representative Healthwatch England poll of 3,575 men found 79% would attend screening if invited.xiii Tens of thousands have called on Parliament to act. We have a duty to listen, and to act.
4) Learning from the world
The UK can lead but risks falling behind. Sweden’s Organised Prostate Testing (OPT) programme shows that structured, equitable testing is achievable even without a formal programme, laying the groundwork for a future national rollout.xiv Across Europe, the EU is implementing its prostate cancer screening recommendation, and Australia is preparing to endorse risk-adapted testing for high-risk men.xv xvi
Introducing targeted screening would be a legacy-defining advance for men’s health, aligned with the ambitions of the Men’s Health Strategy and the National Cancer Plan.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Prostate Cancer Research.
i prostatecanceruk.org/for-health-professionals/data-and-evidence
ii James ND, Tannock I, N'Dow J et al. The Lancet Commission on prostate cancer: planning for the surge in cases. Lancet.
2024 Apr 27;403(10437):1683-1722. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00651-2. Epub 2024 Apr 4. Erratum in: Lancet. 2024 Apr
27;403(10437):1634. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00748-7
iii National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) State of the Nation Report 2025. London: National Cancer Audit Collaborating
Centre, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2025. natcan.org.uk/reports/npca-state-of-the-nation-report-2025/
iv Roobol MJ, de Vos II, Månsson M, et al. European Study of Prostate Cancer Screening - 23-Year Follow-up. N Engl J Med.
2025 Oct 30;393(17):1669-1680. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2503223
v Vickers A. Early Detection of Prostate Cancer - Time to Fish or Cut Bait. N Engl J Med. 2025 Oct 30;393(17):1742-1743. doi:
10.1056/NEJMe2509793
vi Norori N, Burns-Cox L, Blaney N et al. Using real world data to bridge the evidence gap left by prostate cancer screening
trials, ESMO Real World Data and Digital Oncology, Volume 6, 2024, 100073, ISSN 2949-8201, doi:
10.1016/j.esmorw.2024.100073
vii Hugosson J, Månsson M, Wallström J et al. Prostate Cancer Screening with PSA and MRI Followed by Targeted Biopsy Only.
N Engl J Med. 2022 Dec 8;387(23):2126-2137. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2209454
ix Prostate Cancer Research. Prostate Cancer Screening: Impact on the NHS; 2025
x Ng ABCD, Asif A, Agarwal R et al. Biparametric vs Multiparametric MRI for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis: The PRIME Diagnostic
Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2025 Oct 7;334(13):1170-1179. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.13722
xi Prostate Cancer Research. Socio-Economic Impact of Prostate Cancer Screening; 2024
xii Prostate Cancer Research, ibid
xiii healthwatch.co.uk/blog/2025-10-08/men-would-come-forward-prostate-cancer-screening
xiv Bratt O, Godtman RA, Jiborn T et al. Population-based Organised Prostate Cancer Testing: Results from the First Invitation
of 50-year-old Men. Eur Urol. 2024 Mar;85(3):207-214. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2023.11.013
xv EU Council Recommendation 2022/2381 and Beating Cancer Plan updates (2024). consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-
releases/2022/12/09/council-updates-its-recommendation-to-screen-for-cancer/
xvi Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Public Consultation: Draft 2025 Clinical Guidelines for the Early Detection of
Prostate Cancer. pcfa.org.au/public-consultation/
Letter to Chancellor on Tax-Free Childcare Cap
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Claire Hanna MP.
Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
Westminster
London
SW1A 2HQ
25 November 2025
Dear Chancellor,
We are writing to you as Members of Parliament and stakeholders from across England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales, alongside Pregnant Then Screwed, the leading charity working to end the motherhood
penalty, to request urgent action to support families who are struggling with the rising cost of childcare.
As per previous correspondence earlier this year, we are calling for the cap on Tax-Free Childcare, fixed at
£2,000 per child per year since the scheme was introduced in 2017, to be uprated in line with inflation.
Since 2017, prices have risen by approximately 34%, yet the cap has never been adjusted. As a result, the
real value of the support available to families has been significantly eroded.
During this period, childcare costs across the UK have increased sharply, placing growing pressure on
households already struggling to make ends meet. Updating the Tax-Free Childcare cap to reflect inflation
would be a simple, fair and effective way to ease the financial burden on families.
It is also important to note that many other benefits and forms of support, including tax credits and
pensions are uprated each year. We therefore believe it is both reasonable and consistent that the same
principle should be applied to the Tax-Free Childcare cap.
The forthcoming Budget provides an opportunity to address this. Increasing the cap would offer vital
support to parents and would strengthen the economy by enabling more parents to enter, remain in or
return to the workforce.
We look forward to your response.
The upcoming budget is a chance to delivering real, lasting improvements for people.
19th of November 2025
Across the country, families are struggling to get by, children are going to bed hungry, and millions cannot keep their homes warm, while the ultra-wealthy continue to get richer, and inequality grows. The Chancellor has a chance to change that in the upcoming budget, by taxing extreme wealth fairly, tackling the cost-of-living crisis, and delivering real, lasting improvements for people.
This cannot be viewed in isolation. By continuing real terms cuts to public services, Labour has pushed people who were already struggling even deeper into poverty while those who need support the most are often unable to access it. You only need to look at the scandal in our Special Educational Need (SEND) system to see one example of the consequences.
This is a system that successive governments have failed to get a grip of. Recently, I joined parents and campaigners outside Norfolk County Hall for Every Pair Tells a Story. The steps of County Hall were lined with rows of empty shoes, each pair representing a child who has been failed by the SEND system. It was moving and powerful to hear parents talk about the struggle to secure even the most basic support for their children. At the same time, the number of families in Waveney Valley who rely on foodbanks has grown by 50% since 2019. Meanwhile, the wealthiest in Britain continue to grow richer. Billionaire wealth rose by £35 million a day last year, and the fifty richest families now hold more wealth than half the population combined.
So, I find it hard to believe when Ministers keep insisting there is not enough money to lift children out of poverty, to properly fund our schools, or to provide vital support for people with disabilities. The Chancellor's self-imposed fiscal rules are not putting the markets at ease, nor are they delivering for people, nor helping the economy advance into the greener future we need. For politics to mean anything it must deliver for people. That is why this week I joined other Green Party MPs, our leadership and Council Leaders and Deputy Leaders from around the country in calling on the Chancellor to tax wealth fairly, end the cost-of-living crisis, and deliver real change now.
Our wealth tax measures alone would raise over £30 billion a year and form part of a broader package of reforms to tackle the growing inequality in the UK. This includes introducing a wealth tax of 1 per cent on assets over £10 million and 2 per cent on assets over £1 billion, which could raise at least £14.8 billion annually. It also means changing Capital Gains Tax, currently the lowest in the G7, so that income from work is not taxed more than income from wealth. This change could raise around £12 billion a year. We have also called on the Chancellor to introduce National Insurance on investment income, in line with employment income, which could raise at least £6.1 billion per year. It should not be radical to expect that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share.
In addition to reforming the tax system to make it fairer, those doing the most damage to our environment should not be subsidised to continue the destruction of our natural world. This is why we would end financial handouts to fossil fuel producers, saving an estimated £2.7 billion each year. We have also called on the Chancellor to tax windfall profits of UK retail banks. This could raise around £11.3 billion this year from Britain’s big four banks alone.
These tax measures will enable the government to take urgent action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. We are calling on them to commit to both immediate and long-term measures that meaningfully address rising costs and lift children out of poverty.
Firstly, we would move policy costs off electricity bills. But instead of scrapping funding for home insulation to cover this, like the government is rumoured to be thinking about, we are calling on the Chancellor to pay for these policy costs through taxation, including wealth taxation. This move would cut a household’s electricity bill by around 17%. For a ‘typical’ household this could mean a £156 cut per year.
We would also go further, ending the link between gas and electricity prices which pushes electricity prices up, and means many ordinary people aren’t feeling the full benefits of the growth of cheaper renewables. According to Greenpeace, this could cut bills by £5.1 billion annually within two years. Or £65 per year for the average household.
We should invest in a mass retrofit revolution, led by local authorities, to insulate every home, street by street. This would not only save people money on their bills, but crucially, it would also support local economies by creating good, high-quality jobs across the country.
We would also scrap the cruel two-child benefit cap, lifting 330,000 children out of poverty, and introduce free school meals for all primary and secondary school children. Families from all backgrounds struggle with food insecurity, and this measure would not only save households £490 per child per year but also ensure that every child in the country receives at least one hot meal at school every day.
In politics, it all comes down to choice. We can choose to keep people in poverty while billionaire and multimillionaire wealth grows ever larger, or we can choose to lift people out of poverty and begin addressing the structural issues in our society. In next week’s budget, this Labour government has only one morally right option: tax wealth fairly, tackle the cost-of-living crisis head on, and rebuild our country for the better.
Every Pair Tells a Story: The Human Cost of a Broken SEND System
10th of November 2025
Recently, I joined parents and campaigners outside Norfolk County Hall for “Every Pair Tells a Story.” The steps of County Hall were lined with rows of empty shoes, each pair representing a child who has been failed by the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. It was a powerful sight, both moving and enraging. Behind each set of shoes was a story of a family pushed to the edge by a system that has promised help, only to deliver delay and bureaucracy.
Standing there, surrounded by those empty shoes, I felt a mix of grief and rage at how badly these children have been let down. The SEND crisis is not new. It is not unforeseen. It has been warned about for years, reported on repeatedly. Yet still, children are waiting months or even years for assessments. Schools are still expected to cope with too little funding and too few resources. Still, parents are forced into legal battles to secure the basic support their child is entitled to by law.
Every one of those shoes told a story that should send a powerful message to those in power. A story of a child denied an Education, Health and Care Plan because of a stretched budget. A story of a pupil struggling without the proper support, then ending up out of school. A story of parents taking time off work, fighting bureaucracy to get their child what the system is supposed to provide. These are not statistics. They are children. And they deserve better.
Like many MPs, children who have been let down by the SEND system form a big part of my caseload, and I do everything I can to advocate for them. But the truth is that there are major systemic issues that need addressing in order for the situation to change.
What makes this situation so maddening is that the failures are systemic, predictable, and could be resolved with genuine political will. Successive governments have known for years that SEND provision is collapsing under the weight of rising demand and inadequate funding. Councils like Norfolk and Suffolk have pleaded for fairer settlements and better guidance, while schools juggle impossible workloads and overstretched budgets. The result is a system built on goodwill and desperation, where families are expected to do the heavy lifting while ministers debate policy papers and budgets.
The anger among parents is not misplaced. They are not asking for special treatment. All they are asking is that the system meet its legal responsibilities. The Children and Families Act 2014 was supposed to guarantee that children with additional needs would receive coordinated, timely, and appropriate support. More than a decade later, for many, those guarantees exist only on paper. Families are left chasing paperwork, fighting for appeals, and explaining their child’s condition again and again to a carousel of professionals who often lack the resources or authority to act.
It is time for the Government at all levels to stop making excuses and start delivering change. This means urgent investment in early intervention, proper funding for Education, Health and Care Plans, and genuine accountability when councils fail to meet their legal duties. It means ensuring schools have the specialist staff and resources to meet children’s needs and that teachers receive the support and training needed to enable far more children to thrive in mainstream schools. And for those children for whom a mainstream school is not the right setting, we need adequate spaces in alternative provision schools. At its core, we need a system that treats parents as partners, not adversaries, and children as real people whose right to proper support is non-negotiable.
Norfolk and Suffolk’s children deserve better than being represented by empty shoes on cold concrete. They deserve classrooms that welcome them, schools that have the resources to help them, and councils that see them as individuals rather than numbers on a spreadsheet. I will keep pressing both the Government and county councils to deliver the reforms and funding that are long overdue.
Introduction of a Medal for British Soldiers Injured in Combat
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Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Davin Baines MP.
Re: Introduction of a Medal for British Soldiers Injured in Combat
Dear Minister,
I am writing to urge the Government to support the campaign of my constituent Corporal Andy Reid MBE to establish an official medal to recognise British service personnel who have been wounded or injured while serving on active duty.
In October 2009, Corporal Andy Reid MBE stepped on a Taliban improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Injured so badly that it was thought he would not survive, he defied the odds to the extent that, within a month, he was able to meet up with members of his patrol again. Since then, as a triple amputee, he has gone on to carry out many arduous challenges to raise money for charity and give back to the associations that helped him and his family through difficult times.
Through his Standing Tall Foundation, Andy continues to provide invaluable support to injured service personnel and their families, demonstrating remarkable dedication to those who have served and also to the wider community.
Currently, UK service personnel who are wounded in active service receive no formal medal or honour to reflect the profound physical and mental sacrifices they have made in defence of our country. While the Elizabeth Cross appropriately recognises the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, there is no equivalent recognition for those who bear the wounds of their service. This stands in stark contrast to our international allies: the United States awards the Purple Heart, and India presents the Wound Medal or Parakram Padak to those injured in conflict.
Andy understands intimately the sacrifices made by our armed forces and is leading the charge for this vital recognition. As Andy eloquently states: "For many injured soldiers that bit of recognition in the form of a medal for
the mental and physical sacrifices they have made would give them that real boost they might need – a thank you from the nation that might just pull them out of that dark place and move forward with their lives towards a better future."
This medal would provide something instantly recognisable to the general population – a visible acknowledgement that this individual has paid a sacrifice for their safety and the safety of the nation.
My colleagues and I look forward to your response and to working with you on this important matter.
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Davin Baines MP.