In the more than decade I have had the privilege of serving as your MP for Norwich South, I don’t think I have ever attended a meeting quite as moving as the one we held in Parliament this week. 🧵

3/3 If there is really to be growth in every postcode, serious attention needs to be paid to our region

2/3 That’s why I and Norwich City Council Labour Group leader Cllr @carliharper.bsky.social have written to the PM, Chancellor and First Secretary of State urging them to back Norwich and the East in the Budget.

1/3 Norwich and the East of England offer so much to the UK, culturally, socially and economically. But the region’s potential is severely limited, receiving the lowest public investment per head across England.

2/2 I recently signed @neilduncanjordan.bsky.social's letter calling for Labour to protect the living standards of disabled people by rejecting poverty-inducing cuts. This is an opportunity to show disabled people who’s side we’re on. A return to the Labour way.

1/2 In his conference speech, Andy Burnham said that crude cuts to welfare are not the Labour way. That we need to invest in people and their success. He’s right. This should mark a reset in our approach to welfare, including to benefits for disabled people.

Former Labour Deputy Leader Lord Thomas Watson, now Senior VP at Palantir UK, wrote to me defending their public contracts. Instead of trading letters, I’ve challenged him to an open, public debate. He can defend Palantir’s ethos; I’ll argue for public accountability. Will you accept, Tom?

2/3 This is a vital moment to take on those interests. To take on the likes of Thames Water, who have been ripping us off for years.

1/3 Andy Burnham’s upcoming 10-year plan is a real opportunity to start taking back control of our economy. To break the cycle of government’s being dictated to by vested interests.

11/ This could reshape UK politics. The labour movement must prepare for a proportional voting system and its implications for our political culture. We welcome this, and will build a movement ready to put democratic socialist values into practice.

10/ On electoral reform: The PM agreed with conference votes, announced a national commission, and promised a manifesto commitment for a system where every vote counts. Only PR meets that test.

9/ With like-minded colleagues, I will support what is good, push further and faster, seek clarity, and prevent backsliding from those inside government who want to slow the pace or narrow the scope.

8/ Despite this, the direction of travel is clear: more public ownership, more public control, and an end to relying on the market for basics. Everyone who campaigned for this should feel proud. This is just the start.

7/ On the triple lock: Moving to weaken the pension triple lock from 2030 to pay for social care is the wrong approach. With 1.7m pensioners in poverty, redistributing resources within our class is a sledgehammer. We should target extreme wealth with a scalpel instead.

6/ More key concerns: • Growth: Relies on public control & devolved power, but lacks clear plans for long-term investment or broader prosperity metrics. • Orthodoxy: Sticking to rigid fiscal rules risks undermining these promises. The Budget is the test.

5/ Where it falls short: • Scale: The gap between diagnosis and modest immediate fixes (£2 bus fares, VAT off electricity) is its main weakness. • Ownership: Repealing bans & public competitors are only first steps. Reversing 40 years of retreat requires deep investment & democratisation.

4/ More proposals: • Care: A National Care Service, free at the point of use. • Austerity: Acknowledging that budget cuts prolong structural problems rather than solving them. It was a speech returning to long-overdue social-democratic values, but we must be honest on where it falls short.

3/ What was proposed: • Water: Repeal Thatcher-era bans on public ownership, using it as a sanction for failing operators. • Energy: A publicly owned Great British Grid competing with private operators. • Housing: Major council house building; Right to Buy removed from new homes.

2/ Blaming privatisation, deregulation, and austerity, he argued essential services (water, energy, housing, and care) were broken up and sold off, and the public needs control again. That is a fundamental break, and an argument many on the left have made for years.

1/ Burnham’s Conference Speech: Positive signs for progressive politics, but the work isn’t done. 🧵 It’s been a tumultuous summer with a new PM. Continuing themes set out over the summer, Andy Burnham told Labour conference the country has been on the wrong path for 40 years.