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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

parliamentconnect.bsky.social @parliamentconnect.bsky.social · 22h

Antonia Bance asks how the Specialty Steels UK acquisition will secure local jobs. Antonia Bance (Labour) House of Commons, 14 September 2026 #TiptonWednesbury #UK #ParliamentConnect #SpecialtySteelsUK #WednesburyBrightBar #WestMidlandsManufacturing

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 3h

ENERGY COSTS AT LAST - applications are now OPEN for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS)! 💥💥💥💥 BICS will give around a 25% discount on energy costs to 10,000 manufacturers - it is absolutely MASSIVE - check if your firm qualifies check-eligibility-for-bics.service.gov.uk/check

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 9h

Over £200k coming to Sandwell. Our new Reform council’s first act was to take holiday food vouchers off poor families, so I’ll be watching closely to make sure this gets spent properly

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Labour Unions @labourunionsuk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Labour Conference gave working people real reason to hope again. Now let’s unite and win the change workers are crying out for #Lab26

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

An astonishing speech to be in the hall for. Standouts for me: the promise on big reforms on care to save our NHS, cracking down on unsafe private lets and public control of water.

Antonia sitting in the hall in green dress

Andy Burnham on stage and on two big screens above him

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Liverpool looking gorgeous this morning - love a run along the Mersey!

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Alex Collinson @alexcollinson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A great decision to bring back Union Learning Fund. All evidence shows that it helped to deliver training to thousands of, often hard-to-reach, workers each year. Independent analysis consistently showed it more than paid for itself over time. Silly of the tories to scrap it in the first place.

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Incredibly pleased that this government will bring back the popular Union Learning Fund. Was vindictive and shortsighted of the last government to abolish it, given how little in-work training this country does, and how crucial upskilling is for the changing economy

bbc.co.uk

John Healey to promise 'new age of industrialisation' for UK in conference speech

The chancellor will unveil policies aimed at boosting British shipbuilding in his speech to Labour's annual conference on Monday.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Heidi Alexander MP @heidialexander.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Tomorrow at @labouruk.bsky.social Conference, I will announce that we will nationalise Avanti West Coast train services at the first opportunity. We are building a railway Britain can rely on. www.thetimes.com/article/b68f...

thetimes.com

Avanti West Coast main line set to be nationalised in March

The transport secretary says the operator’s Manchester to London route ‘hasn’t been good enough for far too long’ and passengers have been paying the price

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Laurence Turner MP @larry-turner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Avanti West Coast Main Line InterCity services will be returned to public ownership on 07 March. Accompanied by investment in passenger services and in facilities at Euston. Railways run by and for the nation. I'm proud to have worked on the legislation that made this possible.

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This is incredible news - ministers are going to crack down on bogus self employment! About time - this is huge for every business - from Royal Mail downwards - under pressure cos they directly employ their staff but are undercut by disreputable operators

mirror.co.uk

Nearly one million workers in 'bogus self-employment' to benefit from clampdown

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly a million workers stuck in 'bogus self-employment' that denies them basic rights are expected to benefit from a clampdown on abuses unveiled at Labour’s party conference

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

150,000 children have been lifted out of poverty since we scrapped the two child limit. 150,000 lives made better. 150,000 brighter futures. That’s the difference a Labour government makes. That’s hope again. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

mirror.co.uk

Scrapping two-child benefit cap has lifted 150,000 children out of poverty

EXCLUSIVE: Labour party chair Bridget Phillipson MP will reveal the scale of change delivered by scrapping the cap, as she warns the next election will be a choice between hope and fear.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Labour Unions @labourunionsuk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

🌹#Lab26 is here! We're in Liverpool - bringing the collective voice of 4 million working people to the heart of conference✊ Find all our events here: labourunions.org.uk/lab26/

labourunions.org.uk

LABOUR UNIONS AT LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE 2026

LABOUR UNIONS WHO ARE LABOUR UNIONS? Labour Unions are the 11 trade unions that are part of the Labour Party. We bring...

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Rightly a priority for ministers to get the UK included in Made in Europe - existential for automotive and manufacturing, there is no reindustrialisation if this goes ahead with the UK excluded

theguardian.com

France says EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ law should not include the UK

‘If you’re not in the internal market, you don’t get the same protection,’ says French minister of policy designed to curb Chinese competition

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It's (still, just about) #NationalManufacturingDay! As a @makeuk.bsky.social UK Manufacturing Champion, today I'm celebrating manufacturers in the Black Country & across the UK for all they do to support skilled jobs, growth and opportunities for the next generation. #UKMfg #NMD2026

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Reform UK has promised cuts of £100 billion, but provided no detail on where they'll be made. Now, Reform UK's favourite think tank has set out a blueprint – including getting rid of the state pension. Reform UK would take us in a dangerous direction. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Thinktank linked to Reform UK calls for abolition of state pension

‘Radical’ report likely to influence party’s platform also proposes abolishing inheritance and capital gains taxes

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Liam Byrne MP @liambyrnemp.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The Business, Innovation, Science & Trade Committee has written to Open AI, Meta, Anthropic AI and Google Deep Mind, calling on them to appear in front of the committee on 13 October to give evidence on the UK’s AI security regime. The letter sets out ten key questions to be answered in advance:

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

We should be proud that being British is something that unites people regardless of their skin colour. If today’s parties of the right want a backward-facing, exclusionary patriotism – Labour will fight against them, and we’ll win.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

John Slinger MP @johnslingermp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Well said Bridget Phillipson on BBC Laura Kuenssberg on how disturbing it is “to question people’s British identity on the basis of their skin colour.” The question was in response to Rishi Sunak’s excellent recent @thetimes.com article. We must confront racism.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The Tories have attacked appointment of TUC chief Paul Nowak as a director of Bank of England, saying: "The last thing our country needs is a trade union leader helping to run the BofE." And yet it was a Tory government that in 2019 appointed the then TUC chief Frances O'Grady to the same role

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

With the announcement today that the government is intending to publicly acquire Speciality Steels UK from the Official Receiver, I asked the Business Secretary about what this means for the workers and production at Wednesbury Bright Bar, owned by SSUK.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

GMB Midlands @gmbmidlands.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Better pay, safer workplaces, more family-friendly conditions - this is what union recognition brings. But weak enforcement on union access rights stops progress. We will not let US-style union-busting take root in the UK. @antoniabance.bsky.social

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Shared Health Foundation @sharedhealthgm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The Temporary Accommodation Notification Duty has been law for a week and has already been debated and recognised in the Commons. @antoniabance.bsky.social Further guidance and training for local authorities, schools, GPs and health visiting teams: sharedhealthfoundation.org.uk/publications...

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Shared Health Foundation @sharedhealthgm.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Powerful speech by @gideonamos.bsky.social, Angela Rayner MP, and @antoniabance.bsky.social in two debates in the Commons last week, highlighting the stark reality of child mortality in temporary accommodation. We fight to ensure that every homeless baby has a cot to sleep in. @ncmd.bsky.social

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

12.5% of working age adults in Tipton and Wednesbury claim PIP, compared with the West Midlands rate of 9.1% and a national rate of 8.6% We are the 19th Reform target constituency

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

If you care about the future of high streets or postal deliveries, care about this. Direct employment is vanishing in hairdressing cos of the lower taxes of letting a chair to a supposedly self-employed hairdresser - who has few rights Postal delivery being undercut as Royal Mail employs direct

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Dale Vince @dalevince.com · 15/08/2026

For me it’s simply pragmatic to flex targets, rather than stick to an arbitrary date, when warned of consequences for the car industry.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Nigel Farage has spent the summer chasing a bin around Clacton, but his distraction by-election is over. It’s time for him to come clean on his dodgy £5m ‘gift’, his connections to a convicted fraudster and the rest of the sleaze and scandal engulfing his party.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Premier League @eng-premierleague.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🦅 @CPFC. A club enjoying one of the greatest periods in its history. The atmosphere is electric, the excitement is building and a new chapter at Selhurst Park is about to begin 🍿

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Out at Top Tubes in Wednesbury. Best bit of the job - on the floor talking to employers and workers

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Well done to everyone getting their A-Level, T-Level and BTEC national results in Tipton, Wednesbury and Coseley today! We are all so proud of you. Good luck with whatever is next

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

UK economy has been far more resilient than the commentators/gloomsters/forecasters thought. Strong start to 2026 continues despite the headwinds of the Iran conflict - GDP growth of 0.4% in 2nd quarter. What matters most (gdp/capita) is also up 0.4%, and has risen 1% on the year

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Ian Moss @ian.allenmoss.co.uk · 11/08/2026

I took my kids back to my home town of Newcastle-Under-Lyme last year and they gave up counting vape shops on the high street at "eight". A nice enough market town from my childhood looks awful. This stuff matters.

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

How to regenerate high streets - even in hard pressed areas.

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Brilliant. We want our high streets back.

Andy Burnham • @andyburnham
X.com

Vape shops. Betting shops. Dodgy businesses.
If you look at your high street these days and think
'who asked for this?'
, you're not alone.
I'm doing something about it. We're giving local people and councils more control over what opens, and tougher powers to crack down on businesses that aren't good for our communities.
For too long, Westminster has stood by while our high streets declined. That ends now.

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I am so pleased about this. Vape shops are a blight, but I really hate the proliferation of gambling shops (and the pretence that it’s all good clean fun rather than parasitic on the dreams of low income people)

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Dawn Butler MP @dawnbutlerbrent.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

🚨WE WON! After years of campaigning, the Govt is set to scrap ‘Aim to Permit’ - giving councils and local communities power to say NO to new gambling venues. We delivered for London and all UK. Thank you @andyburnham.bsky.social & to all who backed my campaign. Please share the news! 🥰

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Alex @m-ttpa.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Following huge demand (three whole people liked my post that I was going to start a Substack), I've done my first Substack post. It looks at some legal changes that would benefit trade unions, one is ambitious and five are straightforward. Huge thanks to @ciaranmcgurdy.bsky.social for editing.

forwardmarchoflabour.substack.com

The Kind Of Laws Trade Unions Ought To Want?

Some suggestions for laws, big and small, that would benefit trade unions.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

Ciaran @ciaranmcgurdy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

A substack everyone should subscribe to, Alex has forgotten more about the trade union movement than anyone on this website will ever know

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Am in a reading rut and panicking about forthcoming holiday. Who’s read good novels recently? Not too highbrow, not too low. Plot over character dev. About 300 pages. My taste: Life After Life, The City & the City, Wayfarers, Small Pleasures, Daughters of Night TIA x

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Reassuring to see that the necessary changes to the ZEV mandate are still happening It will be a sign of the maturity and embeddedness of climate politics when we can amend dysfunctional policy without people shouting that it’s abandoning our climate goals, sigh

thetimes.com

Labour looks to row back on net zero targets

Rules on electric car sales may be watered down and Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, will prioritise lower bills over ‘clean power’

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Tony Vaughan KC MP @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

2 facts that get lost in the small boats debate: Almost 60% of all Channel crossing events have been stopped before they enter UK waters since July 24. Over 46k small boat crossing attempts have been prevented since July 24. We need proper safe routes provision, but enforcement has stepped up.

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Reposted by Antonia Bance MP

UK Prime Minister Updates @downingstreet.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

🗣️ PM @andy-burnham.bsky.social: "We’re changing the rules. When applying for a contract from the government there will now be one simple test: are you creating British jobs? And are you giving young people the skills they need for the future?

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

A really interesting piece (and I really recognise this from MP casework too). But the drive-by on modern rights at work is uncalled for: people shouldn’t be subject to US-style fire-at-will for two years without comeback regardless of whether they might use AI to challenge their no-notice sacking

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Antonia Bance MP @antoniabance.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We see this every day. I defy anyone with (eg) a healthcare complaint to work out which bit of the labyrinthine multiple overlapping NHS agencies to complain to, and then to find an email address for them. No wonder people just email me.

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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 04/08/2026

EXC: UK govt is “stripping back” onerous public procurement rules in pro-growth shake up of system, Louise Haigh tells FT Overhaul will make job creation/skills development the only ‘social value’ requirement for biz competing for Whitehall contracts worth £90bn annually www.ft.com/content/9878...

ft.com

UK to strip back procurement rules to focus on job creation, says Louise Haigh

Burnham’s de facto deputy PM says requirements for businesses vying for Whitehall contracts will be streamlined

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