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Lucy Powell's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Lucy Powell

• 15 Sep 2025: Tweet

  RT @itvpeston: “She certainly speaks truth to power” Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary @Ed_Miliband explains to @Peston why he is bac… [Source]

• 4 Sep 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  The hon. Member is right to highlight that, as the climate changes rapidly, unfortunately we are going to see more wildfires in the summer and more flooding in the winter. We are funding a national resilience wildfire adviser and looking at how we can work with stakeholders and everybody else to tackle this issue and build our resilience.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  I join my hon. Friend in thanking all those who have come together to tackle the wildfires in Yorkshire that we have all been hearing about. As our climate changes every day, we will see more wildfires and more flooding. That is why we have set up the national resilience wildfire adviser and will take further steps on that. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend in the coming months.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 10 Jul 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issues of the “Act Now, Change Forever” campaign. She will know that tackling the climate crisis and our mission to be a clean energy superpower by 2030 are at the heart of what this Government are about. The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero will come to the House soon to make a statement about these issues, and I am sure my hon. Friend can raise those then.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 3 Jul 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  Tomorrow is another anniversary—one that the Tories do not want to talk about: their worst ever election defeat. They were utterly rejected, and one year on, it has got no better for them—it is just getting worse and worse. They have not learned, they have not reflected, they have not apologised. The shadow Leader of the House talks about U-turns, but no one knows more about changing position and changing direction than the Conservatives. They changed Prime Ministers three times in three months! They went from austerity one month to spaffing money up the wall the next. One moment it was levelling-up, and the next it was funnelling money into the shires—from Brexit opportunities to Brexit disaster. One day they had an industrial strategy, the next they ripped it up. They were for net zero, then against it. They could not even cancel HS2 properly. In 14 years they have had more positions than the Kama Sutra. It is no wonder they are completely knackered.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 12 Jun 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I am sorry to hear about the experiences that the hon. Lady’s constituents have had under ECO4. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh), made a statement to the House a few weeks ago, when this Government uncovered the real challenges of the previous scheme, which had been introduced under the previous Government, and the poor level of some work that had been carried out. We are taking steps to put that right and ensure that we learn all the lessons from that for the next phase, and I know that the Minister will be keen to keep the House constantly updated on that.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 5 Jun 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I am sorry to hear about the incident in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and the impact that the renewable transport fuel obligation is having on the renewable sector there. We have Energy Security and Net Zero questions coming up next week, and he may want to raise this.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 2 Jun 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  The previous Prime Minister, on the first day of a very long recess, announced that he was scrapping the Government’s net zero targets—he did not come to the House to explain that. He also announced the scrapping of High Speed 2 during a conference recess and never came to the House to account for it. During covid, one of the Conservatives’ many Prime Ministers announced major changes to our way of life to the media and not to Parliament, such as the 2020 winter lockdown—he did not come here to talk about that—and the covid vaccine roll-out. When he closed the borders and then reopened them, he announced it to the media and not to Parliament. Let us not forget that the Supreme Court found that Parliament was illegally prorogued by the previous Government. Do you remember when the former Prime Minister was found to have misled Parliament? There is no greater disrespect to Parliament.

  Full debate: Government Announcements

• 8 May 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  Let me address the issue of our need to move to being a clean energy superpower. I am afraid that yet again at the Dispatch Box the right hon. Gentleman and his party are showing a serious misunderstanding of the economics and the reality of the transition to net zero. We face the worst cost of living crisis in generations, because his party left this country exposed to international fossil fuel markets as a direct result of their failure to invest in clean energy. It is only by investing in clean energy that we will bring down bills in future. He might want to remind himself of what his former Prime Minister, Theresa May, said about this issue:

  The right hon. Gentleman should know better than anybody that new oil and gas in the North sea will not take a penny off bills, because oil and gas is traded on the international markets and therefore we are locked in. The only way to decouple that is by investing in cheaper renewable energies, as the Government are doing. It was a previous Conservative Energy Minister who said in 2022:

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 1 May 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  The shadow Minister also raises the issue of net zero. I am sorry, given his glittering career, that he felt the need to read out from the latest Whips’ crib sheet on net zero. The blinkered vision that the Conservatives have shown on the opportunity of net zero and the transition that we need to make is why they did so little in their time in office.

  The shadow Minister mentions the former leader of the Labour party, but he might want to look at what some of his own party’s former leaders have said in recent years. I thought Theresa May spoke very wisely last autumn, just as the Conservatives were performing a complete volte-face over net zero, when she said:

  Full debate: Business of the House

  I agree with the hon. Lady. The Climate Change Committee report is important and looks back, for the most part, at recent years and the previous Government’s record on these matters, which was not good enough. We absolutely need to go further and faster, which is what this Government are doing, to ensure that we have those adaptations, make the transition to become a clean energy superpower, and develop the severe weather and flood resilience that our communities need to cope with the impacts of climate change, which are coming anyway despite our best efforts to get to net zero by 2050.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  That is a relevant question given the one that came before about the Climate Change Committee report published this week. I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Scottish fire and rescue service. Yes, in winter the danger is perhaps flooding, but these fires and wildfires are a stark reminder that, as we enter the summer months, wildfires are one of the symptoms of climate change, and we need to support our fire and rescue services in tackling those issues, as well as take long-term steps to reduce and minimise the impacts of wildfires.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 24 Apr 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  The shadow Leader of the House raises a number of points about the Government’s energy and climate change strategy, but he misunderstands the economics of the situation. The way we will get energy security and lower bills in the future and over the long term is by having our own energy security and our own clean energy supplies. We have to get ourselves off fossil fuels because to get that energy security, we have to become a price maker, not a price taker. Home-grown energy is the only way we will get control over our prices and get off the fossil fuel roller coaster. As a country, we have great assets: we are an island nation with an ability to generate offshore and onshore wind, tidal and nuclear energy.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 3 Apr 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  He raises an important issue, which is energy bills. He will know that this Government are absolutely determined to lower our bills, to create the jobs of the future and to get our energy security. As a country, we are still far too exposed to international gas prices, as we are seeing with the increase in energy bills this year. That is why we are even more determined than ever—I am sure he will join us in this—to ensure that we have that clean, renewable energy of the future, which is the only way that we will get lower bills.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 20 Mar 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  Absolutely. I think we saw the Leader of the Opposition go to a whole other planet this week—Planet Zog, maybe, or I am sure there are many others. My hon. Friend is right that not only is tackling climate change important for the future of our climate, but it is vital to providing the jobs of the future that we need in this country and the energy security that will protect us from the likes of Putin in the future. It also means that all of our constituents will have lower bills over the longer term, which is why the Leader of the Opposition’s announcement this week was a completely mad thing to do.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  First of all, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman: I think he has a new role as chief adviser to the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), because they seem to be on the same page this week. Like her, though, I am afraid he is wrong on this issue, because we cannot ignore net zero. It is not just important for the climate, but absolutely critical to lowering bills, creating jobs and creating the energy security we need. Not taking action on net zero will actually cost us a lot more in the long run than taking the steps we are taking to invest in the jobs and lower bills of the future.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 13 Mar 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for agreeing with the Government that we should not exploit fracking? That was in our manifesto and we are committed to not doing fracking. I will ensure that Ministers update him on those matters, as they have been doing, coming regularly to the House. We have had a number of statements from Ministers from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who are keen to update the House as and when. However, I will ensure the right hon. Gentleman is updated on that particular issue.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 28 Feb 2025: Tweet

  A lovely afternoon visiting Mather Street Primary School in Failsworth to talk about their climate change initiatives in collaboration with @solar4_schools ☀️ Got to see their solar panels with their drone & answer some tricky questions from the kids. Keep up the great work! ???? https://x.com/LucyMPowell/status/1895586101945123269/photo/1 [Source]

• 27 Feb 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I thank the hon. Lady for that important question and contribution. I know that she and her party take this issue as seriously as the Government, and I welcome her raising it here today. She is absolutely right that energy bills and the soaring costs of energy over recent years are a huge worry to people and are unaffordable for many. That is why we have a mission to become a clean energy superpower by 2030, which will not only help to keep bills lower for longer, but drive growth and tackle the climate crisis. She will know, I am sure, that this country was particularly and uniquely exposed to global energy prices, and that is still affecting the energy price cap this year.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 30 Jan 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I welcome the hon. Member for Beaconsfield to business questions, on her birthday. I very much welcome working with her on the Modernisation Committee. I have found her contributions to be greatly valuable and enlightening, and I know she does a really good job as a Whip and a constituency MP, supporting colleagues across the House. Given her contribution today, she could perhaps give a few tips to the shadow Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), when he returns, because she has taken a very business questions-style approach. I will follow up with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if there are issues with correspondence.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Greenhill primary school for its achievements in that regard. He is absolutely right that schools could do more to provide sustainable energy for themselves through Solar for Schools—a school in my constituency has embarked on that. The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is keen on that issue, and I will ensure that he is updated.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 16 Jan 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The changes in global weather as a result of climate change mean that flooding incidents are more frequent and more acute, and are often hyper-localised, rather than widespread. He makes a compelling point about the impact of localised flooding not just on homes but on local infrastructure. I will certainly ensure that that is considered by the Secretary of State.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 9 Jan 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issue. Flooding is affecting many more constituencies and communities, and is doing so more often, as we see the effects of climate change on this country. We have a Government-wide approach to tackling climate change, but also we are taking steps to make sure that our communities have flood resilience and flood support. I will ensure that the House is kept up to date on developments.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 12 Dec 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  I thank the hon. Member for that question. Obviously, this is a growing issue, as we see the effects of climate change in many of our communities. He will know that the Government’s floods resilience taskforce is at work trying to co-ordinate many of these issues. We have been forthcoming with statements and updates to the House on our flood resilience, and I will ensure that that remains the case.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  Absolutely. I join my hon. Friend in noting the importance of indoor and outdoor pools, and of swimming generally, to a healthy society and to our agenda for preventive public health. It is vital that we keep local lidos such as his alive. He will have a strong ally in the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who is partial to an outdoor swim.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 5 Dec 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  and I agree. He said we inherited a “struggling” economy and “anaemic” growth; I agree with that, too. I also agreed with him when he was a champion of net zero, and when he was Financial Secretary to the Treasury, he was right to care about economic stability. I agreed with him; does he still agree with him? I am not quite sure.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  The hon. Member asked about the Bill that will come before us early next year. I am not quite sure of its status, but I reassure her that the Government are absolutely committed to being a clean energy superpower by 2030. Many in the Conservative party now want to change the targets, but we are committed to them and to the benefits they will bring, not just to tackling climate change, but to creating the jobs of the future and making sure that we have lower bills and energy security for the long run.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 28 Nov 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  I know that the shadow Leader of the House is fairly new to opposition, like most of his colleagues, but I gently say to him that the idea of opposition is to oppose the Government, not his own record in government. Last week he attacked our plans to meet climate goals, yet when he was the Minister with responsibility for decarbonisation, he seemed to take a very different view, touring the studios to champion net zero. Here we are yet again: he is attacking our plans on national insurance contributions, but I checked the record and noticed that when his Government raised national insurance contributions—and not just on businesses but on workers —he was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury at the time, and said in defence of the measure, from this very Dispatch Box:

  Full debate: Business of the House

  We have inherited a really difficult situation when it comes to energy supplies and energy prices. As the hon. Lady knows, the energy price cap is set by Ofgem, and reflects its consideration of how energy was bought a few months ago. We are taking this issue incredibly seriously, which is why we have a plan to get to net zero by 2030. It is only by switching our energy supplies to renewables that we will be able to bring prices down for longer and have the energy security we so desperately need.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 21 Nov 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  First of all, I join Mr Speaker and others in marking the sad loss of John Prescott. He was a true legend, and one of the best campaigners of our movement. He put climate change and real, meaningful levelling up at the top of the political agenda long before they were fashionable. He was groundbreaking and huge fun, and he will be greatly missed. We send our condolences to Pauline and the whole family. As Mr Speaker said, there will be an opportunity for tributes next week.

  The right hon. Gentleman picks on the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, but there is not a more accomplished member of the Cabinet. He is driving forward his agenda. He is forthcoming to this House on many occasions, and every time he appears in this House, he wipes the floor with his opponent. Yet again, the Conservatives are on the wrong side of history. We have a very ambitious mission to become a clean energy superpower by 2030—one that we are driving forward. It is vital that we do that. That means taking on some of the inherent issues that they ducked: our infrastructure; the grid; our planning laws; getting the investment where it is needed, which we are announcing that all the time; unlocking new power supplies in nuclear, solar, hydrogen and elsewhere; and establishing Great British Energy, which is well under way, to ensure much needed homegrown production. Taken together, those measures will lower bills, create jobs, and give us the energy security that the right hon. Gentleman’s Government failed to give us.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  John Prescott was at the vanguard of the issues my hon. Friend raises. It was thanks to him that the Kyoto agreement was agreed all those years ago. He was far-sighted about the need for international collective agreement to tackle climate change, a legacy that this Government are proud to take forward at COP. My hon. Friend is right to identity the issues climate change raises for his constituency, for which he is a great champion, and I am sure they would make a good topic for a debate.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 21 Nov 2024: Tweet

  What a legend. Not only was John Prescott one of the best campaigners of our movement, he put the issues of climate change and real levelling up across regions at the top of political agenda long before they were fashionable. He was ground-breaking. And huge fun. RIP https://x.com/LucyMPowell/status/1859500867407208904/photo/1 [Source]

• 31 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  As Members of Parliament, we can all agree that there is no better occasion than a good telling off by a year 6 class. He is right that COP29 starts in Baku very soon; the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero will update the House on the progress of COP29 as soon as he can.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  It sounds as if my hon. Friend also got a good going over by some pupils in his constituency— a good education for him, I am sure. I join him in congratulating the students of Slaithwaite Church of England junior and infant school on their work. Climate change education and action inspires the next generation, and we will continue to support it.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 24 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman welcomes the green growth zone in his constituency. He is right to point out that this Government’s mission to be a clean energy superpower by 2030 is critical not just to reaching climate targets, but to creating the jobs of the future, boosting growth and giving us the energy security that we so desperately need. I am sure that the topic he suggests would make for an important debate. Perhaps it can be arranged through the Backbench Business Committee when it is up and running, which will hopefully happen imminently. If not, I will certainly look at his request.

  Full debate: Business of the House

  We recently had a debate in Opposition time on farming, and the important issues that the hon. Lady describes get raised here regularly. This Government support our farmers, support our food security and recognise the difficult period that farmers have faced, especially with climate change. That is why we want to support our resilience and ensure we tackle issues around climate change. There will be ample time for these matters to be raised in the Budget debate, so I encourage the hon. Lady to put in to speak.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 17 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  The hon. Lady raises an important matter that has already been raised today. She and other colleagues are making a very good case for a debate on flood resilience and flood action. She is right to say that climate change is having a profound effect on those issues, which is why the Government are committed to becoming a clean energy superpower by 2030. I am sorry to hear about what is happening in her constituency; I have already taken note of the early calls for a debate.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 10 Oct 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  That very important matter has been raised with me before and I know that it is of real concern to my hon. Friend and to many other colleagues across this House. Next week’s Westminster Hall debate on the community benefits of renewable energy projects may provide him with an opportunity to raise it, but if not I will ensure that he gets a good response from the Minister.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 12 Sep 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  We make no apology for removing that moratorium, because it is absolutely critical that we increase the capacity of wind and clean energy in this country to lower bills and give us the energy security and independence that is crucial to the future of our economy and our wellbeing. The hon. Gentleman might want to raise this issue at Energy Security and Net Zero questions, which will take place on 8 October.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 18 Jul 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  On net zero, there will be the opportunity to question the Energy Secretary later. We have a really ambitious plan to get to net zero and be a clean energy superpower by 2030, and we have already started that programme. We have lifted the moratorium on onshore wind, we have agreed to planning applications for more solar in the past week than—taken together—has ever happened in our country’s history before and we have begun the process to establish Great British Energy.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 24 May 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  The right hon. Member for Reading West (Sir Alok Sharma) will forever be known as the President of COP26, when the whole world was watching. He did that job absolutely brilliantly and has a strong track record to take with him.

  Full debate: Valedictory Debate

• 25 Mar 2024: Tweet

  RT @vaughangething: Great to welcome @Keir_Starmer to Ynys Môn today to discuss the massive green energy opportunities on the island. Our… [Source]

• 7 Mar 2024: Parliamentary Speech

  On the substance, the verdict is now in. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that tax receipts as a proportion of GDP are set to rise to their highest level since the second world war. The Resolution Foundation says that the big picture has not changed: taxes are heading up, and this will be the first Parliament in modern history in which living standards fall to be lower at the end than they were at the start. The Institute for Fiscal Studies agrees that households are worse off since the last election, and no sooner had the Chancellor sat down than the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), criticised a key plank of the energy plans on Twitter.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 01 Dec 2023: Tweet

  RT @Keir_Starmer: The Tories see net zero as a device to divide - for Labour it’s an opportunity to make working people better off. Our cl… [Source]

• 30 Nov 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  As well as a treaty to negotiate, we have the ongoing situation between Israel and Gaza—I welcome the further extension in the temporary truce this morning—war still raging in Ukraine, a diplomatic row with Greece, visits to Kyiv and the middle east, a NATO summit, COP28 this week and a visit to Brussels next week, yet not a peep from the Foreign Secretary in this House, and no reporting back to Members. When I last raised this issue with the Leader of the House, she said that the House must be able to “hold him to account”. When? I welcome the Procedure Committee looking into the matter, but the Government could and should do more to ensure that we are able to raise issues directly and regularly, now. We have had no Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office statements this week or last, only an urgent question—yet again the Government are being dragged here instead of respecting the House of Commons, and it is just not good enough. The next questions to the Foreign Office will be on Tuesday 12 December. Will the Leader of the House ensure that some progress on holding the Foreign Secretary to account is made before then?

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 19 Oct 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  I am afraid that I return again to a running theme: the disrespect and disregard that the Government have for Parliament. Mr Speaker, I know that we were both appalled that the Prime Minister chose the very first day of recess to announce a major shift in Government net zero policy from Downing Street, while the Leader of the House sat in the front row and cheered. It is no wonder he was ducking parliamentary scrutiny, with his fiction of seven bins and meat taxes, and his substance was met with alarm by industry and investors.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 24 Sep 2023: Tweet

  Rishi Sunak’s net zero & other short term policy shifts are acts of weakness from a desperate PM. Dodging scrutiny, disrespecting democracy, running scared of Parliament, the Conservatives know these plans do not stand up to scrutiny. My letter ???????? https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-branded-weak-desperate-31012777?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar [Source]

• 20 Sep 2023: Tweet

  RT @realBenBloch: ???? BREAKING: Speaker Lindsay Hoyle blasts Sunak for failing to make his statement on net zero policies in Parliament. Spo… [Source]

• 14 Sep 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  The Leader of the House is not the only one avoiding accountability. The new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero failed to show up after the utter failure of the offshore wind auction. We did not have a statement; the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero had to be dragged to Parliament with an urgent question, which I thank Mr Speaker for granting. The Minister seemed to have no clue why it was such a historic disaster. Offshore wind auctions might feel like a technical issue, but the Government’s failure to attract any bids will lock us into more expensive and volatile fossil fuels for years to come. No new projects can get under way next year.

  Full debate: Business of the House

• 29 Jul 2023: Tweet

  Excellent piece by ⁦@Ed_Miliband⁩ on behalf of ⁦@UKLabour⁩ - the cost of living crisis can only be beaten by tackling the climate crisis ???? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/29/the-cost-of-living-crisis-can-only-be-beaten-by-tackling-the-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [Source]

• 27 Jul 2023: Tweet

  Yet again we’ve seen eye-watering, excess profits of the big oil & gas companies off the backs of all our bills soaring. That’s why we need a proper windfall tax, and Labour’s plan for green energy, bringing down bills for everyone. My interview this morning ???? https://twitter.com/LucyMPowell/status/1684547489691475968/video/1 [Source]

• 27 Jul 2023: Tweet

  RT @SkyNews: "We have to tackle the climate crisis", says shadow culture secretary @LucyMPowell following the Met Office’s state of climate… [Source]

• 19 Jun 2023: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: ⬇️ Lower bills ????‍♀️ More jobs ???? Energy security ???? Climate leadership This is Labour's mission- to make Britain a clean e… [Source]

• 30 Mar 2023: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: ‘Green Day’ summarised: ❌ No removal of the onshore wind ban ❌ No new money for energy efficiency ❌ No net zero mandate… [Source]

• 06 Nov 2022: Tweet

  RT @SkyNews: ???? Shadow climate change secretary @Ed_Miliband joins @SophyRidgeSky as COP27 gets underway today in Egypt ???? 8.50 ???? @RidgeOnSu… [Source]

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

  Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 29 Aug 2022: Tweet

  RT @YasminQureshiMP: Pakistan is in the midst of a climate catastrophe. 33 million lives have been devastated by flooding. It's a country… [Source]

• 19 Apr 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  The third issue is disinformation. The war in Ukraine has unleashed Putin’s propaganda machine once again. That comes after the co-ordinated campaign by Russia to discredit the truth about the Sergei Skripal poisonings. Many other groups have watched and learned: from covid anti-vaxxers to climate change deniers, the internet is rife with dangerous disinformation. The Government have set up a number of units to tackle disinformation and claim to be working with social media companies to take it down. However, that is opaque and far from optimal. The only mention of disinformation in the Bill is that a committee should publish a report. That is far from enough.

  Full debate: Online Safety Bill

• 10 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: For energy security, to get bills down, and tackle the climate crisis it is time for a green energy sprint. Today I've be… [Source]

• 11 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @ProfPMiddleton: .@LucyMPowell says @BorisJohnson was on the world stage at #COP26, but because of the #TorySleaze, which he supported,… [Source]

• 11 Nov 2021: Tweet

  The PM wanted COP26 to be an advert for global Britain. Instead he spent his news conference defending his Party against allegations of corruption. It’s embarrassing. He started this sleaze saga when he ordered his MPs to rip up rules on standards to save his bang-to-rights mate. https://x.com/LucyMPowell/status/1458777218851741697/video/1 [Source]

• 1 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Given that the Resolution Foundation says that this must be a decade of high investment as we transition to net zero, it is astonishing that in the Chancellor’s flurry of giveaways there was almost no mention of green investment. The huge upheaval and change that meeting our net zero targets requires is the once-in-a-generation opportunity to truly level up and to create a fairer, better distributed economy—it is an opportunity this Government are frittering away. This is about winning the green global race in the sectors that power our regions, such as steel, aerospace, wind and wave, but there was not a single mention of that in this Budget. It is also about reducing demand and, in so doing, reducing the cost of living crunch through a major drive to retrofit homes and switch to green energies, but there was not a flicker about that in this Budget. It is also about investing in people, especially those who need it the most. The Government’s own report on lost learning during the pandemic, published just last week, shows the stark regional inequalities, with children in the north-east and Yorkshire and the Humber losing 15 times more learning than those in London, but that was not referred to in the Budget. Its stark findings should be at the heart of any Budget that claims to be levelling up. The Government cannot level up without a serious programme of catch-up.

  Full debate: Budget Resolutions

• 31 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: Since 2009 and the Copenhagen summit the climate crisis has only intensified and arrived in every part of the world. In… [Source]

• 31 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: COP26 cannot be a roll call of pre-packaged announcements; it must be a real negotiaton based on the science. Here are t… [Source]

• 30 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @UKLabour: How can we trust Boris Johnson to protect our climate when he says one thing and does another? #COP26 https://t.co/tQXRgF3yRv [Source]

• 29 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: .@BorisJohnson the problem is you’re not supposed to be the commentator, you’re meant to be the manager… Cop26: Humanity… [Source]

• 21 Oct 2021: Tweet

  Yet again, the Tories have shown they're not serious about tackling climate change or addressing the problem of poorly insulated homes, and there's no plan to help renters facing higher energy bills. https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/labour-new-heat-pump-plans-fails-to-protect-renters-from-higher-fuel-bills [Source]

• 13 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @KayBurley: Get off the sun lounger and start getting serious on climate change, @Ed_Miliband tells the PM. The Shadow Business Sec has… [Source]

• 18 Sep 2021: Tweet

  RT @Ed_Miliband: With 6 weeks to go until COP26 it’s now or never for the government to get its act together: they must honour our promises… [Source]

• 07 Jun 2021: Vote

  Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill — New Clause 1 - Human Rights Abuses - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 May 2021: Vote

  Environment Bill — New Clause 24 - Prohibition on burning of peat in upland areas - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 18 May 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  This Queen’s Speech doubles down on the Government’s failed ideology. It lays bare whose side they are on. Developers will have watched in glee—the planning Bill is a developer’s charter, with everything they could have wanted to maximise their profits off the back of communities and first-time buyers. We want more affordable home ownership in all parts of the country, but this approach will not deliver it. The issue is not whether developers are getting planning permission; they are. It is that they are not then building. Meanwhile, this Queen’s Speech says nothing on homelessness; nothing for renters living in overpriced, poor-quality homes, thousands of whom are on the brink of eviction; nothing on the social housing Bill promised after Grenfell; nothing for those stuck on council waiting lists because right-to-buy properties are not being replaced; and nothing to address the climate emergency after the Government’s flagship Green Homes grant was dropped. Those gaping holes speak volumes: millionaire developer donor mates dealt a winning hand; renters, leaseholders, first-time buyers and local communities dealt a busted flush. Far from a national mission to put homes for all first, we have more of the same.

  This Queen’s Speech is a clear sign of a Government running out of steam, with low or no ambition for this country. Where we needed big, bold action and a mission of housing first, we have tinkering around the edges and a piecemeal approach that does not rise to the challenge. The Government could have given more people security of ownership, not overheated the market. They could have implemented a planning regime that creates places and builds communities, not a developers’ charter. They could have driven forward their long-delayed reforms of the private rented sector, abolishing section 21 and giving people security of tenure—a commitment that Labour reaffirms today. On the 100th anniversary of Becontree, the first and largest council estate in the UK, they could have invested in a new generation of council housing for the 21st century. They could have made homes fit for the future, with net zero standards and large-scale retrofitting creating tens of thousands of jobs. They could have kept the spirit of Everyone In and committed to ending homelessness. They could have reformed wholesale our feudal leasehold system, whereby millions of families face extortionate fees, poor service and poor contract terms, with little or no recourse. While the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill is welcome, it has to be the first step of wider reform and that cannot come soon enough. They could have done all this and more, but tellingly, they chose not to.

  Full debate: Affordable and Safe Housing for All

• 13 Jan 2021: Vote

  Financial Services Bill — Schedule 2 - Prudential regulation of FCA investment firms - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 16 Nov 2020: Vote

  Pension Schemes Bill [Lords] — Clause 124 - Climate change risk - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 12 Oct 2020: Vote

  Agriculture Bill — After Clause 42 - Contribution of agriculture and associated land use to climate change targets - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 29 Sep 2020: Vote

  United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — New Clause 6 - Economic development: climate and nature emergency impact statement - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 15 Sep 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  However, it is not only about food. The Bill could have far-reaching implications for the country’s ability to reduce waste and meet our net zero targets. Wales, as we heard, has high ambitions to reduce single-use plastic items, but the UK Government have proposed a less ambitious target for England. It would be tragic if the UK Government imposed a lower standard on Wales, when we should all be working together to eradicate plastics and keep standards as high as possible and going ever higher. Instead, my fear is that the Government are firing a starting pistol on a race to the bottom for regulatory standards across the United Kingdom, which we do not want to happen.

  Full debate: United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

  Transport - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 1 May 2019: Parliamentary Speech

  Given the growing climate crisis, should it not be the Department’s top priority to ensure sustainable development, diversification, the end of deforestation, public transport, clean energy and everything else?

  Full debate: Climate Change

• 4 Dec 2018: Parliamentary Speech

  The great Sir David Attenborough said yesterday that climate change is humanity’s “greatest threat”. We all know that the Amazon rainforest is known as the planet’s lungs, yet we are seeing an alarming and irreversible rate of deforestation in the Amazon and worrying noises are coming out of the new Administration about their approach. So will our Government play a strong global leadership role in ensuring that the new Brazilian Administration understand their responsibility to protect the rainforest and the consequences if they do not do so?

  Full debate: Brazil: Incoming Administration

• 06 Sep 2016: Vote

  Finance Bill — VAT on Installation of Energy Saving Materials - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 09 May 2016: Vote

  Housing and Planning Bill — Planning obligations and affordable housing - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 14 Mar 2016: Vote

  Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 8 — Decarbonisation target range - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 14 Mar 2016: Vote

  Energy Bill [Lords] — New Clause 3 — Carbon capture and storage strategy for the energy industry - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 Oct 2015: Vote

  Finance Bill (Ways and Means) (Payment of Corporation Tax) — Chapter 5 — Supplementary provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Dec 2013: Vote

  Recall of Elected Representatives — Schedule 4 — Application and modification of emissions limit duty - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No