Barry speaks in debate on Afghanistan

Parliament was recalled from recess for a special debate on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

Barry started by saying that “There is no point in criticising the Government’s strategy; there has not been one. When President Trump announced his decision to withdraw troops last year, our Government should have prepared to relocate all those Afghan families to whom we owed a debt of honour: the interpreters, the medics, the aid workers. They should have; they did not. They should have fast-tracked all the outstanding settlement applications from British citizens wanting to bring their children and partners from Afghanistan. They should have; they did not.”

Barry then went on to mention cases of constituents who are stuck in Afghanistan and have been let down by the lack of foresight and poor responses from the Home Office.

Barry finished by saying “The Afghanistan that we hoped to build 20 years ago may be lost for now, but our Government need a plan and a vision for the sort of world that we want to build. Afghanistan will be how we are judged in future. Are we to be trusted? Do we keep our word? Do we have the will to support the values that we preach? Do we have the foresight to prepare against the things that we fear will happen? Any dispassionate observer of this Government would have to answer no, but this is not just a political failure. It is a moral failure of which the price is now being paid by others: British citizens with family members trapped in Afghanistan, those who fought and served alongside our own valiant troops, the women, the religious minorities and all those who now face a well-founded fear of persecution.”

You can watch his speech in full below.

Barry writes letter to Secretary of State regarding cuts to Universal Credit

I have written to Dr Therese Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to urge her not to go ahead with the planned £20 cut in Universal Credit. This would impose the largest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the foundation of the Welfare State.

In Brent, where families are still feeling the heavily impacts of Covid-19 and where poverty rates are the highest in Outer London, this will have a particularly detrimental affect on already vulnerable families.

At a time when families need Government most, they are turning their backs on them and instead focusing on balancing the books; I think this is shameful.

You can read my letter in full below.

Barry calls out Government incompetency in Building Safety debate

Barry spoke in today’s second reading of the Building Safety debate, which follows on from multiple speeches he has made in debates relating to the previous Fire Safety Bill.

Unfortunately, he was cut off by Madam Deputy Speaker before he could conclude. So copied below is the text of his whole speech, that he would have delivered if time allowed. You can also watch the speech he made at the bottom of this page:

I am not sure what is worse for leaseholders, the fact that they are in constant fear because their homes are unsafe. The  fact that they cannot afford to make them safe and are being harassed by greedy managing agents, or the fact that they are  "trapped" in their  flats without any easy  option to sell and move on with their  lives.  Today’s Statement and this Bill does not fundamentally change that for all the reasons the Father of the House set out in his brief but excellent speech.

During the passage of the Fire Safety Bill Ministers promised these issues would be addressed in the Building Safety Bill.

 Lord Greenalgh said:

“it is unacceptable for leaseholders to have to worry about costs of fixing historic safety defects in their buildings that they did not cause”

“building owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of residents”, and he said they should “protect leaseholders from the costs of remediating historic building defects.”

I don’t know what the correct term in parliament is for someone who makes promises they don’t keep, but I know what they call them on the streets of Brent North. They call them a government minister!

Extending the scope and duration of the Defective Premises Act (DPA) in The Building Safety Bill shows the government does not understand the extent of the problem.

I would ask the Minister to explain to my constituents who live in the Wembley Central Development how this will help them?  The original Developer of their homes-  St Modwens have washed their hands of these defective properties. They sold them to an off-shore company in Jersey in 2018 following the introduction of the new Building Regulations.

They were in partnership with Sowcrest, who are now in a very convenient liquidation. So who exactly does the minister think my constituents can chase here?

What is the government prepared to do about buildings with obscure corporate ownership?

I first contacted St Modwens in 2017 immediately after the Grenfell tragedy. They repeatedly assured me these buildings were safe and in 2018 confirmed in writing that no fire safety defects had been identified.  I am now told the cladding on this building is the same as used for the Grenfell Tower and the Fire Safety Report  has identified fire stopping defects throughout the construction process.

But In May of this year St Modwen agreed to a takeover bid of £1.2 billion from Blackstone.  Can the Minister tell me how this Bill will make them accountable for their actions?

It wasn’t the leaseholders who decided to use flammable cladding, to leave out fire stopping in voids or cut corners. Developers made those decisions.

 My constituents do not have either the deep pockets or the legal expertise to fight these corporate chameleons who start off in London and end up in Jersey as a different company. And this Bill shows the government either does not understand or does not care.

The companies can afford lengthy litigation.  Leaseholders cannot.

 Finally The Minister must explain why there is so little progress on the Building Safety Fund?

I wrote to St Modwens on the 23rd June 2021. I still await a response.

I have also written to Fidum/Fox Cooper, the new managing agents for the New owners based in Jersey.  I asked them about their application to the Building Safety Fund BSF for the removal of the unsafe cladding.  I have received no response.

But Fidum have now told residents that they missed the closing date of the 30th June for the second application because they are still waiting to have eligibility confirmed for the first! And therefore cannot move to stage 2 of the application process.   I contacted the BSF directly on the 23rd June and was advised I would receive an urgent reply from the Ministry of Housing – now precisely 4 weeks later I have received no response.  All of us knew that the system that government had put in place was inadequate.

What we didn’t expect was that it would be incompetent as well.

COP26 preparations: Barry quizzes Ministers in Select Committee hearings

Barry joined as a guest in the Scottish Affairs and Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committees recently. He quizzed Anne-Marie Trevelyan, COP26 Champion for Adaptation and Resilience, over plans to support developing countries with loss and damage through technological and financial support. Loss and Damage is overwhelmingly concentrated in low-income countries facing the gravest effects of the climate emergency today with irreversible economic, cultural and ecosystem degradation. Barry stressed that the adaptation support agreed at COP26 should also compensate countries who have faced losses already as a result of the climate crisis.

In the second session with the BEIS Committee, Barry asked COP26 leads at the Cabinet Office on progress to make this the ‘most inclusive COP’ ever, including civil society influence over the negotiations.

Barry speaks in Westminster Hall debate on deforestation in the Amazon

Barry joined colleagues from across the House in a recent Westminster Hall debate on the crucial issue of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. 2020 saw Amazon deforestation increase by 13% and the number of wildfires hit a 13-year high. Barry’s intervention focused on the drivers of this deforestation - namely unsustainable consumption of beef and the financing of beef companies linked to illegal deforestation from UK financial institutions. Barry spoke out against the £500 million financing by UK financial companies to three of the world’s largest beef companies linked to illegal deforestation in the Amazon. Barry spoke in favour of plans in the Environment Bill for a due diligence system but stressed these needed to apply to all companies, including financial institutions. He also highlighted the importance of due diligence obligations for forest-risk commodities extending to all deforestation, not just that which is ‘illegally’ defined. This is because Bolsanaro’s disastrous legislative reforms attempt to legalise much of the deforestation and appropriation of indigenous land in the Amazon.

Barry speaks in debate on steel

Barry spoke (virtually) in the chamber during the oppostion day debate on steel. In his previous role as shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, Barry spent hours in committee trying to prevent exactly the problem which has now arisen.

You can watch his speech in full below.

Barry appears on Iain Dale's Cross Question

Barry was on Iain Dale’s LBC Show partaking in ‘Cross Question’ answering questions from listeners who call in. Barry tackled a variety of topical questions posed to him such as would he prefer Gareth Southgate or Boris Johnson to be Prime Minister, his views on England players taking the knee, the Irish border issue post Brexit and the lack of quarantining measures for the world leaders arriving in Cornwall for the G7.

His highlights from the appearance can be viewed below

Barry speaks in Environment Bill report stage debate

The Environment Bill returned to the House of Commons just before parliamentary recess for the second day of report stage. Barry voiced his support the Labour frontbench amendments on banning burning of vegetation on all peatland areas to protect the UK’s most vital carbon sinks. Barry also called for the House to support amendments on food labelling, so consumers could make informed decisions on the products they purchase based on their climate and ecological footprints. Finally, Barry spoke of his support for New Clause 12 to revoke existing fracking licenses following the loopholes in the Government’s moratorium on fracking in place since the end of 2019.

Barry appears on Politics Live

Barry was back in front of the BBC cameras prior to Prime Minister’s Questions today alongside Conservative MP Laura Trott, The Sun Chief Political Correspondent, Harry Cole and The Guardian’s North of England Editor.

Barry gave his thoughts on the currently failing government traffic light system in which he outlined the legislation hasn’t come in line with the system, the current proposed Australian free trade deal in which he reiterated he wanted to see Britain have trade deals all across the world but they must fall in our favour and the upcoming by-election in Batley and Spennymoor which Barry is confident we can win thanks to the great previous work of Tracy Brabin. Barry also used the opportunity to call for greater party unity and to remember it is the Tories we should be opposing, not different factions within the Party.

You can watch his best bits below

"How are you on no sleep?" Barry presses COP26 President Alok Sharma on environmental diplomacy

Barry was involved with the Foreign Affairs Select Committee today when he grilled Alok Sharma MP and COP26 President on environmental diplomacy.

During a fascinating exchange Barry asked Mr Sharma what offers the U.K government had made to China with regards to ensuring the previous COP was a success. He then wanted to know whether the government had offered the Chinese government an agreed set of principles with regards to biodiversity.

There was also further quizzing following representations made to Barry by South African Members of Parliament with regards to the recent International Development cuts announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and International Development Secretary, Dominic Raab, to which Barry said went to the heart of their climate challenge and urged the government to improve its delivery of climate finance against these cuts.

Finally, Barry raised the prospect of COP26 and without expecting a definitive answer asked who was the priority when it came to in person versus virtual.

You can watch the captivating segment exchange.