The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt MP, unveiled his Autumn Statement. Unfortunately, there was very little in there to help people in Hackney. Thanks to the thirteen years of failed Conservative government, households are paying more tax than they have for decades. And although the Chancellor made a great deal of cutting National Insurance by two per cent, this will do little to help the one in two Hackney children growing up in poverty. There was also little support for local government, which has had its budgets squeezed both by inflation and cuts.

The Government unveiled its forthcoming legislative agenda this week in a ceremony called the King's Speech. This lays out the laws the Government want to pass in the next session of Parliament, which is likely to be the last one before the next General Election. Unfortunately, this Government has run out of steam, and its plan for the next year is very thin. There are some welcome changes - on renters' rights and leasehold reform - but the proposals aren't enough to satisfy the problems so many renters and leaseholders are facing. 

I was really pleased this week to welcome a number of students and young people from Hackney to my Westminster Experience Day. They got the chance to talk to me and another MP, as well as senior members of staff at the House of Commons, about career opportunities in Parliament. Seeing such bright and politically engaged young people is always reassuring – they asked focused, sharp, and pertinent questions about the issues of the day. It is good to know the future of Hackney and the UK is in safe hands.  

Parliament returned in a sombre mood after the atrocities and suffering in Israel and Gaza.