Frank's Westminster Blog

When Parliament gave the Government the green light to hold an in-out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union, it was surrendering all of its decision making powers to individual voters across the country. MPs changed their role from representative to delegate on this issue. Having been instructed by voters in that referendum to leave the EU, our job as MPs was to ensure their instruction was carried out. At this late hour, with just weeks left until we are due...

Bob Varney’s family buried him today and a large number of friends and admirers came to bear witness. From a single, brilliant address no one could have been left in any doubt about the many faces of Bob that people loved. I came to the funeral because there was one face which I loved about Bob: the power that he put into trying to ensure that the truth that underpinned the case for the group that I call ‘the whistle-blowers’ should be made known. There...

Councillor Julie McManus from Bidston ward came down and sat with me before the annual meeting of Wirral’s Foodbank last week. She told me she was off to feed the homeless and other hungry people in Hamilton Square. Here is her report on just one hungry family: 'The grandfather brought in his coat a little boy who must have been under 2 years old. As we fed the hungry, the little boy’s mouth opened and closed like a little bird in the nest crying out for food. I fed him with...

The Government’s welfare cuts are forecast to trigger an increase in inequality – a concerning development in and of itself. But a much more serious consequence of those cuts is the accompanying rise of destitution. Feeding Birkenhead is working tirelessly to prevent poorer families and individuals falling into the clutches of destitution. Yet the frontline projects and volunteers who undertake this work report that a growing number of vulnerable people are dropping out of...

The drive behind the Government’s programme to tackle modern slavery has never been greater. However, there remain huge gaps in this programme which leave many victims vulnerable, destitute and homeless. In mobilising support for Lord McColl’s Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill), the Free for Good campaign holds out the potential to bridge those gaps. The Bill gives all victims of modern slavery a year’s leave to remain in the UK, so that they can begin to rebuild...