On the 19th of Novbember Barry outline why the Government are right to introduce inheritance tax on farmers.
He pointed out that someone who owns a flat in Wembley, with total assets of £450,000 would pay the same in inheritance tax that a farmer with £3 million in assets would pay.
On the 16 October Barry went on Politics Live where he made clear that, Cosnervative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick made him feel “sick”, from his targetting disabeld people, people with mental health problems and the unemployed.
Both Thames Water and Ofwat tell us that Thames can get itself out of the mess it is in. But a lot of what we have been told by the company has been wrong: they told us that their shareholders would inject more capital, and at the Select Committee in 2023 they didn’t know the quantum of their own debt, or its terms – staggering for a company in financial trouble.
Thames Water has £17bn of debt, and needs a major equity injection (thought to be between £3-5bn) or it will run out of cash at some point next year. It is politically untenable to allow the water and sewage system for a large part of the country to fail, so in the end the company knows that government has to bear the risk of stepping in. Given the ratings downgrade of Thames Water in July, this could be months earlier than the May 2025 date the company has publicly stated. If a guarantee is to be avoided, Thames, Ofwat and Defra need to change the way they are doing things.
Read the full piece published in The House on the 6th of August 2024 here.
On 17 of July 2024 Barry appeared on Sky News to discuss the King’s Speech, in Barry’s words a speech that “will actually make a difference… at last.”
Barry particularly celebrated the announcement of the end of fire and rehire and the introduction of a draft bill to end leasehold.
Barry has been fighting against the "fire and rehire" process for years.
On Wednesday, this will become a reality. It will put an end to companies like P&O ferries, who unceremoniously sacked all of their workers, replacing them with staff on less than £5 an hour.
Labour will commit in our King's speech to banning the practice, within their first 100 days in office.
On the 15th of May 2024 Barry appeared on BBC Politics Live to discuss the government’s plans to release prisoners early, the UK’s spiralling rental crisis as well as sex education in schools.
In the first clip below, Barry spoke about the mental health crisis in our criminal justice system. He spoke about how the man who threatened to murder him was in prison for 18 months before the trial. Once the trial commenced it was quickly determined that he had serious mental health problems and should not be confined in prison.
Later on Barry laid out how Brent has exceeded its house building target, whilst the government’s is simply not cutting it.
Watch the full show here:
On 5 May 2024 Barry was on the Times Radio MPs panel with Carole Walker to discuss the local election results and impending Rafah ground offensive.
Barry was on the panel with Richard Graham, Conservative MP for Gloucester, Sarah Olney, Lib Dem MP Richmond Park and Sienna Rodgers, Senior Writer, The House Magazine
When discussing arms sales to Israel, when pressured by Barry, Tory MP Richard Graham admitted that the UK may have to change its approach in the wake of the Rafah offensive, as humanitarian concerns worsen.
Watch here:
The full 45 minute panel can be watched here:
Labour’s plans to fund our NHS and give children in London free school meals are going to change lives.
After bragging about being voted as the most boring MP in parliament by his colleagues, Barry went on to explain the policies that build Labour’s vision and will make a real difference to people’s lives.
If the Tory government won't nationalise Thames Water, then it is going to have to be radical to avert a disaster - Barry Gardiner
On the 3rd of April 2024 Barry Gardiner published an article in the House Magazine outlining how Thames Water go to where it is today - on the verge of collapse. He then exaplins the “radical” solution.
Read the full piece here.
On Thursday the 14th of March 2024 Barry appeared on The Rundown, a PoliticsHome podcast to dsicuss 3 scandals that aren’t getting enough attention.
Barry joins host Alain Tolhurst alongside fellow guests Nazek Ramadan, director of Migrant Voice, Alice Hardy, a lawyer for Bindmans, who work on behalf of the TOEIC overseas students, falsely accused of cheating on their English language tests, as well as Blanche Zaph from the Loan Charge Action Group, which campaigns on behalf of those pursued by HMRC over a tax arrangement.
On the 13th of March 2024 Barry spoke to journalist Hannah Fearn on the Bunker podcast abotu Labour’s plans to end leasehold.
Problems with leaseholds have ruined lives across the UK. Labour has vowed to end the system, but how? Barry has been campaigning against leasehold for decades and recently fronted a documentary exploring its major issues.
On the 5th of March 2024 Barry went on the New Statesman Podcast hosted by Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe - both current or former leaseholders themselves - to discuss what the government must do on leasehold.
"Crook" landlords are cheating the UK housing system to scam leasehold homeowners out of extortionate rent and service charges, says Barry.
After a chaotic end to a day in parliament which intended to be about discussing the path to a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, Barry felt “soiled by the whole thing”. Barry went on LBC Cross questions hosted by Iain Dale. The panel discussed a ceasefire, the chaos around the speaker, defence spending, police numbers and female genital mutiliation (FGM).
The panel featured Matthew Warman - Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness, and former Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Sir Trevor Phillips – writer, broadcaster and former Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Nimco Ali – Chief Executive of The Five Foundation.
Today, on Wednesday the 21st of February 2024 Barry will vote to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
He went on LBC News, hosted by Simon Conway, to explain why.
On the 20th of February 2024 Barry appeared on BBC Newsnight opposite Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, to explain why he will be voting for an immediate ceasefire.
All the aid aegencies in Gaza say “they have never seen anything like this in 25 years”.
It is “morally wrong” what is happening in Gaza and it must end.
Today, Wednesday the 21st of February 2024, Barry will vote for an immediate ceasefire.
On the 8th of February 2023 Labour announced that it would water down its flagship £28bn spending pledge on green policies.
“Economically Illiterate. Environmentally Irresponsible. Politically Naïve. This is the sad truth about the £28bn U-turn The USA has shown a Green Prosperity Plan is the way to grow the economy, reduce the share of debt to GDP. And get people excited about a cleaner safer future” - Barry Gardiner
On Wednesday the 7th of February BBC London reported on the Elm Road fire, which resident Marianne says “could have been another grenfell”
"Safety of the Residents was not [Octavia’s] number one consideration” said Barry.
David Talbot, an Octavia Housing resident who lived with his wife Jacqueline in a block connected to the one that caught fire, added that flammable cladding on the flats looked “like a matchbox waiting to go up”.
Barry Gardiner has stated his belief that Octavia had “chosen to engage in a protracted dispute” with Vistry, the developer of the block, rather than remove the cladding itself, despite being aware for years that “Grenfell-style” combustible cladding was on the building.
The Labour MP also accused the London landlord of “sitting on their hands” after he repeatedly raised concerns about the building’s safety defects months before a fire engulfed the block in flames.
Read the full article in Inside Housing here.
On the 6th of February ITV did a report on the Elm Road fire, where 70 resident were evacuated.
The report speaks to Samantha, a resident on Elm Court Road and Barr y Gardiner MP. Samantha said she will “never feel safe again”.
Octavia “needs to step in” and cover the cost of all the possessions people lost, either in the fire or from subsequent water damage - Barry Gardiner
Barry Gardiner claimed that the incident showed the “lessons of Grenfell” have not been learned.
He said he had written to the block’s owners, Octavia Housing, “repeatedly” and met with the CEO last November after constituents complained of fire safety flaws.
Mr Gardiner told the Standard: “I think what is so shocking is that we know that the cladding on this building is similar to the cladding at Grenfell. They’ve known for three years now that this was the case.
"And they have not got it sorted. I’ve been writing letters, emails repeatedly. It is just an atrocious example that shows the lessons from Grenfell have not been learned.”
Mr Gardiner held a meeting with residents, London Fire Brigade (LFB) and Octavia Housing staff at the Brent Civic Centre.
He said it had emerged that “fire alarms had failed to go off, police had incorrectly advised residents to ‘stay put’ in their flats and Octavia Housing had failed to repair gas boilers and appliances for over six months”.
Read the full article in the Evening Standard here.
