Barry joined former Labour colleague Glorio De Piero on The Daily Brief to discuss the continuing revelations of parties in Downing Street during the pandemic as well as Labour’s plans for the cost of living crisis.
Barry outlined what he would like to see including a windfall tax.
The full interview can be viewed below.
Barry asked a question to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Housing, in his statement on Building Safety.
In his question, Barry said that the Secretary of State’s statement focused on cladding, when the vast majority of leaseholders in unsafe homes are suffering from other insulation and fire stopping defects.
Barry also noted that many of the companies who will be asked to ‘pay up’ have gone into voluntary liquidation. Barry asked the Secretary of State whether he will implement a windfall tax on the whole industry now.
Many leaseholders in Brent North and around the country have been waiting 3 years in purdah and need some urgent clarity and leadership from the government on this issue.
You can watch his question in full below.
Barry was interviewed by BBC News on why Michael Gove’s statement doesn’t go far enough when it comes to protecting leaseholders and went into great detail of the real issues not addressed by the Secretary of State.
The full interview can be viewed below.
Barry was back at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee today grilling witnesses on plastic waste.
Barry asked why we export so much of our plastic waste around the world as opposed to recycling it in this country domestically and to which country we send it to. The exchanges can be viewed in full below.
Barry was with the Environmental Audit Committee today grilling experts on Technological Innovations and Climate Change and Negative Emissions Technologies.
It got a little testy at times and the fascinating exchange can be viewed below.
Barry was back at the Enviroment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee this week and quizzed Lord Goldsmith, Minister for the Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Barry pressed Lord Goldsmith on how the government intend to ensure trees are planted in the right place to benefit our natural environment and why the current tools are inadequate to do so.
Barry pressed both the Minister and the witness very hard and the full exchanges can be viewed below.
Barry was proud to attend Downing Street this morning and join with NHS workers in handing in a petition against the pernicious Health and Care Bill.
The Bill would allow big businesses to be at the heart of NHS decision making and embed into the Health Service a postcode lottery leaving people with the choice of either suffering in pain unable to get care or being forced to pay for private care.
The petition was signed by 304,761 people and continues to grow
The EFRA Select Committee this week held an evidence session with the Environment Secretary. Barry’s line of questioning focused on the issues facing pig farmers, including the Government’s haphazard response to the labour shortages as a result of Brexit and the pandemic.
Barry responded to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget in the Chamber. In his speech, Barry touched on matters such as:
This Budget is the result of 11 years of austerity and under-investment.
No Government since the war has implemented a higher tax take from the people of this country.
Growth in the next three years will slow to a sluggish 1.3% and our country’s debt stands at the astonishing figure of £2.2 trillion
The growing deficit
The total lack of strategy to tax wealth on unearned income
The failure of the Government to work towards a net zero economy
You can watch Barry’s speech in full below.
Barry was pleased to speak in the debate on the vital topic of Sustainability and Climate Change in the National Curriculum. A debate that was introduced by Nadia Whittome MP.
Barry spoke about how young people today should be angry. Angry with the way that successive generations have left them a world that they are going to have to cope with. The problems that we have created are the problems that they will have to deal with.
Barry agrees that there is a strong need for us to teach about climate as an integral part of the curriculum and not just a tick-box exercise within schools. He also spoke about the hope that the Dasgupta review brings- an economic review commissioned by the Treasury to look into the integration of biodiversity and the natural world with economics—something that is long overdue.
You can watch my speech in full below