** June 2020 Newsletter
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** Steel Must Underpin Manufacturing Renaissance
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There will be many lessons to learn from the coronavirus pandemic. One that will stick in the minds of many was our over-reliance on products manufactures elsewhere and imported. It left Britain horribly exposed and scrambling around to source the items we needed.

The crisis also saw Britain’s manufacturing prowess come to the fore. Aerospace, automotive and other engineering companies started making ventilators, and in Aberavon businesses suspended normal operations and reconfigured to produce desperately needed equipment.

If we are to grow and rebuild our economy post-pandemic, we must significantly boost our manufacturing sector. Off the back of this crisis our country needs a manufacturing renaissance.

The steel industry must underpin this manufacturing renaissance, but for that to happen government needs to change its attitude towards the steel industry. They need to recognise the vital strategic importance of steel and support the industry. So far their record on this has been poor: it took French and German governments just ten days to loan steel makers funds to help them through the crisis, while the UK government has sat on its hands.

The government has failed to come up with the size of loan and liquidity to help the with the cash-flow crisis the UK’s biggest steelmaker, Tata Steel, is facing. They urgently need to realise that the cost to the taxpayer of doing nothing is so much grater than the cost of intervening.

The British steel industry is a 21st century industry and there can be no post-pandemic economic recovery without a strong and health steel sector. Our recovery depends on a modern manufacturing renaissance, so we need to support the backbone of our manufacturing sector: the UK steel industry.


** End of hybrid proceedings
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When Parliament returned after the Whitsun Recess, the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg scrapped the hybrid system that allowed Members to take part in proceedings and vote remotely. MPs are now back in Parliament with a new voting system.


** FCO Frontbench
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Dominic Raab succumbed to pressure from the Labour shadow FCO team and made a statement on the situation in Hong Kong. I joined the shadow Foreign Secretary, Lisa Nandy, on the front bench as she called for an alliance of democracies to stand up to China and defend democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong.


** TalkRADIO
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I gave an interview to talkRADIO on the need for Britain to adopt a different approach to China. We need to be bold and stand up for our values and interests in the face of Chinese Communist Party aggression.


** Support for steel
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In Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy questions I called on the government act fast to support the steel industry through COVID19. If the French and German govts can provide funds within 10 days, why are the UK government yet to pay out a single penny?


** Black Lives Matter
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I was shocked and appalled by the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. His horrific death has shone a light on the racism, discrimination and injustice experienced by many black people in the US, UK and beyond, and should be the catalyst for change.

Protestors are rightly calling for the basic human rights of black people to be respected, and for them to be able to go about their daily lives without the threat of police violence. The use of excessive force against protestors in the US and the inflammatory language used by the President towards the protests is very alarming. Human rights and the fundamental right to peaceful protest must be respected.

There is no-place for racism in our society and I stand with black communities in the US, UK and across the world in the fight against racism. Racial injustices need to be tackled and structural injustices need to be addressed: we must stand together to build a better society.


** WALES LEADS THE WAY
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The Tories were forced into a humiliating U-turn on free school meals in England after a brilliant campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford. He wrote a powerful and moving letter on the UK Government’s shameful free school meals policy and the realities of life for many families struggling to make ends meet.

The Welsh Labour Government has been leading the way on this by guaranteeing free school meals throughout the summer holidays.


**
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** BOUNDARY REVIEW
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The government brought forward its legislation for future constituency boundary reviews. Although it is welcome that they have dropped the arbitrary figure of 600 constituencies, the legislation is still flawed and if it remains unchanged then it risks severely weakening our democracy.

The 5% variance in the average size of constituencies is a ridiculously small amount of leeway, which will inevitably lead to some ludicrous consequences. We only have to look at the initial proposals last time round which saw Aberavon cut-off from Port Talbot. The unnecessarily narrow margin will split long-established communities from one another, erode local identities and divide neighbourhoods.

A further concern is using the December 2020 register to reshape constituencies. There is a danger, with the pandemic and the recovery absorbing so much focus, that people may drop off the register and the lists may not be an accurate representation of numbers.


** BRITISH STEEL PENSION SCHEME
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Following months of campaigning, holding meetings with steelworkers in Parliament and lobbying the Financial Conduct Authority, the FCA have decided to write directly to around 7,700 former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme inviting them to revisit the advice they received and to complain if they have concerns.

There has always been a strong belief that steelworkers were ripped off by unscrupulous financial advisors mis-selling pensions. The FCA review suggests that just 21% were given suitable advice.

It’s good to see some progress, but there is much more to do.


** Office Arrangements
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Although the office is no longer open to the public, I and my team are continuing to work remotely to help and support residents.

The number of cases we are dealing with continues to be high and we are working hard to assist everyone.

Please bear with us as we work through this increased number of cases.

You can still get in touch with use by calling the office on 01639 897660. If you leave your name and number we will call you back.

Alternatively please send an email to [email protected]

We’ve also introduced online advice surgeries which can be booked online at [link removed] check the website or Facebook for details of the next one.
All the best,

Stephen Kinnock
MP for Aberavon

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