FINANCE BILL: On Monday I spoke in the Committee of the Whole House Stage of the Finance Bill. In my remarks, I spoke specifically about family businesses and amendments which change business property relief (BPR). The purpose of BPR was to enable assets to pass intact from one generation to the next in order for the business to be transferred as a going concern and to maintain steady revenues that guarantee employment and supply chains. However, removing BPR from the inheritance tax regime...

PRIME MINISTER’S QUESTION: The period after Christmas can be a challenging time for so many people, and this is consistently reflected in the high suicide rates in the month of January. Alongside my constituent, Philip Pirie, I have been calling on the government to launch a public health campaign to encourage discussions about the topic of suicide. It is vitally important that those struggling feel comfortable reaching out for support, and it is equally important that people check on those...

As 2025 draws to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the more positive developments that have taken place both locally and nationally over the last 12 months.  So much of the news has been dominated by war, scandal, humanitarian crises, international turbulence and economic gloom this year, that some of the changes that have changed all our lives for the better risk passing us by unnoticed.   AWAAB’S LAW: I have a small, but extremely hardworking, team of...