Josh Fenton-Glynn MP

Today Parliament passed the Rare Cancers Bill. This will lead to more focus for developing rare cancer drugs. In this job you have the privilege of turning personal grief into real change. I did that today speaking about losing my brother Alex to a rare cancer earlier this year.

The bid to remove three of Calderdale Council's four scrutiny panels has come under fire from Calder Valley MP @JoshFG halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/politics/…

One of Reform’s first acts in charge of Calderdale has been to get rid of the scrutiny boards that hold leadership to account. It’s part of the job of a back bench councillor - are they afraid of scrutiny or do their back benchers not want to do the work? halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/politics/…

This was a really useful conversation about the Labour leadership, the future of our economy and local elections.

Being a successful minister is using your role to achieve outcomes that align with your values - often leading beyond your authority. When James ran housing in Islington he built more social housing than anywhere else in London. I’m excited to see him as Healthy Secretary

I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election. I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people. Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place. I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that. Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again. ENDS

A very strong start to 2026 -significantly above forecasts. GDP/capita rose 0.6% in first three months of 2026 (@OBR_UK expected gdp/capita to grow by 0.8% in 2026 as a whole)

@MatofKilburnia I suspect it’s ’sources’ thinking out loud in the presence of journalists to be honest!

@JoshFG This feels quite Trumpian, like how they stuffed the supreme court. This faction now seemingly have an iron grip on the branches of power within Labour, won't let go and don't want to include anyone else. It's very worrying. I think the whole party needs a proper reorganisation

I am immensely proud of the change we have made in this government so far. From lifting half a million children out of poverty to taking on the water bosses. But the message that people in Calderdale and across the country have shared with us is clear. They want a government who speaks to them and to feel the change we are making. That’s why I’ve called on the prime minister to set out a timetable to step down and ideally one which gives us the best choice of alternatives. That is what I told Matt Chorley today.

Yesterday I visited Field Lane Primary School in Rastrick which is now co-located with Highbury School, which supports children with complex special educational needs and disabilities. The two schools have been able to help solve each other’s problems and make the experience richer for students of both. Highbury School is a specialist school which was over subscribed and struggling to find space to accommodate children with high level needs who applied. Meanwhile Field Lane like many schools in the valley had falling pupil numbers, raising questions over their long-term future. By giving space to Highbury (whose main building is close by) Field Lane is now a more sustainable mainstream site and Highbury can help more children with complex needs. This year Highbury had 154 pupils, and in September they will take 165. Demand for places remains high and the plan is to grow the project gradually, making sure the quality of education is maintained. As well as both schools solving problems, having the two schools together is helping staff share skills, which is increasingly important with more SEND students in mainstream settings. Most importantly at play time it taught one set of children about being understanding of disability and the other how to play and interact in a mainstream setting. It’s a really lovely inclusive and innovative model and Polaris Multi Academy Trust deserves a lot of praise for taking that risk. I know that the government SEND reforms are creating some quite understandable anxiety and I’m keen to continue the discussion of them so we can find examples of getting SEND provision right and learn from them.

Of course he also donated to the Free Speech Union. It must be lovely to conduct politics with literally zero shame

James Cleverly is on TV telling us the elections went well for them. They have 0 councillors left here in Calderdale a traditional Tory/Labour marginal area. #BBCLAURAK

Reminder: the loss on the oil rights Thatcher sold was around £500bn

As you will have seen yesterday saw a change of hands in power in Calderdale, with Reform taking 34 of the council’s 54 seats. Labour lost ground and the Conservatives were completely wiped out. Thanks to everyone who continued to support Labour and helped us gain enough seats to become the council’s official opposition. I am aware that for some, the victory of Reform will create some anxiety. Please be assured that Calderdale is still the same open and inclusive place today it was before and many of us - myself included - will fight to ensure it remains so. I would like to extend a personal thanks to all the Labour councillors and candidates who stood. We lost some exceptional public servants last night, who I’ve been proud to call friends and colleagues over the years. I would also like to congratulate all the new councillors who were elected yesterday, chosen as a voice for your community. I stand ready to work with everyone to get the best for Calder Valley residents and I am always aware as an elected representative I’m a voice for both those who support me at the ballot box and those who don’t. I hope that our new councillors will feel the same. In electing a Reform- led council, the residents of Calderdale have entrusted them with looking after our most vulnerable children, SEND support and adults in social care - the services that make up 70% of the council’s budget. There is no more important task and I will hold the regime to account on the behalf of those vital services. It’s impossible to look at last night’s results without taking into account the national picture. Votes for both the Greens and Reform reflect people losing faith with the ability of mainstream elected parties to deliver meaningful change. I hear the challenge and will carry that message back to Westminster with me next week. We have to change and make that clearly visible. While I understand some of this has been wrapped up in the position of the PM, I don’t think that focusing on an individual will solve our problems, the country is not a football team which can change managers and hope results improve. We need to look root and branch at the changes we need. So in summary, I hear your dissatisfaction and I am ready to work with everyone to see the best for Calderdale. And I will be working with the brilliant Labour councillors we have kept and our candidates to make sure we offer a strong voice for Calderdale in the coming years.

I’ve voted for three amazing candidates who I trust most with my local community, and the right three people to hold Reform to account if they take control of Calderdale council.

🌹 It's Polling Day! Time to get up and vote Labour.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we have our local elections. And I won’t sugarcoat it. The polls tell us the most likely outcome is a Reform council in Calderdale. And when we look at what they are doing across the boarder in Lancashire it’s scary. Saving money off the backs of the most vulnerable residents. Saving money by closing or increasing the fees of care homes for example. I will be supporting our brilliant Labour councillors and candidates across the borough. Not only are they the party best placed to beat Reform, but having run the council either as a minority administration or on their own since 2016 Calderdale Labour have done a good job. Getting good results for adults and children’s social care from OFSTED and CQC. Opening the Piece hall and brining in money for projects including Elland Station, our flood works, Todmorden and Brighouse Town Deals and the Pride in Place scheme in Halifax. We have won awards for our environmental work too. Against the backdrop of a decade of underfunding from the last government. But if Reform do end up in charge of our council we need a team who can challenge them and hold them to account. Our brilliant councillors and candidates know the council inside out. They won’t take the attempts by reform to cut our environmental protections, to balance the books on the back of the most vulnerable or to divide our communities lying down. So use your votes for Labour, based on our record, based on our candidates and to stop Reform.

Zack Polanski has regularly used the Board of Deputies as a punching bag to appeal to his far left base. So if they're telling you that yes, the caricatures of him in certain papers are in fact wading "into centuries old anti-Jewish tropes", it's worth listening.

I note the positive response to this. Can I gently suggest those welcoming me calling this out might wish to challenge the antisemitism that allows an election candidate to call ramming a synagogue “revenge”.

These images wouldn’t be acceptable if they mocked the racialised features of any other group and need to be called out as antisemitic.