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First edition sold out - reprint just arrived. Looking forward to the debate over the weeks to come. Available here: m.cmpgn.page/wpbppt
Liam Byrne MP
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🌹MP for Hodge Hill & Solihull North | Chair, Commons Business, Innovation, Science & Trade Committee | Why Populists Are Winning: m.cmpgn.page/wpbppt
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1/. A Step Towards A Forced Labour Ban | Almost two years ago, SHEIN representatives refused to confirm whether their products contained cotton from China or Xinjiang. Ever since, we’ve redoubled our campaign - alongside others - to strengthen the safeguards against forced labour in supply chains.
Today, as we publish the Government’s response to our work on UK-US trade, in which we repeated the call for stronger safeguards, we’re also publishing a letter from Jonny Reynolds confirming “Companies will be required to identify, prevent and mitigate risks of human rights abuses and labour exploitation throughout their global operations and supply chains.”
That is a big step forward - now we need a debate on whether the precise measures are tough enough.
You can read Mr Reynolds letter to me here.
Link to the Govt response to our report in US-UK trade in the comments
Today, as we publish the Government’s response to our work on UK-US trade, in which we repeated the call for stronger safeguards, we’re also publishing a letter from Jonny Reynolds confirming “Companies will be required to identify, prevent and mitigate risks of human rights abuses and labour exploitation throughout their global operations and supply chains.”
That is a big step forward - now we need a debate on whether the precise measures are tough enough.
You can read Mr Reynolds letter to me here.
Link to the Govt response to our report in US-UK trade in the comments
Thank you so much to our Royal British Legion - especially the incredible Mike Devlin - the Sea Cadets at TS Stirling led by it’s outstanding Commanding Officer Joseph Nelson, all of our scouts, guides, cubs, brownies and beavers, the RAF, our fantastic Shard End Police Team, Reverend Mandy Harris and the whole team at All Saints Church for an incredible team effort today organising what I think was our biggest ever Remembrance Sunday service and parade honouring those who have given everything for our freedom.
#WeWillRemember
#WeWillRemember
Exactly ⬇️
A common Westminster mistake is to look at big moments in US politics and assume the same battle lines will be drawn here. AI and the mid-terms are a good example of this.View quoted post on X
The easy assumption is that a big polarising debate on data centres is about to hit the UK, just because it has in the US. But that ignores two important facts.
First, the government has watched the free-for-all in parts of the US, has learned lessons from it, and is setting out a different approach. We do need to secure grid connections for strategic data centres, and we are setting up a Ministerial Control Centre to do just that. But move too quickly without bringing communities with you, and people understandably start worrying about the impact on their area and asking what they’re getting in return. That's why we're putting protections in place, to prioritise data centres only where they meet the tests set out in our Data Centre Covenant published at the Budget.
This means data centres have to lower electricity bills for other users, minimise and report on water usage, support our reindustrialisation objectives and support UK sovereignty. And crucially, it means agreeing to the principle that local communities around new infrastructure should share in its benefits - both through jobs and wider support.
Second, our problem is not that we have an abundance of data centre construction that our politics needs to reckon with, it's that build out is slower here than it could be. 15 of the world’s top 20 largest data centre markets are in the US. None are in the UK. The pace of investment here is, frankly, too low for what we need to stay at the forefront as AI technology develops. High electricity costs and slow grid connections (thanks, Conservatives) mean we haven't been near the top of the list for investment, and too often we're reliant on AI infrastructure overseas. The Budget last week set out a new direction to change this for all business and households, but we can't turn this round overnight.
Data Centres today are essential infrastructure. They underpin much of everyday life in the UK, from banking and shopping, to public services, to helping doctors screen for diseases. AI makes that infrastructure even more important and as AI becomes more widely used across out economy, Britain will need more of the data centres that support it. But we won’t allow that growth to come at any cost. We’ll protect communities. And we’ll make sure local people benefit.
What does Labour learn from the US mid-terms?
My reading of the Democrats’ victory is pretty simple: when people believe the system is rigged, attack the people doing the rigging.
Behind America’s impressive growth figures, millions are struggling. In the year to Q3 2026, median weekly earnings rose by 1.5%. Prices rose by 3.5%.
Democrats connected that squeeze to the spectacle of a president and his billionaire allies enjoying extraordinary gains.
One Michigan voter captured the perfectly: “I see the president building a ballroom when there’s people that can’t feed their families.”
The attack on Big Tech sharpened the argument. Who gains from AI? Who pays for the electricity, infrastructure and disruption? Who writes the rules? The victory speeches of Democrats are written through with a warning for America's big tech titans.
From the mid-terms, there are two lessons for Labour, which we basically know, but which just got underlined:
1. Follow the money. Expose the relationship between populist donors, their interests and the policies they promote.
2. Above all, raise living standards. People need to feel progress in their pay packets, their bills and in our communities. And here we need to be looking much harder at some of the lessons from Australia, as @ThinkLabour argued this week
The truth is the Democrats’ task is still unfinished. They have mastered the politics of anger. But now they need an optimistic story of national renewal - and a credible plan for delivery.
They have mastered the politics of the Gatsby age. Can they now offer America a Franklin Roosevelt?
Here's this week's Substack: liambyrne.substack.com/p/the-democrat…
My reading of the Democrats’ victory is pretty simple: when people believe the system is rigged, attack the people doing the rigging.
Behind America’s impressive growth figures, millions are struggling. In the year to Q3 2026, median weekly earnings rose by 1.5%. Prices rose by 3.5%.
Democrats connected that squeeze to the spectacle of a president and his billionaire allies enjoying extraordinary gains.
One Michigan voter captured the perfectly: “I see the president building a ballroom when there’s people that can’t feed their families.”
The attack on Big Tech sharpened the argument. Who gains from AI? Who pays for the electricity, infrastructure and disruption? Who writes the rules? The victory speeches of Democrats are written through with a warning for America's big tech titans.
From the mid-terms, there are two lessons for Labour, which we basically know, but which just got underlined:
1. Follow the money. Expose the relationship between populist donors, their interests and the policies they promote.
2. Above all, raise living standards. People need to feel progress in their pay packets, their bills and in our communities. And here we need to be looking much harder at some of the lessons from Australia, as @ThinkLabour argued this week
The truth is the Democrats’ task is still unfinished. They have mastered the politics of anger. But now they need an optimistic story of national renewal - and a credible plan for delivery.
They have mastered the politics of the Gatsby age. Can they now offer America a Franklin Roosevelt?
Here's this week's Substack: liambyrne.substack.com/p/the-democrat…
