MP newsletter - the Budget, local rail services … and Christmas card competition - 28 October 2026
Do you want to receive this newsletter first? Click here to subscribe
Good afternoon. I’m restarting this regular newsletter - hopefully, once a week while Parliament is sitting. Some people have asked about the interruption to it during the last year. The truth is that these newsletters are usually written in the evening, and as my childcare responsibilities have changed, it became harder to find the time on top of other duties. I still want to provide a regular newsletter, and I hope to get these out more frequently.
Birmingham news
Local rail services (and a cab-eye view)
Last Friday, I spent some time with train crews and Denise Wetton, the new Integrated Managing Director for Network Rail and West Midlands Trains.
It was a rare - and appreciated - opportunity to see the new Camp Hill line in operation from a driver’s perspective, as well as some of the challenges on the Cross City Line. It was also an insight into the difficult conditions that train crews can work under, as Storm Boelo was in force. We discussed a range of issues, highlighting concerns residents have raised with me in the community, including:
Public safety and the unkempt condition of stations on the southern end of the Cross-City Line, especially Kings Norton, Northfield, and Longbridge.
The timetable and the need to improve connections with the new Camp Hill line service at Kings Norton, with the current timetable leaving no room for delay or for those with mobility issues.
How our railways can provide greater training and employment opportunities for young people in South Birmingham.
Improvements are more straightforward to accomplish in this new age of integration between track and train, as passenger services are brought back into public ownership. I’ll keep constituents updated on ongoing discussions with Network Rail as I work with them to improve our train services.
University of Birmingham access scheme
I also met University of Birmingham students who are part of the Pathways to Birmingham programme.
Pathways to Birmingham supports Year 12 and 13 students from backgrounds currently underrepresented at university to support them into higher education.
The programme works with schools and colleges across the constituency and the wider area, including University of Birmingham School, St Thomas Aquinas, Colmers, and Cadbury College. There’s a particular focus on science and engineering roles with the programme offering tailored financial and pastoral support for participating students.
With some 10 per cent of the University’s undergraduates now coming through this route, it’s a great way of extending the benefits of Higher Education institutions to the whole city.
For more information visit: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/pathways-to-birmingham
Christmas card competition
It might still be October but it’s never too early to get ready for Christmas. On Monday I launched my Christmas Card competition for Year 6 students across Northfield.
They have been asked to draw their best Christmas picture inspired by the question “What does Christmas mean to you?”.
Winners and Runners-up will be announced in late November, so make sure to get your submissions completed soon. For more information, please contact me.
Casework
Constituents regularly contact me with their concerns regarding our community. I’m pleased to support them wherever I can.
Here are some of the things I’ve recently secured for constituents in Birmingham Northfield:
After a resident experienced flooding damage in their building, I raised the issue with the council, who placed them immediately in accommodation and ordered extensive building repairs.
I secured the release of a constituent’s Civil Service pension and ensured they received over six months’ worth of backdated payments after significant delays.
I had a resident’s Carer’s Allowance reinstated after an error, securing them £5,413 in back payments.
If you have any issues, please feel free to reach out to me:
Tel: 0121 516 5770
Email: laurence.turner.mp@parliament.uk
In Parliament
The Budget 2026
The main business in Parliament this week was the Budget.
Overall, I think this was a fair Budget that provided immediate support for families and businesses and invested in tackling the long-term issues we face as a country and our public services, with the burden placed on those who can afford to pay.
It is also important to recognise the difficult geopolitical situation that the country now finds itself in and the impact this has had on our public finances. The choices in this Budget make sure that fiscal discipline is maintained, Government borrowing is reduced, and our public services are protected.
For me, some of the most significant, and welcome, measures in the Budget were:
Support for families with rising energy costs with a £100 payment in January for all households in Council tax Band A to D, benefiting more than 40,000 households across the constituency.
I also welcome that the VAT cut on domestic electricity bills is being extended to 1 July 2027, and that standing charges will be removed on household gas bills next year.
Extending the 5p freeze in fuel duty.
Additional support for our local businesses and high streets, with an increase in business rates relief for pubs, social clubs and live music venues - at 35% - from 1 April 2027.
As your local MP, I was very glad to work in Parliament to get business rates relief extended to social clubs / working men’s clubs, based on representations from the Austin Sports and Social Club in Longbridge.
There is also welcome Small Business Rate Relief for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, and a two-year real terms bills freeze for RHL properties.
Continued investment to tackle the housing crisis, with £430 million being invested to tackle rough sleeping, providing a route off the streets for people across this Parliament.
We’re also introducing a First Time Buyer ISA and an equity loan scheme for first time buyers to provide that extra support in getting on the property ladder.
One announcement that I think deserves more attention is the Government’s plans for fiscal devolution.
Decision making is still too centralised in London and locally we need see power returned to local communities. I welcome that, from 2027, the Mayor of the West Midlands will now receive a direct share of tax revenues. More information can be found here.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is also receiving long-term, flexible funding – with an initial allocation of £5.3 million – through the Good Growth Funds.
This will mean investment is based on locally determined priorities, which could include infrastructure, regeneration, skills, and housing. I will be advocating to make sure Northfield benefits from this funding.
This is being funded by, in part, a temporary increase in the bank surcharge and an increase the rate for higher stake games machines.
What do you think?
I am really glad to see the steps taken in the Budget to give greater control to our communities on how money is invested.
I want to see work done to improve transport access across the constituency – including exploring the potential of the metro returning to the A38. What would your priorities be for this funding?
Best wishes
Laurence Turner
MP for Birmingham Northfield
Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky
P.s. If you don’t want to receive these messages then please reply to this email with the word ‘unsubscribe.’
These newsletters are mostly written at the weekend alongside domestic duties so please excuse any typos.
Social housing
Away from the Budget, I have been working in my capacity as a Government Whip to take the Social Housing Bill through its Committee stage.
We know that Britain has a housing emergency: the levels of homelessness are far too high, too many families are living in temporary accommodation, too many properties are not safe, and too many individuals cannot access the property ladder.
I am proud to have worked with the Government to take a number of steps since July 2024 to make progress on tackling this issue. The Social Housing Bill builds on this. It will:
Protect our social housing stock and incentivise the building of more social rented homes.
Support social tenants who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse by creating a fairer system with greater protections.
Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and give providers certainty, so that they can invest in new social and affordable homes with confidence.
Increase public control of social housing to make sure that it provides support to those who need it the most.
Ensure Veterans don’t fall foul of a local connection test when it comes to receiving support, recognising the unique nature of armed forces deployments and connections veterans may have (or, conversely, the need to rebuild their lives) over different areas of the country.