Column: Building a Britain that works for every person and every place

Monthly column by Rachel Hopkins, MP for Luton South and South Bedfordshire. 

It's back to school season for children across Luton South and South Bedfordshire, and that also means time to head back to Parliament for MPs after summer recess. It's a time for fresh starts, new priorities, and renewed momentum to deliver on them. That's exactly what our new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham has brought, with a slate of new announcements and a bold vision to rewire our country, ensuring it works for every person and every place. 

In his first statement to Parliament, the Prime Minister set out the steps he took over summer to hit the ground running in tackling the cost of living and giving families in places like ours more breathing space. These include bringing back the £2 bus fare cap, removing VAT from electricity bills, extending unlimited free bus travel for disabled people, and calling time on rip-off rogue traders through new regulation. 

These measures will offer some relief, easing the cost of living for working people. But this Labour Government understands the need for deeper, structural change to extend this long into the future.  Through a pledge to end rough sleeping, starting by offering everyone a route off the streets by Christmas, and investing the first £10 billion in the biggest social and affordable housebuilding project since the postwar period, we are building a future where everyone has somewhere to call home and the stable foundations to build a better future.  

Underscoring each aspect of the Prime Minister's vision are the key principles of regional empowerment and greater public control. I warmly welcome local leaders getting enhanced powers to tailor these policies to their communities' needs, allowing them to build better opportunities and cultivate renewed local economies. We are seeing this already through the chance to shape new technical education routes and powers to revive neglected high streets by blocking nuisance businesses and tackling illegal activity. 

For too long, our economy and indeed our country has not worked for ordinary people. By decentralising power, digging deep to tackle the long-standing issues others have shied away from, and keeping our communities' interests at the heart of everything we do, this Labour Government is building a future with good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart.