What drives me is creating good growth in every postcode

A busy week at the @UN.

This Labour Government is determined to bring back hope for young people. This is how.

Let's be honest. A lot of young people have stopped believing they'll ever own their own home. That's what happens when rents are high, house prices are high, and saving for a deposit feels impossible. My Labour government is stepping in to help. With Your First Home, first-time buyers will be able to buy a new-build home with a deposit of just 2.5%. Because hard work and saving should count for something. And because the dream of owning your own home shouldn't belong only to those with help from the bank of Mum and Dad.

We've all walked past them. The empty shop that's been boarded up for years. The old cinema gathering dust. The building everyone says, "someone should do something about that." Well, that's exactly what I'm doing. We're investing £210 million to help bring neglected high street buildings back into use - turning empty spaces into community hubs, health centres, shared workspaces, cafés and the local services that people actually want to see. The funding will also help communities save spaces like pubs and sports clubs and support co-operatives so local people can share directly in their area's success. People don't measure growth by looking at a spreadsheet. They measure it by looking at their local high street. That's how we restore pride and bring hope back. Not by telling people things are getting better, but by giving them the power to see and feel the difference where they live.

It’s estimated that one in five women in the UK will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime. But if you lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks, there is currently no legal right to bereavement leave. I don’t think that’s right. Losing a pregnancy can be devastating. You and your partner shouldn’t have to worry about going straight back to work. So we’re changing the law. From April, women and their partners will be entitled to two weeks off after any pregnancy loss. And we’re making wider changes, with new rights to time off when you lose someone you love. When you’re grieving, you deserve the time and space to do that.

We've all heard someone say 'school wasn't really for me’. And we should think about why that is. Our system is set up to reward young people who thrive in academic subjects and exams, but what about those who learn best by getting stuck in and doing things? Too often they're left behind. So we’re introducing new vocational GCSEs - proper, nationally recognised qualifications giving young people practical, hands-on learning that they can study alongside Maths, English and Science. And we’re creating 200,000 more work experience opportunities, so every teenager gets the chance to experience the world of work before they leave school. A one-size fits all approach simply doesn't work - I want to build an education system that values both academic and technical paths and gives all young people hope that their future will be brighter, whether it starts at university or not.

Building the Foundations of a Healthier Nation 📢 Tag your MP to invite them to join our event at the Labour conference ⬇️ 📅 Monday 28 September 10.30am-11.30am Meeting Room 12, Liverpool Experience Campus #RightToRehab #Lab26

RT @kirstyjmcneill: My first 24 hours at #UNGA have had a big education focus - the launch of the Council on the Future of Global Education…

RT @kirstyjmcneill: Every woman and girl should have the freedom to make informed choices about her own body free from coercion, discrimina…

No country can tackle the climate crisis alone. So at New York Climate Week I'm meeting governments & businesses from across the world to drive global climate action. Working together to take action which creates jobs, lowers bills & strengthens our energy security.

Being prepared saves lives, and stronger health cooperation is needed to prevent future crises.     At the @UN, I announced up to £100 million of UK funding for @CEPIvaccines to develop new vaccines against pandemic and epidemic threats, including Ebola      #UNGA #HealthSecurity

👏This has only been possible because we had the political will to do the UK-US pharma deal. As a health minister I remember the pressure from the blockers, some of it dressed up as "academia". But giving cutting edge treatments to patients will always be a @UKLabour thing to do

From this weekend, if your train is cancelled, you can get on another operator’s service and carry on your journey without paying again. This simple, common sense change puts passengers first. theguardian.com/business/202…

The UK will stand up for what is right.

We need “an era of responsibility” matched by meaningful co-investment & skills partnerships - quoting @BeccyCooper4Lab at the #UKGlobalHealthSummit in our recent article for @PLOS journals.plos.org/globalpubl… #HealthPartnerships #UHC

I didn’t become Prime Minister to just make a few tweaks around the edges. I want to change the way this country works. For too long, politics became comfortable with the idea that some things just can't be fixed. People sleeping on our streets. Huge inequalities between different parts of the country. Young people unable to afford a home. Communities watching decisions about their future being taken somewhere else, by someone else. Governments have talked about those things. They've even promised to fix them. But too often, they've reached the same conclusion: it just can't be done. I don't accept that, and I never have. That’s why we’ve invested to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas. It's why we've announced the biggest council housebuilding programme since the Second World War. It's why we're opening 159 new mental health centres. It's why we've finally put technical education on par with the academic route. It's why we're delivering the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster and into local communities in a generation. And it's why we opened No10 North too. Not as another government office. But because I believe one thing very strongly: Britain won't be rebuilt from the top down. You have to put power back in the hands of the people and places that know their communities best - and then put the full weight of government behind them. I also want to give people a bit of breathing space too. That's why we've cut tax on electricity bills, capped bus fares at £2, and made subscriptions easier to cancel. It’s why we've cracked down on fake discounts and cut business rates for pubs, social clubs and music venues. And it's why we've extended the 16-17 Saver Railcard and introduced free 24/7 bus travel for disabled people. That is the change we have started. More power for our communities, more support on the cost of living and a long-term plan to rebuild the country. Each one of those changes is part of the same thing. Good growth in every postcode. Reindustrialising Britain. And making sure wherever you live - and whatever your background - you feel this country has a future for you. Because, in the end, that's what this is about: bringing back hope.

Ebola is back. Here's what the UK is doing to help prevent further outbreaks and save lives ⬇️

Today, we're putting the cowboys out of business. Most builders in this country are decent people who take pride in their work and charge a fair price for it. But the small number who don’t follow the same pattern: take a big deposit, do half a job, then disappear with your hard-earned money. That's got to change. So we're backing a new system that gives you the option to have your money held safely and released bit by bit as the work is completed. Do the work, get paid. It's as simple as that. And we'll help our good builders stand out from the cowboys too. Tradespeople who meet our new set of standards will be able to show customers that they do things properly and can be trusted with their homes. This is another one of our everyday fixes to help with the cost of living, and to get people in every part of this country to finally believe in Britain again.

Join us in Liverpool at Labour Party Conference for our panel discussion on public health resilience and how best to prepare for the next pandemic. 📅 Monday 28 September 2026 🕙 10:15–11:30 📍 TBC We’ll be sharing more details soon – watch this space!! 👀