Today, as China's National People's Congress opens in Beijing, the Business and Trade Committee launches a major new inquiry: China and the UK Economy.
What is the prize – and what is the price?
🔗 Submit evidence by 10 April: committees.parliament.uk/work/9660/ch...
Great session with Rain Newton-Smith and CBI team today on the Business and Trade Committee's 2026 Priorities Report. Exactly the dialogue that sharpens our work. More to come.
Great to meet Dr Mark Speich, Secretary-General of Germany's Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, this week.
At a moment when the transatlantic relationship is under real strain, building strong bonds with Europe's leading thinkers and institutions matters more than ever.
The Business & Trade Committee visited the Port of Dover this week to see how Brexit has changed things for trade & business.
The reality is that Brexit created barriers & friction that didn't exist before.
We need a closer trading relationship with the EU that cuts through that friction.
Not quite a hot take. More a calm reflection: The result in Denton & Gorton underlines why Labour must move from a 'heroic voter' strategy to a 'heroic coalition.' And 'de-rigging the market' is central to the effort.
Here’s this week Substack: open.substack.com/pub/liambyrn...
If you didn't catch my column in last week's Solihull Observer where I discussed the £71.2 billion cost of consumer harm - the cost of goods that never arrive, services that fail, products that are unsafe etc - you can have a read here!
solihullobserver.co.uk/news/westmin...
Today we publish the Report on our pre-appointment hearing for the Chair of the Competition & Market Authority. At our hearing I set out the key issues we debated.
Report now live: committees.parliament.uk/publications...
Sanctions are not statements of intent. They are instruments of enforcement.
But the regime is not watertight. Reports are mounting of UK-made goods reaching Russia via third countries.
The Business & Trade Committee is demanding answers - today at 3:30pm:
committees.parliament.uk/event/26618/...
In the light of last week's arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Business and Trade Committee today announced the next stages of our work on special trade envoys.
Listen to the statement here: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=932...
Today, the Business & Trade Committee questions Doug Gurr on his suitability to become permanent Chair of the CMA.
The CMA has an important job to do for British consumers and businesses. We want to understand how Mr Gurr intends to do it.
Live from 2.30pm: committees.parliament.uk/event/26617/...
In the the light of last week’s news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the Business & Trade committee meets today to agree next steps. We’ll update the House at around 2:30pm. Watch here: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
Walk into any supermarket & you feel it - basics that somehow cost more each week. But here's the hidden crisis: dodgy sellers, unsafe products & subscription traps are costing British families £71.2 billion every year. I've made the case for why fixing this matters in the Solihull Observer.
#WhyPopulistsAreWinning by @liambyrnemp sets out a bold plan to rebuild the radical centre of Western politics. It is a field manual for democratic renewal
Get 25% off using code FEB26 between 17-20 February at @Waterstones #WPreorder
Pre-order now: tidd.ly/3ILVt3N
I was very pleased to recently welcome His Excellency Mr. Bader A. Almunayekh, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UK, to the House of Commons for a productive conversation.
As we navigate Britain's post-Brexit trade landscape, strengthening our international economic partnerships is key.
Last week, our Business and Trade Committee published its Small Business Strategy. We set out a 10-point plan to turn this around.
High streets don't die by accident. Want the full picture?
👀Watch our deep-dive on YouTube: buff.ly/VXr8FqB
SMEs are 99.9% of UK businesses. They ARE our economy. Right now, they're being pushed to the edge.
£112bn in unpaid invoices. 38 stores closing every day. Energy bills doubled. 69,000 hospitality jobs gone.
A few personal reflections on what happened in Munich this weekend.
It felt like America First met Europe Resolved.
But the challenges for the UK are stark: open.substack.com/pub/liambyrn...
I am a proud patron of NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).
I was honoured to join George Freeman MP, Jonathan Ashworth, Tony Adams and others, at last week's annual Stafford Ward Memorial Lecture in Parliament - part of #COAWeek2026.
Thank you NACOA nacoa.org.uk
It’s gone to press! My new book Why Populists Are Winning is published on 26 March. It asks a simple question: why is this happening - and how do we beat it?
2 MONTHS TO SAVE UK STEEL
This week, Tata Steel told us there are 2 months left to save UK steel.
The UK risks becomes "dumping ground of the world".
- No steel strategy
- No consultation response
- Parliament in the dark
Read our letter:
This Elections Bill is progress.
But we cannot restore trust in politics while crypto donations - direct or indirect - remain legal.
I’m optimistic ministers will act to ban crypto-political donations after the Ryecroft Review.
But we’re readying amendments to help make the case….
Small businesses now face pandemic-level pressures - without emergency support.
£112bn in unpaid invoices. Energy costs doubled. £4.2bn crime bill.
Small Business Strategy Report from the Business & Trade Committee published today:
committees.parliament.uk/publications...
Tomorrow: the Business and Trade Committee questions leading corporations - do UK-US deals deliver real jobs, real investment and real security or leave British firms exposed to wishful thinking made in Washington?
📺 Watch live from 2.30pm, Tues 10th Feb parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
The cost-of-living crisis isn’t just economic - it’s political.
When prices rise faster than wages & rip-offs go unpunished, trust collapses. Consumer harm now costs Britain £71bn a year. Populists thrive in that vacuum. So how do we de-rig the market?
Substack: tinyurl.com/4vvxss54
Huge news for families in Hodge Hill and Solihull North
The two-child benefit limit is being scrapped. That's 450,000 children lifted out of poverty by 2029.
For the 7th most deprived constituency in Britain, this investment in our children's futures is essential.
The UK’s economic security regime is not fit for the future. The Government’s response to the Business and Trade Committee report falls short of addressing this challenge.
Only 4 of 25 recommendations accepted.
I raised this in the Commons yesterday because the stakes are too high to ignore:
The two-child benefit limit is being scrapped. That's 450,000 children lifted out of poverty by 2029.
In Hodge Hill and Solihull North - where nearly half of kids are growing up in poverty - this matters.
Life happens - job losses, bereavements - our safety net needs to be there.
Britain risks becoming "the weak link in Western economic security defences."
Our Committee's verdict: the Government accepted just 4 of 25 recommendations. Allies have raised serious concerns with us.
Economic security is not just a slogan.
Report: committees.parliament.uk/publications...
📣 Seven priorities. One mission: Britain's economic future.
Our Business and Trade Committee has just launched our agenda for the year ahead - shaped by hundreds of businesses, unions and consumer groups right across the country.
Full details: committees.parliament.uk/publications...
Why does everything cost so much now?
But Britain’s cost-of-living crisis isn’t just about prices going up – it’s about standards breaking down.
So, what’s gone wrong?
The Business & Trade Committee is determined to get answers.
📺 Watch 3rd Feb, 2:45pm
parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
