Political opinion: Kimberley MP Alex Norris says good things coming in 2026

Late on New Year’s Eve, the Prime Minister delivered his own new year’s message to the country, where he outlined some of the ways that we would start feeling the benefits of the decisions Labour is taking in 2026.

I’m going to take my first column of the year as an opportunity to a deeper dive into what’s coming up.

This month we are expecting Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to publish the £13bn Warm Homes Plan.

We’ll have to wait for the full details, but this will provide grants to help households install renewable technologies, like solar panels and heat pumps, and is expected to leave some households with no energy bills at all.

This is part of delivering on our manifesto commitments to make Britain a clean energy superpower and cut energy bills.

More immediately, everyone will see their energy bills cut by an average of £150, following Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s decision at the budget to scrap levys.

In April, the second increase in minimum wage by this Government will take effect.

This increase of 4.1 per cent will be worth £1,500 a year for a full-time worker.

Workers will also benefit in April as the provisions in the Workers’ Rights Act start to come into force.

From April, paternity leave and parental leave will become rights from day one of a job, and statutory sick pay will be strengthened, so that it supports employees from day one of an illness, not day four.

Later this year, fire and rehire will be outlawed, so unscrupulous bosses can no longer sack workers and take them back on worse terms.

The following month, renters will benefit from improved rights as well.

From May, the Renters’ Rights Act will abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions to provide families with greater security and ensure that revenge evictions can’t be used against residents who request repairs.

Bidding wars for tenancy will also be banned, with landlords having to accept the advertised price for a rental and rent increases will be limited to once a year.

We’ll also see the roll out of Best Start Family Hubs this year, inspired by the Sure Start Centres introduced by the last Labour Government.

These will be one stop shops for families to access a range of families, with support for pregnancies, early years and beyond.

As well as providing activities for young children – and opportunities for new parents to make connections with each other – these centres will offer advice and support on housing, debt and welfare, maternity services, a whole host of health services, and much more.

That’s just a quick run-down of some of the biggest items that are already announced, and there’s plenty I haven’t covered.

The freezing of fuel duty, train fares and prescription charges are going to make a real difference and I’m incredibly excited to see the impact we can make with a hugely-improved funding settlement for our local councils.

I’m looking forward to representing you in the coming year and working hard to deliver the improvements we’ve promised.