Brexit may be done but there is more we can do to secure sovereignty to local places too. The Finance Bill debate saw John McDonnell praise the inaugural recipient of this prize, Jerome Mayhew MP, who welcomed the draught beer relief for it provides £100 million a year in support for local pubs, protecting a key element of social infrastructure in many towns and villages.

‘…before we can even talk about levelling up, we need levelling back. We need to give councils the power to invest in local services in their communities again. Jerome Mayhew, who is not in his place, raised the importance of the Budget for local communities, and I agree’.

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