Catherine West MP MP for Hornsey & Wood Green and Labour Candidate for Hornsey & Friern Barnet
My latest monthly e-newsletter has just gone out to thousands of homes across Hornsey & Wood Green. You can read a copy below or online with all the photos here.
If you’d like to receive my e-newsletters, and you don’t already, you can sign up here.
Welcome to my October e-newsletterWhat a shambles. Liz Truss might have gone after just six weeks in office, but people will be paying the price on their mortgages and their rents for years to come. Today, we get a new Prime Minister with no mandate and yet more of the discredited plans that have given us 12 years of Tory failure. The British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. I know from my inbox and the thousands of residents who signed the petition calling for an immediate General Election that you feel the same. Here’s my speech in the petition debate on the price people in Hornsey & Wood Green are paying right now for the chaos made in Downing Street. Child poverty skyrocketing, levelling up abandoned, our hospitals, schools and social care at breaking point, our food banks running out of food to match the growing demand. We need more than a change at the top. We need a general election so the public get a say on the future of Britain – and the chance for a fresh start with Labour.
Our housing market is brokenMortgage interest rates have sky-rocketed following the KamiKwasi budget and I’ve received many emails from horrified homeowners who are facing bills of up to £900 more each month. One constituent told me that he was about to buy his first home this month but will need to continue renting as his mortgage interest rate has jumped from 2.3% to 5.6%. This isn’t unusual – 6,934 households in Haringey will face an eyewatering jump in mortgage repayments next year as a result of the Conservatives crashing the economy – and it isn’t just homeowners affected. In my column for the Ham & High this month, I’ve written about the renters left at the mercy of a private rental sector that is all too often insecure, low quality and unaffordable. Read my column here. End Section 21 no fault evictionsIn the years since the Tories first promised to ban Section 21 evictions, over 200,000 people have lost their homes. I’m hearing from growing numbers of constituents affected and am concerned that the Tories may be rowing back on their pledge to end this disgraceful practice. This month, I raised the issue at Business Questions and wrote to the new Levelling Up Secretary to set out the need for urgent rental reform. Read my letter here. Homes for UkraineFollowing my recent meeting with local host families, I have written to the Secretary of State to urge the Government to produce a follow up plan and a sufficient package of support so that Homes for Ukraine doesn’t become Homeless for Ukraine. Watch my question in Parliament and read my letter here.
Baroness Casey review into culture and standards within the MetThe interim findings of Baroness Casey’s review into standards within the Met are appalling, but sadly not surprising. Together with other London MPs I met with the new Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to discuss the actions he is taking to deliver the step changes in culture, standards and performance we so desperately need to see. Read my full statement on my website. Attack on NatureHundreds of constituents have got in touch with me about the Tories unprecedented attack on nature. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries on the planet, with over 40% of species in decline. And yet the Government is planning to scrap housing and environmental regulation and build over national parks and sites of scientific interest. I’ve written to the new Levelling Up Secretary to raise my concerns and seek assurances that house building and rewilding will go hand-in-hand. Read my letter here.
Royal Mail disputeFollowing my meeting with the CWU over the summer, I wrote to the then Business Secretary to urge the Government to step in, defend workers, and help get Royal Mail bosses back round the table to resolve this ongoing dispute. When I finally received a response last week, it wasn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Worryingly Royal Mail has now announced plans to slash 10,000 workers jobs. Workers should not be paying the price for Royal Mail’s mismanagement, and I’ve sent my support to the CWU and will keep pushing for Royal Mail to sit down together with the trade union to agree an alternative business plan that protects jobs, services and customers. Unions are delivering for workers every day, but we need a Labour Government that will deliver for workers too – enshrining the rights that workers should be able to rely on into law, giving unions new rights to help them organise and win for their members, and putting power back into the hands of working people. Labour’s New Deal for Working People will do just that – and we’d bring forward our Employment Bill within 100 days of taking office.
My month in numbersLast month my office received over 1,175 casework emails and opened 185 new cases. I’m sadly seeing more emails from private renters facing Section 21 evictions or struggling with cold, damp homes and landlords who won’t carry out repairs. I’m also hearing from lots of constituents waiting on Home Office responses to their visa applications or asylum claims. Previously, if I raised a case I could expect a Home Office reply within 20 working days. But that target has long since been dropped and all too often it’s a struggle to get any reply, something I’ve repeatedly raised. Labour’s Shadow Leader of the House took the matter up again in Business Questions this month. The Home Office have said they will reinstate the target by February 2023, but that simply isn’t good enough. Labour will continue to put pressure on the Government to get a grip. Over 1,000 of you got in touch last month on policy issues . The main concerns raised were around the Government’s plans to amend or scrap crucial environmental laws and about the introduction of Investment Zones. I’m also seeing a worrying increase in constituents feeling despair at the current state of the Government and the lack of support for the upcoming winter, a situation made worse by the botched mini budget. It is incredibly sad to hear how worried people are about paying their bills over the coming months. My website at www.catherinewest.org.uk/costoflivingcrisis has lots of information on support and advice available if you’re struggling and don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s anything you feel I can do to assist. Since my last e-news, I’ve asked 40 Parliamentary Questions and you can read the full list here .
Shadow Foreign Affairs: Chinese Consulate – Manchester I was appalled by the images from Manchester of Chinese Consular officials attacking pro-democracy protestors from Hong Kong. Freedom of expression and peaceful protest are at the heart of our liberal democracy and protests outside embassies and diplomatic missions has become an accepted part of our culture, allowing both British citizens and foreign nationals here in the UK the chance to express their concerns at the actions of foreign governments. We cannot and should not allow what happened in Manchester to happen again and I responded for Labour to both Urgent Parliamentary Questions and emphasised the need for the British Government to protect Hong Kong people here in the UK, as Labour has consistently done. UkraineThe situation in Ukraine has continued to dominate the news cycle. While Ukrainian forces continue to liberate their territory, Russian forces have lashed out at the Ukrainian people with indiscriminate drone strikes against civilian targets in an effort to cripple their energy infrastructure before winter. There is no way to describe this as anything short of a war crime, and my Labour colleagues and I remain firmly committed to supporting Ukraine and her people as they face President Putin’s aggression.
In the community: Cycle trainingHaringey, like all local authorities, has seen its cycle training funding slashed by this Government by more than half, while at the same time we are seeing higher number of people cycling than ever before. Considering the important role of active travel in combatting climate change, poor health and air pollution, and the need to ensure growing numbers of cyclists are safe on our roads, I asked the Transport Minister what this Government is doing to ensure a sustainable funding settlement for cycle training in local authorities. Watch my question here. Visit to Haringey & Enfield CollegeI visited the Tottenham Centre of Haringey & Enfield College to meet the principal and chat about education and training opportunities for Haringey’s young people, and the issues faced by the further education sector. I was delighted to meet engineering students and their teachers who are so committed to teaching our young people the skills needed to tackle the skills crisis in our economy. Good luck to all the full and part time students who are working so hard to prepare for the world of work.
I attended the launch of the Plunkett Foundation’s Better Business Reports looking at the role of community pubs and community shops, and their importance to local communities. It was great to be joined by Nick Allaway, the life and soul behind the Antwerp Arms, north London’s first community pub.