I’ve really enjoyed engaging with so many Hornsey & Friern Barnet residents over the past few weeks of the busy election campaign.  Whether it’s chatting on the doorstep, at our street stalls, responding to hundreds of emails on the issues that matter to you most or attending one of our constituency hustings events.

I took part in hustings at Muswell Hill Synagogue, Fortismere School, Muswell Hill Churches and the Carers Coffee Morning.  Thank you for inviting me, to the hosts for organising and to all the active citizens who took part.

The mood for change for our country is strong.  Issues like the state of our NHS and social care have come up again and again, as well as the need to take bold climate action (with strong support for Labour’s plans for a new publicly owned GB Energy, investing in clean, green energy and improving our energy security).  In my inbox the Tory failure to tackle the housing crisis has been a recurrent theme, with private renters sharing their struggles of soaring rents and being evicted without reason.  Labour will act immediately to ban Section 21 “no fault” eviction wars and end the bidding wars that are pricing so many people out of our area.  Crucially we’d also build more homes, with council and genuinely affordable at the heart of our plans to build 1.5 million homes, because you can’t address the housing crisis without increasing supply.

I’ve also heard loud and clear how important animal welfare and protecting our natural environment is to people in Hornsey & Friern Barnet.  It is to me too, and in Parliament I’ve fought hard to defend our urban trees.  The next Labour Government will deliver the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation.

There is now only one week to go and whatever the polls say, change will only happen if you vote for it.  If you have a postal vote – return it as soon as possible.  And on Thursday 4 July between 7am-10pm find your polling station and vote Labour for a fairer, greener, safer future.