My monthly newsletter: June 2023

My latest e-newsletter has gone out to thousands of homes across Hornsey & Wood Green.  You can read it below or online with all the photos here.

If you’d like to receive it and don’t already, you can sign up here.

View this email in your browser

Welcome to my June e-newsletter I doubt it will have come as a surprise to anyone that Boris Johnson has been found to be a serial liar who acted in contempt of Parliament.  He lied to me, he lied to Parliament, and he lied to the country.  I’ve been asked a lot about how I felt when the Privileges Committee report was published this month, as it was my question in the House that saw Johnson directly lie about the lockdown parties he knew had taken place at the heart of Downing Street.  I’m pleased our democratic process has held out and he’s faced a reckoning for his actions.  But most of all I feel angry and heartbroken at the sacrifices made by the British public during those dark days.  The doctors, nurses, care workers, bus-drivers, all the law-abiding people who did the right thing and were lied to by the man at the top and insulted by his allies as they continued to attack the processes in place to uphold standards. Our current PM was too weak to even show up for the vote and shamefully signed off Johnson’s disgraceful resignation honours list filled with people who had defended the indefensible.  It is clearer than ever that we need a General Election to give the British people the chance to elect a Labour Government to sort out this mess, restore trust and concentrate on the things that matter to the British people. Boundary Commission changes When we get a General Election, it will be fought on new constituency boundaries following the report laid by the Boundary Commission earlier today.  It has been an honour and a privilege to be Member of Parliament for Hornsey & Wood Green since 2015 and you can read my full statement on the changes here.  Going forward, I am very proud to be Labour’s candidate for the new seat of Hornsey & Friern Barnet but will certainly miss representing vibrant Wood Green and Highgate and the brilliant residents, community groups and local businesses who make these areas so special.  It’s important to say that nothing changes until the next election, so wherever in Hornsey & Wood Green you live, please do continue to get in touch if I can help in any way!  Campaigning in Uxbridge with Labour’s candidate Danny Beales following Boris Johnson’s decision to stand down and cause a by-election.   Here are some of the things I’ve been doing this month.   If you know anyone who would like to receive these updates, please share this link.      Inflation and mortgage rises With two-year fixed rate mortgages now reaching interest rates of 6%, products being withdrawn and mortgage holders in Hornsey & Wood Green facing an average annual increase of almost £7,000, it’s devastating for family finances.  In Parliament, I raised the case of one of my constituents, and it isn’t just homeowners being hit by the Tory mortgage penalty.  Renters in Hornsey & Wood Green are seeing landlords use this as an opportunity to hike their rents, at a time when they’re already being hit by the cost-of-living crisis.  It is an issue I’ve already raised and it was appalling that the Minister couldn’t even tell me how many renters are affected. We need a Government that will take responsibility and help hard-pressed homeowners and renters.  Labour has a plan to shield those most impacted by this crisis with a windfall tax on the record profits of energy companies to freeze bills and lower inflation.  We’d also offer practical help now, demanding that banks offer products that reduce the impact of soaring interest rates and that requests for help don’t impact on people’s credit rating.  Crucially, we’d build more of the genuinely affordable homes our community so desperately needs as lack of supply is playing a big part in pushing rents up.   Housing Ombudsman I had a helpful meeting with the new Housing Ombudsman yesterday following my questions in Parliament about how the complaints system is working. I raised several concerns about housing association and council repairs, an issue that fills my inbox, and heard that over 80% of Haringey complaints to the Ombudsman are upheld. I challenged Richard Blakeway to make the case to government for a decent homes plans. As the social housing stock across the country ages, and falls into disrepair after years of austerity, this is needed now more than ever. I also asked Richard for his thoughts on the plans to allow private renters to raise cases with an Ombudsman. Although I believe this will provide private tenants with more security and hold landlords to account, the Government must work closely with the Housing Ombudsman and local councils to ensure it has the powers it requires. This month marked the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.  I joined together with Labour MPs to mark a minute of silence to remember the 72 people who were killed, the families who lost their loved ones and their homes, the brave firefighters who have since lost their lives to cancer, and stand together with the Grenfell community as they pursue justice and campaign for change.

Defending the right to strike The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill returned from the Lords and Labour continue to set out our strong opposition to this fundamental attack on the rights of working people. It threatens nurses and other key workers with the sack when there is a severe staffing shortage. It will also put intolerable burdens on employers. The Transport Secretary has admitted the Bill’s measures would do nothing to resolve the current strikes, while the Education Secretary says she hopes they are not applied to schools.  When the Bill was last in the Commons, I voted for amendments that would have improved it, but sadly they were voted down.  A Labour Government would repeal this vindictive anti-worker law and will always stand up for working people and defend the right to strike. Social care and loneliness Social care is in crisis and for 13 years the Tories have failed to deliver long-promised reform.  Since the pandemic, I’ve been visiting sheltered housing across Hornsey & Wood Green and seeing the impact of these failings on people’s lives, including the loss of vital befriending services, dentistry and podiatry, and the consequent rise in loneliness.  At PMQs I urged the Government to act – watch my question here and for the Ham & High this month I wrote on the rising epidemic of loneliness and why we need to act. I also attended the Carers Week Parliamentary drop-in and heard from unpaid carers, like Kim, about the huge challenges they’re facing. Our incredible carers are being left to fill in the gaps of a failing social care system. After a decade of cuts to local government, too many families are left to cope without the support they need. Over half a million older and disabled people are on council waiting lists for care and there are 165,000 care worker vacancies across the sector.   We need to put social care at the heart of a modernised welfare state as an essential part of our economic infrastructure. I support a 10-year plan of investment and reform to put social care on an equal footing with the NHS, improve access, and ensure every older and disabled person gets the right support when and where they need it.  For me, this means building towards a National Care Service. At the Carers Week drop-in, Kim shared her experiences of caring for her husband, Peter, who has Lewy Body Dementia. COVID-19 Inquiry: share your story from the pandemic For those who lost loved ones during COVID, I know the past month has been extremely difficult.  New videos revealing the shameful disregard to social distancing at Tory HQ lockdown parties and the damning findings of the Privileges Committee into the behaviour of Johnson’s Number 10 have co-incided with the launch of the official enquiry.  I know from constituents affected how distressing this has all been and believe it’s vital the inquiry has all the information it thinks necessary to prevent a repeat of the tragedy and answer the questions that so many families still have.   The inquiry has called for the public to share stories of how the pandemic affected them.  People are being invited to fill in an online form: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/every-story-matters/ – please do take part if you have experiences you wish to share. Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team I am proud to be a signatory to this letter alongside Malala, Khalida Popal and over 100 Parliamentarians from the UK, Australia, Portugal and Italy.  Together, we call upon the President of FIFA to ask that FIFA support Afghan women’s freedom to play the sport they love.  To mark Refugee Week, I also met the Afghan Women’s Development Squad who came into Parliament to show the powerful role of football n bringing communities together. Windrush 75 years on I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at Stroud Green Primary School to celebrate the contributions of the Windrush generation.  But as we mark this 75-year anniversary, there are still many victims of the Windrush Scandal that don’t have the justice they deserve.  The Home Secretary believes it’s time to “move on” and has disbanded the Home Office unit tasked with implementing much-needed reforms.  Yet “moving on” isn’t possible without justice and compensation for those who suffered so much and assurances that such a scandal can never happen again.  For that to happen we need an end to the Tory hostile environment.

Refugees welcome: remembering Sharif Barko
I joined Haringey Welcome and members of the Sudanese community at the commemorative bench in Ally Pally park to remember Sharif Barko.  Sharif was a refugee and a Haringey resident who’d made his home here since 2005 but was killed when visiting West Darfur in 2021. Lucy from Haringey Welcome told me “Sharif was a dear friend of mine and a great supporter of Haringey Welcome. He was someone of extraordinary warmth, resilience, generosity and integrity who loved and lived life to the full. He was a free spirit who never gave up hope of building a better life for his family and community, both in Darfur and in the UK”. 
 
Highgate School’s planning application
I chaired a packed, standing room only, meeting organised by the Highgate Society to discuss Highgate School’s planning application.  I’ve since followed up with a letter to the new Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning, Cllr Sarah Williams.

Shadow Foreign Affairs:

Russia
Over the weekend the world watched as Russia’s President Putin faced the greatest challenge to his 23-year rule, with the leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin leading an armed mutiny which captured several cities and briefly threatened Moscow.  Although the mutiny appears to be over – for now – the events of the weekend demonstrate the fragility of Putin’s rule and challenged the notions and reasoning for his brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The situation in the days, weeks, and indeed months ahead will remain uncertain and there is a very real possibility that what we witnessed is the beginning of the end of Putin. It is vital that we keep a close watch and plan for what may come next while – of course – doing everything that we can to continue supporting Ukraine in their battle for freedom, democracy, and liberty.
 
Chinese intimidation – UK
I am increasingly concerned at the growing levels of Chinese intimidation here in the UK, with repeated incidents like the attack on protestors outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester and the accusations that human rights defenders and lawyers are falling victim to Chinese harassment. In recent weeks we have seen another example of this unacceptable behaviour with the reported attack on a Hong Kong student in Southampton by a fellow student from mainland China. I raised the fact that thousands of Hong Kongers in the UK still feel threatened and urged the Foreign Secretary to follow through with his previous promises to act to protect those who now call the UK home.
 
India
There are few greater strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region than India, and it was a pleasure to meet with several Indian delegations in Parliament, comprising both lawmakers and businesses, to discuss ways in which our two countries can work closely together to tackle our shared challenges and to maximise our mutual potential in climate action, trade, and cultural exchanges. I was pleased to attend the India Global Forum and to hear Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Labour Party, talk about the shared opportunities our two countries posses and the key strategic relationship the UK and India will have under the next Labour government.
 
Australia
As part of a sustained and ongoing commitment from the UK Labour Party to work with our sister Party in Government in Canberra I have held extremely productive meetings with the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, and the New South Wales’ Regional Business Manager Lorraine Suka to emphasis our ongoing support for a deepening and mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries and all levels of the Australian state. There is ongoing and increasingly cooperation on foreign affairs and defence and the next Labour government here in the UK will proudly work with our partners in Australia to cement these deepening ties.