Boris Johnson attended his final Prime Minister's Questions this week and was met with a standing ovation from his MPs who only two weeks ago were calling for him to resign. Conservative MPs have also selected the two final candidates to be the Prime Minister's successor - Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister's former Chancellor, and Liz Truss, the Prime Minister's current Foreign Secretary, both continuity candidates. We need a general election and a fresh start.
The farce of this Prime Minister and government continued this week. After the Labour Party applied for a vote of no confidence, the Government refused to allow this vote to take place. It then realised that it couldn’t refuse and so has now tabled a vote of confidence in itself for next week. It’s another mess of the Government’s own making. We need a government that is focused on the issues that matter to Hackney, including tackling the cost-of-living crisis.
As part of my ongoing campaign to improve outcomes for black women in maternal health, I wrote to the North East London Health and Care Partnership (NEL HCP) to ask what it is doing locally to improve outcomes for black mothers. I have now received a response, which can be accessed by clicking on the link below. I am pleased to see that the NEL HCP is planning to set up a local Equality and Equity subgroup to focus on this important issue. I will follow its progress closely.
Boris Johnson has finally resigned as Prime Minister. But despite his resignation he remains in charge as a lame duck Prime Minister whilst the Conservative Party picks our new PM, again. I challenged Boris Johnson at a meeting of the Liaison Committee (the committee of select committee Chairs) this week before he resigned. During the meeting, the number of ministerial resignations and new backbench Conservative MP critics kept escalating.
Seven per cent of deaths of people over 30 in Hackney can be attributed to particulate air pollution. The Public Accounts Committee held a hearing on this issue and pressed senior officials on what steps the Government will take to address this issue. But it's also a reminder of the urgent need to tackle the climate emergency. Whilst air pollution in general has decreased over decades, the level of nitrogen dioxide is breaching local limits in many areas.
Read my Monthly Report for June 2022 here.
Between 2010-2020, the Government reduced funding to NHS dentists by a quarter. Labour called a debate in the House of Commons on access to NHS dentistry and I made the point that the Government is woefully underdelivering on this issue. Difficulties with accessing NHS dentistry has been an issue since before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic has only made things worse and the Government has been too slow to act. I’ll keep urging it to step up and fix this issue.
A number of constituents have been in touch to voice their concerns about the Government's abhorrent plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to be processed. This is an unacceptable policy on all humanitarian grounds and runs roughshod over international legal agreements about providing asylum to those fleeing persecution and war. It is also unworkable and would cost the UK taxpayer dearly.
Black women are four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than their white counterparts. This statistic is a snapshot of the wider health inequalities faced by black and minority ethnic mothers and their children. I’ve signed the Five X More MPs Pledge to draw attention to this overlooked issue and join forces with other MPs in campaigning for the Government to act.
After two years of lockdown and no travel, it was entirely predictable that there would be an increase in passport demand. There is now a serious backlog in processing passport applications. Labour called a debate in the House of Commons to highlight the issue and press the Government for action. I’ve also been helping constituents get their passports returned in time for funerals, weddings, and holidays but the Government has been asleep on the job. It is not good enough and the Government must urgently step up and fix this issue.