R.I.P. Your Majesty.
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.
The UK must act against the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. I have signed a letter calling for the Government to undertake an audit of the UK assets of Hong Kong and Chinese officials who have been linked to gross human rights violations. I am urging the Government to introduce Hong Kong specific sanctions list.
Click the link below to read the letter in full.
The Home Secretary cannot answer basic questions about how much taxpayers' money will be spent on sending victims of war and persecution to Rwanda.
These plans are shameful, unworkable, and will not break the business model of people traffickers and smugglers.
The Government finally published the much-delayed Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) review, which you can read here.
New proposals include digitising paperwork so parents can receive speedier extra support for their children and a greater focus on early intervention with an additional 5,000 early-years teachers trained to become Special Educational Needs co-ordinators (Sencos).
I challenged the Chancellor on the Government's inability to tackle COVID loan scheme fraud during pandemic. The Chancellor claims he had to act quickly at the start of the pandemic, but with even just a short pause for better planning and preparedness, some of estimated £26 billion paid out under fraudulent claims would have been saved. The money lost to fraud would have mitigated the rise in National Insurance contributions that will hit on 1 April. This comes at the worst possible time with rising prices and soaring inflation creating the perfect storm for households.
What security risk does a 90-year-old woman fleeing war in Ukraine pose? Or people in their sixties? Or mothers with small children?
The Government’s approach to Ukrainian refugees just underlines the chaos at the heart of the Home Office. It needs to urgently get a grip.
Last month, the Government gave emergency authorisation for the use of the Cruiser SB pesticide (containing a neonicotinoid) in England. A number of constituents contacted me about this authorisation and raised concerns about its impact on our bee population. This is a vitally important issue as research has shown an overall decline in wild bee diversity over the last 50 years.
As MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, I can obtain tickets to Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) for constituents. But as these tickets are very limited (I can only get two every month, subject to availability), I operate a ballot system.
The important UN conference on climate change held in Glasgow last year (COP26) was a modest success. But modest progress is insufficient in tackling a crisis where time and transformational change is of the essence.
Ahead of the conference, I wrote to the COP President, Alok Sharma MP, and urged him to address concerns regarding the importance of this conference for tackling the climate emergency. Click the pdf link below to read the response in full.