The Prime Minister that promised integrity, professionalism, and accountability chose to appoint Gavin Williamson, who this week resigned after evidence of his bullying emerged. He also re-appointed the Home Secretary despite her resignation six days previously for leaking sensitive information. It’s clear this government really has come to the end of its days and that we need a change. We need a General Election now.
 

I pressed the Prime Minister during Prime Minister’s Questions about the chaos in the Home Office (see here). In all my years as an MP, I’ve never seen worse treatment of people who are trying to get visas or other documents through the Home Office. The delays are unacceptable and having a real impact on people’s lives.

The new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was chosen this week by just over 300 Conservative MPs - a diminishing electorate. He announced that his government will be based on honesty and integrity but then immediately re-appointed the same Home Secretary who was forced to resign last week for breaching security rules. This is unacceptable. We need a General Election now.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned. At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday I asked who has confidence in her (see here). By Thursday it became apparent that nobody did and she resigned. She’ll remain in office until the Conservative Party picks a replacement by the end of next week. This will be the third Prime Minister in a year and the second imposed on us by Conservative Party members. We need a General Election now.
 

The Government’s been crashing the economy and causing havoc for all households. I pressed it to support families in receipt of benefits, many of whom are in work (see here). I also raised the case of small businesses, especially hospitality businesses, that are facing uncertainty with their energy bills after March (see here).

The markets have delivered its verdict on the Chancellor’s casino economics with the pound crashing to its lowest value against the dollar.

Compare with Sir Keir Starmer who set out Labour's plans for a publicly-owned GB Energy company, universal breakfast clubs for all primary school children, and how Labour is truly a government-in-waiting

Also my campaign to support dog day-care centres like Hackney's Hairy Hounds.
 

It’s been a sombre two weeks after the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on the 8 September. All parliamentary business was suspended during the national period of mourning as thousands of members of the public visited Westminster Hall to pay their final respects to the Queen. I was pleased to gather with residents of Hackney to remember Her Majesty, including at a memorial service at St John at Hackney the day before her funeral.

At the beginning of the month, the Prime Minister appeared in front of senior MPs at the Liaison Committee and I pressed him on his meetings with the former KGB spymaster, Alexander Lebedev (see here). This week the Prime Minister wrote a formal letter to the committee in which he stated that ‘as far as he can recall’ no government business was discussed at the social event he attended in Italy with Alexander Lebedev. Clearly this only begs more questions than it answers.

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.