Weekly Round-Up

European Super League

This week we were all shocked to see plans from a cartel of six wealthy football club owners to break away from the English football pyramid and create a European Super League.

Despite repeated calls from across the political divide, the Government have continually failed to deliver on their commitment for a fan-led review of football governance, which could have prevented the chaos we saw earlier this week.

Clubs like Enfield Town FC, the first supporter-owned club in the country, in my constituency show football at its’ very best, a sport which brings communities together and is open and inclusive to everyone.

I supported the calls of grassroots fan groups, such as Tottenham Hotspur
Supporter’s Trust, for the Super League to be scrapped, and you can read more of my thoughts here: https://bit.ly/ScrapTheEuropeanSuperLeague.

These plans, purely motivated by financial greed, have thankfully been shelved, but it is vital that the momentum generated this week continues, and that we keep the voice of fans at the heart of our national sport.


Tory Sleaze

Just as we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, this week saw further revelations that billionaire businessman James Dyson personally lobbied the Prime Minister, before going on to secure a contract to manufacture ventilators.

Whilst Dyson and others who cosied up to the Prime Minister and his cabinet got preferential treatment, businesses in Enfield North were continually met with silence after they offered help and support.

Alongside Dyson, we have seen former PM David Cameron using his position of privilege to attempt to secure unfettered access to the Treasury for Lex Greensill, the Chancellor running scared from answering questions, and Matt Hancock owning shares in companies delivering NHS services. Tory sleaze is well and truly back.

It is evidently clear that this Government cares more about lining the pockets of their mates, than they do about hard working local businesses, and I am committed to continuing to press for the maximum levels of transparency in Government procurement, to ensure a fair deal for businesses in Enfield North.


Urgent question on COVID

Despite the herculean efforts of our NHS staff, it is clear that a postcode lottery is emerging in some areas when it comes to the COVID vaccination programme.

More can and must be done to support areas where the vaccine rate is stagnating, meaning the infection rate is at risk of creeping back up, especially as we start to come out of lockdown.

This week I questioned the Health Secretary on what more his department will be doing to support those areas starting to fall behind, and you can view my contribution here: http://bit.ly/UrgentQuestionOnCovid

Yemen Debate

The war in Yemen, fuelled by British provided Saudi-arms, remains the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.

Far from idly standing by, the UK has consistently facilitated this conflict by putting their arms deals with Saudi Arabia above calls from a series of credited international groups, including the UN Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, who have demonstrated a consistent disregard for human rights law.

This week I contributed to a debate on the Government’s continued supply of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen, and called on them to not just halt this grotesque sale of arms, but to do much more to bring about a just and lasting peace in the region.

You can view my full contribution here: http://bit.ly/YemenDebate.


Black Maternal Health

This week I was proud to support Five X More’s campaign to improve health outcomes for black mothers in the UK.

With black women 4 times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth and black babies having a 121% greater risk of stillbirth and 50% increased risk of neonatal death, it is vital that more is done to ensure the colour of a mother’s skin has no impact on her baby’s health.

I’ve signed up to the campaign’s pledges, which you can view here, and look forward to working with community groups and healthcare professional across Enfield North to ensure we do everything we can to strive for parity in maternal health.