Weekly Round-Up

This week’s shocking revelations from the Prime Minister’s former chief adviser show Boris Johnson’s casual disregard for human life from the outset of this pandemic. The testimony given by Dominic Cummings paints a picture of Prime Minister whose failures and inaction led the UK to the highest death toll of any country in Europe.

It wasn’t just through incompetence but through political decisions: he would have rather let our elderly die than bring in restrictions. The shocking claims that Johnson dismissed the virus as another scare story speaks to the character and values of the man in charge of our country. 

The PM’s cowardly refusal to open the book on this, by kicking the can of a public inquiry further down the road, has led to his former adviser blowing the whistle. But Dominic Cummings should not have the final word. Labour has today called on the Government to bring forward the timing of the public inquiry into COVID-19. Boris Johnson cannot keep dodging scrutiny.


Letter to DWS

This week Bambos Charalambous MP and I wrote to DWS, the developers of the Palace Gardens & Exchange Shopping Centre development in Enfield Town, sharing the concerns that have been voiced by many residents.

We are by no means anti-development and are ambitious for a vision for the site to be one that is appropriate for the location and puts residents and businesses at its heart. We do not believe the current proposals do this.

In addition, the proposed 26-storey height of this development must have credible and justifiable reasoning as to why the significant height is needed, especially in a conservation area, and in this case, we are yet to see such a justification.

Of particular concern to us is the development’s proposals for affordable housing. For a development providing 500 homes, to have not a single one designated as affordable is a serious omission and cause for concern. Not only does this price out residents in the here and now, it creates a lasting sustainability problem that will move our town centre further and further away from the local community who call it home.

You can read our letter in full HERE, and I look forward to updating you further in due course.


Child Poverty

I was delighted to support this week’s debate which considered a petition started by Marcus Rashford, that gained over 1,000,000 signatures, calling on the Government to implement the three recommendations of the National Food Strategy.

These recommendations, cover expanding access to free school meals, providing meals and activities during holidays to stop holiday hunger, and expanding the Healthy Start scheme.

Here in Enfield North, data from the Child Poverty Action Group shows that 8,963 children are living in poverty. That’s over a third of children in the whole constituency.

For one of the largest economies in the world, in the 21st century, this is simply not acceptable.

If the Government is to make its plans for ‘levelling up’ the country a reality, it needs to take urgent action and come up with a credible plan to end child poverty. If we are to live in a society where every child has the chance to succeed, we need to invest in this and future generations.

I was proud to back the National Education Union’s #NoChildLeftBehind campaign recently, and will continue to take this message to Parliament, calling on the Government to make sure that all children in Enfield North are supported to be the best they can be.


Constituency office re-opens

I’m delighted that this week saw the re-opening of my constituency office for in-person appointments.

If you have an issue you need help with, please contact my team to book an appointment.