Weekly Round-Up

Sadly, over 100,000 loved ones have now lost their lives – a grim milestone and the highest death rate per million in the world. It did not have to be this way. It is vital that when the inevitable public inquiry begins, every official and decision-maker is held accountable for their actions.

The current COVID situation is incredibly serious. London has had a very high proportion of Covid-19 positive patients requiring hospital care compared to the rest of country, and North Mid has been more affected than the rest of the NCL (North Central London) sector in terms of confirmed cases requiring critical care and is working at capacity.

The virus may not be increasing at the same alarming rate as at the beginning of January – but it is still spreading fast and our COVID infection rates are still very high – only seven London boroughs have rates lower than 400 per 100,000 people. It is vital we continue to stay at home as much as possible. See here for further details about the lockdown restrictions and see here for the latest COVID-19 data in Enfield. 

I was pleased to speak this week during the Environment Bill debate on the impacts of air pollution and support the amendment proposed by Labour to legislate to protect air quality, which unfortunately the Tory Government voted down. Research shows that those living in deprived areas are exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution, often because their homes are situated next to roads with higher concentrations of emissions. In Enfield North, we see the direct effect of poor air quality. In the Borough of Enfield, 178 deaths per year are linked to long-term exposure to toxic air pollution. Despite the work of proactive local authorities, pioneering new initiatives like school streets, parklets, low-traffic neighbourhoods or the 60-acre Enfield Chase woodland created by the Labour-run Enfield Council planting almost 200,000 trees, and the work of Mayor of London in introducing the ultra-low emission zone, action cannot just take place at a local level.  It must be backed by national and international legislation.

I was also able to present the petition against the proposed M25 Junction 25 improvement scheme by Highways England in Parliament this week. The proposals set out by Highways England are flawed, and completely lack safeguards to protect schoolchildren and other road users from increased toxic air pollution and road accidents. I called on the Government to halt and reconsider Highways England’s proposed scheme and ensure the scheme prevents HGVs using Bullsmoore Lane and implements safety measures to guarantee the health and safety of residents of Enfield North.

Labour had two Opposition Day Debates this week, during which our proposed motions to stop a rise in council tax and continue to protect UK workers’ rights were voted down by this Tory Government. Local authorities and councils are working so hard to continue providing the essential services we all rely on during the pandemic, but a decade of cuts has seriously impeded their abilities to do so. Instead of providing the necessary funding to fulfil their promise to do whatever is necessary to support councils in the fight against Covid, the Government are instead withholding funding, forcing councils to look at Council tax rises to fund essential services. These tax hikes will impact those who are already struggling financially and mentally with the impact of the pandemic – those key workers who have worked so hard for us throughout the last year despite concerns for their own and their families’ health, those who are on furlough, have lost their jobs, or are worried they could lose their jobs – these are the people the Government promised and have failed to help.

During the second Opposition Day Debate, Labour called on the Government to protect all existing employment rights and protections, including the 48-hour working week, rest breaks at work, and the inclusion of overtime pay when calculating holiday pay entitlements, as well as introducing legislation to end “fire and re-hire” tactics. The Government refused to back our motion, refusing to commit to protecting our workers, so many of whom have been the hardest hit by this pandemic and who have continued to work in extremely difficult circumstances to keep the country going. The Tories clapped our key workers on doorsteps throughout the first lockdown; it is time they put their money where their mouths are and took steps to honestly protect the rights of workers in this country. Late in the week Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced that the planned review into how EU employment rights protections could be changed after Brexit was no longer going ahead. He then promised that workers’ rights would not be watered down, and I for one will be keeping a very close eye on announcements made on employment rights to ensure that this is indeed the case.

This week I was privileged to join the Commemorative Ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The annual ceremony, organised superbly by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, lost none of its urgency or importance through its move online. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day this year is Be the light in the darkness. It encourages everyone to reflect not just on the depths humanity can sink to, but also the ways individuals and communities resisted – and continue to resist - that darkness, to ‘be the light’ before, during and after genocide. And as we recognise and remember the atrocities of the Nazi holocaust, and genocides in Darfur, Bosnia, Cambodia, we also think of the genocide of the Yazidis by the evil that we now know as ISIS. Thousands of Yazidis are still unable to return home and still live in fear. They need more than remembrance; the international community must help them return to their homes and bring the perpetrators to justice. They themselves seek for the international community to “be the light” – a challenge we must show ourselves capable of rising to.

My telephone surgery sessions are continuing, and if you would like to book an appointment, please do contact my office to arrange this. Although my office is closed to the public in line with Government guidelines, my team and I are working hard from home so please do get in touch on feryal.clark.mp@parliament.uk if there is anything we can help you with. Remember –stay safe, save lives – maintain social distancing and keep washing your hands!