Weekly Round-Up
With Parliament rising for the Conference recess this week, the Tories haven’t held up in their pursuit to make the lives of hard-working families in Enfield North and across the UK even more difficult.
Labour once again made the case to the Government that they must do more to prevent what will be a very difficult few months heading into winter.
Rents are rising at the fastest rate since 2008, and childcare costs continue to increase, combined with the cut to Universal Credit and National Insurance hike is leaving people in real difficulty, with many families being forced to choose between heating or eating.
I can assure constituents in Enfield North that I will do everything I can to hold the Government to account on their shameful decisions which have created a cost of living crisis.
Kashmir
I was pleased to see the important issue of Human Rights in Kashmir on the agenda in Parliament this week.
The Labour Party is committed to standing up for human rights everywhere, and calling out human rights violations wherever they exist, including in Kashmir.
I share the concerns of many about reports of restrictions, including the shutting down of the internet, obstructions to free media, increased militarisation and curfews.
Universal principles should be upheld by all sides and humanitarian and human rights organisations should have full access.
Labour supports and recognises UN resolutions on the rights of the Kashmiri people but maintains that if we are to find a lasting settlement, to end this ongoing conflict, that can only be achieved by India and Pakistan working together, with the people of Kashmir. All parties should refrain from unilateral decisions which make the process of building a lasting peace more difficult.
Baby Loss Awareness Week
This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week, an important event for developing support networks for bereaved parents, and their families and friends, which included a debate in the House of Commons yesterday.
Debates, such as these, hopefully go some way towards breaking down the stigma which still sadly persists.
In the UK in 2018, around 1 in every 250 births was a stillbirth. In total there were 2,929 stillbirths. That’s around eight babies stillborn every day.
Stillbirth rates for Black and Black British babies were over twice those for White babies, whilst neonatal death rates were 45% higher.
Black women are still four times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, and we must do more to reduce this inequality.
You can read my full statement here: https://bit.ly/BabyLossAwareness
Energy Prices
Many people are rightly concerned about the news of a number on energy companies going bust due to increasing prices.
A basic duty of government is to ensure secure and affordable energy supplies for households and businesses, and Ministers need to get a grip of this crisis now.
Things are particularly challenging for the 4in 10 households on Universal Credit who are facing a 13 per cent rise in their energy bills in the same month as their benefit is cut by £20 a week. According to Citizens Advice, the £20 a week uplift would cover near a whole week of energy costs for a below average income household.
Labour is calling for the Government to change course and cancel the cut, drop the jobs tax hike on working people and businesses, and urgently explore further measures to help households alleviate the cost of rising bills, including the option of making automatic and extending the Warm Homes Discount.
Whilst soaring gas prices are part of a wider global problem, it is a fundamental failure of long-term Government planning over the last decade that we are so exposed and vulnerable as a country to rising gas prices and it is consumers and businesses that are now paying the price.