Weekly Update – Friday 18 February 2022
Weekly Update – Friday 18 February 2022

Weekly Update – Friday 18 February 2022

NHS Waiting Times

Edmonton’s North Middlesex Hospital is filled with fantastic NHS workers who spent the last two years putting their lives on the line to get us through this pandemic. From the doctors to the porters, they’ve all played their part. But they have been let down by the Conservatives who have spent the last 12 years privatising and underfunding the NHS.

That’s why the hospital had a waiting list of over 15,000 people as of December, with almost 50 people having waited more than a year for treatment. Nationally over 6 million people are now waiting for NHS treatment. The Tories will blame the pandemic, but it wasn’t the pandemic that underfunded, reorganised and privatised the NHS for the decade leading up to 2020. When the NHS is funded properly and kept in public hands it’s the best health service in the world. But the wonderful NHS workers who run it and keep us all healthy have been let down by a Tory government who have always had one eye on dismantling our health service and selling it off to the highest bidders.

When Labour was elected in 1997, they inherited waiting times of 18 months from the previous Conservative administration. When we left office in 2010, we’d brought waiting times down to 18 weeks. Now the Tories have once again damaged our health service and it will once again be Labour who rebuilds it and gives the heroes who got us through this pandemic the support they need.

Tory attempts to stifle anti-racism discussion in schools Is wrong

The guidance issued this week by the Department of Education that warns teachers against teaching their pupils about the Black Lives Matter movement are disgraceful and could set the fight against racism back decades.

Black Lives Matter is a global movement against police brutality and racism in general. It is not, as some on the right like to suggest, a political organisation with a specific political agenda. The attempt to paint it as such is part of a dog-whistle backlash that progress causes have experienced for decades.

The latest orders from the Department of Education extend into other equally troubling areas. Teachers are told that they must teach ‘both sides’ of the empire and imperialism and that they should avoid ‘political issues’. This latest guidance is a clear attempt by the Government to stifle freedom of speech in the classroom and is likely to create a chilling effect on the ability of both students and teachers to criticise the Government and discuss racism frankly.

The Government’s attack on freedom of speech in the classroom is just the latest in a long line of attacks on the back pillars of democracy. Other such moves have included voter suppression straight out of the Trump playbook and the recent Courts Bill which represents a direct attack on the right to protest. After 12 years of failure in Government, the Conservatives understand that they can no longer rely on democratic methods to remain in power. To stand a chance of forming the next Government is something that the Labour party must tackle head-on

Have your benefits been suspended? Let me know.

This week Parliament has been in recess, but I’ve continued to work every day to help my constituents with a variety of issues, from overcrowding to anti-social behaviour. One particular issue is especially prominent, however. More and more of my constituents across Edmonton continue to have their Universal Credit suspended by the DWP’s “Risk Review Team”. Almost everybody who has contacted me about this issue appears to be from the Bulgarian community.

I’ve repeatedly raised this issue in Parliament since it came to my attention last Autumn but the DWP have been tight lipped and refused to come clean on what exactly the Risk Review Team are doing. That’s why I’m very keen for any of my constituents who have had their benefits suspended to contact my office. I can contact the DWP directly for you to try and get your issues resolved as quickly as possible and by contacting me you will also be shedding light on a troubling and potentially discriminatory practice.

As ever the best way to contact me is by emailing edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk. It would be great to hear from as many people as possible who have had their benefits suspended so that I can present a clearer picture of the problem to the DWP and push the Government to stop unjustly suspending the benefits of people who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email  edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate Osamor MP

 

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