Weekly Update 

To mark the start of Passover I want to send my warmest wishes to everybody in the Jewish Community and Happy Easter to everybody celebrating this weekend.

These occasions are often a time for gathering with families and friends. That will be particularly difficult for many this year due to the restrictions currently in place. But I have no doubt that before long we will all have the opportunity to celebrate together again.

This week marked the end of one chapter for Labour and the start of another. I was proud to serve under Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development and wish him all the luck for the future. When Jeremy was elected in 2015 austerity was accepted as ‘common sense’ by all parties – the conversation has moved forward and we have him to thank for that.

Local Charities

Last week I spoke about the need to support local charities during this crisis and wrote a letter to the Government, along with 300 other MPs and Lords calling on the Government to urgently make funding available to the charity sector. Yesterday the Chancellor announced £750 million in funds for the charity sector. This is a very welcome development, but the Government must ensure that this money is available to all charities as a matter of urgency. So far business, the self-employed and workers have struggled to navigate their way through the different government schemes and money has been slow to arrive. If charities are also forced to wait for funds, many of them will not survive.

My Letter to You

Like the rest of you, I’m currently having to spend almost all my time at home. This means I need to find new ways of reaching out to my constituents. That is why this week I wrote a letter to all my constituents in Edmonton that appeared on the front page of the Enfield Independent.

Universal Credit is Broken

Almost one million people claimed Universal Credit in the first few weeks of the lockdown. The surge in claims exposed the flaws we already knew existed. Since I was first elected as an MP in 2015, I’ve had a constant stream of constituents approaching me as a result of Universal Credit.

Just this week, a single mother of five contacted me as she was having to wait for more than a month to get her first Job Centre appointment. As a result, she was forced to use a local food bank. This is a sadly familiar story and I will continue to write to the DWP Secretary Theresa Coffey MP about this case and any others I get until the Government does the right thing and fixes the fatal flaws in Universal Credit.

Government Must Do More

Last week I asked you to write to me and let me know how Coronavirus and the Government’s lock down measures are affecting you. Many of you did, and one thing is clear: too many people are falling through the cracks and not getting the support they need. Business owners are struggling to access the funds which have been made available, especially loans. Many self-employed workers are finding they do not qualify for the Government’s scheme, and many workers have been laid off entirely rather than being ‘furloughed’.

I have written to the Government about all these issues and will continue to work across party to find solutions. But one thing is clear: the Government action taken so far is not enough and funds are not getting through to those who need them quickly enough. We need urgently to look at more radical measures, including some form of Universal Basic Income, as an exit strategy out of this economic and health crisis.