Weekly Update – 22 May 2020

Although the advice has been changed, the lockdown is still in place. We should all be staying at home as much as possible and only leaving the house to exercise, buy food or go to work if we can’t work from home.

I know this is an increasingly difficult time for everybody, from carers to business owners. But there are organisations ready to help and advice those who need it. At the beginning of the lockdown, I put together this list of useful resources for those looks for advice or assistance during the lockdown. If you are struggling and need advice or information, please do take a look.

Schools should only open when it is safe to do so.

Hundreds of constituents have written to me objecting to the arbitrary deadline set out by Boris Johnson for schools to open on 1st June. They are right to be concerned. The Government is putting politics ahead of safety. Instead of listening to and working constructively with Unions, they have pushed ahead with their plans against the advice of most medical and scientific experts.

On behalf of my constituents I wrote to the Education Secretary asking for urgent clarification on this issue. Schools should not open until it is safe to do so.

NHS Charge

I was delighted to see that the Government u-turned in the face of pressure from the Labour party and removed the NHS charge for health professionals and care workers.

But that is not enough. Thousands of front-line workers are deprived of their rights to public funds by the Government as a result of their immigration status. These front-line workers are getting us through the crisis, but the Government has made them second class citizens. There Is no justification for that. The No-recourse to public funds condition must be removed urgently.

Government rolls forward with its post-Brexit vision during crisis

Last week the Government passed its Agriculture Bill and this week I wrote about what they might mean for farmers and others moving forward. Many people are employed in the Agriculture sector in Edmonton, including at the dairy cooperative Arla and this bill puts those jobs at risk.

Sadly, our farmers are now likely to be undercut in the future by the lower food and animal welfare standards that exist abroad. This is the just the start of the Governments post-Brexit plan for the UK, in which we join a race to the bottom.

I voted against the Immigration Bill

This week I was proud to vote against the Governments Immigration Bill. The bill is the beginning of the end of free movement. The greatest restriction on our freedom to move and work abroad in decades.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to speak in the debate as a result of a technical hiccup, however, I did later record the speech I would have given here.

I will continue to speak up against the hypocrisy of branding front line workers low skill while government ministers clap them each Thursday. This bill also reaffirms the “No-Recourse to Public Funds” regime which deprives thousands of key workers of their basic rights to Welfare Benefits. That has always been a disgraceful policy, but during a pandemic, it is outright dangerous.

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 edmontonconstituent@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate