Monday 4^th September 2023

• On the first day back to Parliament after Recess I took part in five votes on the Economic Crime Bill, which seeks to reduce corruption and dirty money in our economy. I voted for amendments that would have closed loopholes and made it impossible for Russian oligarchs to hide their ill-gotten wealth. The Tories voted against us, showing how little interest they have in real economic transparency.
• The Mayor of London’s Free School Meal programme began, with £135m of funding delivering free school meals to every primary school child in London. 287,000 more state primary school children will benefit from free school meals as a result, which could mean savings for families of upwards of £440 per child.

Tuesday 5^th September 2023

• I voted five times on Lords amendments to the Energy Bill that would have made the Bill far more ambitious, ensured energy security, saved the British public £93 Billion and lifted the ban on Onshore Wind. The Tories used their majority to vote down all of those amendments.

• In my role as the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Nigeria I received a briefing from David Stevenson, Country Director for the World Food Programme in Nigeria. It was brilliant to learn about the work the World Food Programme does to feed the hungry in Northeast Nigeria but there is far more we need to do to help millions of hungry people across the whole country.

Wednesday 6^th September 2023

• In the face of the Tory School Crisis, I voted to release documents that would have revealed what the Prime Minister knew about the risks posed by dangerous RAAC before slashing school rebuilding programmes in 2021. We lost the vote by 309 to 175.

• Many constituents contacted me to raise the issue of kinship families who are struggling right now. Kinship carers provide a safe home for children who cannot live with their parents but many face financial hardship as a result. The Government is due to deliver a national kinship care strategy by the end of this year, which is a huge opportunity to provide kinships carers with the support they need. This is an important issue, and I will continue pushing the Government to get on and deliver for Kinship carers.

Thursday 7^th September 2023

• On Thursday I was pleased to welcome a delegation from the Association of Local Government of Nigeria to Parliament. The delegation was made up of Local Authority Councillors from Nigeria who were keen to speak about their experiences in Local Government and to learn more about the way Local Authorities work in the UK.

• Several constituents wrote to me calling on the government to include student IDs and young person’s travelcards on the list of accepted IDs at polling stations. This year the Government introduced voter ID in a failed attempt to suppress the Labour vote. A Labour government must scrap Voter ID which is nothing more than voter suppression. In the meantime, the very least the Government can do is take away their vindictive rules that try to stop young people voting.

Friday 8^th September 2023

• This week over 50 constituents contacted me, with my office receiving more than 200 emails and sending out more than 200.

• A number of constituents contacted me in support of the campaign to save Brixton academy. The academy has been an iconic landmark in Brixton for decades hosting performances by the likes of The Clash, The Smiths and Madonna. Sadly, the venue now faces been permanently shut down over safety concerns. There is no reason that safety concerns can’t be addressed so that the venue can reopen safely in the future, and I will write to the Secretary of State for Culture to express my support for this iconic venue.

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Thank you for taking the time to read about my week representing Edmonton. 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

Member of Parliament for Edmonton