Weekly Update – Friday 13 May 2022
Weekly Update – Friday 13 May 2022

The Queen’s Speech was a missed opportunity 

This week Parliament was opened for a new session with the Queen’s speech, delivered for the first time by Prince Charles. The Queen’s Speech, written by the Government but normally delivered by the monarch, is a chance for the Government to lay out its priorities for the coming years. Governments normally use it to emphasise their priorities and respond to those events that most trouble the country.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis and an economy tipping into a recession, this was yet another missed opportunity by the Government. The first line of the speech should have announced an emergency budget which could have introduced significant financial measures to ease the strain on household budgets. Instead, the cost-of-living crisis was hardly mentioned and no specific measures to help households were announced.

This isn’t good enough. As inflation spirals out of control and wages stagnate, millions of households are being plunged into destitution and millions more do not know how they are going to pay their bills at the end of the month. The Government seems content to wait for the autumn budget before acting, but I know constituents up and down Edmonton need help now.  Yet instead of offering that help, Conservative MPs like Lee Anderson stood up in the commons this week and blamed the use of food banks on people not being able to cook properly.

The use of food banks didn’t rise by 2,612% after the Conservatives were elected because millions of people suddenly forgot how to cook. Unfortunately, the Tories will always blame individuals rather than accept that their own policies have pushed millions into poverty and caused a cost-of-living crisis. As your MP I will continue to remind them of that fact in Parliament as we begin a new session.

The Government has broken its promise on animal welfare

As the previous Parliamentary session came to a close it became clear that the Government had abandoned many of its pledges on animal welfare. It did so as Boris Johnson had to drop any legislation that wouldn’t appeal to back-bench Tory MPs as we thought to survive as Tory party leader.

It is unacceptable that Boris Johnson’s failed leadership is now getting in the way of strengthening and reinforcing animal welfare laws post-Brexit.

The Government needs to commit the required Parliamentary time to pass this legislation, which would be crucial to clamping down on puppy smuggling and banning the import of hunting trophies among other very worthy causes. Sadly, the Government also appears to have dropped proposals to ban fur and foie gras imports completely, which is very concerning.

The Government often boasts about their commitment to animal rights and the UK’s history as a leader in animal rights legislation. However, this shouldn’t breed complacency and it’s essential that we keep up the progress to ensure that animals are not needlessly suffering and that we aren’t left behind.

The UK has often led on animal welfare and that is something we should all be proud of. The Government cannot be allowed to use Brexit as an excuse to weaken those protections. Instead, it must do as promised and push forward with all parts of the Animals Abroad Bill ensuring that important pledges such as bans on trophy hunting and the import of fur are implemented.

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week as is Mental Health Awareness Week across the UK and it has never been more important. Major depression is the second leading cause of disability worldwide and it’s estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week will have experienced a common mental health problem. These issues are particularly acute in many parts of Edmonton, where mental health difficulties have been compounded by cuts to vital support services and economic disparity.

However, despite 12 years of Tory cuts to Mental Health Services it’s worth remembering that there are resources out there whenever you need them and with one in four adults experiencing mental illness in their lifetimes we should all be aware of what help is available; 

  • Enfield Mental Health NHS Trust: 0800 151 0023
  • Mind in Haringey
  • Rethink – 0300 5000 927
  • Samaritans – 116 123
  • Kooth – Free anonymous online chat

——————————-

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

Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search