We need to talk about the Menopause

In Parliament this week I had the opportunity to contribute to an important debate on the menopause and talk about my own personal journey, from first experiencing symptoms to finally joining the dots and understanding what those symptoms meant. It’s a difficult journey and a journey that all women go through. But it impacts everybody differently and we know it’s disproportionately harder for black women to get the help they need.

As with many health issues that impact only women, this is a condition that is under-treated and where assistance is under-resourced. But there is much the Government must do to change that. From making sure NHS practitioners are trained in the menopause to passing legislation to protect women who are going through the menopause in the workplace – action must be taken now.

Covid Enquiry must look at impact on Ethnic Minorities

This week, I also had the opportunity to question the Minister for the Cabinet office, Steve Barclay MP, on the way covid has disproportionately impacted ethnic minority communities. In the chamber, I asked the minister what steps his department has taken to ensure that the health disparities suffered by ethnic minorities during the pandemic are examined by the public enquiry into the pandemic that will hopefully start this year.

Throughout the pandemic, I was contacted by many of my constituents from black and ethnic minority communities who were deeply concerned by the fact that Covid appeared to be hitting their communities particularly harshly. It’s essential that public enquiry takes the time to look into why that happened and what the Government could have done to prevent it. Unfortunately, the minister was unable to confirm that the terms of the inquiry would look into that issue but said he was ‘sure’ it would.

Carers Week

This week was carers week, which is an important moment to not only appreciate the incredible work done by carers across the country but also to recognise that we need radical change to support all carers. More carers are unpaid than ever before, with a 42% increase across the UK since the pandemic began. One in five UK adults are now supporting a relative, close friend, or neighbour with their care needs. Sadly, 4.6 million unpaid carers are concerned about their physical and mental health while over 2 million carers are worried about their ability to cope financially.  That is an unsustainable situation and there is overwhelming public support for more Government action to help unpaid carers, with 84% of the public believing that the UK government should provide additional support to unpaid carers.

That’s why I’m supporting Carers UK’s call for the Government to publicise a Recovery and Respite Plan for Unpaid Carers. It’s time to care for the carers and give them the support they so badly need.

Tories Support PM

This week the Tory Party endorsed the catastrophic leadership of Boris Johnson with a 211 to 148 vote in favour of the PM. Conservatives were given the opportunity to put the country first but instead put themselves first. With more than 150 Tory MPs on the Government payroll, there were simply too many Tory MPs who were more concerned with keeping their jobs than ending Boris Johnson’s catastrophic premiership.

This is a bad result for the country. After 12 years of Tory government, we are facing yet another Tory recession, a cost-of-living crisis and a crumbling health service. A fourth Tory PM in 12 years won’t have fixed those problems, only a Labour Government can do that, but they surely would have been an improvement on the criminal who currently lives in Downing Street. Unfortunately, Tory MPs couldn’t even bring themselves to do the bare minimum and save Boris Johnson from himself.

Railway Workers Deserve Our Support

For weeks during the pandemic, we all stood outside our homes for one day a week and clapped for the essential workers who were keeping the country running. Within that group of workers were those working on the railways, keeping the trains moving and the nurses and doctors getting to hospitals at the height of the pandemic. They kept the country moving and many died in the process.

Now those same workers face forced redundancies and pay freezes at a time of record inflation. That’s why we should all be supporting RMT workers when they strike for three days this month on the 21^st, 23^rd and 25^th of June.

Workers across the country are facing an economic disaster, with inflation running out of control and energy prices skyrocketing. The situation is so bad that there have been reports that carers are starting to call in sick because they can’t afford to drive to work. The Government is doing nothing to help those workers while cutting taxes on bankers’ bonuses which increased to record levels this year.

But RMT workers have decided they are going to act and take the difficult decision to strike. In doing so they put their jobs and careers at risk. But they do so not just for rail workers across the country but for all workers across the country who face an economic crisis, stagnant wages and no help from the Government. RMT workers are asking what all ordinary workers across the country are asking for. It is in all our interests that they succeed and they deserve our unwavering support.

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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