A-Level Results Day

Thursday was results day for A-Level students, a nerve-racking experience for those young people who have worked for two years for this day.

Congratulations to everybody, whatever your results. Students this year have had it incredibly hard thanks to 13 years of disastrous Tory rule.

A-level grades in England have seen their biggest drop, with significant declines across the board. The government’s move to enforce pre-pandemic grading has led to concerning outcomes. Five thousand fewer students in England achieved three A* grades compared to last year, and the proportion of top A*-A grades shrank from 35.9% to 26.5% within a year.

It’s worrying that some students faced even stricter grading than the last set of A-level exams taken before the pandemic. The proportion of A*-C grades this year is lower than in 2019, due to a sharp increase in the lowest grades.

This year for the first time, over one in ten entries in England received an E or U grade, a 10% increase from 2019. These results highlight a gap in top grades between England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The 28 million days of lost learning during the pandemic cannot be ignored. The Tory government’s failure to invest in proper covid catch-up programs and the growing attainment gap between regions have exacerbated the challenges students have faced.

No young person should be denied opportunities due to government failures. A Labour government will have a lot of work to do to reduce inequalities between students and make exams fairer.

Congratulations again, to everybody who got their results this week and keep pushing for the education you deserve.

Tories giving up cancer patients

This week, the government announced plans to scrap most existing waiting time standards.  The erosion of cancer waiting times in England demands immediate attention. After thirteen years of Tory rule cancer waiting times have all but collapsed. The latest figures reveal that the NHS failed to meet any cancer targets in June 2023.

Alarming statistics paint a dire picture. Out of 60 NHS trusts responding to Labour FOI requests, 52 saw patients waiting over six months for treatment in 2022. This starkly contrasts the NHS standard of 85% of patients receiving treatment within two months of an urgent referral, persistently unmet since 2014.

A Labour Government will increase annual training for doctors and nurses, bolstering workforce capacity. In addition, we will equip NHS staff with modern technology streamlines operations, expediting diagnosis and treatment. Reforming the health service means a focus on early detection, improving prognoses and recovery chances. But we must be bolder and tackle thirteen years of underfunding head on. We simply can’t allow unaffordable privatisation in our health service to go unchecked. A Labour government must deliver by ending costly privatisation and reinvesting in our health service. The future of our NHS depends on it.

Women World Cup

Sunday will be a seminal moment in British sport. The nation is behind England and should we win, the impact on women’s football in this country could be huge.

England’s fantastic win against Australia this week, where they comprehensively beat the hosts, has set the scene for an exciting final against a brilliant team representing Spain.

The British team’s success has spiked interest in the game, propelling women’s football to new levels. From local clubs to the Super League, they’ve helped to break down barriers and propel women’s football into the mainstream. But their achievements go beyond the game, and should they lift the world cup on Sunday they will be remembered by more than just football fans.

With a few days left until the final the government needs to act quickly to recognise what an important moment this is. Pubs need to be allowed to open early for the game that starts at 11 and should England be crowned world champions then we’ll all need an extra bank holiday to celebrate. That’s the least we can do celebrate these amazing athletes.

Come on England!

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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

Member of Parliament for Edmonton