It’s time to organise for better pay

As a Labour MP I stand in solidarity with all workers who are organising for better pay. The solution to this cost-of-living crisis is a pay rise for workers across the country.

More than a decade of stagnant pay has left many workers with no other choice but to strike for a better deal. Now with inflation being driven by souring profits, it has never been more essential to reign in those profits and give workers a pay rise.

Nurses, barristers, teachers, firefighters, call centre workers and many more have all already committed to or are seriously considering strike action. This is the consequence of an economy where the very rich are getting richer and the rest of us are getting poorer. It is the democratic right of workers to withdraw their labour and organise. Doing so may be the best way of tackling this cost-of-living crisis while we have a Tory Government.

The Labour party must always represent the interests of the many, and not the few. The role of a Labour government would not be as a neutral arbiter between the 99% and the 1%. It would be the work on progressing the interests of the 99%. When there is struggle by ordinary people to raise their living standards, that is a struggle that the Labour party must take part in. We must take sides. That is why as a Labour MP I’m proudly supporting workers as they go through the difficult process of striking. It is in the interests of the country that they succeed.

I’ll fight Tory bus cuts

The Government is forcing TFL to cut many bus routes in exchange for a funding deal. In effect the Tories are playing political games and risking London’s post-pandemic recovery. I’ve spoken out about this issue in Parliament, repeatedly urging the Government to give TFL a fair funding deal.

Every other major transport system around the world receives central Government funding, and London needs the same if it is to have a transport network that can continue to support homes, jobs, opportunities and economic growth.

As a result of doing the right thing during the pandemic TFL passenger numbers plummeted, resulting in a huge loss of revenue. Now the Government wants to punish TFL for doing the right thing and force them to make counter-productive cuts in return for funding. That’s wrong and I’ll continue to do everything I can to protest any cuts, including cuts to bus routes, across Edmonton.

An eye-opening visit to Uganda

This week I visited Uganda as part of a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association visit in partnership with the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association. We visited to exchange ideas around struggles and opportunities faced by women Members of Parliament.

The trip was incredibly eye opening and we were able to discuss a wide range of issues including what action we can take to empower women across the world. We need as many women as possible to get involved in politics across the world, reaching across divides to share experiences will help to make that a reality.

Summer Street Festivals across Edmonton

It’s great news that Enfield Council are once again putting on a series of summer street festivals across Edmonton. The festivals will feature music, performance, entertainment and street food.

The first such festival kicks off this weekend in Enfield Town but there are more due in Angel Edmonton, Edmonton Green and Palmers Green.

This is a great way to celebrate local culture, give a boost to local business and just have fun. After years during the pandemic in which these sorts of events were not possible it is hugely encouraging to see them once again returning.

The Council have called the events ‘a month of Sundays’ and full details can be found here.

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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