England Brought It Home

This week the England Women’s football team deserve a huge congratulations as they finally brought football home. In front of a record-breaking crowd the lionesses stepped up to the occasion and overcame Germany in extra time, just as the men’s team all the way back in 1966.

This is the first time either of the Men’s or Women’s team have won anything since the famous 4-2 victory against Germany. The moment felt even more significant since it was so clearly a breakthrough moment for women’s football. Prior to being banned by the FA in 1921, women’s football regularly attracted bigger crowds than the men’s game. But the ban, which remained in place for 50 years, meant that when the women’s game finally returned it returned to a football landscape dominated by the men’s game which by that time had become big business.

Decades of underinvestment and chauvinism followed but the women’s game has grown and continues to grow despite those challenges, which remain. But England’s victory on Sunday is a clear opportunity to change all of that. England got behind the women’s team in a huge way, with big viewing figures on TV. If that interest can be captured and leaks into the domestic game, then so will bigger TV deals and financial investment. But the Government has a role to play by removing many of the barriers that women currently face. Only 63% of girls have access to football during PE lessons and the Government has already u-turned on that by refusing to give girls equal access to those lessons. The UK has the opportunity to lead a global revolution in women’s football, but we need to take that opportunity. I hope the Government will think again and not miss it.

OFGEM – for the few, not the many.  

Ofgem, the Government’s regulator of our privatised energy sector, intervened in the energy crisis this week. Shockingly, they did so to help the energy companies who are raking in billions in profit, rather than the public who are being held to ransom by those companies. They announced this week that the price cap will change every 3 months instead of every 6. The reason they gave was that they wanted to allow the energy companies more flexibility and security. The consequence for the rest of us is that prices will rise this November after the October price rise and then rise in January again. We’ll be less able to budget, if that’s even possible, for those price changes. Prices are already due to increase by 70% in October and it’s unclear how much the rise in November might be.

The fact is that millions across the UK won’t be able to pay a 70% increase in their bills. That’s why so many people are organising a consumer strike, the ‘don’t pay’ campaign, where millions of people across the UK will cancel their direct debit on 1^st October unless the Government steps in to resolve this crisis. With prices having risen by thousands in the last year a few one-off payments of a couple of hundred pounds won’t touch the sides of this crisis. The truth is the extreme decision to privatise our own energy has failed. It’s time to end this experiment and for Britain to take back control of its energy.

Solidarity with BT and Open Reach Workers.

BT and Openreach workers have my full support as they organise to fight against the cost-of-living crisis. It is disgraceful that as BT Group CEO Philip Jansen earns millions, the very workers who earn him those millions are struggling to pay bills with many having to go to food banks. BT workers have rightly labelled Mr Jansen “Food Bank Philip”. At a time when so many are suffering because of the Tory’s cost-of-living crisis, it’s right that workers like those at BT are organising against real terms pay cuts.

After 12 years of Tory rule where wages have remained stagnant the Government and its cronies in the Media are now trying to lecture working people about wage restraint, falsely stating that increasing wages would increase inflation. Workers across the country know that is nonsense and that’s why the CWU workers who have been on strike have the overwhelming support of the country.

I will stand with workers on the picket lines where possible and continue to do everything I can in Parliament to call for a resolution to the cost-of-living crisis through the pay packet. Many of my constituents across Edmonton wrote to me this week asking that I write to BT Group CEO Philip Jansen, urging him to meet with the CWU and I have now done that. Enough is enough. I stand with all my constituents as they fight this cost-of-living crisis. Workers across Britain need a pay rise.

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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