Goodbye Boris

Finally, we have received confirmation from the Commons Privileges Committee what we all knew already. Boris Johnson regularly breached laws and regulations regarding gatherings during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lied to both Parliament and the country to try to cover it up. Faced with suspension from the Commons and his likely ejection as an MP, he instead decided to quit, avoiding taking responsibility for his actions once again. He will not be missed in Edmonton and let’s hope that’s the last we see of him in public office.

He will be remembered as a terrible Prime Minister and as the worst possible leader to lead our country through the Covid pandemic. His arrogance led to delayed action on social distancing and lockdowns, likely leading to many people dying sadly unnecessarily. I’m sure we will all be following the Covid Inquiry closely over the next few years.

He also came into Parliament promising to ‘level up’ the country. Well, two years and two rounds of Levelling Up Funding later and Edmonton received precisely no grants. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate locally remains at 7.6%, double the national average. It’s time to elect a Labour Government at the next election so that Edmonton can truly get the investment it deserves.

New Protest Laws

This week in Parliament we have also seen a serious threat to all our civil liberties passed by the Conservative Government in the House of Commons and House of Lords. These are the new ‘Serious Disruption Regulations’, specifically focused on policing powers for protests.

It reduces the threshold of ‘serious disruption to the life of the community’ at which police are allowed to impose stringent conditions on protests and rallies. The changes have reclassified serious disruption from ‘significant’ to ‘more than minor’. This opens up the possibility that basic assemblies of people such as a rail strike picket by a trade union outside a train station could be deemed to cause a ‘more than minor’ delay in accessing public transport. Therefore members could then be prevented from exercising their right to have their voices heard.

It is essential that we defend our right to protest, one of the most basic rights that we should all be entitled to. It should not be for the Government to seek to marginalise any form of protest that is inconvenient to them. Yet, the Conservatives seem intent on continuing down their authoritarian path and we must be prepared for more backsliding on basic democratic rights before the next election.

North London Hospice Fund Our Nurses Appeal

This week I’ve also been proud to support North London Hospice’s important Fund Our Nurses appeal.  North London Hospice provides care for thousands of people every year with a life-limiting illness and provides support to their families, friends and carers.

Yet, the hospice is facing incredible financial strain, with its energy bills having increased by almost triple in just a year. With only a third of its funding coming from the NHS, it’s vital that it gets the support from the community that it needs.

Please do donate to support North London Hospice’s work at the below link:

northlondonhospice.org/fund-our-nurses

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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