Weekly Update – Friday 7 May 2021

As results from the elections across the country start to come in today it’s clear that Labour have had a very disappointing night. However, I’m optimistic that Londoners will re-elect Sadiq Khan as Mayor and give Labour a strong showing in the London Assembly. Sadiq Khan stood for re-election on a strong policy platform which included support for rent controls, an inquiry into drug decriminalisation, efforts to tackle pollution and perhaps most importantly increase the rate at which affordable housing is being built in London.

While many media commentators like to paint London as a city dominated by a ‘liberal metropolitan elite’, that simply isn’t true. Some of the worst poverty and deprivation that exists in the country can be found in this city. In parts of Edmonton half the children live in poverty.

London is a microcosm of the country – hugely divided and unequal. Yet it appears that Sadiq Khan has united a coalition of working class and middle-class voters behind a strong unapologetic platform of investment in communities and people. Nationally and in places like Hartlepool, that isn’t something that Labour has offered. It’s important now that we learn lessons from these elections and give voters something to vote for. We need to build on the popularity of the policies in our recent manifestos and have the strength of our convictions to take the fight to the Tories.

Covid Update

Edmonton continues to make good progress fighting the COVID-19 virus and getting ourselves vaccinated. Across the country almost 35 million people have now been given at least one vaccination dose, with very positive progress being made in Enfield. The 7-day rolling average for positive COVID-19 cases is now down to 6.1 from a high of 650 in January. However, the threat of new variants remains so it’s important we all remain vigilant and continue to follow the current guidelines.

As the regulations currently state, we should all remember the following key points;

• Only socialise indoors with people you live with or who are in your support bubble
• Up to 6 people or 2 households can meet outside
• Work from home if you can and minimise travel
• If you have symptoms, get a test and stay at home

Further changes to these rules will allow greater freedom later this month, until then it’s important that we continue following the regulations in order to save lives and protect the NHS.

Sack Serco

The Government has spent billions paying Serco and other private companies to mismanage Test & Trace. The result has been the failure of Test & Trace, which has failed to trace positive cases at a high enough rate to have any significant impact on the spread of COVID-19.

Serco holds many different contracts with the Government and in almost all cases they fail to deliver a service which meets the basic standards that should be expected. Test & Trace has been no different and after a year of failure, the deadline passed earlier this week for the Government to decide whether to keep paying Serco to fail and extent their contract. Consequently, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock and urged him to sack Serco and instead bring in Local Authorities to take over Test & Trace.

Local Authorities are ready and equipped to run an effective Test & Trace service. They’re able to reach local communities and work with local health organisations in a way that companies like Serco cannot. They just need the appropriate funding and the chance. Test & Trace will be crucial in the coming years if we are to stop infection spikes before they escalate, but we can only do that if our Test & Trace system works. For that to happen the Government need to end the privatisation of Test & Trace.

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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