The new Prime Minister must get a grip on Brexit

Now, after the June referendum we will be leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister says "Brexit means Brexit" but what does that mean?  Article 50 is the clause in the EU founding charter which lays down the process for leaving.  The government trigger Article 50 and there's then 2 years negotiation before we formally exit.

Most people in Southwark voted to "Remain" and I'm deeply disappointed that we will be leaving the EU But as "Leave" won, the government must ensure that we suffer as little as possible by leaving.

 I'll be pressing the government to protect our economy and our opportunities for the future and tell us what they're up to.

*The government must say when they will be putting the weekly sum of £350m into the NHS they promised as part of a "Brexit dividend".  This was written on their "Leave" campaign bus but we've heard nothing of it since the vote.

*The government must guarantee areas who've been promised EU funds for infrastructure like roads and bridges that they will not lose the money when we leave the EU but they'll get it from our government. 

*they must ensure we stay in the single market so our companies exporting to EU countries don't have to pay tariffs which will make their goods more expensive.

*They must be ready to support industries whose exports are threatened by the 10% tariffs that will go on our goods being sold to the EU.  We must not lose vital investment such as Nissan in the North East, because we've left the EU

*They must tell the many EU nationals who live in this country, some who've lived, worked and brought up their families that they will not be kicked out. 

*on leaving the EU we'll have to negotiate new trade agreements with every country in the world we want to trade with to replace the trade agreements with countries like China and Cambodia, that we have by virtue of our membership of the EU.  All EU trade deals require the countries we trade with to protect minimum human rights standards; to outlaw child labour and forced labour and to protect the right to join trade unions.  When we negotiate new trade deals for ourselves with countries we wish to trade with we must ensure that those human rights clauses are included.  We must not become the weak link in the quest to improve human rights around the world.

*The government must publish every 3 months the increase in the number of civil servants who have been employed on the Brexit negotiations, and their pay bill.  Going it alone outside the EU means that instead of sharing work on treaty negotiations, we'll have to do them ourselves which will involve thousands more civil servants costing hundreds of millions of pounds.  It is likely the £350m a week will go on lawyers and consultants negotiating Brexit rather than our NHS.

*the government must commit to matching rights that employees get in the EU.  Britain's workers can't slip behind on issues like equal pay and maternity rights.

*The PM must take a personal grip on this.  She can't leave it to her warring ministers.

Despite the weather the Livesey Labour team were out meeting local residents talking to them about their concerns. Cllr Richard Livingston and Cllr Michael Situ and I heard a range of concerns from local people including housing and anti-social behaviour.

At Solomon's Passage in Peckham today I met with shared owners, leaseholders and tenants to discuss their ongoing situation with Wandle Housing Association. Residents are still facing uncertainty about their housing future 5 months on from when they were told that they would be losing their homes because of fundamental defects in the blocks which were only built 6 years ago.

There are a number of significant issues that still need to be clarified and resolved and I'll be meeting with the Chair of Wandle Housing Association Richard Raeburn and the Chief Executive Tracey Lees later this week to discuss these issues further.

It is vital that all residents have a fair deal.

APM Women in Project Management Conference 2016

Victoria Park Plaza

Thank you so much for inviting me here to your conference today.  Great to see so many of you here from many different sectors and at different stages in your career, all determined to go forward in your work.

Some of you will be very much a minority as a woman, some will be working amongst a "critical mass" of women but you are all still pioneers.  For my mother's generation the expectation was that

*education was wasted on a girl

*that you'd have to choose between a career and a family but not have both

And then, as women of my generation and yours we are grappling with what it is to be a woman in the world of work, what it is to be a mother and going out to work, what it is to be a daughter caring for elderly parents and going out to work, what it is to be a woman, leading other women and leading other men

These are all difficult questions which need to be worked through by women getting together and sharing strategies and experiences. 

But the reality is that the future depends on women's work, in every region, in every sector.  And the future needs equality because that is modernity and meritocracy.  When you see photos of all-male line ups at the top of companies, companies which are employing women, selling to women, providing services to women, you know that they are old-fashioned, backward and missing out.

We had that problem in politics - when I was first elected in 1982 parliament was 97% men and 3% women which is how it had been since the 1950s.  When we changed that with 101 Labour women elected in 1997, we showed that we were for women as well as men and the other parties just had to start changing too. 

And I wish I'd been at the afternoon sessions as I was specially interested in difficult conversations....I've had so many and avoided so many over the years. 

When I was first in government in 1997 I had a terrific young woman Special Advisor.  One day she came back from one of the many meetings with special advisors across government where she was the only woman and said she was worried that she wasn't doing a good enough job for me because none of the guys would listen to anything she said in the meeting, but some of them asked her for a date afterwards.  She asked whether I thought she should give up her short skirts and tie back her long shiny black hair and try and look dowdy.  There was nothing outlandish about what she was wearing.  She was dressed as a woman of her age.  What was I to advise her? She wanted to be effective, it wasn't she who was the problem but the fact that it was an overwhelmingly male room.   Ultimately the only way past this is by numbers so that a young  woman in a room is not unusual abut the norm.

And in government I was constantly faced with the problem of when to make a fuss and when to let it go.  Too many rows and you find yourself ineffective and out on a limb, not enough rows and you find yourself ineffective as you just get walked over.  For a woman working in the man's world of work, that is a constant balancing act.   Especially as women often get labelled "difficult" in circumstances where the same action by a man would be regarded as pleasingly assertive.  At the time, when I was in government I thought I was having far to many rows.  Now I look back and think I wasn't having nearly enough.  I had more power and influence than I realised and that is very typical of women.

I've chosen to speak to you today about Equal Pay - or rather unequal pay. Why it matters and what can be done about it.  Probably the single best indicator of what's going on in an organisation in relation to equality is pay.

When we look at what men and women earn the scale of inequality more generally is laid bare.

You'll all be familiar with the pattern. Women and men start their working lives on nearly the same levels. But then, when they have children, her pay plummets and his goes up.  She might go part-time, and as she'll be taking the lion's share of responsibility at home she probably won't go for promotion.  She's earning less so he has to earn more -  so he goes for promotion and up the ladder.

And that is how the pay gap starts - and how it carries on.  Even when the kids have grown up and she's back to working full time, she never catches up.

Some will say well, you've said it yourself, she's busy at home, she's worth less and he's worth more.

But I think that's wrong. And it's out of date.

Women used to have many more children and retire, in not the best of health, by the time they were 60. 

Look at the years of work now.  Many women starting work in their early twenties and will be working till they're nearly 70.  That's nearly 50 years.

And, as the years of work grow the years of child-bearing shrink.

When I was first an MP many of my constituents had families of more than 10 children.  Now they are most unlikely to have more than three.

And women's health was so much worse then than it is now.  Now women stay fit and healthy into their 60s and 70s.

And anyway even when she's working fewer hours I think it's wrong to judge the value of work by the number of hours worked.  I'm sure you'd all recognise the phenomenon of "presentism" - it's the opposite of absenteeism.  He comes in early, everyone sees his jacket on the back of his chair, he doesn't leave till 7 so he's got all day.  But she's gets it all done to leave at a fixed time to get home for the kids.  Each of his hours is most definitely not worth more than each of hers.

It's unfair for women to be locked at the bottom of the labour market, or stuck in work below their potential. And it doesn't make sense for our labour market, or any organisation, to waste the talent of its women.

So what can you do about it?

First is to look hard at your own organisation.  It's too easy to say the pay gap's awful but it happens somewhere else, it doesn't happen here.

It's only when you face up to it that you can start to do something about it.

Transparency is crucial.

In the Equality Act which we passed in 2010 we put in a clause which would require organisations with more than 250 employees to publish their pay gap.

There's been a bit of a time lag on this with the new government and its only going to become law in 2017 but there's no reason why organisations shouldn't go ahead now.  But it's crucial how you measure it and how you publish it.  You will need to comply with The Regulations which the government have drawn up but within that I think it's important that you publish and focus on one figure. 

*which everyone in your organisation knows,

*which is published every year so you can see progress and

*which you can use to compare with other organisations in the same and different sectors.

And that figure should be the gap between the average hourly pay of men and the average hourly pay of women.  It has to be hourly - or you're leaving out part-timers.

It's bound to be dire when you first publish it but it will be a starting point and act as a galvaniser to discuss why it's men at the top and women lower down, why the part-timers don't get promoted, why men don't take parental leave or work part-time.  The first organisation that does it and does it really honestly and openly will be terrified of the criticism...but then will find it gets huge credit for being the first and others will be pressurised to follow suit.

And the point is not how bad your starting point is but the progress you make.

*So my first point on tackling equal pay is measure your pay gap and publish it every year.

*My second point is discuss and agree to set  targets for how much progress you expect to make in the next 12 months, the next 5 years.

*My third is don't mess around with the measurement - this is a long term quest and you won't keep the momentum if you keep changing the way you measure it.

*My fourth point is publish annually the % of men working part-time and the % of men who take parental leave each year and the number of men taking paternity leave and for how long for each year.    It will help women in your organisation be more equal if there's not so much gender segregation in working patterns - and it will certainly help the wives/partners of your male employees.

*My fifth point is audit your socialising/team-building activities to make sure that they don't work a treat for male-bonding but leave women on the margins.  Breakfast meetings just don't combine with dropping kids to school, events arranged around after-work drinks don't combine with children's bed-time.   An outing to the funfair and rides on a roller coaster is not suitable for pregnant women. 

*My sixth point is bite on the bullet and take positive action - if a man and a woman are a dead heat for promotion, take the woman.

*My seventh point is don't forget older women.  The pay gap for older women is worse even than it is for women in their child-bearing years.  Sexism against younger women is now much more likely to be challenged.  But older women still seem to be expected to put up with jibes which are a combination of sexism and ageism.  There's still "banter" about hot flushes in a way that there'd never be tolerance of jibes about the "time of the month".

There's a different way of looking at men and women as they go through the different stages of our life.

I'm only half joking when I say there are the 3 ages of men and the 3 ages of women.

Here's the 3 ages of man:

First, he's in his 20s, young, bright, dynamic, thrusting forward and full of promise - he's in his prime

Second he's in his 30s and 40s a family man - 3 children - reassuringly virile - he's in his prime

And then he's in his 50s and 60s he's a grey beard, a silver fox, wise, experienced, authoritative, mature - he's in his prime - again!

But here are the 3 ages of woman:

First, she's in her 20s, distractingly too young and pretty to be taken seriously

Second she's in her 30s and 40s got young children she's a write off - too much on her plate

Then she's in her 50s and 60s and the children have left home but she's older - suddenly she's past it.

Men are always in their prime and we never seem to have ours.  It's about time we said, whatever age we are, our prime is now.

Finally I'd like to end with a word about mentoring, training, inspiring.  It's good for women to see other women to give them the idea that they can do it.  But the spirit of the women's movement was that you shouldn't wait to see another woman do it, you had to break new ground.  It's good to encourage and support women - but are we yet at the stage we can be role models.  I dread the idea that I'm a role model to younger women MPs, I don't want them to make the blunders I made, suffer the maternal guilt I did, get sacked twice - I want them to be far more tranquil in their work/life balance and make far fewer mistakes.  I want them to do better than I was able to.  Support and encouragement, yes, but role models is a conservative notion that embodies the idea that you do the same as women who came before you.  I want you all to do better than my generation, to do it your own way, to press forward with the quest for equality. 

And I hope that your discussions today will help you go back to your organisations and press on with it.

I'm delighted to be here with you all again this year.

It's been a year of political change in the last year.

We're out of the EU so we've got to campaign to make  the government commit to keeping and keeping up with the rights for women, on maternity and equal pay, that our EU membership has secured for women in this country.

We've got a new Tory Prime Minister - and she's a woman.

But like Margaret Thatcher before her, Theresa May's is no supporter of women.

When we were pushing forward in government on rights for women - she was a drag anchor - calling it a burden on business and voting against our Equality Act.

When we were pushing for more Labour women MPs she chased me round TV and radio studios decrying us, joining the men in her party and some in ours who called it "political correctness gone mad".

And while she's been in government she's voted every time for the cuts to the vital programmes that we brought in when we were in government, like sure start centres, and for tax credits for childcare.

Theresa May is woman - but she's no sister.

The fact of the matter is that it has always been Labour that has been the party of and for women and for equality. 

We have 100 Labour women MPs, more than all the other parties put together. That puts a huge responsibility on the shoulders of our chair of the women's PLP - Jess Philips.  We must be united in holding the government, and our own party, to account and demanding change and progress for women.  And we can do that, together, as women. In the 1980s despite the turmoil in the party  with the party split from top to bottom and with predictions we would never govern again, we women across all of the party worked together and made massive progress. 

We worked together as women in the cause of women despite our differences over the leadership at that time. And so we must and will now.

And let's face it there's not one of us here who isn't smarting that while the Tories, SNP, the Greens and even, god help us, UKIP have a woman leader, when it comes to Labour "it's raining men"

That makes the work of the woman I'm about to introduce to you even more important. She’s speaking for all the women in this country who are suffering under this government and who need Labour.  She's absolutely grounded in the real world and a voice of clarity and principle. She's our Minister for Women and Equality. Let's give our full backing and a huge welcome to Angela Rayner.

It was great to attend the annual Nunhead's Voice Older Peoples Celebration Day at Lime Tree House. As part of the programme for I took part in a Question time panel alongside colleagues from the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police. We took questions from local people on the issues that are affecting them, their families and the local community.

Housing was the biggest issue raised with local people, concerned about the lack of affordable homes and worried about how this affects them and their families. Anti-social behaviour and home repair worries were amongst some of the issues raised. There was also a discussion from the Fire Brigade about raising awareness about fire safety in the home.

Thanks to Cris Claridge for organising a great event.

It was a privilege to attend the blue plaque unveiling and honour the life of radical, hero, civil rights activist George Arthur Roberts 1890-1970.

Born in Trinidad in 1890, George Arthur Roberts served in the First World War and went on to become a firefighter throughout the Blitz and rest of the Second World War.

In 1944 he was awarded the British Empire Medal “for general duties at New Cross Fire Station” and for his part as a founder and pioneer of the Discussion and Education groups of the fire service.

He was wounded first at the Battle of Loos, and then in the Battle of the Somme. After the war he settled in London firstly living in Peckham and then Camberwell where George and his family lived for almost 50 years.

A former electrical engineer, in 1939 George completed his training with the fire service and in 1943 became a section leader.

In 1931, George was one of the founder members of the League of Coloured Peoples, one of the first organisations to take care of the needs of Britain’s black community.

The Blue Plaque scheme was set up to recognise the borough’s rich history.

Theresa May has said that Brexit brings new opportunities for Britain and that we can lead the world in Free Trade. The warnings from the Bank of England that our economic growth will be half what we would have had if we'd stayed in the EU are very worrying.  And The Prime Minister's visit to China and statements from Japan, and Australia show that setting out on our own to negotiate trade deals is going to be no easy task.  One of the important aspects of all EU trade agreements with non-EU countries is that the EU insists on the inclusion of clauses which require the government to ensure that trade is Fair as well as Free. That means that those we have a trade agreement with commit to preventing child labour, forced labour, discrimination and to ensure that workers are able to join a trade union and that their union is free to negotiate.

Over the years, Unions in this country have been key to ending exploitive and dangerous work practices. And Sports Direct shows that they still are.  But they are even more important in the developing world where child labour and forced labour sees people working in deadly, dangerous factories.  After Brexit, we will no longer be part of EU trade deals with non-EU countries or part of the human rights protections in those agreements.  But when our ministers and civil servants start talks and then negotiations for our post Brexit UK trade deals, we must put on the table at the outset that we will insist on clauses that are, at the very least, no weaker than the clauses in the EU trade deals.  Brexit must not be the moment when the UK becomes the weak link in the global attempt to protect the human rights of workers overseas. 

There are 50 global companies who, between them, employ 160 million of the world’s poorest people.  These companies are giants compared to the countries they are working in.  People in those countries need us to be on their side to be part of improving their safety and rights at work. And crucial to this is trade unions. They are in the factories 24/7.  Something which auditing and monitoring organisations can never be. They are the "canary in the mine" warning of unsafe and unfair conditions. They ensure that workers have someone independent they can report to.  Theresa May stood on the steps of Downing Street saying she wanted to see equality.  We need it here in this country.  And we need global equality too. Brexit must be the moment we set higher standards and certainly not lower them for struggling people in the developing world.

I've always respected the right of members to choose who they vote for in our internal party elections for Leader.  And I've never, in the past, felt the need to intervene to urge members in Camberwell and Peckham to vote for any particular candidate.  But I'm writing to you today to urge you to vote for Owen Smith and not for Jeremy Corbyn because I feel it is fundamental for the prospect of a progressive future for our country.

I believe Owen Smith recognises what I believe to be the case.  That it is our duty to protect people from the unfairness and the reactionary policies of the Tories.  That it is only with a Labour government that we can do that and that only Labour will make the changes which challenge entrenched inequality, prejudice and discrimination.

The job of the leader of the party is to unite us and take us towards that.  It is clear that Jeremy Corbyn cannot unite the party.  The party has become deeply divided under his leadership. We have seen that both at national and at local level here in Camberwell and Peckham.   A leader cannot blame others for division.  The buck stops with the leader. 

I believe with Owen Smith for Leader we can get on track to put our progressive principles into practice.  I will be voting for him and I hope you will too.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights says the Government should only bring in new legislation if there’s found to be a gap in existing powers. It warns that a crackdown on religious conservatives could end up driving wedges between the communities. The Committee says there is no clear definition of what extremism actually is, the new measures could be used indiscriminately against evangelical Christians or orthodox Jews. The most precious asset is the support of the Muslim community and it could be undermined unless the Government treads with great care.

Read the full report: Counter Extremism

Read the report summary

Read the report conclusions and recommendations

So now, after the disastrous and divisive referendum campaign, we have a new Prime Minister.  And for only the second time in our history it will be woman.  I offer Theresa May my congratulations.  Having a woman at the top of our country sends a strong message that no girl or woman can be told "you can't do that because you're a woman".   The overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs are men and she beat them all to the top spot. 

But what will she, as a woman who has now reached the top, do to change things for other women? 

Here are the 8 U-turns we need from this new woman Prime Minister.

• She should start with a U-turn which ensures that our public services, like the NHS and care for the elderly, have the resources they need.  It is mostly women who care for the elderly.  Conservative government cuts to social care have left women struggling to support family members without the support services they need to back them up.  Most of the people who work in the NHS are women and they need to be valued, not stretched to breaking point
• She must ensure that every family has accessible, affordable childcare to care for children while the parents are working.  Most of the responsibility for care of young children falls on the mother.  This is the case in two parent families but even more so in lone parent families.  Women want to be able to go out to work, to get on in their jobs, to contribute to the family budget and the nation's economy and to set an example to their children that life is about work rather than relying on benefits.  But they need to know that their children are safe, happy and learning while they are at work.  Too many women have to limit what they do in their work because they can't afford childcare.  She should re-open the children's centres that her government has closed. And set about opening new ones.  
• She must give parents strong rights at work.  Most of the people at work are someone's parent.  Parents need to be able to spend time with their children as well as earn money to spend on them.  There should be longer maternity and paternity leave and higher maternity and paternity pay.  Many mothers have to go back to work before they feel their baby is ready because they can't afford to stay off.  And many fathers take no paternity leave because they can't afford to lose pay.  Her government has said that these rights are a burden on business.  She must u-turn on that and strengthen rights at work
• She must give grandparents new rights at work.  Most families just couldn't cope without the help of grandparents but they too are working as they have to work till they're older because of the raising of the retirement age. Grandparents need new rights to take paid time off work to help with their grandchildren
• She must give the police the resources and the leadership they need to step up tackling domestic violence.  A woman prime minister should make it a priority to prevent the deaths of 2 women every week at the hands of domestic violence.
• She must ensure that what we do internationally, through our Foreign Office and through our development aid, helps empower women around the world who are suffering poverty and oppression.  50% of our ambassadors must be women.
• She must implement Labour's Equality Act, now and in full.  That will strengthen the law on equal pay and against discrimination for everyone, not just women but people of all backgrounds.
• She should appoint a cabinet and ministerial team which is half women.

When Margaret Thatcher was a Prime Minister we had a slogan "The First Lady puts women last"

Being the Prime Minister is not just about who you are.  It's about what you do - for this country and all the people in it.  A woman Prime Minister should deliver for women in the country she will now lead.

On Monday Southern Rail introduced their temporary timetable. Constituents using East Dulwich, Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham stations, will only have 3 Southern rail services to London Bridge between 6am & 9am and only 3 services between 5pm & 7pm from London Bridge to Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye & East Dulwich.

I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are deeply worried about the disruption and the impact that these changes will have on: 

• Their working & family lives

• Their childcare provision & arrangements

• Their finances

• Safety & overcrowding fears

This dramatic and sudden loss of service is simply unacceptable and I urge the Government to strip Govia Thameslink of the franchise.

Today I spoke in the Govia Thameslink Rail service debate in the House of Commons:

'I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and I absolutely 100% agree with him on behalf of my constituents that use East Dulwich, Peckham Rye and Queens Road. They will identify completely with the level of total exasperation and frustration. He has diligently gone through all this and has done all the right things, but his constituents’ situations are simply getting worse and are set to get worse still, with disruption to family and working life and downright safety issues. I simply lend him my support and say that my constituents are every bit as desperate as his. We have no tube and we have congested roads, so they cannot go by bus. People cannot lead their lives like this. I agree with him that it should be stripped of the franchise'.

You can read the full debate here.

Because of Southern Rail’s continuing failure to provide a reliable service I will now be urging the Government to strip Govia Thameslink Railway of its franchises in advance of its renewal date, with an accelerated transfer of Greater London services to Transport for London.

You can read a copy of the Early Day Motion 298 here

Following the announcement by Southern Rail that they will be introducing a temporary timetable to services from Monday 11th July, I have today written to the CEO of Govia Thameslink who are responsible for the operation of Southern Rail.

Here's my letter:

Charles Horton

Chief Executive Officer

Govia Thameslink Railway Limited

Hertford House

1 Cranwood Street

London

EC1V 9QS

Friday 8^th July 2016

By email and post to: [email protected]

Dear Charles,

Re: Southern timetable changes

I write following Southern Rail’s announcement of a temporary timetable starting on Monday 11 July which will affect routes serving my constituency.

On Monday, constituents using East Dulwich, Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham stations, will only have 3 Southern rail services to London Bridge between 6am & 9am and only 3 services between 5pm & 7pm from London Bridge to Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye & East Dulwich.

This dramatic and sudden loss of service is simply unacceptable. 

Since the announcement I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are deeply worried about the disruption and the impact that these changes will have on: 

• Their working & family lives

• Their childcare provision & arrangements

• Their finances

• Safety & overcrowding fears

My constituents depend on these overland services. They cannot rely on other ways of travelling. The buses are slow because roads are heavily congested and there is no tube. They deserve a rail service they can rely on.

They already continue to suffer from Southern Rail’s ongoing disruptive, poor and unpredictable service and the introduction of this ‘temporary timetable’ on Monday is the final straw.

Because of Southern Rail’s continuing failure to provide a reliable service I will now be urging the Government to strip Govia Thameslink Railway of its franchises in advance of its renewal date, with an accelerated transfer of Greater London services to Transport for London.

Yours sincerely

Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP

So now, by a narrow margin, the UK has voted to leave the EU.  Those arguing for "Brexit" said our warnings of the problems if we left the EU were exaggerated and dubbed them "Project Fear". But now we see "Project Fear" is turning into "Project Fact".  Uncertainty is hanging over our economy and businesses are holding back investment decisions.  The pound has fallen in value pushing up the cost of holidays in the EU this summer.  As the economy falters, there's less public money available for our vital public services like support for the disabled and for the NHS. 

Now that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, has resigned, The Conservatives are plunged into a leadership election.  But that does not mean that everything should be "on hold" till the new leader is declared in September.  Immediate action is required and despite their inner turmoil and mutual recriminations the Conservatives are still, after all, the Government.  These are just some of the things they should be doing and what Labour, as the Official Opposition, should be pressing them to do:

•They should be starting now to talk to diplomats in non-EU countries to sound them out for future talks on making trade deals.  Official talks can't start till we are formally out of the EU but we should be starting the informal discussions now

•The same goes for the EU.  They are our biggest trading partner and we will need to be able to trade with them post-Brexit.

•We need to give guarantees for EU citizens who've been settled here, working here, bringing up their families here, that they will continue to have residence rights.  It is not right to hang insecurity over them by using them as a bargaining chip as we try and secure the position for our UK citizens who are settled in Spain, France and Italy. 

•The government should guarantee that we will keep in step with the EU when it comes to improvements in workers’ rights, like maternity leave and paid holidays.  As the EU continues to improve rights at work we must not fall behind and end up with our workers becoming the least protected and supported in Europe. The EU Directives and European Court Judgements won't bind us but we should adopt their rulings.

•The government should guarantee that we will also keep in step with the EU on environmental rights and climate change.  As the EU makes further progress in the battle against climate change and to protect our environment, we mustn't become the "dirty man of Europe".  We won't be bound by Directives such as the Bee Directive in future.  But we should implement them voluntarily.

•The government promised more money for the NHS if we left the EU.  They must be made to deliver on that.

•The government must tackle the xenophobia, racism and division that their referendum has engendered.

This is the agenda we should be taking forward as the Official Opposition. But Jeremy Corbyn, as our Labour leader is not doing so as he does not have leadership qualities and has lost the confidence of Labour MPs.

Southwark voted strongly to Remain in the EU but we lost.  But the government must pull its finger out to mitigate the worse effects of Brexit and Labour must change our leadership and get our act together to make them.  

Please find my monthly report for June here

It is with great regret that I call on Jeremy Corbyn to stand down as leader of the Labour Party.  Jeremy has many great qualities but he is not a leader. The party and the country needs a strong united Labour Opposition at this immensely challenging time.  Jeremy earned the right to take up the leadership of the party with a big majority.  But he has failed and he has no right or mandate to stay in office despite his failure and take the party down with him.  Leading the party is a privilege not a right. You earn the opportunity to lead by being elected, to lead the whole party, our voters, members, councillors and MPs. But winning the leadership election does not give you the right to continue in post if you fail.  If Jeremy goes now, he will earn the respect and admiration of the party. If he stays he will be responsible for damage to the party on the gravest scale.  No-one has the right to do that.  Being leader of the Opposition is an immensely difficult task.  Much harder than it looks.  The starting point should be to support the leader and help them succeed. And that is what I have done over the past 3 decades and with 6 leaders through thick and thin.  But I have no right to stand by and let our party collapse in disarray.  That is what has happened under Jeremy and that has to stop.  I urge Jeremy to stand down.

I never thought I would see the day when I wished a Tory Prime Minister would win a vote, but last Thursday I did, and I think the country will pay a bitter price for the fact that he lost this one. Leaving aside the constitutional turmoil, the damage to the economy and the uncertainty that hangs over Britain’s place in the world, the leaders of the Brexit campaign have engendered an atmosphere where some people believe it is open season for racism and xenophobia. Will the Prime Minister say very clearly that, when it comes to the difficulties of getting a job or problems with the NHS, housing or schools, those things are the responsibility of his Government to sort out and not the fault of migrants from the EU or indeed anywhere else?

The Prime Minister

May I first praise the right hon. and learned Lady for her decision to cross party lines and to appear with others on platforms to make the argument? She made it very persuasively, and I think it is right that she did. She is absolutely right that we must be very clear about our commitment to tolerance and diversity, and about our complete intolerance of racism and the hateful hate crimes that we have seen in recent days. I know that that is the view of hon. Members in this House, whatever side of the debate they were on, but that message needs to go out loud and clear.

The U.K. has voted to leave the EU and there will now be economic and political turbulence.   

I am deeply disappointed by the result of the referendum.

• I campaigned hard for us to remain in the EU. 

• The overwhelming majority of Labour supporters backed the UK remaining in the EU and

• 73% of Southwark residents backed remaining in the EU. 

But we have to acknowledge the result and strive for the best future for this country in the circumstances which now face us.

The leaders of the Leave campaign promised that:

• There would be no shock to the economy and that it would grow

• People will not be hit by price increases

• That pay will go up for low paid workers

• That they'd invest more in the health service

• That they'd have a fair immigration policy

• That they would not unravel the rights at work that the EU guarantees

They must be held to account to deliver on those promises.

We, in the Labour Party, must ensure that the burden of the economic problems which the country  now faces does not fall hardest on those who can least afford it.

We must not let the Tories allow the poorest regions to fall further behind.

And in London, all politicians, both MPs, GLA members and councillors, must work together to support London's economy and services.

And we must banish the intolerance and hatred which was engendered by the leadership of the Leave campaign and which must be no part of the politics of our democracy.

Jo’s death is an absolute tragedy. She was dynamic and fearless. Elected only a year ago she was a beacon among the new generation of young Labour women MPs. So full of promise for the future, so committed to progressive politics. Jo’s politics were always about bringing people together and never about creating divisions.

She put into practice her belief that politicians must be amongst the people they represent and she was, in every town, village and community in her constituency.

We were immensely proud of her and are devastated by her loss.

Her children will now have to grow up without their mother but we will make sure that they know what an amazing, progressive and principled politician their mother was and how much we admired her.

My deepest sympathy goes to Brendan and to Jo's family.