A number of people have contacted about the important issue of the status of animals as sentient beings in law. On Thursday 15^th November I voted in favour of New Clause 30 to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to transfer the EU Protocol on animal sentience into UK law, so that animals continue to be recognised as sentient beings after the UK leaves the EU. I am dismayed that the Government voted against this by 313 votes to 295.

Please be assured that I will continue to work with MPs from all parties to ensure that Brexit does not result in the weakening of existing animal welfare standards.

A number of people have contacted about the impact of the Tory pay cap for public sector workers.

We are all indebted to the professionalism and dedication of those that work in our public services. They do a brilliant job in difficult circumstances and are well overdue a real terms pay rise. I have consistently opposed the Government’s public sector pay cap and voted to scrap the 1% pay cap in Parliament on Wednesday 13^th September.

Whilst I welcome the Government lifting of the 1% pay cap I am concerned that their proposed pay increase will be nowhere near enough for the 5 million people working in the public sector whose wages are on average over £1,000 a year lower in real terms than in 2010.

The Government’s policy of pay restraint has created a workforce crisis in our NHS and schools. I will be working with my Labour colleagues to put increasing pressure on the Government to give public sector workers the pay rise they deserve in the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 22nd November. 

A number of constituents have contacted me about Jim McMahon and Labour’s campaign for votes for 16 and 17 year olds. I fully support Jim McMahon’s Bill. I was disappointed the Government talked the bill out and prevented a vote on this important issue on Friday 3^rd November.

The Scottish Referendum in 2014 showed us what enfranchising 16 and 17-year-olds can mean - over 80% of them registered to vote in the independence referendum there, and they participated and brought energy and vitality to the debate.

Labour tried to make it so 16 and 17 year olds could vote in the EU Referendum too. We believe we should encourage 16 and 17 year olds to participate in a democratic decision that will determine their future as much as it will ours. However, unfortunately the Government did not allow them to vote and now many young people will feel they have to deal with a future they did not want.

A Labour Government will lower the voting age to include 16 and 17 year old and please be assured we will continue to press the Tory government on this issue.

We have a moral obligation to provide a space of sanctuary to those forced from their homes, by war, famine or other disasters. The current rules do not reflect the right to family life and instead force refugees to choose between their safety and their family. The importance of family relationships do not depreciate with age and our laws should reflect this, rather than prolong the suffering of those that have already been through so much.

Please be assured that I will continue to support efforts to improve the law on family reunification.

A number of people have contacted about the difficulty of older people in getting to and from hospital appointments. I have written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling MP and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, about the restrictions on the use of Freedom passes for disabled people.

Mobility to access health appointments is essential for the wellbeing of older people, however Tory cuts are making it increasingly difficult for older people to access the healthcare they need. Deep cuts of almost 50% to local government budgets has forced local councils to cut dedicated transport options for older people as well as support for local bus services. The £22 billion worth of cuts to the NHS by 2020 has similarly forced local trusts to make up the losses with new revenues, including hospital parking charges.

A Labour Government would take action to combat the problems older people face in getting to and from hospital. Our commitment to supporting municipal not-for-profit bus companies will stop insufficient profit margins being an obstacle to bus coverage and will improve bus regularity. A Labour Government would also abolish hospital parking charges.

I will continue to work with Labour colleagues to put pressure on the Government to better fund public transportation and dedicated services for our older people.

Many constituents have contacted me to express their concerns surrounding funding of the NHS.

As always when there’s a Tory government the NHS suffers. The Tories have cut investment in the NHS by £22bn – waiting times for A & E are growing, cancer targets have been missed for the last 3 years and in recent weeks the government has been sent stark messages from the frontline of our public services, including the Chief Executive of the NHS, warning that 5 million people will be left on waiting lists by 2020/21 if additional funding is not found in this Budget.

A quarter of nurses are forced to take a second job just to be able to make ends meet yet this Government’s plans will mean per head NHS spending is due to fall next year. For many who have dedicated their lives to public service and our NHS, the strain is becoming too much to bare. They feel they have no alternative but to leave the profession and the combination of cuts and Brexit uncertainty means the NHS now faces the worst recruitment crisis in its history. Our public services cannot function without staff, and they cannot function well unless those staff are properly rewarded – that’s why Labour are calling on the Chancellor to end the public sector pay cap right across the health service. 

A Labour Government would invest £30 billion in the NHS over the next Parliament. This would allow us to guarantee that all patients can be seen in A&E within the four hour waiting time target and guarantee access to treatment within 18 weeks – reducing the waiting list for surgery by over a million.

Please be assured my Labour colleagues and I are doing all we can to call on the Government to use next week’s Budget to give the NHS the real terms increase in funding it desperately needs.

Please do not hesitate to contact me again. 

This Bill is not about whether we leave the EU, it’s about how we leave the EU. The Government want us to vote through a Bill which would give the Government the power to bypass Parliament. Despite all the rhetoric in the Referendum being about “taking back control” – the EU Bill would take power from Brussels, not to give it to our democratically elected House of Commons but to give it to Ministers without any accountability to Parliament. As Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has said this is “an unprecedented Government power grab” and that is why I and my Labour colleagues voted strongly against it at Second Reading on 11^th September 2017.

Labour have been clear that the Bill the Government have put forward is not fit for purpose. It concentrates power in the hands of Ministers with too little parliamentary scrutiny. That is why Keir Starmer has tabled dozens of amendments to attempt to stop the Government’s power grab and I have added my name to these.

Whilst it is not yet clear which amendments will be voted on, Labour have made it clear that we are willing to work across the House to improve this Bill and support amendments which would restrict the scope of ministerial powers to ensure that vital regulations and protections are enforced.

Please be assured that when the Bill comes back to the House that is what I will do.

A number of people have contacted me about the important issue of Parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals. I am very concerned this and have signed EDM 128 calling on the Government to ensure the right of Parliament to properly scrutinise and have a meaningful vote on new trade deals.

Future trade deals after Brexit should not lead to a race to the bottom. Britain should seek to use trade deals to maintain and build on standards. It is important that Parliament is given proper time to scrutinise deals.

The Government want to muddle through behind closed doors when actually it would be better for them to face up to the fact that Parliament’s involvement will make a perilous situation better.

This is all unprecedented – no country has left the EU before, no country has ever turned its back on its largest trading bloc. I together with fellow Labour MPs will be looking to protect the country as best we can.  

I will continue to work with my Labour colleagues to ensure the power of Parliament and regulatory protections are not undermined as we leave the European Union and enter into new trade agreements.  

Many constituents have contacted me about the important issue of cuts to children's services and campaigns by The Children’s Society.

I share concerns that the Government is not doing enough to help vulnerable young people. The Tories have cut local authority budgets, including in Southwark, by almost 50% since 2010, – forcing counselling and support services to be scaled back and youth clubs to close. I was extremely disappointed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond, failed to provide any additional funding for children’s services in the recent Autumn Budget.

The Government’s cuts and benefit changes have forced more children into poverty – almost four million children in the UK today live in relative poverty and a third of families struggle to pay the bills. This means children going hungry, being cold in their homes and lacking school essentials.

The last Labour Government prioritised the welfare of vulnerable children and lifted a million children out of poverty. The next Labour Government will do so again through:

• The introduction of a new Child Poverty Strategy,
• Raising the minimum wage to a living wage of £10 an hour to improve living standards for children in the most disadvantaged families
• Reforming Universal Credit
• Introducing universal free school meals
• Providing greater support to children from low income families and working to close the attainment gap between children from different backgrounds by investing £90 million per year in school-based counselling and cutting class sizes.

I will continue to work with my Labour colleagues to put pressure on the Government to do more to help the most disadvantaged children.