Opinions

As some of you may know, as well as being MP for Lewisham Deptford, I am Shadow Minister for Disabled People. It’s been a steep learning curve (especially when the pandemic has had such a profound impact), but I am really enjoying it.

In a matter of weeks, the Government will cut the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit. This cut will push 700,000 families further into poverty. With the economic impact of the pandemic far from over, the Government should be working towards lifting families out of poverty and not pushing families further into hardship.

Next week schools across South London return after a well-earned break for pupils, teachers and school staff who have all worked so hard in very difficult circumstances over the last 18 months during the Covid-19 pandemic. My congratulations to pupils and the parents, teachers and support staff who have supported them on the fantastic GCSE, BTEC and A-level results achieved.

While lockdown was undoubtedly a horrible experience for us all, for residents in my constituency of Lewisham East, there was one unexpected benefit. Lewisham East lies squarely in the flight paths of Heathrow and London City Airport, and the total shutdown of international travel provided a welcome respite from the scourge of ‘night flights’. Sleep improved.

Grenfell was a disaster because of unsafe cladding and so obviously it was right for all high rise buildings to be checked and dangerous cladding replaced. But years later the problems are far from solved and many local people have had their lives put on hold as they are unable to move out of their flats because they can’t sell them as they can’t get the certificate that is required to show that their cladding is safe.

In recent weeks, it’s safe to say the nation has been gripped by sport. It’s a timely reminder of the London 2012 legacy – a year which saw us rally behind our nation’s athletes, cheering them on as they represented the very best of Britain on the global stage.

When the England men’s football team captured the nation’s imagination by reaching its first major tournament final since 1966, their success gave our country a badly needed boost, and a reminder of how much we all need moments of shared joy after 18 months of lockdowns. But Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka faced an onslaught of racist abuse on social media when all three footballers missed their penalties in the final.

Prosecutions and convictions for rape have been deteriorating since 2016 and are now at an all-time low, and with court backlogs, victims are waiting years for their case to be heard.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Denardo Samuels-Brooks, the teenager fatally stabbed in Prentis Road. My thanks go to local emergency workers who dealt with the incident and the support services who are dealing with the aftermath.

As an MP, I am often approached by constituents who have been let down by the criminal justice system. Some of the most harrowing of these cases involve rape and serious sexual violence. Unbelievably, only one in 60 rape cases recorded by the police last year resulted in a suspect being charged and 44 per cent of rape victims end up pulling out of their case before the trial begins.

As lockdown slowly and safely lifts across London, we are all glad to be enjoying life again. But we cannot forget the hugely unequal impact the pandemic and the economic consequences it is having on different groups of people. That’s why, on the anniversary of Labour’s Equal Pay Act, I called on the government to do more to protect and promote gender equality in the recovery from the pandemic.