We started the week with some excellent news. Clapham residents are getting a new Post Office branch on Clapham Park Road. This news comes in the aftermath of the closure of Clapham Common Crown Post Office in March last year. The decision to close this busy branch attracted widespread local opposition and we launched a community-led campaign to protect our postal services. The proposed new franchise at 82-84 Clapham Park Road would help plug the gap left by the loss of the Clapham Common branch. The consultation on this proposal is open from now until the 20th March 2025.
This week, I visited the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, an iconic local arts venue and hub. I met with the artistic director, trustees and board members to discuss what we can do to support the team at the theatre and wider performing arts community.
On Thursday, the government announced a further £100 million of new arts, heritage and culture funding. This announcement came on the sixtieth anniversary of a Labour government delivering the country’s first ever Arts White Paper. I hope this signals the start of a new era of commitment to our arts and creative industries.
Supporting GPs and General Practice staff
It was great to meet with GPs working in the constituency this week to hear their thoughts on improving these vital services. Under the last government, we lost a lot of GPs and saw a general decline in population health which both contribute to the struggles many of us face trying to get a GP appointment today. I was glad to get GPs’ input. It is vital that the government keeps working to ease burdens on all general practice staff and ensure the GP workforce is fully funded to deliver high-quality care to everyone.
Visiting Liberty Wines Ltd
I visited Liberty Wines Ltd in Clapham – one of the first UK wine companies to commit to going carbon neutral. It was good to meet staff and discuss some important issues: from Brexit’s damaging effects to alcohol duty reforms and how we can best apply new environmental packaging laws.
Oxford Reparations Debate
I travelled to Oxford to speak in a debate concerning reparations as a part of the university’s ‘Debating the “Difficult”’ series. With member states of the African Union meeting this week in Addis Ababa to try to coordinate their stance on the issue, it’s clear that the call for reparations can no longer be simply brushed aside. It is important for UK politicians to listen to what countries in the Global South are actually calling for. At their root, reparations are about repair and undoing some of the lasting damage eventuated by Europe’s colonialisation of global South countries and its mass enslavement of African peoples.
Meeting with Holy Trinity Church
On Thursday, I met with Holy Trinity Church to discuss the impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme. A new cap on the amount of VAT that can be reclaimed on building repairs covered under this scheme has left the church facing a large shortfall on a renovation project, meaning disruption and added construction costs. I will be writing to the government regarding this issue and urging them to waive the cap in instances where works have already commenced.
Meeting with Grantham Road Residents
I met with members of the Lambeth Self Help Housing Association (LSH) to discuss concerns about a proposed redevelopment, which threatens to demolish homes on Grantham Road. Residents are understandably worried by the threat of displacement, the environmental impact of rebuilding rather than retrofitting and the loss of much-valued green space. I will be raising their concerns (and mine) with the developer in question.
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