On Monday, Parliament heard an Urgent Question about the government’s position on ICC arrest warrants issued for war crimes in Gaza. I pressed the government on continuing arms sales to Israel, their refusal to comment on sanctions, and asked how they intend to further show our country’s opposition to the slaughter of civilians in Gaza. Continuing to arm Israel is unconscionable. The UK has a duty to comply with international humanitarian law and push other countries to do the same.

It was great to stand on the picket line alongside teachers from St Francis Xavier College in Clapham, one of 40 sixth form colleges not given full funding to implement this year’s 5.5% pay rise. One of the first things our Labour government did on coming to power was to negotiate this rise with the National Education Union, which represents teachers. Regrettably, only academised sixth forms have been guaranteed the funding to implement this. I extend my full solidarity to sixth form college staff on strike to demand the same deal as the rest of their colleagues in the sector: a fully funded pay, above-inflation pay rise.

In this month’s World AIDS Day debate, I praised the work of campaigners and charities who have done so much to raise international awareness around the disease and reduce stigma. My comments focused on the legacy of racism surrounding the AIDS pandemic, which continues to cast a long shadow. We have the tools to end HIV transmission and treat AIDS. The challenge now is ensuring that everyone can access them. Tackling AIDS will require a stronger focus on those communities worst impacted by the disease.

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit the new Oasis St Martin’s Village with my constituency neighbour, Helen Hayes MP. Housed at the former site of the historic St Martin’s in the Field Girls’ School, this site will be home to a whole range of community organisations and partners working together to provide wraparound support, education, sports, and out-of-school opportunities for young people in South London. I was excited to hear about plans to open this site up to the community and develop new pathways for young people in our area.

Clapham & Brixton Hill constituents journeyed to Parliament this month to lobby me for a full UK arms embargo and sanctions against Israel. They are attempting to increase pressure on our government to take concrete action against the continuing massacre of civilians in Gaza, the invasion of Lebanon and escalating violence and threats of land grabs in the West Bank. Talking to them only reinforced my own commitment to push for action that shows the UK’s opposition to this violence.

I joined citizenship and politics students from Trinity Academy on Wednesday to be interviewed for their school podcast. It was great to talk to the next generation of leaders about an MP’s role and what we can do to tackle racism in our country and communities. Young people really do ask the best questions!