An Update from your Local MP – 4th April 2025

Apr 4, 2025 | News

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Picture of Bell against a graffiti backdrop

Dear *|FNAME|*,

I continue to receive high correspondence volumes about the government’s disability benefit cuts after last week’s Spring Statement. People remain angry and anxious about the impact of these cuts as more details have emerged. In last week’s statement, the government’s analysis suggested these cuts would push at least 300,000+ people into poverty—including 50,000 children. Analysis from several think tanks suggests the true number will be significantly higher.

It was good to attend a packed Scope briefing on the planned disability cuts this week. As of this week, the government had produced no evidence that cutting these benefits would actually work. These cuts are likely to be disastrous for disabled people’s incomes and their independence, shifting shift care costs onto families and local authorities. As I pointed out in an article for Politics.co.uk, there is a body of evidence which shows that a punitive approach to welfare is actually an obstacle to people engaging with back-to-work support. I argued for a new, more compassionate approach.

Take Thames Water into Public Ownership

In a Westminster Hall Debate on government support for Thames Water, I highlighted the company’s shocking mismanagement and its impact on our constituency. During my time as an MP, hardly a year has passed without major water outages affecting our constituency, whilst the quantities of sewage unleashed into our waterways has only increased. Yet in this period, rather than ploughing this money back into the system to fix these problems, water companies have given shareholders payout after payout.

Sewage leaks into our waterways because privatisation has enabled water companies to leak billions into shareholders’ pockets. As Thames Water teeters on the brink of financial collapse, the public cannot seriously be expected to pour more money down this drain. Equally, selling our water off to profit-greedy American corporations (as is the company’s current preference) would be a disaster: a recipe for higher bills and more sewage in our rivers, lakes and seas. We must take water back into public ownership to make it accountable to service users and ensure the money we spend on water is recycled back into the system we rely on.

Protect our Democracy from the Super Rich

In this week’s parliamentary debate on the issue, I argued that we need to tighten up political donation rules to protect our politics from big money. For every £10 donated to UK political parties since the early 2000s, £1 came from dubious sources. 20% of all donations over a similar period came from just 10 men.

Wealthy people don’t donate huge sums of money to political parties purely out of the goodness of their hearts; they do it to buy policy influence. I set out some of the measures we could adopt to prevent the very richest in our society from putting their hands on the scales and protect the idea that everyone’s vote has equal worth.

Protect Families from Spiralling Rents

This week, MPs debated the Housing Select Committee’s report on tackling the growing crisis in temporary and emergency accommodation: a major issue in our area. During the debate, I welcomed the government putting down long-overdue legislation to end No Fault Evictions. This is a hugely positive step, which will ensure fewer families lose their homes. However, for many, a large rent hike is just a no fault eviction by another name. I pointed out that rents continue to outpace both wages and inflation and called for rent controls to prevent people being priced out in this way.

Pushing the Government on Leasehold Reform

I’m frequently contacted by leaseholders in Clapham and Brixton Hill about disrepair issues, opaque service charges and damp and mould problems. During House Business questions, I asked the Leader of the House whether the government remains committed to addressing this. I was reassured by her positive answer and commitments to go further to protect leaseholders. It is absolutely vital that people can challenge their housing associations and freeholders to account for all of these issues and more.

Improving Neonatal Care with Bliss

Bell addresses a parliamentary committee room from behind a lectern. There is a window behind her with the curtains drawn and a Bliss infographic on a whiteboard to her left.

I was very happy to host Bliss in Parliament on Monday to hear from families with experience of neonatal care. It was great to get their insights and discuss the changes needed to improve care for sick and premature babies. Three particular issues that emerged from Bliss’s recent Future of Neonatal Care report were the need to increase staffing levels, address health inequalities and improve the availability of neonatal accommodation for parents.