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Bell’s Newsletter

5th April 2024

Dear *|FNAME|*,

Wishing a belated Happy Easter to all who celebrate. I hope everyone had a relaxed and enjoyable time with friends and family. With Parliament in Recess, I’m just sharing a brief update of what I’ve been doing as your MP over the last couple of weeks.

In Parliament

• Ahead of Easter Recess, MPs and Peers voted on the Safety of Rwanda Bill. I voted against this legislation once again, with the House of Lords inflicting defeat on the government in all seven votes later in the week. People don’t make the dangerous journey across the Channel for fun or with an intimate knowledge of the UK asylum system. This policy will not work on its stated terms of stopping people arriving via small boats. The amount of parliamentary time that has been spent debating this pointless legislation is a reflection of the Tories’ political priorities, not our country’s. Instead of continuing to fund this right wing vanity project, we need a government that will focus on speeding up claims, expanding safe routes, and helping people rebuild their lives.

• I voted for the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill. More oversight is needed to acknowledge the ever-changing nature of national security threats and greater protections are needed to protect our children from sexual abuse and grooming in the online and tech spaces.

Solidarity with Diane Abbott

Frank Hester’s alleged comments about Diane Abbott in 2019 were reprehensible, racist and misogynist. The Prime Minister initially refused to comment on the alleged comments, which were a deluge of the vilest misogynoir. His subsequent apology was completely undermined by the fact that he is keeping the £10.7 million given to his party by Frank Hester.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, when the issue was first being discussed in Parliament, Diane stood up forty-six times to speak and was not called. Others were debating the abuse she has faced while she was in the chamber and unable to speak for herself. She was silenced. The treatment of Diane over the years  has been unacceptable, and I stand with Diane and wish for this torrent of abuse to end.

Caribbean African Health Network

I was pleased to host the Caribbean African Health Network in Parliament. As chair of the APPG for Black Maternal Health , it was so encouraging to see a concerted effort by Black clinicians to turn the discourse on the health disparities impacting the Black community into policy.

The results of the work done by the Black Maternal Health APPG and FIVEXMORE is evidence of the fact that visibility can inspire change. There is, however, more work to be done with Black people’s health outcomes across the board still worse relative to other groups.

Black people are more likely to live in deprived areas and have poorer economic circumstances. They are also less likely to get the care they need as a result of medical racism. We all know this, and we have all discussed this, but it is time we have action to create tangible change.

Endometriosis Action Month Event

It was great to host Endometriosis UK during Endometriosis Action Month to discuss Menstrual Cycle Support’s new initiative for teenagers. Menstrual education helps to relieve menstrual pain by providing people with the tools to access the care they need. There is a chronic lack of investment into women’s health especially in menstrual health. With most women suffering with Dysmenorrhoea at some stage and 1 in 10 women suffering from endometriosis, more attention needs to be given to solutions that mitigate the periodic suffering of menstruating people.

Visit to Bradford University for International Women’s Day

It was great to be back at my alma mater, the University of Bradford, to give a talk on inequalities in health research and development and deliver an Athena Swan workshop. It is important that we continue to shed light on the continued disparities in provisions for women’s health and men’s health. Women’s reproductive health needs the same funding and attention as men’s.

Action on ASB Public Meeting

Last week, I attended a public meeting alongsideLambeth Council, the Metropolitan Police and other agencies on tackling the reduction of antisocial behaviour. Though residents were disappointed with the results of the meeting, it still represented the culmination of the hard work being done in the community on this issue. Thank you to Action on ASB Brixton for organising this event. It was a great show of strength from the community, demanding accountability and action in making our area safer. There will of course be future meetings on this issue and I will support the efforts of Action on ASB and others to achieve progress.

Lambeth Islamic Academy’s Ramadan Iftar Party

It was lovely to attend the Lambeth Islamic Academy’s Ramadan Iftar Party this week.  Thank you to everyone who attended and to the organisers for bringing together the local community and putting together on an amazing spread of food.

Lambeth Charity Networking Event

There is a Lambeth Charity Networking Event taking place on Thursday 9th May, 4pm – 6pm at the High Trees Hub (220 Upper Tulse Hill, SW2 2NS). The event is an opportunity for Lambeth charities to get together with their peers to share learning or challenges or find out about others’ work and new opportunities. This should be particularly useful for more nascent organisations who may be smaller but also for those that are more established too.

As ever, if you have any questions about the work I’m doing as MP, please get in touch at this address: bell.ribeiroaddy.mp@parliament.uk.

Best wishes,

Bell Ribeiro-Addy,
Labour MP for Streatham

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