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Bell’s Newsletter
9th February 2024
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Dear *|FNAME|*,
Hundreds of people queued for hours on Monday outside a newly opened dental practice, desperately trying to get an appointment with an NHS dentist. Yet week after week, when asked to explain why public services are broken, why workers are striking, or why people can’t make ends meet, our millionaire prime minister reaches for the scapegoat button instead. His shameful dig at trans people on Wednesday, even as the mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey looked on, was beneath contempt. No amount of blaming minoritised social groups for his party’s policies will fix the ruin inflicted by fourteen years of Tory governments. The sooner we get the Tories out of government the better.
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In Parliament
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Labour hosted two Opposition Day Debates this week. The first of these focused on the need to ban zombie knives and review online knife sales. This motion passed without the need for a vote. There is urgent need for a similar consensus on rebuilding the social supports that make communities and young people safer. The second focused on reforming ministerial severance pay. Departing Tory ministers collected almost £1m in severance payments last year, many of them resigning amid the collapse of the Truss government or after being implicated in serious misconduct. Labour tabled a motion to end these golden goodbyes for misconduct, breaches of the ministerial code and incompetence in government.
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On Thursday, MPs debated managerial culture at the Post Office. In the wake of the Horizon scandal, attention is rightly focused on the culture of secrecy and confidentiality, which led to one of the largest miscarriages of justice in our country’s history. The proposed closure of Clapham Common Post Office shows this is an ongoing issue. Despite receiving thousands of objections and petition signatures opposing the loss of this busy branch, the Post Office has decided to steam ahead with these plans. Whilst they won’t admit it, it seems that the main reason this closure is going ahead is to cut costs as executives scrabble around to save costs. As the mismanagement continues, the local community is coming tomorrow morning for a march along Clapham High Street to save our post office. Join us from 10:30am outside Clapham High Street Station.
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An Update on the Clapham Chemical Attack
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One week on, Police are now treating last week’s appalling chemical attack as an attempted murder, motivated by relationship breakdown. In an update issued earlier this evening, they stated that they now believe the suspect to be dead. The woman who was attacked remains in a critical condition and is still too unwell to talk to the police. A fundraiser has been set up by her close family friends. Please consider supporting and sharing as this family looks to recover and rebuild their lives.
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Chairing the APPG on Endometriosis
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It was great to chair the Endometriosis APPG meeting which featured a fantastic presentation from the Endometriosis Foundation. There are 1.5 million women in the UK living with endometriosis. Women with this condition experience pain on a daily basis but often wait years for a diagnosis. This week, we heard the thought-provoking statistic that 1 in every 5 social media mentions of endometriosis concern fertility, which is something this condition can significantly impact. The choice to freeze your eggs as a person with endometriosis is next to none on the NHS. Meanwhile, treatments for erectile dysfunction for 75+ year olds for almost 10 times the price are readily available. We need better resourcing for high-quality endometrisis treatment. Personalised plans for endometriosis need to be the norm, not the exception.
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Giving HIV the Finger: Testing for National HIV Testing Week
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This week marked National HIV Testing Week. To mark the occasion, I took a test in Parliament with the Terrence Higgins Trust. Getting tested for HIV is something I do every year. It’s quick, easy and painless. Anyone can be affected by HIV and it’s so important for everyone to test regularly. If you have HIV, finding out means you can start treatment, stay healthy, and avoid passing the virus onto anyone else. Anyone diagnosed with HIV in the UK can access free treatment and support on the NHS.
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Lambeth Civic Awards
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Congratulations to all the finalists and winners of this week’s Lambeth Civic Awards, which took place on Wednesday evening. It’s so important to celebrate and recognise all the people and organisations working to make our area a better place to live. Particular shout-out to my constituents: St Matthew’s Project (Winner), Streatham Common Co-operative (Runner-up), Jean Kerrigan (Runner-up) and The Friends of Windmill Gardens (Finalist).
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Brixton Local Wins Young MasterChef
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A huge congratulations to Famara Kurang for giving us some good news this week with an amazing Young MasterChef win that does Brixton proud and shows once again that our area is South London’s culinary centre of excellence. His winning meal was a Senegalese entrée, chicken yassa, with a sticky toffee pudding for dessert: a fitting tribute to the African culinary influences of our area.
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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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