A happy new year to everyone. I hope many of you enjoyed a break and time with family and loved ones over Christmas and New Year, and managed to avoid catching Covid.  Sadly, I did not and have been unable to be in Parliament for the first two weeks as I self-isolated at home.

Covid, the Omicron variant and vaccine rollout

“I welcome the fact that Ministers have finally woken up to the fact that it was deeply unfair to expect leaseholders to pay tens of thousands of pounds because of the failings caused by weak regulation, often outsourced enforcement and a race to the bottom in building safety practices.  

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2021

Only a year ago, I was writing in my Christmas newsletter that 2020 had been the most extraordinary year for all of us.  I never imagined then that as 2021 draws to a close, we would be entering yet another phase of the Covid pandemic with the new Omicron variant, more necessary measures to keep people safe and the prospect of more heartache. But I know that the compassion and sense of community that people have shown over the past two years will pull us through the challenges that Covid continues to throw at us.

With warnings from scientists and public health experts about the serious threat Omicron poses to public health, and to an NHS which is already “beyond full stretch”, we need much stronger measures to try to control its spread.  

A new Covid variant

UN climate summit, COP26 

This was the most important international summit held in the UK and our best chance of averting climate catastrophe.  To say the final agreement fell short would be an under-statement – it showed nothing like the ambition or urgency required in the face of an escalating crisis.  We urgently need to bring an end to the fossil fuel era, limit global heating and build a better future for all of us. But we won’t do it with the kind of incremental steps taken in Glasgow and each delay makes the task ahead much more difficult.   

The Budget 

Gas crisis 

The crisis in Afghanistan 

Since mid-August, like many other MPs, I’ve spent much of my time trying to help constituents who have close family members trapped in Afghanistan, or who are trapped there themselves.   

Watching the scenes at Kabul airport leaves me with a feeling of grief and anger. 

Grief for the millions of Afghan women and girls, in particular, who were promised a brighter future and the opportunity to learn, to work and to pursue their dreams. 

And anger that the many pledges made to the Afghan people over the past 20 years have been broken, as we abandon them to their fate.