The Government’s recent proposals (announced in the Queen’s Speech) for compulsory ID checks at the ballot box could prevent tens of thousands of legitimate voters from having their say. According to the Electoral Reform Society ‘millions of people lack photo ID’, compared to just eight cases of electoral fraud reported […]
Last week the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends to annex the Jordan Valley, as well as Israeli settlements that have themselves been built in breach of the Fourth Geneva convention, if he is returned to office as a result of the current general election. The UN has […]
ASDA workers up and down the country have been told they’ll be sacked unless they sign a new contract that cuts their overtime pay and holiday entitlements. I recently met with one of my constituents who told me that the new contract will end much of the flexibility she and […]
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a British-Iranian woman being held in Tehran and facing terrible human rights abuses. The UK Government seems to have lost any semblance of control over Nazanin’s case, and there is now chaos at a time when she needs competence and determination. That is why I recently co-signed […]
On 9th July I voted to legalise same sex marriage and extend abortion rights in Northern Ireland if the Stormont Assembly has not been reconvened before October 21st. I was delighted that both amendments to the Northern Ireland (executive formation) Bill, tabled by my Labour colleagues Conor McGinn MP and […]
On 20 May, I joined Doreen Lawrence at the launch of the inaugural Stephen Lawrence Day in Parliament. This annual day of remembrance aims to engage young people in Stephen’s story, with a central theme of ‘Live Our Best Life’. You can read more about Stephen Lawrence Day here. Leicester’s […]
I have long supported the GMB and TUC’s Dying to Work campaign to make sure employees with a terminal illness can’t be dismissed because of their condition. I was proud to join MPs in Parliament to celebrate the news that over one million working people throughout the UK are now […]
A recent survey of almost 4,000 private renters by YouGov found that a third of people receiving housing benefit said they hadn’t been able to rent a home due to a “No DSS” policy. The Government’s private landlord survey has found that the biggest reason given for “no DSS” policies […]
On 3 April, I attended a Parliamentary reception organised by Muslim Aid, the East London Mosque and Muslim Council of Britain to honour the victims of the appalling Christchurch attack. At the event, I signed a book of condolences for all those who were killed. I have also added my […]
On 3 April, I asked the Home Secretary to look into the case of my constituent Mr Espedy Alvester Thomas. Mr Thomas came to the UK in the early 1950s and is a British Citizen but has been unable to get a British passport in recent years despite previously having […]
On Friday 29th March I voted against the Government’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement for the third time. The Prime Minister’s Agreement is not what people were promised during the 2016 referendum, it would give us a worse deal than we have now and – far from ‘sorting Brexit’ – it would […]
On Wednesday 27th March, MPs took part in a series of so-called “indicative votes” on different Brexit options to find an alternative to Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement and to break the Brexit deadlock. The House of Commons Speaker selected eight options to be voted on: I voted against the UK […]