Author: Craig Bayne

See below for Jeremy’s letter to the Home Secretary on the proposed changes to careworkers’ visas.

Many people across our community are rightly angry that a basic human necessity like water has been treated as a cashcow for private shareholders and creditors while our rivers are polluted and our infrastructure crumbles.

The current proposal from Thames Water’s creditors is an insult to every household in the region. To suggest that a company should be allowed to bypass environmental laws and pollute our waterways for another fifteen years, just to protect the profits of lenders, is a clear example of why the current system is fundamentally broken. I have long argued that the privatisation of our water industry has been a multi-billion pound heist. Since 1989, we have seen massive sums extracted in dividends while the public is left with the bill for cleaning up the mess.

In June I asked the Secretary of State, “Would it not be better to bring it [Thames Water] into public ownership and set a share price based on the costs of pollution and on the exorbitant executive pay and bonuses, so that the public as a whole can control their water supply and no longer be left to the vagaries of the private sector, with all the devastation and damage it has caused over the past 30 years?” 

We need a system that puts the environment and public health first, and that means ending the failed experiment of water privatisation once and for all. I will continue to work toward this aim.

See below for Jeremy’s letter to the Foreign Secretary on the situation in Syria.

2025 Christmas and New Years’ Newsletter

It is an honour to represent the people of Islington North in Parliament, and to campaign alongside you for a fairer society. Our People’s Forums have been very effective and I’ve enjoyed interacting with a range of people. The aim has been to create a shared space where everyone’s voice can be heard, and where we can work together to campaign on the issues that matter most to our community: housing, disability rights, pollution, mental health and asylum support. At these forums, we decide the campaigns we will wage together.

I wish everyone a restful Christmas break and a Happy New Year. Thank you to those who are working over the festive period to keep us safe and healthy. I also want to send a special festive message from my alter-ego, the Wizard of Oz-lington (above), whom I had the honour of playing in a local pantomime at Pleasance Theatre. It was a joyful and inclusive production and I was honoured to participate. The real wizardry is local theatre!

EDUCATION

Sadly, two of our schools, St Jude and St Paul’s CofE, and Highbury Quadrant, were closed this year. I am proud to have stood with the wonderful local community that was brought together by parents and staff to oppose the closure. The root cause of falling school rolls is high rents in the private sector pricing people out of Islington. I want to say a huge thank you to the dedicated youth workers for providing a range of after-school activities to young people across the borough. I hope there will be an expansion of youth centres in the future.

SAFETY

This year, many constituents have raised concerns about anti-social behaviour, particularly around Finsbury Park and Archway. I continue to attend regular meetings which bring together council officers, the police, local community leaders, and local businesses to discuss solutions to the long-standing issues we face in the area. I have always stressed the importance of strong connections between the local community, the council and the police, in creating a safer Islington for everyone.

COST OF LIVING

Thank you to the many local community groups and faith organisations who continue to come together in support of those who are struggling with the cost of living. I meet many people at our People’s Forums (below right) struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table.

Foodbanks are a lifeline for so many, and are symptomatic of a society where people are paid too little, yet pay too much in rent. That’s why, in Parliament, I will continue to speak up for an end to austerity, a reversal of privatisation, and a transformation of our broken housing system.

HOUSING

Housing has always been the most pressing issue for my constituents. I have spoken to renters, social housing tenants and leaseholders about the changes they would like made to the housing system. I have challenged housing associations to become more transparent and democratic, and I will continue to advocate for constituents who have been trapped in unsuitable and unaffordable housing. That means campaigning for a massive council-house building programme and rent controls!

OUR NHS

I am delighted that our local maternity ward will remain open and receive significant upgrades to improve care for mothers and babies. This decision follows years of consultation through the NHS North Central London Start Well Programme, and is a huge win for our community, ensuring families continue to receive high-quality care close to home.

I have continued to support healthcare workers on strike (right). They are at the frontline of our campaign to defend a fully-public, fully-funded NHS. Thank you to all the incredible staff at the Whittington whose dedication makes a real difference to the wellbeing of our community.

PEACE

We have continued to demonstrate in support of the Palestinian people. In September, we held our own ‘Gaza Tribunal’, after the government blocked my bill calling for an inquiry into Britain’s involvement in war crimes. We heard from a range of witnesses, experts, lawyers and whistle-blowers in order to uncover the scale of our government’s complicity.

The people of Sudan continue to endure unimaginable suffering. I have spoken up in Parliament about the involvement of the UAE, and why the UK’s continued sale of arms to the UAE is indefensible. We want peace around the world: in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, West Papua and beyond. After years of campaigning, the Chagosssians have won the right to access their homeland in the Indian Ocean, from where they were deported many years ago, overturning a shameful period in British history.

DIVERSITY

I am proud to represent a diverse constituency made up of people from all over the world. There is growing fear among many residents in our borough about recent and planned changes to asylum and immigration policies. I will be holding a series of consultations with people of all communities. Together, we can stand up for an inclusive society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.