Category: My work

There is an urgent need to help the people fleeing the war in Ukraine and at the same time, to change our unjust borders and immigration policy.  Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine means we are already seeing a predictable flood of refugees.

I am doing all I can to pressure the government to support refugees from Ukraine just as other European nations have done.  We also need to provide safe passage and security for the victims of war from ongoing conflicts around the world, including those in Yemen and Ethiopia.

I am also doing all I can to stop the current and awful Nationality and Borders Bill.  We need to build solidarity across borders and make a stand for dignity and human rights and resist Johnson’s clampdown.

For these reasons, I opposed the Nationality and Borders Bill and I voted against it when it was heard in Parliament on 8 December 2021.  Unfortunately, it was passed by a vote of 298 to 231.  I support removing clause 11 of the Bill and am glad that the House of Lords is putting up an amendment to remove that clause.

I believe that people have a right to claim asylum and that the UK has a moral obligation to ensure there are always safe and legal routes for refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK.   There is huge cross party support and pressure on the Government for the UK to vastly improve on the current paltry number of 800 or so refugees who have been processed so far!

My voice is being added to these demands consistently and you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter for my latest contributions to this very urgent debate.

I have fought my whole political life for the rights of displaced people, asylum seekers and refugees. The right to a decent life is a human right and over the last couple of decades, the number of refugees has skyrocketed because of military, environmental and political crises.

Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine means we are already seeing a predictable flood of refugees.  There is an urgent need to help these desperate people fleeing this war and at the same time, to change our unjust borders and immigration policy.

I am doing all I can to pressure the government to support refugees from Ukraine, just as other European nations have done.  Today in parliament there was much discussion made about the subject and notably, about the mixed messages being sent out from the Government on exactly what assistance is and is not being offered by the Home Office (including in Calais).

Whilst we are at it, we must not forget that there are also victims of war from ongoing conflicts around the world, including those in Yemen and Ethiopia to whom we must also provide safe passage and security.

We need to build solidarity across borders and make a stand for dignity and human rights. Seeing the international public support is also revealing to us the very best of humanity around the world, and that at least is uplifting, and we must match it with political commitment.

I have received a lot of emails from concerned people in Islington North who are observing this horrific situation as it unfolds.

Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine is causing fear, misery, and death. This is a terrible war that is going on and I continue to appeal to everyone to do everything they can to try to stop the war.  Russia must withdraw its troops and return to diplomacy. 

We must remain steadfast in working for long term security arrangements for the whole region, based on the original Budapest memorandum on Security Assurances signed at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference in 1994; and the Minsk-2 Agreement that came out of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine conference in 2014.

In 2008 I asserted that Putin was rigging elections. Then in 2010 I called for a freeze of his assets, followed in 2012 by a call for a Magnitsky Act.  In the same year (2012) I called for the Russian Arms Corps to be banned, and in 2016 I asserted that Putin was guilty of war crimes in Syria.  I continued in this vein in the years since.

All wars end in a political solution, not a military one, and this crisis needs a ceasefire and dialogue, not more war, otherwise there will be more suffering, more bloodshed and many more Ukrainians (and Russians) would die.

A war with Russia would not bring about peace, it would lengthen and widen the crisis, nobody will win, and it would run the very deal danger of turning nuclear, which would be too terrible to even contemplate.

We are currently seeing huge numbers of refugees leaving their homeland in search of safety and we must do everything possible to ensure their safety.

I will remain engaged in whatever way I can for as long as this dreadful situation remains, and for more on my position please see here: https://www.doubledown.news/watch/2022/february/28/jeremy-corbyn-on-putin-and-ukraine?fbclid=IwAR2dOdj-CWN3HkPJIo4aXHxjfuyUODt6kbye4TJbNJqwmVZ_6f-0dYnCtnY

I believe that Channel 4 has made a valuable contribution and should remain publicly owned.

I have been following the Government’s consultation on the ownership of Channel 4, which closed on 14 September 2021.  I always saw this as a prelude to privatisation of the channel.

Then on 20 October the Media Minister Julia Lopez said that the Government is “minded to sell” the broadcaster.

Channel 4 has worked with small independent production companies more than any other broadcaster, having invested £12 billion in them, provided opportunities for employees from underrepresented backgrounds, and contributed to regional broadcasting diversity instead of being just London-centric.

In June I signed EDM 164:
“That this House shares the concern of the National Union of Journalists that the Government is still actively considering the privatisation of Channel Four Television Corporation, a publicly owned but commercially funded company which makes a notable contribution to British broadcasting; notes that Channel 4 is not presently run for profit, but generates revenues to put back into commissioning independent producers to make distinctive content; further notes that the company is required to fulfil a public-service remit, which stipulates it must be innovative and distinctive, stimulate public debate on contemporary issues, reflect cultural diversity of the UK, champion alternative points of view, inspire change in people’s lives and nurture new and existing talent; observes that proposals to privatise the company were considered and rejected just five years ago, with the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport describing the channel as a precious public asset; recalls that the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications report entitled A Privatised Future for Channel Four?, published in July 2016, HL Paper 17, warned that the distinctive quality and contribution of Channel 4 News in particular could be adversely affected by privatisation; considers that any steps towards privatisation would inevitably replace Channel 4’s characteristic public service ethos in favour of the narrow interests of shareholder profit; and therefore calls on the Government to commit to retaining Channel 4 in public hands.”

I do not agree with Government claims that privatisation is financially necessary.  In 2020 Channel 4 reported a pre-tax profit of £74 million, which as a public broadcaster should be reinvested back into its programming rather than being siphoned away to shareholders.

I was elected on a manifesto to “ensure a healthy future for all our public service broadcasters.”  There are many voices who argue that Channel 4 should be reformed, to make it even more democratic and participatory in how it engages the public.  The Media Reform Coalition and others are exploring innovative ways public broadcasters could be transformed with its campaign “The BBC and Beyond.”  I welcome these conversations.

I will continue to oppose any attempts to privatise Channel 4 both within and outside Parliament.

Many constituents have written in to me about a tax on wealth. It’s good to hear from people, and particularly on the issue of a tax on wealth rather than an increase in National Insurance.

Working people should not have to bear the burden of paying for the pandemic, particularly since so many of the most wealthy have done very well out of it.

Taxing working people will only benefit the owners and investors, ie benefit capital rather than the people who do the work to create the wealth in the first place.

The sad thing is that the real economy, that of ordinary people and the businesses that employ and serve them, would be more prosperous if the needs of people were treated as a priority.

I support Richard Burgon ‘s amendment to scrap the Tory National Insurance hikes.  Instead, there should be a Wealth Tax on the super-rich, that is those with assets over £5m.  This sum could fund much-needed investment in our social services, including a National Care Service for all.

I have signed EDM 893 (reprinted here) and will continue to do all I can to create a fairer taxation system for all:

(Richard Burgon) That this House calls on the Government to abandon its regressive plans for a 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance contributions; believes this will add to the cost of living crisis people are already experiencing as a result of big increases in energy bills, high inflation, real-term wage cuts and cuts to universal credit; and calls on the Government to replace the proposed National Insurance increase with taxes on the wealth of the richest one per cent.

For many years I have championed the fight against animal cruelty and have signed countless Early Day Motions (EDMs) opposing practices and actions involving cruelty to animals.  I recognise that animals are sentient beings, just like us.

I was elected on a manifesto with a vision “where no animal is made to suffer unnecessary pain and degradation”, and that committed to recognising animals as sentient.

It is vital that recognition of animal sentience is enshrined in UK law. It saddened me that the Government chose not to recognise animal sentience in 2021 but at least it is now planning to do so.

I voted in favour of the Bill when it came to the Commons on the 18^th January.