Category: My work

It is shocking to learn that the Government has enabled the sale of our GP Practices to a private company that is profit driven. Many of us are rightly concerned about the sale of GP practices and NHS services to Operose, a UK subsidiary of Centene. NHS nurses and doctors have been the backbone of our country during the Covid-19 crisis. Despite high levels of stress, lack of adequate financial support from the current government, and fears around the increasing spread of Covid-19, they have worked hard to keep the country from collapsing.

A profit driven company will be less focused on delivering adequate health services to the public, and more concerned with profits and answering to shareholders. Moreover, Centene has been the subject of several lawsuits in the US, including being found guilty for systematically underpaying doctors who worked for them. This is not the kind of leadership we need running our health services.

Last year we clapped for our NHS, to show our gratitude for their dedication to keep us safe. It is in this spirit I believe that we should support the campaign by We Own It, to stop the sell-of in our NHS – buildings, land, and premises.

Together, we will continue to demand that our NHS remains public owned and free at the point of use.

Fire and Rehire tactics are used by some companies in response to the Covid crisis and I’ve been quite active on the campaign to put a stop to this.

I am opposed to employers using “fire and rehire” tactics to weaken working conditions and to reduce pay. The ability of companies to utilise this device just shows how far workers’ rights have been undermined by deregulation over decades.

Lord John Hendy QC, Chair of the Institute of Employment Rights has argued that the covid-19 crisis has exposed deep systemic failures in the law which is supposed to protect workers and that this “allows the employer to fire and rehire on inferior terms with apparent impunity”.

I supported both the GMB strike action against Centrica, which owns British Gas and the Unite strike action against British Airways over their use of fire and rehire tactics to reduce the pay and conditions of thousands of workers.

I am supporting the Employment (Dismissal and Re-employment) Bill 2019-21, which seeks to stop employers from using “fire and rehire” tactics.

We have a proud history of trade unionism in this country and I fully encourage and support workers organising collectively and am committed to widening and strengthening trade union rights.

I will continue to advocate against “fire and rehire” tactics and push for an expansion of legal rights for workers along with a broad package of financial support to protect jobs in the covid-19 era.

Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP:  Contribution to Council of Europe Debate, 22 April 2021
The Functioning of  Democratic Institutions of Turkey

I welcome the fact that the Council of Europe is debating Turkey, and I compliment John Howell and Thomas Hammarberg for presenting a detailed and balanced report on Turkey.

The role of the Council of Europe is to monitor human rights across all our member states.  Monitoring is not an attack on an individual country, but it is a very important and responsible role that we must fulfil.

The European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights protect our rights:   the rights of assembly;  the rights of religious, press and academic freedoms;  and the right to be a member of a trade union.

I am very concerned about the many issues facing the people of Turkey at the present time and I wish to draw attention to the following.

President Erdogan’s attempt to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention:

This convention was a huge step forward in the protection of women in society.  It is a terrible message when any government tries to withdraw from something that at the outset clearly a huge step forward.  I strongly urge the Turkish government to reconsider that step, and to recommit fully and unequivocally to the Istanbul Convention.

Anyone who believes in free speech must be concerned at the number of journalists who have been imprisoned, apparently for expressing criticism of the government of Turkey.

This is unacceptable and journalists should be able to speak out freely without fear of legal action when they are giving an opinion or telling the truth about a situation.

The closing down of political parties is also of the greatest concern.  The rights of minorities in Turkey must be respected within the terms of the Convention on Human Rights and I draw your attention to the rights of Kurdish people to their linguistic and cultural freedoms as well as political expression.

To reiterate, my words are not an attack on Turkey or its people, but are intended as an act of solidarity on behalf of the people of Turkey.  I would hope the government of Turkey would respect the views put forward in a fraternal matter.

Rt  Jeremy Corbyn MP

Many of you will be fully aware that the Uyghur live mostly in China’s western Xinjiang province and are predominantly Muslim or from a Muslim background. There is evidence that they have lived there for at least several hundred years and possibly even several thousand years.

There have been reports (by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) of Uyghur being held against their will in “re-education” centres by the Chinese Government – possibly even forced contraception and a range of other restrictions.

There appears to be some evidence that internment of predominantly Muslim ethnic groups may have intensified, in particular, after “Regulations on De-extremification” were adopted in March 2017. I believe strongly in the right to freedom of religion or belief, as a fundamental human right, as laid out by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There has been a huge number of sensible and productive questions asked on this subject in Parliament to date and my votes are always consistent with my human rights stance.

I supported a parliamentary motion (EDM) tabled my colleague which mentioned the Uyghurs late last year and include it here:
That this House draws attention to Islamophobia in the UK and worldwide; supports Islamophobia Awareness Month; draws attention to the fact that Rohingya Muslims have been driven out of Myanmar and now seek refuge in Bangladesh; that two mosques were simultaneously attacked in New Zealand in 2019; that Uyghur Muslims are being persecuted in Xinjiang, China; that German Muslims were killed in a far right attack in February 2020; that two women were stabbed in a racially-aggravated attack in Paris in October 2020, in a country that in 2010 banned the wearing of niqab in public spaces; recognises that Islamophobia is prevalent in the UK, with year on year figures for racially or religiously aggravated hate crimes rising by 34 per cent in June 2020; that the UK Government’s Prevent programme is viewed by many to foster discrimination against Muslims; recognises that these incidents together illustrate the global nature of Islamophobia, and are only the most high profile examples of it; believes that the Government must stand up to Islamophobia in the UK and abroad; that it must support those countries and groups that are victims of racism; that it must seek to diversify curriculums in our schools to reflect the lived experience of all pupils, in order to combat racism at as early a stage as is possible; and calls on the Government to investigate the cause of rising hate crime, in order to instigate new policy to tackle it.

I have also raised the subject on a number of occasions both in parliament and on social media. Here is just one reference from a parliamentary contribution to a statement that was made in parliament last month (22nd March):
I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement. I am glad that this Government and others are now taking seriously the treatment of Uyghur people and the violation of their human rights. Will he tell us what action is being taken over the historic profits made by British companies from manufacturing in that part of China? By the same token, will he undertake that the UN requests about the treatment of those being discriminated against—such as the Dalit peoples in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh—will also be included in the advice given to British companies, so that we do not profit from the abuse of human rights in any country around the world? If we do, we put ourselves in further violation of the universal declaration of human rights.

I stood on a manifesto arguing that progressive values should be at the heart of our foreign policy, with a focus on conflict prevention and resolution, human rights and strengthening the rule of international law.

Let there be no question of my remaining active on this and all issues causing suffering to people both within the UK and around the world.

Oceans are of critical importance to life on earth. They are some of our richest and most diverse ecosystems.

I have been increasingly concerned over the years about the many threats to our oceans and the marine life which sustains our whole world ecosystem. We see the damaging effects of the trawling method and the sheer overfishing of our oceans and the threat from global warming. And now we are sad witnesses to the damage done to marine animals and their home because of the unexploded munitions of war.

Clearly, if there are alternatives to igniting the contents of these munitions such as splitting the casing and in effect defusing them or controlling the burn, then this must be done, and I am fully in support of this.

There is already enough of a threat to dolphins, sharks and even whales through by-catch; we don’t want to add to an already sorry state of marine affairs. And the consequences of not properly protecting our marine environment threatens livelihoods in coastal communities that depend on a healthy ocean ecosystem.

A lot of MPs (including myself) signed the motion below since it was laid in December 2020:
The Stop Sea Blasts campaign: Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
That this House recognises the environmental damage brought to marine habitats by detonations of unexploded ordnance at sea; is concerned that marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, are dependent on their auditory system for navigation and communication, and that disruptive detonations can lead to mass-stranding events; notes that is is nearly 10 years to the day since the Kyle of Durness mass-stranding; further notes that low-order deflagration is a safe alternative to clear offshore munitions without a harmful explosion; understands that a BEIS-funded trial has found deflagration is up to several hundred times quieter than detonation; welcomes the calls of the Stop Sea Blasts campaign for regulations to favour the deflagration technique; and urges the Government to progress those issues.

Green/environmental matters are of paramount importance, especially in this year in the lead up to COP26 talks in Glasgow.

A number of constituents have emailed about electric scooters and some have had negative experiences with thes e-scooters, as they are popularly called. Only yesterday whilst in a car I was overtaken by one doing 30mph on the road;  even lesser powered ones go very quickly on pavements.

We need a sensible legal approach to them, and soon.

According to the Government website (Welcome to GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), using a privately owned electric scooter on public land including roads and pavements is illegal.  However there isn’t enough clarity surrounding this new mode of transport that is certain.

It’s been reported that electric scooters offer convenient, cost effective and environmentally friendly ways to get around.  I am in full support of schemes that can help us improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.  Therefore, the onus is on the government to develop and implement legislation that governs the use of electric scooters to ensure other road users and pedestrians are protected.

The Department for Transport have been working with local authorities to run e-scooter rental trials, which are set to run until Autumn 2021.  I support the recommendations provided by the Transport Committee in their Third Report of Session 2019-21.  The report calls for the Department for Transport to create a sensible and regulatory framework for legal e-scooter use.  You can access the report online via the link here:

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2806/documents/27570/default/

I have over the years raised the issue of cyclists on pavements on Seven Sisters with the Police. The scooter issue is serious and dangerous, they are too fast and unlicensed.