'Heartbreaking loss for so many people': Luton North MP describes an unprecedented year since election

A year ago, when I was knocking on doors in a wet, cold and dark general election, no one could have imagined what 2020 would have been like. The sacrifices people have made, the struggle individuals have faced and the heartbreaking loss for too many people.

Given the pandemic, it’s been harder to see everyone I would want to see face to face.

Zoom is no replacement and I can’t wait to get out meeting people again, at schools, businesses, and on your doorstep as soon as it is safe to do so.

Over the last year, I’ve challenged the government and spoken on many issues that people in Luton have contacted me about – including PPE for healthcare workers, ending rip-off visa fees, protecting manufacturing and airline jobs in Luton, supporting free school meals, Covid funding for Luton businesses

and workers during the pandemic.

We’ve also fought for justice for the Windrush Generation, led calls for student nurses’ debt to be cancelled, worked with Luton & Dunstable Hospital and successfully got Matt Hancock to allow partners into baby scans, and we’ve stood up for students in Luton who had their exam results downgraded.

I’ve called on the Government to scrap Prevent, spoke up for the WASPI women and their pensions rights, highlighted the dangers of SMART motorways, fought for our nurseries to be reimbursed for their Covid costs, got Lutonians home who were stuck abroad, spoke out on human rights issues at home and internationally including Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Kashmir, and I‘ve got support for victims of domestic abuse.

This is just a fraction of what me and the team have been working on this year, in a way we never expected.

I know there is still always more to be done and when I look at the uncaring way Boris Johnson has left our town to fight this virus on our own, I’m more assured than ever that we need a Labour government.

I hope next year will be different in lots of ways and that we continue overcoming the challenges and can embrace brighter times together.

If you want to get in touch, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email at [email protected].