Campaigns

Over a decade of Conservative cuts to the NHS has left our local services on their knees. In Dagenham & Rainham we are told that poor health outcomes are inevitable. It doesn’t have to be this way. The NHS needs a restructure to make it fit for the 21st Century which is why I support Labour’s plan for a National Care Service, finally bridging the gap between health and social care to support people from the cradle to the grave.

Over a decade of Tory cuts have left us with a skeleton police force and a broken system, but it doesn’t have to be this way. The MET structure needs an overhaul and I believe a multi-agency approach is the only way we will tackle violent crime. After 4 years on Cabinet, I know the odds are stacked against working class people when tragedies happen, which is why I champion Andy Burnham’s ‘Hillsborough Law’ – which seeks to give fairer legal aid rebalancing the system for ordinary people.

Job security must be addressed. The Tories have allowed their friends in big business to water down hard-fought workers’ rights and terms and conditions, undermining the trade union movement and driving people into poverty. We need a ban on ‘Fire and rehire’, a reversal of the Trade Union Bill, work that pays a true living wage, and we need investment to get Britain firing on all cylinders to create thousands of regional apprenticeships and skilled, meaningful work where people live.

Council homes at traditional social rent on secure tenancies should be the foundation of any plan to build our way out of the housing crisis. Council housing used to be celebrated now, 100 years after the Becontree Estate was built, it is sneered at by the Tories and only dreamed of by families looking for security. Housebuilding in the 21st Century must be more than a 1920s revival though; it must be about creating sustainable communities with the infrastructure to support resident’s needs.

The Tories ARE the cost-of-living crisis and only Labour can deliver the change people in areas like Dagenham & Rainham need. Homes must be retrofitted to save families money on their bills, energy firms must be held to account, wages must rise in line with inflation, and I believe that all children should receive free school meals. Not only this, but the extortionate energy meter system many residents rely on is outdated and needs replacing with a better option for people on a low income.