🌱  Last week I was appointed the Shadow Minister for Nature, Water and Flooding. I am very pleased to be joining the Shadow Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) team. We urgently need to tackle the nature and ecological emergency and I can’t wait to work with my colleagues in the Shadow DEFRA team to draft Labour’s ambitious and bold policy on nature recovery. 

🚨 In my new role as Shadow Minister for Nature, and as MP for Hallam, I am calling for a Nature Emergency Summit for Sheffield. We’re living through a climate and ecological emergency which affects everyone. Together we must reverse the emergency and recover and restore our natural environment. 

🏞️ This week the Environment Bill returned to Parliament. As it stands the Bill is not fit for purpose and will fail to tackle the climate and ecological crisis we are facing. Labour tabled five amendments to the Bill to make it fit for purpose. I was particularly proud to sponsor an amendment calling on the Government to ban the burning of all upland peat. 

✈️ I have also been speaking out about the potential dangers of a zero tariff trade deal with Australia, which will put local farmers out of business and only increase emissions from imported food. We should be working to create a localised, green food system, which ensures everyone has enough food. The Government’s trade deal looks set to do the exact opposite. 

🏥 I have tabled a Parliamentary Motion calling on the Government to recognise the efforts of social care staff through specific funding to provide mental health support for this group, and provide an urgent fair and long-term funding settlement. 

💰 I attended an insightful and moving round table with Epilepsy Society, discussing the urgent need for more funding into research for AEDs in Pregnancy. You can join the campaign and sign the petition here.

💬 I also attended a Q&A with year 12 students at the start of the week, and was asked about a range of important topics including the climate crisis and the situation in Palestine. 

🚗  I met with Deliveroo bosses to share my concerns about their treatment of workers in my constituency and across the country. I will continue to press them to improve workers’ conditions and contracts, and for an end to precarious work.

✊ After a constituent got in touch to tell me about their work, I met with Refugee Tales, who call for an end to indefinite immigration detention in the UK through sharing the stories of people who have experienced detention. I am really looking forward to working with them on their Walking Inquiry! You can get involved here. 

🗣️This week I also spoke during the debate on the Government’s Obesity Strategy and urged the Government to rethink their overemphasis on calorie-based diets, which will only worsen the rising epidemic of eating disorders and likely do little to improve people’s health. 

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