I thought I would send my newsletter a little early this month so I could wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and share with you some of my favourite entries to this year’s Christmas Card competition! Starting with this one…
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In some exciting news, I have been appointed the Shadow Minister for Climate Change! I am really looking forward to using this role to champion Labour’s green new deal and hold the government to account over their failure to address the climate and nature emergency. I would also like to thank my old colleagues in Labour’s Shadow Environment team. I have really valued the opportunity to campaign on restoring nature, cleaning up our rivers and building climate change resilience and I will continue to champion these vital issues in my new role.
This month the Government’s Policing Bill and Anti Refugee Bill returned to Parliament. I have been working with colleagues and campaign groups to fight these dangerous and discriminatory bills. You can read more about this below.
I also celebrated two years since I was elected the MP for Sheffield Hallam. In that time I have answered over 20,000 individual enquires from people across Hallam, campaigned for a ban on peatland burning , won important reforms to miscarriage support , tabled a Bill for stronger protections against abuse for front-line workers workers rights and much, much more!
But whilst I have hundreds of ideas of campaigns I want to run in 2022, I was elected to represent the people of Sheffield Hallam – and fight on the issues you all call about. So this year I am sending out a survey, to ask people what issues they want me to raise and campaigns they want me to join. From action on the climate and nature emergency to protecting public services, I want to know where you want me to put my focus in 2022.
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- On Small Business Saturday I visited and spoke to a number of small businesses across Hallam, including Nest cafe in Crosspool; Small Stuff, in Crookes; Banner Cross Post Office and Rising Sun Pub in Fulwood. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we are so lucky to have so many great independent businesses in Hallam. I hope everyone will help support them by shopping locally this Christmas!
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- Ahead of National Postal Workers Day, I thanked all of the brilliant postal workers in Hallam and across Sheffield who have worked day in, day out throughout the pandemic, helping keep us connected. Thank you posties!
- I have written to Stuart Delivery in support of the IWGB couriers’ demands to scrap the 24% pay cut and instead introduce a £6 minimum per delivery, plus mileage. This strike is now the biggest continuous gig economy strike in UK history! If you can, please donate to the strike fund here.
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- Along with local Labour leaders and other Sheffield MPs I wrote to Micheal Gove to request additional regional funding be granted to South Yorkshire, to match that which has been delivered to Cornwall. You can read more and see the letter here.
- We have also written to the Care Minister to urge her to do more to alleviate the staffing pressures currently facing care homes in our region.
- This weekend I joined volunteers on a work day at Loxley cemetery. It was amazing to see the transformation they have made. If you would like to get involved, you can do so here.
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- This week the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentences and Courts Bill returned to the House of Lords. It is a dangerous, discriminatory and authoritarian piece of legislation which effectively marks the end of our right to protest; attacks our right to roam and further criminalises the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community; and extends police powers to stop and search people “without suspicion”, further discriminating against already over-policed communities.
- I know many in my constituency are rightly very worried about the draconian effect of this Bill. I can assure you I have voted against it at every opportunity and I will continue to do everything I can to raise these grave concerns and fight this Bill as it returns to Parliament. I encourage everyone in Sheffield and across the country to sound the alarm about these dangerous plans. You can share my video message here.
- The Government’s Anti Refugee Bill also returned to Parliament this month. Not only does the Bill present a very real attack on our international legal obligations to those fleeing war – it also doubles down on our racist and discriminatory hostile environment at home. I wrote this piece for Sheffield’s Now Then magazine. I also intervened during the debate on the Bill, to call out a Tory MP who disgracefully started talking about terrorism in response to a Labour MP’s speech about the extortionate citizenship fees charged to children born in the UK. You can watch my response here. I also joined hundreds of people in Sheffield City centre over the weekend, to rally against the dangerous Nationalities and Borders Bill.
- I took part in a podcast series, Engineering a Better World, about strengthening climate resilience in the aftermath of COP26. You can listen to the podcast here.
- I showed my support for Justice for Reggie campaigners, who handed in their 108,000 strong petition to the Government calling for stronger regulation of online pet sales.
- I also signed a letter calling on the Government to urgently review the laws governing mutuals, so they are less vulnerable to buyouts and members are properly protected. You can read it here.
- Earlier in the year I wrote to the Government calling for the introduction of paid statutory maternity leave. I am sorry to say that their response was appalling. It shouldn’t be up to employers to decide if workers have the right to paid leave or not and flexible working should never be seen as an adequate alternative to statutory leave. Instead, all employees who have been affected by a miscarriage (including partners and those with a surrogate) must be entitled to a minimum two weeks leave on full pay. I will continue to campaign on this important issue.
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As a Christmas Appeal this year I am asking that donations be made to S6 Foodbank, to help them continue their (sadly) vital work providing food for people this winter:
DONATE
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Please take my short survey, asking people in Hallam what issues they want me to raise and campaigns they want me to join in 2022. And if you can, please also share it with your friends and neighbours!
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Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you would like to share it with your neighbours or friends in Hallam, you can share the sign up link with them here.
As always, please get in touch if there are issues you would like me to raise or campaigns you would like me to get involved with!
And Merry Christmas, see you in 2022!
Olivia Blake
MP for Sheffield Hallam
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