Welcome to my regular newsletter, updating constituents on what I have been up to in Parliament and in Sheffield
Last month I was selected to sit on the Energy Bill Committee. This is a committee of cross-party MPs selected to scrutinise the Government’s proposed Energy Bill before it returns to the House of Commons to be debated and voted on.
We have long called for the Government to bring forward the first Energy Bill, so I welcome its arrival. But given the urgency of the cost of living and climate crises we need an all-out sprint for zero carbon power, a proper plan to spread the benefits from this cheap power to lower and middle-income families, and an industrial policy to create good quality, green jobs. This Bill lacks the ambition required to deliver on any of these. Over the last month I have challenged the Government on several issues during debates and tabled several amendments on everything from local renewable energy to climate-wrecking trade agreements. You can read more about my work on this committee below.
I have also been stepping up my campaign for miscarriage care, holding the Home Secretary to account over her cruel rhetoric towards refugees and meeting with young Trans youth from Sheffield and across the country. You can read what else I have been doing below.
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!
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- I was pleased to hear the news that King Edward VII School has now received good in all areas. It is a huge credit to the tireless work of the school leadership, staff, pupils and parents. In light of this, as Sheffield MPs we have written to the Minister to ask that she revoke the academisation order immediately. You can read more here.
- I was lucky to join people from across Crookes for the Big Lunch. Thank you to everyone at Wesley Hall and Eden Project who helped organise the event, provided food and came along. No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than getting to know your community.
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- I also attended the Shepley Spitfire Friendship Lunch. The event was a huge success, and it was really great to meet so many people. I’m already looking forward to the next one!
- I have been continuing to campaign for school building safety, following the incident in my constituency. I wrote a piece for the Sheffield Telegraph about the crisis in our schools, which you can read here. Not only must the government address the school building safety scandal, but this must be part of a fully funded, teacher-led plan to finally end austerity in our schools. On the Public Accounts Committee we are looking in depth at how the DfE are responding to this important issue through our inquiries.
- I sent a message of solidarity to all National Union of Journalist members who took strike action last month. I also co-signed a letter from Yorkshire MPs to BBC boss Tim Davie. BBC bosses must scrap their plans to cut our vital local radio services.
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- It was an absolute pleasure to visit Ughill Farm and find out more about Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust’s work creating a new haven for nature in Hallam. We saw hare, curlew, lapwing, skylark and swift! It was also great to hear about their campaigns and what more I can do to champion nature in Parliament. You can read more about the visit here.
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- The Energy Charter Treaty allows companies to sue governments over taking climate action that hits their profits. Whilst we are still signed up to this treaty, we will not be able to reach net-zero. I tabled an amendment to the Energy Bill, calling for an immediate withdrawal. Despite the Government’s own independent advisors warning yesterday that reform is “insufficient”, the Minister still refused to act. I will continue to push on this until the UK commits to a coordinated withdrawal from this damaging treaty. You can read my speech here. Or listen to a clip of it here.
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- I also tabled an amendment calling for more Government support for community renewable energy projects. Local renewable energy will play an important part in our transition to net-zero, providing good quality jobs and economic growth to our local communities – yet the Government has continually failed to support these projects.
- During the Energy Bill Committee, we forced a number of Government U-turns on important issues, including to give Ofgem Net-Zero remit. The Government have also signed that they are going to scrap their nonsensical Hydrogen Levy.
- The Government’s proposed Hydrogen Levy would add an estimated £118 onto energy bills, pushing even more people into destitution. In the House of Commons I asked the Minister to confirm that this levy will be scrapped, and outline for industry what will replace it. You watch my question, and the Ministers response here.
- Two years ago, after the hard work of campaigners, the Government committed to vital reforms to miscarriage care during my debate in Parliament. I didn’t think it would take this long, or be this hard, but finally it looks like change is coming. As it stands, women are only entitled to support after their third miscarriage and many are forced to suffer in silence. Now, draft Royal College guidance, which has been consulted on, will hopefully mean women can access care after their first miscarriage!
- I am continuing to campaign for more support. Along with campaigner Myleene Klass, we met with the Minister, Maria Caulfield and were assured that the Pregnancy Loss Review, and our demands, would finally be announced within the next month. This would be a huge win for the 1 in 5 women who will experience a miscarriage. I will keep you updated!
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- I am continuing the campaign for a Climate and Ecology Bill. Nature is our best ally in the fight against climate change, and the Climate and Ecology bill is the critical framework we need to halt and reverse nature’s decline before it’s too late. I’ve written this with Caroline Lucas and Wera Hobhouse for World Environment Day.
- I was proud to join MPs to successfully vote down Andrew Bridgen’s dangerous Bill, which would require schools to out pupils who are socially transitioning. Many trans young people have very good reasons for not wanting to come out to their families. According to research by Galop , 43% of Trans people surveyed had experienced higher levels of abuse from a family member or members. It is vital we prioritise the safety of young Trans people.
- I attended an event hosted by my colleague Nadia Whittome and the Mosaic Trust, with young trans people to hear from them about the issues they face, from years-long waiting lists for healthcare to the rising levels of transphobic hate.
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- I also spoke at the TUC LGBT+ Conference about Labour’s commitments to repeal anti trade union laws, ban conversion therapy for LGBT+ people, and give equality reps the same rights as other workplace reps.
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- To mark the overlap of Pride Month and Refugee Week, I wrote about the need to end the detention of asylum seekers and build solidarity. We must connect these struggles and together, to resist the hostile environment in its totality. You can read it here.
- On the day the Rwanda plan was ruled unlawful , I asked the Home Secretary to sit down with a group of Afghan refugees, to explain what she meant by “phoney humanitarianism.” Sadly, she refused. The Home Secretary has no interest in understanding the real experiences of those people she has spent her career demonising. As Chair of the All Party Group on Migration, I will continue to fight the Government’s Rwanda plan, and campaign for alternative, humane approaches that will save lives.
- 186 children are missing after being taken from Home Office hotels yet Ministers only seem to care about people trafficking when they’re attacking refugee rights. I spoke in parliament on planning for the safety of these children and why the government is only making their situation worse.
- Hundreds of victims of the Windrush scandal – who lost their jobs, homes and livelihoods as a result of this Government’s Hostile Environment – are still waiting for compensation. On the 75th anniversary I called for full compensation and justice.
- I spoke during the debate on Rosebank oilfield. The day after the 4th anniversary of the UK setting NetZero in law, and on the morning of the damning CCC report, the Government still refused to rule out opening the new oil. Rosebank won’t reduce bills or ensure energy security. It will only speed up climate catastrophe . You can watch my intervention here.
- I joined steel workers, including from Sheffield, whilst they marched on Parliament to call on the Government to take action to save the steel industry. Domestic steel is vital to reaching net zero, but all we have seen from this Government is a lack of ambition, vision, and political will.
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- During a debate in Parliament, I read some of the harrowing stories that have been shared with me, from young people with eating disorders being restrained inappropriately in non-mental health wards. The Government need to close the loophole, so all restraint is properly monitored – before more harm is done. You can watch my speech here. And read more about the campaign here in my piece for the Yorkshire Post. I was elected as a vice chair of the APPG on Eating disorders and hope to continue to campaign on improving services for both patients and staff.
- I was also re-elected as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on SEND. At our annual general meeting we welcomed the Minister Claire Coutinho to update MPs on the SEND Green paper.
- For Deaf-blind Awareness Week, I sponsored a photo exhibition from Sense charity in Parliament. We must step up our work to build a more inclusive society for the 450,000 people in the UK that are deafblind.
- I voted against the Government’s anti-strikes Bill, which will mean some workers can be fired, simply for exercising their legal right to strike. Rather than attack our right to organise, Ministers should get round the table & ensure all workers are paid a proper wage.
- After a number of constituents got in touch, I attended the Parliamentary drop with a number of groups including Human Rights watch and Friends of the Earth, on the Government’s anti-boycott bill. I also attended the parliamentary drop in for Motor neurone disease and pledged to support people living and affected by Motor neurone disease.
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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!
Olivia Blake
MP for Sheffield Hallam
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