As #coronavirus cases increase locally (up to 36 cases in #Lambeth as of yesterday), more & more constituents are writing to me to complain that they cannot access testing. 1/6
One constituent writes to say they were sent to Romford to get a #coronavirus test for their child - a 3-hour round trip.
Another explains how he has tried without success to book a test for his wife. 2/6
Key workers are no exception to these issues either.
One teacher reports rising #coronavirus cases in their school among children, with teachers also unable to get a test.
A junior doctor reports they are having to self-isolate because their housemate cannot get tested. 3/6
A family writes to me to say they've been trying to get a test for their 18-month old for three days, only to be told there are no tests available in London.
The issues around testing are becoming more & more frequent with every passing day. 4/6
Watching the failure of the Government's outsourced test & trace system has been like witnessing a slow car crash.
Today, they said it would take weeks to fix, even though we were promised a working system months ago.
With cases rising again, we can’t wait any longer. 5/6
We should move towards a nationally funded, locally led test, track & isolate programme.
The sorry saga surrounding testing is a reminder that privatisation might deliver shareholder profits but it can’t be expected to deliver on important projects that affect everyone. 6/6
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Dear @AlistairMcInto7, I have had enough of your campaign of harassment. If it continues, I will be raising it with the Party and considering other steps to stop it. This kind of conduct is completely unbecoming of a local Labour branch secretary. 1/6
For years now, you have felt it acceptable to troll me in this persistent, excessive and thoughtless manner. As you are a member of my local Party and as someone who does not shy away from criticism, I have let you. But this cannot continue. 2/6
If you’re wondering why I haven’t immediately blocked you, which I fully intend to do, it’s because I want you to see and understand the full extent and scale of what you have done and continue to do. 3/6
The #RefugeeBanBill is a deplorable, illegal & unworkable attempt to rip up the human rights of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
It comes from a Tory Government desperate to divide & distract us during an economic crisis exacerbated by their policies.
🧵
1/21
Instead of offering safe routes to sanctuary in the UK, the Government is attempting to ban asylum and human rights claims from people who have escaped some of the worst horrors in the world and forcibly remove them instead, with sweeping new detention powers pending this.
2/21
It flies in the face of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, drafted in the wake of the Holocaust: “refugees shall not be penalised solely by reason of unlawful entry or because, being in need of refuge and protection, they remain illegally in a country”.
When it was introduced in 1983, this fee was £35 - about £120 in today’s money.
The reason it’s so expensive is because the Home Office is skimming £640 off each application, raking in a staggering £102.7m profit between 2017-2020 alone.
I'll be voting against The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill today.
This is the latest chapter in the attempt to wrest key scrutiny powers away from the judiciary, place British authorities beyond the law, and squash dissent.
A thread 👇🏾
1/8
This Bill would give legal sanction to a host of illegal actions - grave human rights breaches including murder, torture, sexual violence and a rafter of civil liberty violations. 2/8
To list a few covert operations & breaches: the shooting of lawyer Pat Finucaine in Northern Ireland, the SpyCops revelations of undercover officers having sexual relationships (and even children) with activist and the surveillance of left-wing MPs. 3/8