Most of my time in the last week has been taken up with work on the Home Affairs Select Committee report into Anti-Semitism. This is a hard hitting report which pulls no punches about the growing problem with anti-Semitism in parts of the UK and in parts of political parties and particularly the far left of the Labour Movement. All the parties come in for criticism but the recent high profile incidents involving Labour Party members suspended for anti-Semitic activity have raised the profile of the problem.
Seeing such incidents in a main steam political party and with a number of Jewish Labour MPs coming in for a torrent of vile abuse, in one case resulting in three prosecutions so far, is not good for our politics or our country generally. It was notable that despite the criticism the report was approved unanimously by all the Conservative, Labour and SNP members of the committee and this added to its weight when I spent most of my Sunday touring the media studios to be questioned on it, you can see my appearance on the Andrew Marr Show here: https://youtu.be/m0ZF-i3guIU. You can find the full report on the Home Affairs Select Committee website, here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/136/13602.htm
What with the latest revelations on the historic sex abuse inquiry which also comes under the remit of the Home Affairs Select Committee which I have been chairing on an interim basis it has certainly been an action packed chairmanship. I was sad to hand over the reins to a new permanent chair this week as it is a Labour designated committee but I remain a member of the Committee.
I was very pleased to have been able to take part in a very emotional and well-informed debate on baby loss last week where colleagues across all parties spoke movingly about their own experiences. I used the opportunity to resurrect by Stillbirth Registration Bill based on the experiences of one of my constituents who tragically lost a baby before the 24week threshold and is therefore not recognised by the state only adding to the heartache of parents who have lost a child in such tragic circumstances. I am pleased to report the new health minister pledged to look at it again. You can see my speech here: https://youtu.be/Z3LUXwHyiWg
This week I also joined parliamentary colleagues from West Sussex and local head teachers ramping up the campaign for fairer funding of our schools with the handing in of a petition at Number 10 and we also held a meeting with Schools’ Minister Nick Gibb, to be followed up by a further session with Justine Greening shortly I have recorded a podcast, which you can see here: https://youtu.be/9UUv_bAy0tU