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Dear Friend,
Enough is enough. We must end violence against women and girls
I hope you are well. This week as we mark White Ribbon Day - International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women - and the 16 days of action that follow, we remember all those lost to violence and renew efforts to never remaining silent and continuing our fight for a safer world for our daughters and grandaughters.
As Shadow Minister for Victims, I've spoken to many survivors who've been through the most traumatic experiences imaginable. But the most chilling thing they've told me is that they felt it is easier to stay in an abusive, violent relationship than to leave and deal with the aftermath of going through our broken judicial system. It shouldn't be this way. If we are to eliminate violence against women and girls we cannot continue with a justice system that is indifferent to the victims it's set up to protect and continues to let criminals off the hook.
I will continue to fight for better for survivors and for women and girls everywhere. I hope you'll join me.
If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate get in touch with me on [email protected].
With very best wishes,
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Anna McMorrin MP
Member of Parliament for Cardiff North
Aelod Seneddol dros Ogledd Caerdydd
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Labour News from Heath & Birchgrove
We recently saw a fantastic victory for Julie Sangani – a dedicated, local community champion and Heath and Birchgrove's new Councillor. Welsh Labour ran an incredibly positive campaign, based on what we stand for and crucially, standing on our record of what Welsh Labour is delivering locally across Cardiff and Wales more widely. This result – where for the first time in twenty years Labour has held a second seat in Heath – showed that voters recognised the hard-work of Welsh Labour Cllr Graham Hinchey in the ward and saw the benefit of Labour in power.
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White Ribbon Vigil
Last night to mark White Ribbon Day - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Julie Morgan MS and I held a candlelit vigil in Whitchurch Community Garden. The vigil was a way for people locally to show their strength of feeling on eliminating violence against
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women, to remember those lost to violence and the importance of continuing our efforts to make Cardiff North, Wales and the UK more widely a safe place for women and girls. Thank you to those who came along and for your continued efforts in raising awareness of this important issue.
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Barclays Bank Closure
Barclays Bank have recently announced they will be closing their branch in Whitchurch village in March, which will leave only one other Barclays branch in the whole of Cardiff North. Banks are the heart of our communities and this branch
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in Whitchurch serves around 14,000 people from the village and surrounding areas. We are calling on Barclays Bank to urgently reconsider the closure which will have a detrimental impact on local customers and their access to banking facilities, especially older and more vulnerable community members who may face challenges with online banking. Please sign our petition and add your voice to our calls to Barclays to reconsider their decision.
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Remembrance Sunday Service
It was an honour to lay a wreath on behalf of Cardiff North again during Whitchurch's Remembrance Sunday service. It was warming to see the community finally able to come together to commemorate those who gave their today for our tomorrow.
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Following the service, I also laid wreaths in Llanishen and Lisvane to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us and our country safe.
We remember them.
#LestWeForget.
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Crime in Cardiff North
Many constituents have been in touch with me about a perceived increase in crime in Whitchurch village and other areas in Cardiff North. Most concerning are a series of reports of men trying to get into women's cars whilst they're inside.
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I'm very concerned about this and I want to assure you as Shadow Minister for Victims, I am taking this very seriously. I have contacted South Wales Police for a comprehensive update on the steps being taken to combat this and I will be in touch with an update when I have it. Please continue to report suspicious behaviour and if there's anything I can do, please do not hesitate to let me know.
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Advice Surgery in Lisvane
It was great to be out and about in Lisvane on Friday. Julie and I held a busy, joint advice surgery at Lisvane Memorial Hall where lots of issues were raised that we'll take forward. Please get in touch for the dates of our next advice surgeries.
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After meeting with constituents, Julie and I delivered our Lisvane News to local residents with local updates and on what we've been up to in Parliament and the Senedd.
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In Solidarity with Panasonic Strike
Julie and I stand in solidarity with Cardiff North constituents and GMB Union members striking at Panasonic recently after management withdrew its measly 1% pay increase offer, which is essentially a real-terms pay cut for employees. Julie and I wrote to Panasonic encouraging them to come back to the table with GMB and give workers the pay rise they deserve.
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Gabalfa Primary School Visit
What a lovely morning with Gabalfa Primary talking to a fantastic year 6 class about how Parliament works and what their priorities would be if they were Prime Minister. The children raised lots of important issues - free school meals
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climate change, COP26 and equality and discrimination. They bobbed to ask their question, just like MPs do in the House of Commons! We definitely have some budding elected representatives and community champions here! Thanks for having me!
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Carers Rights Day
Yesterday marked Carers Rights Day - a day to highlight the incredible work unpaid carers across the country do, but also to raise awareness of carers' rights, entitlements and support available. As Minister for Health and Social Care, Julie announced a series of measures yesterday to support unpaid carers and to find out more about your rights, click here.
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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Debate
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Many constituents have contacted me about the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband’s second hunger strike. I spoke in the debate recently to urge the UK Government to finally step up and do everything in its power to bring Nazanin home to her loving family.
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It’s a national scandal that victims of rape and serious sexual assault feel discredited and destroyed, rather than seeing justice delivered. I asked the Minister what steps he would take to restore victims’ faith in a system that was ultimately set up to protect them.
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It was great to be in Glasgow recently for the COP26 climate summit. World leaders came together in the hopes to turn the tide on climate. Some commitments were made, but it's clear world leaders aren't in crisis mode and meaningful climate action will suffer as a consequence.
While in Glasgow, I met with some fantastic activists, including the Youth Climate Ambassadors for Wales as well as representatives of indigenous communities in the Amazon who are being exploited by big oil and deforestation companies. I also marched with hundreds of thousands alongside Size of Wales and former First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones to say loud and clear that we need urgent climate action now.
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As always, please get in touch with your feedback!
Anna
MP for Cardiff North
AS dros Ogledd Caerdydd
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