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MY WEEKLY UPDATE

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Dear John,

Over the last week, we have seen Conservative leadership candidates who,
are hoping to replace Boris Johnson as PM, promise more than £330 billion
in giveaways. That’s roughly double the annual budget of the NHS. Sadly,
they haven’t yet found time to explain how they’re paying for it.

These are candidates who have backed and have been a part of the last 12
years of Conservative Governments’ policies which have damaged
Britain’s economy, leading to current low wages and to a huge drop in
living standards. It’s time for a fresh start and a Labour Government.

WORKING WITH NATIONAL EXPRESS TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S SAFETY

Women’s safety on public transport is crucial yet if you speak to any
woman, they will likely have a story about when they have felt unsafe,
vulnerable or worse on public transport. In fact, the West Midlands Police
and Crime Commissioner’s Women’s safety survey, conducted in 2021,
found that 67% of respondents had felt unsafe on a bus, and 43% had felt
unsafe in a taxi. 80% of respondents had expressed feeling unsafe following
incidents such as cat calling, wolf whistling, up skirting or inappropriate
behaviour, 93% did not report this to the police. These are some shocking
statistics. It shouldn't be the case that only 2% of victims go on to
report sexual harassment on public transport.

With this in mind, I was delighted to catch up with Daljit Kalirai from
National Express to discuss the work that is taking place to improve things
on our bus network and hear about some of the measures being put in place.
I was also able to ask about how we can work together with schools to
change perceptions of careers in transport and seek to inspire young girls
into the broad and varied careers available in transport.

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HOME SECRETARY FORCED INTO EMBARRASSING CLIMBDOWN

It took 19 weeks, but finally I have had a response from Government on the
Home Secretary’s inflammatory remarks comparing Sikh groups to far-right
terrorists. Priti Patel didn’t have the decency to respond herself though
and her minister as much as admits she had no evidence to back her claims.

Nearly three months ago I wrote to the Home Secretary to ask her to account
for her remarks in a speech to a US think-tank. I took this up after over
150 Sikh organisations had written with their concerns to Government and
been stonewall ignored.

The Home Secretary’s insinuation that there are British Sikh groups that
pose a threat tantamount to anti-Semitic terrorist orgs was very serious.
As I pointed out, a report on Sikh extremism commissioned and cited by her
own dept suggests otherwise.

The minister’s response puts the record straight and represents an
embarrassing climbdown from the Home Secretary’s rhetoric. He offers no
defence or evidence for her claims, and even admits that the Home Office
doesn’t collect data on Prevent referrals by ethnicity or religion.

Priti Patel should not be waging these divisive political attacks on the
Sikh community with no evidence to back them up. We have already seen what
this can lead to with the West Midlands 3. The Home Secretary should
apologise for her divisive, unevidenced remarks.

MY LETTER AND THE MINISTER'S RESPONSE HERE

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN OUR CONSTITUENCY

In just two weeks' time, our constituency will be playing its part in
hosting the Commonwealth Games. This is an exciting opportunity for
Birmingham and will see the creation of 20,000 jobs, huge investment and
will put the eyes of 1.5 billion people firmly on our city. I am excited to
witness the future legacy of these Games.

Consequently, there will be a temporary impact on residents. With the
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Cricket Ground and many other excellent
venues in the constituency acting as hosts to sporting events and athletes,
there will be some disruption. I will be writing to residents directly who
will see the greatest impact with specific information – if you want to
see in advance how you may be affected, including whether you need to apply
for a Local Access Parking Permit, please follow this link which will
provide you with some of the necessary information
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You can also check out the marathon route that has been designed to allow
as many residents as possible to see a Commonwealth Games event for free.
You can view the route here:
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© 2020 Printed from an email sent by Preet Kaur Gill. Promoted by A.J Webb
on behalf of Preet Kaur Gill, both at 56 Wentworth Road, B17 9TA.
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