2012 is an incredibly important year for the country, but more so for Tottenham. As the constituency continues to rebuild after last summer’s riots and the cuts to public services begin to hit home, holding this government to account is more important than ever. My priorities for this year are simple (please click on each link to find out more):

1. Secure the money and jobs we need to regenerate Tottenham [link]
2. Making sure the victims in the riots get every help they need to get back on their feet [link]
3. Calling for a change in the law to stop betting shops taking over our High Streets [link]
4. Demanding reforms of the Police and the IPCC following the death of Mark Duggan [link]
5. Campaigning to keep services for old and young alike [link]

The above will never be a complete list. As ever, there will be issues that are not mentioned below that will take on importance at points during the year. However, the five points below are the key issues that I will be campaigning on over the next while.

1. Secure the money and jobs we need to regenerate Tottenham

The riots were devastating for our community and our spirit. But the salt in the wound is unemployment. Tottenham has consistently had one of the highest rates on unemployment in London and the UK. There are over 30 job seekers for every full time vacancy in Tottenham, one of the highest rates in the country. The widespread worklessness and deprivation that plagues parts of Tottenham need to be sorted.

Last year, I worked hard to secure the regeneration that Tottenham needs to grow:

• I fought hard  to keep the largest private sector employer, Tottenham Hotspur, from leaving and I am now working [link] to secure the redevelopment of White Hart Lane that could lever as much as £1 billion investment into Tottenham [link].
• I have been engaging government ministers and the Mayor of London to secure a more substantial fund to regenerate Tottenham after the riots, including moving government offices to Tottenham as a way of bringing new jobs to the area [link]
• I have also been critical of the government’s cuts to public services [link] that has seen the number of unemployed in Tottenham increase by more than most in London.
• I have been asking questions of the Prime Minister about his government’s much-heralded work programme and why it won’t create jobs in places like Tottenham.

This year, my commitment to bringing jobs and investment to Tottenham will be unwavering.

• I will be doing all that I can to remove the remaining roadblocks for the development of White Hart Lane to go ahead.
• I will be lobbying the Cabinet Office to relocate government departments to Tottenham as a means of boosting employment.
• I will also continue to scrutinise the government’s plans to tackle unemployment.

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2. Making sure the victims in the riots get every help they need to get back on their feet

The riots continue to have a devastating impact on our community, long after the debris has been cleared away. Businesses in Tottenham have been severely impacted and continue to lose trade. Residents who lost their homes are years away from being able to move back in. Both residents and businesses are being hampered by insurance firms and loss adjustors who have been cumbersome in processing claims and the Metropolitan Police and the government have yet to payout any money under the Riot Claims Act.

After the riots, my priority has always been to ensure that the innocent victims of the riots get the compensation and the support that they deserve.

• My office has been in constant contact with those affected and I have made several representations to banks and insurance firms to secure payment holidays on mortgages or expediting claims [link].
• I have also called out the insurance companies and loss adjustors who have not helped my constituents adequately enough to shame them into doing better [link].
• I have made sure that the voice of the victims of the riots are heard by inviting constituents to appear in front of Commons Select Committees so that their stories are heard and on the Parliamentary record [link].

My priorities for the next year are to continue to provide support for the victims to ensure they receive the compensation and support that they deserve:

• My office will continue to be their first port of call for any difficulties they experience.
• I will be applying for Parliamentary time to highlight the failures of loss adjustors and the insurance industry in their dealing with my constituents who were affected by the riots.
• I will also seek changes to the Riot Damages Act so that those affected receive quicker payouts than they did after last year’s riots.

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• I tabled an amendment to the Localism Bill to make it compulsory for all new betting shops to have to apply for planning permission before they can open (at present, in most cases they don’t have to). This was supported by over 200 Labour, Green and Northern Irish MPs but was voted down by Liberal Democrat and Conservatives [link].
• I have led a campaign to highlight the loopholes that current legislation affords to bookmakers to expand and takeover high streets without any scrutiny or accountability [link].
• I have raised the profile of the issue in several newspaper articles [link] [link] [link].
• I have held several meetings with Ministers to persuade them of the cause and successfully lobbied for a change in legislation be included in the 2010 Labour Manifesto [link].
• The campaign has now been endorsed by Ken Livingstone [link] and the Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, Harriet Harman [link].
• The Mayor of London now also agrees that something must change [link] and an independent review by Mary Portas [link] also highlights the problem of betting shop saturation in her independent review.

This year:

• I will continue to press for a change in the planning class of betting shops so that every new betting shop has to be accompanied by a successful planning application.

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4. Demanding reforms of the Police and the IPCC following the death of Mark Duggan

There can be no excuse for the rioting and the untold damage it has done to the Tottenham community and its name, but that should not mean we should not ignore the events that triggered them. The death of Mark Duggan was a tragedy and the truth about what happened that evening needs to come out, not just for the sake of his family but so that relations and trust between the Police and the Tottenham community can move on and rebuild.

Last year I was in constant conversation with the Police and the IPCC:

• I have met commissioners from the IPCC on several occasions to discuss the Duggan investigation as well as their general performance as the Police watchdog.
• I have met with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and several of his deputies, including the directorate for professional standards and the head of all firearms units at the service to discuss their future response to deaths following Police contact.
• In Parliament, I have highlighted how the IPCC should be reformed in the first ever debate about the Police watchdog since its creation [link] as well as writing to the Home Secretary to highlight this [link].
• I have highlighted the issues stop and search and the Black community in both Parliament and on national television.
• I have also been in contact with Duggan family and their lawyer to provide any assistance I can throughout the case as well as attending the initial hearing of the inquiry into his death.

This year:

• I will continue to press for reforms of the IPCC and the Police.
• I want to build on some very positive conversations with the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner around new guidelines for stop and search as well as schemes to increase the number of Black and Black British Police Officers.
• I will continue to press the Home Secretary for a full review into the procedure of the IPCC in the wake of deaths following police contact as well as reviewing the powers of the IPCC to prosecute.
• I will continue to monitor the outcomes of the Duggan inquest.

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5. Campaigning to keep services for old and young alike

A society should be judged how it treats oldest people and how it brings up its young. Last year:

• I campaigned against the closure of day centres and luncheon clubs in Tottenham that served as a community hub for our older citizens [link] and we were successful in securing a u-turn on the closures [link].
• I also lobbied the council to reverse their cuts to youth services [links] and am currently campaigning with parents, teachers and governors against the imposition of academy status on Downhills Primary school [link].

This year:

• I will continue to campaign against the forced academy status of Downhills Primary School – I have already spoken at a public meeting [link] and I have brought this debate to Parliament [link].
• I will continue to make representations to Haringey Council and the government to find a way of re-establishing funding for youth services.

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