Gaza Ceasefire

After 15 months of fighting which claimed tens of thousands of lives, Israel and Hamas have finally agreed a ceasefire. The agreement as negotiated has three stages. In the first six-week phase we expect that both parties will stop fighting. Thirty-three of the hostages will be freed: children, women, those over 50 and the wounded. Palestinian prisoners will be released. Israel will start to redeploy to the edge of the strip. Palestinians will return to what is left of their homes. The Rafah crossing will reopen. Israel will allow 600 truckloads of aid into Gaza each day. On the 16th day, negotiations will begin on the detail of the second phase. In the second six-week phase, the male hostages under 50 will be released. Israel will complete its withdrawal from Gaza, and there will be a permanent ceasefire. Finally, a third phase will see the return of the bodies of any remaining hostages and the lifting of economic restrictions on Gaza.

After months of despair, there is now hope, a glimmer of light in the darkness. The sadness is that, as President Biden said, the elements of this deal were endorsed by the United Nations Security Council last May but tens of thousands have been killed since then. Indeed, over 15 months of conflict, the level of suffering defies belief. Gazans have been trapped in hell on earth—over 46,000 killed, so many children’s lives extinguished, schools, hospitals and homes destroyed, and hunger and disease. Almost 2 million have been forced to flee their homes, with northern Gaza cut off from the rest of the strip. A generation have been scarred by the savagery of war. From day one in office, the Labour Government has pressed for an immediate ceasefire. Now we have one, let us keep it.

Storm Eowyn

Storm Eowyn was the worst storm in Northern Ireland for over a quarter of a century. At its peak 285,000 homes had lost their electricity supply. Scotland was also badly affected as was the Republic of Ireland. I have spent the last few days with Cabinet colleagues making sure that the help that is needed arrives.

Southport

None of us will ever forget the events of 29 July when three little girls – Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King and Alice da Silva Aguiar – were murdered by Axel Rudakubana. There was then terrible and unforgiveable rioting. Their families are in all our hearts and prayers, as are those who survived the attack but live with the physical and emotional scars.

Rudakubana was “a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence” and the Home Secretary has set up an independent public inquiry to look into why, despite several referrals to agencies, he was not identified as the very serious risk he proved to be. Yvette Cooper has also: ordered an end-to-end review of Prevent thresholds, including on Islamist extremism, where referrals have previously been too low, promised stronger measures to tackle knife sales online in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring, and ordered a review of anti-terrorism legislation in light of the modern threats we face.

Rough Sleeping

This government is committed to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. We are facing a homelessness crisis across the country, with record levels that are nothing short of a national disgrace. Because of the cold weather in November, Labour allocated £10m of additional funding to areas with the highest rough sleeping pressures, including Leeds, to support local authorities in their efforts to protect the lives of rough sleepers over the winter. This was then increased by a further £20m to support councils and their partners to prevent and resolve rough sleeping in communities.

Labour’s Plan for Growth

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out Labour’s plans to promote new economic development across the UK. Announcing projects which aim regenerate areas across the country, the Chancellor central message was one of economic growth.

Much of her speech focused on plans to invest in new infrastructure projects, which range from airport expansion, to train lines, and a football stadium. Central to the government’s plans are new developments in the area between Oxford and Cambridge.

Unhealthy Advertising

Like many other diseases, including heart trouble and strokes, there is a higher rate of liver disease in the most deprived communities in South Leeds. On my visit to the Liver Unit at Jimmy’s I learned that they have carried out some research which found that the number of adverts for alcohol and unhealthy food is much higher in the same most deprived communities than they are in the leafy, prosperous suburbs.

Local, Political and Parliamentary Activity

• Represented the UK at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin
• Meeting with the British representative in Brussels
• Meeting with the German Ambassador
• Meeting with the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
• Oral statement in the House of Commons on the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland
• Attended the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh
• National campaign events in Cambridge and Doncaster
• Various meetings on legacy in Northern Ireland and briefing on other Northern Ireland matters.
• Meeting with the Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People
• Visit to the Liver Unit at St James’s Hospital
• Meeting with Professor Shearer West, the new Vice-Chancellor of Leeds University
• Meeting about fundraising and campaigning with CLP officers
• South Leeds Life Column