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At the end of May I visited South Africa with Shadow Africa
Minister Liz McInnes to renew Labour’s relationship with our
sister party the African National Congress. This was the first
senior Labour Party visit to South Africa since 2008, and it
came at a very pivotal time as the leaders of both South
Africa and neighbouring Zimbabwe have recently been
replaced.
At the South African Parliament in Cape Town I had the
pleasure of meeting the Speaker Baleka Mbete, Chief Whip
Jackson Mthembu and other leading figures in our the ruling
ANC. We discussed their optimistic visions of South Africa
under the new President Ramaphosa. Our ANC colleagues
made it clear that they want South Africa to return to the
world stage, by pursuing a temporary seat on the UN
Security Council, and using the country’s position on the UN
Human Rights Council to promote a vision of international
human rights inherited from Nelson Mandela.
In addition to political meetings, I visited charity workers
who gave me an insight into the challenges South African
society is facing. In Cape Town I visited projects run by
Masicorp, an NGO which provides early years support,
education programmes, and vocational courses in the
Masiphumelele Township. In Johannesburg I took part in a
discussion on urban design and social justice with the
Nelson Mandela Foundation. The campaigners gave me an
insight into the stark realities of segregation, political
disenfranchisement, and lack of basic utilities which many
poor South Africans face, particularly those who live in urban
informal settlements. I came away from my trip feeling that
while there are many challenges still facing South Africa, the
change in leadership has given the country a renewed
determination to bring about social and political progress.
We have offered the ANC the Labour Party’s assistance.
Constituency Report (June 2018)
Visit to South Africa
Baleka Mbete and Jackson Mthembu,
28th May
Albi Sachs, 27th May
Meeting ANC Parliamentarians, 28th
May
South Africa Meetings
27th May
Albi Sachs, anti-apartheid activist and former
Constitutional Court judge
28th May
Richard Calland, political analyst
Chris Nissen, Commissioner, South African Human
Rights Commission
Lawson Naidoo, constitutional rights campaigner
and a leader of the Save South Africa campaign
Beatie Hofmeyr, National Manager of the
Education and Training Unit for Development and
Democracy
29th May
Carol Hanks, Milli Firth, and Fiona Maitland,
Directors of Masicorp
ANC Parliamentarians Hon Masango, Hon Boroto,
Hon Maloyi, Hon Carrim, Hon Fubbs, and Hon
Makue
Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, South African
Ambassador to the United States 2010-2015
30th May
Ben Llewellyn-Jones, British Deputy High
Commissioner to South Africa
Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Associate Professor and
Director of Research at the Wits Reproductive
Health and HIV Institute
31st May
Professor William Gumede – Associate Professor,
School of Governance at Wits University, Executive
Chairperson of Democracy Works Foundation
Febe Potgieter-Gqubule, ANC elections general
manager
Donovan Cloete, ANC Head of Communications
Dr Showers Mawowa, from the South Africa
Liaison Office
Gabriel Shumba, Advocate of the High Court of
South Africa
Dr Clever Chikwanda, former Southern African
Development Community Secretariat
Professors Toni Griffin, David Harvey, Edgar
Pieterse, Nelson Mandela Foundation
Mandisa Dyanti, Deputy General Secretary of the
Social Justice Coalition
1st June
Sir Nigel Casey, British High Commissioner to
South Africa
Sacred Heart College Students, with Liliesleaf
Trust
Trevor Manuel, Former Finance Minister
Maria Ramos, CEO Absa Group
Students from Sacred Heart College,
with Liz McInnes MP, 1st Jun
Visiting a Masicorp project,29th May
Standing up for my constituent Shao Jiang
In May I lead for Labour in a debate about the British
government’s decision to abstain from a UN vote on
whether to conduct an independent investigation into the
horrendous violence in Gaza.
This government’s dereliction of duty on the world stage
is part of a worrying trend of letting those countries it
considers allies get away with rampant breaches of
international law. From Saudi war crimes in Yemen to
allegations of torture in Bahraini prisons, this
government continually allows allies to act with impunity.
Calling for Israel to investigate itself in this matter, as the
government has done, makes a mockery of international
law and the international community more widely.
Yemen APPG Report Launch
On the 22nd of May I had the privilege of being the
keynote speaker at the All Party Parliamentary Group for
Yemen’s report launch.
The war in Yemen has had a devastating impact on the
local population, with the air and naval blockade resulting
in severe food shortages and rampant cholera amongst
the civilian population. I was pleased to see that this
report has echoed so much of what I have been saying in
the chamber over the past few years.
The recommendations of this report highlight the steps
our government must take to help alleviate the suffering
of Yemeni civilians. In particular, the Tory government
must urgently support a ceasefire in the port city of
Hodeidah, where almost 600,000 civilians still live.
On the 14th of June I spoke at City University’s Women on
Air conference. This conference celebrates women in
broadcasting and acts as a forum to discuss how best to
increase women’s voices in the media.
I noted in my speech that in broadcasting, like in
Parliament, progress in gender equality is measured in
decades rather than years. One survey found that for every
woman interviewed on a broadcast UK news programme,
ten men were interviewed.
Despite this gross imbalance in coverage my female Labour
colleagues and I continue to argue our case in print, on the
radio, and on television, and we will not be shouted down.
Women on Air Conference
Cally Festival, 17th Jun
Urgent Question on Gaza
Urgent Question on Gaza, 22nd May
Yemen APPG Report Launch, 22nd May
In the constituency and out campaigning
18th May: Islington Square site visit
23rd May: East Worthing and Shoreham CLP
Fundraiser
6th Jun: Trade Unions Congress 150th
Anniversary Reception
13th Jun: Safe Passage Parliamentary lobby
15th Jun: Islington Housing Strategy meeting
with Cllr Richard Watts and Jeremy Corbyn
15th Jun: Farringdon Station Crossrail Open
Day
17th Jun: Cally Festival
17th Jun: North London Prabhati Sangha
(NLPS) Boishakhi
19th Jun: Commemoration of Finsbury Park
Mosque Attack at Islington Town Hall
Foreign affairs meetings and work in parliament
16th May: Toni Pearce, Oxfam Head of
Government Relations
17th May: Dr Waqar Azmi, Chair of Remembering
Srebrenica
17th May: Working Lunch hosted by Italian
Ambassador
18th May: Lord Paul Boateng
18th May: Ms Nomatemba Tambo, South African
High Commissioner
21st May: Brownen Maddox, Director of Institute
for Government
21st May: Urgent Question on Gaza UN Vote
Abstention
22nd May: Yemen APPG Report Launch
23rd May: Julian Weinberg, Forward Thinking
23rd May: John Battersby, Director of South Africa
Chamber of Commerce UK
24th May: Visit to US Embassy
24th May: Lee Cheuk Yan, Vice Chairman Hong
Kong Labour Party
24th May: Mrs. Jutta Urpilainen, Finland’s Foreign
Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation
24th May—3rd Jun: South Africa Visit
6th Jun: Cycling APPG MPs Bike Ride
6th Jun: Jamie Angus, Director of BBC World
Service
6th Jun: Nuclear Test Veterans campaign event
7th Jun: Roundtable with Cyprus High
Commissioner
12th Jun: Shadow Foreign Office team meeting
with Jeremy Corbyn
18th Jun: Iranian Ambassador, with Jeremy Corbyn
19th Jun: Jamie McGoldrick, oPt Humanitarian
Coordinator for the UN
19th Jun: Reprieve with Shami Chakrabarti
Media appearances have included…
13th Jun: Newsnight
14th Jun: City University Women on Air conference
17th Jun: Andrew Marr Show
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA [email protected] 020 7697 9307 (2-5pm on Mon, Tues, Thurs)
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