MP for Norwich South “The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently” - David Graeber
United Kingdom
Joined May 2009
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Mainstream is serious about winning a democratic socialist future
We stand for the redistribution of power and wealth, the defence of human rights dignity at home and abroad, the creation of a new political economy & much more.
Find out more here:
mainstreamlabour.org/
Today Israeli authorities barred me and other European elected representatives from entering the West Bank to meet Palestinian students and civil society leaders, as part of a @ProgIntl delegation.
We knew that by crossing into the occupied Palestinian territories, we risked being detained, interrogated and turned away by Israeli authorities. And that, alas, is exactly what happened.
For more than eight hours, we were held, interrogated and made to feel as though we had done something wrong simply by attempting to enter.
The simple truth is we had done nothing wrong. We went to show our support for the Palestinian people and highlight the terrible injustice and violence being perpetrated against them. We want to ensure that people back home do not look away from the reality of what is happening.
Ultimately, we went to show solidarity. But we left with an even greater determination to speak out. We will not be silenced, and we will not look away. None of us should.
Full press release from @ProgIntl here:
Israel bars European legislators and international delegation from West Bank as attacks on Palestinian olive harvest escalate:
Israeli authorities today (Monday 26 October) barred European legislators from entering the occupied West Bank via Jordan to meet Palestinian students and civil society leaders at Birzeit University and accompany Palestinian farmers facing escalating Israeli settler violence during the olive harvest.
The delegation was also due to participate in the Progressive International's Second Ramallah Congress.
Those denied entry at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge crossing from Jordan include:
Clive Lewis MP, Labour Party
Lara Bird MP, Scottish National Party
Kate Nevins MSP, Scottish Green Party
Josu Estarrona Elizondo, EH Bildu member of the Senate of Spain
Sam Tarry, former Labour MP
The Congress, organised by the Progressive International in partnership with Birzeit University, includes a programme of meetings with Palestinian academics, students and civil society organisations. On 31 October, delegates were due to join the olive harvest at Qamar Al-Balad Farm in Farkha, near Salfit.
The exclusions come amid mounting attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters and international observers. On 16 October, Israeli settlers assaulted American photojournalist Heidi Levine. The following day, settlers attacked European diplomats and a French mayor accompanying Palestinian farmers. On 21 October, Israeli forces detained around 80 olive-harvest volunteers, including US congressional candidate Brad Lander.
Earlier this month, Israeli media reported that Defence Minister Israel Katz had instructed officials to pursue exclusion orders against activists accompanying Palestinian olive harvesters.
Major banks have made tens of billions in additional profits as interest rates have risen in recent years.
At the same time, millions of people are facing higher mortgage payments, rising rents and ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
There is a clear opportunity for the Government to tax bank windfall profits and raise up to £15 billion each year for our public services.
That's why I've signed @RichardBurgon's motion, calling on the Government to introduce a tax on bank windfall profits ahead of next week's Budget.
A massive data centre is currently seeking planning permission in Keswick, Norfolk. Whilst it’s outside of Norwich South, hundreds of my constituents have reached out to me expressing their opposition to the proposal. I share their concerns.
Stacking a 20-metre building across 32 acres is far too big for a rural entrance to the city, right on the edge of Marston Marsh. The constant noise, heat, and lighting threaten protected wildlife areas and nearby marshlands.
I also agree with my South Norfolk colleague Ben Goldsborough MP about the potential heat island effect. A site this large risks raising local temperatures, causing damage that cannot be fixed or offset, so it mustn't be allowed to go ahead.
Data centres are part of modern life. But that doesn’t mean developers should get a free hand. Any major proposal needs plain, transparent answers on water use, power demand, true company ownership, and realistic claims about future impacts.
Planning authorities must properly consider solid grounds for refusal, from water shortages to the impact on local school children, and push for direct community investment in jobs and skills. I urge South Norfolk Council to do so here.
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
On Peston last night, I was asked for my small idea for improving the country, as part of @MartinSLewis's initiative.
My answer? Real Norfolk accents on TV and Film!
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
You can tell the Prime Minister yourself that public ownership is the only solution for our water by co-signing my open letter: actionnetwork.org/petitions/…
On Tuesday, MPs held an evidence session into alternative forms of ownership for water.
This wouldn’t have happened without the groundswell of support for public ownership. The pressure this has created has pushed the debate on from whether we replace the current privatised mess, to how we replace it.
Off the back of this, I and 30 other Labour MPs have called on the Prime Minister to make public ownership the ultimate goal for water in his 10-year plan, and commit to a feasibility study that sets out how we get there.
This government can be the one that fixes water for good - but only if it commits to full public ownership.
Read more here: inews.co.uk/news/burnhams-pl…
You can tell the Prime Minister yourself that public ownership is the only solution for our water by co-signing my open letter: actionnetwork.org/petitions/…
On Peston last night, I was asked for my small idea for improving the country, as part of @MartinSLewis's initiative.
My answer? Real Norfolk accents on TV and Film!
I’m fine with this - because we all know workers are one of the main ‘creators’ of wealth.
The real problem are the wealth hoarders.
Time to get redistributing.
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
I’ve co-signed @labourlewis letter to Andy Burnham calling for public ownership of water.
We already have ‘public control’. It's failed. £85bn+ extracted by shareholders, sewage in our rivers, bills going up.
Now we need public ownership. Add your name: actionnetwork.org/petitions/…
@CliveWismayer
@SangitaMyska
@buddy_hell
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
“These people are workers as well, they have rights too”
Labour MP @labourlewis responds to Shabana Mahmood’s plans to increase the period before foreign workers can claim indefinite leave to remain from five to 15 years
#Peston
1/2 It has been 8 years since the Government apologised for the treatment of people caught up in the Windrush scandal.
Yet for many survivors, the long and complicated process to secure compensation means their struggle for justice is not yet over.
Legal support can mean the difference between justice being served and denied. One claimant initially received nothing. With legal support, they were offered more than £80,000 in compensation.
That’s why I’ve signed this letter calling on the Home Office to deliver on its commitment to the survivors and fund independent legal advice for applicants to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
Andy, we know just the policy prescription: public ownership. 😉
Water run for the people who pay the bills. Democratic accountability. Money reinvested in fixing pipes and cleaning rivers.
Happy to pop round with the notes. Some of us have kept them handy.
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
IT'S A SELLOUT So we've almost doubled size of venue for 'New Model Economy' feat @AndrewSimms_uk Ann Pettifor @CatHobbs @danielagabor @labourlewis @ProfKEPickett
Presented by @LewesLabour Lewes Area Branch in association with @ASLEFunion
BOOK NOW! eventbrite.com/e/new-model-e…
Andy, we know just the policy prescription: public ownership. 😉
Water run for the people who pay the bills. Democratic accountability. Money reinvested in fixing pipes and cleaning rivers.
Happy to pop round with the notes. Some of us have kept them handy.
I recently called on the government to expand the Healthy Start benefit for low income families.
In response, the Minister tells me that the department is “considering whether Healthy Start should be made permanently available to households subject to no recourse to public funds.”
This is encouraging news. Expanding this support would be a small step towards helping build Britain's resilience and ensure that nobody is priced out of healthy food.
I’ll continue to keep pressure up to make sure “consideration” becomes action.
With food prices continuing to rise, it is more important than ever to take a strategic approach to food policy.
A resilient food system is not just one that produces enough food. It is one that ensures everyone can afford a healthy diet, even when climate and economic shocks put pressure on household budgets.
Expanding Healthy Start would be a practical and effective first step.
That's why I've written to the Health Secretary, calling for Healthy Start to be strengthened and expanded, helping to build Britain's resilience and ensure that nobody is priced out of healthy food.
@UKSustain
Clive Lewis MP retweeted
Peter will be relived.
Paul much less so.
The wealthy will still be laughing at all of us.
