 At the Tooting Labour members' meeting tonight I was proud to announce that I wish to re-stand as the Labour MP for Tooting. It has been an absolute privilege to represent the area where I grew up, and I'll stay for as long as Tooting wants me. PS - I support a People's Vote!
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 The family and friends of Cheyon Evans have invited the Tooting family to a vigil and march in his honour. We will meet tomorrow on the green at Deeside Road from 2pm, There will be some words from 2.45pm and the march will commence at 4pm. Let's show his family love in this time of deep sadness. See you there.  "I am heartbroken. Tooting is heartbroken.
To us, Cheyon Evans was a son, a brother, a friend - taken too soon. Taken through senseless violence which could have been avoided if we had adequate policing, proper youth provision and gave our young people a sense of hope." Today I asked the Prime Minister, Teresa May, if she will use her remaining days in office to leave a legacy which will change the paths of our young people, or whether we can expect more of the same. You can watch Mrs May's response here: twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1141320662767812608  The community was shocked to the core by the fatal incident which took place on Friday.
I was out on that night reassuring residents, and tonight I am holding a meeting for people to come and raise their concerns. Thank you to Councillors Graeme Henderson and Paul White for joining us.  My heart goes out to the family of the victim after the absolutely tragic incident in Tooting, where a young man lost his life to knife crime.
I spoke at length with people on the Aboyne Estate tonight and urge anyone with concerns to contact me. I'm here to listen. Sending love to the Tooting family tonight. Read the full story here: news.met.police.uk/news/murder-investigation-launched-in-wandsworth-following-fatal-stabbing-of-teen-372823  As you may know, the Dump the Scales campaign is the work of one of our very own Tooting residents, Hope Virgo.
Following Hope's experience of being turned away from services for not being "thin" enough, the campaign was born. But this didn't happen to just Hope; it happens to hundreds of people weekly across the NHS. Over a million people in the UK have suffered from an eating disorder at some point in their life, but many are not properly diagnosed because they are told by GPs they are not under or overweight enough. Today I signed the open letter urging the Government to revisit the issue and their approach to the management and treatment of eating disorders. You can add your name to the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/eating-disorders-are-not-just-about-weight-dumpthescales  Tonight the UK Women's Parliamentary Football Club (aka the ultimate ladies squad) played their first ever match at Battersea Park. Crawley Old Girls may have got the better of us - it was a 3-2 thriller - but we had the most fabulous time. It was all about incredible women enjoying football, and having fun at the same time. Cross-party, all ages, all abilities, bonding over a love of the game.  I visited the West Bank and Jerusalem recently and spoke on BBC Radio 4 about the cruel and inhumane permit system which means children in hospital can't be accompanied by their parents.
This premature baby's mother had to return to Gaza after giving birth to triplets. Sadly, two of the babies died in hospital. Their parents were told over the phone. Only this week was the mother issued a permit to collect her baby - months after she was ready to go home. To read the full thread: https://twitter.com/i/status/1134377660224888833  The results are in, and tonight for Labour - especially in Wandsworth - it has not been anywhere near good enough. I support a People's Vote. Labour should be an explicitly pro-remain party. If you live in Tooting, I want to hear from you. Tell me why you voted the way you did: drrosena.co.uk/euelections  It was great to be at Smallwood School this morning to see the excellent work they are doing to improve children's reading. I got to revisit some of my favourite childhood books, plus listen to the children read (and talk excitedly about) their favourites.
It's great to hear the plans for their brand new library, and I can't wait to visit then. In other news, there's also talk of a cheerleading workshop - though thankfully I wasn't asked to join in with that. |