October has been a busy month, with Labour on the London Assembly challenging the mayor over cuts to emergency services in London
I've questioned the mayor about what he's doing to tackle the appalling scandal of homeless families housed for months in overcrowded bed & breakfast accommodation. I've also urged him to make representations to the Education Secretary Michael Gove on behalf of the thousands of young Londoners affected by the unfair and arbitrary change in GCSE English grade boundaries. You can read more about this in my report below.
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Best wishes,
Tom Copley AM
LabourLondon
Labour
PS – you can keep up to date with the work I’m doing on the Assembly and around London
October Report contents:
Rising homelessness: the appalling scandal of families housed in overcrowded bed & breakfast accommodation
Standing up for young Londoners affected by unfair GCSE English grade boundary changes
Challenging the Tory austerity agenda
Tory support for gay rights is a victory for Labour
Rising homelessness: the appalling scandal of families housed in overcrowded bed & breakfast accommodation
In a shocking report, the BBC's Newsnight revealed the scandal of homeless families housed for months on end in overcrowded bed & breakfast accommodation, in breach of regulations. At October's Mayor's Question Time I asked Boris Johnson what he is doing to work with boroughs and the government to tackle this problem.
The mayor admitted that the Tory-led government's housing benefit changes had undoubtedly made an impact and admitted that the problem had increased this year.
Standing up for young Londoners affected by unfair GCSE English grade boundary changes
The London Assembly has called on the mayor to intervene with Michael Gove on behalf of young Londoners affected by Ofqual's unfair and arbitrary last minute decision to change the GCSE English C/D grade boundary. The mid-year decision has meant students who took their exam later in the year were marked more harshly than their peers who took the exam early, with thousands losing out on a vital C grade as a result.
The mayor has asked the government for powers over education in London
Challenging the Tory austerity agenda
The London Assembly has backed a motion in support of the TUC's march for A Future That Works. With youth unemployment in London
Tory support for gay rights is a victory for Labour
It's always worth reminding ourselves about the huge strides for LGBT equality made under the last Labour government. After Conservative Future chair, Ben Howlett, penned an article in which he attacked Labour's record on gay rights I responded with a piece on Labour's achievements, and argued that the transformation in the views of the Conservative Party leadership is itself a victory for Labour:
