I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and as we look back on 2022, I want to give you an update on the some of the work I have been doing as your Member of Parliament for East Hull.

At the very beginning of year, P&O made the disgraceful decision to sack over 800 British officers and ratings and replace them with agency staff, including over 50 employees sailing on the Pride of Hull from King George Dock.

Since then, in Parliament and at the ports, we have stood up for these workers to say no to P&O and make it clear that is behaviour will not be tolerated. I, the Labour Party, and the RMT and Nautilus trade unions have been fighting to get the Government to act to ensure something like this can never happen again, and this week I spoke in Parliament on the Seafarers Wages Bill to argue for a proper wage for seafarers.

After a hard battle with the Rugby Football League, a five year Elite Academy Licence was awarded to Hull Kingston Rovers. When Hull KR were told last year that their licence would be scrapped, I was outraged, and wrote to the RFL to express the dismay of everyone in East Hull at the short-sighted decision which would have damaged the prospects of both our young local talents and the sport as a whole in Hull. This wouldn’t have happened without rugby league fans being loud and proud and backing myself and others to make right the injustice that would have been done to our game in the East side of our city.

The UK is facing the most extreme cost of living crisis in a generation, with inflation soaring, economic growth barely existent and the cost of essentials rocketing. As such, many workers are struggling to afford their basic needs – no wonder many keyworkers of the pandemic are taking industrial action. I was proud to join the picket lines of rail workers, posties, and university staff to stand with workers taking strike action for a fair deal this year.

The past twelve months has seen three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and an endless cycle of chaos and Tory failure. Britain deserves so much better than this revolving door of chaos. The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern, it’s time to give the public a Christmas present and call a General Election.

My office has been incredibly busy help thousands of people in East Hull this year including passport delays, assisting people escape the brutal war in Ukraine, help with the cost-of-living crisis, and so much more. Serving local people is something I take great pride in but it is not something I do alone. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my staff who again this year have gone above and beyond on behalf of residents. As ever, we are here to assist all residents of East Hull, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This Christmas will be a hard one for many people. I urge everyone not to forget that as we look forward to a merry festive break and New Year.