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Today, I’m setting out some of my priorities for the year ahead. Over the next 12 months, I am committed to fighting for what I think our community in Bedford and Kempston most holds dear – our NHS, our democracy, and our families. Our NHS is in desperate need of support. At the end of last year, I met with GPs and leaders at Bedford Hospital to discuss their concerns for the Winter crisis and the pressures that they face. Years of cuts to funding and understaffing has left our services exposed. The Health and Care Bill does little to address this or provide the help urgently required – instead, the Bill exploits this vulnerability and opens our NHS up to further privatisation.
Mohammad Yasin, MP for Bedford and Kempston At this time of year, many of us are keen to commit ourselves to New Year’s resolutions.
With warnings that the waiting list backlog faced by hospitals is set to surpass 6 million this year, we must do all that we can to campaign for better funding and better resourcing. We need a practical plan to address this backlog and a realistic strategy to recruit and strengthen the workforce. By supporting our doctors and nurses, we can help them to help patients and make sure everyone gets the care that they need. The NHS is our country’s greatest institution, but it’s in peril. If we want to keep our NHS public, we must be prepared to fight for it. Our democracy is also under threat. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill proposes aggressive measures to crack down on protests and pickets. In Bedford alone, nearly 350 people signed a petition to protect the right to protest, with over 256,000 signatures across the UK. This Bill is an undeniable attack on not only our rights, but also on our ability to hold the Government to account. Finally, families in Britain are struggling more than ever. With fuel and gas prices expected to continue to surge and inflation rising, the average family is predicted to spend £1700 more this year. In Bedford, by 2020, nearly 30% of children were living in poverty. We are facing a severe cost-of-living squeeze and it is hitting our working families the hardest. I can’t promise that 2022 will be an easier year than the ones we have recently seen. But I can say that it will be easier to get through if we all pull together – in our unity there is strength. We must campaign together, fight together and hold the Government to account together. As a community, we can save our NHS, preserve our democracy and protect our families.
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