Tribute to Dr Bill Smith
I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of my friend Dr Bill Smith on the 4th January. I met Bill during the fight to save the A&E at the Whittington Hospital some [...]
Articles by Catherine West
About Catherine West
It takes a community to tackle violent crime
Violence on our streets impacts on the whole community. A family contacted me recently whose 4-year-old child had to witness the horrific aftermath of a stabbing near his [...]
This is a climate emergency – we must act now
When the UK became the first Parliament in the world to declare “an environment and climate emergency” last month, I felt a glimmer of hope that the urgency of the [...]
We must do more to win the fight against knife crime
There is not one easy solution to the worrying escalation of violence we’ve seen on our streets in recent weeks. An appalling stabbing on the 134 bus towards Muswell Hill [...]
We need another public vote to get out of this Brexit mess
Whichever way you voted in the Brexit referendum, I struggle to believe you could be happy with where we are now. Hornsey & Wood Green secured one of the highest remain [...]
Local App Helps Growing Number of Homeless People Access Support
I spoke out in Parliament recently about an upsetting case I was dealing with where a vulnerable man had resorted to sleeping in a bin chamber in Noel Park. It is 2018 and we [...]
As we celebrate Refugee Week 2018, Haringey is fighting back against the hostile environment
There is an old African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” which recognises the crucial role an entire community plays in creating a safe environment where a [...]
The Government’s cruel “hostile environment” policy created the Windrush scandal
Even as an island built on immigration, the landing of the HMT Empire Windrush was special. Filled with men and women who had been proactively invited to the UK, as [...]
Plastic Revolution
When the plastic era first emerged it was celebrated as a marvel of science: our ingenuity had made something that created something virtually indestructible that does not [...]
Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh cannot expect a better year in 2018
For many, this New Year is not one of hope. For the who Rohingya Muslims who have fled Burma, just meeting basic needs is out of grasp. Families in Bangladesh are sleeping in [...]