Kate Osborne Editor, Author at Kate Osborne MP

Full statement on Local Elections 2024

Nationally the Conservatives suffered their worst losses in 40 years. Congratulations to Chris Webb the new Labour MP for Blackpool South who won with a huge swing to Labour – as Keir Starmer said this win is a message directly to Rishi Sunak to call a General Election.

Locally though we must be concerned at the size and scale of the losses we had at South Tyneside Council.

Losing ten seats when nationally Labour is winning the fight to change our country for the better is very worrying.

Any good that South Tyneside Council is doing is overshadowed by their failure to resolve the dispute with the bin workers and despite my successful intervention to broker a last minute deal to suspend the action, the damage was done over the last few months. This dispute should have been resolved much sooner and I hope that the talks now progress and there’s no need for the workers to resume their action.

The local factors around the greenbelt and previous administration came up on the doorstep and frequently at my regular campaigning sessions and in my constituency casework.

I hope the Labour Councillors in South Tyneside Labour Group take last night’s results very seriously and take action to change what is needed.

Together South Tyneside Labour Group and our constituency Labour Party’s must work jointly to ensure we regain people’s trust and deliver for residents.

Commiserations to those that lost and congratulations to all those that won locally and nationally.

Particularly pleased to see Labour returned in the ward where I live.

As always I will not shy away from representing my constituents and demanding better from the Tories nationally and from Council’s locally.

I look forward to continuing to deliver for my constituents and to kicking the Conservatives out at the General Election and I hope that Election comes very very soon.

Kate Osborne MP makes history leading the first ever debate in Parliament to mark Lesbian Visibility Week.

Jarrow MP Kate Osborne made history today by leading a debate in the main chamber in Parliament marking the importance of Lesbian Visibility Week – expressing solidarity with LGBTQIA+ Women and Non Binary people.

Last Monday night the MP held the first ever parliamentary reception for Lesbian Visibility Week saying it was the most Lesbians in Parliament at the same time ever.

The debate focused on the issues Lesbians still face today including discrimination and une1ual access to IVF as well as highlighting and celebrating iconic Lesbian women.

Osborne stated:

I’m proud to have made history today for holding a debate on Lesbians in the gayest Parliament in the world.

“Weeks like this matter, they show solidarity, they enable us to support each other and help us celebrate our differences, embracing the whole LGBTIA+ community. I’m really proud that 40 years after coming out to my family, I was able to stand in the main chamber in Parliament to lead this debate – it’s something an 18 year old me could never have imagined.

“It was disappointing that in this debate, which was celebrating the diversity of LGBTQIA+ women, that the SNP spokesperson used problematic language and sought to sow division.

In a debate that was unified and joyful with constructive commitments on IVF from the Government for the SNP opposition to behave this way is disappointing.

“Too often people seek to divide us, but we are here today to show that we are unified – not uniform.

“I will continue to make sure there is LGBTQIA+ visibility – lifting up and celebrating all achievements, as we continue in the fight for equality.

“Until we have won equality for all – the fight goes on.”

Kate Osborne MP debate saw cross party MPs share their own experiences, celebrating all things LGBTQIA+

And the Government commit to writing to Osborne to follow up on her asks re IVF.

You can see her full speech here – https://youtu.be/7RkiS2sQMvk

Kate Osborne MP slams Deputy Prime Minister and Tory Government for lack of action on IVF despite their promises to abolish the ‘Gay Tax’

In Prime Minister’s Questions today Jarrow MP Kate Osborne called out the Government for failing to keep their promise and change laws that discriminate against same sex couples seeking fertility treatment.

Back in October 2023, Osborne led a debate on IVF provision, raising discriminatory policies, a postcode lottery in provision, couples spending tens of thousands on treatment and many other issues with Government policies and Nice guidelines.

Osborne asked:

“This week marks the fifth lesbian visibility week founded by my good friend, publisher of DIVA magazine, Linda Riley.

“This comes at a time when LGBTQIA+ women are being failed by this Govt – and nowhere more so than by their failure to remove the financial burdens that same sex couples face when accessing IVF.

“My constituents Holly and Leanne like so many others have been priced out of having a family.

“So will the Deputy Prime Minister commit to finally ending this ‘gay tax’

Following her question Kate Osborne MP stated:

“It is absolutely unacceptable that despite promising 6 months ago to remove screening costs and all additional financial barriers in fertility treatment for same-sex couples – there are still couples like my constituents Holly and Leanne who are priced out of IVF, sacrificing saving up for a deposit on a house in order to pay for treatment.

“Since my debate last year, I have written to the Minister twice asking for further information and raised it at the Women and Equalities Committee. The Minister promised a timetable for action and that the NHS would start to make changes – yet nothing has happened and not one of the 42 ICB’s have made any changes to their fertility provision.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s response offered no hope to the thousands of women who cannot afford to wait any longer before starting a family.”

Holly, a constituent of Kate Osborne MP from Hebburn said:

“I’m really pleased that what is happening to me and thousands of others in the UK has been raised by Kate Osborne MP in Parliament today. We need this Government to remove all the additional financial barriers that we are facing before it is too late for many women – we shouldn’t have to sacrifice the dream of owning our own home to start a family. We should be given the same opportunities as straight couples and I’m glad Kate as my MP is fighting for this.”

Notes:

Link to full video & Kate’s social media post on this: https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1783102183505805794

Kate’s work on IVF equality:

https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1729882977222684684

https://www.politics.co.uk/mp-comment/2022/03/04/inequality-has-for-too-long-been-embedded-in-access-to-ivf-especially-for-lgbtqi-couples/

https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1716810906628137257

https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1717170246690205720

https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1716534016759709827

https://labouroutlook.org/2023/10/25/kate-osborne-mp-demands-equality-of-access-to-ivf-for-lgbt-couples/

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/kate-osborne-lgbtq-ivf-families-27972978

Today’s Spring Budget does nothing for my constituents of Jarrow and nothing for the North of England.

©UK Parliament.Maria Unger

My constituents are dealing with huge rises in living costs, energy and food bills whilst their wages have stagnated, businesses are going under and more than a third of children in Jarrow live in poverty and public services are on their knees.

Instead of tackling any of this, we saw yet another budget for the rich.

The Chancellor’s flagship announcement of another cut to national insurance will benefit the very richest 12 times more than the lowest paid and it will be funded by yet another raid on public services budgets when they are already cut to the bone with NHS waiting lists reaching new highs, schools crumble and social housing crisis.

For fourteen years now, consecutive Conservative Governments have failed this country.

The Chancellor can’t even convince his own MP’s that this is a good budget – the UK is worse off under the Tories. Nothing Hunt said today changes that.

We have the highest tax burden since the Second World War and the lowest wage growth since the Napoleonic War.

The public won’t be fooled by this Government’s spin, there’s no budget giveaway for the lowest paid. They’ll be substantially worse off.

I hope this will be the last Budget delivered by this failing chaotic Government.

It’s time they called a General Election and let us fix the mess they have made.

Kate Osborne MP accuses the Prime Minister of insulting subpostmasters.

At Prime Ministers Questions, Jarrow MP Kate Osborne slammed the Prime Minister for the Tory Government’s lack of action over the Horizon Scandal.

Kate Osborne said:

“The Prime Minister promised a new law to swiftly exonerate and compensate the post office scandal victims – more empty promises when no legislation has been brought forward.

Disrespectful pantomime behaviour from the Prime Minister and his Tory MPs at #PMQs today

Their attempts to shout me down won’t distract from their abject failures and deliberate delaying tactics.

Instead of insulting the Post Office Scandal victims the Prime Minister should be ensuring they get justice.”

During PMQs today Kate Osborne asked:

“Mr Speaker, I heard the Prime Minister’s responses to the Leader of the Opposition and just like the Secretary of State claims that delays on compensation are ‘wild, baseless allegations’, his answers are unbelievable.

“The reality is we wouldn’t have any action without the ITV serialisation of the sub-postmasters scandal – despite many Members raising the issue in this House for years.

“Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister promised a new law to “swiftly exonerate and compensate victims”

So will he commit to ensuring this is brought forward before the next General Election?”

Following her question, Kate Osborne MP slammed the Prime Minister’s response and his exchange with the Leader of the Opposition who referenced Kate’s constituent Chris Head – the youngest subpostmaster in the country when he was wrongly accused of stealing more than £80,000.

“It is clear the Prime Minister and his Government have checked out and are stumbling their way to the next General Election. His pitiful response to my Prime Minister’s Question today shows just that.

“I am truly appalled that they did nothing but jeer whilst Starmer recounted Chris’s words. Chris deserves a lot more respect than that.

“For years, the Government has done nothing but kick the Horizon Scandal into the long grass. They have known about this scandal for decades, yet it has taken an ITV drama to kick them into action. Even now, Sunak and his Ministers are delaying compensation claims to “limp into the next election.”

Sub-postmasters have waited long enough – we need action from Government, not more empty promises”

Notes:

Link to Kate’s tweet and video of her PMQ – https://x.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1760302756940689889?s=20

Video of Kate’s question to the minister from 19th February 2024: https://fb.watch/qkAmmKT7qX/
https://kate-osborne.co.uk/2024/01/10/helping-subpostmasters/

Kate Osborne MP has been a long term campaigner of justice for the sub-postmasters, first asking a question about the scandal only months after her election. It was this question to the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in 2020 that forced an independent inquiry leading to the findings that we now are seeing get national attention

Huge win for constituents as Jarrow MP gets multiple Tyne Tunnel charges scrapped – including £32,000 for just one person.

Kate Osborne MP said:

“I am delighted that these inaccurate outstanding toll charges and added fees have been settled.”

“I’ve had a number of constituents contact me regarding inaccurate charging, but this instance of £32,000 was frankly ridiculous.

I know this matter was causing a great deal of stress and anxiety, with both my constituent and her employer raising this with Tyne Tunnel without success, I am pleased that following my contact with Tyne Tunnel 2, they finally agreed to scrap the vast majority of the outstanding toll charges and penalties”

Background:

Earlier this month, a constituent contacted the Jarrow MP’s office in distress about receiving a fine of unpaid charges and added fees totalling over £32,000. Kate’s constituent informed her that she started a new job and the role involved driving through the Tyne Tunnel.

The employer was the account holder for the constituent and by mistake, had typed one wrong digit for the registration plate. This then led to numerous fines being issued.

The constituent, who has health problems, received numerous letters relating to this unpaid charge which caused her a great deal of stress and anxiety.

The employer explained that they had been in contact with Tyne Tunnel 2 about this issue on numerous occasions but were unable to get the situation resolved.

As a result of this ever-growing debt, Kate’s constituent’s mental health had taken a severe downward turn and both her and her employer were fearful this substantial debt will eventually impact on her job role.

However, following contact from Kate’s office almost £32,000 of charges were written off and the constituent’s employer agreed to fund the remainder of the outstanding balance of around £800.

This has relieved Kate’s constituent of a substantial amount of stress which was causing her to have sleepless nights and a great deal of anxiety.

Notes:

The constituent has agreed for Kate to speak to the press about her case.

I’d urge anyone else having issues to get in touch [email protected]

Kate Osborne MP’s office has had success in overturning a further 3 fines issued by TT2 in the past 12 months and at least 1 other ongoing case open.

Jarrow MP Kate Osborne Slams Government’s King’s Speech as “vacuous” and “morally compromised”

King Charles delivered his first king’s speech today, outlining the Tory government’s plans for laws over the next Parliamentary session.

Kate Osborne MP for the Jarrow constituency has slammed the Government’s speech today stating: “We have a Government that has given up on governing. In 2022 they announced 29 legislative Bills, though more than a third were abandoned or not introduced. With just 21 Bills announced in this King’s Speech, it’s clear they are spent. This speech failed to deliver for communities, businesses or for the North of England.

This zombie Government needs to go – we need a general election now.”

Following the speech Kate Osborne MP said:

After 13 years and five Tory Prime Ministers, we now have a government that has given up on governing – they have no new ideas, no plans to improve people’s lives in our country, no support for communities or small businesses.

In 2022 they announced 29 legislative bills – more than 1/3 of them were abandoned or not introduced, today they announced just 21 and most of them won’t see the light of day.

The speech failed to deliver for the people of the UK, failed to deliver for communities, businesses or for the North of England. The measures won’t tackle the housing crisis, the NHS crisis, the cost of living crisis or lift any of the 6000 hungry kids in Jarrow out of poverty and despite us seeing the worst energy bills crisis in a generation, they admitted themselves their lauded flagship plans in the Kings Speech won’t cut energy bills by a single penny.

Their awful plans to remove tents from homeless people may have been dropped by Sunak, but it portrays the callous and contemptuous way they view people. Their housing plans are a gross betrayal of the promise to help renters.

Their failure to ban conversion therapy shows a callous disregard for LGBTQ+ people living in this country.

We have a morally compromised Government who are attempting to gaslight the country.

Blaming NHS workers for the NHS crisis they caused, doubling down on their anti worker rhetoric, when the right to strike is a fundamental human right protected in UK and International law.

Talking up that inflation has finally started to fall – despite knowing the damage has already been done and the cost of living crisis will be even worse for most people this winter. Talking up their plans to be tough on crime – whilst 90% of crimes go unsolved.

Their sleaze, cronyism, and failure to deliver on promises has left the country in a mess, degraded Parliament and eroded trust in politicians.

This Zombie Government is spent – the General election can not come soon enough.

Kate Osborne MP wins changes on equality of access to IVF in Parliamentary debate.

Jarrow MP Kate Osborne led a debate in Parliament today (24/10/23) on IVF provision and called on the Government and NHS England to immediately end the discrimination in IVF provision facing LGBTQ+ couples.

Ahead of the debate, Osborne hosted a drop in session – joined by campaigners including Stonewall, What Wegan Did Next, LGBT Mummies, Two Dads UK and Stonewall – each sharing devastating accounts of LGBTQ+ people giving up on their dream to become parents because they have ran out of money as LGBTQ+ people are being priced out of having a family.

Osborne raised discriminatory policies, a postcode lottery in provision, couples spending tens of thousands on treatment and many other issues with the current Gov policies and Nice guidelines.

She also highlighted the Government’s commitment to deal with this inequality is more than a year old.

The Government and NHS England have responded with a ten year strategy to tackle the issues raised, Osborne and other MPs present at the debate argued that most women cannot wait 10 years for the rules to change – calling for urgent action from Ministers.

Responding to the debate Maria Caulfield Minister for Women Health and Mental Health committed to bringing forward secondary legislation to remove discrimination in LGBTQ couples living with HIV, to removing the requirement for screening costs for LGBTQ+ couples and to producing guidelines imminently to remove all additional financial barriers to same sex couples.

Following the debate Osborne said:

“I’m really pleased that in today’s debate the minister finally committed to changing laws that discriminate against people living with HIV.

“The Minister also recommitted to remove screening costs and all the additional financial barriers for same sex couples.

“This will mean the end of the “Gay tax” for LGBTQ+ couples that want to start a family.

“I will be monitoring the situation closely and ensuring the Government quickly keep this promise.

“It is unacceptable that LGBTQ+ couples looking to start a family are left at the mercy of an unequal postcode lottery for fertility services.”

The National AIDS Trust said:

Thanks to Kate Osborne MP for mentioning this issue today and to all our allies for their consistent support on this issue.

We look forward to seeing this finally become a reality!

Notes:

Kate’s twitter.

https://twitter.com/KateOsborneMP/status/1716810906628137257?t=N1iq168knIioGzZ-S7c42Q&s=19

APPG HIV aids

https://twitter.com/APPG_HIV_AIDS/status/1716758353227964679?t=UYFq2evdV3c1MeJ5NPOvVA&s=19

Megan and Whitney tweet post debate

https://twitter.com/WhatWeganDid/status/1716849774190637467?t=y3PyhM5YEeZF6kl1mp6HHg&s=19

Full debate

https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6d65f265-a4bf-4452-8132-4e4658e5a8e1

Kate’s previous work on IVF inequality

IVF postcode lottery: Same-sex couples still being forced to spend up to £25k despite pledge to fix system (inews.co.uk)

It’s shocking that LGBTQI+ couples don’t have equal access to IVF treatment – Kate Osborne MP (kate-osborne.co.uk)

My statement about the devastating ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel:

The awful scenes that continue to emerge from Israel, Gaza, and the rest of occupied Palestine has added to the decades of horror and despair that has unfolded there.

I am devastated by the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, which this past week has claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis.

I utterly abhor every single murder of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians.

The massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas is a heinous crime, which I fully condemn. Hamas should immediately release all hostages.

The Palestinian civilians being killed now are not responsible for these atrocities.

2.2 million people – almost half of whom are children – are locked in one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, which has been described as an “open-air prison” by a United Nations expert.

Supplies of food, water, electricity and fuel, have been shut off putting Gaza on the brink of an unthinkable humanitarian catastrophe.

All leaders must act in line with international law. That means there must be humanitarian access to Gaza, and continued supplies of food, water, electricity and medicines.

Conservative MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee Alicia Kearns MP has said that Israel has a “duty” to turn water & electricity supply back on in Gaza.

As the UN General Secretary says, preventing further Israeli and Palestinian civilian suffering must be the focus.

This Tory Government is bad for the country, bad for communities, bad for businesses and as we saw today, bad for the environment.

Sunak’s speech was deluded, mentioning how successful his Government is and singling out the NHS for achieving more – on a day when for the first time in history Junior Doctors and consultants were on strike because of this Government’s failures. The announcement uniting both the motor industry and the environmental lobby in opposition to his latest u turn.

This announcement today, just one day after Parliament broke for recess means there is no chance for MPs and Parliament to discuss this until October the 16th at the earliest.

We’re in a climate emergency. Now is not the time to water down vital net zero measures.

This is a complete farce from an incompetent Tory government that destroys everything it touches, proving again and again they do not know how to govern.

Sunak insinuated people couldn’t afford to pay to deal with the climate change crisis, none of us can afford not to do it – but working class people shouldn’t be forced to pay.

Instead of taking this ridiculous, chaotic and embarrassing step backwards, we need the Government to tackle climate change, recommit to reaching net zero by 2030 and ensure corporate polluters pay their fair share of tax to enable that to happen.

A year ago today Truss announced policies that destroyed the economy and the country is still struggling.

Now Sunak wants to announce policies that will help destroy the planet.

Thirteen years of failed Tory policies have destroyed public services, led to an energy bills crisis, created a cost of living crisis and failed on the climate crisis.

Today I held a small business drop in and over 70 people turned up, they are all being let down by this incompetent government.

This move is the latest of many broken Tory promises, and enough is enough.

What we should have heard from Sunak is a resignation, he should call a General Election so that Labour can start fixing the mess they have caused.