Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Sunday 25th September - Wednesday 28th September- heading to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool to support Walthamstow's fight for safeguarding child refugees 
• Thursday 29th September - holding a public meeting for the somali community in Walthamstow about public services and then attending the Walthamstow Labour Party General Committee Meeting 
• Friday 30th September - holding an appointment only residents advice surgery. To book an appointment please call 020 8521 1223.

'Don't leave children to rot in the mud of Calais' – plea to Conference from Stella Creasy MP

Writing on the LabourList website, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy has issued an urgent plea to delegates to the Labour Party Conference that Children must not be left to rot in the mud of Calais

"Five months ago Parliament voted to help unaccompanied child refugees in Europe. Leading this humanitarian call to offer them sanctuary against those who argued they were someone else’s problem was our own Yvette Cooper and Lord Alf Dubs.

Alf himself came to Britain as a child as part of the kindertransport during the Second World war. Three weeks ago I sat with Alf in the camp in Calais and listened to testimony from children who have a right under this law to be here on our shores now. Children who had been in the camps for months, with only volunteers to protect their welfare. Children who face a French asylum system creaking at the seams and unable to even begin reviewing their needs for months. And contrary to stereotype, they were children. Young boys trying to act tough, with fear and despair in their tired eyes.

Despite the vote in May, still not one child has come here to Britain. Those who say providing this protection will simply encourage more to come ignore the reality that they are coming anyway. Running from conflict and war, whether in Eritrea, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria or Ethopia because however grim the camps and the journey may be, to stay in their home is not an option either."

She continues . . .

"Conference delegates have the chance to show solidarity and unite the party in common voice saying not on our watch will children as young as eight be left to rot in the mud in Calais. Walthamstow CLP is asking for your support for our contemporary motion [see below] on ensuring no child is in the camps by Christmas in the priority ballot this weekend. Please ask your delegate to vote for this motion to be one of the four chosen for debate to put this issue on our party’s national agenda too."

If you want to join our campaign and help secure the rights of these children please email:

stella@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk

Read the full article here

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Earlier this month Walthamstow Labour Party agreed the following 'contemporary motion' to go before Conference:

To Ensure No Child Refugees In Calais by Christmas

Walthamstow CLP notes:

• There are now over 21 million refugees fleeing conflict and persecution across the world. 
• At least 3.5 million are children, and in the Calais ‘jungle’, the same distance from Walthamstow as Southampton, there are currently 850 unaccompanied children living in subhuman conditions. 
• Previous ‘evictions’ at the camp by French authorities have led to vulnerable young children going missing. 
• Britain has committed to take around 20,000 Syrian refugees. By comparison, Germany accepted over 1 million Syrian refugees in 2015. 
• Peace talks on 25th August in Geneva have failed to secure a ceasefire, despite the worsening humanitarian situation inside Aleppo and other regions inside Syria. 

The work many in Walthamstow are doing to support refugees in Calais and commends this initiative.

Walthamstow CLP believes

• The refugee crisis is a global humanitarian crisis on a scale not seen since WWII and we have a moral duty to act by giving asylum to those we are able to and leveraging our influence in the world to secure peaceful solutions to conflicts and support human rights. 
• In light of threats to conduct more ‘evictions’ at the Calais camps in September 2016, the Labour Party must lead urgent action to ensure the Dubs Amendment of March 2016 to help refugee children is honoured. 
• Calls on the Labour Party to back proposals to legislate to ensure no children are left in the Calais refugee camps by Christmas.

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Saturday 17th September- meeting with volunteers from the Christian Kitchen which feeds our local homeless and joining the march for refugees in parliament square.
• Sunday 18th September- supporting the Curryoake to raise funds for Walthamstow's Nightshelter. 
• Tuesday 20th September- meeting with Waltham Forest CCG to discuss the Healthy E17 campaign and patient participation. All welcome so if you would like to attend please reply to this email.
• Wednesday 21st September- supporting the launch of the Cultural Map of Walthamstow at the William Morris Gallery 
• Saturday 24th September- supporting the #We17 campaign to celebrate Sonita's birthday and then helping with the Wonder Women of Walthamstow campaign showcase. Details below - all welcome. 
• Sunday 25th September- heading to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

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Mark Carney, Stella Creasy,
Caroline Criado-Perez, Jane Austen

The Wonder Women of Walthamstow: Local Campaigners Showcase and Networking New Date + Caroline Criado Perez 

Our Campaigns showcase for projects being run by women from the Walthamstow community has been changed to Saturday 24th September between 3.30pm to 5.30pm. We will now also be joined by special guest Caroline Criado-Perez who helped to secure women's representation on British bank notes and is a leading feminist campaigner. 

This event will showcase projects tackling violence against women, supporting the Yazidi women in their quest for safety and justice and promoting good sexual health education and services for all. We'll hear first hand from local activists about their campaigns and crucially how you can support or join them. 

This event will be held in central Walthamstow and is free to any woman from our community over the age of 14 - to help us with the logistics attendees are asked to RSVP by email for further details of this event including the venue. Although there won't be a creche, children are also welcome to attend - I'll be providing tea, coffee and juice but attendees are welcome to bring cake. I hope women in Walthamstow can join us in supporting these amazing campaigners and helping ensure their voices are heard.

15th Sept Polling day phonebank in Walthamstow for Labour's Philip Glanville as Hackney Mayor

Thursday September 15th is polling day in the Hackney Mayoral Election. Walthamstow Labour Party office will be running a phonebank to get out the vote for Labour candidate Philip Glanville from 17.30-20.30. All supporters very welcome to help us - 23 Orford Road London E17 9NL. Find us

http://www.hackney-labour.org.uk/philip-glanville

Information about the Leadership Election on ballot papers and reissues

Leadership election ballot papers and reissues

The Labour Party has sent the following message to constituency party secretaries

"By now, over 99% of eligible electors have received their ballots, excepting a tiny number of more complicated cases where checks have taken longer than anticipated. 

Ballot reissues

If a member or supporter believes they have not received their ballot, email reissues can still be requested until 5pm on Monday 19 September. Reissues requested before 5pm on Monday 19 September will be dispatched by email by midnight Tuesday 20 September. The ballot closes at 12 noon on Wednesday 21 September and votes must be received by then to count. To be sure ballots arrive in time, it may be worth suggesting to people to go online to vote, which is possible even if people just receive a paper ballot.

The easiest way for members and supporters to request a reissue is by going to www.labour.org.uk/re-issue. They can also do this by calling 0345 092 2299 or by emailing: leadership2016@labour.org.uk.

Before requesting a reissue, please encourage members and supporters to double check their junk folder, search their inbox for an email from labourelections@electoralreform.co.uk with the subject line 'VOTE NOW: Labour Leadership Election' and add the email address to their contacts to stop it going to junk. Please also ask members and supporters to double check that the email address we hold for them is correct. You can do this for them by checking their record on MemberCentre.

Thank you once again for all your hard work and support throughout this process."

When 'Amber' means the Calais traffic(kers) ain't moving . . .

In parliamentary questions Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy asks Home Secretary Amber Rudd why the Government has done nothing about child refugees in Calais (click the channel 4 logo)

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Sunday 11th September- attending Walthamstow Cricket Club Multi Faith Game at Greenaway Avenue. All Welcome 
• Tuesday 13th September - supporting the Women for Refugee Women campaign evening to call for the closure of Yarlswood Detention Centre 
• Thursday 15th September - helping campaign for the next Labour Mayor of Hackney in their Mayoral by-election. If you would like to join us please email. 
• Friday 16th September - Visiting local premises in partnership with Waltham Forest 4 Dogs and supporting the Quiz for Calais Fundraiser. See below for more details. 
• Saturday 17th September- meeting with volunteers from the Christian Kitchen which feeds our local homeless and holding a workshop to support women campaigners. 
• Sunday 18th September- supporting the Curryoake to raise funds for Walthamstow's Nightshelter.

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Dog Day Afternoon: Waltham Forest 4 Dogs Event Friday 16th September

Waltham Forest 4 Dogs is a local voluntary group of dog owners who have been working to support responsible dog ownership in our community and encourage Walthamstow to be a more dog friendly place. To support the great work done by this group in creating a database of businesses that welcome canine companions, on the early afternoon ofFriday 16th September I will be visiting different local dog friendly cafes and businesses involved in this scheme to encourage more to join - representatives of the Kennel Club will also be joining us to hear the views of local dog owners on dog control orders and to feature the work these volunteers in Walthamstow have been doing (plus they've promised to bring some goodies for local dog owners too!)

If you are a Walthamstow dog owner and interested in joining us next Friday please email my office to sign up .

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Sunday 4th September-attending the More in Common events in Walthamstow and the Pak Cultural Society Pakistan Independence Day celebrations
• Monday 5th September - parliament returns and I will be holding the Adjournment Debate on the future of Private Finance Initiatives and their impact on our public services. This is likely to be very late at night so please watch social media for updates on timing. 
• Tuesday 6th September - supporting proposals to extend parental leave entitlement to bereaved parents via a cross party private members bill.
• Thursday 8th September - attending the Walthamstow Labour Party Special Meeting to discuss Labour Party Conference motions.
• Saturday 10th September- supporting the opening of Lee Valley Rowing Clubs new facilities.

Stella Creasy MP: "We can’t abandon refugee children – and that includes us, the politicians"

Writing in The Guardian online about the Calais Refugee camp Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow says:

"The unaccompanied children at the Calais camp are just a fraction of the people fleeing violence worldwide. The UK must do more to help them . . . . .

When parliament passed the Alf Dubs amendment to help child refugees in April this year we trusted the government to put it into practice. But not a single child has yet come here under its auspices. When parliament returns on Monday we will table further new legislation to make good on our pledges and try to get these kids out of the camps by Christmas. Because all of us can do more to help those running from terror in their home nations than just shout at the sky – and that includes us, the politicians."

As part of a group from the constituency she is off to the Calais refugee camp this weekend delivering cars full of clothes and following others who have taken food to the camps. They all know that however well-intentioned such actions are, nevertheless they are like "shouting at the wind to stop blowing."

Full article here