the combination of a higher poverty rate than the rest of England, Brexit, COVID-19 and an ineffectual Mayor have presented Londoners with huge challenges

Nearly nine million people, 300 languages, the second largest financial centre in the world, a power house of culture, media and business and the driver of the UK economy: London is a fantastic place to live and work. But the combination of a higher poverty rate than the rest of England, Brexit, COVID-19 and an ineffectual Mayor have presented Londoners with huge challenges.

On the 1st of August, we notified both Leadership Campaigns of a proposal from the Radical Association to conduct an event.

The past few months have been incredibly difficult for pupils and teachers. We must ensure no child’s opportunities are diminished due to this terrible pandemic – that means getting children back to school safely.

A comprehensive test, trace and isolate system is critical to reopening classrooms as safely as possible.

Ministers need to work with local authorities to improve the NHS Test and Trace service, which is still failing to reach enough close contacts. https://t.co/GsFQkDDYov

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) August 10, 2020

However, school leaders, teachers, parents, and pupils need to feel confident that their schools will be COVID-safe once term begins in September.

Boris Johnson needs to step up and take action if this is going to happen. We must have a comprehensive test, trace, isolate system in place. The current NHS Test and Trace service is failing to reach enough close contacts; we need to see significant improvement before September if we are going to safely reopen schools.

The Government must also address the practical and financial support requirements that are involved with fully reopening schools. School leaders and teachers will be under serious pressure to adapt to making schools COVID-safe – they deserve a Government that fully supports them through this difficult time.

Liberal Democrats want to see radical steps to support education providers, from making community spaces available to schools, to a Teach for Britain campaign that can bring in new staff in this difficult time.

The world has watched in horror as the persecution of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang has been revealed. From the initial reports of mass surveillance, to evidence of up to 3 million people forced into so called re-education camps, the situation is bleak and all too familiar.

We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act.

In just the last few months, drone footage believed to be from Xinjiang in China, showed Uyghurs kneeling and blindfolded, waiting to be led onto trains. At the same time, the Chinese Government is also accused of undertaking a programme of forced sterilisation against Uyghur women.

The situation is abhorrent. Over the course of the last three years, Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to do more to stop this gross violation of human rights. We have led cross-party letters, parliamentary debates, and parliamentary motions.

We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act. That is why we have led on a cross-party letter this week to Priti Patel urging her to do the right thing and automatically give refugee status to the Uyghur people.

As Liberal Democrats, human rights are at the core of who we are as a party.

Internationalism, as well as our fundamental belief in equality and civil liberties, drives everything we do.

We cannot sit idly by while the Chinese government seeks to carry out a genocide on the Uyghur people.

That is why we are calling on the government to offer the Uyghur population asylum in the UK, so that they can flee the unthinkable horrors of the situation in Xinjiang and find safety here.

We are also urging the government to immediately bring forward Magnitsky legislation so that those individuals who are found to have committed human rights violations can be sanctioned.

History is watching us. We cannot sit idly by while the Chinese government seeks to carry out a genocide on the Uyghur people.

There is no justifiable excuse for failing to act. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing the government to do the right thing.

Uighur people seeking refuge in the UK should not have to prove their case – the evidence is now in plain sight.

The home secretary must take steps to grant automatically refugee status to all Uighur people fleeing this brutal crackdown on their rights.https://t.co/vWK4dxAyID

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) August 7, 2020

In this campaign, I’ve really been put through my paces. Through 20 hustings, with more to come, and hundreds of media interviews for newspapers, blogs, TV & radio, I’ve been making my pitch for the leadership.