Working for Middle East peace, however small the part

As your MP, my job is to serve and represent you in Parliament, advance our shared priorities, and help make High Peak the best possible place to live, work and bring up a family.

We’ve had some great wins so far. The Government has committed millions of pounds of investment in High Peak, such as £7.6m for road safety improvements on the A57 Snake Pass, £28.6m in the Peak Cluster Carbon Capture project, and cash to ensure children at three of our schools are among the first in the country to benefit from free breakfast clubs.

During the general election campaign, I was struck by how many people raised with me their concerns about the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

It was with those people in mind that I was honoured to accept the role of chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) in Parliament.

LFI was founded in 1957 and leads the campaign for a two-state solution, where a viable and sovereign Palestinian state sits alongside a safe and secure Israel.

LFI works to fight the scourge of antisemitism, which has risen enormously since 7 October terrorist attack.
And it seeks to raise awareness and tackle the terrorist threat posed by Iran and its proxies. That threat is real, as we have seen with recent plots foiled by our incredible security services and arrests on our doorstep in neighbouring Stockport and Rochdale.

As chair of LFI, I have repeatedly called for a ceasefire to end the terrible conflict in Gaza, unrestricted humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people, and the release of the Israeli hostages seized by Hamas on 7 October.

I’ve visited Israel – where I expressed these concerns directly to the Israeli government – and the Palestinian territories.

I’ve met the Red Cross to discuss their vital humanitarian work and the agency which cares for Palestinian refugees. And I’ve discussed with Palestinian leaders how we best advance the cause of peace and their right to statehood.

I strongly believe that the Netanyahu government has been a disaster for Israel and the Palestinians. As chair of LFI, I work closely with Labour’s sister party, the Democrats, who offer the best hope of removing Netanyahu and his extremist coalition from power at the elections next year and who played a leading role in recent demonstrations for peace which were joined by hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

I’m ever the realist and with such an horrific conflict raging and suffering on all sides it can seem overwhelming. But have had some major breakthroughs in our campaigning not least seeing the Prime Minister commit to establish an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. It is modelled on the highly successful International Fund for Ireland, which laid the groundwork for the Good Friday Agreement, and would work at the grassroots level to bring together Israelis and Palestinians and promote the values of peace, reconciliation and coexistence. I’ve seen with my own eyes this work in action: visiting inspiring projects which work with young Israelis and Palestinians and which are producing remarkable results.

Like you, I believe Israelis and Palestinians deserve peace, security and dignity. The tragic conflict between them has gone on for far too long – with your support, I am trying to play a role, however small, in helping to end it.