Southgate and Wood Green MP Bambos Charalambous reflects on the first six months representing his enlarged constituency

Since the general election last July it has been an incredibly busy time for me. With the parliamentary boundary changes taking effect and the new constituency of Southgate and Wood Green straddling two boroughs, one of my priorities has been to get to know the new parts of the constituency, while still working hard for all of my constituents.

I have got to know groups such as Bounds Green Food Bank, Studio 306 Collective which helps people recovering from mental illness through arts and craft, Bowes and Bounds Repair Café, Haringey Citizens Advice and Haringey Music Service, along with various community, faith and residents’ groups.

It has been great to be invited to speak to school councils and to visit schools such as Hadley Wood, De Bohun and Hazelwood in Enfield and Heartlands and St Thomas More in Haringey. The grilling from the students at the question-and-answer sessions is often tougher than from hardened political correspondents!

With the new boundaries there has also been an increase in casework, ranging from serious crime, antisocial behaviour and homelessness to faded road markings, fly-tipping and the frequency of train services. I have been working hard to address all these issues and more.

Meanwhile, in parliament, it has been no less busy. Whenever there is a change of government there is usually a punishing legislative programme and, for those who followed the King’s speech, this year was no different, with 40 bills announced in this legislative session.

Among the bills that have been debated in the House of Commons we have had the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, Great British Energy Bill, Employment Rights Bill, Renters Rights Bill, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill – to name but a few!

As well as government bills, the new session of parliament allowed backbench MPs to enter the ballot for private members’ bills. Kim Leadbeater was the first name to be drawn and chose assisted dying to be the subject of her bill. This was a very controversial bill with different views across the political divide. I had many emails from constituents on both sides of the debate. In the end, I was asked to be a teller for the vote count, and so could not vote at the second reading of this bill. Instead I got to read the result, which was 330 in favour to 275 against.

For those who watched the debate, they would have seen an example of parliament at its best, with genuine debate and powerful, often emotive speeches heard respectfully and with understanding that this was an issue of conscience and a potentially huge societal change.

I also introduced my own attempt at legislation by moving a ten-minute rule bill on debt relief for low-income countries. I was surprised to discover that most of the debt owed by low-income countries is owed to private creditors.

Recognising that debt was a problem, the G20 previously attempted to fix this by introducing a common framework to provide debt relief for low-income countries. While government creditors agreed to negotiate the terms of their debt under this common framework, private creditors dragged their heels and acted against the spirit of the G20’s intentions, leaving developing countries forced to either pay up or risk being sued. There was no mechanism to make them co-operate.

My ten-minute rule bill will compel private creditors to come back to the table, renegotiate new terms of their debt in line with government lenders, and ensure they cannot sue developing countries for any more than these terms. The second reading of my bill is due on 14th March.

In the meantime, I hope everyone had a restful break over the festive period and I wish you a very happy 2025.

Bambos Charalambous is a Labour MP for Southgate and Wood Green. Constituents can get in touch with him:
Call 0207 219 3460
Email [email protected]

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