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I was born and bred in Tottenham. I grew up on Dongola Road, just off Philip Lane, a stones throw from Broadwater Farm. I went to school at Downhills, and then I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to a Choral School for my singing, before going to SOAS to study law, and then heading to Harvard, becoming the first Black Briton to graduate from Harvard Law School.
I have served as Tottenham’s MP since 2000. We have made huge strides in recent years: £178 million to rebuild our secondary schools; £1.4 million this year to create more than 200 jobs for local young people; investing £198.5 million on our housing estates; a 40% cut in carbon emissions by 2020. I am not complacent. I know Tottenham still has a long way to go, but brick by brick, Tottenham has got better.
I was one of five children, raised by a single mum who used to hold down as many as 3 jobs at a time to keep us clothed and fed. I grew up here in the 1980s when there were no jobs, derelict housing and incessant crime. I know what it is like to be poor, I know what it is like to live in constant fear and crippling uncertainty. I grew up with the people I now represent, I know this constituency like the back of my hand – I’ve got Tottenham running through my blood.
This election matters more than any I can remember. That is why I am making the following my top priorities:
A brighter future for our children and families. That means better schools and more things for young people to do. I’m fighting for jobs in Tottenham, making sure that regeneration delivers local jobs and apprenticeships. Supporting youth to say no to gangs and knives; demanding more action to tackle gang culture and anti-social behaviour on our streets and estates. Protecting and improving local health services; fighting for our A and E units, services at St Ann’s and local GPs. Fighting for decent housings. Completing the Decent Homes programme on our housing estates and building more affordable housing.
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