Weekly Update
🚌 Launching my campaign for a new Express Bus from Enfield Lock to Tottenham Hale
I’ve launched a new campaign for a brand-new Express Bus route linking Enfield Lock, Brimsdown, Ponders End and Tottenham Hale - finally giving the east of our borough the fast, affordable transport it deserves to the Victoria line and beyond.
🚀 What I’m calling for
A limited-stop Express Bus, running down the A1055 Mollison Avenue, potentially as part of the Superloop network. This route would give residents the kind of quick, reliable connections that people in other parts of London already enjoy.
🌟 Why it matters
This service would be a game-changer for our community:
Fast, direct connection to the Victoria Line at Tottenham Hale in under 25 minutes
Cheaper, more reliable journeys for work, college, and training
A real alternative to unreliable train services
Reduced traffic and congestion on local roads
Cleaner air and fairer transport access for Enfield Lock, Brimsdown and Ponders End
With an express bus you could save over £40 a week compared to rail – over £2,000 saved every year. Money that could go towards bills, your family, or simply enjoying life.
Everyone deserves the chance to access opportunities across London - this service would help make that possible.
👉 Please sign the petition and help make this a reality for our community.
⚖️ Fixing the Criminal Courts Backlog
The criminal courts are facing an invisible emergency, with nearly 80,000 cases waiting to be heard - a number that could rise to 100,000 by 2028. Behind every case is a victim waiting for justice. This Labour Government is putting victims front and centre after years of decline under the Conservatives.
🚨 What We’re Doing
We’ve already invested heavily to stabilise the system, including:
£150m to modernise courts
£92m a year for criminal legal aid solicitors
£34m a year for legal aid advocates
A record number of sitting days
But money alone won’t solve the crisis. There simply aren’t enough judges and barristers to cut the backlog without major reform.
🔧 The Reforms
We are introducing once-in-a-generation changes to deliver speed and certainty:
Swift Courts for cases with sentences of three years or less, heard by a judge alone - cutting trial time by around 20%
Stopping offenders from gaming the system by choosing jury trials to delay proceedings
Expanding magistrates’ powers so they can take on lower-level cases
Only 3% of criminal cases currently involve a jury, and three-quarters of cases that would be jury trials today will continue to be under the new system.
💙 Supporting Victims
We will never defend tradition at the expense of victims. To ensure survivors stay supported throughout their journey to justice, we are investing £550m over the next three years in specialist services.
A justice system that works for victims - at last.
🚧 Labour Budget Delivers Record Funding to Fix Britain’s Roads
Labour is making the biggest-ever investment in local road maintenance to repair Britain’s broken roads and improve safety for drivers, and following the budget Enfield is to receive an extra £5,212,000 on top of the £9,184,000 already promised.
💷 £7.3 Billion for Better Roads
The Chancellor has doubled annual funding for councils to fix and prevent potholes - a £7.3 billion boost that will benefit every region in England.
We promised to fix one million extra potholes a year, and this Budget delivers the funding to do it.
Why It Matters
Better-maintained roads keep communities connected, businesses moving, and local growth on track.
🏛️ Part of a Budget That Helps Families
This announcement sits alongside wider support in the Budget, including:
£150 off energy bills
Prescription charges frozen
Measures lifting 550,000 children out of poverty
The first national rail fare freeze in 30 years and continued investment in major transport projects
🛠️ What’s Next
Local councils will continue to use their share of the £7.3 billion to target the roads most in need of repair and deliver improvements quickly.
Labour is focused on the basics: fixing roads and supporting families across the country.
🤝 Celebrating Survivors & Change - MCF Lived Experience Event
This week I was honoured to attend an event with the Marie Collins Foundation, celebrating the incredible work of their Lived Experience Group - a network of survivors of child sexual abuse who have bravely shared their stories to drive meaningful change.
Their voices are vital in shaping trauma-informed responses, challenging harmful stereotypes and improving outcomes for victims and survivors.
Thank you to every survivor and supporter involved for your commitment to change, healing, and justice. 💙
Click here for more information about MCF and the work they do.
❤️ World AIDS Day: Standing Together Against Stigma
World AIDS Day brought people across the globe together to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, to challenge stigma, and to remember the millions of lives lost since the start of the pandemic.
Here in the UK, over 105,000 people are living with HIV - and almost 38 million worldwide. Thanks to remarkable medical progress, people living with HIV can now expect long, healthy lives, and we have the tools to end new transmissions entirely.
Yet stigma and discrimination remain far too common. Organisations like the National AIDS Trust continue to hear from people facing unfair treatment in work, education, housing, and even healthcare. This must change.
This week, we honoured the strength and resilience of those living with HIV, and the communities who have led this fight for decades. I am always proud to support World AIDS Day and the ongoing work to end stigma, improve access to care, and ensure equality for everyone living with HIV.
Together, let’s commit to building a future where HIV never stands in the way of anyone’s life.
We stand together.
🎉 Small Business Saturday in Enfield North
Small Business Saturday is back tomorrow - and here in Enfield North, we’re celebrating the fantastic independent shops, cafés, makers and traders that keep our high streets vibrant and our communities strong.
Small businesses are the heart of our local economy. They create jobs, boost our town centres and bring real character to the places we live.
👉 How you can get involved
✔️ Pop in and support a local independent business
✔️ Share your favourite shop or café on social media using #SmallBizSatUK
✔️ Spread the word to help give our small businesses the boost they deserve
Labour is the party of small business, with a clear Plan for Small and Medium Sized Businesses to deliver the stability, investment and skills SMEs need to thrive. Boosting SME growth by just 1% could add £320 billion to the UK economy by 2030 - helping us strengthen the NHS and improve living standards.
💖 Whether it’s a family-run shop, a local service, a market stall or a new start-up, let’s show them some extra love this Small Business Saturday.
Together, we can make this the best one yet for Enfield North.
I hope you have a good week!
Best wishes,
Feryal