I have been campaigning for some time to remove smartphones from schools and reduce children's exposure to social media. I know that many of my constituents in Brentwood and Ongar support this work.
After over a year of the Government repeatedly dismissing my party's plans to get smartphones out of schools as an unnecessary gimmick, they have finally listened and performed a U-turn. New laws will now ban phones in classrooms across England. This is thanks to the tireless pressure applied by me and my colleagues, as well as health professionals and teachers.
Labour has now finally accepted what teachers, parents, pupils, and Conservatives have been saying all along: they need clear legal backing to keep smartphones out of schools. This is the right step for behaviour, wellbeing, and attainment. It will allow pupils to focus on learning and give teachers the backing they need and have been calling for.
But I am not stopping here with my campaigning. Outside the school gates, many children are still exposed to harmful and extreme content online, and parents are rightly concerned and are asking for stronger protections. That is why Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives are still calling on the government to raise the minimum age for social media to 16.
Earlier this month, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill returned to the House of Commons, following the decision from the House of Lords on Monday to once again back a ban on social media for under-16s by a significant and growing margin. But sadly, Labour MPs voted against it for a third time. The only people blocking this change are the Prime Minister and his party.
Parents will rightly be confused and let down that once again Labour's actions do not match their rhetoric. All we are asking them to do is what the PM says he wants to do: protect children online. Further delay is not acceptable.
Our campaign is working, but now is not the time for half measures. We will keep pushing until we have strong, effective protections in place. Our children deserve nothing less.
The Brentwood Gazette covers areas including but not limited to Billericay, Brentwood, Hutton, Shenfield, and Wickford in Essex.
