Let’s turn the page.

As we enter August, the year draws breath. The summer days give us moments to look back and reach forward.

We made it this far, but the next chapter must be better.

Once again, we are beating the numbers and beating the virus.

We are doing our bit in getting a vaccine, and getting tested, pushing on with following HANDS-FACE-SPACE.

We are continuing with that special care for one another which the pandemic has drawn from us all.

Businesses too are, for the first time, able to look forward.

The last 18 months have been brutal, and while the books are yet to balance, there is a hope that their recovery will pick up pace.

For some the loss of loved ones or a job has left a deep wound.

Others fear going out as busier streets push them back into their homes.

And now as the Government’s shield of protection abruptly ends, evictions, food poverty and redundancies hit hard.

The scars of inequality have grown, dividing society and community.

The next test is can we draw together; can we emerge as a city and nation where the divides of economic and social disparity are eroded.

Wider still, can the global exploitation of want and greed cease and meet the global crises of destitution and need?

These things seem overwhelming, impossible even,

But in our few short years on this planet, if we never try, we will never even make a dent in the task of humankind.

I will never forget a young climate striker in York.

His teacher challenged his departure from his class, calling after him 'and what difference do you think you will make?'.

He replied: “I don’t know.

"But if I don’t go, I won’t know; let’s see.”

With which he made his way to St. Helen’s Square.

There, he found the the courage to tell this story to a group of young people who had done the same - and to his MP.

His MP has since retold his story in Parliament, to leaders and to activists, so as to encourage others to explore what is possible.

He made a difference that day.

This is what politics is.

Not the ridiculous charade of the Westminster pantomime, where the Prime Minister strong-arms the nation to follow his latest pronouncements, but people acting, doing what they can and working together to force change, rooted deep in personal experience.

If voices outside of Parliament are raised, if people join together and act, then things happen inside that seat of power.

This is our history, our tradition, our movement and our space.

If we want to shift that dial, we have to occupy that space or else others will.

This summer, away from Westminster, across York, I’m meeting communities and organisations.

I will be connecting, listening and engaging.

I will be looking at what we can do together to shift the dial on the things that matter to us, here in York, to close the chasm on inequality.

I will discuss the need for good quality jobs, affordable housing to rent and buy, food justice and protecting our precious environment.

I will focus on how young people need youth services, and the frail, social care.

I will see how we need good mental health and wellbeing support - and I'll witness the incredible work of organisations providing this support.

But I will also go door to door, listening to your hopes, supporting your needs and challenging the things that fail you.

It is when we work together that we can start building back the kind of society that we want to work in and want to live in.

Like you, I have had enough of Government rhetoric, serving few but themselves and their cronies.

Like you, I want a more equal and fair society - a society that serves our community; and a fair world that meets the enormous challenges of this age that we live in.

This summer gives us that opportunity to chart our way forward ahead of the new political season.

There are so many pressing things that need addressing.

We must turn the page together, speak together, act together.

If we can do that, who knows what difference we will be able to make?

Well let’s see.