Today, I have joined a crossbench group of MPs supporting the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill.

This Ten-Minute Rule Bill has been re-introduced to the House of Commons to enshrine in law the fundamental human right to breathe clean air, with a deadline for the UK to meet World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines by 2030.

This bill is famously named ‘Ella’s Law’ in remembrance of Ella Adoo Kissi-Debrah, who was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as cause of death, following suffering a fatal asthma attack at only nine years old. Since her death, her mother, and many others, have been tirelessly campaigning on raising awareness of the dangers of toxic air pollution, and I have been proud to support their vital work.

I have long campaigned on the issue of clean air, after seeing its impacts first-hand. Manchester is disproportionately impacted by poor air quality. An estimated 1,200 in our city die prematurely due to pollution. We also have some of the highest rates of child asthma, and unacceptably low rates of healthy life expectancy.

Clean air is a human right. Yet, more often than not, vulnerable people are most exposed to toxic air, including children, older people and those from socio-economically disadvantaged and racialised communities. It is also damaging nature around us, impacting on and contributing to the loss of wildlife.

This motivates me to continue my advocacy for clean air, to improve the health and environmental outcomes for the communities within my constituency who are more likely to be disproportionately impacted.

Therefore, I encourage the Government to seriously consider the principals of this Bill, to ensure that everyone across the UK can access the clean air that they deserve, and ensure that no more lives are needlessly lost to toxic air.