Holborn and St Pancras MP Keir Starmer visits Chadswell Healthy Living Centre

VULNERABLE residents are struggling to get by financially after losing their income to the coronavirus crisis, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer was told on Friday.

He had been invited by the King’s Cross Brunswick Neighbourhood Association to hear about the challenges caused by Covid.

The group has been working throughout the crisis supporting both young and old residents.

A shopping support squad collected groceries and other items such as medication for those shielding.

Visiting the Chadswell Healthy Living Centre, Mr Starmer said: “Camden is known for the way its community holds together through difficult situations, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that it’s the individuals who do the hard work, and it’s more important than ever that places like this keep going.”

A number of people spoke of the precarious financial situation they faced after struggling to receive furlough money or finding difficulties in applying for Universal Credit.

Mr Starmer, the MP for Holborn and St Pancras, said he had seen his casework double during the pandemic. “Lots of people who didn’t before need help are now coming forward for the first time,” he said.

In a sober account of the devastation caused by the pandemic, a mother-of-four from the Bangladeshi community told Mr Starmer how she had lost her husband to the virus in April and was now struggling financially.