Opened the debate
Mr Speaker, you may not know that Seven Sisters tube station in my constituency has about 3 million people visit it every year. I can tell that you are aghast. It is because it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and people arriving to see them often come through the station. Wards Corner is part of that gateway. In the year of my birth, 1972, the former Edwardian department store was left abandoned. Soon it fell into a state of disrepair and throughout my childhood and teenage years, the space remained unused. However, it was not until the early 2000s when new arrivals came to Tottenham—from Peru, Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil and other countries across South America—that it became lively again. Many had fled chaos and upheaval at home but in Wards Corner they spotted an opportunity to build a new home out of the disused space. Stepping inside the Latin Village that they created is like entering a whole different world. The smell of Argentinian meat, freshly made empanadas and tamales is impossible to resist. As day becomes night, the aisles fill up with young couples, groups of friends and families sitting down at tables to eat. The volume of the sound system is turned up. Beers imported from South America are passed round. People chat, their faces illuminated by fairy lights and the hues of shop fronts. Couples dance. Out of the rubble, Tottenham’s South American community has created a treasure trove of culture, community, love and life. London is often hailed as a centre of openness, diversity and multiculturalism; this is a corner of the capital that lives up to the hype.