Welcome to my August newsletter. Brexit has now defeated two Tory
Prime Ministers and it might be well on its way to defeating a third.
The
Parliament ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌


Dear John,

WELCOME TO MY AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Brexit has now defeated two Tory Prime Ministers and it might be well
on its way to defeating a third. The Parliamentary session came to a
close last week, but the work continues into August as a snap General
Election has never looked more likely.

As ever, if you want to get in touch about any of the issues covered
here – or anything else – you can arrange an appointment at one of
my regular advice surgeries by calling my office on 0207 219 4243 or
e-mail me at [email protected]

ELECTION WATCH

[European election campaign]

Labour Party Members in Harrow West turned out in big numbers for the
unanticipated European Parliamentary elections on May, 23rd; Harrow
was one of few local authorities to buck the London-wide trend and our
members played a big part in returning Seb Dance and Claude Moraes to
Brussells. While Harrow was able to buck the trend, it is clear that
the result wasn’t a success for Labour on a national level and the
party’s position on Brexit was in need of reform.

Since I stepped down as a Shadow Minister two years ago, I have been
vocal in my support for a public vote on the Brexit deal that would
provide the option for remain on the ballot. With the threat of a
disastrous no deal scenario looming, I am pleased we are as a party
beginning to see a significant shift in position. Labour has a
crucial, historic duty to safeguard jobs, rights and living standards
and there is increasing realisation that no Brexit outcome alone can
do that. 

I stand by what Shadow Brexit Secretary, Keir Starmer has said; as
Westminster returns in the autumn, Parliament must now be put on a
war-footing to prevent a no-deal Brexit and every tool in our armoury
must be deployed including “amending legislation, forcing emergency
debates and triggering no-confidence votes”.

STANDING DOWN AS CHAIR OF THE CO-OPERATIVE PARTY

[Coop stage]

In May, I took the decision to stand down in my role as the Chair of
the Co-op Party. This is a position I had held for almost 20 years.
The Party is in good position – it’s got a large number of MPs, a
record number of councillors, and the co-op movement is in very good
health. It’s time for someone new at the top and I am delighted to
see the excellent Anna Turley taking on the role. I have many
highlights of my time as Co-op chair, including steering significant
changes to co-op law through Parliament, and an expansion of co-op
schools and credit unions. More latterly we championed the idea of an
armed forces credit union, which has been introduced, and the
campaigns on modern slavery have forced the government to move; our
campaign on food poverty and hunger will hopefully do the same.

We’ve had some cracking successes, and I’m looking forward to
carrying on as a Labour / Co-op MP, because the thing we want is a
Labour/Co-op government, bringing new legislation for co-ops and
mutuals to expand, a new credit union act to help the sector help and
serve all the people who could usefully benefit. Plus, we’d like to
see a shift to renewables and to give people more right to jointly own
renewable power to fight against climate change.  I’LL
ALWAYS BE A CO-OPERATOR, AND I’M VERY PROUD TO HAVE HAD THE
PRIVILEGE OF CHAIRING THE PARTY FOR AS LONG AS I HAVE. I LOOK FORWARD
TO HELPING IT GROW EVEN MORE.

CAREERS FAIR

[Careers Fair]

Several hundred students and parents were in attendance this year for
my first Careers Fair in partnership with Rooks Heath College.

Students from across Harrow had the experience to talk with
representatives from 20+ companies and institutions including BFI,
Royal Navy, Selfridges Food, Heathrow Airport, London Sport as well as
partake in CV and Cover Letter workshops provided by Google.

All the fee-paying schools in Harrow and across the UK have their own
careers fairs organised internally, but there has been a vacuum for
careers fairs organised for local state schools. I thought it was high
time to put that right.

The organisations that took part represented many different careers
across many different industries and the stall format allowed those in
attendance to approach any stall that interested them. This allowed
personal one-to-one conversations about that career, industry and the
journey it takes to achieve their career goals.

SO WHERE IS PARLIAMENT NOW?

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson suffered his first Commons defeat
before even becoming Prime Minister, as Parliament voted by 315 votes
to 274 to prevent the new Prime Minister’s Government from
suspending parliament for more than two weeks. Shutting down
parliament is not only unconstitutional but also unlawful, and while
there is currently a clear parliamentary majority against no deal, it
was surprising that just 17 Tory rebels joined us in the voting lobby.

The vote on Hilary Benn’s amendment means that even if the new Prime
Minister suspends the Commons, it would be possible to recall MPs for
five days, during which they could attempt to extend Article 50. Under
the rules as they are now, it would be “almost impossible” for MPs
to stop no-deal without using a no confidence vote to bring down the
government. That means that a General Election is increasingly likely.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMITTEE

[GT International Trade]

In June, I took a seat on the International Trade Committee; my role
on the committee will involve examining and scrutinising the
expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for
International Trade and its associated public bodies. A lot of the
scrutiny so far has largely been about Brexit myth busting. While the
new Prime Minister believes that a free trade deal with the United
States could be in place by the 1st of November 2019, in fact the (now
former) Minister for Trade policy appeared to suggest to me that 5 to
10 years would be a more reasonable expectation.

YOU CAN WATCH MY MOST RECENT INTERROGATION HERE
[[link removed]]

BOB CURRIE CLOSE

[Gareth and Cllr Dean Gilligan]

Earlier this year, I joined four very proud Labour Cllrs at the
opening of new council housing on the new “Bob Currie Close”,
South Harrow. Bob was a Cllr for The Labour Party  too, a former
Mayor of Harrow, who grew up and lived on the same estate in the same
community throughout his life, and is still missed by all who knew
him. Harrow Council revealed this month that tenants have started to
move into the new close, with three council homes for social rent and
three available on shared ownership. Harrow Council have shared a
video of the new housing here [[link removed]]. More
council houses are to be built in South Harrow, with work due to start
shortly.

HARRROW HALF-MARATHON

[HHM]

Over the last year I’ve been working again with Harrow Athletics
Club, Harrow Council and a number of other organisations to bring the
Harrow Half-Marathon back for another year. Whether you’re planning
your 2019 race calendar or need a target to belatedly achieve a New
Year’s resolution, it’s the perfect time to enter the Harrow Half
Marathon on SUNDAY, 15TH SEPTEMBER. There’s still time to sign up
here: [link removed]
[[link removed]]   
[[link removed]]

Following the ‘history making’ event last year, as London’s
first ‘Single Use Plastic Water Bottle Free’ event, the marathon
will be offering ‘Ooho’ water sachets again
[[link removed]]. Indeed, organisers are
looking at further ways of becoming even more sustainable, your
suggestions are always welcome at: info @harrowhalfmarathon.co.uk

I’ve not yet made up my mind on whether I’ll be running the full
half or if I will be joining the one mile ‘Roger Bannister Family
Race’ again, but I will be sure to update on my decision in my next
update.

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