Welcome to the December edition of my newsletter


** WELCOME TO MY DECEMBER NEWSLETTER
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Dear ,

Welcome back to my newsletter, I hope you have all been keeping well and safe.

As we approach the last couple of weeks of 2023, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all happy holidays and a happy, prosperous new year. This is a time where we appreciate all the good things that have come to us in the year past and look forward to fulfilling our dreams and aspirations that we can achieve in the new year ahead.

I look forward to continuing to work for our community of Barking and Dagenham in 2024.

In the meantime, please read on to see what I have been focusing on this month in Barking and Parliament:
In the local area I have been working on:
Wharf Film Studios Visit with The Duke of Edinburgh

This month I was invited to visit the Wharf Film Studios alongside His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, to showcase the brilliant work taking place and the young upcoming talent we have in Barking and Dagenham. I had the privaledge of meeting young people who have taken the opportunity to learn about filming production techniques, as well as costume, lighting and makeup techniques. The future of Barking is bright in the hands of our young people. I was also pleased the Duke took the time to speak to one of our own local cafe owners who catered for this event.

Christmas Card Competition 2023

Christmas is a special time for us all. A time when we come together with family, friends and neighbours and when children and their dreams lie at the heart of our priorities.

This is a special Christmas for me. For nearly twenty years I have run a Christmas Card competition for all the primary school children in the constituency. When COVID came we had to stop, so this year’s competition is exceptional. It’s the first one we have held since COVID and may well be my last as the MP for Barking and Dagenham.

The drawing chosen as the winner of the competition becomes my card for the year. That card goes to everybody I know. So this year the Labour leader Keir Starmer will get a card, as will the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

This year over 15 Schools participated, with 1,405 submissions and 31 children winning a prize of their choice.

I was so pleased to have been joined by the winners of this years competition in the Town Hall to celebrate their art work.

Thank you to the sponsors, guest judges and most of all the parents and teachers for whom I could not have done this competition with out their support.



And in Westminster:

Backbench Business Debate

On Thursday 7th December, I organised a backbench business debate to raise the urgent need to establish public registers of beneficial ownership in the UK’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. The dependencies and territories had pledged to do so by the end of this year. However, they are now backtracking on their commitments.

Public registers are essential to combat tax evasion, money laundering and other economic crimes. Put simply, we need public registers so we can know who owns companies offshore and follow the money to identify potential wrongdoing. You can watch my debate here ([link removed]) .

Israel and Gaza

Given the rising humanitarian crisis in Gaza, I asked the Minister for the Foreign Office, Andrew Mitchell, what steps the UK was doing to move towards a peace process, to ensure the killings on both sides would cease. Returning the hostages is key to reducing the violence, so I pressed the Minister to work with our international allies to secure their return. You can see my question to the Minister here ([link removed]) .

News Agents

I spoke to the News Agent, Lewis Goodall, about my time being your MP for the last 30 years, and standing down at the next election. You can find the interview here ([link removed]) .

Rwanda Vote

The Government once again tried to bring back their Rwanda Bill, despite the Supreme Court finding it unlawful. They have decided to get around this ruling by declaring Rwanda safe in law, despite evidence to the contrary. This scheme is evidently unlawful, unethical and is costing us millions, despite no migrants being sent. I voted against this bill on the 12th December, and will continue to do so once the Prime Minister brings it back in the New Year. You can watch my argument against the Bill here ([link removed]) .
Many of these issues are ongoing and I will make sure to keep you informed of any developments as regularly as possible.

I am using Facebook, Twitter, and my website to keep constituents up to date with all my work. Please follow me using the buttons below. If you have something you need help with or a concern you wish to raise, then please do get in touch with me.

If you have not already done so, please consider filling in my Healthcare Survey ([link removed]) to help in the work I am doing in the Borough.

With all best wishes,
Margaret

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