Dear John, I'm writing to give you an update on my work as your Member of Parliament. As the Covid-19 crisis continues I will continue to provide regular e-mail updates and if you ever need to get in touch about the issues covered here – or anything else – please contact my office on 0207 219 4243 or e-mail me at [email protected]

Covid-19

The situation is rapidly changing and the response to Coronavirus is being directed by Government centrally working with Public Health England, the Government’s advice is available here and Harrow Council have information online about their own response which reflects the Government's position, which is available here . Cllr Adam Swersky has also outlined the council’s current plan here.

In Parliament, I have recently pushed the Government to support every business so that it doesn't go bankrupt; to support laid off workers to the tune of 75% of their income and to take action to support the self-employed. A video of which can be found here .

Additionally, I have tabled a number of Written Parliamentary Questions relating to the government’s approach to tacking Covid-19. These have particular pertinence to areas surrounding support for tenants, those who require welfare support from the DWP as a result of self-isolation, rail travel and for provision of local health services. I will of course update you with responses to these questions and more via my social media and in upcoming e-mails.

Locally I have been heartened by the variety of recent correspondence I have received from various groups now organising to help across Harrow and correspondence from individuals looking to help. A list of active volunteers will go a long way to help build the resilient community that will be necessary to help the residents of Harrow through this outbreak. You will receive an additional Covid-19 e-mail update from me this week with details of every group organising locally to help our community across Harrow. Until then, the Voluntary Action Co-operative have compiled a helpful list of ways that people can get involved here.

I appreciate that whilst this outbreak of Covid-19 is currently dominating a lot of our thoughts, other concerns and problems do not disappear. However, to help reduce the spread of infection, I am asking members of the public who need to contact my office to do so by phone or email rather than in person and further I will now be holding surgery appointments exclusively by telephone. This is a temporary measure and a sensible precaution to protect vulnerable people. Please be assured we continue to offer a full service of advice and support to members of the public who need it.

If you have any questions on the handling of Coronavirus don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Mount Vernon

After a decade of underinvestment under the Tories, an urgent review last summer by NHS England found Mount Vernon’s Cancer Centre to be dilapidated and not fit for purpose. It said there was a need to for considerable investment in buildings, equipment replacement and I.T. connectivity. It is not one of the hospitals the Tories have said they will rebuild and there have been rumours that it will be closed or be moved to central London.

I called a debate on Mount Vernon’s future recently having tabled a series of questions to probe what was going on and have launched a petition to secure the centre's future. you can read the debate here and if you haven't already done so can sign the petition here.

International Trade Select Committee

I have been re-elected by Labour MPs to serve on the International Trade Select Committee and I look forward to holding the Government to account over their negotiations with the EU on our future trade deal, on plans to do a deal with Donald Trump and other Free Trade Agreements .

I will be strongly opposing any attempts to reduce worker’s rights, environmental protections, food standards and any efforts to undermine our NHS.

Why Labour Lost

It feels like many months ago now, but the British Election Study has taken a comprehensive look at why people voted the way they did in the 2019 General Election. Amongst a wealth of data three important points emerge:

How we unite those competing geographical and social values to re-rebuild and win an election must now be the number one priority of our next leader.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if I can be of assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Gareth