Welcome to the January edition of my newsletter


** WELCOME TO MY JANUARY NEWSLETTER
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Dear ,

Welcome back to my first newsletter of the year, I hope you've had a great start to the new year.

As we enter the year of an upcoming general election, I want to assure you that I will continue to address the pressing issues constituents face in Barking and dedicate myself to larger projects, both locally and nationally.

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:
Holocaust Memorial Day

It was a privilege and honour to be invite to speak again at the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at Barking Town Hall this month. I was able to speak of my personal experience of fleeing persecution, and of how important it is that we continue to remember all those murdered during the Holocaust. I was also privileged to meet a holocaust survivor, Susie Barnett BEM, who spoke of her harrowing experience fleeing the Holocaust. It is particularly important to remember this at the moment, with the ongoing war in the Middle East and Ukraine.

It will not be easy, but we must work hard together to ensure that we stay united in Barking and continue to bring our community together.

School Visits

Following my successful Christmas card competition, I was pleased to spend the first month of the year visiting the schools which participated and meeting some our young bright students to discuss what matters to them; locally, nationally and internationally.

I was equally pleased to visit students across secondary schools in Barking to discuss what matters most to them, from access to health care to their aspiration of working in politics.


I was joined by nearly 300 students at Jo Richardson Community School. It was amazing to meet so many young, passionate constituents, all of whom have the potential to go out and achieve big and great things.


Remediation - Academy Central Development

I have been working closely with residents of Academy Central over the last few months as they continue their journey of having their properties remediated.

I was pleased to host and facilitate meetings with the developer, Right to Manage Directors and Insurers, where residents were able to flag their concerns.

I will continue to meet and support residents to ensure they have their cladding remediated and are not penalised through no fault of their own.


Valence House Museum Street Meeting

I held at Valence House Museum on the 26th January 2024. I was so pleased to be joined by over 30 residents, local councillors and Council officers.

This meeting was held after I received a petition from concerned residents opposed to the announcement that Valence House Museum will now be closed on Fridays. As well as discussing this closure, the Young at Heart programme at the site was also raised.

A key outcome from our discussion is the creation of a working group, consisting of six resident volunteers, to discuss potential solutions to this issue. One such idea is a Valence House membership scheme, consisting of a small contribution from each member designed to cover the savings that are being made by Friday closures. One other option being explored is alternative Friday closures between the Valence House and Eastbury sites
I will continue to work closely with residents, the Museum, Council and the necessary stakeholders to ensure residents concerns and voices are heard.

And in Westminster:

Integrity in Politics
For the last 6 months I have been part of a commission on governance, a cross-party group of MPs, civil servants, Lords and lawyers. Together the have produced a report on how they think we can clean up politics to be more honest, accountable and transparent. The report was published today, and can be accessed here: [link removed]

All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax
I met with my co-chairs of my all party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, to discuss the plans the group has to keep campaigning against dirty money, in the lead up to and beyond the next election. As I am preparing to stand down at the next election, I want to make sure all my campaigning efforts against corruption continue into the next Parliament, which my co-chairs will continue to do.

Holocaust Memorial Day
I sponsored this years Holocaust Memorial Day debate in the House of Commons chamber, where I spoke about the need to protect modern day refugees today, if we are to really mean it when we stand up and proclaim, ‘never again.’

I also attended a reception organised by the Holocaust Education Trust ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27^th January, where I met with survivors of the Holocaust, including a Kindertransport refugee who, it turned out, knew my brother-in-law, another Kindertransport refugee.


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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