MP’s UPDATE FOR BRENTFORD AND ISLEWORTH RESIDENTS
JUNE 2024
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You can find previous reports of my work on my web site; www.ruthcadbury.co.uk I also report regularly on my Facebook page and via Twitter and Instagram @RuthCadbury.
If you would like to raise issues with me please email on [email protected] with your address, a quick summary of the issue (and relevant reference numbers).
See my Web page for information on local and national services
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This will be my last Update until after the General Election. From the dissolution of Parliament on 30th May there are no MPs until after the results are announced in the early hours of 5th July. So from the 31st I am the Labour Candidate for the (revised) constituency of Brentford & Isleworth. The new seat no longer includes the three Chiswick wards, but includes Heston East ward, and Whitton ward (which is in the London borough of Richmond Upon Thames) - although there are no changes to borough boundaries.
Now is the time to register for a postal vote if you need one. Please use, and share this link: https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
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MY PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITY IN MAY
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For full details of my questions and speeches in Parliament, get regular updates about my Parliamentary activities TheyWorkForYou (votes) or see Hansard (speeches) & on YouTube
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- I challenged the immigration minister on the time it had taken to scrap the unfair 20% wage discount on jobs on the shortage occupation list
- Sewage has been discharged into English rivers for 3.6 million hours, including the River Thames so I asked the Environment Secretary what the long term plan is for tackling sewage discharges. As has happened before, he implied that the Thames Tideway tunnel will solve much of the problem, which of course it won’t as that only captures sewage discharges downstream of Chiswick.
- For Mental Health Awareness Week I asked the Minister if the record long waits that many people face in getting adequate mental healthcare is delaying their return to work and keeping them on benefits longer
- From the Despatch Box for an urgent Question on deaths at Parc Prison I challenged the Prisons Minister, who I shadow, to ensure the action plan he had just outlined will continue once the issue is no longer in the headlines
- At the following week’s Justice Questions I asked why the new body scanners, costing £100m, that had been installed at prisons like Bedford to stop drug smuggling, were sitting unused
- After the Government supported a “Death by Dangerous Cycling Law” (which was passed unopposed) I asked the Transport Secretary when he will publish the long-overdue strategic framework for road safety (following up an identical question I asked last year!). I added that more people are killed by cows and lighting in the UK than by bicycles.
- The ongoing and developing crisis in Sudan is being fuelled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to flout the UN arms embargo on Darfur. I asked the Deputy Foreign Office Minister at an Urgent Question, whether the UK Government will utilise their UN Security Council position as penholder on Sudan to prevent the flow of arms to the Rapid Support Forces?
- Finally – I asked the Veterans Minister if the Government is proud of their failure to address the Homelessness crisis among veterans as homelessness has risen by 14% last year despite a promise to end veteran homelessness
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Low Traffic Neighbourhoods: I spoke in the ePetition debate held because two petitions hit the threshold requiring a Parliamentary debate. They called on the Government to conduct an independent review of LTNs and another on accessibility. I described Hounslow’s experience of LTNs. They have only been implemented following resident concern about rat-running through their roads which causes growing road danger for pedestrians, and traffic jams
that make it impossible for residents to drive to or from their own homes. I listed measures installed decades ago to create what we now call LTNs - physical barriers in Chiswick, Isleworth and Hounslow to stop rat-running. I went on to address the technology that enables the Council to use camera enforcement, which means no vehicle need be banned from an area but cannot just drive straight through. I also described how school zones had made areas around schools so much safer for most children and their parents, those who walk to and from school.
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Students learning English as an additional language at West Thames College had a tour of Parliament and a discussion with me. Coming from a range of countries with varied levels of democracy – it was good to hear of their impressions of the UK Parliament.
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The organisers of Christian Aid Week came into parliament to encourage us to promote the work of local churches organising together to raise funds for important humanitarian work in the UK and overseas.
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I was honoured to be awarded the Beer Parliamentarian of the Year 2024 at the Annual Parliamentary Beer Group Awards. I was nominated by Asahi (who now own the Griffin Brewery) and Fullers (Pubs & Restaurants) with whom I’ve worked with since being elected in 2015, raising issues that are important to our large pub and hospitality sector (and which employ a few thousand people locally ).
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Poppy Love from Isleworth has been picked for the England women’s rugby team for the Paris Olympics. I met her and other Olympians and Paralympians at a reception in Parliament organised by SportAid who support Great Britain’s rising starts
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My Shadow Prisons & Probation role kept me busy; I spoke at the Prisons Officers’ Association Conference in Eastbourne – expressing my concern for the level of violence they experience every day they go to work.
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I had a useful briefing with Shadow Policing Minister Alex Norris MP about the role of Police and Crime Commissioners in the Criminal Justice system. NACROS’s Chair, former prisons inspector Nick Hardwick and CEO Cambell Robb briefed me about their work supporting prisoners after release from prison. I also met Switchback, a small charity inspiring former prisoners to excel in fields they assumed they’d be shut out of.
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Many community figures came together to celebrate Cllr Jagdish Sharma’s 50 years as a Councillor in Hounslow. Jadgish was the first Asian Mayor in the UK, and when he was leader of the Labour Group and then the Council from 2006 to 2012 I was his deputy.
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Bond House: I was shocked to see the state of a fairly new block of flats in Brentford; Bond House in Baltic Avenue which is managed by A2Dominion, although built by Bellway. Tenants and leaseholders are living in damp homes caused by construction failures. Poor management practices are also putting their safety risk. Despite A2D’s Chief Exec telling me they are addressing their poor record, any improvements have yet to be seen by residents in Bond House. After a useful meeting with residents and a tour of the block, I penned a stiff letter to the CEO demanding action.
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As summer approaches every weekend features community events – and the Polish Heritage festival in Lampton Park was a joyous occasion of music dance, and amazing pastries!
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Success! After many years of lobbying for step-free access at both Gunnersbury and Kew Bridge stations, my letters have paid off and the Department of Transport has included both stations in their latest list of stations awarded Access for All funding for “initial feasibility work” . One of the confirmed criteria for allocating the funding is “Confirmed support of the local MP”.
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Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP 367 Chiswick High Road
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom
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