Dear John,

As we embrace the longer autumn nights, I’m looking forward to engaging with communities during this festive season. As always, it was a pleasure to join in Diwali celebrations with our Hindu Community and as we get closer to Christmas, I look forward to plenty of Fairs and festive lights in the weeks ahead.

"Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”

Today is Remembrance Sunday, earlier this week I planted a tribute to Harrow’s veterans in Parliament's Garden of Remembrance.

Today, I will be joining the Remembrance service taking place at the war memorial in Harrow Town Centre. Remembrance Sunday is an important and deeply felt moment locally. To respect those who paid the ultimate price, and in appreciation of those who have and continue to serve our country.

Below is my newsletter covering some of my work in Parliament and locally in Harrow too – As always, through out the month, you can find regular updates from me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or if you have an issue you would like to raise with me, contact me on [email protected] or 02072194243.

ACROSS HARROW

Rooks Heath and Nower Hill Schools Meeting

Last month, I convened a joint meeting of Headteachers of Rooks Heath and Nower Hill High Schools, representatives from RATP, TfL, Metroline, and our local police.

Following a serious incident on the high street serving one of the schools last year, it has become critical for us to work together in order to sort out issues with bus frequency, to better serve our students and residents during peak hours.

Currently, this issue is affecting several schools during rush hour, with staff often having to supervise beyond Pinner Road and Eastcote Lane until as late as 4 PM. We are also working to reduce the time spent congregating on the high streets, which can serve as a draw for outside school students and cause further issues for students and staff.

My office will aim to keep residents updated on the progress of these discussions through my updates and social media channels.

Rayners Lane Police Walkabout

Following my recent walkabouts of Harrow Town Centre and Wealdstone, I held a walkabout in Rayners Lane alongside the local Safer Neighbourhood Team, Cllr Krishna Suresh and residents.

Since the walkabout, I have called for increased plain-clothes patrols and additional police resources to address safety concerns in the area. The police now plan to apply for more resources to deploy larger teams, particularly during the night when incidents are more prevalent.

I have also written to the council urging their enforcement teams to actively enforce the current Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which should address issues such as daytime drinking, loitering, fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, crime, and women’s safety. Enforcement is not taking place often enough and these issues profoundly impact residents’ well-being. Stricter enforcement is essential to keeping our communities safe.

The police have also raised the need to remove street furniture outside Rayners Lane Underground Station and the Zoroastrian Centre. I have written to Harrow Council about this, to help improve safety.

In support of these efforts, the police have requested additional CCTV installations to enhance monitoring and enable better identification.

SIGN THE PETITION calling for additional CCTV resource, to provide greater local intelligence and help combat anti-social behaviour in Rayners Lane.: https://www.gareththomas.org.uk/my_campaigns/2024/10/26/petition-more-cctv-for-rayners-lane/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGcgrNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHf3KqpUHKWx2t5f8y6Gbtfoh-iJ4_Yb88URMh4kR5a-hPsPPvb3RjK1X0Q_aem_l0Wv-y1AU21hlUUf8UTbrw

North Harrow Defibrilator Launch

It was an honour to return to the 4th Headstone Scouts to commemorate Restart a Heart Week and cut the ribbon for a new public defibrillator outside their hut on Northumberland Road, North Harrow.

In May 2023, the 4th Headstone lost a great supporter, Chris Sanders. In his memory, his family kindly chose the Scouts as their designated charity. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Sanders family for their generous support and to the Scouts for providing the community with a life-saving resource that will serve future generations.

After more than a year of fundraising, the 4th Headstone Scouts successfully secured two defibrillators—one for internal use and another for public access. It’s vital to know where your nearest defibrillator is located, and you can easily find yours at defibfinder.uk.

Each year, more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK, with survival rates at less than 1 in 10. However, early CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival, which makes learning these skills essential.

Restart a Heart (RSAH) is an annual initiative led by Resuscitation Council UK, aimed at increasing survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by teaching more people life-saving CPR. Learn more about this crucial initiative at: Resuscitation Council UK.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

🚨 Advertise your Small Harrow Business here 🚨

Every year I take the time to platform some of the fantastic small businesses of Harrow on my Facebook page. With the return of Small Business Saturday on the 7th of December I want to spotlight as many small businesses as I can once again -

If you are a small business owner in Harrow and would like me to promote you this week in the run up to Small Business Saturday, please send me a quick note (to [email protected]) with👇

🔵 A picture that you’re happy for me to use to promote your business

🔵 The business name and a sentence on what your customers like about you

🔵 Where people can find you online and/or in person, your opening hours and any social media pages

Let’s give our small businesses the support and appreciation that they deserve. 👏

Navratri & Diwali

It’s always an honour to get to join in one of the country’s largest Navratri celebrations at Harrow Leisure Centre. I was also honoured to celebrate Diwali; one of the great, great festivals. Hoping everyone that marked the occasion in Harrow had a joyful and prosperous Diwali! 🪔

PARLIAMENT

Last month, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years. I was elected with a mandate for change and a commitment to restore stability to our economy and begin a decade of national renewal. I therefore welcome that on 30^th October 2024, the Chancellor delivered a Budget that fixes the foundations of our economy to deliver on the promise of change after a decade and a half of stagnation, including by fixing the NHS and rebuilding Britain.

In this Budget, we’ll be delivering:

🏥 𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐇𝐒 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: Increasing NHS capacity with 2 million extra appointments each year, covering everything from vital operations to routine check-ups and crucial diagnostic scans, so you can get the care you need, when you need it.

👶 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐬: We’re making childcare more accessible and affordable to help parents across Harrow. This investment will support working families and give our youngest citizens the best start in life and ensure no one goes through the school day hungry.

💷 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟑.5 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 due to rises in the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage.

❌ 𝐍𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 - We will ensure working people won’t face higher taxes in their payslip, with no increase in National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.

📚 𝐅𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 - A significant increase in funding to repair school buildings across the country including support for our SEND school in Harrow

👩‍⚕️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 since its introduction. Carers do an invaluable job, and we’re raising the allowance limits so they get better financial recognition for the essential care they provide.

🏠 £𝟏 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 to support those struggling with the cost of living.

👔 Increasing the employment allowance - that’s £𝟏𝟎,𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥.

🛍️ 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐫to protect the high street, introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties.

✉️🩸 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥 victims (funding which had never been allocated by the previous government)

🏠𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: With £500 million for affordable homes and measures to protect existing social housing stock, we’re tackling the housing crisis head-on.

⛽️ 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 - Air passenger duty hike on private jets while 5p cut on fuel duty & freeze on inflationary rises - drivers will see no rise at the pumps next year.

🛣️ £500m to 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝟏 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫.

This is just the start of Labour’s commitment to delivering real change for working people and families across Harrow. Together, we’ll build a brighter future for all.

LOCAL CAMPAIGNS

SAVE FREE EVENING WEEKEND PARKING IN NORTH HARROW

Free Saturday parking (which has been in place for several years) was abruptly removed from North Harrow over the summer, impacting Traders and local residents alike.

It was good to meet with a few of the local businesses, Trustees and residents impacted by this earlier this month. ✍️ Over 2200 people have signed so far - be sure to sign and share this petition to ensure it is debated at Harrow Council. chng.it/YBkb8fyCjN

SOUTH HARROW STEP-FREE ACCESS

During the election, I met with Majib, a local resident in South Harrow who has been struggling for many years with the steps at South Harrow station. Like many, this issue has been getting worse for him with each year...

Majib has admired and supported our campaigns to secure step-free access at Sudbury Hill, Harrow on the Hill and (soon) Northolt stations but he expressed to me that South Harrow is long overdue. It is worth recognising that step free access at these stations has taken many years of campaigning alongside Assembly Members, local disability rights groups, residents and more.

Last month, I was privileged to join Majib alongside local councillors and a group of work experience students to begin petitioning residents for step-free access. Please support our campaign and do sign & share our petition calling for step-free access at South Harrow station: https:// www.gareththomas.org.uk/petition-step-free-access-for-south-harrow-station/