MP’s UPDATE FOR Brentford & Isleworth Residents June 2025 RUTH CADBURY MP |
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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. Also – I’m now on Bluesky! (@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 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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Welcome to the bumper (2 month catch-up) edition of my regular update and apologies for no edition last month. |
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It’s been 10 fantastic years May 7th marked 10 years since I was first elected as Brentford & Isleworth’s Labour MP - definitely the most exciting and demanding decade of my life and I am truly honoured to have served my constituents over this time. |
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I won the seat from the sitting Conservative MP by 465 votes and held it in three subsequent general elections. I’ve spent nine years in opposition and almost one on the government side of the House; experienced the Parliamentary twists and turns of Brexit, and the even stranger time of Parliament during the Covid lockdown. I have served on Labour’s front bench as shadow minister variously for Housing, Planning, Trade, and Prisons; and been a member of the Women & Equalities, Justice and finally Transport Committees, the last of which I now chair. I have chaired several All-Party Parliamentary Groups, many transport-related. With the help of my wonderful staff team I have responded to almost 90,000 requests for help and support from constituents, and their concerns set my priorities in Parliament. Leasehold and Fire Safety, Heathrow noise, the rights of Palestinians, Special Education provision and safer streets are among the issues that I have consistently raised over the years in the Chamber and with Ministers. I am really pleased to see the impact of a Labour Government already in the constituency: In the last month alone we have seen announcements about funding for two local Health Centres and two secondary schools so that they can carry out much needed building improvements. |
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IN THE COMMONS in April and May: |
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Hounslow has over 30 School Streets that have been successful in cutting dangerous driving outside schools and also increased levels of walking, scooting and cycling; not only by families going to and from school, but local residents too. I spoke on this in a Westminster Hall debate on Road Safety and Active Travel to School |
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SWR and Network Rail (Wessex) came to parliament to hear from MPs with constituencies along their route. I raised with their representatives the issues of cancellations, the progress on providing step-free access to platformd and the 2-day power cut at platforms 20-24 at Waterloo. |
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Back in 2014. I visited the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar – and I joined MPs and community leaders at a meeting in Parliament to support the call for an apology from our Government for the stain on our colonial legacy that this garden commemorates. The bagh is now a landscaped space surrounded by buildings and preserved as a memorial to the hundreds of unarmed children, women and men killed there in 1919. They were gunned down on the orders of Brigadier General REH Dyer to his soldiers to fire into the bagh until they ran out of bullets. The thousands of people gathered had no escape, and this atrocity marked a turning point in Indian’s campaign for independence. |
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Businesses locally have consistently told me that increased barriers to importing and exporting to Europe has hit them hard and I support the Government in working to pull down these barriers. I therefore co-signed a letter to the PM prior to the May European summit, calling for a better trading deal and an improved relationship between the UK and the European Union, with key agreements around youth mobility, security & trade. Here is the article I wrote in the Hounslow Herald on this. After the announcement that the Palestinians in Gaza were to again start receiving aid the Middle East minister came to the chamber. I demanded that the UK Government insist that this aid is distributed by the UN and international agencies, according to the UN’s recognised humanitarian principles, and not by private military contractors. We are now seeing the appalling consequences of Israel’s actions in ignoring these pleas. |
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AS TRANSPORT COMMITTEE CHAIR: Following the complete closure of Heathrow Airport on 21st March due to the fire at the nearby electricity sub-station, the Committee held a one-off session. We questioned the CEO of Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL), representatives of SEE and National Grid and the airlines based at Heathrow on the necessity of a complete closure and whether the airport could and should have been better prepared for such an eventuality. We didn’t get very convincing answers and learned there is no requirement for the airport to compensate the airlines, and thus the passengers, impacted by the closure. It was then interesting to see that when Spain and Portugal had a complete power cut on 28th April, no airport there closed, because they all had adequate backup power. Only around 500 flights out of some 6000 potential flights, were grounded (a point I made when the Energy Minister came to the Chamber about that outage 2 days later). We’ve completed our sessions on Streetworks and their impact on road users, and also held a one-off session with Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, that covered the full breadth of her Transport responsibilities. In the Chamber I asked the Energy Minister what discussions he is having with power networks and the Transport Department to address the national shortage of charge points for electric vehicles. As a Select Committee Chair I sit on the Liaison Committee which meets quarterly to question the Prime Minister. I used the opportunity to probe his level of ambition about the need for new rail lines; including completing the HS2 route and linking Manchester and Yorkshire via the Pennines. I am hoping we will have more news on this in the spending review. I am also “guesting” on the Environmental Audit’s Inquiry into Airport Expansion – which will involve several sessions in the weeks ahead. |
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It was an honour to be at the Vaisakhi celebration at Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Hounslow. The Nisham Sahib seva is the ceremonious redressing of the Sikh flag, the ensign of the Sikh faith |
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Trinjan Women’s Group celebrated their 21st anniversary n at the Thistleworth Tennis Club. Set up to ensure that over 50s women locally could have somewhere to meet new people, get support & advice or have a space to socialise & learn, they have art classes, sports days, movie nights and day trips. |
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The Moon Under Water is a popular Weatherspoons pub on the edge of Hounslow Town centre, that has been plagued by anti-social behaviour and crime in the immediate area. I met the manager and senior staff of Wetherspoons over their concerns. I then wrote to Ch Supt Jill Horsfall asking that the remit of the Town Centre police team be extended up the Staines Road, to cover those businesses that are impacted. |
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Following the police raid of Westminster Quaker Meeting House, as both their MP and as a Quaker, I met members of Brentford & Isleworth Quakers. We discussed their concerns about police powers brought in by the Conservative Government to ban non-violent direct action, and the protection of places of worship from police harassment. I had voted against the two Acts when they came to Parliament under the last Government, and am concerned the Police continue to use them, especially when they could have just knocked politely at the front door. |
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The Purple Elephant Project, supports children across Hounslow and Richmond who have experienced deep trauma by providing professional psychological counselling. They asked for my help as they faced a cliff-edge at the end of March due to a delay in the Government deciding the future of the 'Adoption and special guardianship support fund'. Along with other MPs with similar projects, I raised this in the Commons. The government minister responded by announcing £50 million in funding for 2025-2026. However, we subsequently heard that the full funding will not be reinstated, which could have a devasting long-term effect on both the children, and their adoptive families. I will continue to press this issue. |
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I wrote to TFL about the ongoing poor service with the 65 bus, and the problems this is causing locally in Brentford (and beyond!). I asked TFL if they would consider splitting the route in two to tackle some of the problems. In their response to me TfL acknowledged the need for reliable and frequent bus services. I also met Bill Cahill of First Bus London who operate the route to learn more about route management. I am told the service is improving……. |
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Whitton’s St George’s Day event on the High Street was wonderful! So many people enjoyed the sun, the stalls, the food and of course the music. I heard St Edmund’s School Choir, saw Elvis, the Punch & Judy and the Dhol drummers. This great celebration was only possible through the tireless work of the Love Whitton volunteers, led by a group of local businesses. |
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At West Thames College - I met with principal Tracy Aust who talked me through some of the challenges facing the college and how they are working with Hounslow Council and the Government to help improve life long learning. I then heard from students about their experiences and hopes for the future. |
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At a packed meeting entitled “People Power and Participation” Hounslow Citizens was relaunched with representatives of community and faith groups. It was Citizens that first developed the concept and campaigned for the Living Wage, and who persuaded Hounslow Council, when I was Deputy Leader in 2011, to adopt the London Living Wage for all those who worked for the Council. I hope that Hounslow Citizens will continue to be a voice for the borough’s people. |
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Brentford and Chiswick Rotary is 100 years old and with Cllr Amy Croft, I attended their 100th anniversary fundraising dinner. Some people will, like me, remember Stan Goddard, but perhaps don’t know that he was one of the original founders of the branch. |
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The new base for Brentford FC’s Training Academy had its official opening at the Osterley Training Ground with mayor Cllr Karen Smith. We were shown round the gym, training rooms, canteen and pitches where (as you would expect for BFC!) meticulous records are kept of each student’s progress. We learned that the lucky few end up in the first team squad, but many more continue to have careers in football in other ways. |
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VE Day Celebrations: On the green in Isleworth, wreath laying and a service in Heston, and raising the flag at Osterley Gymkhana remembering all Indian and other commonwealth citizens who fought and died in World War Two – it was an honour to attend so many local events, as well as to watch the fly-past at home out of our attic window! |
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The Polish Clan Festival took place in Lampton Park with the Polish community from across west London celebrating the culture and food of Poland. I enjoyed the dancing, which was luckily straightforward to learn, as it reminded me a bit of the country dancing I did in my youth! |
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The Women’s Rugby World Cup will take place this Autumn with the Bronze final and final taking place on the 27th September at Twickenham. WRWC showed off their new cup in Parliament, now of a size and design befitting of an important international sporting tournament. |
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I joined hundreds of members of the Armenian Community from across West London to commemorate the 110th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 at the eternal flame sculpture in Ealing. Bishop Hovakim Manukyan and Ambassador Nersesyan spoke and one of the young scouts from the Armenian troop read a wonderful poem. |
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The Golden Mile 100th Anniversary On 30th May 1925 the Great West Road was opened by King George V– and exactly 100 years later I was at the launch of a series of events to celebrate the history of the road and the iconic art deco buildings, some of which still remain along the Golden Mile (which might actually be a bit longer than 1 mile) from Gillettes to the Chiswick roundabout. Local historian James Marshal has also released his book “The Great West Road – A Centenary History” – a must-read for anyone interested in our local history. |
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Not only does Hounslow continue to be without a Post office, but now so does Chiswick. Council leader Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, Andy Slaughter MP and I have jointly written (again) to the Post Office to demand action on behalf of the many residents and businesses of both towns that depend on the Post Offices services. I have also met with PO representatives on this issue that matters to so many residents and businesses, especially as we continue to lose banks from our high streets. |
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Wearing a pink tutu and fairy lights, I cycled 50k from Windsor to Vauxhall with three friends in aid of Women’s Cancer Charities on the annual Ride the Night. It’s not too late to sponsor me if you can: – via this link, https://womenvcancer.enthuse.com/pf/ruth-cadbury |
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