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MP’s UPDATE FOR BRENTFORD AND ISLEWORTH RESIDENTS
January 2021
RUTH CADBURY MP
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. You can see full details of my questions and speeches in Parliament, and get Regular updates about my Parliamentary activities on TheyWorkForYou in Hansard and on YouTube
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See my special Coronavirus Web-page for information on
local and national services, help-lines and volunteering;
and to sign up for Hounslow Council’s daily updates.
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Dear John
Happy New Year! And here’s hoping that 2021 is a better year for everyone. We now have the hope that the vaccination will roll out fully, so that at some point this year Covid no longer threatens the lives and livelihoods of so many, and we can enjoy life as we did.
However, I write this just after the country has had to go into another national lock-down, children are studying from home well into February with no certainty about the alternatives to key exams, and our hospitals are almost at breaking point. In the first week of January WestMid has more Covid patients than at the peak last April. The situation has not yet reached the crisis level we have heard about at other London hospitals, with patients waiting in ambulances in the car park to be admitted, however the situation is serious there and staff are exhausted. Which is why we have to all personally act as though we have the virus; “stay home, stay safe (hands, face space) and protect the NHS”.
It goes without saying that I am deeply disappointed about the repeated delays and confusion over every Covid decision by this Government. They have learned nothing from last year’s mistakes, prevarication and lack of planning. I attend almost daily calls with various Ministers where we pass on questions and concerns raised with us by constituents; and so often those Ministers have no answers.
Apart from Covid, the implications of leaving the EU last January and the transition arrangements on 31st December are a growing concern. Travellers, businesses, job hunters, students, any of us who buy stuff we want or need, and many more people, are starting to experience the challenges created by the very late, and very poor, trade deal the UK Government signed with the EU, at the 11th hour, on Christmas Eve.
As most constituents know, I used every vote and speech since the 2016 referendum campaign to oppose leaving the EU, the Single market and the Customs Union, and to support a confirmatory referendum. I was sacked from the front bench for my stance. But we finally lost those arguments with the 2019 general election result.
Over Christmas, a few people wrote to me about the Parliamentary vote on the Trade Bill on 30th December. I, along with Keir Starmer and most Labour MPs, voted in favour of signing the Trade deal, even though it wasn’t the deal we were promised, nor one we really wanted. But it was the only deal the UK has with the EU and it’s better than no deal, which would be disastrous for everyone here. The agreed deal creates a foothold on which to build a future relationship with the EU, who are our friends and allies, with shared values and history.
[Image projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover on 31 January 2020]
We start now, working with partners in Europe to mitigate the damage of the last 5 years and work for a new relationship that is positive and benefits our businesses, jobs, citizens and the environment, and strengthens our shared values on the global stage. Whilst I’m deeply saddened that the UK left the EU last year, I hope that one day we will return as an integral part of the EU.
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The Pandemic has changed the way parliament works and MPs cannot speak unless they are drawn in the ballot by the Speaker so it is pot luck, and I was only drawn three times in December.
However I was able to challenge Home Office Minister (Victoria Atkins) about the issue of “county line” gangs exploiting young people locally. I urged the Government to support local community based groups such as Action Isleworth Mothers who work across Hounslow Borough with young people who have unwillingly got involved with a gang, or are at risk of doing so, and with their parents. As a result of this I am soon to meet the Minister to brief her on this amazing initiative.
I led an adjournment debate on free period products in schools. I welcomed Government support (only announced the night before - some coincidence?) to extend the scheme for another year, but I raised questions around funding levels and the need for the Government to promote their scheme.
At an Urgent Question session I urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (before the lockdown announcement) to work pro-actively with schools & head teachers around school openings in January and to treat school leaders with respect – something that has been glaringly absent for months.
Letters:
- I wrote to the PM on behalf of our beer and pub businesses about the impact that Covid restrictions were having on the hospitality sector and called for better support.
- I also wrote to Chancellor about the removal of tax free shopping due to the impact that this would have on Heathrow and the wider economy
It is truly astonishing that the Chancellor has not come to the Commons since December 1st to answer questions on these and many other issues facing businesses, the self-employed left without support, and also low earners who cannot afford to stay at home if they are required to isolate.
With colleagues on the Transport Committee I visited Heathrow’s Terminal 5 to see the new fast testing centre for departing passengers. They use a 2-minute turnaround test that is accepted by most airlines and many countries. However Heathrow and the airlines have been pushing the Government for months to enable full testing for arriving passengers, equivalent to that operating in many other countries. The facilities are built and ready and waiting.
COMMUNITY UPDATE
Although the installation of the segregated cycle path in Chiswick is being carried out by TfL and Hounslow Council, I have received a certain amount of correspondence on it. I welcomed the Government’s leadership in releasing funding and emergency regulations to enable Councils to quickly roll out safe ways to support walking and cycling. These provide healthy (and in the case of
cycling, often quicker) alternatives to public transport and private cars when people start returning to work. Once the new signals, which allow a phase for the cycle lane, were finally complete the path has been well used. People who were previously nervous to cycle on this busy main road are now feeling confident to get out on their bikes.
I joined representatives of Brentford Football Club, the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and the Supporters Trust outside Morrisons in Brentford to collect donations for Hounslow Community Foodbox
I had a Zoom meeting with leaseholders of flats in Baltic Avenue in Brentford. Like so many owners of flats built in the last 15 years across the country they cannot sell their flats as they cannot get safety certificates to prove their buildings are fire-safe. As a member of the Parliamentary Group on Leasehold I will continue to challenge the Government to properly address the interconnected leasehold and cladding scandals that were emerging even before the Grenfell tragedy, and fund leaseholders for the costs.
RUNWAY 3 – HEATHROW WINS SUPREME COURT. The Supreme Court ruled
against Friends of the Earth and others and determined that the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) that gave approval for Runway 3, was lawful. However the judgement, to which the Government was not a party, was a technical issue about whether the Secretary of State should have had regard to the Paris Agreement (on climate
change). This had not been transposed into UK law at the time the ANPS was approved by Parliament, so the Court ruled the Secretary of State had acted lawfully.
However I am not downhearted as there are many obstacles for the airport to overcome if it still persists in wanting the deeply damaging third runway, not least that the UK now has incorporated its climate commitment into law.
“Better Not Bigger”
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY
Several valuable local charities have asked for help. And many thanks to readers who have donated to Watermans Arts Centre Appeal. They reached their first target but with further lockdowns and uncertainty about government support, they continue to need funds. The #SaveWatermans Emergency Appeal page is here
If you can spare money to other hard-pressed local charities please do: Hounslow Community Foodbox, Ivybridge Foodbank (run by All Souls Church, St Margaret’s), Age Hounslow, Hounslow Open Kitchen, FoodWithLove
Many charities need volunteer help to support those in need. For information about volunteering opportunities in the borough contact Hounslow Volunteering Centre
There are regular Updates about national and local information and services from Hounslow Council here.
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Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom