MP’S UPDATE FOR RESIDENTS - MAY  2021

You can find previous reports of my work on my web site;
www.ruthcadbury.co.uk [1] I also report regularly on my Facebook page [2]
and via Twitter [3] and Instagram @RuthCadbury [4]. You can see full
details of my questions and speeches in Parliament, and get Regular updates
about my Parliamentary activities on TheyWorkForYou [5]in Hansard [6]and on
YouTube [7]

SEE MY SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS WEB-PAGE [8] FOR INFORMATION ON

LOCAL AND NATIONAL SERVICES, HELP-LINES AND VOLUNTEERING;

 AND TO SIGN UP FOR HOUNSLOW COUNCIL’S DAILY UPDATES.

COMMONS UPDATE

THE LAST MONTH HAS EXPOSED JUST HOW unsuited Boris Johnson is to the role
of PM; from dealing with the aftermath of Brexit to delaying lockdown
decisions, to now routinely telling mistruths to Parliament and in the
media without correction. His Government has given £bns of taxpayers’
money to friends whether or not they can deliver equipment for Covid
patients. There was a long silence in the Chamber at PMQs after _I ASKED
THE PM [9]_ when he last spoke to David Cameron (in the context of the
Greensill debacle). Johnson himself has little care for those who have died
of Covid and their loved ones, judging by his “Let the Bodies Pile High
in their Thousands” remark. He seems oblivious of the reason that all
donations to political parties and politicians must be declared, whether
it’s for leaflets, wallpaper or even (as we now learn) to help him out
with the cost of a nanny for his baby son. I have met a number of regular
Tory voters on the doorstep who tell me they cannot vote Conservative while
Johnson is still their leader. Those who have worked with Johnson at the
Spectator, in London’s City Hall, and since he has been in government,
know his faults. And every week at PMQs Keir Starmer shows the nation he is
head and shoulders above Johnson.

THE FINANCE BILL: Covid19 has caused a crisis not only in health, but in
jobs and the economy that is far from over. So the Finance Bill, along with
March’s budget, should have focused on supporting families, securing jobs
and backing struggling businesses as the country emerges from the impact of
the pandemic. Instead the bill takes a hammer blow to family finances, as
it freezes the income tax personal allowance, which mean half the country
will pay more tax next year. It won’t address local Council finances,
which has forced them to increase Council Tax, nor stopped the £20 per
week cut in Universal Credit due to come in this autumn. And after all they
have done for us, nurses will be hit with a real-terms pay freeze.

Meanwhile they are letting some of the world’s tech giants and other
massive companies off paying tax altogether through the so-called “super
deduction” a £25bn boost for companies. When the Bill comes back to the
Commons, Labour in Parliament will try to amend it to explicitly stop this
tax break to the big firms that do not support workers’ rights and the
living wage.

With the support of our front bench, _MY SPEECH OPPOSING THE BILL [10]_
argued that it failed to support freelancers and to go after the promoters
of tax avoidance such as Disguised Remuneration schemes. Instead it was
targeting ordinary working people such as NHS nurses and IT technicians who
work as freelance contractors who have unwittingly been caught up in these
dodgy arrangements. Many have no choice as to how they are paid if they
choose to work via an agency, or in certain sectors where freelancing is
the norm.

Labour will address what is not in the Bill when it returns to the Commons:
the opportunity to invest in better social care, new green infrastructure
and the council housing that we need. In the US President Biden is moving
away from tax cuts for big business, and investing in jobs and growth, and
so should the UK. We need to create jobs, improve lives, and finally start
to tackle the problems that our country faces. The Conservatives have had
more than ten years to do something about these challenges. The Budget and
this finance bill have proved again that they are unable – or unwilling
– to do so.

MY OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS IN PARLIAMENT:

* _URGED GOVERNMENT TO TAKE ACTION_ [11] to tackle the shortfall in
funding for brain tumour research, on behalf of a constituent whose nephew
has a brain tumour. Only £8 million of the promised £40 million had been
spent
* _SPOKE IN A DEBATE_ [12] about Hammersmith Bridge, and raised the
impact on river based businesses as well as traffic congestion in Chiswick
and urged the Govt to act as Hammersmith Council does not have £146m
needed to make the bridge safe
* Spoke about _TREATMENT OF THE UYGHURS [13]_ in China and human rights
abuses in Xingjian province including the appalling crimes against women.
Along with MPs from across the House I called on the Government to act and
consider what is happening as an act of genocide.
* I (again) _CALLED ON THE TREASURY [14]_ to provide support to aviation
communities like Hounslow (+20K jobs) who dependent on the sector
* Spoke during the “ping pong” sessions of the _FIRE SAFETY BILL [15]
_and criticised the Government for not bringing forward proposals to
protect leaseholders from excessive remediation costs for the failures in
fire safety left by the builders of their flats. Sadly the Bill passed
without these key amendment that had been supported by the Lords and about
30 Tory MPs

I visited the Covid Memorial Wall, which now runs for hundreds of yards
along the river path opposite the Houses of Parliament. Every red heart
represents one of the 147,000 UK people who have died of Covid19 over the
last 14 months. Visiting is an incredibly moving experience. But to do them
justice we need an Independent Judge led inquiry, to address the failures
during the pandemic and ensure that the UK never confronts such a disaster
so chaotically again.

COMMUNITY UDPATE

I visited HOUNSLOW YOUTH COUNSELLING SERVICE with Labour’s Shadow
Minister for Mental Health Rosena Alin Khan, and London Assembly Candidate
Cllr Candice Atterton.

We discussed the pressures young people face, especially with the impact of
the coronavirus. HYCS staff impressed on us the importance of good
open-access youth services to provide safe space for young people and a
place to get support and information on health, sex, drugs and
relationships

LITTER PICKERS:  Seema Malhotra and I met with representatives of West
London Litterpicking Groups from across Hounslow and Ealing, including
Isleworth and Osterley groups. We discussed legislation for a deposit
scheme for recyclables, action on railway-land litter from TfL and the rail
companies, and better anti-litter education in schools.

 ALL EU CITIZENS, without dual UK nationality, who are permanently
resident in the UK are urged to apply for settlement status before the June
30th deadline. You can get help from Hounslow council for this.

LONDON ELECTIONS:  This Thursday (May 6th) is your chance to vote for the
Mayor of London, For A South West London Assembly member, and for a party
preference in the top up lists. (There is also a by-election for Hounslow
Councillors in Hounslow Heath and Cranford Wards.)

Polling Stations are open 7am-10pm, you don’t need your poll card to
vote. If you have a postal vote and have not had a chance to return it to
the Council by Thursday, you can hand it in at any Hounslow Polling
station.

IN OTHER APRIL NEWS:

Hairdressers opened sometimes with long queues: here is the lady on the
barge in Isleworth in the salon queue (her husband is away having surgery
on his chest after crows took bits of his stuffing to make nests).

We celebrated Easter but as I am not a fan of milk chocolate, I had to make
my own Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, with plain chocolate.

UNSUBSCRIBE [16]

Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP 367 Chiswick High Road
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom




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