MP’s UPDATE FOR RESIDENTS - August  2021

Dear John

 

Parliament is on recess now, returning on 6th September.  So my next report will be  at the end of September.    Meanwhile, I do hope you have a good, ping-free, summer, and are able to enjoy to enjoy some of the wonderful spaces we have locally.

 

Best wishes

To Contact Me 

My MP Office email is [email protected]  I welcome the opportunity to attend community events to catch up with residents (and also with party members!).  Or if you have concerns where you need my support – do include your address so I know you or they are a constituent, and any relevant reference numbers – DWP/Home Office. Please do share this information with neighbours and local friends.

 

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

I plan to restart face-to-face surgeries in the Autumn. Meanwhile I am happy to meet constituents either by phone, or on-line, to discuss your concerns. Please email me on [email protected] with your address, a quick summary of the issue and any relevant reference numbers.  

 

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.

There can be little doubt that the current Prime Minister must be the worst the UK has ever had.  Parliamentary rules meant that Brent Central MP Dawn Butler had to leave the Chamber for refusing to withdraw her statement that PM Johnson is a liar, yet at PMQs and in speeches he repeatedly tells mistruths; from saying that in the last ten years CO2 emissions have been falling, to stating that the economy is growing. He’s said there are 400,000 fewer families living in poverty when in fact the figure has grown significantly, that there is no other working Covid app in the world, and that the Tories invested an extra £34bn in the NHS.  Keir Starmer has done a brilliant job challenging Johnson each week at PMQs, but week after week we see Johnson deflecting rather pathetically.

 

The Queen’s speech in May set out the Government’s full legislative agenda and many of their proposed Bills are deeply worrying. The Health Bill further expands the power of the private sector in  NHS decision-making and does nothing to address the future of social care. The Building Safety Bill, introduced 4 years after the Grenfell fire, brings little hope to so many leaseholders trapped in potentially unsafe buildings with huge costs still hanging over their heads.  Meanwhile housing associations that manage developer-built blocks for social housing, get no help at all from Government to make their buildings safe for tenants.

 

The Nationalities & Borders Bill punishes asylum seekers and those helping them, which could even affect the RNLI.  The Police and Crime Bill criminalises peaceful protest and trespass but does nothing to address the appalling backlog in the court system nor the shockingly low performance of our justice system for victims of rape and sexual assault. 

 

We are still to see the details of some of their programme, but announcements made so far are also worrying including tackling non-existent voter fraud by requiring photo ID at polling stations.  The Government have also said they plan to weaken the Judicial Review system, and review the Human Rights Act.

 

As Shadow Planning Minister my work will be cut out when the Government publishes the Planning Reform Bill.  However their intentions to undermine the power of local Councils and remove Community Consultation on Planning applications has, rightly, run up against very serious opposition from many quarters, not least a large number of Tory MPs. Here is the link to one of my Chamber speeches on the expected “reforms”.

 

Through all of this gloom, England’s men’s football team went all the way to the final of the Euros. The behaviour and statements of the England football team and manager Gareth Southgate challenged the Government head-on. His "Dear England” letter set out his aspiration of a progressive, unified,  modern 

Also in Parliament in July:  

• I spoke in a Statutory Instrument debate about pavement licensing for shops 
• A constituent asked me to attend the All Party Group on Brain Tumours which is launching an Inquiry into the difficulties scientists have in getting funding for potentially life-saving research on brain tumours.
• In a debate about the need to regularise the status of undocumented migrants who have often been in the UK for many years, I stated that over 80% arrived legitimately but cannot afford the exorbitant fees to keep applying for Leave to Remain.  I also addressed the long delays in the Home Office Immigration Service, only made worse with the number of EU citizens applying for Settled Status
• I questioned the Aviation Minister over a serious constituency case where my HIV-positive constituent was treated very badly when returning to the UK; unable to get medicine while waiting to return, and again when in hotel quarantine on arrival
• I wrote to the Government on behalf of a large number of constituents who contacted me because they, or their family members, have been fully Covid-vaccinated outside of the UK, yet will have to follow strict quarantine restrictions on return, as the vaccine they had is not one of those used in the UK.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Brentford Musical Museum has a unique collection of mechanical musical instruments, including this incredible Wurlitzer cinema organ.  At their Open Day I learned of their extensive programme of silent film-shows, tea dances and concerts.  I also met up with Karen aka BrentfordThruMyLens. Karen is an inveterate photographer of Brentford’s places while also collecting photos of Brentford past, which she often shows together at local exhibitions. 

Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP