I’m calling on Erith and Thamesmead small shopkeepers to enter the Best Small Shops Competition, celebrating the successes of small shops and the central role they play in their local community, particularly in response to COVID-19. The Best Small Shops Competition is open to any small shop* operating in the UK. The competition is free […]
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, detailed his plans to protect jobs and boost the economy today but despite big spending pledges the announcement offers little support for people in Erith and Thamesmead. Concerned business owners and employees in the creative and beauty industries were expecting to hear details about when they can expect to […]
During the COVID-19 crisis we have seen the value and need for our care staff more acutely than ever before. I am so incredibly proud and humbled by the dedication and hard work I have seen the NHS staff and care workers in Erith and Thamesmead display throughout this virus. They have been the people […]
Last week I requested to speak in the House of Commons chamber about the urgent need for Government support for the events industry. Unfortunately, I was not called to speak directly about the pressing concerns many constituents have contacted me to raise over the past two months. However, I am aware of your concerns and […]
It is clear the Government was too slow to recognise the scale of the health crisis from coronavirus and we are already paying the economic price. I am increasingly worried that the slow and muddled health response is now being followed by a slow and muddled response to saving jobs. The window is closing to […]
Following the announcement that Primary Schools would be expected to re-open to some students on June 1st, I reached out to parents and students to ask for their views. Greenwich and Bexley NEU had previously expressed their concerns that “it is not safe to begin a wider reopening of schools on June 1st”. I also […]
I’ve called on the Government to fund free school meals this summer to ensure a ‘holiday with hunger’. Today, on 15th June 2020, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Education demanding he reverses his decision to withdraw funding for free school meals over the summer holidays as part of Labour’s ‘Holiday without Hunger’ […]
Following an internal vote within the Parliamentary Labour Party, I have been elected to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as one of four Labour Party Member’s of Parliament to sit on the Assembly. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly was established in 1955 and gives Members of Parliament from across the Atlantic Alliance the opportunity to discuss and […]
An extra 4.5 million people across the UK have taken on unpaid caring responsibilities as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This is on top of the 9.1 million unpaid carers who were already caring before the outbreak, bringing the total to 13.6 million. Unpaid carers are consistently undervalued by the Government and unrepresented in […]
Earlier this year I voiced my support for the inclusion of a Sikh ethnic tick box on the Census 2021 following support shown for the tick box by residents in Erith and Thamesmead. Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith MP, has recently confirmed that the ethnic tick box option will not be […]
