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Abena’s Summer School 2023

I’ve been delighted last month to hold my third annual Campaign Summer School.

At my jam-packed 3-day event, we had a fantastic group of enthusiastic and inspiring young people who were incredibly engaged in learning about how to make a successful campaign and gain the skills needed to make a real difference in our community.

On the first day, I was excited to share my journey to Parliament and what I do as the MP for Erith and Thamesmead. We were also privileged to be joined by Laura Coryton and Rima Amin, who shared their 5 steps for turning a petition into a successful campaign. Laura founded a campaign against the tampon tax in 2014 and Rima worked with Laura on the campaign when she worked at Change.org. We were also joined by Paul Richards who shared his expertise on writing press releases and Christine Quigley and Nick Smith who introduced the students to the world of finance and public affairs.

“Our campaign lobbied the government into establishing the tampon tax fund, through which almost £100m has been donated to female-focused charities”

Laura Coryton on her campaign against tampon tax

On day two, we were joined by Google, who shared how to navigate and make full use of the new digital age to build on campaign ideas, business ideas, and how to kickstart your career. It was also great to be joined by Kwajo Tweneboa who shared his first-hand experience of going from a concerned citizen to a veteran campaigner on housing issues across the country. We were also pleased to welcome Katie Perrior from iNHouse Communications and media experts from 853 and the Guardian, who shared their important knowledge on how to make a campaign successful.

We started the final day with a presentation about how Parliament works with a special briefing from an expert team at the UK Parliament. It was great to see the students ask so many questions about how our government works and how each of them can personally make a difference. I also want to thank Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of Greenwich Council, Martin Angus, from the Local Government Association (LGA), and Councillor Zainab Asumramu for sharing their important personal insights into the role of Local Government and how to get politically active in your local community.

Every year this is such a special week for me. I get to spend lots of time sharing what I know about campaigning and Politics and learning from local young activists across our community who care passionately about a number of critically important issues.

From national issues like Climate Change and the cost-of-living crisis, to local issues like vaping in schools and tackling fly-tipping, it was fantastic to discuss their ideas about what they can do to campaign for change.

I want to send a big thank you to all the speakers who joined during the week, to London South East College team in Erith, who hosted us, and to my team who did a wonderful job making the Summer School work so well. Finally, I also want to send a big thank you to all the students who were so engaged and optimistic and I’m sure will go on to do great things in their careers.

You can follow what happened on my social media or by looking up the hashtag #AbenaSummerSchool2023.

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Ticket Office Closures

As I’m sure many across the community are aware, it has recently been announced that there are plans to close rail ticket offices across the country including in our area of Erith and Thamesmead.

Last month, I wrote to both the Government and the CEO of Southeastern to express my concerns about the consequences of these closures, especially for the many elderly and disabled passengers who rely on these offices for travel. Currently, the plans would affect both Erith and Belvedere stations in our community. You can read these both at the end of this article. .

I also raised this with the Minister for Transport in the House of Commons. The Minister must assure the public over these plans. I will continue to monitor these issues and the concerns that constituents have raised with me on this issue.

The consultation for these proposals closes on 1st September 2023 and I urge all constituents to continue to express their views by contacting Southeastern on their website and by emailing London Travelwatch here: Southeastern.Consultation@Londontravelwatch.org.uk. Please also email me if you would like to share your thoughts on this important issue. Email me at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.

Letter to the Secretary of State for Transport

Letter to Steve White

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Abena’s visit to Nepal

At the end of May, I visited Nepal with WaterAid UK and the Coalition for Global Prosperity to see the impact of development projects supporting access to clean water.

It was wonderful to be able to visit the beautiful country of Nepal and meet so many people doing life-saving and transformational work. Visiting some of the programmes that WaterAid is undertaking illuminated the extent of the hardship and poverty that so many in Nepal are facing. It also showed the amazing progress that has been made.

Poor access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) presents some serious challenges to vulnerable communities in Nepal. These include the proliferation of water-borne illness, poor sanitation, and restrictions on the opportunities afforded to citizens.

What I found particularly worrying was that these issues disproportionately affect women and young girls. A lack of sanitation has been related to a disproportionately smaller number of girls attending schools, particularly affecting those on their menstrual cycles.

For instance, only 39% of schools have separate, female-friendly toilets, meaning many young girls are left without a safe space to clean themselves and manage the difficulties associated with menstruation. This can discourage girls from attending school altogether, through fear of judgment, embarrassment and even harassment.

It is therefore great to see the outstanding progress that WaterAid have made with their WASH programmes. Citizens in these areas have experienced vastly improved quality of life, with improved access to safe water, better toilets, and improved hygiene.

Young girls have been offered safe spaces, which has succeeded in breaking down some of the barriers that might stop them from receiving an equal education to their male counterparts. It’s a really promising story that I am keen to see continue.

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Campaigning Summer School 2022

 

At this jam-packed 3-day summer school, young people aged between 16 and 18 had the opportunity to gain the skills needed to make a real difference in our community.

This was a hands-on, first-hand insight into the exciting world of political and social campaigning. The school brought together a wide variety of speakers from businesses like Graylings UK, showing the students tools they can use to influence the Government and make change, and from Meta, to discuss how important Facebook and social media is to campaigning in the 21st Century.

We were also joined by important influencers who have been at the frontline of campaigns that have caught the public’s attention. We heard from Laura Coryton, who started the very successful #EndTamponTax petition, and from former Love Island contestant Shaughna Phillips, who is now advocating for a better public discussion on body image and mental health.

I know from my own experience that whether you’re dealing with environmental issues, crime, or education, effective campaigning is the key to influencing and challenging those in power. So, I am determined to do all I can to empower our young people to be the change they want to see in the world.

Over the course of 3 days, attendees designed their very own local campaigns on important issues such as women’s rights and increasing accessibility access in our community. What’s more, I am personally helping action the best ideas into real campaigns to benefit our residents.

For the students, this was a unique opportunity to see their ideas turned into action and to learn how they can make their voice heard in our democracy.

 

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Next Stop Thamesmead – Abena meets the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Peabody and leaders from Greenwich and Newham Council

The campaign to bring the DLR to Thamesmead continues, this month I met with the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Peabody and leaders from Greenwich and Newham Council for a tour of the key sites in Thamesmead and the proposed location for the DLR station.

It was great to have stakeholders come together to discuss the next steps. I also raised the campaign in a recent Transport debate asking the government to commit to the project and back it with proper funding.

Abena Oppong-Asare said:   

“The residents of Erith and Thamesmead deserve the benefits of transport connectivity that many others across London already enjoy. For too long, Thamesmead has been left off the transport map. Extending the DLR to Thamesmead would unlock significant new housing on both sides of the river and would open up access to work and educational opportunities for my constituents.

“Now is the time for the Government to commit to this project, back it with proper funding, and get on with building the DLR extension to Thamesmead.”

Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said:    

“The Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham share many of the same objectives. I look forward to collaborating with the Mayor of Newham, as well as Abena Oppong-Asare MP, and our partners to bring forward essential transport links to an area that has so much potential to offer.

Cllr Averil Lekau, Deputy Leader for the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said:   

“Having represented Thamesmead for eight years I am well aware of how crucial better transport links are for the area. SE28 is the only postcode in London without a train station. We’re already seeing how the Elizabeth Line is benefiting Woolwich and Abbey Wood and we need to bring these benefits to Thamesmead too.”

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, said:  

“A DLR extension from Gallions Reach in Newham to Beckton Riverside, and across the river to Thamesmead, would be transformative for the area, considerably improving access to public transport in both boroughs and helping people access jobs, education and culture across London with the potential for thousands of new homes on each side of the river. City Hall will continue to work with TfL, the boroughs, Homes England and key landowners to develop a strong business case for this extension.

“Investment in the capital’s transport infrastructure can help to improve the lives of Londoners and support businesses. This lies at the heart of the Mayor’s vision to build a better London for everyone – a city that is greener, fairer, healthier and more sustainable. Investing in our transport network is also crucial to supporting the economy in London and across the UK. We will continue to call on the Government to work with us to agree a fair, sustainable, long-term funding deal for TfL – for the benefit of London and the whole country.”

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Crossrail opening date set for 24 May

Crossrail to open on 24 May, with local bus route changes from 14 May – Abena responds

 

At long last Crossrail, or the Elizabeth Line as it will now be known, is opening. I know that for people living in Abbey Wood and nearby places this has been a long time coming. The initial planned opening date was nearly four years ago!

Since being elected in 2019, I have pushed TfL and Crossrail Ltd to open this vital new railway as soon as possible. I’m glad this is now happening, and I know it will benefit people and businesses in our area.

I’ve also been clear that TfL must ensure that local people across Erith and Thamesmead can benefit from Crossrail by ensuring that there are good bus links to Abbey Wood from across the constituency. I have written to TfL and recently met with the Deputy Mayor for Transport to discuss this.

TfL have now published changes to local bus routes. You can find the full details of changes here and the main changes affecting the constituency are in the table below.

If anyone has any concerns about these changes, or further suggestions for bus route changes, please do not hesitate to contact me at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk

Finally, I am continuing to campaign for better transport across our area including the extension of the DLR to Thamesmead and beyond. I will keep you updated with this campaign as it progresses.

Abena

 

Route and destinations before change take place  Change  Date 
180 (Lewisham Shopping Centre to Belvedere Industrial Estate) Route 180 will be rerouted from Woolwich Road, Charlton via the current route 472 to North Greenwich Bus Station. Route 180 will also be extended from Belvedere Industrial Estate to Erith Quarry via Church Manorway and Erith Town Centre. Buses will no longer run along Mulberry Way and onto Fisher’s Way where the current route terminates. However, new bus stops nearby will come into operation when the changes to the route come into effect on Church Manorway through the newly created link through the Erith Quarry development which will help serve businesses and large distribution centres in the area. There will be no change to the current frequency of the route.

 

Customers can change at Stone Lake Retail Park for route 177 to Westcombe Park and Greenwich Town Centre or at Ikea on Greenwich Peninsula for route 129 to Greenwich and all stops to Lewisham.

14/05/2022
469 (Queen Elizabeth Hospital to Erith Town Centre) A new link to the Elizabeth line station at Abbey Wood will be created with route 469 rerouted between Abbey Wood station (for the Elizabeth line and National Rail) and Belvedere Station via New Road, Woolwich Road and Picardy Road instead of Abbey Road and Gilbert Road. There will be no change to the frequency of the route.

Customers can continue to use route 229 instead, which will continue to serve Abbey Road and Gilbert Road.

14/05/2022
472 (North Greenwich Station to Thamesmead Town Centre) 24 hour bus route 472 will be rerouted from Central Way to Abbey Wood station (for Elizabeth line and National Rail services) via Crossway, Carlyle Road, Harrow Manorway and Knee Hill. It will not serve Thamesmere Drive or Bentham Road. Customers can use route 301 instead, which will continue to provide a link to Abbey Wood along these roads as well as the previous route 472 link between Plumstead Bus Garage and Thamesmead Central Way via Nathan Way.

Buses will run every eight minutes instead of every six minutes on Monday to Friday daytimes, every 10 minutes instead of every seven to eight minutes on Saturday daytimes and every 12 minutes instead of every 10 minutes on Sundays. The night service routing will change as per the day service with buses continuing to run every 30 minutes on all nights of the week.

14/05/2022
B11 (Bexleyheath Bus Garage to Thamesmead Town Centre) Route B11 will no longer run between South Thamesmead, Yarnton Way / Harrow Manorway and Thamesmead Town Centre. Customers can use routes 177, 229, 244, 301, 401 and 472, which will continue to provide a link between Harrow Manorway / Yarnton Way and Thamesmead Town Centre. Buses on route B11 will run every 20 minutes instead of every 15 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday. There will be no change frequencies at any other time. 14/05/2022

 

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Visit to St. Fidelis Primary School

Abena Oppong-Asare MP visits local school with Shadow Schools Minister

Erith and Thamesmead MP Abena Oppong-Asare today brought Labour’s Shadow Schools Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, to Erith to visit St. Fidelis Primary School in her constituency.

Abena and Stephen met staff and pupils at the school to hear about the challenges they faced during the coronavirus pandemic.

They discussed issues such as ventilation, staffing issues, and action to help pupils catch up from lost learning.

Abena also presented the winner of her annual Christmas card competition with a prize, as well as presenting certificates to the pupils who took part.

 

 

 

Abena Oppong-Asare MP said:

“The teachers and support staff at St. Fidelis Primary School are doing an excellent job to ensure that pupils receive a well-rounded education.

“They have faced challenges over the last two years, but like schools across our area they have responded amazingly.

“They deserve more support from the Government to ensure that children and staff are safe in school and receive all the help they need.”

Stephen Morgan MP, Shadow Schools Minister, said:

“Labour wants children to be in school, learning together and playing together.

“I pay tribute to all the staff working right across our country’s schools, whose commitment, dedication, and hard work makes that possible.

“Every day missed from school is a day they do not get back.

“Last term alone, children in England missed over ten million school days for Covid-related reasons. Over a million children have left secondary school since the pandemic began. Almost two million of our youngest children have never known a normal school year.

“That is why Labour has set out a clear, costed, and ambitious Children’s Recovery Plan that would support our children where they have missed out with after school activities, breakfast clubs, and small group tutoring.

“It was a pleasure to visit a school in Erith and Thamesmead today with local MP Abena Oppong-Asare MP who is a tireless champion for schools in her community and is speaking up for children that are too often an afterthought by this Government”.