On 21st April, I was delighted to visit Discovery Primary School and meet the newly formed Junior Leadership Team. The students took me on a tour before asking me lots of insightful questions about my life as an MP.
I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and ambition of the students in the Junior Leadership Team and I am sure they all have a bright future ahead.
My office continues to receive hundreds of emails a month on many important issues effecting constituents in Erith and Thamesmead.
This month I held another surgery, and I was deeply saddened to hear of the experiences my constituents are facing on a wide range of issues.
Currently food prices are soaring, and people’s rent and mortgages continue to increase. I receive a large amount of casework which makes clear what impact the cost-of-living crisis and 13 years of a Conservative government is having on people’s lives.
For all those who are struggling, I continue to share my Cost-of-Living booklet to help them know where to access support when needed. The link to the booklet is here: https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/cost-of-living/
For those who would like a surgery appointment with me, they are always welcome to contact my office who will be able to add you to the next available surgery.
I was delighted to visit Discovery Primary School and meet the newly formed Junior Leadership Team. The students took me on a tour before asking me lots of insightful questions about my life as an MP.
I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and ambition of the students in the Junior Leadership Team and I am sure they all have a bright future ahead.
April has been another important month in Parliament as I have been able to raise a number of issues that I know constituents in Erith and Thamesmead and so many across the country are really concerned about.
In my role as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, I spoke for Labour in the Finance Bill Committee of the House and I closed the Opposition Day debate on the cost of living crisis. In the Finance Bill speeches, I challenged the Government with my concerns about their policies on energy and alcohol duty and I made clear Labour’s critiques and position on these important issues.
Then for the cost-of-living debate I outlined the devastating impact that the current squeeze is taking on ordinary families. I mentioned that despite high inflation and stagnating wages, the Government has raised the tax burden to its highest point in 70 years, including 24 tax rises since 2019. I criticised the government for the lack of any clear plan to sort out the economy and turn around this cost-of-living crisis. You can read my speech online here or watch a clip on Twitter here.
However, an issue of such important in our community is housing. At Prime Minister’s Questions this month I questioned the Prime Minister about our current housing crisis. I reminded him that mortgages are soaring, rents are rising and housebuilding is set to fall to a post-war low. I fear that the Prime Minister’s lack of action is putting at risk the needs and dreams of millions of young people and families across the country.
You can see a clip of my question to the Prime Minister on Twitter here or on the BBC website here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-65323233.
Really enjoyed seeing in the Nepalese New Year 2080 with the Royal Borough of Greenwich Nepalese Society and Greenwich Mummies. I want to thank Cllr Jit Ranabhat for the kind invitation.
I hope that everyone celebrating across Erith and Thamesmead had a great celebration with family and friends.
I was very pleased to join the Ukrainian community and a number of constituents from Erith and Thamesmead at this celebration event this month.
Last month, we all paused to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While the illegal war started by Russia continues, I want all the Ukrainians who have settled in our area to know that our support for you and all of the Ukrainian people remains.
It was a great event with great music, dancing, performances and beautiful artwork on display from across the community.
We all know that Defibrillators and CPR save lives. I’m happy to support all the great work done to increase awareness and the number of Defibrillators and CPR Training in our communities.
This month, I hosted an event with the British Heart Foundation to discuss the work they are doing on this important issue and share our thoughts with other Members of Parliament. You can see my post about this here: https://twitter.com/abenaopp/status/1638501687051558912
I want to send a special thank you to Bonnie McGhee, my local constituent who first contacted me about this issue regarding the lack of Defibrillators in our community. You can read about her story here. You can also learn more about BHF’s RevivR on their website here.
If you have any thoughts or would like to help, please get in touch with me at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.
It was great to host another of my “Meet your MP” Coffee Mornings this month at the Bookstore Café at the Exchange Erith.
The conversation we had was very valuable to me and I want to thank all of you who came along. It’s so important to spend the time to engage about the many pressing issues we have and also the great opportunities available in Erith and Thamesmead.
A number of issues were raised including how we can provide more opportunities for young people to play football, and what we can do to tackle youth violence. We also discussed the Cost of Living crisis, that is hurting so many, and how we need to work as a community to make sure the most vulnerable are not left behind.
I was very impressed with how passionate everyone was and I’m looking forward to catching up again with everyone who turned up. I hope you can share the following link with friends and family, who may be interested to sign up to a future event.
Sign up: https://www.abenaoppongasare.com/upcoming-events/coffeemorning/
International Women’s Day is an important moment each year when we celebrate the inspirational Women who have done so much, but when we also recognise how much more there is still to do.
In the House of Commons, I firstly paid tribute to trailblazing Betty Boothroyd, who sadly passed away this month. She was the first and only female Speaker of the House of Commons. She made a huge impact on the UK Parliament and paved a new way for women in politics.
I also highlighted the great impact of a few amazing and successful women from our constituency, Erith and Thamesmead:
“Deborah Frimpong, chair of Moorings Neighbourhood Forum and a formidable community activist; Councillor Averil Lekau, deputy leader of Greenwich Council, is doing great things at a local level to support women and champion their inclusion; Hend Kheiralla is the host of the Ladies of the Lake podcast, which amplifies the voices of women who have grown up, worked, and lived in Thamesmead; Debbie McFaul, is director of Crumbs Bakery, a business that truly brings in and supports the community; Karen Saunders from Greenwich Centre of Mission does a lot to support young people in our community, particularly bringing us together when two young boys, Kearne and Charlie, were murdered in my constituency; Claire Hallinan from Hawksmoor Youth Club has delivered fantastic services to young people and the wider community of Thamesmead, but has also faced considerable challenges with the state of its facilities; Finally, Catherine Molnar, founder of CC Events, hosts a market in Abbey Wood and Thamesmead and has won awards for the role they play in the community.”
Thank you also to all those running events to celebrate IWD and all the great women who I spoke to. Some of events I attended include the Lewisham West and Penge CLP, Women’s Lobby Reception, the Lloyds Bank Reception and the Women in Business reception.
I want to again wish everyone a happy International Women’s Day and I hope we can all agree that together we can make change for the better.
You can read my speech for the International Women’s Day Debate here and watch the speech here.
I was very pleased to join the Ukrainian community and a number of constituents from Erith and Thamesmead at this celebration event this month.
Last month, we all paused to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While the illegal war started by Russia continues, I want all the Ukrainians who have settled in our area to know that our support for you and all of the Ukrainian people remains.
It was a great event with great music, dancing, performances and beautiful artwork on display from across the community.
