Lovely to pop into Lakeside Studios in Thamesmead to attend their fantastic Open Studio Event. It was very nice to celebrate this amazing space and to hear from some of the artists about their work.
If you don’t know already, this venue is listed as one of the top 10 must-see buildings this year by Architects’ Journal.
I would highly recommend everyone tries to visit if you haven’t already.
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.
This July I was pleased to welcome constituents to my first reception in parliament – something that I have been planning since I was first elected.
It was fantastic to see so many volunteers, stakeholders, and Erith and Thamesmead residents in the House of Commons, many of them visiting for the first time. I am passionate about everybody feeling welcome and included in parliament and this was a great chance to show how accessible parliament is.
Everyone had the opportunity to visit both the House of Commons and House of Lords and find out more about the building where I work on your behalf. I would also like to thank the students of Bexley Music Centre for providing beautiful background music.
It was an honour to see that so many of you were so passionate about making positive change. It really shows some of the best of Erith and Thamesmead and makes me proud to represent you in parliament.
If you would like to visit for a Tour of Parliament, please get in touch if you live in Erith and Thamesmead via email at abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.
If you would like to attend a future summer reception, please email my office also at: abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.
Thank you to everyone from Erith and Thamesmead who contacted me about attending Age UK’s Summer Reception and the important issue of healthcare for older people.
I’m pleased to say that I attended their July event and spoke to many members of the Age UK team, their policy experts, and elderly people struggling with long waiting lists and a lack of support.
You can see my post from the event here: https://twitter.com/abenaopp/status/1679159735918944256
Thanks @AgeUK for hosting a reception in Parliament on Monday to raise awareness of the state of healthcare for older people.
— Abena Oppong-Asare (@abenaopp) July 12, 2023
I was pleased to see their stats for Erith and Thamesmead and I want to thank all my constituents who have contacted me about this important issue. pic.twitter.com/7W4buUW6cy
It was wonderful to meet the team from Age UK Bexley this month after their Parliament tour. It was encouraging to see such a great turnout and to discuss their work and the support they provide to older people in Erith and Thamesmead.
As always, please get in touch if you live in Erith & Thamesmead and would like me to arrange a tour. You can contact me via email on abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk.
You can also see my social media post about this visit below or here.
On Wednesday 14th June, I had the pleasure of meeting Year 6 students from St. Fidelis Primary School. They visited the Houses of Parliament for a tour and to learn more about how our democracy functions.
I enjoyed being challenged by their tough questions on some of the important issues we face today. A special thanks also to the teachers at St. Fidelis for organising this visit.
You can see my social media post from the event below and here.
It was a pleasure to meet the outstanding community volunteers at the Bexley Volunteer Excellence Awards this month. It was a wonderful evening at the Exchange Erith, hearing inspiring stories of volunteer work across Bexley.
I was also honoured to hand out the ‘Youth Volunteer Awards’ and to celebrate everyone’s great achievements in the last year. It was a fitting way to end Volunteers Week 2023. Congratulations to all the winners.
You can see my social media post about the event below or here.
I was very pleased to be able to visit Solus Repair Centre in Erith earlier this month.
I particularly enjoyed meeting young people from the apprenticeship programme and discovering all the opportunities available to develop technical skills and expertise in the sector.
You can see my social media post about the visit below or here.
As the Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead, I send my congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla for their successful Coronation this month.
It was great to see so many people get involved from across the community, including with street parties and events to celebrate this historic occasion. I was grateful to join a reception for the King and Queen before their Coronation and meet with so many people doing important work across the United Kingdom.
I hope everyone in Erith and Thamesmead and across the country had a great Coronation weekend with family and friends.
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.
