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MP’S UPDATE FOR BRENTFORD AND ISLEWORTH RESIDENTS JANUARY 2024

 

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YOU CAN FIND PREVIOUS REPORTS OF MY WORK ON MY WEB
SITE; WWW.RUTHCADBURY.CO.UK [1]  I ALSO REPORT REGULARLY ON MY FACEBOOK
PAGE [2] AND VIA TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM @RUTHCADBURY. 

 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RAISE ISSUES WITH ME AS YOUR MP PLEASE EMAIL
ON [email protected] WITH YOUR ADDRESS, A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE
ISSUE (AND RELEVANT REFERENCE NUMBERS).   

 

SEE MY WEB PAGE  [3]FOR INFORMATION ON LOCAL AND NATIONAL SERVICES.

 

MY PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITY IN DECEMBER

FOR FULL DETAILS OF MY QUESTIONS AND SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENT, GET REGULAR
UPDATES ABOUT MY PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITIES THEYWORKFORYOU [4] (VOTES) OR
SEE HANSARD [5] (SPEECHES) & ON YOUTUBE [6]

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WINNING A COMMONS VOTE! Being in Opposition to a Government with a large
majority means we never win a vote. But in December, for the first time in
a legislation vote since 2019, the opposition parties, with the help of
Tory “rebels”, defeated the Government by 4 votes in an amendment to
the Victims & Prisoners Bill. This requires the Government to set up a body
to pay restitution to victims of the contaminated blood scandal (where the
NHS imported unscreened blood and blood prducts from the US in the 70s and
80s, resulting in thousands of people being infected with HIV and hepatitis
C).

 

RWANDA: December saw total chaos for the Government over their appalling
plans to send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda, as their latest Immigration Bill
came to the Commons for the 2nd reading debate.  Shadow Home Secretary,
Yvette Cooper, pointed out the scheme is already costing the taxpayer
£300m, before a single Asylum Seeker has been sent there..  It’s also
unworkable – the Rwandan Government is saying it won’t sign a deal that
doesn’t comply with international human rights law, while The Tory right
won’t back a deal that does.  And anyway at 100-200 Asylum seekers
maximum, the deal won’t make a dent in the 700,000+ net migration
figures. The Bill comes back to the Commons for further debate and votes
this month.  Just one of several clauses of this short bill we will be
debating is Clause 2(1) which states ”Every decision-maker must
conclusively treat the Replublic of Rwanda as a safe country” whether or
not it is safe for asylum seekers sent there …..

 

ISRAEL/GAZA:  The escalating horror in Gaza means the Gazan death-toll
topping 20,000, civilians displaced multiple times, hostages still held by
Hamas, and the escalation of the crisis beyond Israel, Gaza and the West
Bank to Lebanon and the Red Sea.  Meanwhile we’re watching the fight
between the far right, and the far far right of the Israeli Government try
to decide if their long-term plan is to start the second Nakba and expel
the Palestinians from Gaza.  International Development Minister Andrew
Mitchell confirmed to me, in the Commons, that the British Government will
oppose any attempt by Israel to do this.

ALSO IN THE CHAMBER IN DECEMBER –

* An Opposition Day motion called on OFWAT to block company bosses’
bonuses where high levels of sewage are being pumped into rivers, to end
self-monitoring by water companies, impose severe fines of illegal
discharges and ensure water bosses face personal criminal liability for law
breaking.  My speech supporting the motion relayed constituents’ anger
that Thames Water has not been fined for any of the sewage discharges into
the Thames, nor the flooding of the Duke of Northumberland River in January
2021. Meanwhile water main bursts, horrible smells in Isleworth and
expensive capital schemes, supposedly to address other issues, continue to
plague Thames Waters’ customers.  
* On the debate on the 2nd Reading of the wholly inadequate Leasehold &
Freehold Reform Bill I described the many and varied challenges that
constituents who are leaseholders were facing due to the weaknesses in
current legislation, and which the new Bill will not address.  I also
pointed out that many property professionals have been colluding to
exploit weaknesses in the law to rip off leaseholders at every stage of
buying and living in leasehold properties.
* The Government brought their response to Lord Etherton’s report on
LGBT Veterans [7] Independent Review to the House – which focused on the
appalling treatment LGBT service personnel experienced between 1967 and
2000 when many thousands were dismissed or discharged because of their
sexual orientation. As I had been contacted by constituents affected by
this deep wrong, I attended the Statement, and asked if it was true that an
earlier draft of the report recommended double the level of compensation
than that proposed by the Government.  (I got a “non” answer)
* Recently I met locally an Afghan man who had worked for the UK
Government and been given Refugee status but had not been supported into
work that used the skills he had when working for the UK in Kabul. So I
asked the Immigration Minister to ensure that people with his experience
were able to make the most of their specialist skills in good jobs, rather
than have to take basic skill, minimum wage work.  
* Deaths and serious injuries on UK roads are among the lowest in the
world, but the rate has flatlined for a decade. I asked the Transport
Secretary what has happened to the promised road safety investigation
branch, to match the similar organisations for air, maritime and rail.

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In Parliament we marked the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Genocide
Convention by remembering the achievement of international cooperation. The
signing 75 years ago marked a new era of international cooperation - to not
just fining those responsible but ensuring atrocities don’t happen in the
first place.  

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The Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle invited MPs to submit the Christmas
cards we send out to local organisations and businesses to his competition.
Although we didn’t win, he signed one of my cards which I will present to
Avyaan, the winner of my design competition. We will also donate fruit
trees from the Hounslow Tree scheme to Avyaan’s school, St Mary Catholic
Primary, in appreciation.

 

COMMUNITY UPDATE

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As I wasn’t able to do the sponsored 10k run for Hounslow Foodbox in
December I will be doing it this month.  To sponsor me for a great cause,
please donate [8] if you can!

The traffic jams on the A4 and Ealing Road caused by the changes to the
signal phasing there continue to annoy local people.  Along with Brentford
ward Councillors, I continue to raise these concerns with TfL, and had a
chance to speak directly to London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb
Dance about this when he visited Parliament in December.  Meanwhile, the
work on the M4 elevated section pillars will be back again this year,
unfortunately for local traffic conditions, but probably a good thing if
the alternative is the motorway falling onto Brentford.

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A huge victory for plot holders at Park Road!  After years of campaigning
by allotment holders, local community groups such as the Isleworth Society
and hard work by Councillors Salman Shaheen, John Stroud-Turp and Sue
Sampson, the planning inspectorate has upheld the original decision of
Hounslow Council to refuse the Duke of Northumberland’s attempts to
redevelop the site for housing.  I was proud to support this campaign and
spoke out against the plans to redevelop them at the planning inquiry.

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Refugees Welcome Hounslow support refugees with their integration into life
in this country. They organised a magician for the children at their
Christmas party. While the children were having fun, I caught up with some
of the adults who have been through so much to arrive here and want so much
to contribute to the UK.

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Mark Conroy, the Manager of Tesco Osterley, told me about their support for
local community organisations and how almost all unsold food goes to
foodbanks via Fairshare and the Felix project.  If you shop there you know
you can use tokens to “vote” for your favourite of three local
charities. You can also nominate which are to be supported in their next
round – so do check out the information there.  

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I was so pleased that Brentford FC Community Sports Trust CEO Lee Doyle was
awarded a BEM in the New Year Honours. He and I first met in the late 80s
when we organised holiday activities for teenagers on Brentford’s
Haverfield estate. He was one of only 2 coaches at Brentford FC running
community activities then.  What became BFCCST under his leadership now
provides £ms worth of social value across West London.  This achievement
was celebrated with the launch of the Social Impact Report at the
Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub, which I attended, along with the club’s head
coach Thomas Frank.

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School visits in December included Green Dragon  and Ivybridge Primaries,
and Kew House (independent secondary).  As well as explaining my role,
taking questions and discussing issues that matter to the children, I
always meet the senior leaders at the school.  The message heads and their
teams (in the state schools) give me to relay to parliament and Government
is always the same – they cannot support the apparently growing number of
children with additional needs while also ensuring all children get a good
education on the resources they have. I will be raising these points at a
debate on Special Educational Needs at a debate in Parliament in
mid-January.

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Having visited SheWise at their base in Hounslow, I was at their inspiring
event at the new London City Hall, addressing Domestic Violence in South
Asian communities.  We heard directly from women who had survived after
years of abuse; physical, sexual, emotional and financial from their
husbands and subsequently from their families. We also heard from the
SheWise team and others who support victims, many of whose status in the UK
is threatened if they try to leave their husbands. The event was also the
launch of “A Thousand Cuts” exhibition from artist Sujata Seta who had
photographed survivors then cut the images to show how the control involves
regulating the minutiae of everyday life including how women dress, do
housework, who they meet and even depriving them of the basic necessities
of life – hence a life of 1000 cuts.

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December is always a lovely month of community events; religious and
secular.  Brentford’s Christmas market flowed over from the market place
over the High Street into Drays Passage, part of the Ballymore development
next to the new Morrisons. I also attended Christmas services at Dominion
Parish in Hounslow, and Holy Trinity Hounslow, and carols at Brentford Lock
West.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS!   2024 must bring a General Election, and
I’m pleased to be part of Keir Starmer’s team planning for what we
really hope will be a Labour Government.

 PS: Do let me know what you think of these updates!

CONTACT  ME

KEEPING IN TOUCH:   TO CONTACT ME – My MP Office email
is [email protected]  I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND
COMMUNITY EVENTS TO CATCH UP WITH RESIDENTS.  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 etc.
Please do share this information with neighbours and local friends who need
support from me. 

UNSUBSCRIBE [9]

Printed from an email sent by Ruth Cadbury MP 367 Chiswick High Road
London, LON W4 4AG
United Kingdom




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