Upcoming Local Elections

In this month’s Luton News article, I wrote about changes to the upcoming local elections. Elections are a great opportunity for local people to have their say, and it’s so important that we all exercise our right to vote. 

This year there are changes to how we vote, including the requirement to have photo ID to vote. You can find the acceptable forms of ID here. There are also changes to some of the wards we may be used to voting in and where some of the polling stations are. 

Here’s my Luton News article explaining the changes.

Visiting veterans and veterans’ organisations 

As part of my role as Shadow Minister for Veterans and Defence People, I make regular visits to different parts of the country. This month I held a round table discussion with veterans in Stoke on Trent, and I also visited a veteran-led social enterprise in Ipswich. It was great to see the work Combat2Coffee are doing in Ipswich to deliver mental wellbeing support, outreach and training through roasting great coffee. See more here:

Luton’s Eid celebrations 

Eid Mubarak to all those who have celebrated this month! I was pleased to go to Inspire FM’s festival at Lewsey Park with Sarah Owen MP. The funfair, food and stalls were great. Many thanks to Luton Rising as a headline sponsor.

The new Luton DART 

The new Luton DART is vital to the sustainable growth of London Luton Airport. It will help increase passengers accessing the airport by rail and support Luton Council’s 2040 Vision of a carbon-neutral town. 

I raised the importance of the DART in Parliament this month, which you can watch here. 

Support for social housing 

The UK faces a severe housing crisis. Luton South residents suffer from high rents, poor quality housing and low rental stock. I spoke about how this will push many into hardship and about Labour’s plan to tackle the issues. 

Watch my speech here. 

Tackling sewage dumping 

Not one English river is classed as being in a healthy condition, none meet good chemical standards, and few meet good ecological standards.  

I spoke in Parliament urging the Government to end the scandal of sewage dumping in our waterways and clamp down on water bosses who get away with allowing this water pollution. 

Watch my video here. 

Give blood, save a life 

As a regular blood donor, I was pleased to give blood at Luton Blood Donor Centre on St George’s Square this month. It’s straightforward and the staff are friendly and caring. 

NHS Blood and Transplant is always looking for more donors, particularly from Black and Asian backgrounds. Find out how you can donate here.