Richmond Park News: 4 April 2025

BBC RADIO 4 ANY QUESTIONS:

Last Friday I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions’ in Huntingdon alongside Torsten Bell MP, Helen Whately MP, and Stephanie Flanders.

The first question of the show opened with a resident sharing their concerns about the tariffs that the US were preparing to place on the UK and other trading partners. The implementation of these tariffs was announced yesterday by President Trump, with the US setting a 10% tariff on all UK imports. The imposition of these tariffs will have a significant impact on many of our high street businesses, and I stated that the UK should not be meek in standing up to the Trump administration as the President’s record has shown that he is only responsive towards shows of strength. 

In the wake of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, a member of the audience then asked whether the UK should raise people’s income tax instead of cutting disability benefits to the most vulnerable in our society. While this is an option which I have seen widely raised in reaction to the recent cuts, I stated that a wealth tax is not the answer to addressing the economic state of the country as the tax burden is already at a near record high. I believe that there are better ways to raise revenue, such as increasing the taxation on multi-billion pound digital service companies, who currently only pay 2% in tax, closing loopholes in capital gains tax and doubling the tax on online gambling companies which have a negative impact on so many people across the UK.

The debate closed on the topic of the popular Netflix drama 'Adolescence,’ as an audience member queried how we can address the issues raised in the show. While other panellists raised important matters such as education and having positive role models, what is rarely mentioned in these conversations is the impact that the pandemic had on children growing-up. Formative years and experiences for many young people were disrupted by the lockdowns, and this is one cause of the mental health crisis that impacts our country. I added that we should not be stigmatising the young people in our society who made such great sacrifices for the older generation during the pandemic.

You can listen to the full episode by clicking here.

WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATE ON THAMES WATER:

Yesterday, I spoke in a debate regarding government support for Thames Water. 

Over the past month, I have received a high level of correspondence from my constituents regarding the significant rise in cost of their water bills. Despite executives continuing to receive hefty bonuses and shareholders taking billions of pounds in dividends out of the company, the burden to pay for the targets set by Ofwat has fallen onto Thames Water’s customers. It should not be the responsibility of bill payers to raise funds for Thames Water after greed and negligence has placed them into £19bn of debt. 

By their own admission senior managers of Thames Water acknowledge that many of their departments are understaffed, while they do not have the funds to invest in critical infrastructure to prevent leaks and sewage dumping into our rivers. During the debate, I raised the traffic chaos that has been caused in Kingston Vale over the past two years due to Thames Water’s reluctance to finance a new sewage pipe despite it repeatedly bursting. Thames Water assured me that plans for the replacement of this pipe would be communicated by the end of March, but this is yet to happen, and I have followed-up with the water company on this matter.

In my speech, I also raised my serious concerns about Thames Water’s disregard for our environment after a report showed that the company was responsible for 298,081 hours worth of sewage spills in 2024. In a recent BBC documentary, Thames Water staff members admitted to presenting favourable statistics when measuring the concentration of E. coli in the Thames. The cleanliness of our rivers should not be an exercise in PR, and it is extremely important that Thames Water are held to account for polluting our rivers.

My colleague, Munira Wilson MP, also attended the debate, and I intervened during her speech about the Teddington Direct River Abstraction proposal. Thames Water’s plans are still in relatively early stages, and I used the opportunity to highlight that the company needs to communicate their proposal in greater detail to allow for further public scrutiny.

I concluded my speech by once again calling for Thames Water to be placed into special administration.

You can watch a clip of my speech regarding water bills here, and my intervention about the Teddington Direct River Abstraction by clicking here.

APPRENTICESHIPS AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONSIDERATION:

At the beginning of the week, I spoke in the remaining stages of the Apprenticeships and Technical Education Consideration Bill.

Our apprenticeship system is broken, as many of our young people do not have the option to further their education in a field outside of attending university. This can be detrimental to those who wish to craft a skill but are not interested in doing so in a university setting. 

We should be focusing on increasing the amount of career advice provided to sixth form and college students and to increase the links between employers and schools to ensure that students are aware of the avenues that they can take if they do not wish to pursue a university course.

I have spoken with businesses who tell me that the Apprenticeship Levy does not work, and this is shown as hundreds millions of pounds of funding is returned unspent to the Treasury. 

It is also extremely important that young people see an apprenticeship as a course which will be able to support their everyday living expenses, and having spoken with constituents who are currently on apprenticeship schemes, I know that this is not always the case. In my speech, I called for the lower minimum wage of apprenticeships to be scrapped to ensure that apprentices are paid at least the same minimum wage as everyone else.

You can watch my speech by clicking here.

THE KING’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE:

As co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethnic Minority Business Owners, I attended and spoke at the King’s Award for Enterprise Outreach Reception this week.

The APPG has long advocated for the recognition of the important contribution of business owners from an ethnic minority background, celebrating its five years since it was founded, with the mission to promote the advancement of businesses owned by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people.

The work of the APPG and the King’s award is greatly important to maximising the potential of entrepreneurs, many of whom are based here in Richmond Park. Too often, entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds face barriers that other entrepreneurs do not face, and breaking these barriers down must be a priority for the Government, in particular considering its focus on economic growth.

PRODUCT REGULATION AND METROLOGY BILL DEBATE:

This week, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill passed its 2nd reading in Parliament, meaning it will now enter Committee Stage. If it eventually becomes law, it would give ministers the powers to set and update product safety and metrology rules.

Whilst I welcome that this Bill will update the regulatory framework for the UK marketplace, giving businesses and consumers confidence in their products, and addressing consumer protection, the Bill also gives disproportional powers to the Secretary of State to change regulations at short notice and without proper Parliamentary scrutiny.

I have been pushing the Government to outline its plans to Parliament so that they can be scrutinised. Following discussions with constituents from the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers and the Fire Brigade Union, I raised the issue of hazardous Chemical Flame Retardants (CFRs). The effects of CFRs are not widely publicised, but they are known to impact air quality and health, in particular for young children, and I brought this topic to the Chamber for debate. 

You can watch my intervention by clicking here.

ST LUKE’S PRIMARY SCHOOL VISIT:

Last Friday, I visited St Luke’s Primary School and met with their student council to answer some of the questions about the role and duties of a Member of Parliament. 

One question that always arises during these discussions is what does the day to day life of an MP look like. On Mondays to Thursdays, I undertake Parliamentary duties, whether this means that I am meeting with other MPs, appearing on media channels or raising issues in the chamber. Fridays to Sundays are typically days which I spend in the constituency. This time is typically spent meeting with relevant stakeholders about matters that are impactful to Richmond Park, holding surgeries to talk about individual matters that my constituents are dealing with or attending local events.

I would like to thank the staff and students from St Luke’s for being so accommodating during my visit, and I look forward to meeting many of them again later this month when they tour Parliament.

SCOPE PARLIAMENTARY DROP-IN:

Following the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, I have heard from many people in Richmond Park who are concerned about the announced cuts to welfare benefits. Scope is a disability equality charity, and I met with their representatives earlier this week to discuss the impact that these changes will have on people with disabilities. 

I met with one of Spoke’s ‘Storytellers,’ Jingesh, to listen to his story and how the cuts may impact him. Jingesh stated that he worked for his local Council to help tackle noise and pollution in the area, but he requires disability benefits to pay for a carer who helps him get ready for work in the morning. He stated that without this help, it would be extremely difficult for him to continue working. 

While the Chancellor’s cuts are stated to be with the intention of getting more people back to work, removing working people’s benefits can have the opposite of the desired effect. It has been particularly disappointing to see the Chancellor’s impact assessment on cuts to welfare benefits, which confirmed that 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) would fall into relative poverty, after housing costs, by 2030.

BRITISH BEER AND PUB SHOWCASE:

Businesses across the UK will be impacted significantly by last year’s announcement that the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief Scheme has been nearly halved. 

This issue has been raised multiple times in my inbox over the past few weeks, and on Wednesday, I spoke with a representative from Star Pubs and Bars, which runs several pubs in our constituency, to discuss this issue. Unsurprisingly, the effective doubling of the cost of business rates will stress the finances of even successful hospitality industries, and this is on top of rising energy bills, trading prices and the national insurance hike. 

Another representative from Star Pubs and Bars stated that they are likely to be faced with extremely tough decisions which will impact their staff the most. She stated that if the cost of running a pub continues, many businesses will have to consider cutting their opening and closing times to only busy periods and reduce the amount of staff on shift at one time to save on wages. This, of course, will have a knock-on effect of reducing the attractiveness of working in the hospitality sector as staff will have to work exclusively unsociable hours and also work a lot harder if they are understaffed.

COMMUNITY NEWS:

KINGSTON ALL SAINTS CHURCH EVENTS

All Saints Church in Kingston are hosting a concert this Saturday 5th April, playing St John Passion by Bach. The concert features the All Saints Kingston Choir and the Athelstan Baroque Orchestra. The concert begins at 19:30, and you can find out more information, and book tickets, here.

All Saints Church is also holding a series of public embroidery talks as part of the Kingston 2025 celebrations. These talks aim to showcase Kingston’s heritage links with Saxon Kings. These talks will run monthly up until October, and you can find out more on All Saints’ website.

RICHMOND MAY FAIR

The Richmond May Fair will be returning to Richmond Green on Saturday 10th May, from 10:00-17:00. It will feature returning events such as the vintage funfair, a dog show, over 200 stalls and a variety of food and drink available.

If you are interested in volunteering for the fair, or wish to enter the dog show, please visit the May Fair website, which you can find here.