On Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was declared President of the United States of America.
At Prime Ministers Questions this week, Prime Minister Kier Starmer, and the new Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch, took the opportunity to welcome the returning president to his role.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey used the opportunity to highlight that the Presidents admiration for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and support for trade wars demonstrates that the UK must begin rebuilding ties with Europe and taking a leading role in the defence of our European allies. He went on to comment that now more than ever, it is vital that the UK stands up for the core liberal values of equality, democracy, human rights and the rule of law – at home and around the world.
JUSTICE QUESTIONS: THE COST OF COURT TRANSCRIPTS
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to raise my ongoing campaign to make court transcripts free for survivors of sexual assault and serious crime with the Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Heidi Alexander MP. I began this campaign after my constituent Juliana Terlizzi was quoted £7,500 to obtain a transcript of the 10-day trial in which her former partner was convicted of raping her.
At Justice Oral Questions on Monday, I specifically highlighted that while the current method of transcription requires a person to painstakingly type up court recordings, AI transcription services could offer a cheap and effective option for victims of crime.
While court transcripts used for legal proceedings must be 100% accurate, it is more important for those used to provide clarity for victims of crime to be accessible. As such, AI might be able to both save the public money and reduce the need for complex transcription services.
You can watch a clip of my question, and the minister's response, here.
SPEAKING ABOUT KEMI BADENOCH'S SELECTION TO THE MEDIA
Over the weekend, I spoke to LBC and Sky News about the change in the Conservative party’s leadership. While the Liberal Democrats welcome the election of the first black woman leader of any major political party in the UK, she has a lot of work to do to make the Conservatives a united force in Parliament again.
So far, we have found that we are a much more effective opposition to Labour than the Conservatives are. It is notable that in recent weeks, while the Government and Lib Dem Benches are often occupied, only a small contingent of Conservatives have been regularly taking part in the business of the Chamber.
On Sunday, I also had the chance to join Times Radio's panel discussing the week's events including the state of public finances in the run up to the budget, the Chancellors failure to consider the needs of carers, our concerns for farming communities, and of course, the challenges facing Kemi Badenoch.
You can watch a clip of my thoughts on Sky News here, listen to a clip of my conversation with Matthew Wright on LBC here, and hear me speaking on Times Radio here.
BARNES BRIDGE CYCLE CHANNEL
Residents living near Barnes Bridge Station might be aware that earlier this year, South Western Rail removed the bike channel on the steps leading up to the bridge making it inaccessible to many who previously cycled across.
The company argued that this channel posed a tripping hazard, and although this may be true, when I invited SWR to the station to consider alternative options, they saw that many residents had taken to carrying their bikes down and up the stairs. Due to this, they could not continue to argue against the reinstallation of the channel and I am pleased to say that they plan to have a solution in place before the end of the year.
We will need to continue pressing them until the channel is reinstalled, but I am very pleased that the company has finally seen sense.
HORTICULTURAL TRADES ASSOCIATION
On Tuesday, I was fortunate to be able to drop in on the Horticultural Trades Association’s (HTA) Plants in Parliament event. The HTA, who are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year, work to support the UK environmental horticultural industry.
The HTA operates as a membership organisation, working with a wide range of environmental and horticultural businesses. Providing sector specific research and insights as well as development and learning opportunities for employees and businesses.
It was great to talk to some of the organisers about the work they do, specifically regarding how they support horticultural businesses in my constituency.
DISTRICT LINE
As many commuters, residents and local businesses may have noticed, the District Line service was suspended last weekend from Richmond due to track works.
This, of course, comes less than a month after the Line was closed for 6 consecutive weekends when Network Rail were carrying out works in an attempt to improve the reliability of the service. These works were expected to reduce the disruptions on the network.
Repeated closures of the District Line is extremely frustrating for commuters who have to replan their journeys and to businesses by the tracks who are reliant on footfall to increase sales.
Due to these repeated disruptions and the unreliability of a number of bus routes in the constituency, I have followed-up with the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Seb Dance, to again call on him to visit Richmond Park to witness and address the public transport deficiencies as a totality. You can see my letter to Seb Dance by clicking the following link.
ST MARY’S UKRAINIAN SCHOOL VISIT
Last Sunday, I visited St Mary’s Ukrainian School in Ham. The school provides a range of curriculum lessons and engages their young students via a number of interactive methods.
Richmond Park is home to one of the highest numbers of Ukrainian refugees in the UK, and I am delighted that our constituency has opened its doors to so many Ukrainians who have had to flee from Putin’s illegal invasion.
St Mary’s provides a hub for young Ukrainian children and helps them learn about Ukrainian traditions, culture and language, while also helping them feel settled in the UK. It is wonderful to have them in our community.
WATER PRESSURE IN THE CONSTITUENCY
Last week, I contacted residents in North Richmond and Kew to ask if they had recently experienced a substantial drop in water pressure. I began this survey after one of my regular coffee mornings and it was interesting to receive more than 50 responses within the first week.
While so far the problems seem to be concentrated in North Richmond ward, I would like to invite residents from across the constituency to let me know if you have been impacted. This will help me assess the scale of the problem and approach Thames Water armed with all the necessary information.
COMMUNITY NEWS
VINEYARD COMMUNITY & RICHMOND FOODBANK CHRISTMAS FAIR
On 30 November between 1-6pm, the Vineyard Community Centre and Life Church Richmond will be hosting their annual Christmas Fair.
The fair is free to enter and includes a number of activities for children to participate in. Live music will be being played for people to dance to and children will have the opportunity to visit Santa’s grotto. Food and drinks will be available, and mulled wine will be served to adults to enhance that Christmassy feel as we enter December.
If you wish to find out more information about the fair, please see the following link.
FULL CYCLE EASY RIDE EVENTS
Full Cycle Community Bike Project is a non-profit group located in New Malden. They promote cost-effective active travel by facilitating affordable cycling, offering maintenance classes and providing cheap repairs to donated second-hand bikes.
The group is run by a number of bike mechanics and volunteers, and they are putting on a workshop on Monday 18 November at their store on 175 Kingston Road, KT3 3SX. The session lasts for 90 minutes between 11:30-1pm, and aims to boost cyclists’ confidence on the roads before finishing with tea and cake.
If you wish to learn more about the work that the Full Cycle Community Bike Project does in Kingston, you can click on their website here, and if you wish to attend their workshop on 18 November, you can click on the following link.
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