This article was originally published in the Romford Recorder
From wishing Shamima Begum back, to endorsing a Second EU Referendum, I am astounded by politicians who are removed from their constituents and public opinion.
While the party in opposition neglect the will of the people, I am glad that the Conservative Party and Havering Council are getting on with the job.
I wish to highlight several examples of national policy which are directly benefitting Romford.
First of all, street cleaning is getting a £400,000 boost, which means the frequency on residential streets will increase from 2 to 3 times a week.
This is in addition to the £40m investment going into our roads and pavements, giving people the high quality services Havering deserves.
Regarding other investment, the national funding formula will deliver higher per pupil funding for every school.
However, I acknowledge the concerns raised by several headteachers, who say matters are different on the ground, I raised the issue in Parliament with the education secretary, and a meeting will soon take place to discuss any of our schools facing a potential loss of funding.
We are also seeing the UK’s strongest jobs market on record, with more people in work than ever. Yet we must be able to support those who are struggling. It is right that 120,000 more people with disabilities were in employment than a year previously, but I have come under a few cases whereby the Work Capability Assessment was not working correctly for those with severe lifelong illnesses.
I immediately raised this with the Minister for the Department of Work and Pensions, and they will now be reviewing the issue.