Sadiq Khan MP

2008-09-30T17:24:00.004Z

Just a quick note to point you in the direction of the excellent Tidy Up Tooting group, who you can read more about HERE.

I joined them this Sunday and spent the afternoon clearing up an alley that had been targeted by fly-tippers. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, and it was a real pleasure to meet a group of residents who care deeply about Tooting and want to do something to improve the environment they live in.

I highly recommend you have a look!

2008-08-26T10:36:00.002Z

Although we are in Parliamentary recess, that does not mean MP's are not busy. It is nice, however, to be out in the community rather than stuck in Parliament for 14 hours a day! Amongst the things I have been up to, other than my visit to Sierra Leone with VSO (click HERE for details of my VSO trip) are: The "Help a London Child" 10k run in Hyde Park. It was really hard work, but good fun and all for a great cause. I was pleased to run alongside and beat Capital Radio DJ Lucio Buffone and Alesha Dixon of Strictly Come Dancing and Mystique fame, and in the process helped raised money for this excellent charity. The bad news is I was only 1791st out of over 11,000… I’m hoping to pick up the pace and do better when I run the Nike 10k later this month!

Click HERE if you want to see me struggling on the course and click HERE if you want to find out more about "Help a London Child."

I have also been to 2 of Tooting's finest restaurants. I visited Tooting's Tiffin Cup Winner, Al Mirage, to present the Head Chef with a white Tiffin Cup Chefs special jacket. Though they didn’t make the final of the national competition they were highly commended by the judges and are looking forward to competing next year and hopefully bringing the award to Tooting. You can see a picture HERE

I also had the pleasure of opening a new Indian Restaurant in Tooting, "Lahore Dreams". This new restaurant can be found at 200 Upper Tooting Rd and is a welcome addition to our family of excellent restuarants.

One of the highlights of the last month has to be attending the wedding of my good friend and neighbouring MP for Battersea, Martin Linton. He married Sara at a lovely ceremony at the picturesque St Mary's Church overlooking the River in Battersea. It really was a wonderful day and i am sure all of us who know the happy couple wish them both many many years of joy and good health.

One of the things I do each year is be a guest speaker at a leadership course run at Oxford University for young men and women aged between 18-30. This year it was held at Christ Church and the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies. Other speakers this year are Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Dominic Grieve MP, Ed Vaizey MP as well as leading figures from the media, judiciary and business.

One of the passions I have is making Parliament more accessible to constituents from Tooting. I was really keen to host Ninian Harvey and his daughter Nelly who had bit for tea on the terraces with me at at a raffle held at Ravenstone Primary School in Balham. I was delighted to give Ninian and Nelly a tour of the Palace of Westminister and the rain stopped long enough for us to go on the terrace.

If you would like to visit Parliament please do not hesitate to email me and I would be happy to set this up. There is no charge and it is great fun.

I recently took part in a programme called ‘Election’ for Children’s BBC. The programme was loosely based on ‘The Apprentice’, but with a focus on politics instead of business.
The series pits a group of children against each other, and the host, Jonathon Dimbleby, to see who is best budding politician of the bunch. In the episode I was in I had to attend two launch parties that the two teams had devised and hosted on two different campaign issues. As one of the guest judges, along with my colleague Dawn Butler MP, I had to decide which group got their message across the most effectively.

I thought the quality of ‘politicians’ in both teams was exceptional. It is amazing to see students aged between 11-14 having such mastery of campaigning techniques and of the issues.

The boys’ campaign was called "scoop the poop" and was trying to encourage dog owners to clean up after their dog whilst the girls’ team had "garbage the gum" which was about encouraging gum chewers not to throw their gum on the floor.

I am not allowed to say who won but the series looks like it will be a huge hit and is a wonderful and clever way to get young people interested in politics. Who knows I may have met a future Prime Minister!

This particular episode should go out on Friday 24th October at 4.30pm on BBC1 – so make sure you and your children watch it!

2008-08-07T11:11:00.006Z

I am writing this having just returned from my visit to Sierra Leone as a Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO) volunteer. The 8 days I spent there were both inspiring and humbling.

Sierra Leone has recently come out of an extremely bloody eleven year civil war. But since the war ended there have been two general elections (including a change of government) which occurred without any major problems and also the first ever council elections.

I am proud to say that it was British politicians who took the brave decision to step in and stop the civil war in May 2000. It was also British politicians, with the permission of British voters, who have taken the decision over the last few years to help redevelop and rebuild Sierra Leone.

The UK is the single biggest bi-lateral donor to Sierra Leone and works with many British, international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as the civil government to help build the capacity of local groups and civic society generally. But of course, there is still more to be done.

During my stay I used my background as a Human Rights lawyer and ex-Chair of Liberty to train advocates, paralegals, field officers and volunteers at the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDHR) on human rights, working with politicians, lobbying and advocacy.

I also worked with local chiefs (who are heads of remote rural areas called chiefdoms), local members of parliament and local councillors on how to improve participation of local residents and improving the flow of information between representatives and constituents.

There are particular issues in Sierra Leone to do with women’s rights and the education of girls and I was particularly pleased to join groups dealing with these problems when I visited the chiefdoms.

I was bowled over by the commitment and dedication shown by the fourteen VSO volunteers I met in the various local groups that they were involved in. My pride in the work they do was compounded when I met a Tooting resident, Susie, who is a nurse at St George’s hospital who has decided to be a volunteer for two years in one of the poorest places in the world.

All of the VSO volunteers I met had a great impact on me and I particularly want to mention two other Londoners, Diya Mukarji and James Boyle, who are the best ambassadors that our country could hope for in West Africa.

You can read more about my trip, the work the VSO do, and see some pictures (the best bit!) HERE

2008-07-29T13:08:00.002Z

Last week I spent some time at local schools getting into the Olympic spirit. As this will be the final week many schools meet before the Beijing Olympics it was good to see local children really getting excited about the Olympics. Both events were excellent examples of sporting prowess, almost like the real thing, with teams competing in a very sporting manner, cheering from the sidelines, and brilliant opening displays; I particularly liked the display of flags at Earlsfield School and the costumes at worn at the opening ceremony at Sellincourt School.

I am sure that Tooting will once again be well represented at the London Olympics in 2012. Who knows, some of young athletes may well be there while we cheer them on. You can see a picture HERE.

I also spent some time at St Georges Hospital. Thankfully, none of these visits were for medicinal reasons. I was really pleased to present the staff with a massive 60th birthday card on behalf of local residents.

The creation of the NHS was one of the greatest achievements of our country in the last century. It is thanks to the dedication of staff at St George’s that the Trust continues to move forward and is recognised as one of the best in the country. While I was at St Georges, I took the opportunity to thank the hardworking staff there as they, and the staff at every other hospital, GPs surgery, walk-in centre and clinic, make the NHS what it is today. You can see a picture HERE.

I was equally proud to join members of the Balham and Tooting Community Association (BATCA) to present a cheque for £3500 to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) as a result of the recent Funday we had. The money will be spent on an additional transducer probe for their Sonosite mobile ultrasound system, one of the most used pieces of equipment in the PICU. It will mean that small veins can be visualised more easily and therefore that damage to nerves and other tissues will be reduced when intravenous lines are introduced. The portability of the apparatus will mean that lines can be introduced more simply in the often cramped conditions around an intensive care bed.

I was recently made aware of some concerns about alleged wastage of blood at St Georges. I have since spoken with the Chief Executive of St George’s Hospital Trust, David Astley, to discuss the situation, establish the extent of the problem and identify solutions to the problem.

I am reassured that the main reason for the loss of blood last year was due to fridge failure. This was an isolated incident which is not representative of St George’s long-term record. The Trust has recently refurbished its blood transfusion facilities in response to these problems, and invested in new systems to track blood around the hospital.

Having investigated the issue and discussed it with the Chief Executive of the Trust, I am satisfied that St George’s has in place robust measures to ensure that the blood stock in the hospital is well managed and is committed to minimising wastage.

Sadly, the most shocking statistic to emerge from my discussions on this matter is that blood donations have fallen by 25% since 2004. It is absolutely vital that people continue to give blood; it is literally a matter of life or death. Potential blood donors can make an appointment to give blood by calling 0845 7 711 711 or visiting www.blood.co.uk. I would encourage every resident in Tooting to give blood, and help save someone’s life.

I really enjoyed meeting children from Earlsfield Primary School twice in a short space of time. A group of children came to Parliament to present MPs with books as a part of the MP Summer Reading Challenge. They recommended some great books to help politicians understand the lives and concerns of young people. I’ll definitely be reading one or two of them to my two children over the course of the summer! You can see a picture HERE.

For the last couple of months I have been busy consulting local residents about plans to redevelop Springfield Hospital. My initial campaign with local residents forced the developers to reconsider and delayed the submission of their planning application until September.

Since then, I’ve conducted a survey in response a great number of concerns expressed by local residents. I felt the consultation was needed because this is the biggest development to take place in Tooting in over ten years and Wandsworth Council has failed to carry out any consultation of local residents at all.

The results are now in and they revealed massive opposition to the plans, with only 4.3% of local residents supporting the plans in their current form. I took swift action and presented the results to Andrew Simpson, Director of the Springfield Development.

I’m going to keep up the pressure on the developers and the council to reconsider the plans, but in the meantime, please encourage your friends and neighbours to get in touch. The more people respond, the louder our voice. Click HERE for more details.

I attended the White Pigeon Sports day, which continues to go from strength to strength. White Pigeon are a great local charity that raises money for orphanages in Sri Lanka. This year more than 150 young people took part in the annual event at Tooting Bec Athletics Track. In addition to watching the young athletes complete, I was given the pleasurable task of handing out medals and certificates. You can find out more about White Pigeon HERE and see pictures from the sports day HERE

2008-07-21T10:17:00.005Z

I have always been an admirer of News at Ten newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald. I was really pleased to meet him and talk to him at the first ever BME (Black Minority Ethnic) Cancer Awareness Week in the House of Commons, which I hosted recently. There are huge inequalities in relation to the incidence of cancer amongst certain sections of our society. Almost 1/3 of all deaths in the UK are cancer related. Raising awareness of the early signs and encouraging everyone to be able to spot the symptoms, are crucial to fighting these deadly diseases.

The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, is involved in a huge amount of charity work. I have met a number of constituents in Tooting who have benefited from the Prince’s Trust scheme. Another charity he is involved in is "Business in the Community". You can find out more about BitC by clicking HERE. I attended an inspiring evening at the Royal Albert Hall where BitC Awards for Excellence were awarded to businesses doing some really good work in communities up and down the country.

One the most harrowing experiences I have had as an MP, was visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau last year. You can see details of my visit by clicking HERE. I was pleased that Graveney School (who provided two pupils for my visit along with Ernest Bevin College) have enhanced their teaching of the Holocaust even more as a result of the experiences of the students who came with me. Year 9 put on an excellent production of "And then they came for Me……..Remembering the world of Anne Frank". After the play, Anne Frank’s step sister Eva Schloss made a surprise appearance and mesmerised the students (and us non-students) with her answers to some really interesting, clever, thoughtful and insightful questions and comments from students from Year 9. The whole morning was extremely sad and thought provoking.

This year my first week of recess will be spent in Sierra Leone as a volunteer with the international development charity VSO. The VSO is an international development charity that uses volunteers to meet its goals. The average age of volunteers is now 38, and most come from skilled and professional backgrounds - the aim is to provide volunteers who can pass on vital skills and expertise to allow long-term development in the host countries.

Sierra Leone was ravaged by a civil war between 1991 and 2000, and there is still a lot of work to be done to rebuild the country in the aftermath of this. I will be working at the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights helping locals improve their para legal and advocacy work, which is vital to the re-development of civil society in the country.

As part of my preparations for the visit I have had a number of meetings and briefing sessions with VSO and experts to fully prepare myself for the visit and to ensure that the maximum is gained from the visit. You can see a photo of me with the other participants in this summer's programme HERE.

I recently hosted a reception for South Thames College in the House of Commons (click HERE to see more details of this). Last week I visited the College in Tooting Broadway to hand out certificates to all those students who had successfully completed various ESOL and carers course at the College. The morning was a huge success with hundreds of proud parents, husbands (all but one graduate was a woman!) and children expressing real pride in the achievements of their family member. One of the biggest challenges we have as a society is raising the skills base of the general population and potential employees. South Thames does a great job in giving women a real chance to improve their own life chances as well as their families by the wide choice of access and more advanced courses offered. You can click HERE to see a picture from the event.

The weekends in Tooting, in Summer, are always fun filled. This weekend we had fairs or fetes in at least four local primary schools; Eardley, Fransiscan, Sellincourt and Fircroft. I spent most of my time at Fircroft School with my children and had a great day.

I then joined the "Inter faith walk" through Balham and Tooting. This had begun at 10am and lasted until 630pm with upto 100 local residents visiting Hindu temples, Sikh Khalsa Centres, Muslim mosques and Christian Churches in and around Tooting. The highlight for me was the Q and A at St Peter’s Church in Beechcroft Road.

2008-07-15T15:36:00.002Z

Last weekend I attended the Fire Service Mela at Graveney School, which was a huge success and a brilliant way of promoting fire safety in a fun environment.

I particularly enjoyed the food and the Indian dancing was awesome, but there was a more serious message behind the festivities.

The cooking oil fire display was particularly frightening, but it was a useful display in demonstrating the importance of having a smoke alarm and also of what not to do when you have a fire in the kitchen.

As the house fire in Tooting last week showed, following basic fire safety precautions, such as fitting smoke alarms, can save lives.

I would urge everyone to make sure they fit smoke alarms in their homes and make a fire plan for emergencies; it could save your life and the lives of loved ones.

You can call 08000 28 44 28 or visit http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/ for more information.

2008-07-01T19:28:00.002Z

The last few weeks have been as busy as ever.

One of the highlights was meeting staff and students at Graveney with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls MP. The visit presented a great chance to see first-hand what the government’s record investment is doing to improve schools in Tooting. Graveney is just one of the schools in Tooting that will benefit from over £250 million funding in the next few years as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. The programme guarantees that all secondary schools in Wandsworth will be refurbished or remodelled. It was great to see students from Sellincourt Primary School taking advantage of Graveney's IT facilities on the visit - it's wonderful to see Tooting's schools working together like this.

You can see a great picture of myself and Ed Balls at Graveney with students from Sellincourt Primary School HERE

I also had the privilege of spending 2 hours with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, discussing with him and a handful of MP’s a variety of issues that he has been working on and talking about for some time now. Things like; interfaith work, the role of faith in politics, fighting poverty, the mature way of influencing politicians, the role of the Church in our society and much much more. He is a very thoughtful and decent man.I have always been a long distant admirer of Dr Williams and I feel that he is now a friend.

This year we celebrate the 60 th Anniversary of our NHS. The NHS is Labour's greatest achievement; a health service that is available to all based on need – not the ability to pay.

60 years on and the NHS is there throughout all of our lives. I was born in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, as were my 2 children. Our local NHS has been a life saver for my family over the years, and I'm incredibly proud to be part of a government that has done so much to improve it in recent years.

As part of the celebrations I met with the Secretary of State, Alan Johnson MP to discuss his plans on how we prepare the NHS for the challenges over the next period. One of the biggest differences over the coming period will be the greater attention being given to Public Health. Not only will this improve the quality of life for potential patients of the NHS but it could lead to huge savings to the HNS by following the old maxim that "prevention is better than cure". At our meeting Alan mentioned some excellent work that he and Professor Ara Darzi had been working on in relation to a blue print for the next ten years of the NHS - so bring on the 70th birthday and an even stronger NHS.

One of the things I regularly try and encourage is for our local schools to come and visit Parliament and see for themselves the work that goes on here and also so local children can have aspirations to be future Parliamentarians or work in politics and Government. I was extremely impressed by the Gatton Primary School pupils, of varying ages who came on a recent visit. All the questions that the students asked were relevant and fascinating. As a governor of the school I have seen the huge emphasis the school gives to the issue of citizenship. This hardwork is clearly bearing fruit. You can click HERE to see a photo of the Gatton School visit.

Since January I have been acting as a mentor to three students from the Three Faiths Forum Parliamentors Scheme a project they are conducting in Tooting. The group worked closely with Year 10 students at Graveney School over four weeks in May and June to produce a really excellent project, which was based on the things the students at Graveney felt were important to them. They decided to focus on the culture of stereotyping, problems with respect and gang culture and produced an excellent video that investigated the impact these issues had on their fellow students. It was a pleasure to meet all the students at in parliament at the end of the project and I look forward to next year's programme.

With the Summer weather approaching, it is a great time to be attending and enjoying local festivals and fundays.I thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the Furzedown Festival, which is traditionally the Funday. My family had a great day, as always, at this year’s festival. My own contribution this year was to be in charge of the bouncy castle, which was good fun. The festival goes on for another 2 weeks and is an excellent advert for all that is wonderful about Furzedown.
I also thought the inaugural Balham and Tooting Community Association Funday was a real treat. The day clearly took months to organise and all the volunteers deserve our thanks. Not only has this event brought different faith groups closer together but it has also made our local community stronger. It was so good to see the Bishop of Kingston and the Imam from Tooting Islamic Centre spending time together with local families enjoying the day.

You can click HERE to see a photo from the funday.

2008-07-01T11:06:00.000Z

In our community there are many different faiths and beliefs that local residents have. I was really pleased to have been able to join Tooting ward Labour Councillor Nick Bowes and hundreds of local residents for the ordination of Dr David Dean at the Shofar Christian Church. The ceremony was moving and the visiting preacher from South Africa who performed the ordination inspiring. David is a local man who has a lovely family. I am sure that the local Shofar Church will go from strength to strength and I wish him and his congregation well.

2008-06-29T11:09:00.000Z

I regularly hold canvasses, street surgeries and listening sessions with local residents. Last Sunday members of London Young Labour joined us on one of our regular sessions. If you are interested in joining London Young Labour you can find out more about them by clicking HERE. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.

2008-06-24T09:46:00.002Z

I've had a very busy couple of weeks, both in parliament and Tooting.

For obvious reasons there has been a great deal of attention paid to the votes in Parliament to approve the Report Stage and Third Reading of the Counter Terror Bill, which have been taken over by the decision of David Davis to resign from the Tory Front Bench and hold a by election.

To ensure that the Home Secretary understood the legitimate concerns local residents and community groups had about the original Bill, I invited Jacqui Smith to Tooting where she met local community leaders. You can find out more about the reasons why I think it is important to change the law, in light of the ever changing threats facing the UK, by clicking HERE.

This year we celebrate 60 years of the NHS. One of the biggest secrets in our NHS is the huge role volunteers play. As part of the celebrations I attended a reception at 10 Downing Street hosted by the Prime Minister. My guests for the reception were Daniel Blagdon from Millennium Volunteers Wandsworth, Kiron Kurien, a member of numerous local patient liaison groups including Expert Patients Programme (EPP) and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Steering Group for Wandsworth PCT and Chris Lewis, a “buddy” and fundraiser for St George’s Hospital. All three do excellent work in Tooting, which makes a massive difference to the lives of their fellow Tooting residents. The volunteers were thanked personally for their efforts by Gordon Brown, Sarah Brown and the Health Minister Ann Keen. You can see pictures and read more about the event HERE.

I often get concerned when I see young people demonised by the media (and sometimes politicians) The vast majority are a huge credit to themselves and their families, however there are a very small minority who do cause residents problems with anti social behaviour. I recently attended a public meeting at West Side Church to discuss the concerns some local residents had about the behaviour of young people who attended a local youth club at the church. I was really pleased that the church organised this meeting, as it gave us a chance to explore the issues that worried residents and discuss a way of working towards solutions. One public meeting will not solve all the problems that have been occurring locally, but it is a good start for local residents to work together to find joint solutions to their concerns.

I always enjoy visiting our excellent Primary Schools and over the last week I held a special assembly to honour a pupil from Fircroft Primary School. James Pang, aged 9 helped raise over £1000 for survivors of the recent earthquake in China. James, whose family originally came from China, was extremely upset by the earthquake in China, and decided he wanted to do something to help those who had been affected by it. He brought this to the attention of his school by writing a letter to the Head and Deputy Head. The teachers were impressed by James’ letter and helped him organise a Red Clothes day to raise money for the victims of the earthquake.

You can see a photo of James, his dad and me by clicking HERE.

2008-06-10T14:06:00.003Z

Just a quick note today. I've been extremely concerned by reports in the press about the risk of identity fraud to Tooting residents.

Rest assured I am working hard to tackle this problem for Tooting residents, both in the constituency and in parliament.

For information on what you can do to protect yourself from this type of fraud visit my identity fraud page HERE.

2008-06-02T15:35:00.004Z

The last few weeks have been busy in both Parliament and Tooting.

The Friday before half-term I visited Sellincourt Primary School to present the prize for winning a skipping competition I had organised for schools in Tooting. I had previously competed in a skipping competition against my fellow MPs, just missing out on a podium place in 4th position but winning over 1000 Active Kids vouchers. It seemed fair that I should award the vouchers to the school in Tooting with the best skippers! Sellincourt Primary School was head and shoulders above the competition and won the vouchers, which can be exchanged for sports equipment. To see a photo of me with two of the winning girls at Sellincourt School click HERE.

I have met with the person behind a new organisation called "Transition Tooting" who are starting to do some really exciting work in Tooting encouraging local residents to live more sustainable lifestyles. I have agreed to get involved with this new initiative and hope to build on some of the work I am already doing with local environmental groups in this very important area. You can find out more about their work and how to get involved at their website HERE

I also met with the new Dean of St Georges University Professor Peter Kopelman. He in fact attended St Georges Medical School but then went on to specialise in diabetes care and obesity care, eventually establishing one of the foremost obesity treatment clinics in the country. He is very passionate about St Georges and has an exciting vision for the University.

One of the highlights over the last couple of weeks was being asked to be one of the Guests of Honour at the STAR (St Georges Action for Refugees) fundraising dinner. STAR does a really important job helping some of the most vulnerable members of our community. It was great to be able to celebrate the things refugees have brought to Britain and help raise money for refugees in Tooting. It was really inspiring seeing some of the most privileged members of our local community doing voluntary work with local children who have had a tough start to their lives.

I am always impressed by the work that our Special Constables do in and around Tooting. I was pleased to invite the Minister of Policing, Rt Hon Tony McNulty, to the Wandsworth Policing Contact Centre to meet local Specials and all the volunteers who do such an amazing job. Since its inception the Contact Centre has gone from strength to strength; silencing doubters and becoming a valuable contact point for the police and local community alike; with over 12,000 visitors it really can be called a great success for community relations in Tooting. You can see a picture of myself, Rt Hon Tony McNulty MP and Fred Ahmed MBE HERE.

2008-05-19T13:58:00.002Z

The biggest event over the last couple of weeks was clearly the Mayoral elections in London. Ken Livingstone visited Tooting during his campaign and got a great reception at the coffee morning I organised for him and on the walk we took up Tooting High Street. You can click HERE to see a photo of his visit. I am really disappointed that an excellent Mayor has been defeated. Ken has left many legacies to London and Londoners. I have already congratulated the new Mayor and hope that he will also be a good servant to London and work constructively with all London MP’s.

I held my normal surgeries at Balham Community Centre, Earlsfield Library and Tooting Library.

I have been mentoring and helping 3 undergraduates on a project they are conducting in Tooting. The students are part of an innovative scheme called “ParliaMentors”, organised by the Three Faiths Forum. 9 MP’s from the 3 main parties have been assigned a group of three students (one Jewish, one Christian and one Muslim) to mentor through a project on political engagement which they will be working on together. You can read more about this project by following this link to an article in the Times week.

Over the last fortnight I have also hosted local constituents in the Commons, including having tea on the House of Commons terraces with them. Mrs Riding won the raffle at my Warm Front event in Balham Library. You can see a picture of us by clicking HERE. The Joseph family won a raffle at Penwortham School. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.

I am pleased that this years Tiffin Cup Competition was the most fiercely competed so far. This is the third year I’ve run the competition and saw the largest number of nominations from local residents so far, with thousands of votes cast for the many excellent South Asian restaurants in Tooting. In an unprecedented result the competition produced not one, but two exceptional winners. Al Mirage was voted the best restaurant by Tooting residents, while Lahore Karahi received the most votes from locals and visitors alike. Lahore Karahi will also receive a special commendation for the role it plays in attracting business to Tooting Town Centre. You can see a picture of me with the staff of Al Mirage HERE.

I always enjoy working with local schools. Recently, Burntwood Secondary School have had a visiting academic from Australia working on a project. As part of this project she asked to interview me, which I was happy to do. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.

The Khalsa Centre in Tooting organise some really interesting projects for local youth including Punjabi classes, youth work and dance classes. They have recently been involved in a project with Wandsworth Drugs Project and held a celebratory event in Wandsworth Town Hall. I was really pleased to attend and speak to the hundreds who attended. The Khalsa Centre is a very active Sikh organisation in Tooting. They have excellent links the local police, and advise them on matters involving members of the Sikh community. They also run a Youth Group and Medical Group where people can get advice on health matters.

As my colleagues in Parliament keep reminding me, I am always boasting about something or another about Tooting. Well, I recently discovered that one of the (if not the oldest) Scout Group in the world is from Tooting! The 1st Balham and Tooting Scout Group (King of Siam’s Own) celebrated their centenary year by a St Georges Day Parade at St Marks URC.
The Reverend Andrew Fairchild, delivered an inspiring Service, which was both moving and also great fun. I managed to remember my own Cub promise. I enjoyed sharing with the many cubs, scouts and guides the fact that not so many years ago I was a proud member of the 4th Balham and Tooting Cubs! The scouts really are an amazing organisation. I’d just stress that the scouts are all part of a world-wide brotherhood, with shared values and beliefs. It teaches practical skills and encourages making new friends (through national and international Jamborees), and cooperation. There are more than 400,000 members in the UK and more than 28 million around the world. At a time when young people are often demonised it is worth remembering that the vast vast majority are a real example to the rest of us.

What has made the 1st Balham & Tooting Scout Group (King of Siam’s Own) last for 100 years will no doubt keep them going for another one hundred.

I also met with residents who live around Springfield Hospital to discuss their concerns about current plans to redevelop the site the 80 acre site, creating 1400 new housing units and building several high-rise apartment blocks. I am really keen to make sure that local residents’ voices are heard by the Developers and the Council, who will ultimately decide on whether or not the application is given planning permission. I urge all the affected residents to write to me, Wandsworth Council and their local Councillors opposing the development.

You can also fill in my online survey and tell me what you think about the development HERE

2008-04-22T13:30:00.000Z

The last few weeks have been as busy as ever. The Easter holidays have provided a good chance to do some campaigning to get Ken Livingstone re elected as Mayor of London. You can find out more details of his campaign by clicking HERE.

I also attended a concert organised by Islamic Relief at Royal Albert Hall to raise money for children in the developing world. The Royal Albert Hall Easter concert is now an annual event organised by this excellent charity. In addition to great music, Ken Livingstone popped by to make a stirring speech on the importance of voting to increase the threshold the BNP would require to win a seat on the Greater London Assembly. You can find out more details about Islamic Relief by visiting their website – click HERE.

I also hosted various tours of the Palace of Westminster for students from Garratt Park School in Earlsfield and Chestnut Grove School in Balham. One of my passions is to make Parliament more accessible and relevant to local residents. I am really proud that so many students from Tooting now visit Parliament and engage with me on their visits about issues which are important to them. These visits are always stimulating and interesting as younger citizens tell it as it is! You can see a photo of Garratt Park students by clicking HERE and of Chestnut Grove Students by clicking HERE. If you would like to come to a tour of the House of Commons then please send me a message by clicking HERE.

I annually attended the Muslim News Awards in Park Lane and am always impressed at the breadth of British Muslim talent which unfortunately is not widely reported in the mainstream media as much as it should be. I am really pleased and proud that, this year, I won the Award for excellence for Citizenship. Modesty prevents me from reproducing the citation but you can see a photo of me receiving the Award from the Chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service who sponsored this Award by clicking HERE.

2008-04-03T16:32:00.003Z

I am afraid that pressure of various campaigns and parliamentary business has meant that I have not been able to do my weekly blog for the last 3 weeks. This entry will simply highlight some of the things I have been up to over the last 3 weeks;

I have been holding my usual drop in surgeries in Earlsfield Library and Balham Community Centre as well as my appointment surgery at Tooting Library.

I held my inaugural Environmental Policy Forum in the House of Commons. The forum was attended by more than 100 local environmental activists, who had the opportunity to put questions to the Minister for Climate Change, Joan Ruddock MP, before discussions were held about what local action could be taken on the issues of sustainable transport, sustainable energy and recycling. There were several points of action from the meeting which I am following up with the Council, the Government and Transport for London.

I met representatives of Oxfam who were running a “Sisters of the Planet” exhibition in the House of Commons. The exhibition was designed to highlight the disproportionate impact climate change is having on women living in poverty. It was an audio-visual exhibition which, through the stories of women, highlights how climate change is already putting greater pressure on their lives. It also shows what can be achieved when women have a voice in decision making and support to adapt their local environments. You can see a photo of me visiting the exhibition by clicking HERE.

I met with representatives of Wandsworth and Merton Law Centre to discuss concerns they have about the potential ramifications of changes in Legal Aid is having on their ability to do their job. I also met with Legal Aid Minister, Lord Hunt, to discuss these issues. I am confident that a solution can be found to the excellent local Law Centres concerns, whilst at the same time addressing the ever increasing Legal Aid Budget.

I attended and spoke at an event organised jointly by the Age Activity Centre and Cancer Resource Centre, in Tooting, looking at the link between cancer and diet.

Safety of local children on the road is an important issue to me. I met with parents, students and teachers from Sellincourt Primary School to discuss concerns they had about local road safety. Part of the road outside the school is level with the pavement (without a raised kerb) and the wooden bollards have been knocked down by cars and not replaced by the Council. Cars regularly mount the pavement outside the school, to park and turn round, blocking the view of pedestrians crossing the road. Parents and teachers are concerned that it is just a matter of time before a child is seriously hurt in a road traffic accident. I visited the school to see the problem for myself and made immediate representations to the Council and local Safer Neighbourhood Team, to request that they take urgent action to stop this problem.

I have also had a number of responses to the consultation I have begun about the major developments on Springfield University Hospital. South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust have laid out proposals to develop the 80 acre site at Springfield University Hospital, which up to 1400 new houses, new shops, communal spaces and hospital facilities. This will clearly have an impact on traffic, the environment and local amenities and the building works are likely to take a number of years. It is important that local resident have their say on this issue. You can find out more and download my survey by clicking HERE.

I also attended and thoroughly enjoyed Battersea Labour Party’s Centenary Event in the House of Commons. A commemorative DVD has been made of their history and it was good to see other Parliamentarians present to celebrate the evening.

Theatre staff at St Georges have expressed some concerns about restructuring taking place and I was keen to meet staff to listen to and discuss the issue with them. Over one hundred and fifty theatre nurses and technicians at St. George’s Hospital attended the meeting. UNISON Theatre staff, while agreeing that there needs to be increased utilisation of Theatres at the hospital, contend that staff need to be involved in any developments and it is vital that Theatre staff pay and conditions are not eroded. I have contacted the Hospital Trust about this matter and will be working with the Trust, UNISON officials and St George’s Staff. You can see a photo of me with St George’s Theatre Staff by clicking HERE

I hosted a reception for Young Enterprise London to celebrate the volunteers who make their work possible. Young Enterprise provides young people in the city with direct experience of learning to work efficiently as individuals and as team members by supporting them in starting up their own businesses. You can find out more about their work by visiting their website by clicking HERE.

I was also interviewed by students from Burntwood School as part of their contribution to BBC News Schools Day. I was very impressed with the journalistic and technical talents of students at Burntwood School. It is really good to see the confidence of those involved in this project. The excellent coverage they received on the BBC showed the rest of the world that the next Kate Adie or Kirsty Walk could come from Tooting. To see Burntwood’s School Report for the BBC click HERE. To see a photo of me with the aspiring Journalists, click HERE.

One of the highlights of the last fortnight has been the opportunity to give out so many awards to Girl Guides from South London at a special ceremony organised thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation. 36 Achievement Award winners and 9 Adult Leader Award winners were presented.

I also attended the launch of the campaign by Ken Livingstone to be re-elected as Mayor of London. To find out more about Ken’s policies and vision for London click HERE.

I attended a special conference for young people in the Methodist Church Hall and was interviewed by young people from “Voice it”. You can find out more details about the exciting work that is going out in partnership between the Ministry of Justice and Radiowaves by visiting www.radiowaves.co.uk/voiceit.

My campaign to save 4 local Post Offices from closure in Tooting has been gaining momentum. I am pleased that the Council is now onboard but very disappointed about the party political games they continue to play on an issue that should unite locally elected representatives. I attended a Public Meeting organised by the Council in Tooting Ward (where there are no plans to close any Post Offices). I have made further representations to the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Council, Maurice Heaster, to lobby him to provide subsidy for the four Post Offices proposed for closure in Tooting. I have also met with the Minister of State for Post Offices, Pat McFadden MP, and was told by him that the Government are encouraging Post Office Ltd to engage seriously with local authorities who wish to step in and fund particular branches. The Minister was confident that a deal would be struck with Essex Council to save their Post Offices and saw no reason why Wandsworth Council couldn’t do the same.

There are fifty local authorities in discussions with Post Office Ltd about taking control of local services, however, Wandsworth is not yet one of them. I have expressed to Councillor Heaster that I will work with him and the Council Officers to save local Post Office in Tooting.
To find out more about what I have been doing in relation to local Post Office click HERE

2008-03-31T16:04:00.000Z

I am afraid that pressure of various campaigns and parliamentary business has meant that I have not been able to do my weekly blog for the last 3 weeks. This entry will simply highlight some of the things I have been up to over the last 3 weeks;

I have been holding my usual drop in surgeries in Earlsfield Library and Balham Community Centre as well as my appointment surgery at Tooting Library.

I held my inaugural Environmental Policy Forum in the House of Commons. The forum was attended by more than 100 local environmental activists, who had the opportunity to put questions to the Minister for Climate Change, Joan Ruddock MP, before discussions were held about what local action could be taken on the issues of sustainable transport, sustainable energy and recycling. There were several points of action from the meeting which I am following up with the Council, the Government and Transport for London.

I met representatives of Oxfam who were running a “Sisters of the Planet” exhibition in the House of Commons. The exhibition was designed to highlight the disproportionate impact climate change is having on women living in poverty. It was an audio-visual exhibition which, through the stories of women, highlights how climate change is already putting greater pressure on their lives. It also shows what can be achieved when women have a voice in decision making and support to adapt their local environments. You can see a photo of me visiting the exhibition by clicking HERE.

I met with representatives of Wandsworth and Merton Law Centre to discuss concerns they have about the potential ramifications of changes in Legal Aid is having on their ability to do their job. I also met with Legal Aid Minister, Lord Hunt, to discuss these issues. I am confident that a solution can be found to the excellent local Law Centres concerns, whilst at the same time addressing the ever increasing Legal Aid Budget.

I attended and spoke at an event organised jointly by the Age Activity Centre and Cancer Resource Centre, in Tooting, looking at the link between cancer and diet.

Safety of local children on the road is an important issue to me. I met with parents, students and teachers from Sellincourt Primary School to discuss concerns they had about local road safety. Part of the road outside the school is level with the pavement (without a raised kerb) and ineffective wooden bollards have been knocked down by cars and not replaced by the Council. Cars regularly mount the pavement outside the school, to park and turn round, blocking the view of pedestrians crossing the road. Parents and teachers are concerned that it is just a matter of time before a child is seriously hurt in a road traffic accident. I visited the school to see the problem for myself and made immediate representations to the Council and local Safer Neighbourhood Team, to request that they take urgent action to stop this problem.

I have also had a number of responses to the consultation I have begun about the major developments on Springfield University Hospital. South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust have laid out proposals to develop the 80 acre site at Springfield University Hospital, which up to 14000 new houses, new shops, communal spaces and hospital facilities. This will clearly have an impact on traffic, the environment and local amenities and the building works are likely to take a number of years. It is important that local resident have their say on this issue. You can find out more and download my survey by clicking HERE.

I also attended and thoroughly enjoyed Battersea Labour Party’s Centenary Event in the House of Commons. A commemorative DVD has been made of their history and it was good to see other Parliamentarians present to celebrate the evening.

Theatre staff at St Georges have expressed some concerns about restructuring taking place and I was keen to meet staff to listen to and discuss the issue with them. Over one hundred and fifty theatre nurses and technicians at St. George’s Hospital attended the meeting. UNISON Theatre staff, while agreeing that there needs to be increased utilisation of Theatres at the hospital, contend that staff need to be involved in any developments and it is vital that Theatre staff pay and conditions are not eroded. I have contacted the Hospital Trust about this matter and will be working with the Trust, UNISON officials and St George’s Staff. You can see a photo of me with St George’s Theatre Staff by clicking HERE

I hosted a reception for Young Enterprise London to celebrate the volunteers who make their work possible. Young Enterprise provides young people in the city with direct experience of learning to work efficiently as individuals and as team members by supporting them in starting up their own businesses. You can find out more about their work by visiting their website by clicking HERE.

I was also interviewed by students from Burntwood School as part of their contribution to BBC News Schools Day. I was very impressed with the journalistic and technical talents of students at Burntwood School. It is really good to see the confidence of those involved in this project. The excellent coverage they received on the BBC showed the rest of the world that the next Kate Adie or Kirsty Walk could come from Tooting. To see Burntwood’s School Report for the BBC click HERE. To see a photo of me with the aspiring Journalists, click HERE.

One of the highlights of the last fortnight has been the opportunity to give out so many Awards to Girl Guides from South London at a special ceremony organised thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation. 36 Achievement Award winners and 9 Adult Leader Award winners were presented.

I also attended the launch of the campaign by Ken Livingstone to be re-elected as Mayor of London. To find out more about Ken’s policies and vision for London click HERE.

I attended a special conference for young people in the Methodist Church Hall and was interviewed by young people from “Voice it”. You can find out more details about the exciting work that is going out in partnership between the Ministry of Justice and Radiowaves by visiting www.radiowaves.co.uk/voiceit.

My campaign to save 4 local Post Offices from closure in Tooting has been gaining momentum. I am pleased that the Council is now onboard but very disappointed about the party political games they continue to play on an issue that should unite locally elected representatives. I attended a Public Meeting organised by the Council in Tooting Ward (where there are no plans to close any Post Offices). I have made further representations to the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Council, Maurice Heaster, to lobby him to provide subsidy for the four Post Offices proposed for closure in Tooting. I have also met with the Minister of State for Post Offices, Pat McFadden MP, and was told by him that the Government are encouraging Post Office Ltd to engage seriously with local authorities who wish to step in and fund particular branches. The Minister was confident that a deal would be struck with Essex Council to save their Post Offices and saw no reason why Wandsworth Council couldn’t do the same.

There are fifty local authorities in discussions with Post Office Ltd about taking control of local services, however, Wandsworth is not yet one of them. I have expressed to Councillor Heaster that I will work with him and the Council Officers to save local Post Office in Tooting.

To find out more about what I have been doing in relation to local Post Office click HERE.

2008-03-31T08:43:00.001Z

I am afraid that pressure of various campaigns and parliamentary business has meant that I have not been able to do my weekly blog for the last 3 weeks. This entry will simply highlight some of the things I have been up to over the last 3 weeks;

I have been holding my usual drop in surgeries in Earlsfield Library and Balham Community Centre as well as my appointment surgery at Tooting Library.

I held my inaugural Environmental Policy Forum in the House of Commons. The forum was attended by more than 100 local environmental activists, who had the opportunity to put questions to the Minister for Climate Change, Joan Ruddock MP, before discussions were held about what local action could be taken on the issues of sustainable transport, sustainable energy and recycling. There were several points of action from the meeting which I am following up with the Council, the Government and Transport for London.

I met representatives of Oxfam who were running a “Sisters of the Planet” exhibition in the House of Commons. The exhibition was designed to highlight the disproportionate impact climate change is having on women living in poverty. It was an audio-visual exhibition which, through the stories of women, highlights how climate change is already putting greater pressure on their lives. It also shows what can be achieved when women have a voice in decision making and support to adapt their local environments. You can see a photo of me visiting the exhibition by clicking HERE.

I met with representatives of Wandsworth and Merton Law Centre to discuss concerns they have about the potential ramifications of changes in Legal Aid is having on their ability to do their job. I also met with Legal Aid Minister, Lord Hunt, to discuss these issues. I am confident that a solution can be found to the excellent local Law Centres concerns, whilst at the same time addressing the ever increasing Legal Aid Budget.

I attended and spoke at an event organised jointly by the Age Activity Centre and Cancer Resource Centre, in Tooting, looking at the link between cancer and diet.

Safety of local children on the road is an important issue to me. I met with parents, students and teachers from Sellincourt Primary School to discuss concerns they had about local road safety. Part of the road outside the school is level with the pavement (without a raised kerb) and ineffective wooden bollards have been knocked down by cars and not replaced by the Council. Cars regularly mount the pavement outside the school, to park and turn round, blocking the view of pedestrians crossing the road. Parents and teachers are concerned that it is just a matter of time before a child is seriously hurt in a road traffic accident. I visited the school to see the problem for myself and made immediate representations to the Council and local Safer Neighbourhood Team, to request that they take urgent action to stop this problem.

I have also had a number of responses to the consultation I have begun about the major developments on Springfield University Hospital. South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust have laid out proposals to develop the 80 acre site at Springfield University Hospital, which up to 14000 new houses, new shops, communal spaces and hospital facilities. This will clearly have an impact on traffic, the environment and local amenities and the building works are likely to take a number of years. It is important that local resident have their say on this issue. You can find out more and download my survey by clicking HERE.

I also attended and thoroughly enjoyed Battersea Labour Party’s Centenary Event in the House of Commons. A commemorative DVD has been made of their history and it was good to see other Parliamentarians present to celebrate the evening.

Theatre staff at St Georges have expressed some concerns about restructuring taking place and I was keen to meet staff to listen to and discuss the issue with them. Over one hundred and fifty theatre nurses and technicians at St. George’s Hospital attended the meeting. UNISON Theatre staff, while agreeing that there needs to be increased utilisation of Theatres at the hospital, contend that staff need to be involved in any developments and it is vital that Theatre staff pay and conditions are not eroded. I have contacted the Hospital Trust about this matter and will be working with the Trust, UNISON officials and St George’s Staff. You can see a photo of me with St George’s Theatre Staff by clicking HERE

I hosted a reception for Young Enterprise London to celebrate the volunteers who make their work possible. Young Enterprise provides young people in the city with direct experience of learning to work efficiently as individuals and as team members by supporting them in starting up their own businesses. You can find out more about their work by visiting their website by clicking HERE.

I was also interviewed by students from Burntwood School as part of their contribution to BBC News Schools Day. I was very impressed with the journalistic and technical talents of students at Burntwood School. It is really good to see the confidence of those involved in this project. The excellent coverage they received on the BBC showed the rest of the world that the next Kate Adie or Kirsty Walk could come from Tooting. To see Burntwood’s School Report for the BBC click HERE. To see a photo of me with the aspiring Journalists, click HERE.

One of the highlights of the last fortnight has been the opportunity to give out so many Awards to Girl Guides from South London at a special ceremony organised thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation. 36 Achievement Award winners and 9 Adult Leader Award winners were presented.

I also attended the launch of the campaign by Ken Livingstone to be re-elected as Mayor of London. To find out more about Ken’s policies and vision for London click HERE.

I attended a special conference for young people in the Methodist Church Hall and was interviewed by young people from “Voice it”. You can find out more details about the exciting work that is going out in partnership between the Ministry of Justice and Radiowaves by visiting www.radiowaves.co.uk/voiceit.

My campaign to save 4 local Post Offices from closure in Tooting has been gaining momentum. I am pleased that the Council is now onboard but very disappointed about the party political games they continue to play on an issue that should unite locally elected representatives. I attended a Public Meeting organised by the Council in Tooting Ward (where there are no plans to close any Post Offices). I have made further representations to the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Council, Maurice Heaster, to lobby him to provide subsidy for the four Post Offices proposed for closure in Tooting. I have also met with the Minister of State for Post Offices, Pat McFadden MP, and was told by him that the Government are encouraging Post Office Ltd to engage seriously with local authorities who wish to step in and fund particular branches. The Minister was confident that a deal would be struck with Essex Council to save their Post Offices and saw no reason why Wandsworth Council couldn’t do the same.

There are fifty local authorities in discussions with Post Office Ltd about taking control of local services, however, Wandsworth is not yet one of them. I have expressed to Councillor Heaster that I will work with him and the Council Officers to save local Post Office in Tooting.

To find out more about what I have been doing in relation to local Post Office click HERE.

2008-03-07T17:17:00.000Z

My campaign with local residents and Post Masters and Post Mistresses to prevent any local post offices being closed continues. Despite massive government subsidy, the Post Office Limited is still making loses. The challenge for us locally is to persuade the Post Office why our post offices should not be selected for closure. As I have been examining each plan in detail, speaking to local residents, reading the surveys that have been returned, meeting local businesses and Post Masters and Post Mistresses it is clear that some of the post offices have stronger grounds to resist closure than others. There is still almost four weeks to go before the consultation ends and I am keen to maximise participation in the process so that I can respond fully to the consultation and try to ensure informed decisions are made at the conclusion. You can click HERE to read more about my local consultation and how you can get involved.

I have also been working with TARA Arts to lobby the Arts Council not to make cuts to the funding they receive. In October the Government announced that grant-in aid funding for the Arts Council would continue to rise above inflation to £467 million by 2010/11-an increase of 3.3% above inflation over three years. The Labour Government has a proud record of support for the arts over the last ten years and has increased funding to the arts by 73% in real terms. However, I am very concerned by the decision by the Arts Council to cut TARA Arts’ funding. The Arts Council operates at arms length from the Government and levels of funding for individual arts organisations are entirely for the Arts Council. The Oily Cart Company and Children’s Discovery Centre in Tooting will receive continued funding and I have written to them to congratulate them on this good news. However, TARA Arts are having theirs cut by 50%. I have met with representatives of the Arts Council London to discuss my concerns. I am unhappy with their conclusions and the impact this may have on the excellent work TARA Arts does. I am continuing to work with TARA Arts to see what can be done about this and the impact it will have.

On Wednesday, I attended the centenary celebration of Tooting Fire Station on Trinity Road. There are only 16 fire stations in London older than ours. I am a big fan of our local station, who once rescued my family and our home when I was a young boy. It was good to meet so many ex fire men and women as well joining with them in celebration the invaluable work they do.

On Thursday, I was the Chief Guest and speaker at the AGM of Tooting Neighbourhood Centre. It was really good to see this local group doing so well. The Community Care Outreach and Befriending Scheme, the Over 60’s luncheon club, the Home and Respite Care and the Hope (Mental Health) project are all well used by local older citizens. Particular credit goes to the Chair, Bishop Powell, the Project Director (David Lorde) and all the staff, volunteers and Management Committee.

I also attended the AGM of Tooting Labour Party this week. I am constantly impressed with the efforts of literally hundreds of local residents in their commitment to the aims, values and aspirations of the Labour Party locally and nationally. People often forget that we are a voluntary party and rely on the time, efforts and generosity of numerous individuals coming together to try and make a difference.

On Saturday I held my appointment surgery at Tooting Library.

On Sunday, I attended a special service at the Yahweh Christian Fellowship (YCF). Pastor Noel and the YCF are doing a fantastic job trying to stop any more young people from our community suffering the misery caused by guns, knives and gangs. One of the main challenges that the YCF is addressing, with other local agencies, is to give our young people a sense of belonging.

I also attended the Islamic Awareness Day event at Tooting Islamic Centre. Cllr Nick Bowes of Tooting Ward and Sgt Lisa Hurley of the Tooting Safer Neighbourhood Team, attended this event as well. One of the best ways of dispelling the myths that exist about Islam is for events like this to take place. Living in the most diverse city in the world, it is important that we learn about each others religions and beliefs.

2008-03-02T16:12:00.000Z

On Monday I held my usual advice surgery at Balham Community Centre on Bedford Hill. No appointment is required for this surgery. If you would like more details of my surgeries you can click HERE

I met with representatives of Post Office Ltd to find out more about plans from the Post Office to close down some Sub-Post Offices in Tooting and to discuss my concerns about these as well as the consultation processes. Cllr John Farebrother, who is one of the Labour Councillors in Furzedown, and has taken a keen interest in Post Office provision in his ward where there are a large number of older residents, also attended the meeting. You can see a photo of the meeting by clicking HERE. You can find out more about the plans and what I am doing about this by clicking HERE.

I was also the Whip on a piece of Delegated Legislation; GLA Elections (Election Addresses)(Amendment) Order 2008, which was passed.

During the course of the week, Parliament continued to scrutinise the European Union (Amendment) Bill.

I also met the Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, to discuss Fairtrade Fortnight, which takes place between 25th February and 9th March. I discussed with Douglas my plans for this fortnight as well as the difficulties I have had in persuading Wandsworth Council to support Tooting becoming a Fairtrade zone and Wandsworth becoming a Fairtrade Borough. You can find out more about what I have been doing on Fairtrade and about the fortnight by clicking HERE. You can see a photo of Douglas and me by clicking HERE.

On Thursday, the Home Secretary, made a statement in the House of Commons into the Inquiry conducted by Sir Christopher Rose into the “Bugging” of me when I visited Tooting constituent Babar Ahmad in Woodhill Prison. I am very pleased that the Home Secretary and Sir Christopher's Report have reiterated that constituents must be allowed confidentiality with their MP and that it concluded that I was not the subject police monitoring. I would like to thank all the Tooting residents that wrote, emailed and called me with messages of support over this issue.

On Sunday, I joined Cllr Judi Gasser, Cllr Billi Randall and local members of the Labour Party in meeting residents in and around Furzedown ward. We had a really positive response on the door step, with the main issue being raised around street cleaning and litter. Once again, I will be writing to Wandsworth Council to urge them to address this problem, which is one of the primary responsibilities they have a local authority.

2008-02-15T17:22:00.000Z

On Monday, I held my usual drop-in surgery at Earlsfield Library. Most of the people who came to see me, as normal, were in need of decent housing for rent, but had been waiting for an inordinate amount of time on Wandsworth Council’s various waiting lists. The Tory Council have at the same time been selling off record numbers of affordable housing, failed to put any pressure on developers to build a decent number of affordable homes to meet the needs of local residents and have failed to replace the housing sold off.

In the afternoon, the Secretary of State for Justice, Rt Hon Jack Straw made a statement about allegations of the bugging of conversations I had with a constituent, Babar Ahmad, who is detained at Woodhill Prison. You can see the Statement and debate by clicking HERE.

On Tuesday, I met with the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities, Skills, John Denham MP, and to discuss plans to expand and strengthen apprenticeships. The number of young people and adults successfully completing apprenticeships has risen from around 40,000 in 2001/02 to over 100,000 per year now. This represents a major boost to our national skills base, and it’s encouraging that the government are investing even more in apprenticeship schemes. You can see a photo of our meeting by clicking HERE.

I also met with the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to discuss policing and transport issues affecting Tooting residents. He took a keen interest in the matters I raised and has agreed to come to Tooting shortly to see for himself the situation in our local area. I will keep readers updated about this.

On Wednesday, I took part in Sainsbury’s “Active Kids 2008, Skip2bfit” challenge. Skip2bFit is a fitness initiative designed to motivate children to eat healthily and exercise more. I competed against other MPs to win ‘Active Kids’ vouchers for local schools. I came 4th overall and won 1,000 vouchers for Tooting primary schools. You can see a photo of me taking part by clicking HERE.

On Thursday, I attended a special Chinese New Year Assembly at Fircroft Primary School.

I also met a senior representative of Marks and Spencers to discuss their plans for Tooting. M&S will be opening a much larger store in the Colliers Wood Retail Park, so are closing the Tooting branch and unfortunately, there is no prospect of a U turn. I have received assurances that all staff will be offered jobs in the new branch, or other local stores and will be working closely with the Tooting Town Centre manager. However, it is important that the Council is pressurised to do more to help Tooting Town Centre. A laissez faire approach is not the way to encourage “brand names” to Tooting.

In the evening I attended a Commendation Ceremony at the Town Hall to honour Wandsworth Borough Police. Some extremely, dedicated and conscientious Officers and Community Support Officers were commended. It was quite humbling hearing some of the stories behind the actions of the Officers which lead to the commendations; from professionalism, determination and tenacity in tackling violent and threatening suspects to partnership building skills in working with young people locally. It really was a moving night and I really hope the local press relay to the public the sort of work local police and PCSO’s do on a daily basis to make us safer.

On Friday, I hosted my 3rd annual Warm front event. I hold the event annually to ensure that older people in our community are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to. Record numbers termed up to Balham Library, where the event was held, to receive free benefit checks. I also arrange for local community organisations and services to be at the event to offer support and advice. To find out more click HERE. To see a photo of this year’s event click HERE.

In the afternoon, I visited the Furzedown Project and helped launch a new mini bus that users of the Project have been given thanks to generous donations from a number of charities including “Stage for Age” who are the celebrity wing of Help the Aged.
I also visited Springfield Hospital to discuss their plans to build a mixed development on the site for housing, a hospital as well as some retail and community aspect. I have a number of concerns about the current plans and have asked for further information on a variety of matters.

On Sunday, I joined Councillors Billi Randall, Rex Osborn and Andy Gibbons, along with a number of local Labour Party members, speaking to residents in the Graveney part of the constituency. There were still many complaints about poor street cleaning and fly tipping as well as concern about the future of Tooting Town Centre. As normal, I have agreed to take up individual casework on behalf of constituents.

2008-02-05T18:03:00.001Z

You may have heard the Sunday Times story alleging that a conversation I had with a constituent whilst visiting him in prison was bugged. I have no idea if it's true, but I'm really pleased that the government are investigating these reports. MPs should be scrutinised (for the record I don't employ any member of my family) and I don’t think we are above the law, but it is also crucial that everyone can have confidence that their discussions with their MP are private, because occasionally people do bring complaints about the police or legal system to me and are entitled to privacy when discussing these matters.

I hold at least four advice surgeries a month at locations across the constituency, you’re welcome to come and discuss your issues, in private, with me. Click HERE for details of my surgeries.

2008-02-05T18:02:00.000Z

In response to the news announced this week that the Marks and Spencer’s store in Tooting Town Centre will close in May this year, I have called on Wandsworth Council to do more to support retailers and attract larger stores to our area.

Despite my best efforts, M&S will be closing after 40 years on Tooting High Street. The priority now is to get a flagship brand replacing M&S at their current location. It is also important that the 51 staff at the Tooting Marks and Spencer’s branch, half of whom live locally, are offered employment at the new Colliers Wood branch, or other local stores. I am pleased to have received a number of assurances from M&S in this regard, including confirmation that all staff will be consulted.

It is really important for local residents like me that we have a vibrant town centre. We don’t want a parade of only bargain shops. We want mainstream prominent retailers to add to our diversity of shops.

I will be working with the Tooting Town Centre Manager to try to ensure that Marks and Spencer is replaced by a store that provides a useful service to local people and creates even more local jobs.

2008-02-05T17:48:00.000Z

On Monday, I attended the Holocaust Memorial Day event held at Wandsworth Town Hall. The programme organised this year to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, was very moving. I was really pleased to see the four students who accompanied me to Auschwitz talk so movingly about their experience and the lessons that we all need still need to learn. Recent atrocities in Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sudan show us that we all still need to do much more. We all should reflect on our own attitudes to those who we regard as different from ourselves and commit to working towards the elimination of discrimination within our community. To read more about my visit to Auschwitz, click HERE.

One of the responsibilities I have as a Minister in the Government Whips Office is responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. On Monday there were Justice Questions in the Chamber, which is an opportunity for MP’s to hold Justice Ministers to account. This occurs approximately every 6 weeks.

Most of February is being taken up with scrutiny by Parliament of the European Union Bill. The whole of the House of Commons is acting as the Committee stage of the Bill. If the Bill is passed it will give effect to the Treaty of Lisbon in UK law. The Treaty of Lisbon ensures a bigger role for national parliaments in the EU and a new voting system which gives the UK a bigger say; greater transparency of what the EU can do; more efficient institutions; a full-time President of the European Council and representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and more focus on global issues. Our government will still have control over important policy areas such as justice and home affairs, including policing and control of our borders, as well as social security, tax, foreign policy and defence (these are the ‘red lines’ you may have heard the Prime Minister referring to). This Treaty is important because it will help the EU work more effectively, and when the EU works well it can help us get things we all want: more jobs and more opportunities, a safer society and greater influence for the UK in the most important issues of the day. The Tories however are still arguing strongly for a referendum on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon; indicating they would campaign hard for a 'no' vote. Were this to succeed it would leave Britain on the outskirts of Europe, marginalised and exposed, subject to EU laws but with no power to influence them.

I am always keen to make Parliament more accessible to people and so I am happy to take part in an innovative scheme called “ParliaMentors” organised by the Three Faiths Forum. 9 MP’s from the 3 main parties have been assigned a group of three students (one Jewish, one Christian and one Muslim) to mentor through a project on political engagement which they will be working on tighter. You can read more about this project by following this link to an article in the Times this week.

Private Members' Bills are Public Bills introduced by MPs and Lords who aren’t government ministers. On Friday I was in the Chamber when the House of Commons approved the 2nd Readings of two PMBs which had been proposed by colleague MP’s. The first, moved by Sharon Hodgson MP, was The Special Education Needs (Information) Bill which aims to establish best practice and provide better quality information from one principal source about special educational needs. The second Bill was moved by my neighbour and good mate Keith Hill MP. He tabled the Health & Safety (Offences) Bill. The Bill will increase fines for health and safety breaches to £20,000 and widen the range of offences for which prison is a penalty.

2008-01-31T18:03:00.000Z

On Monday, I held my normal open advice session at Balham Community Centre on Bedford Hill. If you need help from me, as your MP, you can clock HERE to find out details of my surgeries.

I also met with the Minster for Energy, Malcolm Wicks MP, to discuss issues raised with me by local constituents about the Energy Bill. The Second Reading of this took place on Tuesday and I was really pleased to have the opportunity to put to Malcolm some of these concerns.

I also signed the memorial book organised by the Holocaust Education Trust to commemorate the Holocaust as well as raising awareness about other genocides and humanitarian disasters around the world. You can see a photo about he book signing by clicking HERE.

On Tuesday, I joined tens of staff, patients, ex staff and new born babies to formally open the new midwife led maternity unit at St Georges Hospital. The unit is designed to be a ‘home away form home’ for expectant mothers, offering them a maternity service without medical intervention. The new unit has been named the Carmen Suite after Carmen Brooks-Johnson who has been a mid-wife at St George’s for more than 30 years. You can see a photo of Carmen and me by clicking HERE.

One of the highlights of being the MP for Tooting is meeting the different school children who attend local schools. I played host to the School Council from Hornsby House School on Wednesday. After giving a short talk on my job and answering some really tough but fascinating questions by the School Council, the students went on a professional tour of the Palace of Westminster. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE. If you would like a tour of the House of Commons or to see a Parliamentary debate then you can email me on sadiqkhanmp@parliament.uk and I will try and sort this out for you.

On Thursday, I joined Tooting Ward’s excellent Labour Councillor Nick Bowes, local parents and children from Fircroft Primary School to celebrate our successful campaign to try and get bollards installed on Glenburnie and Fircroft Road. There is a raised table junction on these roads which means cars can mount the pavement, causing a very worrying safety risk to children at the school. We lobbied the Council to install bollards to prevent this, and eventually they agreed to meet our requests.

In addition to my normal parliamentary and Ministerial duties I also met with Professor Ted Cantle of the Institute of Community Cohesion (ICoCo) to discuss some impressive work they are undertaking. You can find out more about ICoCo by clicking HERE.

On Friday, I attended meetings at Fircroft and Gatton Primary Schools, respectively. I am governor of both these schools and try and visit as often as I can. Both schools continue to go from strength to strength, with improving benefits to local children.

On Saturday, Cllr Nick Bowes of Tooting Ward and I met with residents of Broadwater Road to discuss concerns they have about traffic on their road. We were presented with a petition which Cllr Bowes will hand in to the Full Council meeting at Wandsworth Town Hall. The residents had been suffering from damage to their vehicles and noise and air pollution as due to increased congestion on their road after the Council implemented a one-way system in surrounding streets. The residents want their part of the road to be included in the system and Nick and I are supporting them with this campaign. You can see a photo of us collecting the petition from local residents by clicking HERE.

I also met Labour Councillors from Tooting to celebrate the news that, as a result of our long campaign, Tooting Library is to receive £3 Million from the Big Lottery Fund for a complete refurbishment. You can see a photo of the Labour Group of Councillors and me by clicking HERE.

I was really pleased to be asked to meet and speak to the organisers and participants in a new local project called “3 Faith Forum”. This is an initiative which brings together a small group of young people from three different religious communities in Tooting, to talk, work and devise a project together. 24 representatives from the New Testament Assembly Church, Tooting and Balham Mosque and the SGI-UK Lay Buddhist society were introduced to each other at the event and will be working together on community projects. The initiative has been funded by Community Cohesion money from the Government.

On Sunday, I joined local volunteers and Labour Party members meeting local residents in Tooting. Additionally, Cllr Judi Gasser, Cllr Andy Gibbons and Cllr Nick Bowes joined us too. Once again, the main issues concerning local residents were to do with the local Tory Council. I have agreed to take these matters up on behalf of local residents,

2008-01-25T16:41:00.000Z

Last week was a pretty busy legislative week in Parliament.

On Monday, we had the Second Reading of the Education and Skills Bill. I am particularly pleased about this Bill as it will extend educational opportunity to young people in our community. The Bill seeks to raise the leaving age from education or skills training. This will happen in two stages. From 3013 the leaving age will be 17 and from 2015 it will be 18, if the Bill is passed. It will also give adults new rights to basic and intermediate skills training. Click HERE to find out more about the Bill.

On Tuesday, I played host to Year 10 students from Graveney School. The group of students were studying Parliament as part of their GCSE Citizenship course, so it was important for them to come and see the House of Commons and the House of Lords for themselves. It is always great when local school children attend Parliament as it shows them how accessible Parliament is and hopefully how easy it is to influence politicians to make them deliver on the issues that really matter. You can see a photo of us by clicking HERE.

On Wednesday, I had a really enjoyable evening with a local student from Tooting in Number Ten Downing Street with the Prime Minister. I invited Bertie Watkin from Graveney School Sixth Form to accompany me to an event to celebrate the educational achievements of young people. Having attended a local state school in Tooting myself, it was a real delight to take a local boy with an interest in politics to meet the Prime Minister.

You can see a photo of us with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown by clicking HERE.

On Thursday and Friday I attended the annual Franco British Colloque. It was fascinating debating and discussing issues of domestic, national and international significance and also coming up with some joint solutions.

On Saturday I was a speaker at the Fabian Annual Conference held at Imperial College London. The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband MP, was the key note speaker. You can find out more about the Fabians by clicking HERE.