After taking little or no interest in the housing crisis the Prime Minister has decided to spread a lot of fiction about London, Housing & @SadiqKhan.

I’m sure it’s a co-incidence it comes before the Mayoral elections, but lets look at the Conservatives & PMs record. 🧵 1/

https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1684553100072210434

Councils across London like Hounslow have been building social & council homes.

Labour-led Hounslow beat their own target to build 5,000 new homes which included 2K social rent homes.

On top of building new homes LBH have been regenerating estates like Green Dragon. 2/

Yesterday I spoke about the loan charge.

The retrospective loan charge is pushing so many, including many of my constituents, into great hardship & anguish.

The Government know the impact this is having, but continue to bury their head in the sand. 1/4

In my speech I mentioned how umbrella agencies are still targeting many low-paid workers on the frontline- including those working for our NHS.

I wrote to Treasury about this last year & have been raising it for over two years now! 2/4

THREAD- I welcome the fact that the Chancellor has listened to all those have been warning about the impact that the cliff-edge ending of the furlough would have on jobs & businesses across our country.

However todays much delayed response has a number of clear gaps... 1.) Since August @AnnelieseDodds, myself and other MPs & business groups have been calling for action to protect jobs.

I know that since then companies have already been making sweeping redundancies & many people have lost work.

What support was announced for those people?

THREAD- Yesterday I spoke in the Internal Market Bill Debate.

Yesterdays topic was amendments on devolution & I spoke about the risk this bill poses to our devolution settlement.

Below is a quick thread of the key points of my speech.

1/6 Govts white paper claims this bill 'respects the devolution settlement' but we know this simply isn't true.

This bill will see more money hoarded back to Whitehall & will see the devolved nations unable to act if this Government lowers standards on issues like food. 2/6

Thread: I've written to the Chancellor @RishiSunak to urge the Government to extend the furlough scheme & SEISS for the hardest hit parts of our economy.

I've had dozens & dozens of constituents contact me to express their worry over this cliff edge... 1/6 I welcome Govts support package earlier this year for the arts but many in the sector have contacted me expressing concern that if the furlough is ended they will lose their jobs.

We have a world class creative sector in the UK- Govt should be doing everything to support it. 2/6

THREAD- This Governments decision to withdraw free travel for under-18s in London is simply wrong.

After my adjournment debate last month I wrote to the Government to ask a number of questions about the decision to withdraw free travel. 1/7 Firstly I have sought clarification about whether this would be a temporary measure or whether this is permanent- if the latter this would have an even bigger impact on so many families who are already struggling with the bills.

Govt need to provide urgent clarity on this... 2/7

THREAD- This evening I urged the Government to reverse their decision to scrap free travel for under-18s in London.

In past few days I've had messages from schools, parents & young people about the damage this would do- and we know it would hit the poorest families hardest. 1/ For the Government to do this in the middle of a pandemic, when so many families in Hounslow & across London are struggling is simply wrong.

37% of children in London are already growing up in poverty- scrapping free travel adds more £ to the bills for families... 2/

THREAD: I've written to @OliverDowden to call for urgent action to support our culture & digital sector.

Whether it's our world class musicians, our West End performers putting on award winning shows or our growing TV industry in West London we benefit hugely... 1/5 but I know from the hundreds of local residents who've contacted me that the creative sector is facing serious challenges both in the short & long term because of covid-19.

The report from @Creative_Fed this week showed 400K jobs across the UK at risk...2/5

THREAD- Today @CommonsTrans released our report into covid-19 & the aviation sector.

Our report acknowledged this is a very challenging time for the sector but warned UK airlines like BA not to use it as cover for sweeping cuts to jobs, pay & T&Cs... 1/5

https://twitter.com/CommonsTrans/status/1271685481508614150

BA has received taxpayers money through the Job Retention Scheme.

However rather than protecting its workforce they are pushing ahead with redundancies & restructuring.

I know from the hundreds of BA staff who've emailed me that this feels like a kick in the teeth. 2/5

THREAD.

The 20% fall in GDP shows the need for urgent action from the Government.

I know from speaking to local businesses that so many sectors from our creative/media industry, to our hospitality & tourism industry are struggling at the moment... 1/4

https://twitter.com/ONS/status/1271321945489858560

Behind these figures there will be a very real impact; families unable to pay the bills, businesses closing down & so many people facing uncertainty over the months ahead.

Here in Hounslow the impact of on our aviation industry will hit local residents very hard... 2/4

THREAD: I've written to @MattHancock to urge the Govt to take urgent action around mental health support- especially on PTSD & Bereavement.

I know how difficult the past few weeks & months have been- especially for people who've lost friends, colleagues or family members. 1/6 I know that NHS England, Govt & local hospitals like West Mid have put in dedicated mental health support for staff

It's crucial this support is rolled out to other key workers & public- all of whom are facing anxiety and in some cases grief and bereavement. 2/6

THREAD- we had a very important Transport Select Committee meeting this AM with Willie Walsh- the CEO of IAG & parent company of BA.

I've received hundreds of emails from worried & anxious BA staff- including many locally in Hounslow.

Here's what I raised this morning 👇 1/6 Firstly I asked Willie Walsh what he thought about the terms of the support that other countries such as France and Spain have offered? 👇 2/6

THREAD: I've written to Education Sec. @GavinWilliamson to raise a number of issues around our schools.

School staff, parents, students+many others have done a great job but lots of issues still need addressing.

Check out the thread below to see what I raised. 1/7 👇 Issues still remain for students taking exams this summer & I'm concerned about what will happen to years 10 & 12 who are taking exams next summer and who are missing out on valuable classroom time.

Local parents have also raised worries about the use of predicted grades- 2/7

THREAD- With the new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme available many constituents have contacted me as they've been unable to be placed on the scheme.

I've written to the Chancellor @RishiSunak to raise these issues urgently & urge the Treasury to make several changes.👇 1/8 I welcome the change in cut-off date from the 28th February to the 19th March but I know that more needs to be done.

The requirement for an employees RTI to be submitted on/before March 19th means many new employers will miss out- even if they joined their job before 19th. 2/8

THREAD- I know from the large number of self-employed workers locally who've contacted me that there are a number of issues remaining around the support offered by the govt.

That's why I've written to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to raise these issues... 1/7 The first issue is the long wait for payments; which I understand will arrive in June at the earliest.

I appreciate that civil servants/govt are working hard on this but self-employed workers need support urgently to ensure they can pay bills & look after their families. 2/7

THREAD- During this difficult time I was pleased yesterday to see that there is still strong cross party opposition to the retrospective nature of the Loan Charge.

Thanks to @DavidDavisMP for leading in the debate & @EdwardJDavey & many others for great contributions. 1/4 MPs from across all major political parties & from across all regions of the UK made it clear just how damaging, unjust and unfair the retrospective nature of the Loan Charge has been for our constituents.

I hope the Government listened to the scale of opposition. 2/4

THREAD- We hear a lot of warm words about Global Britain; but what does the Government actually mean & what role do they want the UK to have in the world over the next 10, or 20 years.

Last Thursday (on the day before we left) I gave a speech on global Britain....1/5 I started by talking about how our international reputation & perception has been badly hit over the last 4 years- we need to work to rebuild this.

Through the EU we had a voice & a vote in one of the largest blocs in the world- we've lost that now. 2/5

Thread- I know how worried people are locally about violent crime. I pledged during the election to keep campaigning for more action to tackle this epidemic.

That's why my first major speech in Parliament this year was on youth crime & what govt need to... 1/7 I know from visiting schools & listening to students/teachers & community groups just how worried local people are about youth crime every day. Frontline A&E & other emergency staff also see the impact of this violence every day... 2/7

THREAD- When I ran for re-election in B&I I made clear that I would oppose Boris Johnson's deeply damaging Brexit Deal.

That's why I voted against the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement today & why I spoke in the chamber about my deep concerns... 👇1/5 Brexit is a complicated process- not a simple act. It will have a huge impact locally; especially on businesses and EU citizens who live here.

In the election I had support from Lib Dem, Green & even ex-tory voters because they were dismayed about this Brexit Deal. 2/5

We're living in a climate crisis & we need to act.

Those hit the hardest by climate change will be the least well off, and we're already seeing the impact of the climate crisis across the world.

Watch my Queen Speech response on climate change 👇 1/6

I know that my constituents both young & old feel passionately about the climate crisis, and want to see action.

I saw this firsthand when I visited @BelmontSchoolW4 during their climate awareness week & they asked me what I was doing & what govt should be do... 2/6

THREAD- This week I asked @MelJStride why the government were undermining the rule of law with the retrospective, unfair and unjust loan charge.

It's outrageous the treasury review has became a whitewash, that will ignore the awful human impact. 1/5

I've meet constituents caught up in the loan charge, and have heard gut wrenching testimony about how people have been pushed into depression, and in some cases suicide as a result of the loan charge- which leaves people in limbo, facing tax bills of over £100,000. 2/5