Dear Constituent,
Today’s Budget highlighted 13 years of the Conservatives mismanaging our economy. As Labour Leader Keir Starmer rightly said the Government are trying to disguise stagnation as stability.
This is the economy under the Conservatives:
Wages lower today in real terms than in 2010
£30 billion of waste under Rishi Sunak,
X 29th out of 38 countries in the OECD on average growth.
X UK productivity grew by just X 0.4% on average between 2010 and 2019, the second slowest in the G7 after Italy.
Britain has huge potential, but we are behind left behind. A Labour Government would repair our economy:
Labour would secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few better off.
Introduce our Green Prosperity Plan, our active partnership with business, and our modern Industrial Strategy – all built on the rock of economic responsibility.
We’ll get more people back into work too, by localising employment support, opening up Jobcentres and targeting help to those stuck outside the jobs market.
A Labour Government working with a Labour Council will be on your side working to ensure that hard working families have a Government that will support them.
Yours sincerely,
Mohammad Yasin MP
Constituents get in touch
In summary:
- Public Order Bill
- Illegal Migration Bill
- The Budget
- Cat Theft
This month, my office has opened a total of 404 cases, 99 of which are casework and the remaining 305 relating to campaign and policy.
I have received a large amount of correspondence on a range of issues including the Public Order and Illegal Migration Bills, concerns about today’s budget, and the rise in cat thefts which have understandably caused worry for owners across the country.
Concerns about the Public Order Bill have persisted as it risks criminalising legitimate, peaceful protests and non-criminal action. Shamefully, all attempts to amend the legislation have been blocked by this Conservative Government. The Bill is currently being considered in the House of Lords where I hope that further amendments will be proposed to limit the wide-reaching powers being introduced.
The Illegal Migration Bill has been a topic of national interest and constituents have raised their concerns that this Bill will only further embolden criminal gangs seeking to smuggle people into the UK. Whilst the Conservatives unfairly blame refugees for all their problems, Labour will get on with the task of tackling criminal gangs, fast tracking asylum decisions, and dealing with humanitarian crises at their source. By removing safe and legal routes where asylum applications can be properly processed, the Government have only encouraged boat crossings, and have seen the asylum application backlog skyrocket. That’s why I voted against the Tories Illegal Migration Bill. Labour will put in place a system that works for Britain, is based on humanity, and provides a workable resettlement scheme.
Ahead of the Budget I received a large amount of correspondence calling for support for struggling businesses including pubs and a proper extension of the energy support schemes currently in place. The Tory economy isn’t working, with wages being lower in real terms than they were in 2010, and out of the 38 countries in the OECD our average growth of 1.4% is ranked 29th. Britain has huge potential and that’s why Labour’s first mission in government will be to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country – making everyone, not just a few better off. We will introduce our Green Prosperity Plan, our active partnership with business, and our modern Industrial Strategy – all built on the rock of economic responsibility.
I was saddened to read some of my constituent’s stories on cat theft. I understand the pain caused by losing a pet. They are invaluable members of our families, providing comfort, support and happiness. Pet theft is not a simple matter of theft of an item and nor should it be treated as such by the law. I believe Parliament should be working together to stop this appalling crime and I will continue to follow progress on this matter closely.
In the constituency
This month whenever I could, I attended constituency events, joined local litter picks, attended schools and colleges and met with local businesses, as always.
I spent an interesting morning getting an insight into the world of wholesale distributors at A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd in Bedford – one of the largest family-owned businesses in the UK. Starting life as a counter-service grocery store in 1917, it’s now a nationwide food and drink distributor, mainly supplying 263 SPAR stores across England and Wales as well as pubs, restaurants and caterers across the UK.
The Bedford distribution centre employs 300 people. I was shown around the site, met with staff and discussed the different aspects of the business. I was impressed by the ethos of the business and their focus on the environment and corporate responsibility with a large recycling programme and giving back to the community.
I was also pleased to hear they will be offering apprenticeships from September.
We discussed some of the concerns they have over the impact Brexit has had on logistics, food supply chains and the considerable issue of lorry theft.
I went to a very enjoyable coffee morning at St Bede’s retirement living complex, who are raising money for the earthquake relief effort for Turkey and Syria. It was great to see Labour councillors and candidates there joining in and talking with residents.
ACCM(UK) are working closely with Bedford Borough Council to deliver ESOL classes to support people to improve their English proficiency and social integration. Part of the class focusses on democracy in the UK, and it was a pleasure to attend a class and speak about my role as an MP.
It was a pleasure to visit Bedford College this morning to speak to students as part of careers month. I spoke about how I became an MP, the work I had done before and the different careers available in politics. Thank you to the teachers and students for their time and I hope that they enjoy the rest of the events they have throughout March.
There was a great turnout at a bulky waste collection and community litter pick this month organised by Borough and Town Councillors and Labour candidates. Thank you to everyone who supported this, including the refuse collectors who brought along vans to take away the rubbish. I also joined Cauldwell councillors and candidates and the ACCM Bedford team in a litter pick in Cauldwell Ward. Keeping our areas clean is important and it’s great to see communities coming together to help.
ILearn Bedford hosted a wonderful event of food, history and culture to celebrate Bedford Bangladeshi Heritage Day, as well as International Mother Tongue Day. I was honoured to speak and thank the Bangladeshi community for their contributions to our great town.
A productive meeting with BPHA addressing a number of outstanding cases raised by my office, an update on BPHA’s repair teams and maintenance work, and plans for the housing association going forward. I will continue to raise my constituents’ concerns at every opportunity.
It was a pleasure to attend the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama last night. It was a wonderful event featuring a concert to celebrate incredible local talent. Prizes were awarded for the most outstanding speech, drama, and music performances, alongside prizes for the most promising performer in year 9 and below, and the most promising young singer. Well done to everyone who took part.
I continue to hold weekly surgeries and I am regularly knocking on doors across the constituency to ensure I understand the issues and concerns that my constituents are facing.
May 2023 Bedford Borough Elections
Labour have set the following five pledges for the May 2022 Bedford Borough elections.
1.) Renew Bedford Borough.
2.) Protect and improve local health services.
3.) Zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour.
4.) Prioritise the climate emergency.
5.) A quality education for all.
Bedford Borough Labour will be launching their manifesto in due course and should you have any local or Borough level ideas you wish to share you can email Mayoral candidate Saqhib Ali at: saqhib4bedford@gmail.com
If you would like to find out who is standing in your Ward, here are all the Bedford Borough Labour candidates in my constituency:
Ward
Brickhill
Brickhill
Castle & Newnham
Cauldwell
Cauldwell
Cauldwell
De Parys
De Parys
Goldington
Goldington
Greyfriars
Harpur
Harpur
Kempston Central
Kempston Central
Kempston North
Kempston South
Kempston West
Kingsbrook
Kingsbrook
Putnoe
Putnoe
Queen’s Park
Queen’s Park
Queen’s Park
Riverfield
Candidates
Warwick Mackie
Elizabeth Pugsley
Sam Blacklaws
Fouzia Zamir
Abu Sultan
Haresh Thapur
Shaun Bowman
Mohammad Khayrul Islam
Cathrine Ward
Shane Kelly
Sudesh Rani
Colleen Atkins
Zara Layne
Caroline White
M. Nawaz
Sue Oliver
Carl Meader
James Valentine
Ralley Rahman
Mashuk Ullah
Wendie Harvey
Geoffrey Pearce
Nesreen Akhtar
M. Masud
Mahboob Din
Neil Mann
In Westminster
I was honoured to be recently confirmed as a member of the Education Select Committee and look forward to the opportunity to scrutinise Education policy and work constructively with colleagues from all parties to make improvements.
Parliament:
I hosted staff and 6th Formers from Mark Rutherford School as part of Parliament’s Education Engagement team. They enjoyed a tour of Westminster and put me through my paces with a lively Q&A session.
It was also a privilege to host members of the congregation of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bedford in Parliament to celebrate the teachings and 646th Birth Anniversary (Prakash Utsav) of Sat Guru Ravidass Maharaj Ji.
Labour MPs Tan Desi, Khalid Mahmood, Yasmin Qureshi, Afzal Khan, Seema Malhotra and Tahir Ali all spoke to the congregation echoing sentiments about the importance equality, serving the community, an end to violence against women and girls and caste discrimination.
I spoke in the debate on Health and Wellbeing Services in the East of England, pointing out that despite the funding being available and the real need for mental health beds, the Government have still not given the green light to the new mental health beds facility in Bedford. This is shameful and the Government must urgently approve the funds that would make such a difference in local mental health service provision.
Campaigns and Drop-Ins:
My constituent Nicola Turner attended a rally outside Parliament in March as part of the campaign for WASPI women. I was happy to meet her and lend my support to this cause which I have followed closely and worked proactively on since being elected.
I accompanied members of the APPG on Pharmacy to hand in a letter to Downing Street calling for support for local pharmacies.
I was happy to lend my support to my colleague Zara Sultana’s letter calling for funding in the Budget to allow the extension of free school meals.
