Why is our MP obsessed with Gibraltar?

Recently our MP in Romford announced that he was pleased to have secured the flying of the flags from all the Commonwealth countries in Parliament Square.

This is the latest in a string of campaigns run by Mr Rosindell on behalf of overseas governments.

I wonder if Mr Rosindell’s intense interest in these flags has anything to do with the large number of donations that he receives from these countries.

In the past three years our MP has received over £59,000 worth of donations from a range of governments for trips to Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and many others.

If you then look into what our MP spends most of his time asking questions about in Parliament you will see a similar story. One particular territory that stands out is Gibraltar. Our MP has developed a minor obsession with Gibraltar and has asked 196 questions about the tiny territory during his time as an MP and spends a lot of time on trips there, paid for by the government of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar has a population of around half the size of Romford but the MP for Romford has asked 196 questions in parliament about Gibraltar and just 276 about Romford.

In fact, such is our MP’s interest in Gibraltar, that the BBC have suggested that Mr Rosindell’s actions (he has also tabled a large number of Early Day Motions relating to Gibraltar) may be perceived as lobbying on behalf of an overseas power, a serious breach of parliamentary rules.

Perhaps this is why he is so pleased to have the flag of Gibraltar flown in Parliament Square.

It is great to see that the people of Gibraltar are represented so well in our Parliament. But it would be nice if the people of Romford were equally represented, or perhaps he should change his title to the MP for Gibraltar.

Was yesterdays reshuffle really a reshuffle for Women?

Yesterday, in a desperate attempt to make the Tory party seem more women friendly, Cameron used his reshuffle to promote any women Tory MPs he could find.

Despite being billed as a ‘reshuffle for women’ (a problem I will come to later) of those promoted yesterday 27 were men and just 11 women.

There are just 48 women Tory MPs and, as always with the Tories, the majority of them are foam-at-the-mouth right-wingers who don’t belong in this century.

Unfortunately, for all of us, Cameron’s bid to make the Tories seem more women friendly means that, until next May, we will actually be governed by a number of this small group.

They include Priti Patel, who has been promoted to the Treasury. Patel is a classic no-holds-barred free-market capitalist who co-authored the book ‘Britannia unchained’. If you are unfamiliar with the book it is an ode to the wonders of the free market and the evils of workers’ rights. The book genuinely makes the argument that, despite being in an age where 1.4 million workers are on zero-hour contracts, workers are currently offered ‘excessive protection’ by employment law and these laws need to be reformed to tackle the ‘lazy’ workers of Britain.

Patel also believes that we should bring back the death penalty to act as a deterrent. Patel is obviously not familiar with all the evidence that suggests her claim that the death penalty can act as a deterrent is completely unsubstantiated or the fact that homicide rates are much higher in countries that have the death penalty. See the video below of Ian Hislop taking Patel on over her views on the death penalty.

Also promoted was Nicky Morgan, who has replaced Michael Gove as Education Minister. Morgan was previously Minister for Women and Equalities but retains her post as Minister for Women. Morgan is one of the many Tories who voted against the same-sex marriage bill because she believes that marriage can only ever be between a man and a woman. This prompted many to rightly question whether it was right that she was the Minister for Women and Equalities and whether a more accurate title would in fact be Minister for Straight Women.

So, do these promotions mean the Tories have solved their problem with women?

It remains to be seen if this reshuffle will give a poll boost to the Tories. However your party clearly has a major problem if you have to bill one of your reshuffles a ‘reshuffle for women’.

I can’t imagine the modern day Labour Party having to promote a reshuffle as a ‘reshuffle for women’.

If you have to actively promote the fact that you are trying to give more opportunities to a group of people that make up 50% of the population then you probably aren't doing equality right.

Why we should all be supporting the workers on strike today

Today I was outside Havering Town Hall on one of the many picket lines across Havering. Gathered outside in the pouring rain were a large crowd of Havering public sector workers, a sample of the 2 million workers on strike today.

These workers are the people that provide key services to all of us on a daily basis. They are the social workers who look after our sick and needy, the teachers who educate our children, the firefighters who safeguard our homes and the refuse collectors who keep our streets clean. Put simply, our society could not function without these people. We all owe them a great debt of gratitude. They aren't asking for that though, they are just asking for a fair pay deal.

That’s why these workers were on strike today. The average home help worker has had their pay cut in real terms by £2,199 since 2010, the average refuse collector by £2,950. In a time when everyone is feeling the toll of this cost of living crisis I don’t know how anyone can argue that that this is fair.

The Tories believe it is though. The Tories have offered just a 1% pay increase, another cut in real terms meaning, yet again, these workers will lose more money this year.

So what is the Tory solution to this? Make it harder for workers to go on strike. David Cameron has announced that plans to introduce a threshold on the number of union members needed to take part in a strike ballot in order for it to be legal will be in the next Tory manifesto. Of course this law won’t apply to UK elections where, for example, a London Mayor could still be elected with just 17% of the vote, as they were in 2012.

It appears the dividing lines are very clear.

I will always support workers who fight for fair pay and conditions. That is why I was out showing solidarity at Havering Town Hall today. The value that the workers on strike today have to all of us is much more than a 1% pay increase.

Why I'm standing in Romford

Romford is my home. I was born here and have lived here most of my life. In that time I have kept a close eye on politics in Romford.

Quite frankly, the politics of Romford worries me. For those who are less familiar with the political climate in Romford, it is largely dominated by the Tories. This has been the case for a number of years.

The Tories in Romford have maintained their dominance through a strategy of divisive tactics and scaremongering politics.

Over the last decade in Romford we have seen the Tories anti-immigrant rhetoric grow more and more extreme. We have seen leaflets proclaiming ‘British jobs for British workers’, promises to cut immigration by 75% and references to ‘floodgates’ being opened which look like they have been taken straight from Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech.

This constant rhetoric has created a worrying environment in Romford, one in which the far-right are flourishing. In every general election the BNP, UKIP and the English Democrats have stood for in Romford they have increased their vote share. At the 2010 general election (before UKIP’s surge) the combined vote share of the BNP, UKIP and English Democrats was over 10%. That means that over 10% of people in Romford were voting for a party further to the right than the Romford Tories!

Having knocked on thousands of Romford doors over the last year I have spoken to many people who do not feel this Tory far-right rhetoric represents them. I have also spoken with mosques and churches who are worried about the environment the Tories are fostering in Romford.

These people can see that the problems we are facing today are not caused by the people who come to Britain to offer their skills and to make a better life.

We in Romford have thousands living in fuel poverty, thousands of young people who can’t afford their own homes and an ever increasing number of people forced to use food banks. These are the real problems that we face today. These are the people I want to stand up for. These are the problems I want to help tackle.

Despite what the Tories in Romford will have you believe, these problems are not caused by immigrants. Blaming these problems on immigration is not going to help those who are being hurt by the cost of living crisis.

I've decided to stand in Romford because I want to give a voice to the many who do not feel represented by this far-right Tory rhetoric.