I met kinship carers to hear their experiences ahead of Kinship Care Week Kinship carers play an incredible role in children’s lives It was great to hear directly about their experiences & the support they need. I was struck by the dedication they show & their inspiring stories

Great to attend a Service of Thanksgiving for Black History Month at All Saints Church West Ham this afternoon. West Ham councillor, Adjoa Kwarteng talked about the strength & importance of community in Newham. We were joined by the wonderful sounds of the Bajan Voices UK choir

More Durga Puja celebrations, it was good to go back to Ravidass Community Centre to a lively fun evening organised by The Hindu Society London.

An evening of celebrating Durga Puja with the Bengali Hindu community. Started the festivities with Shree Shree Loknath Bhakti Porisad alongside Stephen Timms MP & vice-chair of Newham Council, Cllr Rohit Dasgupta Thanks for the invite and to everyone for the warm welcome

A Small Business Shout-out for Wang and the team at 22nd Coffee in Royal Wharf. One of the older shops in this newly developed area. A community feel, friendly staff & customers. Good coffee, good cakes! #smallbusinesssaturdays #smallbusinessshoutout #newham

It was a pleasure to join the Bishop of Barking and a packed congregation, for the licensing and introduction of the Rev Luke Smith as new Vicar of Ascension Church. Our local churches still play an important role in our communities, so it was great to welcome Luke to the area.

Today is Show Racism the Red Card’s Wear Red Day 🟥 Across the country people are coming together to say: racism has no place in our society. There’s no room for racism so give it the red card! Show your support: theredcard.org/wear-red-day/ #wrd #showracismtheredcard⚽️🔴

Food and drink manufacturers have always been big part of Newham and are still important in providing jobs and a role in our local economy. Always good to catch up with the industry body, The Food and Drink Federation, and discuss issue facing the sector.

Ensuring secure and clean energy for the future is important for all of us. I was at the University of East London recently to discuss how we can secure more sustainable energy in and around the docks.

Good to catch up with the British Heart Foundation & sit on the red bench & hear about their work They’ve put 65 red benches around the UK for their 65th anniversary Every 3 minutes, a life is cut short by cardiovascular disease. But research is helping people live longer lives

Food poverty is a real issue in my constituency and this summer I again saw first hand the impact that can have, especially on children. Today I highlighted the issue in Parliament and asked the Prime Minister about the importance of eliminating food poverty.

Last week was National Cadets Week. I joined the YOU London Leadership Development Conference Day at Kingsford Community School. Over 60 young people from across cadet groups from the forces and civilian services challenged themselves and tested their skills.

Great to meet our newest Pearlies at the weekend, Paul and Sarah the new Pearly King and Queen of Stratford! #Newham #pearlykingsandqueens #westham #stratford

I joined my Labour colleagues today to welcome our newest Member of Parliament, Sagal Abdi-Wali, winner of the Holborn & St Pancras by-election. 🌹

The GMB foundations are in Canning Town so they’ve strong connections to our area. I stopped by their stand at Labour conference and caught up with their campaigning work and chatted to General Secretary, Gary Smith.

Libraries are key community assets for study, meetings, community groups & reading for young & old alike Wonderful to see Newham investing in new libraries A pleasure to join Mayor Forhad Hussain, councillors & special guest Bobby Seagull at the opening of Green Street Library

I visited Royal Docks Watersports to see their facilities & try the indoor powered rowing tank I met Monir, chair of Typhoon Dragon Boat Club, we discussed racing, what more we can do to get people involved & ensure local kids are taking advantage of facilities on their doorstep

Always good to catch up with my old employer, the TUC, at Labour Conference

The IAAPA Expo, Europe’s trade show for the global attractions & leisure industry, came to the ExCeL I stopped by to meet them & some of the exhibitors to hear about the industry, their plans, new ideas technology and sustainability innovations shaping the future of the industry