James Asser MP

Unsafe battery practices can cause devastating fires. Electrical Safety First’s research shows that it is not primarily a lack of education or awareness but structural factors like working conditions that cause most people to ignore the associated risks with e-batteries.

Following the successful National Cadets Week I met Defence Minister, Calvin Bailey to talk about cadets in West Ham & Beckton. Calvin has been writing to cadet groups including our own West Ham Sea Cadets congratulating them on their success in recruitment.

Interesting to see St John Ambulance at ComicCon this weekend but impressed with the strategy. They’d got interest in volunteering from over 1000 people and were busy demonstrating first aid skills. A combination of taking a stall at a different type of event and a great team on the stand paid off

Comic Con at the ExCel this weekend, I joined some of the young people from Newham who had got the chance to go along. Great to see Newham’s Youth Services ensuring local young people get a chance to take part in this huge show on their doorstep.

A Saturday small business shoutout for a recent new addition to the cafes and eateries of Canning Town. MyKopitiam - inspired by the kopitiams found across Malaysia and south east Asia serving a range of Malaysian dishes - opened in late summer. Great to meet their friendly team of staff.

A warm autumnal day last weekend for the London Otters Rainbow Races from the Royal Docks Watersports Centre in the Royal Albert Dock. 🌈 I joined them for this charity event and to hand some prizes to the winning team. 🚣🏽‍♀️

Statement on the evacuation of residents at Sovereign Tower, Centurion Tower and St Vincent Court, Canning Town

Over 55,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Over 61,000 people are living with secondary breast cancer. We have a bold vision. By 2050 everyone with breast cancer will live & live well We have to be bold in our fight against breast cancer. Wear pink Friday 23 October

10 million adults live with arthritis. And I’m one of them. Arthritis affects every part of life. The solutions must too. We need to make sure that the millions with arthritis get the care and support they need. I spoke to Arthritis UK about their campaign for a National Arthritis Plan.

Investing in new facilities at Newham College with a rebuilt main block replacing a 60s building with something designed now. The block brings major improvements across teaching, learning and social spaces. I was delighted to be able to join the College team in officially opening the new building.

I met Bulgarian Minister of Culture, Evtim Miloshev, on his visit to the UK, as Bulgaria prepares to host Eurovision next year. We talked about plans for the event in Burgas on the Black Sea coast and working on greater travel and cultural links between our countries.

Last weekend, I visited the London Ghana SDA Church in Plaistow who were taking advantage of the warm autumn and sunshine for their community safety day with visits from the Police and Fire Brigade. A great turnout from the local community and everyone in good spirits with a warm welcome.

Today is World Osteoporosis Day. I met up with the Royal Osteoporosis Society to hear about the Great British Bone Check. The Great British Bone Check is a free tool that takes just 3 minutes to complete and helps you understand your risk. thegreatbritishbonecheck.org.uk

I went to the British Soft Drinks Association Industry Lunch. The UK soft drinks industry is a major British industry, worth £26.3 billion, supporting more than 56,000 jobs. It’s also an important part of our local economy and source of jobs with Britvic’s plant in Beckton.

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 and the support they need. I was struck by the dedication they show and their inspiring stories.

Great to attend The Service of Thanksgiving for Black History Month at All Saints Church West Ham, this afternoon. West Ham’s new councillor, Cllr Adjoa Kwarteng talked about the strength and 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 Sir Stephen Timms MP & vice-chair of Newham Council, Cllr Rohit Dasgupta Thanks to the committee for the invite and to everyone there for the warm welcome

A Small Business Shout-out for Wang & the team at 22nd Coffee in Royal Wharf. One of the longer running shops in this newly developed area. A nice community feel, friendly staff & friendly customers, there’s a board of magnets regulars bring back from their travels. Good coffee, good cakes!

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/

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 placed 65 red benches around the UK to mark their 65th anniversary. Every 3 minutes, a life is cut short by cardiovascular disease. But research is helping people live longer, healthier 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!

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 vital community assets used for study, meetings, community groups & reading for young & old alike. Wonderful to see Newham investing in new libraries. It was 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 including trying 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 and ensure local kids are taking advantage of the 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 and leisure industry, came to the ExCeL. I stopped by to meet them & some of the 870 exhibitors and hear about the industry, their plans, new ideas technology & sustainability innovations shaping the future of the attractions industry.

Out knocking for the Holborn & St Pancras by-election today. Fair to say door knocking round the British Museum is one of my more unusual canvassing experiences! Far more people live in central London than we all realise when we go out into town or go shopping.

I caught up with Electrical Safety First at Labour Conference, they were talking with MPs about consumer protection, support for vulnerable people and issues of safety. I’m hosting an event with them in Parliament on new research of the safety experiences of gig economy riders.

Last week I went for a walkabout with the police around Canning Town and Star Park following issues raised by local parents. I have regular meetings with the Borough Commander and I’ll be doing further walkabouts with the Police. You can always contact my team with areas of concern.

The national cancer plan was published this year with ambitious targets for the next decade. I met with a number of cancer charities at Labour conference to hear about their plans and look at how we can work with them in support of people in West Ham & Beckton and help deliver for people locally.

I attended the launch of IndEX (The Industry & Educators Exchange) at The Old Bailey alongside over 250 leaders from industry & education. Index connects employers and educators to provide high-quality, employer-led technical education for young people to help build careers.

I joined Monsignor john Armitage and the congregation at the anniversary mass to celebrate the 150 years of St Margaret’s Catholic Church, Canning Town. A great turnout of people & organisations from across Newham to celebrate a church at the heart of the local area for generations.

Good to visit St Mary’s Allotment Plaistow to meet the ctte & enjoy a cuppa in the autumn sunshine and discuss how we can support them. A site with a great community spirit. Its a history goes back to 1904 when a group of unemployed men cleared some disused land for growing.

September was especially busy, with 900 cases resolved for constituents. You can always get in touch, whether you need help with an issue or simply want to share your views. Whatever the reason, my team and I will do our best to respond and help.

Today marks the start of Black History Month. This year’s theme is ‘Honouring Our Communities’ & in Newham there have been Black communities for centuries. We’ll be honouring that heritage & those local communities. Check out some events taking place in Newham: www.newham.gov.uk/events/event...

If you want to hear more about what I’ve been up to, including more information on votes and campaigns then you can now sign up for my newsletter: jamesasser.co.uk/newsletter/

I caught up with The Woodland Trust to discuss their campaign to increase tree planting. As we see increasing temperatures & hotter summers greater tree cover will be vital. Places like Newham will need support to increase tree numbers to ensure our streets are cooler & safer

Pleased to see the Chancellor’s announcement today of the (re)establishment of the union learning fund. Having worked at the TUC I understand the transformative impact investment like this has for workers and businesses.

Great to join West Ham Sea Cadets this week for their awards parade. Delighted to see that hard work being recognised and receiving the prestigious Cleverly Award, a national honour awarded annually to the top-performing Junior Section within the UK Sea Cadets.

Update on the Canning Town Station escalator after my joint letter with Cllr Rohit Dasgupta to Deputy London Mayor Seb Dance. The good news is repairs have started on the main escalator between the tube station & bus station. It should be working again by the end of the month.

I met with Tideaway which has been a massive project to improve the sewage systems and clean up the river. It has had a big impact on our constituency through its connection to Beckton sewage treatment works.

I met up with the Newham Chinese Association. We discussed translation services and making sure the elders had the relevant support they need. It was good to have a catch up - thank you so much for the cake!

A beautiful sunset over London tonight, with a stunning view from the Royal Docks. 🌅 #sunset #London #Newham