The latest from Jon Cruddas MP

Love the Borough - London Riverside Church

The Social Action team at London Riverside Church (LRC) are hosting a ‘Love the Borough’ event over the weekend of 10 -11 July 2021. Over the two days LRC will undertake a variety of community projects within Barking and Dagenham.

One of the planned projects is a DIY SOS style event.

Clean Air Day 2021

Today is Clean Air Day 2021 and this year the theme is “protect our children’s health from air pollution”. Clean Air Day is the UK's largest air pollution campaign which helps to drive a positive shift in public knowledge and action; and is a chance to find out more about air pollution, share information, and make the air cleaner and healthier for everyone.

Asda Foundation Supporting Local Charities

At the end of May Dagenham United Charity, Box Up Crime and EMH Hawks U8’s football club were nominated to be part of the Asda Foundation’s brand-new Green Token Giving online voting scheme. Customers may have seen the green token scheme in store, but to make voting easier following lockdown online voting is now possible.

Child Food Poverty in Dagenham and Rainham

This week the Child Poverty Action Group held a briefing session for MPs ahead of the Westminster Hall debate on Child Food Poverty planned for Monday 24 May.

The session highlighted that there are currently 4.3 million children living in households below the poverty line, and that based on pre-pandemic data at least two in five children living in poverty across England were ineligible for free school meals.

Grays Court Homeless Hostel

Last week, Jon Cruddas MP heard the news that Barking and Dagenham Council has reopened the former Grays Court Community Hospital as a homeless hostel. The building was reopened under the name “Grays Court” on the 17th of May.

The facilities

MP Welcomes Rainham HGV Ban

Jon Cruddas MP has welcomed the introduction from 11 May of a Heavy Goods Vehicle ban on lorries over 7.5-ton weight in Rainham Village. This will also have a positive impact on HGV traffic passing through Wennington Village.

The ban will be enforced by the introduction of a CCTV camera and is designed to stop the lorries travelling through Rainham village, Upminster Road South and Wennington Road. Lorries that are not exempt from the ban will be subject to Penalty Charge Notices if they drive through the area.

International Workers Memorial Day 2021

*PHOTO TAKEN IN 2018 - LtoR: Sean Connolly, Fay Hough, Trevor McKeever, Jon Cruddas

Billy Adams A Force for the Future

Last month, Jon Cruddas MP’s team had the pleasure of meeting with Billy Adams, one of Dagenham Boxing Clubs finest. Dagenham Boxing Club is a non-profit, voluntary organisation which is dedicated to young people in the local community. When many young men would head home after school to play video games, Billy would head to the club. His dedication to the sport has resulted in Billy being a three-time national champion.

How it started

Santander Announce High Street Closures

At the end of March Santander announced that they will be closing 111 of their high street branches across the UK. This announcement included the Dagenham Heathway branch. Santander are one of many banks that have announced closures over the past 12 months.