Huge news for Luton- £20 million investment secured
I’m incredibly pleased to have secured £20 million long-term funding for central Luton!
And the best bit? You get to decide how we spend it.
Whether it’s revitalising community spaces, backing community-led projects, or improving our streets to make them safer and more vibrant, this money is to bring our communities together and build pride in our town.
I’ve long been fighting for Luton to get the funding it needs in Parliament after years of neglect under the previous government, so I’m proud to have secured this major investment under the Pride in Place programme.
Stay tuned to find out how you can get involved!
Update! Road conditions and potholes survey
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in my recent survey on road conditions and potholes in Luton South and South Bedfordshire!
The results are now in and they’ve given me a great insight into your views and where future action should be focused to improve our road conditions right across the constituency.
The Government is taking action to improve road conditions across the country by introducing a £7.3 billion multi-year funding settlement for Local Highway Authorities. I’m very glad that under this settlement, Luton and Central Bedfordshire Councils are set to receive £14.5 million and £48.8 million respectively over the next four years.
Based on your feedback in my survey, I am pleased to have highlighted issues in the South Bedfordshire area in a recent debate on rural road conditions in Parliament (watch here!) and have now written to both Luton and Central Bedfordshire Councils to pass on your views.
See the results below and stay tuned for further updates!
The Stage
It was brilliant to be a part of the groundbreaking ceremony for The Stage development in Luton town centre earlier this month.
This landmark project is set to deliver new housing for our town alongside public garden space, a food and drink area, and a performance venue.
This moment not only acts as a marker for this exciting development to begin taking shape physically, but also the start of a new chapter of regeneration and investment in our town centre.
With works to install lifts at Luton Station and Luton Town Football Club’s new Power Court Stadium also under way, our town centre will transform over the next few years, becoming a hub of economic opportunity and investment.
Presenting my first Community Thank You cards!
This month I was so pleased to present my first Community Thank You cards to some very worthy local champions!
Mrs Copeland and Mr Matthew are volunteers in two of our local primary schools, helping their communities by giving their time to listen to readers, help with learning, assist on school trips and more.
I was also glad to present a Community Thank You card to the lovely Nicole from Mary Seacole Housing Association, who goes above and beyond in her work with local young people, and Nicandro Glaves and the team at Barberbox, who offer free haircuts to people who are homeless every fortnight.
It’s been brilliant to get lots of nominations for people all over Luton South and South Bedfordshire and hear about the ways they go above and beyond for their community. If you know a neighbour, volunteer, local organisation or charity that deserves a big thank you, nominate them for one of my Community Thank Yous below!
New funding for nurseries in Luton South & South Bedfordshire!
This week the Government announced new funding to introduce or expand over 300 school-based nurseries across the country, including at Hart Hill Nursery School and Someries Infant School here in Luton South and South Bedfordshire!
School- based nurseries are helping families across the country by increasing local nursery places, simplifying morning drop-offs for parents, and helping them to increase working hours.
Taken with other new policies including free breakfast clubs and 30 hours funded childcare, the average family can now save £8,000 per child!
I’m so pleased these school-based nurseries in our constituency have the backing to expand, benefitting many local families!
Joining celebrations to mark the month of Ramadan
This month I was glad to join various Iftar celebrations across Luton South and South Bedfordshire and in Parliament, as well as 1Eid Festival in Wardown Park.
These celebrations were a lovely opportunity to come together with those marking the holy month of Ramadan in our Muslim community and others from across Luton South and South Bedfordshire- a great illustration of the strong diversity and unity of our area.
I was especially pleased to join a special Iftar at Venue Central which celebrated the completion of the Kids Operating Room project in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. After hosting the launch event for this campaign in Parliament in 2024 it was brilliant to see that now, thanks to generous donations from our community and Dr Mehmood’s leadership, the project has successfully installed a children’s operating room at DHQ hospital
I hope everyone who observed Ramadan in Luton South and South Bedfordshire had a peaceful month and enjoyed celebrating Eid surrounded by loved ones.
Celebrating St Patrick’s Day!
What a fabulous day in the sun at the Luton St Patrick’s Day Festival!
I always look forward to the St Patrick’s festivities and this year certainly did not disappoint! Huge thanks to Luton Irish Forum, and Noelette and Nuala, for once again putting on a brilliant celebration for all our town to come together and enjoy!
It was especially great to see the Festival Fusion- involving Irish dancing, drumming by The Ghana Society plus the pipe band! What a brilliant example of our town’s many voices and communities coming together. It’s what makes Luton special!
Big shout out to the Fiddles, Flutes ‘n’ Cowboy Boots gang who introduced me to Dolly! Great that their Irish-country themed festival is at Stockwood Park RFC this year – get your tickets here!
I’m always proud to represent our thriving Irish community in Luton and champion the great work done by Luton Irish Forum and others to bring our town together.
New youth hub for Luton!
It’s brilliant that Luton is set to get one of 80 new Youth Hubs announced across the country- helping set our young people up for better futures.
These hubs will combine employment services, skills and training opportunities, careers advice, and support from local authorities in one accessible place.
I’m so pleased to have helped secure this for our town, which will be crucial in connecting our young people with more opportunities to earn and learn!
Celebrating Luton Carnival in Parliament!
With the upcoming 50th annual Luton International Carnival, this month it’s been brilliant to take various opportunities to champion Carnival in Parliament and how it shows the very best of Luton’s diversity, energy and togetherness.
As a born and bred Lutonian, I have many fond memories of attending Carnival throughout my life – enjoying the music, food, costumes, parades and all-round great atmosphere. I’ve also been able to see the way it brings our communities together, especially celebrating the impact of our Caribbean community and African diaspora from the Windrush generation to today.
I can’t wait to join people from across Luton at this year’s Carnival and continue to see it thrive long into the future!
Watch my full speech from the debate below!
Votes at 16 discussion
I was so glad to host an online session recently with young people from Luton South and South Bedfordshire to discuss the Representation of the People Bill and introduction of votes at 16.
This landmark change in the law will be a huge step in hearing the voices of so many engaged and enthusiastic young people across our town. I wanted to make sure I heard directly from them about how we can make sure they feel confident to use their vote and what issues matter most to them.
Thank you so much to all the young people who joined, I really enjoyed hearing your insights and it was great to see your enthusiasm for getting involved in democracy!
New Social Cohesion Strategy
In Luton we have a strong, diverse community that makes our town the welcoming, vibrant and tolerant place that it is. We have worked hard together to build this, but it’s been clear that recently there has been rising concern in our community about increasing racism and anti-Muslim hostility in many forms.
After ongoing discussions with the Communities Minster on this issue, I was very glad to see the government introduce its new social cohesion strategy, including a new, non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility which will better equip us to clearly identify this and tackle it.
This comes as part of a wider package of measures and funding to solidify our communities as strong, cohesive, resilient spaces, including improvements to local community and youth infrastructure, a renewed focus on neighbourhood policing and tackling antisocial behaviour, and vital action to tackle Antisemitism.
I look forward to continuing to work alongside Ministers to bring the impact of this work into our community and support the great local organisations that already contribute so much.
New opportunities for our town with the growth of Luton Airport
Very glad to meet with Nick Platts, Managing Director of Luton Rising, recently for a productive discussion following the Jobs, Skills and Apprenticeships Roundtable I chaired in January.
It was great to get further updates on the planned growth of Luton Airport, and crucially how this will benefit our town through increased investment, jobs and training opportunities.
I look forward to future discussions on these developments and continuing to champion the creation of vital opportunities for our town.
Visiting Central Bedfordshire College for Colleges Week
Lovely to round off Colleges Week this month by visiting the nearby Central Bedfordshire College in Dunstable! Colleges Week is a key opportunity to recognise the role Colleges play in equipping people of all backgrounds in our area with the education, training, and skills they need to succeed.
It was brilliant to see the great facilities and support available for students studying a whole range of courses at many levels. With a hospital ward, hair and beauty salon, kitchens, graphic design suites and more, I was very glad to see the hands-on environment our young people get to learn in.
Widening provision in vocational and skills education will be crucial in setting the next generation up for success, so it was great to see the opportunities leading into a range of industries offered to young people in our area.
Briefing on ongoing conflict in the Middle East
Glad to join Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East and the Council for Arab-British Understanding for a briefing with Arab Ambassadors to the UK on the situation in the Middle East.
We received an update on the ongoing conflict in Iran and the wider region, and further discussed how we can continue to work with key regional partners on deescalation and securing a lasting peace.
Thank you to the Ambassadors for giving an insight into ongoing work in this area and sharing their experiences.
Expanding the Youth Guarantee
This month the Government announced a huge expansion of the Youth Guarantee, helping to support more young people into work and set them up for better futures.
This includes:
- Expansion of the jobs guarantee, creating more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs
- New Youth Jobs Grant offering businesses £3,000 for every young person they hire who has been on universal credit and looking for work for 6+ months
- £2,000 incentive for each apprentice aged 16-25 taken on by SMEs
After the previous Government oversaw a 37% increase in young people not in education, training or employment between 2021-2024, I’m very glad to see this Government taking action and helping to get young people back on track.
Increasing protections for women election candidates and campaigners
Earlier this month, the Security Minister outlined in Parliament ongoing work that the Government is undertaking to defend our democracy, specifically in combatting harassment, intimidation, and violence towards candidates and campaigners.
Given my membership of the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission and keen interest in democracy, elections and representation at all levels, I was very glad to speak in this statement and highlight the importance of increased support and protection.
Across the country and in our area, we have seen a worrying rise in abuse targeted at female candidates, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the concerning effect of deterring many passionate, talented women from standing in elections.
Our democracy is made stronger with the widest possible participation, and it is vital that everyone feels represented, so I warmly welcome this action.
Growing up in the online world: a national consultation
This month I was glad to see the Government launch a consultation on children’s online safety issues.
Many of us are worried about how social media, online gaming platforms and AI chatbots are affecting children and young people.
This ambitious consultation asks parents, carers, young people and more their views on a wide range of areas including a minimum age for social media, curfews, restricted features, and use of AI.
New legislative powers mean that the government will be able to act swiftly on the consultation’s findings- keeping our kids safe sooner.
Marking International Women’s Day
During March we marked Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, considering this year’s theme of “Rights. Justice. Action. For all Women and Girls.”. This is a call to action and reminder that while we have achieved so much, there is more we can do together to build a more equal future for women of all backgrounds.
I was glad to join local Farley and South ward councillors Javeria Hussain and Charmaine Isles for their International Women’s Day event at Stockwood Park Discovery Centre, coming together with other local women to network and speak with organisations supporting women’s health and wellbeing in our area.
The Great British Spring Clean!
Brilliant to join students and staff from Whipperley Infants Academy in Farley for the launch of the Great British Spring Clean!
Four local schools took part to kick off the campaign on the 13th March, with all schools in Farley joining in this month. I was so pleased to see the students get stuck in and take care of their local area!
The Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign, taking action to clean up our streets, neighbourhoods and parks and make them places to be proud of.
I was impressed to hear that a huge 46 litter picks were planned to take place in Luton during this year’s Great British Spring Clean! Thanks to ABCD in Luton for bringing our community together to take care of our local area!
