As we head into summer, I wanted to share some of the progress we’re making — nationally and right here in Croydon West — to deliver the change people voted for.

Thanks to the steps we’ve taken to stabilise the economy, interest rates are falling, wages are rising, and NHS waiting lists are coming down — with millions more appointments being delivered. Now, with the recent Spending Review, we’re taking the next vital step: investing billions in social housing, schools, healthcare and public transport to deliver lasting improvements for families in Croydon and across the country.

Meanwhile, over the past year, I’ve been working closely with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on our modern Industrial Strategy, a bold plan to drive economic growth that will create over a million good, well-paid jobs across the UK.

We want to lead global change, rather than just keeping pace with it. From clean energy produced off our shores, to medicines discovered in British labs, and AI innovations developed by British minds, we’re focusing on eight key sectors with the greatest potential for growth.

Change takes time. It will take a decade of renewal to undo the harm of the past, but we’ve made a strong start. I’m committed to making sure these investments translate into real opportunities and better lives for our community.

I hope you find this update useful, and as always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas.

News

Local Leaders Awarded British Empire Medals

Huge congratulations to the following people for their well-deserved recognition:

• Stuart Worden – Principal of the Brit School – was awarded an OBE for his services to music, education and creative industries. Stuart makes an enormous contribution to the arts and to the lives of so many young people in Croydon and beyond.
• Bishop Mark Nicholson was awarded the British Empire Medal for his compassionate and tireless work supporting young people and families facing real challenges in our community.
• Rosalind Frances Barbara Jones was honoured with a British Empire Medal for her commitment to keeping alive the memory of those lost in the Lanfranc air disaster.
• Dolores Collins received the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for her outstanding service at Croydon Adult Education Service. She has helped transform the lives of adult learners, opening doors to new opportunities and confidence.

Upgrading Local Hospitals 

Labour is delivering vital funding to upgrade our NHS hospitals – tackling the crumbling infrastructure left behind by the Tories. Over £3.5 million is coming to Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital to fix long-standing issues like leaky pipes, poor ventilation, and outdated electrics. This means fewer cancelled appointments and operations for local patients.

It’s part of a £750 million national boost for over 400 NHS sites, funded by the £26 billion NHS investment secured in Labour’s Autumn Budget.

More Croydon West Children to Benefit From Free School Meals 

More children up to GCSEs will now be eligible for free school meals. Labour is extending this support to over half a million more children nationwide, helping to lift 100,000 children out of poverty. Every child deserves the best start in life.

Croydon Women’s FC End-of-Season Awards 

It was lovely to join Croydon Women’s FC for their End-of-Season Awards – celebrating a brilliant 24/25 campaign! I am so proud to be honorary president of such a brilliant club.

Safer, Warmer Classrooms in Croydon 

Warm Home Discount Expanded

Around 570,000 more families in London, including those in Croydon West, will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter. Labour is extending the Warm Home Discount to protect more low-income households and pensioners across the country — delivering energy security and putting money back in people’s pockets.

Launching Our Industrial Strategy

All year, I’ve been working with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on our modern Industrial Strategy – and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved.

This is our latest plan to deliver strong economic growth which in turn will create over one million good, well-paid jobs for working people in every part of the UK. In a decade, Britain won’t just be keeping up with global change – we’ll be leading it.

• Clean energy from British shores
• Medicines discovered in British labs
• AI developed by British minds

We are focusing on the eight sectors with the most potential for growth, by investing in businesses, tackling costs and boosting skills and jobs opportunities.

First, we are tackling energy costs, slashing industrial electricity prices in British industry up to 25% for over 7000 businesses.

Second, we are creating jobs and investing in industries across the UK, including £4.2B for Advanced Manufacturing; £150M Creative Places Growth Fund; £600M Health Data Research Service and so much more…

Third, we’re investing an additional £1.2 billion per year in skills by 2028-29, and increasing research and development spending to £22.6 billion per year by 2029-30.

Listening to Young Voices at Harris Academy Purley Way

Thank you so much to staff and pupils at Harris Academy Purley Way for welcoming me to their school. The pupils had some fantastic ideas about things that could be done to make Croydon better –  hopefully there are some future MPs among them!

Winter Fuel Payment Update

Everyone over the State Pension age in England and Wales with an income of, or below, £35,000 a year will benefit from a Winter Fuel Payment this winter. This extends eligibility to the vast majority of pensioners, with around 9 million, or over three quarters, benefitting. This threshold is well above the income level of pensioners in poverty and is broadly in line with average earnings.

Targeting Winter Fuel Payments was a tough but necessary decision. However, we listened when people told us about the impacts, and eligibility has now been expanded so that no pensioner on a lower income will miss out. No pensioner will need to take any action as they will automatically receive the payment this winter.

Visit to Croydon Refuge Centre

I had the pleasure of visiting the Croydon Refugee Centre’s women’s cooking drop-in. Many of the women don’t have cooking facilities where they are currently being housed, so the Croydon Refugee Centre’s project enables them to do some cooking for themselves and their families. There was also a fantastic art therapy project taking place.

The Centre does incredible work supporting asylum seekers to navigate UK systems and build supportive relationships here.

Spending Review 2025: Investing in Britain’s National Renewal

A range of investments and policies were announced at the latest Spending Review which will help build a better Britain for working people, with more jobs, shorter NHS waiting lists and better public services. Key national investments include:

• £39 billion over the next decade into social and affordable housing (the biggest injection of cash in 50 years).
• The largest multi-year settlement for London in over a decade, with £2.2 billion of funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 for TfL.
• A 3% real-terms annual rise in funding for the NHS – amounting to £29 billion more over Parliament.

But we know it’s still tough. That’s what the Spending Review is about: how we fix our country for the long term to make sure you and your family are better off. My team and I will be working to ensure we make the most of this by pushing for the improvements you’ve told me matter.

£250 Boost for Cutting-Edge Aerospace Tech to Drive Greener Air Travel

This month I announced a major £250 million funding boost for cutting-edge aerospace tech projects to drive greener air travel. The UK aerospace sector supports 100,000 direct jobs and contributed £13.6 billion to the economy in 2024.

Creative Talent at Crisis Skylight Croydon

Such a beautiful event was held recently at Crisis Skylight Croydon – lovely to meet with members who were presenting artwork they’ve made during classes at the centre. Music from the London Mozart Players was also a real highlight. Crisis Skylight Croydon is a charity doing amazing work supporting people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.

Meeting with Croydon Business Association

Always lovely to meet with the Croydon Business Association and support in any way I can to help our fantastic local businesses grow. We had a great conversation at Tokia Square about their upcoming AI Summit and how best to set it up for success. Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Creating Opportunity Through the Energy Springboard

Major Tariff Wins for UK

In a huge boost to Britain, the UK aerospace industry won’t face any US tariffs, while the auto industry’s tariffs have been lowered to 10% from 25%. These industries are of enormous value to the UK. I’m proud of the commitment this Government is making to sustain and build them.

Delivering on Casework

Since the end of May, I have received 2,107 casework emails, and 45% of the casework is related to housing. A lot of the enquiries are about housing maintenance issues.

In the last month we’ve had some great wins:

• A gentleman wrote to me saying that his 87 year old mother who has dementia recently visited Boots Opticians for an eye test. She was inappropriately upsold an expensive pair of glasses for £323. She has never paid that much money before for a pair of reading glasses. I wrote to the Boots Chief Executive Officer and he apologised and gave her a full refund.
• A lady contacted me who was fleeing domestic violence with two small children and facing homelessness. I got her rehoused. Thankfully now the family are settling into their new accommodation, and they are out of harms way.
• A gentleman who has a wife and two children and works for Uber found that his Uber account had accidently been de-activated. I got this resolved within a day and he is now back at work. These are just a small selection of some of our many successes over the past month.

A huge thanks must go to my small team for all their hard work, and their continued ability to get results.