I have been Ilford South's MP since 1992 and seek to represent all my constituents on both personal and political matters. Please explore my site to find out more about me and my work for Ilford South and the Labour Party.

With best regards

I recently attended the launch of leading health charity Diabetes UK and the South Asian Health Foundation (SAFH)’s new report highlighting 16 diabetes research topics relating to the South Asian community.

The two charities launched “Diabetes UK and South Asian Health Foundation recommendations on diabetes research priorities for British South Asians” at the House of Commons on Wednesday 17 June. The report lays the groundwork to find out more about diabetes in South Asian people in the UK and discover why Type 2 diabetes is up to six times more common in South Asian people than the general population.

It is vital that diabetes research in South Asian people in the UK is carried out if we are to combat this growing health epidemic. I was delighted to attend the launch of this important report and hope that researchers around the country will take note of these guidelines and find them a useful tool when determining which issues to examine. Read the rest of this entry »

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee chaired by Mike Gapes MP questioned Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Wednesday the day before the important European Union summit You can watch it here

Foreign Secretary David Miliband gave evidence on Human Rights to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 16 June you can watch the whole session here and
read the transcript here

During a recent evidence session of the Foreign Affairs Select Committe Mike Gapes criticised the UN Human Rights Council for failing to act over the appalling human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Mr Gapes pressed Foregn Secretary David Miliband on the “ineffectiveness of the UN Human rights Council ” and asked him ” In the light of the statement it made on 27 May and voted by 29 votes to 12, which included ourselves, that the conflict in Sri Lanka was “a domestic matter that doesn’t warrant outside interference”, do you think that the Human Rights Council is doing the job it was set up to do-to deal with human rights abuses and civilian deaths as a result of that conflict?”

Mr Gapes then said ” there is a worrying situation, when there are some of the major countries in the world-China, India, Egypt-among the 29, and there seems to be a shift away from the optimistic agenda of the responsibility to protect, and the approach that was taken a few years ago. It is now clearly reflected that the majority of members of the Human Rights Council and therefore, presumably, the majority of members of the General Assembly are of that view. Because of Russia and others in the Security Council, you are unable to get the Security Council to act either: welcome statement from Ban Ki-moon, welcome statement from Mrs. Pillay, welcome statement from John Holmes-nevertheless, when it comes down to it, the UN is not prepared to act on human rights issues, which it says are domestic matters that do not warrant intervention.”

Mike Gapes, MP for Ilford South, has signed up to support the ‘Just Equal Treatment’ campaign run by leading older people’s charity Age Concern and Help the Aged. The campaign aims to bring an end to ageism, the most common form of discrimination experienced by adults in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »

I spoke in the debate yesterday. You can watch my speech here

Here is what I said
2.46 pm
Mike Gapes (Ilford, South) (Lab/Co-op): When we heard last week’s announcement that there would be an inquiry, I had two concerns: first, about the intention that it would be held in private, on which many hon. Members have commented; and, secondly, about its scope. I welcome the Government amendment, which goes a considerable way towards answering the first of my concerns, because it makes it clear that a substantial part of the inquiry will be held in public. I hope that the “relevant parliamentary committees” that there is a commitment to consult will include the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee, both of which carried out inquiries in the previous Parliament and made relevant observations that could be taken into consideration. Read the rest of this entry »

I made a major speech in the debate on Europe in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon. You can watch it here

Here is what I said.

16 June 2009 7.9 pm
Mike Gapes (Ilford, South) (Lab/Co-op): One problem with these European debates is that we are like two peoples speaking completely different languages—it is a dialogue between the deaf. One view, which we have just heard, is that this is somehow all a plot by the bureaucrats in Brussels. That takes no account of the fact that the real threat to democracy in the world is the unelected bankers, financiers and chief executives of multinational companies. The people of democratic countries need to find ways to co-operate, regulate and take control so as to minimise the worst effects of what those corporate individuals do.

However, there is another model. We have just had the fifth anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement, and the conclusions of the EU Council of 5 May said that the

“enlargement was not only a historic step in unifying a long-divided Europe but also a success from an economic point of view resulting in a win-win situation for the whole EU.”

If the EU is such a terrible organisation, why have 10 countries that used to be in the Soviet bloc or the regulated communist system, from the Baltic states down to Slovenia, joined it in a period of just over 10 years? Despite the fantasies of the Conservative friend President Klaus of the Czech Republic—who believes that the EU is somehow recreating the Soviet bloc in Europe—people in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia have come out of communism and said overwhelmingly that they wish to be part of the voluntary club that now consists of 27 nation states. They want to work co-operatively together: why is that? Read the rest of this entry »

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday Mike Gapes MP pressed Foreign Secretary David Miliband about the prospects for a Middle East settlement. Here is what he said
Mike Gapes (Ilford, South) (Lab/Co-op): On the middle east peace process, does the Foreign Secretary agree that there is a need not just for a grudging statement from the Israeli Prime Minister about a two-state situation, but for concrete measures that will make an agreement possible, and that Israel therefore needs to stop—totally stop—the expansion and enlargement of the settlements? Will the Government hold urgent discussions in the near future with the United States as to a way forward, to exert the maximum possible diplomatic pressure to get a solution to this matter?

The Foreign secretary replied as follows

David Miliband: As my hon. Friend knows, it is certainly the position of the UK Government that settlement activity needs to be frozen, including natural growth, which is, of course, a commitment of the road map. In respect of engagement with the United States, I spoke yesterday to Secretary Clinton and former Senator Mitchell, and I think that the US role will be absolutely critical. However, I would also say that it is not just a matter of applying “pressure”; I think that the European support for Palestinian institutions is going to be important, and I also believe that there are responsibilities on the Arab states to think through how they will achieve the goals of the Arab peace initiative and how they will operationalise the very important vision set out in that. The EU can play a role in that regard, too.

These have been difficult weeks for Parliament and the Government. All parties have been affected by the expenses crisis and the drip drip of stories in the Daily Telegraph of Conservative MPs moats, manure and duck houses, Liberal trouser presses and Labour TV screens and bathplugs.

It is not surprising that overall votes of all main parties were down in the European and Local elections, but Labour as the governing party suffered most from public anger. We had our worst results ever. But I am pleased that in Redbridge and Ilford South we did much better than elsewhere. I am also pleased that Redbridge and Londoners as a whole resoundingly rejected the poisonous hatemongers of the Nazi BNP. *
The bad results and a series of resignations led to much criticism of Gordon Brown and a very difficult few days before the historic Monday evening meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party where the overwhelming majority decided to rally behind the Prime Minister as he resolved to renew the government and respond to public and party concerns. The Prime Minister has already set out his plans for democratic reform to restore the reputation of Parliament, by completing reform of MPs allowances and establishing an independent Parliamentary standards authority and a statutory code of conduct in the Commons and a new system for the House of Lords. There will also be a Special Commission to modernise the procedures of the House of Commons.

Proposals will shortly be introduced on House of Lords reform; setting out the rights and responsibilities of British citizens; for devolution of power and engaging people in their local communities; taking forward the debate on our electoral system; and increasing public engagement in politics including improving registration and considering lowering the voting age.

I have my own views on these matters but I would welcome any views and suggestions from constituents by post to the House of Commons London SW1A0AA or email gapesm@parliament.uk
*( please note this is the original wording as originally submitted however the editor deleted my reference to the “Nazi” BNP)

I was re-elected as Chairman of the All party Crossrail group at our well attended Annual General Meeting on Monday where we also had the opportunity to question the Mayor of London Boris Johnson about his plans for Transport improvements in our city and his support for Crossrail.