Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is absolutely right that economic growth & investment should be spread across the regions – not concentrated in London & the Southeast. Just one more reason (among many!) why Heathrow expansion should be scrapped once and for all.

A glorious day for both the St Margarets Fair and the Teddington Village Fair! Wonderful to see lots of familiar faces & meet new ones, including Saskia and Aaron, who were selling products they made through Young Founders House Children’s Market. 😎🌞

Remembering my dear friend, and former councillor, Robin Brown.

Communities’ voices must not be ignored! Make sure to have your say on Heathrow expansion. Register for the Heathrow expansion Community Conversation at tinyurl.com/5wcnvhm4 & respond to the consultation at tinyurl.com/5d98vf8w.

Antisemitism has no place in our schools or our society. Proud to support the launch of the new Tackling Antisemitism in Education programme—a free four-part online course available to all schools from 1 November.

Changes to SEND tribunals are causing real concern for families who have fought hard to secure their children's rights. The Government must ensure reforms improve—not weaken—the system. Thank you to the SEND Matters Coalition and Rory Bremner for hosting this important event.

Happy 70th Birthday to @dofe.org ! 🎉 Huge congratulations to everyone who’s completed their Bronze, Silver or Gold Award, and an even bigger congratulations to the teachers who willingly spend nights in tents and weekends on expeditions. Couldn’t be me! 😅

Half of children in kinship care have special needs, yet many carers step in during crisis with little information & schools often lack understanding of kinship care and trauma. As Vice Chair of @appgkinshipcare.bsky.social we’ve looked at how the SEND system can work better for these children.

A thought provoking discussion @IPPR's panel on children's health. A clear reminder that if we’re serious about tackling health inequalities, we need to start with early intervention to give every child the best possible start in life.

Grateful to meet nurses, physios, psychologists, dieticians & speech therapists from the Richmond Community Neuro Rehabilitation Team. They provide incredible, holistic support to residents in our borough with stroke, MS, motor neurone disease and other neurological conditions.

Thanks to the Y6 head boys and girls at Trafalgar Junior for showing me around, and to the Y5 Pupil Parliament reps for their speeches for & against AI – a topical & complex issue! Lovely to present pupils from the Infant School with some very well-deserved awards, too.

The first 1001 days, from pregnancy to age two, of a baby's life are crucial in laying the foundations for lifelong health and wellbeing. Parents and carers should be able to get trusted support early, before difficulties become crises. #BackTheBabiesBill

Score for Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson @maxwilkinson.bsky.social The Government is now letting pubs stay open for this weekend’s game after he raised the issue in Parliament today! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Today’s apology is a long-overdue recognition of the injustice suffered by mothers and children affected by historic forced adoptions. It must be the start, not the end, of meaningful support for survivors.

Where's the action, Andy?

If you're a young person over 18, or the parent of a young person who's accessed mental health support, the Health and Education Select Committees want to hear about your experience as part of their inquiry into mental health services. Link to the survey here 👉 shorturl.at/a4xID

Capita have just 5 days to get the Civil Service Pension Scheme in working order, and then Government must act fast to hold them to account and end these outrageous delays! Our civil servants deserve so much better.

Issuing guidance that silences SEND parents is outrageous, refusing to acknowledge that decision is alarming. When it comes to SEND reform we need to hear from those who will be impacted the most.

90% — that's how much the Chancellor's own growth predictions for Heathrow expansion have been downgraded. And that’s the Government's own analysis. This scheme must be stopped now.

Heat-related news to be aware of: SWR services will have an amended timetable this week & advise only essential travel on Wed & Thurs. Local waste & recycling collection will start earlier (5am) to protect crews from heat.

Proud to support #NSSW2026! 🎉 6–12 July 2026 @YouthSportTrust invites schools, families & orgs to get every child active—60 mins a day through sport & play. Let’s build healthy habits & find the joy in movement 🙌 Sign up: www.youthsporttrust.org/school-suppo...

Fantastic to join pupils @HeathfieldJnr for their #BeInternetLegends assembly! It's so important we teach our kids media literacy and how to stay safe online. Thanks to @TheParentsZone and @GoogleUK for putting on a great assembly.

100 years ago, John Frith opened an opticians on Heath Road in Twickenham. Later taken over by his nephew Robert, Robert Frith Optometrist is still going strong. So lovely to join Robert’s daughter Zara, the branch's employees & opticians, and local residents & customers to celebrate!

I'm proud to support the #SummerReadingChallenge 2026: Read to the Beat! Children across Twickenham can sign up for free at their local library and enjoy a summer full of reading, creativity and discovery. Find out more here: summerreadingchallenge.org.uk #ReadToTheBeat #NationalYearOfReading2026

Final chance to take part in my SWR survey! Have your say on local rail services here:

Pleased to attend Pancreatic Cancer UK’s reception in Parliament - shocking that 7 in 10 people with pancreatic cancer receive no treatment. We need to invest in research urgently to drive forward new treatments.

Thank you to @claireyoungmp.bsky.social for raising this. Simply outrageous Gov’t is burying this announcement the day of a high-profile by-election when Parliament cannot scrutinise it!

Calling all teachers! @libdems have launched a teacher retention survey open to current and former teachers to find out what can be done to reverse the teacher attrition rate. From workload to burnout we want to hear your experience. Fill out the survey here👉️ digitallibdems.typeform.com/to/Vr1eYJSx

The Government is finally considering putting Thames Water into special administration. @libdems.org.uk have long been calling for this. They should also scrap the Teddington sewage recycling scheme while they're at it!

I want a country that backs dads as proudly as it backs its team. I’m wearing my @DadShiftUK shirt to call for longer paternity leave in the UK. Just two weeks at under half the minimum wage robs dads of time with their baby and piles pressure on mums #TwoWeeksIsntEnough

Starmer’s legacy-hunting means he’s rushing out a policy that will fail to protect our children and hold tech companies to account!

5 more days to respond to my survey on SWR services! Make sure to have your say here:

Lovely to join the wonderful Ruth & members of the community for Richmond EAL Friendship Group’s 25th anniversary at Kew Gardens. So nice to see familiar faces & hear the touching stories of how families in our community have benefited from their support.

Starmer can’t even get his legacy right - he should go further and commit to @libdems.org.uk's proposals to protect children from harmful social media!

I spoke to The Standard about the Govt rushing through a half-hearted consultation on the Airports National Policy Statement. Given the huge costs of a Heathrow third runway for passengers, taxpayers, our environment & our health, it's crucial we have full transparency. tinyurl.com/mttnwmub

Really pleased to take part in my first annual House of Commons vs House of Lords tug-of-war in support of Macmillan Cancer Support - really good fun and great to see so much money raised!

The Prime Minister has spent months ignoring the digital threats facing young people. He must stop relying on tech companies to protect our children and act now before more harm is done. @munirawilson.bsky.social

At least 79 Britons have died at the hands of Kenneth Law, but his sentencing in Canada won't stop insidious pro-suicide forums taking more lives. The Government must hold a proper inquiry and take action to stop these tragic deaths.

Thames Water recycled sewage proposals at Teddington and bathing water designation are simply incompatible. It's time for Government to stop the TDRA and focus on cleaning up our river!

Young people are trying their best to go to college and get a job. It’s unacceptable that the Govt hasn’t funded FE places for 32,000 students in England. Despite Govt pledging real-terms increases, Richmond Upon Thames College saw just a 0.55% rise. We can’t keep letting young people down like this

Really pleased to be a judge for this year's Think Tank Awards. At a time when more and more people feel angry at politics, we need new and radical ideas to fix our country and give people hope for the future. (1/3)

The team at Network Rail have reassured me overnight that service on the Shepperton Line should be restored this morning - please do continue to check your journey ahead of time - www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey

Update on the train service at Hampton and Fulwell 👇️ I’ll be getting updates from SWR throughout the day and keep you in the loop as best I can. What's the point of new trains if they can't run?!

SWR is overhauling its timetables for the first time in over 20 years. Whilst timetable changes won't solve all the issues with rail services in our area, it's important to have your say. Click here for details on SWR's info event on 4 June & to share your views in my survey:

Lovely evening celebrating the poet Alexander Pope on what would have been his 338th birthday. Hosted by Radnor House School, the event included the official unveiling of a bust of Pope, which can now be seen by visitors to Pope’s Grotto. Photos @ Cathy Cooper

Are you a Twickenham constituent frustrated by SWR rail services in our area? Have your say in my survey. I’ll share the feedback with SWR as it conducts the first overhaul of its timetable in over 20 years. Read more here: tinyurl.com/3fsdfvmr

Tonight, Labour MPs must decide - which of their leadership candidates do they back on building a new UK-EU customs union to boost growth and cut bills? And will they vote with Lib Dems to make it happen?

Very much enjoyed meeting with school council members at Orleans Primary, who were up-to-speed on the latest political developments! I fielded some great questions on smartphones, sewage in our rivers & the Prime Minister.

Ministers promised genuine increase in funding for colleges. In reality, @RuT_College has received a mere 0.55% per-student uplift. Students and staff are being short-changed.

This Chancellor, and this Government have lost all credibility - we cannot risk Heathrow expansion becoming another HS2, spiralling costs, half-cancelled after 10 years - the costs are too high.