James Asser MP

It’s #SmallBusinessSaturday. Across West Ham & Beckton we’ve around 4800 small businesses who are a huge part of our local economy & our community

I’ve been meeting & visiting small businesses. If you’re a small business & we can give you support or you’d a visit email: james.asser.mp@parliament.uk

This week I was at Keir Hardie Primary School to meet with school councillors and prefects.

Thank you to all the students for your questions and for sharing your thoughts on the issues affecting you and your community with me.

Proud to have served on the Bill Committee for the Public Office (Accountability) Bill - Hillsborough Law.

It was a privilege to speak directly with the Hillsborough families. This law is firstly for them and to prevent anyone in future going through what they’ve experienced.

St Luke’s Primary School and Church now has 221 solar panels from E.ON Next which will help power the school and a portion will be shared with neighbouring homes.

It’s a great scheme for our community, the environment and the school. Hopefully the first of many like it in Newham.

I attended the Battery Storage Awards with Telelink Infra.

They’re a Bulgarian battery storage company I recently met during my trip to Sofia. Congratulations to Telelink Infra and their parent company IPS for winning in category Battery OEM of the Year

Yesterday, I turned on the lights of the charity Christmas tree at the East London Cemetery.

You can write on one of the Christmas ornaments in memory of a loved one and know that your donation will be going to a good cause, this Bobby Moore Fund and St Joseph's Hospice will split the money.

November was a busy month of outcomes for constituents. If you email us we will reply and help where we can.

Thanks to our office’s intervention constituents have received appropriate health equipment, renewed private hire licences and lots of other successful outcomes.

Today is World AIDS day and the launch of the government’s £170million HIV action plan for England to tackle stigma and end new transmissions by 2030.

The plan will support people currently living with HIV and help to prevent new transmissions.

#WorldAIDSDay

It’s important that we work with service men and women when they leave the forces to ensure they can find work and utilise their skills in civilian life.

Good to see veterans charities working with business and meeting MPs to see what more we can do.

Gallions Reach Tesco on Friday with Newham District Foodbank for the winter food collection.

You can help: put a couple of items from their shopping list to your trolley & donate them.

Thanks to all who donated. It was a great response from shoppers.

See how you can help: tinyurl.com/yvhc7a8n

Lovely to join the UEL open day at their Docklands Campus and joined in with the Art in the Docks activities.

I met with UEL staff, spoke to future students and with local residents visiting the campus for the arts and crafts activities.

And discovered my Christmas bauble making skills!

Meet Forhad Hussain, Labour candidate for Mayor of Newham 2026.

Experience in politics, business, sport and the community; determined to tackle the challenges we face after 14 years of Tory cuts.

I’m looking forward to working with Forhad & the council candidates to deliver for my constituents.

Marking Albanian Independence Day by joining Shpresa in Canning Town this evening to celebrate the opening of their new centre; the first Albanian Community Centre in the UK.🇦🇱🇬🇧

The new facilities will help them with the education, training, advocacy and advice work with the local Albanian community

Last week I gave a speech to Parliament on children with serious neurological conditions; the challenges families face, the options we need to look at to improve choices and support the children, families and carers need.

We cannot let settler violence in the west bank go unaddressed and unchallenged, I will continue to raise my constituents’ concerns in The House.

On Tuesday, I visited Eastlea Community School and met with students and staff.

Year 10 Citizenship students asked interesting questions about what it’s like being an MP.

Today we got confirmation of the DLR extension from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead

I joined Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith & Thamesmead, marking this exciting news which will benefit both our constituencies

We’re looking forward to working with all partners delivering this for our communities

How does today’s Budget affect us?

✅ An end to two child benefit cap affected an estimated 5,500 children
✅ Investment in apprenticeships and youth employment schemes
✅ An extension of the DLR through Gallions Reach and Beckton to Thamesmead

And it was printed in Beckton!

This week I met with a delegation of MPs from Lithuania.

It was a good chance to continue to build links between our countries.

Which is particularly important for us in West Ham and Beckton as we have the third largest Lithuanian population in the country.

I recently visited West Ham Memorial Community Church.

It was wonderful to see and hear their church bells which are a unique and poignant war memorial. Each bell is engraved with the names of men who lost their lives in the First World War.

I met with the junior governing body at Ellen Wilkinson Primary recently and answered their interesting and varied questions.

It was also great to attend their end of term assembly and celebrate all of their wonderful achievements.

UK Parliament week starts today and 24 organisations in West Ham and Beckton have signed up.

Sign up and access the resources here: ukparliamentweek.org/en/

Send us an email if you’ve signed up, if you would like to organise a visit or if you want to book a tour of Parliament.

I stopped off last week to see the display by the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association on metal recycling.

Over 80% of metal packaging is recycled. A great example of how the circular economy can work & a bonus for the environment by reducing use of raw materials & promoting sustainability.

Great to join Kings Cross Steelers as they celebrated their 30th anniversary in Parliament

From a conversation in a bar in the 90s, becoming the first & longest running gay rugby club to inspiring gay rugby & many clubs that followed

We’re proud to have them based in West Ham. Happy anniversary!

Great evening on Friday talking to the Guides in Plaistow along with Stephen Timms.

Lots of great questions and a lively debate. A room full of bright future community leaders!

A #SmallBusinessShoutOut for the VA Salon in the Royal Victoria Dock. A hairdresser and beauty salon based in the docks since 2011.

A thriving local business with a friendly team who are part of the local community too.

#smallbusinesssaturdays

As Chair of the Tidy Britain Parliamentary Group I was happy to host the launch of Keep Britain Tidy report on fly-tipping this week.

The meeting was a chance to speak about the serious impact that fly-tipping has on our communities and the environment.

Today is Trans Day of Remembrance.

🏳️‍⚧️💙🤍💗

We remember all those who have lost their lives as a result of transphobic violence. We recommit to standing up for the rights of all those in the LGBT+ community and we reflect on what more we can do.

It is UN World Children’s Day, today we remember thousands of Ukrainian children taken from their families by Russia.

Every child must be brought home, I’m supporting Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back initiative.

The Chancellor is expected to announce the DLR extension in her Budget. I will continue to make our case for the investment this week as I have been for the last year!

It's good news for West Ham and Beckton and for @abenaoppongasare.bsky.social’s
constituents across the river.