Ealing has always been my home, and my family’s home. I have genuinely loved serving as your MP since 2015. It’s incredibly gratifying to help people out and change lives, no two days are the same. Over the past two years I have dealt with more than 17,000 problems and issues brought to me by my constituents – on diverse topics including the difficulties people face getting on the housing ladder to the way the Tories attempt to balance the books on the backs of society’s most vulnerable.
Last year the people of Ealing and Acton voted by 72% to remain in the EU. I gave them my word that I would never vote for anything which would damage their livelihoods and living standards. As a democrat and a politician of integrity I voted against the Triggering of Article 50 and broke the whip defying the Labour leadership and Theresa May on a number of cross party amendments. In these perilous times it is vital that we work together to oppose this reckless surge towards Brexit. We must adopt a pragmatic approach to avert the existential threat that an invigorated Conservative government would pose to this country.
At Westminster, I have spoken in the House of Commons more than 400 times since May 2015. I have been serving as a Shadow Home Affairs Minister, and secured a review of the transparency – or lack of it – in the tax arrangements of British overseas territories. I secured a three-hour debate on the consequences of Brexit for overseas students. As a former university teacher, I know what value they bring, and how important it is that they have a positive idea of Britain when they go home.
It has been a priority for me to focus on local issues as I was born at Queen Charlotte’s in Hammersmith in 1972, and grew up on Lynwood Road, not far from Western Avenue. I attended Montpelier Primary School and then Ealing and Notting Hill High School before Cambridge University. I am raising my young family here, part of three generations of the Huq family in Ealing. Both my parents came to Ealing in the 1960s: my mum worked for BT on the Uxbridge Road, and my dad for the Prudential in Holborn. I am thankful for how this area has helped shape and support me and my family and have been honoured to serve as its MP.
In the run up to this unnecessary and unexpected general election I am looking forward to meeting as many voters as I can to get my message across. I will be fighting on my record as a local champion since 2015. I want to continue to fight against Brexit and not give the Tories a blank cheque. I want to continue to fight to save our NHS. I want to continue to tackle anti-social behaviour and knife crime. I want to continue to campaign to make our air safe- and therefore to continue to speak out against the expansion of Heathrow- and protect our environment, and to continue the fight for more affordable homes in Ealing Central & Acton.
In 2015 we overturned a Tory majority of 4,000. Whatever happens in the rest of the country, it is essential that we hold on to the values that have made Ealing and Acton such a great place to live. With your help, I want to continue to represent this community, whoever you are, wherever you may have come from, and make Ealing and Acton a better place to be.
