2019 April

I attended the Workers’ Memorial Observance on Saturday 27 April 2019. We gathered together at the Memorial gardens in the grounds of St Matthews Church at 12 pm to remember those who have died or been injured at work.

I asked the Leader of the House for a debate on an early-day motion on the state visit by Donald Trump. The President of the United States is entitled to come here on any other visit but not in our name, he has spearheaded a dangerous policy of separating migrant children from their families and of banning Muslims from the USA; he suggested today that GCHQ spied on his election campaign; referred to nations as “Sh**hole countries”; and called news outlets “fake news” in an attempt to limit the freedom of the press.

I heard Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg speak at parliament on Tuesday 23 April 2019.

I took part in the annual Vaisakhi procession in Walsall on Sunday 14 April 2019. Vaisakhi is a religious festival of Sikhism and takes place on the 13 or 14 April each year. The date marks the anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa Panth in 1699 and is one of the most important events in the Sikh calendar.

I asked when the Government will tackle the huge differentials in the pay system between executive and employee pay? The managing director of Waterstones, James Daunt, is paid a salary of £1.6 million, while nearly 1,900 of his employees do not even receive the real living wage. The chief executive officer of Centrica is paid 72 times the salary of an employee in the lower quartile of its salary range. The people at the base of the pyramid are the wealth creators.