Mike Gapes

Our planet is threatened by man made climate change, extreme weather events, droughts and floods, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, poor air quality, and plastic pollution.

I have never known such uncertainty in politics.

The people of Ilford and of the UK did not vote for Theresa May’s version of Brexit. That’s why I voted against Article 50.

Three weeks ago I visited Yad Vashem, the memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in Israel. Yesterday I joined the Redbridge Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Valentines Park.

Parliament has been discussing the crisis in Ukraine, the most serious threat to European security in decades. Crimea, historically part of Russia, was put into Soviet Ukraine 60 years ago. Following the break up of the USSR, when Russia, the USA and the UK negotiated removal of Soviet nuclear weapons from Ukraine, they agreed to recognise and guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Crossrail, the largest engineering project in Europe, costing a total of £14.8bn, is now beyond half way to completion.