The housing crisis is a blight on East London. It stops our young people from gaining independence and starting a family. It eats away at life chances and opportunities through unaffordable rents. It causes rocketing homelessness that is pushing our councils towards bankruptcy.

Last Thursday, I joined more than 25 residents of the Exchange Estate for a meeting with FirstPort property management, following our initial discussion in Parliament and a private follow-up with FirstPort staff. Residents brought a clear set of urgent concerns and made it unmistakably clear that service standards must improve. I will continue to hold FirstPort accountable to ensure they follow through on the commitments made during the meeting.

It is completely unacceptable that residents in the new Salix House development are living with noise, broken lifts, and antisocial behaviour, while also being charged for repairs that are not their fault.

Great to be out on Jesse Road this week with Cllr Khevyn Limbajee. We spoke with residents about issues around anti-social behaviour, drug use, and building security, these concerns have a real impact on daily life.

Good to catch up recently with Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. We talked about how we can support our local councils with their regeneration plans, and how we make sure the government’s target of building 1.5 million new homes nationwide will strengthen housing stock in London.

This week I visited Buxton Lodge, Hood Lodge, and Lister Lodge in Wanstead with leaseholders and representatives from Newham London to discuss concerns around proposed major works and associated costs.

Our city is the most affected by the housing crisis, and the terrible impacts on individuals and families are accompanied by rapidly rising pressure on our council finances, with the gap between need and funding identified as 17% by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the largest in England.

I visited Shelter this week, witnessed the dedication of volunteers supporting those facing homelessness. I saw the impact of the Mayor of L

I went on a walk about with Councillor Ahsan Khan from Waltham Forest Council. We visited some areas in our constituency that are set for r