www.JohnCryerMP.co.uk
The news is still full of Olympic glory and I tend to think rightly so.
In the event, day-to-day travel for local people going about their business worked reasonably well.
The roads were quieter than normal although the Tube network inevitably busier. However, one
unfortunate consequence was that local businesses experienced lower volumes than is normal at
the this time of year, the precise opposite of what was expected.
During the recess, I have taken the opportunity to visit large numbers of businesses in Leyton,
Leytonstone and Wanstead.
In Leyton and Leytonstone, all the shops bar one or two said that they has seen a fall in trade. It
seems this is due to TfL going overboard in discouraging visitors from using Leyton station for the
games and changing traffic-light sequencing too much. I contacted TfL as soon as I realised that this
was the situation.
Nevertheless, the changes do not seem to have affected any of the 60 to 70 businesses I visited in
Wanstead and Snaresbrook.
I also attended a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence at Waltham Forest
town hall along with the mayor Richard Sweden, the leader of the council, Chris Robbins, and a
number of other councillors. This was, incidentally, the first time the flag of Jamaica has been raised
above the town hall; it also had the happy coincidence of being the day after Usain Bolt won the 100
metres final.
The West Indian community is smaller than it was, in terms of the Leyton and Wanstead
constituency, but people from the Caribbean have played a powerful role in building post-war Britain
since the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury in 1948.
I have long thought that our relationship with the Commonwealth nations has been neglected,
perhaps partly due to the EU’s prominence, and this is to be regretted.
The threat to Wanstead police station has raised its head once again. Boris Johnson’s office is
conducting a review of all Met property and it has been made clear that Wanstead is in the firing
line. This is the third time that the axe has hovered over the station since I was elected in 2010.
I have written to Johnson, once again, and I will be campaigning on the streets of Wanstead in the
coming weeks. Once parliament returns next month, I will also be able to raise it on the floor of the
Commons.
I have also visited a number of GP surgeries during the recess, most recently Wanstead Place and the
Harrow Road Medical Centre.
Bushwood Area Residents’ Association (Leytonstone) came to Westminster recently to meet with
me and I met with the Waltham Forest branch of Mencap.
I have also been doing some roving surgeries, starting in Leyton, while normal surgeries and home
visits continue as usual.
Also in early September I will be holding a second meeting for local businesses under the auspices of
the Federation of Small Businesses. Shadow Business, Innovation and Skills minister Toby Perkins will
be present.
Best wishes,
John