“Been to London to visit the Queen”

Do you remember the nursery rhyme?

The last week has been really eventful. It's not often, I can say to 4 local school children who are doing work experience with me in my Parliamentary office that “I am off to see the Queen. See you in an hour.”

Yes, it was fun name dropping but even more so meeting the Queen and going to Buckingham Palace for the first time in my life.

The Evening Standard has written about it. You can click here to see the article.

(Yes, I know I looked cute when I was 7. No, I don’t still have the blue jeans, the belt or the crown. Ok, I accept that I don’t dress as cool as when my mum dressed me.)

Yes we Khan

On a more serious note, last night I hosted a reception in the House of Commons for local residents to discuss the lack of a representative House of Commons.

The election of two members of the BNP as MEP’s last month and the disconnect many people have nowadays with politicians (especially after the expenses revelations) makes this a problem even more acute than it otherwise was. I was really pleased that Dawn Butler MP, Chuka Umunna (the Parliamentary Candidate in neighbouring Streatham), former MP Oona King and Simon Woolley from Operation Black Vote (click here to find out more about OBV) joined me and the 150 local residents who enjoyed the event.

The key message was that there is, in fact, a huge optimism in politics and indeed politicians. The disappointment and anger many feel about the way some politicians have behaved recently does not outweigh the euphoria and optimism generated by the election of President Barack Obama 9 months ago.

If we are to have the best Parliament possible we need to ensure we have the widest pool as possible from which to choose our MPs from. If the public want well grounded people to represent them, people with real life experiences, individuals who have suffered set-backs and bounced back and talented people than we need to ensure women, ethnic minorities and others who are not nearly represented well enough in Parliament get a fair crack at becoming MPs, as well as Councillors and other key positions in our society.

I am working on a number of initiatives to modernise Parliament which I hope to update you about shortly.

Sad news

I am afraid the news on the Masud family who were victims of Arson a few weeks ago is not good. Two of the other siblings of Maleiha (Junaid and Nabih a) are both in a very critical state. I was at Earlsfield Baptist Church last Sunday and can confirm that all members of our community (of all faiths and none) are praying and/or thinking about the family and what they are going through.