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From the archive. Between 1998 and 2003 this domain carried the constituency website of the Member of Parliament for East Ham. This page keeps one of its items as a historical record, with the original date restored. East Ham Ledger, which publishes the site today, is an independent magazine and has no link to any MP, party or Parliament; contact details and the names of private individuals have been removed, and lost pictures have been replaced with credited photographs of the places concerned.

• In the morning I visited Little Ilford School to discuss school funding, before going to Ilford to pop in at Rush Hall School's open day. In the afternoon I visited Queen Mary's College, University of London, and held a constituency surgery. At the weekend I spoke at the launch of Eastside Young Leaders' Academy at Stratford Town Hall, and met a delegation of anti-war protestors.
• Today I spoke to a group of students near the Victoria Dock about a variety of inner city issues, including housing and regeneration. I then had engagements with Gateway to London, and held a constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe.
• This Friday I had a meeting with the Newham Association of Secondary Heads before discussing the assistance available to people with autism in Newham. In the afternoon I visited St Andrews Hospital and held a constituency surgery at East Ham Town Hall. On Saturday I met a group of anti-war protestors and have raised their concerns with the Prime Minister.
• Neighbourhood renewal, social exlusion and local strategic parterships were subjects tackled in my speech at Thames Gateway London's Local Strategic Partnership Conference. Following a meeting with the Newham Teachers' Association, I visited Gala Bingo Club on Barking Road. I then paid a visit to Star School to find out more about Newham Food Access Partnership. I also held a constituency surgery, held a meeting at the Army and Navy Store in Manor Park, and attended a staff farewell party at Hartley Primary School.
• Prior to ministerial engagements in the afternoon, I attended the launch of the Crossrail Royals Business Champions Group in the morning. This follows Crossrail's announcement on 7th March of the first shortlist of possible routes for line 1, one of which includes a station located in the Royal Docks.
• In the afternoon I visited Vicarage Primary School. I also visited Pier Training Shop, in North Woolwich, which provides training and chilcare to local people.
• I discussed the current benefits situation at Newham Benefits Agency, before attending a meeting with East London Business Alliance. I also visited St. Luke's School where I talked about the role that faith can play in politics. In the evening I held a meeting with representatives of East Ham's mosques, where we discussed the shortage of burial space in the borough for Muslims, the White Paper on Immigration, and Kashmir.
• Today I met teachers and pupils at three local schools: Sandringham Primary, Storey Primary, and Kingsford Community School. I then met those involved in Newham Action Against Domestic Violence, before attending a meeting at East London and the City Mental Health NHS Trust.
• I visited Langdon School where 20 pupils quizzed me on how the Government can get more young people interested in politics. My next port of call was the Building Opportunities and Skills Seminars (BOSS) at Brampton Manor School, where over 300 pupils took part in activities to improve their interview techniques. They also attended classes on writing CVs and completing job applications. Today I also met the Vice Chancellor of the University of East London.
• Today I met pupils and teachers at both St Edwards and St Stephens primary schools. At St Edwards I discussed topics ranging from education to litter to CCTV with pupils from years 5 and 6. At St Stephens the student council posed a number of perceptive questions on issues including mobile phone theft, cycle zones and Newham General Hospital. Following on from that the school’s governing body asked a number of questions that had been submitted by parents, and St Stephens plans to publish my answers in the coming weeks. Today I also had a meeting with the Regeneration Department at Newham Council to discuss transport issues.
• Continuing my tour of schools in East Ham, I visited Central Park Primary School and Lathom Junior School. At Lathom, I presented the pupils and teachers with an "Active Mark Gold" Award from Sport England in recognition of its commitment to providing sporting opportunities to all its pupils.
• I visited Plashet School where I was the keynote speaker for their Citizenship Event. On the last day of term, Plashet’s Year 11 pupils spent most of the morning in workshops discussing issues ranging from Globalisation, to Child Labour, to Refugees, to the United Nations. Before their first workshop, I gave a short speech on the importance of being engaged in politics in today’s globalised world. If you would like to read my speech, please click here.
• I paid visits to Dersingham Infant School, Shaftesbury Primary School and Gallions Primary School. At Dersingham I was delighted to take part in a Question and Answer session with Year 2 pupils, and at Shaftesbury I enjoyed speaking to Year 6 students about the local environment in Newham. I also attended a performance of The Nutcracker at Gallions Primary School, which I greatly enjoyed – well done to all those who took part!