February Newsletter — Navendu Mishra MP

Hello and welcome to my February newsletter!

February has been a very busy month with lots of local visits in Stockport, casework enquiries and business in the House of Commons, as well as some exciting announcements from the Labour Government. I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the work I have been doing across Stockport and in Westminster this month.

In February, I voted to abolish the two-child limit on Universal Credit. The previous Government left us with a record number of children in poverty. With the abolition of the two-child cap, this Labour Government is lifting 3,030 children out of poverty in Stockport and 450,000 across Britain.

Following on from my community roundtable on reforming the SEND system, I met with the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to discuss the issues and experiences that local families raised with me. The experiences shared during the roundtable provided a clear and sobering insight into the difficulties faced by families and children every day. It was important to hear how the Government intends to address these concerns and deliver the improvements that are so urgently needed.

There was a brilliant turnout at my Brinnington Community Drop-In to discuss Labour’s £20 million Pride in Place funding. It was inspiring to hear so many people’s ideas for their neighbourhood’s future. Come along to my next meeting - Community Drop-In: Brinnington Pride in Place Funding — Navendu Mishra MP

To mark National Apprenticeship Week this month, I visited the McVitie’s factory in Stockport to learn more about the fantastic programmes they offer and to meet some of their talented apprentices. It is fantastic to represent such an iconic Stockport manufacturer, and it was inspiring to see first-hand the real opportunities they are creating for local young people and our community.

Residents in Reddish are soon set to see long-awaited improvements at Reddish North Station as part of the Access for All Programme. Work will soon begin on transformational changes, including the installation of two lifts and a new footbridge, aimed at making the station fully accessible and easier to use for everyone in the community. I was recently joined at the station by Reddish North Councillors Wise and Wilson, along with dedicated community campaigner Nathaniel Yates, to discuss the upcoming works - https://shorturl.at/ARMuC

It was important to meet with Stockport’s new Chief Superintendent Natalie Dalby, as well as Superintendent Dave Hawthorne to discuss issues such as tackling the use of illegal bikes and electric scooters, anti-social behaviour and raising police presence in our community.

As a former retail worker, I am proud to be a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). I was delighted to welcome USDAW representatives to Parliament as part of the Breaking Down Barriers programme. This initiative aims to inspire and support the next generation of leaders in the labour movement - https://www.usdaw.org.uk/

On World Cancer Day, I reflected on how more people are living with cancer, but access to timely diagnosis and high-quality care remains unequal. I am proud to Chair the APPG on Cancer to help reduce inequalities in cancer care.

Sadly, in 2024, 2.64 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Britain, including 2,646 procedures on dogs and almost 2,000 on non-human primates. Labour’s manifesto commitment to work towards phasing out animal testing is vital, and recently I urged the Government to make this a priority. You can read my full contribution to the Westminster Hall debate on Animals in Science here - https://shorturl.at/VG1Tp

I will always stand up in Westminster for Trade Unions, particularly the Fire Brigades Union. They have launched the Cuts Kill campaign, demanding urgent funding for the fire and rescue service.

This month also marked Heart Unions Week. I am a proud trade union member and this week was a great opportunity to celebrate our trade unions, the rights they have won and all that they continue to do to support working people. From the weekend to holiday pay and health and safety laws, so many of the things we benefit from today were won by trade unions. Join a union - www.tuc.org.uk/joinunion

More families and children in Stockport will soon benefit from free, daily breakfast clubs as the Labour Government has confirmed the next 500 schools to offer the scheme from April, putting up to £450 a year back in local parents’ pockets. The next wave of the rollout of the scheme will include St Matthews Primary School, Whitehill Primary School and Westmorland Primary School. Read more on my website - Three New Free Breakfast Clubs in Stockport — Navendu Mishra MP

I learnt a lot from my recent visit to the UK Biobank - a world-leading health research organisation based right here in our community. Biobank has been supporting groundbreaking research into conditions like cancer, heart disease and dementia, helping scientists develop better treatments and improve lives. Providing skilled jobs in science, data and technology, and putting our town on the map as a centre of innovation, Biobank is a fantastic asset for Stockport.

My congratulations and thanks to the amazing team at Friends of Reddish South Station. They have a number of awards already, but were recently recognised by Cheshire Best Kept Stations for their 2025 art project. I will continue to press the Department for Transport to get proper passenger services restored at Reddish South.

It was great to catch up with members of the Stockport Hong Kong community, along with Reverend Andy Crook from St Mary’s church. We spoke in depth about their concerns on the numerous impacts of potential changes to the BNO visa scheme. I have raised my concerns regarding these proposals in Parliament with the Government, and I will continue to speak up for the Hong Kong community.

Many residents have contacted me regarding serious issues at Lancashire Hill. I met with Stockport Homes at the flats to raise issues around fire safety, car parking/garage use and maintenance and repairs.

Thank you to everyone who joined me at my drop-in session in Reddish, alongside Councillor Wise and Councillor Wilson, as well as at Councillor Carrigan’s ward surgery in Brinnington. We had some important discussions with residents about a range of local and national issues. If there is an issue you would like to discuss with me, please get in touch - navendu.mishra.mp@parliament.uk

February was another busy month for my constituency office, with my team and I supporting residents from across Stockport on a wide range of issues. Above is a breakdown of the cases we have taken on.

My constituency office is open to visitors from 10:00am to 3.30pm on weekdays (excluding public holidays). I hold regular constituency surgeries as well as drop-in sessions across our constituency. Please get in touch with me if you wish to discuss any issues.

You can contact me with the details below:

Email - navendu.mishra.mp@parliament.uk

Telephone - 0161 480 0833

Website - www.navendumishra.co.uk

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NavenduForStockport/

Kind regards,

Navendu Mishra MP