Voice of the MP - Gillingham and Rainham

Naushabah Khan MP on flags, the challenges facing the constituency, and work to regenerate town centres

Editor’s note: Each month, we publish a guest column from one of Medway’s elected representatives, rotating between our MPs, council and opposition leaders, and the Police and Crime Commissioner. Today, we welcome Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan, who talks about flags, the challenges facing the constituency, and work to regenerate town centres.

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Voice of the MP

by Naushabah Khan, MP for Gillingham and Rainham

Naushabah Khan MP

Gillingham and Rainham reflects the nation in so many crucial ways that it has me convinced: We have our share of problems, they are simmering across the country as you read this, ignore them and we imperil ourselves to forces that our generation is naïve to. But constituencies like mine have the people, imagination and sense of self to provide a road map for all corners of the UK to get itself out of this headlong car crash.

If your solution is more flags, to wave them harder and find people to blame: You are wrestling with a personal delusion you share with the twenty-odd per cent of permanently online Facebook accounts. Name me one country in history where putting up more flags has fixed anything? Instead, you will find those nations and empires in history that turned inward sowed the seeds for their fall.

We show our Britishness in what we do, in our excellence, our innovation, our grit and if needed, our strength. Do that long enough and we export our ideas, our culture and produce with confidence. Not because we tied a Chinese-made flag to a lamppost outside a shopping centre, following an internet trend possibly started by a Russian bot.

But more importantly, the Americanesque pangs of addiction with flags is just very un-British. Frankly, before 9/11, it wasn’t even very American. And to those who sit on the other end of the debate, who think that raising the Union flag or the red cross of St George makes you some kind of crypto-fascist: Calm the hell down. You aren’t helping anyone.

There is a real sense that we are in a downward spiral, and there are many who would prefer it if we had carried on with the boosterism of the Johnson era. My background and upbringing doesn’t afford me that luxury. Like my constituents, I need a practical way forward and starting off with a clear understanding of where we are as a country, the scale of the problem isn’t gloom and doom; it’s the first step to getting things fixed. It was one of my biggest motivations to stand in the general election last year, knowing that Gillingham and Rainham deserved so much better than it had received for far too long.

I have spoken to many residents frustrated at the steady decline they have witnessed over the years, as they struggle with underfunded services and a lack of opportunities and investment that other parts of the country have been able to take for granted. This is shaping how the public judge their odds of surviving the next few years, in the face of change they know is happening. It’s a desperate feeling at times, and I know how it feels. No more so when I am trying to make the changes bend in favour of the communities I represent.

And we do face many have challenges in our constituency; such as poor-quality housing, compounded by out-of-borough placements and the increasing number of HMOs, decline in our high streets or lack of access to local health infrastructure. All of which, rightly, concern local residents and demand action from me. Whether that be engaging with Ministers, working with Medway Council, establishing taskforce groups or raising these issues in the Commons chamber, my team and I face these challenges head-on and work collaboratively with local partners to achieve solutions.

That kind of work doesn’t grab headlines, but it does work. Fundamentally, I believe it is the bread and butter of being a good local MP.

For example, when constituents in Gillingham highlighted a range of problems on the high street, including littering, anti-social behaviour, reduced police presence, and a lack of pride in our town centre, I established the Gillingham Taskforce to deal with these complex and multifaceted problems. After working in collaboration with local councillors, the police, small business owners, and residents alike, we have reduced littering by increasing enforcement action, a dedicated PCSO for the area, and are improving our CCTV across the high street. In July, we also published the Gillingham Town Centre Action Plan, laying out a practical yet ambitious strategy to boost our local area, working with local residents.

During the general election campaign, when residents in Rainham continuously told me that the banking services on the high street were insufficient and that completing simple financial tasks was getting increasingly difficult, I set about changing this. After working with LINK and speaking to local businesses, we will be implementing and installing the Rainham Banking Hub later this year, which will provide residents with personal money support, provide businesses with access to cash services, and support the overall regeneration of the town centre.

It might seem inconsequential to some, but remind me again what flags on roundabouts are going to achieve? Because the regeneration of our high streets, access to banking services and good quality housing have a genuine impact on people’s lives. These day-to-day issues matter.

Confronting seemingly ‘unsexy’ issues requires working together in an open and honest way to drive real results, as opposed to choosing the most divisive thing to say and attempting to make it a policy. It is only through this community-driven approach that we can make the positive changes our area deserves. If it is the choice between a politics of action, collaboration and community, or the politics of division, I choose the former every time. Gillingham and Rainham deserves that, and so does Britain.

Naushabah Khan is the Labour MP for Gillingham and Rainham.