Political career
Western entered politics relatively late in life,and was elected to the Leamington Willes ward of Warwickshire County Council for the first time in 2013. Western was elected again in 2017 shortly before becoming an MP. He resigned as a Councillor in March 2018. [8] [9] While a councillor,Western volunteered as a careers mentor at Campion School in Leamington Spa. [10]
As an MP Western has served on the International Trade Select Committee since September 2017 and on the Housing,Communities and Local Government Committee since February 2018. [11] Western is the Chair of the Parliamentary Campaign for Council Housing,which aims to increase the number of council houses being built and represent the interests of council tenants,and is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Students. [12] [13]
In December 2017,Western criticised the Warwick District Council for a proposal to relocate the council's offices to a new site in Leamington. [14] Western objected to the plans,stating that the new development would consist of "100 per cent private housing,with no social,affordable or council housing on the site". [14] In response to the plans,Western started a petition in protest against the move. [15] As of 3 December 2019,the petition had gained over 8,000 signatures. [16] In September 2019,Warwick District Council leader Andrew Day asked Western to "stop playing political games with the regeneration of town" over Western's opposition to plans to relocate the council's headquarters. [17] However,as a result of Western's petition and a campaign by a local pressure group,the project was put on hold and the private equity backed partner company PSP was withdrawn. Western stated that the scrapped plans would result in Warwick District Council having to pay out £1.2m in compensation to PSP,even though there was never an official tendering process. [18]
In February 2019,Western proposed a Bill that sought to limit the driving hours worked by bus drivers on local routes. [19] The bill,known as Rowan's Law,was introduced in response to a bus crash in 2005 in Coventry,which killed 76-year-old pedestrian Dora Hancox,and 7-year-old passenger Rowan Fitzgerald from Western's constituency. Driver exhaustion was said to have played a role in the crash,and Rowan's Law sought to prevent any similar future tragedies. [20] [21]
In May 2019,the Sun On Sunday described Western as a "cycling fanatic",reporting that he had claimed expenses for cycling to appointments around his constituency. Western asserted that he was simply "doing the right thing by cycling and not driving" in a town with issues with air quality. [22] Western went on to say that the expenses were "HMRC-approved" and "that cycle mileage claims are considerably less than car mileage claims". [22]
In June 2019,Western led a Parliamentary debate on social housing. [23] The Commons passed his motion calling on the Government to carry out a mass council housebuilding programme. [23]
In August 2019,Western was a signatory to a letter calling on the UN Secretary General António Guterres to intervene and prevent India's revocation of Article 370 regarding the province of Kashmir's self-autonomy. [24] The letter urged "the United Nations to do everything in its power to de-escalate" the situation.
In October 2019,Western was a signatory to a letter calling for the Labour Party to adopt plans to build 100,000 Council Homes,in line with the Labour Campaign for Council Housing's proposals. [25] The policy was later adopted by the Labour Party in its manifesto. [26]
In March 2021,Western was appointed Shadow Minister for Further Education and Universities [27] after Emma Hardy stepped down. [28]
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