I was very pleased to see education as one of the big beneficiaries of last week's Spending Review as funding challenges are regularly raised by teachers on my school visits across the constituency.
This week I was readopted as Secretary to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Disability, and the APPG was alerted to a new government consultation on how to reduce the number of people losing their jobs due to ill health.
Today International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP, launched the world’s first international trade training scheme to grow the UK’s talent pool of future negotiators, policy makers and HM Trade Commissioners.
Today I met constituents, Mike and Sarah, who both have guide dogs and were attending the rally in Westminster Hall in support of the Access All Areas campaign.
I sent the following reply to those constituents who emailed me about critical votes in the week beginning 25 March, which included a round of so-called indicative votes on alternative options to the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement, and a third vote on the Withdrawal Agreement itself.
Ensuring the security of citizens is the first duty of any government, and sending our Armed Forces into battle is one of the most serious things that any parliamentarian may be asked by government to support.
‘Let’s get on with it’, concluded the Prime Minister in a recent letter to MPs selling the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. It is a seductive sentiment, and one which government hopes will persuade exasperated voters and equally weary MPs to unite behind the deal in time for a happy Christmas.
Brexit presents a profound and complex challenge for our country and our politics. Yet seeing parliament reduce it at best to a problem to be mitigated, and at worst an existential threat that needs to be blocked, has been frustrating and dispiriting in equal measure.
