On Monday morning I travelled on the early train to Westminster, when I arrived, I was straight to the weekly ministers meeting with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This is an opportunity for ministers and parliamentary private secretaries to come together and discuss both local and national issues. We have been organising many surgeries for Members of Parliament to discuss pressing local issues and keep building on the greater picture of what is needed and what is going well within the workings of the department. Once this meeting had concluded I headed to the Conservative Campaign Head Quarters referred to as CCHQ, to discuss my campaign plan for the new Cramlington and Killingworth seat of which I am a candidate. I have been knocking on doors in the area to chat to residents about their priorities and with this information I can create a plan that will address local issues. I then headed back to the Houses of Parliament in time for voting. My final event of the day was to attend APPG for the Armed Forces briefing with Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng to be updated on the RAF.
On Tuesday I met with Leo Brosh the North East Manager from the Jewish Leadership Council and Danny Stone of Antisemitism Policy Trust to discuss the Israel-Hamas War and how that is affecting the Jewish community and extremism in society.
I had the privilege to sponsor an event in the Houses of Parliament to support Breaking Down Barriers to Law, the project is about the role local law firms have across the country and the impact they have on local communities. The Attorney General, Rt Hon Victoria Prentis and the Minister of State for Prisons, Rt Hon Ed Argar all spoke at the event, and it was fantastic to see such a great show of effort in developing a series of recommendations for short and long-term action. The nationwide project focuses on the four key areas of outreach, access, recruitment, and progression where those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds face the greatest barriers.
I was delighted to welcome Richard Wearmouth, the Deputy Leader of Northumberland County Council and Cabinet member at the North of Tyne Combined Authority to parliament. We had a chance to chat about ongoing projects such as the developments in Blyth Town Centre, the Northumberland Line and the Cambois gigaplant site (the north Blyth site remains the best venue in the country for a gigaplant). This meeting was brief as I then had to support Minister Hoare in surgeries with MPs.
In the evening, I attended the British Kebab awards at the Park Plaza in Westminster, unfortunately, the businesses I had nominated did not win. The awards celebrate the rich and diverse culinary heritage of the kebab industry in the UK.
The following morning, I was in Westminster early to attend a Delegated Legislation Committee meeting on Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention: Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 alongside other MPs. This meeting lasted a couple of hours, but I still had time to quickly visit the Breast Cancer awareness event in Portcullis House before Prime Ministers Questions. This is a cause that is close to my heart and I was pleased to show my support for this fantastic charity.
During Prime Ministers Questions the PM paid tribute to Ronnie Campbell and gave his condolences following his sad passing last week. An MP raised Voting without fear, this is an issue which came to the forefront of debate last week when parliament was set to vote on various motions on a Gaza ceasefire, however many of my colleagues have had their offices vandalised, and one having his burnt to the ground. Others have had protestors at their home intimidate them and their families. Countless have had intimidating communications including my own office. Regardless of how MPs vote, and regardless of their political allegiances we must all agree that how we vote must be free from violence and fear. I was incredibly pleased to see the government announce the new dentistry recovery plan, this will create an extra 2.5 million appointments by increasing funding, reforming the UDA formula, and kickstarting new initiatives. Also discussed was the new childcare plan will mean from April thousands more parents will have access to free childcare, a provision we are increasing to 30 free hours for eligible families.
After PMQs I supported Minister Rowley in a Westminster Hall debate on Leasehold Reform and New Homes. I am looking forward to welcoming Minister Rowley to Cramlington in the coming weeks to have a roundtable with residents regarding leasehold issues in our constituency. After all business is the House was resolved, I got the late train back to Blyth Valley and arrived home around 1am.
The following day, it was my pleasure to welcome the Minister of State for Rail, Huw Merriman MP to travel on the Northumberland Line route and visit some of the stations. We departed from Newcastle Central Station and had an update form the project manager about the achievements, challenges, and developments of each station. The Northumberland Line is the governments flagship rail project as part of their £500m investment in our rail networks and is now nearing completion. Later this year passengers will be able to get the train from Ashington through to Newcastle directly. It was exciting to journey on a Northern train through Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Bebside, Bedlington and Ashington to see the huge progress that has been made. We also had the opportunity to have a roundtable with stakeholders to hear specifics on the developments, technology updates, construction, and timelines. One of the real stand-out moments for me during the visit was standing on top of the new road bridge in Newsham and having a freight train pass beneath. This rail link will have an enormous impact to the community and specific information on fares will be announced in March. I will say that I am working with Northern, Nexus and the government to ensure the fares are as reasonable as possible.
On Friday I welcomed David Johnston, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing to Blyth Valley. I organised a visit to the The Dales School for the Minister to see their fantastic facilities and meet some of the children and teachers. We were shown around the learning carriages, their gardens and forest school which all help to promote independent life skills, career aspirations, encourage decision making and discovery learning. I have been working closely with the Dales School and wanted to showcase this amazing school and dedicated staff, but also give their Head Teacher Dr Sue Fisher the opportunity to discuss the challenges SEND schools are facing. Visits like this allow opportunity for central government to understand local issues and ultimately, bring action for change.
I left the ministerial visit early to pay my respects at Ronnie Campbell’s funeral at St Mary’s Church in Blyth. Ronnie was a good man who I know loved Blyth and all the people who lived and worked here.
A constituent from Seaton Delaval then invited me to cut the ribbon for the opening of the new Chickpizz Food Stop takeaway in Cramlington. They will be serving their delicious chicken and pizza dishes from 3.30pm this afternoon. Best of luck for their new venture. I want to promote as many of our fantastic local businesses as possible and showcase the people who are investing in our towns and villages.
My next meeting of the day was with Ian Henderson from the Duality Group to chat about Blyth Valley and decarbonisation. We had met previously at an event in Westminster and invited me to visit his office and discuss the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, critical labour shortage in the UK, decarbonisation of UK home heating and the work they are doing with a Newcastle based charity National Energy Action to help combat fuel poverty. This was an interesting meeting with lots of actionable take aways to discuss in parliament.
At the weekend, my wife and I attended a spring ball organised by Hope into Action which is a charity finding homes for the homeless but most importantly, turning their lives around so they can get out of their situation and move on to live full independent lives. It was a wonderful evening, and I was delighted to contribute to such a worthwhile cause.
On Sunday afternoon I attended the RNLI 200th Anniversary service at the Central Methodist church in Blyth. It was lovely to see so many people turn up for this community event and my daughter kindly crocheted decorations for their display.
This was a busy week both in Westminster and the constituency, our conservative plan is working, and we are seeing results. I am looking forward to the Spring Budget next week.
As always, should you wish to contact me or if you would like to book a surgery in person or on the telephone, please contact 01670 338 435 or email [email protected]
