Bank holiday Monday started nicely with breakfast in the garden as the weather was very pleasant. I then had a chance to catch up on emails and do some little jobs around the house. In the evening I headed to Lumley castle to meet with HRH Prince Khalid bin Bander Al Saud for the North East Economic Forum dinner, to forge links between Saudi Arabia and the North East. Prince Khalid bin Bander Al Saud is the Saudi ambassador for trade in the United Kingdom. We discussed the manufacturing infrastructure we have in the area and how we can welcome the Prince and representatives for a trade tour of such businesses as Merit and Catapult. Creating a trade flow between Saudi Arabia and Blyth Valley.
Tuesday morning, I jumped on the early train to London for a busy day in the office. I was honoured to receive an invitation to the Speakers reception to celebrate the forthcoming Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort. The King took time to speak to as many people as possible, not just MPs but staff and others who are vital to running the Palace of Westminster. I also took the opportunity to reaffirm his invitation to visit Blyth Valley. The royal family have a warm connection to Blyth as the late Prince Phillip had a boat moored at the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club. Later that afternoon, I sat in the House of Commons for some of the final consideration of Lords amendments to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill. I was very supportive of this bill as it progressed through Parliament, and am pleased that it was given Royal Assent on the 11th May.
I spent most of Wednesday in the office on constituent surgery calls, meetings with staff and general office admin. In the afternoon I met with the PPS for Greg Hands who is the Conservative party chair to discuss an ongoing matter. Then headed home to Blyth Valley.
The following day I had a team meeting with the office staff to discuss the Meet the Team event in preparation for a few weeks time and to check we had everything in place. Blyth Valley did not have any local council elections, however I went out to support some of my Conservative colleagues in surrounding areas for a few hours in the afternoon. I then met with Alexandra who is the CEO for Mind and had dinner.
On Friday morning I had several surgeries, the first was to discuss the options in the area for young people between 16 and 18 years old, who require additional support but don’t necessarily qualify for children’s or adult assistance. It was difficult to hear the effects of mental health on such a young person and I will do all that I can to highlight the great opportunities for young people in the area. On the back of this meeting, I set to work on creating a ‘What’s On’ events calendar to help all ages with a special emphasis on youth events. My second meeting was to discuss road safety for scooters, with the aim to bring specific ideas to alleviate industry issues with the department for transport.
On Saturday we had an early start and headed to London, we were very fortunate in being able to witness the coronation procession from the parliamentary offices. We met with Nick Fletcher MP for Don Valley and his wife and watched from the office windows. It was truly spectacular and I was honoured to witness such an event in history. After watching the fly over, we then walked to Whitehall for a celebratory drink with Matt Vickers MP for Stockton South.
We headed home on Sunday morning to spend time with family over the bank holiday weekend. As always, if you have any queries or would like to contact me. Please email [email protected] or call 01670 338435.
