It's been a very productive week both in London and here at home.
On Monday I sat on a committee to ensure that British courts have final jurisdiction over all British laws, moving forward. When I was campaigning for election a year ago this is one of the key things that people wanted to see from Brexit, so I am pleased to be playing a part in delivering this.
I hosted a Zoom meeting with the Lord Chancellor and backbench colleagues. And had meetings at the Ministry of Justice.
On Tuesday the Science and Technology Select Committee met to discuss vaccinations. I am really pleased to have seen the roll-out of vaccines moving forward so quickly and most importantly, safely. The effort that has been put into delivering these is an incredible achievement and to be the first in the world to start a rollout is a testimony to our Great British spirit and determination.
We had the vote on tiers more on that in this post:
I also sat on a Public Bill Committee for the new Financial Services Bill and attended a zoom seminar on the Abraham Accords, a joint statement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Wednesday saw me back with the Science and Technology Select Committee Meeting, this time for a meeting about health strategy.
On Thursday I was on the Financial Services Bill Committee. This Bill will make some important changes to financial services and markets, debt respite schemes and Help-to-Save accounts. The Bill will now go on to the report stage and its third reading.
I attended a meeting with other Greater Manchester MPs with Robert Jenrick. I think it is important for local people to know that as a group of North West Conservative MP’s we are very good at working together to represent not just our own areas but also those bigger agenda items that are important for the whole region.
Later I supported the Lord Chancellor in my new role as his PPS as he made a statement to the House on how the Courts system is reacting to COVID-19.
I was pleased to hear that Conservative Councillors in Stockport had voted against Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. Despite Labour’s best efforts, it seems that for now, the GMSF is dead in its original form. I know that local greenbelt groups here were pleased with the news too.
Friday was a day to catch up with some admin, letters to colleagues and so on, and then back up to the constituency ready for Saturday which was, of course, Small Business Saturday. I used the opportunity to launch my new Shop Local Campaign. This year it is more important than ever that we try to use our highstreets as much as possible, support of local independent retailers and business owners. I spoke to a number of shopkeepers in all areas of the constituency and they were all keen to welcoming shoppers back on the run-up to Christmas, and beyond.
I had a great meeting with the Town Centre Manager in Middleton and she has assured me that rumours that the market was being cancelled were unfounded. She is working extremely had to ensure that our local traders have an opportunity to open up their stalls as much as possible and to encourage new traders to join the market too.
As always I am here for any pressing matters, issues or points of concern so please do contact me if there is anything that I can help with and I will do my level best to help in any way I can.
