Diary

Good to visit Bitterne Manor Sorting Office to meet the post workers sorting mail. Our posties are hard at it delivering our cards, letters and parcels all year round.

Did you know 16.3 million people work in small businesses and there are 5.5 million small businesses registered in the UK? I was delighted to visit some small businesses in the constituency on Small Business Saturday. These businesses are a vital part of our community and local economy and need our support all year round.

I was honoured to attend the 76th anniversary of the return of the Far East Prisoners of War commemoration in Town Quay park. In attendance was the remarkable Bert Warne one of the last surviving former POWs. cofepow.org.uk/the-fepow-story

I was delighted to attend the MS Society’s drop-in session on MS and neurology services in Parliament last week. More than 130,000 people live with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK and 1 in 6 people in England live with a neurological condition. Neurological services have been impacted by the pandemic and sadly too many [...]

Really lovely to visit Bitterne Local History Society with the Mayor of Southampton as they celebrate their 40th birthday. The society is run by a really dedicated group of volunteers with a wealth of knowledge. Make sure you visit their shop and museum on Peartree Avenue.

I was delighted to visit the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) recently to learn about the incredible research underway there. I met with Emre Mutlu (part of the Marine Robotics team) and Professor Ed Hill, CEO of NOC. They introduced me to Isis ROV which is a remotely operated vehicle used to gather information in some [...]

Great to visit the Southampton Children's Play Association Family Day at Hoglands Park. They had a really successful day, with lots of families joining for a fun day out. Well done to Anna and all the team at SCPA. It was great to bump into the Mayor, Cllr Alex Houghton, Cllr Spiros Vassiliou, Anna Roberts [...]

One of the advantages of recess is spending more time in the constituency and talking to constituents. It’s been a busy week.

Great to be back at the Bitterne Market this morning. The sun was out and it was lovely to see people again.

Local family business adapts to provide vital PPE equipment... This week I was invited to visit Polystar Plastics in Northam. This is a family business and it was a pleasure to meet the founder Jasbir. They have been working very hard during the lockdown to adapt their factory to produce PPE. They brought [...]