I was pleased to receive such strong support from local residents for my recent column on the steps being taken to defend our country. Our community includes many proud veterans and serving armed forces personnel. I’m proud to support those who serve our country in uniform.
The big increase in defence spending will make our country and our allies safer and provide an important boost to businesses across our country. I’ve been advocating for the cutting-edge, small defence companies we have in Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor. I’m pleased that a new contract system will be set up by the new Labour Government, making it easier for small businesses to work with the Ministry of Defence. I’m hopeful this will mean more work for local businesses and lead to more well-paid jobs and training opportunities right in our community.
Improving access to secure and rewarding work, is a top priority for me. I was pleased this week to vote for new laws which will mean that employees can’t be fired without good reason and will have better rights to proper sick pay and paternity leave. People working on unpredictable zero-hour contracts will also be entitled to guaranteed hours with a proper work contract. These new rights will give better work security to local people – allowing families to plan for the future without worrying about missing out on pay through illness or unexpected cuts to their hours.
I was proud to speak in the House of Commons about the upcoming 200-year anniversary of the Darlington and Stockton Railway. This will celebrate the first ever commercial passenger train journey which ran between Shildon and Stockton. I’ve been working with local businesses and campaigners to help plan the celebrations for this fantastic global anniversary. I also talked about my campaign to restore Heighington Station in Aycliffe – a stop on the original line, thought to be the oldest train station in the world! It’s currently not in the state it should be and I’m pushing for funding to restore the station to its former glory in time for the anniversary celebrations later in the year. As you may know, I’ve been campaigning to ensure that the Commonwealth War Graves of three local veterans, at Quarrington Hill Graveyard, are properly cared for. It’s so important that we stand up for those who have served our country and make sure that the resting places of brave fallen soldiers are treated with dignity and respect. I visited the graves with the UK Director of the Commonwealth War Graves Association, as well as local community leaders, to push for action after years of failure.
I also had the pleasure recently of visiting Spennymoor Fire Station to learn more about the work they are doing in our community. It was good to see the additional measures they take to protect our area. I was particularly impressed by the Fire Service’s use of AI to better assess and analyse risks in our area. In my constituency, I held an advice surgery for local residents to discuss various issues and explore how I can assist them. Since becoming an MP, my office has handled over 2,500 cases. If you would like to schedule an appointment at a surgery to discuss an issue affecting you, please contact me at alan.strickland.mp@parliament.uk