I hope you were able to enjoy the Coronation weekend. As I said last week, on Tuesday of last week (2nd May) there was a reception in Westminster Hall for the King and the Queen Consort. We were asked to be in the hall for 12.15pm and the King arrived at 12.30pm and the Queen a little later. They were hosted by Mr Speaker who led them through the assembled throng of MPs, Peers and Westminster staff. There was a snack buffet that included the new Coronation Quiche (sorry but whilst I like Coronation Chicken this was not to my taste!). For the actual Coronation, I did not make the shortlist of MPs who had tickets for the main ceremony, but I had already had the privilege of seeing some of the overnight rehearsals and seeing the degree of planning and preparation that went on to create such a fantastic event.
On Tuesday 2nd May I also had a meeting with a small group of MPs and the Home Secretary where we discussed her plans on everything from small boats to policing and I took the opportunity to remind her we still needed more police in Sedgefield and that I thought that we needed more robust sentencing from Magistrates for repeat offenders. I had a briefing dinner with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme to update us on the RAF deployments around the world and the status on the evacuation from Sudan. These meetings are always under what are termed the ‘Chatham House Rule,’ this means that we do not share who said what. What I can say though is that the conversation was very positive and encouraging.
The following morning (Wednesday 3rd May) started with a meeting with the NFU (National Farmers Union) before going to the Chamber for Questions to the Ministers for Science, Innovation and Technology. I had drawn a question but, unfortunately, I was number seven and we only got to number six before time ran out. It was then PMQs before being PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary) in a Westminster Hall debate on funding for major infrastructure. Thursday (4th May) I was back in the Constituency as we had Council elections in the Darlington part of Sedgefield. The counts for these happened on Friday 5th May but, before going to the results I had a number of meetings. I started with an MP brief with the PCC (Police and Crime Commissioner) before going to Aycliffe Town Centre for a meeting at the Little Land of Adventures; to ROF59 for the 5 Acres Coronation party and then a visit to a business on the Business Park.
The weekend, of course, saw the Coronation of our King and Queen and I hope you had the opportunity to join in with parties or celebrations. I enjoyed a couple and, like many of you, I watched the event on TV. It was fantastic to see everything go like clockwork.
I also went to church in Sedgefield and called at events in Ceddesfeld Hall on Monday (8th May), they had numerous musical players and tents for local organisations but unfortunately the weather on Monday was particularly wet.
Tuesday (9th May) it was back to Westminster where I start with a meeting with one of the Health Ministers before Treasury Questions in the Chamber and then a session as PPS for the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins MP, as she has a tearoom surgery planned. This is where she meets colleagues to discuss issues within her portfolio.
As always, should you want to discuss local or national issues then please either email me at Paul.Howell.MP@Parliament.uk – or call Aycliffe 790580.