Last week I went, as part of the cross-party UK delegation, to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, this sees representatives from 46 countries and is not to be confused with the EU. Normally there would have been 47 countries as Russia were members of the assembly but have now been suspended. The purpose of the session was to inform the Council of Ministers about our view with regards to further support for Ukraine and reactions to Russia. Delegates from right across Europe spoke in support of Ukraine and for the expulsion of Russia from the Council.
The unanimous vote in favour of the motion to expel Russia was particularly powerful as it included many delegates who politically are closer to Russia and would normally be expected to either support, or at least abstain, on a vote like this. The Chamber was particularly emotional when the Ukrainian delegates were speaking. Only female delegates were present in Strasbourg. Some of them had their children with them, all of them were heading back to Ukraine after the session. The male delegates joined us by video link and were typically in army fatigues, close to where bombing was taking place. The combination of these speeches was incredibly moving and, I am sure, made any delegates that were wavering decide to support the motion.
The unanimous motion was then discussed by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday morning, and they had supported our recommendation by the time we were getting off the train in London.
In total contrast, after getting home on Wednesday, I went to St Mary’s church at Piercebridge to meet some residents to discuss their plans for the community. On Thursday it was the chance to call in at Greenfield Community College to see what the students were doing to help raise money for Comic Relief. They had stalls selling sweets, homemade food and crafts in the dinner hall which enabled me to look after my sweet tooth! I took the opportunity for a catch up with the deputy head whilst there. Later it was then my pleasure to host Mike Freer MP, who is the minister for exports. I took Mike to Roman and Gestamp to help him understand the challenges they are facing and discuss how opportunities can be leveraged.
Friday was a full-on surgery day that started at Trimdon Colliery (Deaf Hill) before a catch-up meeting at Station Town, then off to Ferryhill. We then came to Newton Aycliffe and then finished the day at Middleton St George. We see such a variety of people at the surgeries, and the surgeries are provided both for people who have confidential, personal issues they would like help with, but they are also an opportunity just to catch up and listen to constituents on whatever they are interested in. Some of the conversations included local issues, including ASB, flytipping and speeding and broader issues about government policy where I will be seeking further information from ministers and other departmental colleagues.
It’s always very interesting to find out more about local organisations including the Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Society who are this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Newtonian Bus Service and are wanting to hear stories about people who used the service. More information about the Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Society can be found here: http://www.aycliffebus.org.uk/
Also, very excited to meet the Chief Executive of CDFHS (County Durham Furniture Help Scheme) which is a charity based at Chilton Industrial Estate which provides individuals in need with low-cost, affordable items – primarily furniture. They collect and repair old items that would otherwise go to landfill and their website is here: http://www.cdfhs.org.uk/index.php
If you have an issue you need help with or indeed just want to catch up, please don’t wait for surgeries to be announced just get in touch and we can sort something.
On Sunday I was delighted to visit Barnard Castle, although outside my constituency it is part of County Durham and I work closely with their MP, Dehenna Davison. I was invited to attend by the Town Mayor Rima Chatterjee, as Sunday marked the end of the celebrations of the Holi festival. The celebrations were also a great showcase for Barnard Castle. As you may have seen, County Durham has been shortlisted in the final four for the County of Culture Award and events like this, along with celebrations like the Bicentennial of the Stockton to Darlington Railway, can only help our bid.
Over the weekend it was incredibly sad to hear that Wally Mellors had passed on. After close to 50 years’ service to the community Wally was due to receive the Chairman’s medal from Durham County Council next week and it is a real shame he didn’t get the chance to collect it. I first met Wally as a Councillor in Aycliffe when he was part of Middridge Parish Council, no one could doubt his commitment to the well-being of the village. He will be sadly missed. RIP Wally.
Back to Westminster this week for some important legislation including the Nationality and Borders Bill on Tuesday and the BEIS select committee which will be discussing Energy pricing and the future of energy markets.
If you want to catch up with me on anything, please get in touch at paul.howell.mp@parliament.uk
Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield