As we finished in Westminster last week I had a number of meetings that were actually not to do with the leadership of the Conservative party. I know that may be surprising to some as, if you listen to the media, you would think it was the only thing being discussed. These included meeting with the Northern Research Group where we looked at the policies needed to best support the north. I had a session with Danny Kruger MP and others, debating the way to engage with communities, in particular the way to get communities better placed to help themselves. I, of course, also attended a number of hustings with the various candidates. These along with my own experience and his historic support for the region through putting the Economic Campus in Darlington and introducing Freeports leads me to the view that the best person to lead us next is Rishi Sunak.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister’s Questions were taken by Boris Johnson for the last time. Whether you liked Boris or not, he showed again what a great speaker he is, and for someone about to leave the post he loved, his demeanour was exceptional.
I had what are called second bench duties on a few occasions last week. This is where a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) sits behind a minister in the chamber on the second bench and supports them in communications with officials for points of detail in debates. I also attended Oral Questions to the Minister for International Trade, where I was able to encourage the export minister to visit.
On leaving Westminster I went to the Farnborough Air Show where I particularly focused on the Space Hub. For those not aware, we have a very significant evolving space sector in the North East and I met businesses contributing to this.
On Friday evening I travelled north before, on Saturday, spending four hours at the Blue Light Day in Aycliffe Town Centre which gave me the opportunity to meet many constituents. It was a fantastic event organised by Aycliffe Radio and supported by the Police and others and it was fantastic to see so many people out in the sunshine. One of the great pleasures was catching up with Matty Robson who was with the Aycliffe and District Bus Preservation Society, Matty was a fireman with my dad back in the late 1970’s when I lived on Central Avenue.
Monday saw me at the Darlington Economic Campus meeting the new Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, when he was there to announce the decision on where the new Campus is to be built. It is to be on the old Skippers site on Brunswick Street in Darlington town centre. I also had a meeting with the Chancellor and team in my capacity as a PPS to Treasury.
As we go through the summer I will have less to report on as regards Westminster due to recess and I will also be taking a couple of weeks off, but what I intend to do is try to give you a few explanations about the way Westminster works. If there is anything you would like me to focus on please just let me know.
I will continue to be out and about in the constituency over the summer so, as always, if you would like to catch up then please get in touch either by email or phone. As always, you can contact me on paul.howell.mp@parliament.uk