2019 July

I wholeheartedly support the campaign run by the Reading Agency to encourage all primary school children to take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge which launched on Saturday 13 July 2019. The Challenge helps get over 700,000 children into libraries each year.

Following the debate on the Gemma White QC report into bullying and harassment in Parliament, I opened a debate on a motion regarding the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) on behalf of HM Official Opposition.

On Tuesday 9 July 2019 Parliament debated the third reading of the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Bill. The Bill was a Parliamentary measure to maintain the Government in Northern Ireland which has not had an executive since March 2017.

What chaos: a future Prime Minister refusing to support his own ambassador in the face of verbal abuse. It is disgraceful that there was a malicious leak of emails. Sir Kim Darroch was doing his job. The Secretary of State for International Trade vowed to apologise to the President’s daughter, an unelected representative. What on earth is he doing meeting the President’s daughter, and why is he apologising to her and not to Sir Kim Darroch?