Author

I was in Washington DC for meetings at the end of last week, including one at the White House which took place in the office in which President Nixon was recorded in the Watergate scandal.

Sunday, March 24, is World TB Day. I campaign for action to tackle this curable disease which still unnecessarily kills 1.6 million people a year - more than HIV AIDS and malaria combined.

Last Friday I opened a magnificent new village hall in Thakeham, funded by new housing.

This week I took part in a Commons debate on schools funding, which has been an issue of concern to local parents, governors and teachers.

This week the House of Commons will again vote on Brexit. I continue to believe that the best course is to agree the Prime Minister’s deal.

Earlier this month I visited The Haven in Henfield to see how a National Lottery award has helped to fund the expansion of the village’s community hub.

With only six weeks until Brexit is due on March 29 I thought it would be helpful to explain what MPs are currently saying and what they really mean.

This week I attended a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Rail Group to discuss the Government’s Rail Review.

This week the House of Commons clarified its view on Brexit.

A century ago the Sussex poet and writer Hilaire Belloc described Arundel and the Arun Valley as ‘the jewel for which the whole county of Sussex was made and the ornament worthy of its setting’.

I voted for the Prime Minister’s deal to: firstly, implement the referendum decision and deliver an orderly, pragmatic Brexit; secondly, to avoid uncertainty and delay which would be bad for jobs and confidence; thirdly, to prevent no-deal which would be an unacceptable risk; and, finally, to reject a divisive second referendum.

When I was first elected thirteen and a half years ago, when Labour was in power, the future of our local hospitals was a huge issue.

The House of Commons returns from its recess on Monday, and the debate on Brexit will resume on Wednesday. I hope to speak before the postponed meaningful vote takes place the following week.

Each year I ask a school in my constituency to run a competition between the pupils to paint a scene for my Christmas card.

This week I was expecting to speak in the Commons on the Brexit deal, but of course the vote was deferred.

The Brexit debate continues and I will be speaking in the Commons debate on Tuesday, the day of the ‘meaningful vote’.

On Monday I once again supported the Prime Minister in the House of Commons when she made her statement on the Brexit deal which she was able to agree with the EU last weekend.

I supported the Prime Minister in the House of Commons last week when she made her statement on Brexit.

One of the outstanding images of the Armistice Day centenary has been the silhouettes of Tommies which have appeared all over the country as part of the There But Not There campaign.