Parliament returned after the Party Conference season on Monday and again not surprisingly announcements about soft Brexit/hard Brexit/squidgy Brexit dominated. Clearly the Government could do more to bring some clarity to the likely nature of the route ahead now that most of the initial hysteria about a Leave vote meaning the end of the world as we know it has died down.I have recorded another podcast and will be uploading onto my website to try to give some explanation to what is going on and will continue to update.
On our first day back I was also able to join in a debate on the subject of summer born babies and why the Government are taking so long to make good on their commitment to give flexibility for starting school age. This is particularly important for children born prematurely who if they also have an August birthday could put them more than a year behind their classmates developmentally.
I also joined in a torrent of almost a hundred petitions presented to the Commons on Tuesday in support of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, which I have been supporting from the outset. I was with local WASPI ladies at Shoreham Farmers’ Market on Saturday and they had no difficulty drumming up support for their cause quite rightly. This is a problem that is not going to go away for the Government and an injustice that needs to be righted.
I was delighted to be at a packed Tenth Anniversary party of the North Lancing Residents Association to cut their cake on Saturday. It is incredible to think that it was ten years ago now sitting in the front room of councillors Carson and Carol Albury with a group of constituents to talk about a controversial planning application that some idiot ( i.e. me) suggested setting up a permanent residents’ group. Thanks to the dedication and energy of north Lancing community all-round star Andy Brook that group has grown to be one of the most active, enthusiastic and fun ones in my constituency.
Finally a reminder that the public meeting being organised by the A27 Working Party on Friday October 28th, 7pm at the Pavilion Theatre is open to all local residents however close you live to the A27. There will be updates from Sir Peter Bottomley, Tom Wye, Highways England and me to try to dispel some of the unfortunate rumours that have been doing the rounds and give some clarity to the A27 upgrade plans. It will also be an opportunity for some of the many people who have complained to me about the Grove Lodge roundabout traffic lights being repaired to challenge Highways England too. See you there.