July 2nd marked 97 years since women gained full equal rights to vote. I am extremely honoured to be the 380th woman elected to the Commons and I am always mindful of the struggle to gain this equality. It is a great honour to represent the residents of East Grinstead, Uckfield, and the villages, ensuring I am sharing your views and concerns, both locally and in Parliament
As one of the Co-Chairs of the all-party Women in Parliament, it was very moving to mark this historic moment alongside female colleagues in Westminster Hall — celebrating the progress made and recognising the work to be done to achieve a gender-equal Parliament. Being the Shadow Minister for Women and Wales meant I was extra proud as the beautiful sashes were embroidered by a very talented team of seamstresses from Newport, South Wales - excellent work and a huge thank you!
That evening, I proudly welcomed the Uckfield Chamber of Commerce and Uckfield Mayor to Parliament. We’d a fantastic evening discussing small businesses and small charity concerns, high street challenges, and future opportunities, and even managed to speak with our Shadow Chancellor, Mel Stride MP. Chamber members joining us included Raystede, Dawson Hart, Team 4 Solutions, Uckfield Motor Services, C J Thorne, Uckfield Scouts, Ashdown Radio, Children's Respite Trust and many more. Thank you everyone for coming to Westminster to join me for a tour and a tasty Parliamentary supper, it was a pleasure and I look forward to hosting another group soon.
Thursday, I joined residents of Danehill at their lovely Social Club one week on from the meeting in Fairwarp at The Foresters Pub. Thank you to everyone who joined Cllr Roy Galley and me. The main concern was speeding through our villages where people are driving double the limit, putting horse riders, cyclists, children by the school, and other road users at serious risk. Please do be thoughtful when driving and please be careful, we don't want to lose our loved ones. I look forward to meeting even more residents in in Barcombe on Thursday 17th July and Uckfield Thursday 24th July (register for free tickets through my website). I'm organising future ones in Pease Pottage, Copthorne, and East Grinstead-if you'd like one in your patch, please give me a shout!
It was also a pleasure joining students in Ardingly at the stunning South of England Showground for Mid Sussex STEM Day, organised by Ruth de Mierre. We’d teams of youngsters from eleven local schools all over the district coming together and showing us adults, the future really is bright with their Drone Projects -congratulations to Imberhorne School in East Grinstead on their epic win.
It's been one year since I was re-elected MP and it’s flown by! I've enjoyed every minute and I want to thank all residents, businesses, farmers, charities, community organisations, and more who have spoken with me and my team, joined my events, Supermarket Surgeries, written in, visited Westminster and much more.
