MP's Newsletter

I felt very proud to officially graduate from the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme ' a scheme which enables MPs to find out more about life in HM Armed Forces and the challenges and work that servicemen and women face on a day-to-day basis.

The year-long scheme has taken me as far afield as the Falkland Islands and during the programme I took part in a NATO training exercise and attended an army training camp.

Throughout the scheme I met a broad spectrum of people, from all sorts of different backgrounds and I was extremely impressed by the professionalism and the strong sense of duty held by our serving personnel.

In the constituency I was delighted to meet Sarah Sterne, a pupil from Tarporley High School who has been selected to attend The Young Diplomats Forum weekend in London next month. Sarah was one of a number of applicants who applied for the forum and is already a member of the Youth Parliament, representing the North West.

During the weekend, Sarah will attend a number of lectures and workshops, exploring subjects such as 'digital diplomacy', UK and EU foreign policy and the value of cultural diplomacy. I wish Sarah every success, and hope that she finds the substantial agenda engaging and formative of her own political interests.

In both Westminster and in Eddisbury I have been supporting Carers Week, an annual event which raises awareness of carers, the challenges they face and the contribution that they make to families and communities across the UK.

I attended a parliamentary reception celebrating the work of carers and everything they contribute to modern Britain as well as meeting with carers today in the constituency. The main theme of this year's Carers Week is 'Building Carer Friendly Communities' which seeks will raise the profile of carers and their role within their local communities.

This will help their friends, family and neighbours to understand the work that goes into being a carer, as well as the difficulties that carers face. In the last census, almost 10,000 Eddisbury residents stated that they were carers and I hope that this Carers Week will go some way to shedding light on the work of carers in the constituency.

The referendum on the UK's membership of the EU is less than a fortnight away and it looks like the result of the vote is going to be very close indeed. I hope that all those who came to the EU debate at Reaseheath College found it to be informative and engaging, ultimately helping them to make up their minds about which way to vote.

As somebody who has twice been elected to public office, I am a great believer in democracy and I am sure that whatever the result is on the 23rd of June, our country, Cheshire and the people of Eddisbury will continue to prosper.

Finally, I would like to reference the Adjournment Debate on 'Women and the Vote' that took place in the House of Commons on Wednesday. It is exactly 150 years since the House of Commons formally recognised that British women wanted the right to vote and this debate sought to reflect on the vast improvements that have taken place with regards to the inclusion women of in politics whilst recognising that there is a lot still to be done.

My fellow female parliamentarians and I commemorated the milestone after the debate with a photo of us all in the chamber.

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