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Latest News
Keep updated on the latest news, campaigns and our work on behalf of voters in North West Leicestershire.
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New Animal Welfare Strategy
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has unveiled our new Animal Welfare Strategy, bringing forward some of the strongest changes to animal welfare in a generation.
07/01/2026Read More -
A look forward to 2026
Over the past year, alongside colleagues in the Labour Rural Research Group (LRRG), I’ve continued to work closely with local farmers. I’ve met with more than 50 farmers across North West Leicestershire and have consistently pressed the Government to rethink its Inheritance and Property relief proposals.
05/01/2026Read More -
Farming IHT Update
Over the past year, alongside colleagues in the Labour Rural Research Group (LRRG), I’ve continued to work closely with local farmers. I’ve met with more than 50 farmers across North West Leicestershire and have consistently pressed the Government to rethink its Inheritance and Property relief proposals.
22/12/2025Read More
GET IN TOUCH
As your local MP there are a number of different things I can help you with or offer advice on, such as; benefits, immigration, tax issues, problems with the NHS, child maintenance and education matters.
I would love to hear from you about what you think my priorities should be as your MP for North West Leicestershire and what matters most to you.
Please use the contact form to get in touch with me. Please remember to provide as many details as possible, including your name, address and full details of your issue.
Yesterday, the Schools White Paper was published by the Education Secretary, setting out proposals to improve the SEND system that has been letting down families and schools for far too long.
Through roundtables and day-to-day casework, I’ve spoken to many parents about the battles they face to secure the support their child needs. I’ve also met with most schools across the constituency, and the local college, who are doing everything they can to support children while they wait for an EHCP – often without additional resources, because some extra funding is only triggered once the EHCP process is complete.
From these conversations, I know that even when an EHCP is finally in place, support can come too late, affecting outcomes for children. That is why these proposals are designed to bring about earlier intervention to support children with additional needs, to make sure they get the best start in life.
After all of the conversations I’ve had with you, I know you feel that the current system is often too adversarial, exhausting and failing the very children it is meant to help. These proposals aim to change that.
Key measures in the White Paper include:
➡️ £1.6 billion will go straight to early years settings, schools and colleges to fund targeted help to make sure children get support where and when they need it.
➡️ £1.8 billion will create an “Experts at Hand” service – a bank of specialists like SEND teachers, speech & language therapists and more, available locally for every school with or without an EHCP in place, meaning every child will be able to access these resources if they need them.
➡️ £200 million to ensure every teacher is trained to support SEND pupils.
➡️ £3.7 billion to create tens of thousands of new places in Inclusion Bases in mainstream settings, improve the accessibility of buildings and create new special school places.
There is also a lot of misinformation circulating online, so I want to be clear about what the proposals actually say:
➡️ New legal rights: Every child with SEND will have a legal right to an Individual Support Plan (ISP) or EHCP.
➡️ Protection for EHCPs: Existing plans will remain protected. Any transitions from EHCPs to ISPs for mainstream pupils would not begin until 2030, and only at natural transition points (such as moving to secondary school).
➡️ No forced moves: No child currently in a special school will be required to move to a mainstream school.
➡️ The option of tribunal as a last resort will be retained.
The measures set out above are just a snapshot of the key areas we are looking at to change the system for the better and make sure our kids, families and schools, get the support they need sooner.
You can find out more details here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-send-reforms-sheets
To be clear these are proposals that we are now consulting on following the biggest ever conversation about the SEND system. I am committed to continuing to support schools, teachers and parents in understanding these proposals and ensuring your voices are heard during the consultation.
The consultation on the Schools White Paper is open until 18 May 2026.
Take part here: tinyurl.com/37rzfjuv
However if you would prefer to be part of a constituency wide response I will be hosting roundtables again in the coming weeks, please drop me an email to register your early interest: [email protected] ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
On the fourth anniversary of the invasion, we stand by our Ukrainian friends.
Slava Ukraini.Four years on from Russia’s barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our message to the Ukrainian people is simple: Britain is with you.
Today we are stepping up military, humanitarian, and reconstruction support and we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes for a just and lasting peace.
Russia will not win this war.
Slava Ukraini. ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Today we’re announcing a £4 billion investment to help make every school truly inclusive through specialist support in every school to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
This comes alongside the publication of the schools white paper later today.
Over the past 18 months, I’ve held multiple roundtables with parents of children with SEND and local teachers to hear directly about their experiences. I’ve shared that feedback in meetings with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure your voices are heard.
The Minister for Schools has also hosted several online discussions over the past year, and I know many local constituents have taken part to ensure your voices are heard.
Here's what some of this funding means:
✅ £1.6 billion will go straight to early years settings, schools and colleges to fund targeted help to make sure children get support where and when they need it.
✅ £1.8 billion will create an “Experts at Hand” service – a bank of specialists like SEND teachers, speech & language therapists and more, available locally for every school with or without an EHCP in place, meaning every child will be able to access these resources if they need them.
You can read more about today’s funding announcement here, ahead of the White Paper’s publication later today: www.gov.uk/government/news/specialist-send-support-in-every-school-and-community ... See MoreSee Less
39 CommentsComment on Facebook
It was fantastic to be invited to the Netball Super Cup over the weekend. A big thank you to Netball Players Association for the invite. It was great to meet the players rep on the association and other trustees.
Huge congratulations to the closest team to North West Leicestershire, Loughborough Lightning for lifting the trophy, thoroughly deserved.
It was amazing to meet Kaitlin Lawrence who suffered a cardiac arrest whilst playing Netball and has since led an amazing campaign to ensure all elite women players are now screened for heart conditions. Every player in the super league is now being screened.
Really looking forward to working with her, Cardiac Risk in the Young, other organisations and colleagues from across the house in pushing to make sure more young people are screened for undiagnosed heart conditions.
12 young people (aged 35 and under) a week are dying suddenly in the UK from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. Of these deaths, figures show 80% of them will occur with no prior symptoms.
CRY is calling for the National Screening Committee to review and reconsider evidence supporting the roll-out of a national screening programme, and for a national screening strategy for the prevention of young sudden cardiac death. When a similar programme was introduced in Italy in the 1980s, it saw a reduction in young people dying of 85%.
#netballsupercup
#HeartMonth2026
#cardiacriskintheyoung ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Thank you to everyone who joined me today for my Coffee Afternoon. It was great to see a strong turnout and to hear so many thoughtful, passionate contributions from residents across North West Leicestershire.
We had important discussions about the real issues people are facing on new developments, from unfinished roads and poor drainage to high and opaque management fees. Time and again, I heard how frustrating it is to feel left in limbo on unadopted estates, with little transparency and rising costs.
Back in March I co-sponsored a 10-minute rule bill on unadopted estates (the Housing Estates Bill). I’m pleased that the Minister has confirmed that two-thirds of the bill’s proposals are now part of the two live Government consultations on reducing the use of private estate management arrangements.
Today’s conversation will directly inform my response to those consultations.
We spoke about how we can:
✔️ Protect residents from unfair and escalating charges
✔️ Increase transparency and accountability for management companies
✔️ Roads and public spaces, and how these are managed
✔️ Give homeowners a stronger voice]
This is a key moment about taking a real step towards ending “Fleecehold” and securing a fairer deal for homeowners.
If you weren’t able to attend but would like to share your experience or views, please do get in touch with me directly. Your voice matters, and I will continue pushing for change on your behalf.
You can email me at [email protected] ... See MoreSee Less
7 CommentsComment on Facebook
Definitely worth a visit to Newmarket Coalville for pancakes from Kool Guys. Lovely pancakes alongside great coffee The Handmade Brownie Company - Coalville ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
*UPDATE* Yesterday I submitted a response to the consultation being run by Leicestershire County Council regarding the potential closures of the SEND nurseries across the county. You can read my full statement below.
Consultation closes tomorrow…there is still time to put in your comments.
lccsurveys.leics.gov.uk/Interview/3396a4c4-89b6-4127-9374-fc9ddfd9e3f7 ... See MoreSee Less
11 CommentsComment on Facebook
Many households locally are set to see some welcome relief on their energy costs from April, and more support is on the way to help homes become warmer and cheaper to run. That will make a real difference, especially through energy-saving upgrades that cut costs for the long term.
But I keep hearing on the doorstep that even when people use less energy, a big chunk of the bill barely changes. Those fixed daily charges hit hardest for people already struggling to keep up, particularly households on lower incomes or in fuel poverty.
I’ll keep pushing for more changes that bring costs down for local residents, not just in the short term, but in a way that makes bills fairer overall. I’m looking forward to the results of the consultation that took place on standing charges and how we can make this system fairer. ... See MoreSee Less
10 CommentsComment on Facebook
⛏️ Coalville Miners 'Playschool'
It was lovely to be back at the Leicestershire Retired Miners Leisure Club. (affectionately known as Playschool) in Coalville earlier today to chat with some of our former miners and friends over a couple of games of Bingo!
Whilst I didn't get chance to speak with everyone it was good to spread awareness of the Banking Hub Petition by handing out some paper copies to attendees.
I was able to talk about the next stages in the percentage share issue in the Mineworkers pension scheme. It’s completely right that we have been able to resolve the investment reserve issues of MPS and BCSSS in the last 2 budgets, but I’m working alongside my colleagues to make the case to resolve the outstanding issue on the %share in the MPS. If you’ve not contacted me before on this, please do as I do share updates to local miners and their families when I get them. Please email me and I’ll add you to our mailing list on this matter.
[email protected]
The poor condition of our roads also came up of which we had a good discussion about the extra funding that our government has provided to the County Council. I thought it useful to share that you can report road concerns directly to the County Council too. (Link in the comments.)
If want to pop by for a game of bingo and a natter in the future head down to The West End Club in Coalville most Wednesdays from around 10am. ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentsComment on Facebook