Alex Norris MP's Weekly Newsletter

Welcome to the latest issue of my weekly newsletter. 

We have now reached the penultimate week of Parliament before Summer Recess, so predictably, not much of substance is happening while the Government uses the opportunity to dump some of their bad news or outstanding issues during the end of their leadership contest. 

I haven’t rested though, with my roles as Shadow International Development Minister and Opposition Whip keeping me busy as Labour keeps working hard, even if the Tories aren’t.  

Read on to find out more...

As I’ve said before, I will strive to send you a newsletter like this each Friday to keep you updated on the work I’m doing in Parliament as well as in our community, and to inform you of any interesting events taking place in our area. To help me with the latter, if you are running or know of anything that you think may be of interest to others, feel free to drop me an email at alex.norris.mp@parliament.uk and I will include it in future issues. Please also forward it onto anyone you think may be interested.

Front Bench Duties

Having two front bench roles in addition to my responsibilities as MP for Nottingham North means a lot of juggling but also a lot of variety and a lot of impact I can have in different ways. This week was a prime example. 

Part of my role as Labour's Shadow Minister for International Development requires me to respond to legislation in the form of Statutory Instruments (SIs) which have been brought forward by the government. On Monday, I responded to an important SI on how we fund international projects to tackle climate change. Labour is clear that climate finance should be delivered as locally as possible, to maximise the impact this action has.  

Given the targets we must meet as part of the Paris climate change agreement and to meet our new net zero targets by 2050, the action we take both at home and overseas must be targeted so that it delivers real results on the ground. This localism also helps to ensure climate justice, by involving national or regional stakeholders to be more involved in the decision-making process. You can watch part of my response here. 

And on Wednesday, during International Development Questions, I challenged the Government on their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, following the recent United Nations report concerning food security and progress towards SDG 2 - Zero Hunger. 

The International Development Committee found "serious failings" in the UK's Voluntary National Review of their progress. 

The Minister's response to me today exposes a level of complacency which undermines the gravity of this issue. I hope she will listen to my call to ensure all relevant government departments work together so that we can start seeing the progress we really need on this issue. You can watch this here. 

And yesterday, I was performing my role as Opposition Whip for the Midlands, busy trying to gain as much support as possible for a move to stop any future Prime Minister from inflicting a damaging No Deal Brexit on our country by proroguing (effectively cancelling) Parliament. Whatever your views on Brexit, forcing representatives of the people to go home at such an important time simply cannot be right and Labour will continue fighting to prevent this. Ultimately this was a very successful endeavour, winning the important votes by a margin of over 40.

In Nottingham

While I didn’t actually get back to Nottingham until Thursday evening because of the above, my Nottingham-centric work started long before my train journey back. Here’s what I’ve been up to: 

• On Tuesday I spoke with Richard Sutton from NG Chartered Surveyors about an ongoing leasing issue I’m trying to help solve for a local engineering company. 
• On Wednesday, I welcomed representatives of EM Councils, Midlands Connect, East Midlands Chamber and more to Parliament to discuss the priorities for and challenges of the Eastern leg of HS2 at the latest meeting of the APPG for the East Midlands, which I co-chair. 
• And yesterday I met with other Nottinghamshire MPs to discuss Notts County Football Club. Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South, rightfully raised the sad situation at the club in Parliament this week, where financial troubles have led to the unacceptable situation of staff being left unpaid. We urge the FA, the National League and the Football League to intervene to save football’s oldest professional club. I’m pleased to hear that Lifeline has fundraised and donated £25,000 to help pay staff, but this should never be necessary and doesn’t resolve the club’s future.
• From London, I also had phone calls with Meng Khaw, Public Health England’s Centre Director for the East Midlands; the Regional Schools Commissioner about Park Vale Academy; and a private probation company to discuss the Nottinghamshire Integrated Offender Management scheme, which they jointly manage. 
• Back in Nottingham, this morning I visited Fraser Brown solicitors in the city centre, to see constituents shadowing staff at the law firm through ThinkForward’s work shadowing scheme. 
• While in the city centre, I also popped to Old Market Square, to show my support for students protesting the Climate Emergency. 
• Later I met with Leader of Nottingham City Council David Mellen to discuss a property issue a constituent is having, before our latest Board Meeting for Rebalancing. 
• And now, I’m gearing up for a Meet the MP session at the Well Church on Strelley Street. I'm looking forward to a great turnout and hope we can discuss more than Brexit and the Tory leadership!

In Parliament

My front bench duties dominated my time, but here’s how I spent the rest of my time in Westminster this week: 

• I met with James McGowan, Policy Advisor to the Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald, to discuss the importance of the HS2 project to us in the Midlands. 
• I also attended the APPG on Retail Crime. You may recall that I proposed a 10-Minute Rule Bill on this topic previously, and I’ve also recently asked Written Questions in efforts to give better protection to shop workers. 
• I had a Ministerial meeting too, as I met with new Prisons Minister Robert Buckland to ensure he is continuing to prioritise HMP Nottingham as his predecessor did.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

What's On

I want these emails to be as interesting as possible. That means there’ll be some politics – it’s important that I am held accountable. But I also want to offer information about what’s on locally. So, if you have an event you’d like me to advertise, let me know.

If you would like your events advertised here, or further information on those advertised, please email me at alex.norris.mp@parliament.uk.

That’s all for now! Details of how to get in touch or to have a look at the things I’m doing are below…

All the best,

Alex