THE past year has been a very busy one.
Last month, I was honoured to be able to host several children in Parliament who are the sons and daughters of Ukrainian soldiers, some of whom have fallen in the Ukrainian people’s fight to liberate their country.
My team and I showed them around the Palace of Westminster, highlighting the historic importance of democracy in our United Kingdom – something many of their own parents are trying desperately to defend back home in Ukraine.
They watched Prime Minister’s Questions from the gallery of the House of Commons, in which I asked the Prime Minister to reassure the House that we in Britain stand with Ukraine “in their fight for their independence, their freedom, and their nation’s survival”.
The Prime Minister agreed and paid tribute to these children and their parents. I then hosted them for lunch and we were visited by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan MP, Labour’s Baroness Blower, and the SNP’s Chris Law MP.
As Chairman of Conservative Friends of Ukraine, I led a delegation of Conservative parliamentarians from the UK to meet with counterparts in the Republican Party in the United States Congress to discuss Western support for the Ukrainian people in their fight to eject Russian forces from their country.
I was supported by Lord Michael Howard, Liz Truss MP, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, and Mark Francois MP. It is so important that we in the UK work with our allies around the world to defend democracy and freedom, in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.
Our area is making a significant contribution to the war effort in Ukraine with our fantastic defence and aerospace industries, which are globally renowned, in addition to the great team at DE&S Abbey Wood.
I recently welcomed members of the Ghana Community Bristol to Parliament and my team showed them around. Many thanks to my colleague and friend, Cllr Franklin Owusu-Antwi, for his help in organising this fantastic event.
I met with Peter Brown from Estrans Limited in my Bradley Stoke office and heard about the great plans for new homes being built in Swanmoor Stoke, with fantastic infrastructure investment including a by-pass for Easter Compton and the upgrading of Pilning Station. Building new homes, especially social and affordable housing, is the only way of solving the housing crisis and increasing equality of opportunity, especially for our young people.
Finally, it was lovely to have attended so many wonderful Christmas events locally, such as the turning on of the Christmas lights at the Willow Brook Centre, the BRACE Alzheimer’s Research charity Christmas Fair at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Filton, and carols at Winterbourne Barn.
As always, should you need my help with anything, my office is open from Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm.
Please telephone me on 01454 617783 or email me at jack.lopresti.mp@parliament.uk if I can be of any assistance, or to book a surgery.
May I also take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and successful 2024.