Local News

On 30 January 1948 Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. This day is also known as Martyrs’ Day, ‘Shaheed Diwas’ or ‘Sarvodaya Day’ and is observed across India to honour those who sacrificed their lives for the nation. I laid a wreath at Gandhiji’s statue in Parliament Square with HE Vikram Doraiswami the High Commissioner for India and

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) states that an estimated 12 billion plastic drinks bottles and 14 billion metal drinks cans are used in the UK every year. A key environmental protection scheme was debated on 21 January 2025, approving the Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024. 

On 21 January 2025 the House met at report stage to debate the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill. The  Bill will establish the role and functions of the Armed Forces Commissioner and to provide them with the powers and duties required to carry out those functions, strengthening support for Armed Forces communities and improving service life.

The British Liver Trust hosted a ‘Love Your Liver’ event in Parliament on 21 January 2025, as part of their roadshow across the country raising awareness of liver disease. The roadshow includes a free liver scan, using a FibroScan which tests how stiff your liver is, as a healthy liver is soft.  Liver disease is

January marks Tamil Heritage Month, and I attended the Thai Pongal celebration in Parliament on 15 January 2025, hosted by the British Tamils Forum. Thai Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated in colourful fashion- we were treated to folk dances, musical performances and Tamil traditional food, including the sweet pongal dish- rice boiled with milk