News

On the 10th of June there was a drop in organised by the Booksellers Association celebrating independent bookshops, supporting reading, high streets and communities to highlight Independent Bookshop Week which runs from the 13th to the 20th of June.  The week is a celebration of the bookshops that bring books, authors, events and reading communities

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 brought privately operated services back into public hands as contracts expired, this Bill will establish Great British Railways (GBR) – a railway owned by the public that offers a better deal for taxpayers. GBR will take decisions on what constitutes best use in a way that is

I chaired the Seventh Delegated Legislation Committee on 10 June 2026, the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2026. The Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander MP, moved the debate. This Order amends the Scotland Act 1998 to increase the resource borrowing limit set out in section 67(2) of that Act

As Chair of the APPG on Portugal I was pleased to attend a celebration of the National Day of Portugal at the Residence of the Ambassador together with other guests who included the Papal Nuncio, the Vatican Ambassador His Excellency Fr Miguel Maury Buendia. (pictured left). The Ambassador from Portugal to the UK Nuno Brito

  I was delighted to drop into the Parliamentary event held by the Reading Agency on 10 June 2026 to speak to Parliamentarians about the Summer Reading Challenge. This year the Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge 2026 is about encouraging primary school children to get involved in this year’s theme: Read to the Beat.  Children