Lord Meghnad Desai was instrumental in the campaign to have a fitting memorial, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square. Overlooking the House of Commons, the Gandhi statue commemorates the role he played in the peaceful and nonviolent movement to gain independence for India. Lord Desai set up the Gandhi Memorial Trust  and donations financed the statue  created by sculptor Philip Jackson.  In the picture (l) i am with Lord Meghnad Desai. 

In the main picture I am with Lord Desai (l) and H.E Mr Vikram K Doraiswami, the High Commissioner for India in the UK.

The statue was unveiled in March 2015 and every year on or around the 30 January, wreaths are laid to remember his death on 30 January 1948. The Indian diaspora gather together to lay wreaths at the statue and remember his teachings. 

 

 

 

The full delegation at the meeting on 29 January 2024 at NATO HQ Brussels of the NATO Ukraine interparliamentary council to discuss the current position in Ukraine and the release of much needed funds.



The UK delegation consisted of my colleagues l-r Lord Donald Anderson, Lord Archie Hamilton and James Sunderland MP. (below)

I visited St Mary's the Mount RC School on Friday 26 January 2024 and was shown around the School by Mrs Amor and the Deputy Head Mrs Smith.  We spoke about the challenges the School faces daily with the lack of suitable SEND provision. 

I was shown and spoke to the students in each Year and saw a presentation from a pupil about single use plastics and recycling. It was a great contribution. 

The school had a calm atmosphere while the children were working. I was delighted to see there was a Library. I look forward to a visit in future.  

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic Mrs Marketa Pekarova Adamova was invited by Mr Speaker Hoyle to visit Parliament. I was pleased to meet her to discuss how our two countries can maintain cultural and trade ties. Speaker Adamova was able to listen to Prime Minister's Questions.  


Speaker Adamova With Mr Speaker (pic left) and (right) Stephen Doughty MP and Ondrej Lochman MP

The Opposition Day debate was held on 23 January 2024. The motion to be debated was about protecting the Steel industry. There is a manufacturing firm in Darlaston wich plays a vital part in the supply chain.     

That this House recognises the need to decarbonise steel production; appreciates the pride that local communities have in their historic steelworks; regrets that the Government has pushed through plans for decarbonising steel in the UK which will result in thousands of steelworkers losing their jobs and risk leaving the UK as the first developed country in the world without the capacity to produce primary steel; further regrets that the Government has failed to produce an industrial strategy which could have included a plan for the whole steel sector; believes that primary steel is a sovereign capability and is therefore concerned about the impact that the Government’s plans could have on national security; also believes that steel production can have a bright future in the UK; therefore calls on the Government to work with industry and workers to achieve a transition that secures jobs and primary steelmaking for decades to come; and further calls on the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to report to Parliament by 27 February 2024 with an assessment of the impact on the UK of the loss of primary steel production capabilities.
I voted Aye and the result was: Aye 223 and Noes 0