I hosted BAE System’s annual reception in Parliament at which its CEO Charles Woodburn, and the Minister for Defence Procurement Stuart Andrew, spoke.
I also met with the union representatives from Warton during the reception which looked at ways in which we can further support the aerospace industry, not least the thousands of workers employed in Fylde by BAE and supporting businesses.
I also spoke in the Combat Air Strategy debate in Parliament, highlighting the importance of us not only building a platform for defence, but also having the means of sovereign capability where we can invest our research and development across a whole spectrum of areas. We are a world leader in this area – and we must remain so.
I attended a session with Action on Hearing Loss after a constituent alerted me to its campaign to ask clinical commissioning groups to collect more data on audiology departments. The more data we collect, the more improvements to services we can make for those who are losing their hearing.
It was also nice to catch up with Freckleton C of E deputy headteacher Neil Kenyon who was in Parliament after being selected for the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme.
Cardiac Risk in the Young held an event in Parliament and I attended and pledged my support for the ongoing campaign for a national strategy for the prevention of young sudden cardiac death.
It was another busy weekend at home in Fylde and it was fantastic to meet so many people at Wrea Green Club Day, not least the members of the always-enthusiastic Women’s Institute who were celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, and The Men From The Dub who are undertaking a bike ride from Blackpool Tower to the Eiffel Tower to raise money for Cancer Research. They are hoping to raise £2,000 and funds can be donated at https://bit.ly/2Jjz76O.
I went along to Clifton Hospital’s summer fair and spoke with staff and patients, and went to see the Fylde Coast Players’ latest production, Celebration, at Lowther Pavilion.
I also attended the leadership hustings in Manchester. It was reassuring to hear both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt commit to us leaving the European Union and both were passionate about the future of our great country; they both gave a strong account of themselves. That said, I still believe Boris Johnson is the person we need to lead us out of the EU.