Column: Post-Recess Updates
Summer School 2025
Parliament returned last week after the annual recess for the various party conferences, and it's back to the business of representing our communities in Westminster. Now that we are back, my days are again full of debates in the Commons, meetings with ministers, discussions with charities. This week I have also hosted the first reception of the new Parliamentary year for my APPG on Family Friendly and Flexible Working, where we looked at polling on the experiences of new fathers in the workplace. As ever, it’s been a busy week.
Before this, however, I had a summer full of brilliant constituency events. Long periods of time in the constituency at once - without having to go to Parliament in the week – only come around every so often with ‘recess’ periods, so I made the most of my summer as an opportunity to engage with as many of you as possible, and to host some events. Some of the highlights now follow.
Summer School
One of the most fulfilling things that we did over recess was host a Summer School for local students and young people. It’s something that I’ve been keen to do since I was elected and hope to do more of in the future.
Giving young people an insight into the world of politics is so important. It isn’t always a career that people get the opportunity to see first-hand, so providing that for my younger constituents is essential to my role as their MP.
I invited in Councillor Robert Brittain – Mayor of Congleton – to speak to the group about the work that he does in the town. Being an MP isn’t the only political role that young people could aspire to. There are plenty of opportunities to engage with politics on a more local level, whether it be for your borough or town.
Rob is a Conservative councillor, so we also spoke about the significance of being able to work cross-party (something that I’ve touched on in previous columns) to achieve the best outcomes for constituents
We had great feedback from the day. I’m really looking forward to doing more of this going forward...
United Utilities
During the election, I pledged to do all that I could to reduce the appalling levels of sewage that are in our constituency's rivers and streams. It’s an issue that I feel strongly about, and one that we have had a significant amount of casework on this past year.
In September, I took staff from United Utilities on a tour of some of the worst sewage spill sites in each town; Alsager, Congleton, Holmes Chapel, and Sandbach. I’m glad that the UU team were so open about our mutual challenges and provided deeper knowledge on the work that they’ve been doing to improve this. We spoke about mains renewals, water re-use, their work on storm overflows and the upgrades they are making to their treatment works.
They told me that they're going to be spending several billion pounds over the next few years on improving their infrastructure and upgrading sewage treatment plants. I’ll be continuing to push for substantial investment in our area to ensure that you feel the benefit of this investment.
Mow Cop coffee morning
Alongside Stoke-on-Trent North MP, David Williams, I hosted a coffee morning in Mow Cop a few months ago. It can be complicated when a town or village is split between two MPs, two councils, two police forces, and two health systems, as Mow Cop is. Residents often don’t know which MP to take their issues to, particularly when they span larger areas such as roads.
We thought that the best way to tackle this was to hold an event, open to constituents on each side of Mow Cop, to figure out the best way to serve residents moving forward. The event was also attended by Cheshire and Staffordshire police forces including officers and PCSOs.
We’re continuing to work together on shared challenges, such as road safety and anti-social behaviour. Similarly, I’m currently working with Adam Jogee, Labour MP for Newcastle-Under-Lyme, on problems with the A500 slip road at Alsager Road. This is in his constituency but obviously affects both of our residents, so I joined him in the Chamber when he raised it this week, and we are planning to meet with Highways England about it together.
On the topic of roads, I recently attended an awards night for the Congleton and Macclesfield Advanced Drivers and Riders. It was inspiring, and I was grateful to have been able to deliver a speech about my life as an MP and the work I’ve done regarding road safety. It’s a brilliant programme. If you want to sign up, you can get in touch with the Institute of Advanced Motorists now.
There was a brief pause for Labour party conference. In the Exhibition Hall charities and organisations from across the country are all in one place. This is a brilliant time to have conversations with these conversations that my schedule may not otherwise allow for whilst in Parliament. To name a few, I spoke to:
Cancer Research UK
Stroke Association
British Heart Foundation
Alzheimer's Society
I was proud to have been asked to speak at an expert round table on housing for older people. I was also on a panel at an event about violence against women and girls. These are both topics I feel very strongly about and that I do my best to move forward on your behalf in Westminster.
As I return to my three/four-day weeks in Parliament, I’ll be taking those conversations that we had over recess back to Westminster with me. The work that I do is always for the benefit of local people, but there is a significant amount of work to be done on a national level that will do that too.
I am here to help. Please contact my office on sarah.russell.mp@parliament.uk or 01260 228263 if there is anything that you feel I could help with.