Karen Bradley MP Column 13.03.23

As your MP, it is always a pleasure and an honour to be able to show the people of Staffordshire Moorlands just what a very special place I am privileged to work in.

As well as hosting visits to Parliament for local schools, together with the Parliamentary Education service, I have organised many coach trips for constituents and they have all been really successful. Sadly, due to the pandemic, these weren’t able to take place but I am pleased to announce the date of my next coach trip which is Friday 12th May.

The trip is open to residents of Staffordshire Moorlands and offers an opportunity to join me in a Questions and Answers session followed by a tour of Parliament. During the tour, I always point out some of the most important areas of the Palace including I hope, the House of Commons Chamber.

Parliament is steeped in history - there has been a Palace on the site for nearly one thousand years; originally standing on a thorn covered island formed by the Thames and the branches of the river Tyburn, known as Thorney Island.

We start the tour in Westminster Hall, which began in 1097 by William II, son of William the Conqueror and I show constituents where monarchs, including our late Queen Elizabeth II and Parliamentarians such as Sir Winston Churchill,lay in state as well as the steps where President Zelenskyy gave his famous address to both Houses of Parliament recently. I always point out the Staffordshire connections, of which there are quite a few, including Augustus Pugin, the Minton tiles and Richard Norman Shaw.

Please contact my Leek office on 01538 382421 or email me on karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk if you would like to join the coach trip on 12thMay.