Many of you may have seen the news last week that the proposed 328 bed student accommodation development at Althorpe Street was unanimously rejected by the Council’s planning committee. A huge relief to the businesses that operate on the small industrial estate in Althorpe Street. The business owners bravely stood up against pressure from the developers and made their voices heard. I’ve been proud to support them and am delighted that they had such a victory last week.
I hope last week’s decision marks a turning point in the need for developers and authorities to work more closely with communities in future. It’s incredibly important that our communities are at the heart of decisions being made and are put first, not the wishes of a developer parachuting into our towns to make money.
This week marked International Women’s Day which always provides a chance to reflect upon the enormous contributions women have made to our communities and the much-needed steps we still need to take to achieve gender equality. In Westminster, I am surrounded by women paving the way for a better future for the next generation of women and girls. Last week, my colleagues Angela Rayner and Anneliese Dodds announced wide ranging measures to support women at work, particularly those experiencing menopause.
You will have seen the sad news that Betty Boothroyd passed away last month. She was the first female Speaker of the House of Commons and whilst she was before my time in Westminster, her presence was undeniable. When Betty became an MP in 1973, 630 out of 650 MPs were men. Today in the Labour Party, more of our MPs are female than male. Whilst we’ve made huge strides in so many ways, there are obvious issues that still exist. Only last month, a colleague on the Conservative benches, Theo Clarke, returned from maternity leave and was deselected by her local Conservative Association in the same week. It’s shocking and a horrible example of the discrimination still faced by women in the workplace.
So, whilst the advances that have been made for women across the UK are clear to see, we must also recognise the challenges still faced by women across the world and commit to taking action to address them.
Looking ahead to next week, we’ll see the beginning of English Tourism Week. Tourism is a key part of our local economy in Warwick and the surrounding areas and we’re lucky to have historical landmarks like the castle on our doorstep. Tourism across the country endured a massively difficult two years through the pandemic and their resilience was remarkable. It has been fantastic to see our tourism industry returning to what it does best over the past year and the positive impact it continues to have on our communities. Please do encourage your friends and family to pay our wonderful towns and villages a visit and experience all we have to offer.
As always, please do get in touch if you have any issues or concerns, you’d like to raise with me. I can be reached at [email protected] or on 01926 882006.
Matt Western MP for Warwick and Leamington
