James Wharton MP

Congratulations to everyone in Stockton South who got the grades they hoped for today!

This morning I visited HMP Kirklevington Grange, followed by an interview for Look North and meeting with the Stockton Hackney Drivers’ Association. In the evening I attended the showing of an introduction film about a Darlington man’s life story and the challenges he has faced overcoming disability and following Darlington Football Club.

This is a video of one of the most recent public accounts committee meetings, the hearing was on aircraft carriers. I get my first chance to ask questions at about 16:56:45

I spent the day in my constituency office, meeting with a range of people including our local Member of the Youth Parliament to discuss young people’s issues in Stockton and representatives of the main local social housing provider. In the evening I attended a meeting with a range of local businesss.

For the past week I have been in Tanzania, with an Oxfam delegation to see their work there and better understand some of the challenges people face. It was a fascinating experience and I only hope I can use what I have learnt to make a difference, it will certainly inform my questioning of the Department for International Development when they next appear before the Public Accounts Committee!

This week Parliament was recalled so I travelled down to London for Thursday’s debate and came back on the late train last night. Today I held a number of meetings, including with local campaigners on a national issue regarding the Ministry of Justice and parents who wanted to discuss schooling in their community.