Been hearing about the Strategic Defence Review? It's 140 pages long — so here are the 5 key takeaways 👇

Busy advice surgeries in School Aycliffe and Trimdon Grange this weekend, meeting residents from across our constituency. A privilege to be able to help residents with a wide range of issues. Thank you to everyone who came along.

Nearly £200bn investment announced today by our Labour Government. This is what it means for our area 👇

Security at home and abroad 🇬🇧 Our increase in defence spending will protect us from increasing global threats. It will also boost our growing defence industries and support British innovation ✅

✅ Expanding free school meals to 1000 more children in our constituency ✅ Free breakfast clubs in every primary school ✅ 30 hours of free childcare We're supporting families by putting more money in their pocket and lifting over 100,000 children out of poverty.

A privilege to meet the next generation of Royal Air Force personnel at RAF Halton this week. Really inspired by the young recruits we saw being trained during a cross-party RAF Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme visit. The trainees we met were a credit to our country.

Delighted to be at St. Edmund’s Church in Sedgefield today to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Parish. Well done to Revd David Lucas and thanks to the volunteers who organised a wonderful lunch at Ceddesfield Hall. Really good to see so many residents taking part.

The Labour government is putting major investment into our transport system🚉 This includes extending the £3 cap on bus fares until 2027 and improvements to our roads and railways.

£6,500 ✅ That’s how much the average family will save every year due to this government’s rollout of 30 hours of free childcare.

The anti-social behaviour we’ve seen in Spennymoor is completely unacceptable. Today I raised this issue in Parliament 👇

I’ve welcomed the Labour government’s ambitious plans to support British industry. Here’s my question about how high-tech small businesses in Sedgefield will be supported 👇🏻

To mark Armed Forces Week I was proud to lead a debate in Parliament on military recruitment in the North East. Powerful speeches from MPs from across our region, celebrating the contribution of our service personnel and discussing how to recruit the next generation.

Busy surgery in Ferryhill this evening helping residents with NHS, planning, immigration and benefits issues, as well as hearing some creative ideas for our town centres. I hold regular surgeries across our constituency - look out for future dates.

Today's the day! 🤩 #ArmedForcesDay

Proud to speak at the closing ceremony for the Knife Angel today in Aycliffe town centre. Over 2,000 young people have attended knife crime education classes since this statue, made of 100,000 surrendered blades, arrived at the start of June. Huge thanks to everyone involved.

Really interesting visit to Chilton Power Station, which produces electricity for 23,000 homes. The plants diverts waste wood from landfill and uses it to power a steam turbine, which creates energy. Good to see how it works and learn more about the industry.

Happy 70th anniversary to Spennymoor Gala! Great to see so many families enjoying the weather in Jubilee Park yesterday and good to meet lots of our brilliant community organisations.

The volunteers at Man Health run regular sessions in Aycliffe and Spennymoor where men can talk about mental health challenges, as well as organising walks, football groups and other activities to build physical health. Check out manhealth.org.uk for more information.