Mansfield MP welcomes end of the summer recess as Parliament’s autumn session begins

During the summer recess period, Coun Ben Bradley, also Nottinghamshire Council leader, visited numerous Mansfield-based organisations and held meetings with a number of constituents in order to hear their concerns and bring these back to Westminster.

This includes visiting Gleeson Homes to talk about its Crown Gardens development in Forest Town as well as celebrating Nottinghamshire Day and numerous other meetings with constituents throughout the summer period.

Coun Bradley has outlined a number of priorities for the autumn session of Parliament, with a key priority being progressing the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

This landmark bill sets in place the legislative basis for the East Midlands Devolution Deal to come into force and the East Midlands Combined Authority to be created – Coun Bradley is seeking the Conservative nomination for the role of East Midlands mayor. The deal provides new powers to local representatives in the East Midlands around transport, skills training and planning, as well as being backed by £1 billion of initial funding.

Another key priority for Coun Bradley is standing up for his constituents in Mansfield on issues like channel crossings and illegal immigration, which he says are two of the most common issues constituents contact him about.

Coun Bradley said: “It is great to mark the end of summer recess and see Parliament starting back up for the autumn session.

“I really enjoyed my time back in Mansfield, meeting with various organisations from visiting the Lindhurst estate to discuss local infrastructure and visiting local training provider StellarQdos to talk about the issues of delivering training in an effective way, as well as many others.’

‘One of my main priorities for this autumn is to further progress the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. This piece of legislation is vital for our region as it unlocks a new set of powers for our local legislators, as well as providing a massive £1bn worth of funding for our region.

“In order for the implementation of our East Midlands Devolution Deal to not be delayed until 2025, it is vital that this bill is passed by the end of the year and I will be working closely with colleagues in order to see the bill become law in the coming months.’

“Another of my top priorities is to raise the key issues my constituents have contacted me about, the top issue being the problem of channel crossings and illegal immigration.

“I have been among the most vocal critics of the Government’s response to illegal migration and was the first MP to raise how this issue affects our local authorities, one of which I lead.

“I will be spending a lot of time this autumn, bringing the concerns my constituents have expressed on this, as well as other issues, to the decision makers in government as I want to this issue solved and the boats stopped just as much as my constituents.”