Welcome to this week's newsletter.
Since my last update, I’ve attended the Battle Parish Assembly, visited Liverpool Crown Court in my role as Shadow Justice Minister, and spent time meeting local residents and community groups across the constituency.
Following the local election results, I also wanted to reflect on what many residents told me on the doorstep during the campaign. It is clear that people still want politicians to listen more carefully to their concerns and focus on delivering results locally. While there is still work to do, I believe the Conservative Party under Kemi Badenoch is beginning to rebuild and change in the right direction.
This week also saw the State Opening of Parliament, where His Majesty the King outlined the Government’s plans for the next parliamentary session. Whatever your politics, it is always a reminder of the traditions and institutions that make our country so unique.
But of course the backdrop was one of Ministers and MPs quitting and calling for Keir Starmer to resign. Kemi put forward our alternative plans for Government. We have to provide a credible plan instead of just criticising.
As always, I have included local road closures and updates from across the constituency below.
This newsletter includes:
- Battle Parish Assembly
- Reflections on the Local Election Results
- Attending the State Opening of Parliament
- Visit to Liverpool Crown Court as Shadow Justice Minister
- Meeting Warming Up The Homeless
- Visit to St Mary's Special School and College
- Bexhill Caring Community Visit Held my regular constituency surgry
- Local Traffic and Road Closure Updates
Battle Parish Assembly
I was delighted to attend the Annual Parish Assembly last week. It’s always a great event and a valuable opportunity to stay up to date with what’s happening locally, and to discuss how we can continue working together to make Battle an even better place to live.
A big thank you to everyone involved in organising the evening, particularly the councillors and the Town Clerk, Carol. It was also fantastic to see so many residents in attendance.
If you’d like to get involved in any of the volunteering opportunities mentioned in the video, please feel free to email me at kieran.mullan.mp@parliament.uk
Local Elections Update
You may have seen the election results locally last week. Thank you to everyone who came out to help campaign and support our fantastic local candidates.
I would like to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of many Conservative councillors who sadly lost their seats. However, looking more closely at the results, many contests were extremely tight, with only a handful of votes separating Conservative and Reform candidates in several wards.
These results show that people are still frustrated with the Conservative Party, and we have to keep listening to them. I know we still have work to do to rebuild trust, but under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership I believe we are changing and rebuilding. On the doorstep, many people spoke positively about the direction she is taking the party. We will keep listening, keep working hard, and keep proving we are the credible choice for voters.
King's Speech - State opening of Parliament
This week, His Majesty the King attended Parliament as part of the State opening where he sets out the agenda for the government for the next parliamentary session.
I was pleased to be in attendance to watch it take place. This is a great part of our tradition, moments like this make you feel proud to be British.
Of course it was a bit of a farce back in the Commons with the Prime Minister pretending nothing unusual was happening even though his Ministers and MPs are calling for him to go.
Kemi did an excellent job of pointing this out! Watch below!
As Kemi mentioned, we also have our own alternative. It is not enough to just criticise, you need to say what you would do differently:
https://www.conservatives.com/alternative-kings-speech
Visit to Liverpool Crown Court
I visited Liverpool Crown Court this week in my role as Shadow Justice Minister.
Liverpool is bucking the national trend. While the Crown Court backlog continues to grow across England and Wales, Liverpool has cut delays significantly, with average waits from charge to trial reported at 206 days compared with 321 days nationally. That progress has been linked to the court getting more from the system through better use of time and resources.
Serving Judges are of course prohibited from commenting on Labours plans to erode our right to jury trials, but it was good to have the opportunity to see first hand what can actually be done to tackle this issue. I don't believe we need to tear up a centuries-old right in order to bring down the backlog.
If we are serious about reducing delays, we should learn from courts that are already doing the hard work and making progress. Liverpool Crown Court is one of them.
Warming up the homeless visit
I was pleased to meet with Trudy Hampton-Hodges, CEO of Warming Up The Homeless, to hear more about the important work the organisation is doing to support vulnerable people locally.
It was valuable to spend time with staff and volunteers and learn more about the services they provide for those experiencing homelessness and hardship in our community.
A big thank you to Trudy and the whole team for taking the time to speak with me and for everything they do to support local residents.
Visit to St Mary's Special School and College
It was a pleasure to visit St Mary’s Special School and College and spend time speaking with students and staff. They had a careers day recently which I wasn't able to attend. So it was great to be able to speak to students about my career path, journey into politics, and the different opportunities available to young people as they consider their future careers. Thank you to Charlene Whiteman and everyone at the school for the warm welcome and for arranging such an engaging visit.
Bexhill Caring Community Visit
After meeting the team from Bexhill Caring Community at the recent Bexhill Jobs Fair, I was keen to visit and hear more about the support they provide locally. They are a unique charity we benefit from locally. You can become a member for £30 which gives clients have full access to all their services which include introduction to self-employed carers, domestics, shoppers, gardeners and handymen. All at very favourable hourly rates. They also run a befriending and medical appointment transport service through volunteers.
It was great to meet with Jackie and learn more about their work supporting older residents and helping people remain connected within the community. Groups like this play a hugely important role in tackling loneliness and providing practical support to those who need it most.
They are always looking for more volunteers:
https://www.bexhillcaringcommunity.org/
Held my regular constituency surgery
I also held one of my regular constituency surgeries this week, meeting with local residents to discuss a range of issues and concerns they are experiencing. If there is an issue you would like to raise with me, please do not hesitate to contact my office at [email protected]
Traffic Report
Local Road Closures
(Please note this information is provided by third parties)
Bexhill
- Cooden Sea Road — 20 May to 22 May
- Pear Tree Lane — 20 May, 08:00 to 22 May, 17:00
- Eversley Road — 9 April, 09:45 to 29 May, 23:59
- Western Road — 27 May, 08:00 to 29 May, 17:00
Battle
- Coronation Gardens — 11 May, 09:30 to 18 May, 23:59
- The Green — 23 May, 08:00 to 25 May, 20:00
- Market Road — 25 May, 13:00 to 13:45
- Whatlington Road — 26 May to 2 June
Ninfield
- Marlpits Lane — 27 January, 12:35 to 22 May, 23:01
Mountfield
- London Road — 15 May, 22:00 to 19 May, 04:00
Northiam
- Perryman Cross — 11 May to 23 May
- Rye Road — 11 May to 23 May
Dallington
- Herrings Road — 25 May, 08:00 to 27 May, 17:00
Westfield
- Moat Lane — 27 April, 08:00 to 15 May, 23:59
Crowhurst
- Crowhurst Road — 17 May, 03:00 to 23:59
Robertsbridge
- George Hill — 24 May, 12:00 to 18:00
- Station Road — 25 May, 20:00 to 27 May, 05:00
- Redlands Lane — 28 May, 08:00 to 1 June, 17:00
- The Stage — 13 May, 15:12 to 15 May, 12:02
Stonegate
- Stonegate Road — 20 May, 09:30 to 15:30
Staplecross
- Northiam Road — 26 May, 08:00 to 28 May, 17:00
Beckley
- Bixley Lane — 20 May, 09:30 to 15:30
Ticehurst
- Dunsters Mill Road — 28 January to 31 October
- Cross Lane — 20 May, 08:00 to 21 May, 17:00
