Olivia Bailey, the Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire has issued congratulations to pupils for getting their results and fulls us in on what she has been up to during Parliamentary recess. She writes:

I want to start with a huge congratulations to all the students across Reading West and Mid Berkshire who have received their GCSE, VTQ, AS Level, A Level and T Level results over the past couple of weeks. Having had your education disrupted by the pandemic, you have shown amazing resilience. Good luck with whatever comes next.

Since the beginning of Parliamentary recess, I’ve been busy working with my team on constituents’ casework. I have recently met with senior police officers covering Reading Borough and West Berkshire and was pleased to hear about the work they’ve been doing to tackle incidents of anti-social behaviour in Tilehurst.

I’ve also met with the leadership team at Reading Buses. I was pleased to hear about their plans for more bus services in some of the rural parts of Reading West and Mid Berkshire. I was also really excited to hear about the work that they are doing to reduce emissions from their fleet with a move to more biofuel and electric vehicles.

I was also pleased to be able to meet with Becky and Dave from Sell Before We Dai. We talked about the Reading FC takeover and how Labour’s Football Governance Bill will give fans a greater say in the way their club is run going forward, putting an end to the inadequate regulation which has cast a shadow over too many clubs.

I’ll make no apologies for advocating for the affordable homes and infrastructure local families deserve. Reading Borough Council have been leading the way in developing housing for local people. But where those homes go is a choice. I was extremely disappointed that West Berkshire Council have proposed Pincents Hill as a site for 138 new homes as part of their local plan review. This is unacceptable and local people have been clear that they do not want this development. What’s more it is a well-used and well-loved green space. I’ll continue to do everything I can to fight development on Pincents Hill and for a fair deal for Reading West and Mid Berkshire.

I’m back in Parliament next week and it is increasingly clear just what a shocking mess the Conservatives left behind. Keir Starmer is absolutely right to say that they were dishonest, and that the Government has been left with not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole. I’m pleased that we have a Government that is putting service back at the heart of politics and standing up for hard working people in Reading West and Berkshire.