My first student drop-in surgery was brilliant!

Despite exam season, I had lots of people turn up to ask some really interesting questions.

We'll be doing more of these surgeries in both universities across the year!

I commemorated the 77th Anniversary of the Nakba, when Palestinians were forcibly displaced, alongside Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador, and Yassin Saeed Noman Ahmed, the Yemeni ambassador.

It was an honour to celebrate Somaliland Independence Day, as a member of the APPG for Somaliland, with the Somaliland Mission!

The Foreign Affairs Committee ran a joint evidence session with the Ukrainian Committee on Foreign Policy, hearing from different witnesses about how Russia is waging a damaging disinformation and interference campaign.

Thanks to two members of my constituency for meeting with me to discuss the ONE Campaign as part of UK Aid Lobby Day.

They were raising awareness about the need for renewed investment in vaccination programmes in developing countries.

Overseas spending and reducing global poverty benefit us all. This is central to the work I discussed with David Miliband and the International Rescue Committee.

Thanks to IDAS for showing me around!

Independent Domestic Abuse Services is the largest specialist charity in Yorkshire providing support to people who suffer domestic abuse and sexual violence.

It’s vital work and ensures that people get the justice and support they deserve.

I met representatives from the Sheffield branch of Refugees At Home to talk about promoting their scheme which connects refugees and asylum seekers with hosts in the UK.

If you have a spare room and are willing to give a safe space to a refugee or a person seeking asylum in Sheffield, visit the Refugees at Home website to see how you can help

I visited Joybank and heard about their excellent work in recycling donated toys and providing them for those who don't have them.

We're lucky to have them in Sheffield, and I'm sure many will benefit from this service.

To find out more and to donate toys, go to their website.

Thanks to everyone who spoke at the International Student Experience Roundtable, where we discussed the impact and sustainability of international students in the UK.

Sheffield Central benefits financially and culturally from international students attending both universities, so it was great to hear stories of similar positive impact across the UK.

An informative roundtable at the Climate APPG with Minister Shanks, where we discussed the government’s plans for delivering a fair and sustainable energy transition in the North Sea. I raised the importance of renewable energy, solar energy and community energy projects

Councillor Safiya Saeed was inaugurated as the new Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Sheffield at Sheffield City Council’s Annual General Meeting late last month.

I'm very proud of her and know she'll make a wonderful Lord Mayor.

It’s time for a closer relationship with the EU and I’m thrilled to see the Government’s deal come through. Easier travel, better trade and a willingness to consider schemes such as youth mobility. As a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, I will continue to advocate for stronger ties.

It was an honour to speak at the 

SHARE conference at Weston Park Museum, where guests discussed celebrating British history that confronts colonialism and racism in our education system.

Thanks to SHARE for having me, and to the speakers for providing some fascinating insights

It was great to welcome Amin and Uri of Standing Together.

They came to speak to a packed audience in Sheffield about how Israelis and Palestinians in Israel are working together, campaigning for peace and social justice. Both argued that this must start with an end to the brutal occupation and recognition of a Palestinian state.

Thanks to Rushanara Ali for holding an engagement session to develop a long-term strategy to end homelessness.

I know we have many vulnerable people in need of support in Sheffield. I raised concerns about the increasing numbers of rough sleepers, the need for the Local Housing Allowance to increase and the need for long term funding settlements so that organisations are secure enough to focus on their delivery and not their finances.

Wonderful to visit the Weston Park Museum, which celebrates our community from industry to sport to music.

 

Pop down and see the exhibition from Pete McKee, an artist and a Sheffield institution.

As part of the Plan for Change, our Government has announced that it will be rolling out new radiotherapy machines for 28 hospitals across the country, Sheffield NHS Foundation Trust being one. This investment will mean faster and safer treatment for cancer patients in Sheffield Central.

It was also wonderful to see that the DHSC has awarded part of the £750m estates safety fund to Sheffield Children's Hospital, Michael Carlisle Centre, Royal Hallamshire, Jessop Wing, and the Charles Clifford Dental School.

The money will ensure safety and sustainability is at the heart of the excellent healthcare across Sheffield

Last week, I went to Washington with the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, where we met with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres and had critical discussions with him about the Middle East and Ukraine.

The Secretary General has been a loud principled voice on the importance of accountability and maintaining an international rules-based order which relies on states respecting international norms and principles

It was an honour to meet a stalwart of progressive politics, Bernie Sanders, during my visit to America. Bernie was courteous, welcoming and it was heartening to meet one of the many people continuing to fight for peace and justice in an increasingly fraught and fragile situation

I had the pleasure of being shown around the Grade II* listed Canada House, an absolute gem in the heart of Sheffield.

Harmony Works have plans to turn the grand space into the musical home for young people in Sheffield. It’s an incredible fusion of Sheffield’s musical and industrial heritage and I can’t wait to see it come to life.

Pubs like the Dove and Rainbow have been serving the community for years and I know that it would be devastating to lose them. As an MP, I’m their representative, elected to be their voice in Parliament.

I promised to take their concerns to Parliament. 

I welcomed the Foreign Secretary's strong statement after the Government suspended free trade agreement talks with Israel.

I asked him to go further by sanctioning Smotrich and Ben Gvir who are proudly calling for ethnic cleansing. These sanctions have now been implemented.

I called for recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference which did not go ahead after the Israeli/Iran war. This conference has been postponed and we will continue to press for recognition. 

Many British Iranians contacted me, incredibly worried, about what the conflict with Israel and the US would do to their country.

They did not agree with the Regime but certainly didn't want a war which would affect their families abroad. I expressed much of their concerns regarding the Iraq war, which lasted from 2003-2011, where hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed, where WMD were never found, violence raged for years and the aftermath of the conflict is still felt to this day.

Strikes and bombs on Iran will not make Israel safer, nor will it end any nuclear enrichment programmes. Instead it will destabilise the Middle East, again.

The UK was absolutely right to focus on de-escalation and diplomacy.