I led a group of cross-party MPs from across our region to meet with Lord Hendy, the Rail Minister, at the Department for Transport to discuss the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR) open access bid.

Trains matter to us in Shrewsbury, so I’m delighted the Government has signed a major deal between British Steel and Network Rail. It will see 337,000 tonnes of British Steel used to build and maintain railways, supporting jobs, manufacturing, and keeping the network moving.

I am continuing to step up my campaign to secure the Direct Train Service to London (the Wrexham-Shropshire-Midlands Railway or WSMR) in advance of the regulator’s decision next week.

I met with Tom Bradshaw, President of the National Farmers' Union, along with other Shropshire NFU leaders. We spoke about the newly announced trade deals with Europe, the USA, and India, and how these agreements could help Shrewsbury farmers by providing better access to international markets.

I was proud to welcome Siobhan Connor to Westminster yesterday to give evidence to the Environmental Audit Select Committee as part of the Flood Resilience in England inquiry.

It's the start of Love Your Local Market tomorrow, a campaign run by NABMA until Saturday May 31st. This year carries the message, 'Made by Markets' to reflect everything that a thriving market brings to towns; including new businesses, fresh food and community spirit.

What a brilliant and moving event for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day in the Quarry this evening. There were some brilliantly moving poems read by both adults and kids alike, and a fantastic performance by The Ronnie Singers, bringing a 40s atmosphere to the park.

I assembled a cross-party group of MPs to sign a letter to Sir Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of Network Rail, to back and endorse WSMR's (Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway) application to run trains directly to London, improving rail links in a number of constituencies, including Shrewsbury.

It was a real honour to cut the ribbon at Oakmeadow CE Primary School, in Bayston Hill, to launch their new free breakfast club recently, as one of the early adopters of the Labour government’s new initiative.

I had a really valuable visit to Minsterley today to meet with the Chair of the Parish Council, local residents, and the owner of The Flower Shop, following the recent withdrawal of their Post Office outreach service.

I really enjoyed visiting businesses around Shrewsbury town centre that have directly benefitted from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Funding, delivered by Shrewsbury BID.

As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Local Markets, I was delighted to meet with Kevin Lockwood and Amy Williams from Shropshire Council and Ian Thorpe from Shrewsbury Town Council at our award winning Market Hall recently.

Happy #internationalwomensday! There have only ever been 693 MPs who are women. That’s out of a potential 18,507 seat elections since 1918 when we first got the vote. I was proud to be one of 263 female MPs elected in the general election, and the first female MP elected in Shrewsbury.

It was great to support Chris Toller of Henstone Distillery, to help showcase his excellent whisky products at an English Whisky event in parliament.

I had a great meeting with the team at Shrewsbury Sports Village recently and spoke about the government’s renewed focus on preventive health and the important role that local gyms and leisure centres play in keeping people active and well.

It was fantastic to welcome Coleham Primary School children to Westminster today. They had a tour around the building and then we had a question and answer session in one of the large committee rooms.

I had a great Coffee morning at Emmanuel Church in Harlescott speaking to Shrewsbury residents about local issues . I also spoke to Revd Lisa Knight about the brilliant community space. I was also joined by hard-working Shrewsbury Town Councillor, Elisabeth Addams.

Congratulations to The Market Hall Shrewsbury for being named Britain's Favourite Market in the Love Your Local Market campaign for the third consecutive year and the fourth time overall!

Better transport in Shrewsbury has been one of my priorities since I was elected back in July. Many residents have let their frustrations known about the lack of carriages on the trains that ferry us to the UK's second biggest city.

I recently met with Crystal Owen at her business, Crystal's Cupcakes, to talk about the upcoming Westminster Hall debate on Road Safety for young drivers that I secured which will take place on 28th January.

We all know how beautiful Shrewsbury railway station is, although it often plays second fiddle to the imposing Shrewsbury Castle that sits above it. Today I saw a side of the station many of us haven't seen before, a spacious interior, beautiful ceilings and spaces crying out for investment.

It was great to talk to @heidialexander.bsky.social, the Secretary of State for Transport and Lilian Greenwood, the minister for the Future of Roads about the increase in funding to fix our roads. I was happy to see that Shropshire will receive a £33 million pound injection to sort our roads.

I met with Seb Slater from @shrewsburybid.bsky.social who showed me one of the 120 eBikes they have secured through a UKSPF grant. They are being rolled out to promote active travel around our town. If you're interested join the waiting list below: www.shrewsburymoves.com/ebike-subscr...

It was great to sit down with my team today and discuss the priorities for Shrewsbury going into 2025 and beyond. We also sat down with Seb Slater the executive director of @shrewsburybid.bsky.social to discuss their ongoing plans to improve the town.

Congratulations to Shrewsbury Market Hall for making the top 10 for Britain's Favourite Market! I'm looking forward to seeing the results on January 30th.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year. It's been an eventful 6 months for me since I was elected in July. It has been a pleasure this year to listen to my constituents and help with any issues that you may have had and to take your worries or concerns to Westminster.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I recently visited the Redwoods Centre where staff were celebrating the successful completion of the Transformation Programme, a national initiative to improve mental health services.

I visited The Shrewsbury Ark today to hear about the fantastic work they are doing to support vulnerable people in Shrewsbury. I also saw the generous donations that local people have been making. The details of how people can donate are available at www.shrewsburyark.co.uk

Please find my statement on @waspicampaign.bsky.social below.

I recently welcomed Claire Ashton to Parliament who travelled down early morning from Shrewsbury. She is a veteran impacted by the Gay Ban on serving in the Armed Force that was only lifted in 2000.

I recently met with Darren Horley, the Mobilisation Director for @alstom.bsky.social, at Shrewsbury Railway Station.

I was invited to visit the Arriva Bus Depot in Harlescott where I met with Richard Emery, Head of Commercial – West Midlands (responsibility for the bus network in Shrewsbury and Shropshire) and Area Director, Ryan Dunne.

This was my week in Westminster.

I've signed a letter along with a number of fellow neighbouring MPs to Liv Garfield, the CEO of Severn Trent Water, after the BBC Panorama broadcast. Please read the full letter below:

I was alarmed by the issues detailed in last night’s Panorama program about sewage being dumped into the River Severn in Shrewsbury.

Today I am delighted to announce the official launch of the parliamentary inquiry I secured into Flood Resilience in England, led by the Environmental Audit Committee of which I am a member.

It was great to meet the team at the Royal Mail sorting office yesterday. They have a 200-strong team delivering both to town and to the rural areas of our constituency. I also watched a briefing for the team about how to cope in wet and windy weather much like we are experiencing this weekend.

It is Small Business Saturday and I popped into a few stores to chat, they've unfortunately seen a decline in foot fall today due to the weather but they are all hoping that business picks up in the run up to Christmas.

Due to Storm Darragh we are facing heavy winds and rain and our river level is rising again so make sure to check your route if you are travelling. You can monitor our river levels below: check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/2036 Or sign up for flood warnings: www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-...

It was great to visit Lea Cross Tandoori to congratulate them on winning Restaurant of the Year at the Curry Life Awards. Such a thriving village restaurant loved by their neighbours and regular customers that has been operating for 25 years.

Thanks to some help and a bit of magical cleaning fluid, we are now back up and running! The office is staffed Monday to Friday, 11am to 2pm, by my brilliant team who work incredibly hard and deserve to feel safe in their work environment.

My Parliamentary office was vandalised last night. Fortunately we have high security, alarms and CCTV cameras. I have reported the incident to the police and will be providing the camera footage as evidence to support any prosecution.

I have a monthly newsletter where I keep you updated on my activities both in Westminster and around Shrewsbury. Click the link below to sign up: tinyurl.com/julianewslet...

A big thank you to Edward Potter for organising Saturday's packed meeting with local farmers in Alberbury Village Hall.

This was my week in Westminster.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Thomas Cox, Jeremy Tudor and Tess Burgess at my office to discuss Smartphone Free Childhood.

It was great to be invited by the Churches Conservation Trust's local community officer, Robert Milton, to St Mary's Church to discuss the work they do and to show me their progress on restoring the stained glass windows. I also picked up some Christmas cards lovingly created by various charities.

Today I voted in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill. Please find my statement below.

The assisted dying bill second reading is tomorrow. Thanks to all for your comments on your lived experiences and your feelings on this difficult topic. If you haven't had the chance to offer your thoughts and would still like to before tomorrow please email [email protected]