Ellie's Updates - Ellie Chowns for North Herefordshire

Ellie's updates on parliamentary and constituency work

Below you’ll find Ellie’s e- newsletters since she was elected as MP for North Herefordshire. If you’re not already signed up to receive these updates every few weeks, head over here. If you love what Ellie’s doing, please do share this page with friends and family members whom you think would also like to see all that Ellie’s been up to.

December 2024

Hello everyone

Good news: this is a shorter update than last week’s!

Last week in Parliament

On Monday I once more challenged the Deputy Prime Minister on building standards, urging her to ensure that the promised 1.5 million new homes be built to the highest possible environmental standards to reduce energy bills (and, of course, help tackle the climate crisis). I’m taking every opportunity to keep banging this drum. I’m a co-sponsor of Max Wilkinson’s ‘Sunshine Bill’ to make solar panels compulsory on every new home – this will be debated on 17 January.

I attended the lighting of the Parliamentary Christmas Tree on Monday – very festive!

On Tuesday there was another historic free vote in the Commons, on Sarah Olney’s ‘Ten Minute Rule’ Bill on Proportional Representation. I was delighted that the ‘Aye’ side won the vote, showing just how widespread support is among MPs for electoral reform.

On Wednesday I attended PMQs and ‘bobbed’ repeatedly, hoping to ask a question about palliative care, paying tribute to fundraisers at St Michael’s Hospice who I’d met the previous week, and calling on the PM to urge the health secretary to set out plans and a timescale for tackling the crisis in palliative care. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected by the Speaker, but I will keep on trying to catch his eye at PMQs! I do enter the ballot to ask a PMQ every week, and have done since the start, but still my name hasn’t come out of the hat. It is, literally, a lottery.

On Wednesday afternoon I had to attend a session of my select committee, the Environmental Audit Committee, which meant I couldn’t attend the Opposition Day debate on farming and inheritance tax. However, I was able to participate in the Westminster Hall debate that was held later the same day on the subject of ‘the future of farming’; you can see my speech online, in which I called for more govt investment in farming support, plus help to rebalance the relationship between farmers and supermarkets. I abstained on the vote on the Conservative motion on farming and IHT, because I don’t fully agree with either the Conservative or the Labour position on this. I support the principle of taxation falling on those with the broadest shoulders, I recognise the need to raise revenue for vital public services, and it’s clear that action is needed to stop wealthy investors using land as a tax loophole. At the same time, it’s vital to support small and medium sized UK farmers and I know many farmers feel considerable anxiety about the future. I have written to the Chancellor again about this, calling again for publication of an independent impact assessment and suggesting three ideas that could be explored to address the concerns raised by farmers: a time-limited exemption for farmers over 75; review of the thresholds and rates so that IHT is more clearly targeted at stopping the use of farmland as a tax loophole; and an exemption for land that is in Environmental Land Management schemes at the time of death and kept within them for 10 years subsequently. I think these are ideas worth exploring that could help resolve the current impasse.

On Thursday I again bobbed unsuccessfully in Business questions and in the Ministerial Statement on Starmer’s ‘reset’. It wasn’t my week on the bobbing front!

In the constituency

I held my constituency surgery as usual on Friday morning, this time in Leominster. A very wide range of cases are raised with me in surgery – benefits, housing, domestic violence, health problems, social care, children’s services, road repairs, litter… Each week I’m able to see 9 people face to face for a 20 minute appointment, but there are literally hundreds more who contact the office each week with cases, most of which can be addressed by my brilliant constituency team via email and phone. I’m really pleased that I’ve now got a full team of constituency staff: an office manager, two senior caseworkers, and two caseworkers. All are part-time, but there’s always someone available to help constituents every day!

On Friday afternoon I went to visit Luston School to hear about the challenges facing rural small schools in particular.

I then popped in to visit the Balance Inn in Luston, a local pub that has been renovated and refreshed by its owners with a focus on high quality local proper food. The wild mushrooms on toast were recommended to me by a lady at the bar and she was absolutely right – they were delicious! I was asked by some local farmers who were having a Friday evening drink to join them for a chat about inheritance tax, which I gladly did! Pubs like this are super important small businesses – great to support them!

I then headed for Ledbury to catch the Late Night Christmas shopping. The high street was heaving, carollers were carolling, and it was all very delightful and festive! I had a lovely time chatting to some of the shopkeepers, including the 23-person collective of artists who run Take 4 Gallery.
On Saturday morning (Small Business Saturday) I had hoped to be in Kington for the Food Festival, but Storm Darragh had other ideas; sadly the Festival had to be cancelled. I do hope it can reconvene sometime soon. Small Business Saturday was disrupted in lots of places by the weather but of course we can and should be celebrating and supporting our small businesses every day! 😊

The eastern part of the constituency was not quite so badly affected by wind so I headed over to Wellington Heath Memorial Hall in the afternoon to join in with their 100th anniversary celebration, which included the rather unexpected delight of us all singing Old MacDonald Had A Farm! The diversity of this job continues to surprise and delight me!

From there I headed to Malvern to meet the Chair and Vice Chair of Malvern Hills Trust. The Trust cares for a considerable swathe of important habitat, crossing the boundary between North Herefordshire and West Worcestershire, including the wonderful Malvern Hills. I met a ranger who told us there were many trees down across the hills due to the winds.

Then on Saturday evening I went to Hereford Cathedral for the Choral Society’s annual Christmas tradition: Handel’s Messiah by candlelight. As usual it was wonderful!

On Sunday, after a morning making Christmas wreaths with friends and neighbours, I attended an absolutely lovely ‘live Nativity’ in Whitbourne complete with lots of local children playing the parts – shepherds leading real sheep, Mary and Joseph with a donkey, and the three kings on ponies. I had been invited to nominate a charity for the collection, and I suggested The Living Room in Hereford, which offers support to people on the streets and facing crisis. They run a café open to the public on Commercial Street – I warmly recommend popping in to learn more and support them!

The coming week...

As I write this I’m on the train to Westminster where I am expecting a statement on the very dramatic events in Syria over the weekend. And on Thursday I will be meeting with Minister Hardy and the other River Wye catchment MPs to discuss the condition of the river; an important opportunity to press the government to take the action needed.

For now, I’ll sign off and send this.

With best wishes,

Ellie

You received this email because you signed up to Ellie’s mailing list on her website, took a campaign action, or gave us your address at an event. Published and promoted by Helen Heathfield on behalf of Ellie Chowns (Green Party), c/o 9 The Buttercross, Leominster, HR6 8BN.

November 2024

Hello everyone

I’m so very sorry it’s been so long since my last newsletter. The problem is that the longer I leave it, the more there is to mention, so the bigger the task it becomes! And there’s definitely a lot to report back on.

In Parliament

Last Friday was a momentous day in Parliament, as we debated and voted on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. As a private members' bill, and a free vote, this showed Parliament in a different light – thoughtful, reflective, respectful, compassionate. Although I wasn’t able to speak in the debate (there were hundreds of us who would have liked to) I was able to be there listening. I was one of the 330 MPs who voted in favour of the Bill; I believe that offering the option of assisted dying at the end of life is the humane and compassionate thing to do. I completely understand, though, why some are worried about this – and I am immensely grateful to the many hundreds of constituents who took the time to write to me, sharing their views on both sides of the debate. I’m still in the process of writing back to them all.

There have been lots of other things going on in Parliament in recent weeks too. In the last month or so I’ve spoken in Parliament on a wide range of topics: flooding in Herefordshire; the International Criminal Court; COP29 and climate action; free bus travel for children and young people; children’s social care; nature friendly farming; mental health in farming; the Employment Rights Bill; climate finance; the humanitarian situation in Sudan; water pollution; and SEND funding. You can view videos of all my speeches on my social media channels: Facebook; Instagram; X; Blue Sky

Environmental Audit Committee

I’m honoured to have been allocated a seat on a Select Committee: the Environmental Audit Committee. This cross-party committee meets every Wednesday afternoon to scrutinise the work of government in relation to environment and sustainability. For example, last week we examined the work of the Climate Change Committee, and the week before we launched our new inquiry into the environmental impact of the government’s new planning targets. Committee meetings are available to view online in the same way as parliamentary debates.

All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Water Pollution

I’ve also launched a new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on water pollution, with support from the charities River Action and Surfers Against Sewage. We’ve got 58 members already, across multiple parties, all keen to work together to use Parliamentary opportunities to push forward action to tackle water pollution.

APPG on Fair Elections and visits to Parliament

I’m vice chair of the new APPG on Fair Elections which has over 100 members! We launched a report last week on what needs to be done to sort out our electoral system.

I’ve also been meeting with people from the constituency who have come up to London, including a group of 16 farmers who came to Parliament to speak to me about their concerns regarding inheritance tax; pupils from Mordiford Primary School who came to learn how Parliament works; and (in the streets outside Parliament) lots of Herefordshire residents who came to take part in the March for Clean Water.

In the constituency

I continue to hold surgeries each week, circulating around the market towns. I’ve also started holding surgeries in some of the larger villages, such as Weobley and Wellington.

I met with local NHS leaders at Hereford Hospital to discuss their work and especially the integration of health and social care. It’s good to have a direct channel to senior leaders so that I can raise cases that constituents come to me about. I’ve also met with other senior local leaders including the Chief Fire Officer and the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands.

I’ve also attended Ledbury Town Twinning Association’s ‘Swedish Fika’; helped launch the new Bromyard site of the Marches Counselling Service; did an online Q&A with Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce; visited Hellens Manor to hear about their community engagement work, and enjoy their monthly farmers’ market; attended coffee mornings in Burghill and in Wellington; officially launched the new Low Carbon Technology Training Centre at Holme Lacy, part of Hereford Ludlow and North Shropshire College; attended the Clever Betsy and Elizabeth Terrza art exhibitions at The Courtyard; opened Colwall Greener’s Eco Festival; shared Ukrainian food at the Apples and Borscht event in Leominster; laid a remembrance wreath in Ledbury, and another one in London alongside cadets from Herefordshire; met residents in Eardisland re flooding; and visited the Small Breeds Farm in Kington.

I’ve visited Megan Baker House in Ledbury to learn about how conductive education can help disabled people; attended a fundraising dinner for Herefordshire Headway, a local charity for people with acquired brain injury; and attended a fundraising celebration tea at the St Michael’s Hospice shop in Whitestone.
Now I’m getting into the Christmas spirit, with my visits this last weekend including judging the Ledbury Traders’ Christmas window-dressing competition, and attending the wonderful Bromyard Christmas Tree Festival!

In the media

I appeared on BBC Question Time for the first time in November – a bit nerve-wracking if I’m honest, but I sort of enjoyed it! I also appeared on BBC Politics Live last week. I was on air on BBC 5 Live when Trump’s victory was confirmed; and I’ve been interviewed for The Westminster Hour on Radio 4 about the need for modernisation in Parliament. I’ve also been on BBC Hereford and Worcester on a range of topics including the Budget, and assisted dying.

And finally

My amazing team of volunteers are delivering my latest printed newsletter in the next couple of weeks – a HUGE thank you to them all!

We deliver paper newsletters because we know there are lots of people that we can’t reach through email or social media. But it would be great to have more people subscribed to this email update – so if you know someone who might like to read this, please do forward it to them and encourage them to subscribe here.

With my very best wishes,

Ellie

October 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of my email newsletter. If you know someone who might like to read this, please do forward it to them and encourage them to subscribe here.

In Parliament

Last Thursday I spoke in Parliament about flooding, highlighting the fact that while it was National Flood Action Week, parts of North Herefordshire were underwater. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of these incidents. I called for a parliamentary debate on flood resilience, and highlighted the importance of working with farmers on natural flood management. On the same day, I wrote to the Minister, calling also for more and better funding for local authorities to manage drainage, and for all new infrastructure and housing to take flood risk into account.

Last Wednesday I spoke in the debate on access to primary care, calling on the government to invest more the NHS, and to introduce a mechanism to protect and increase the proportion of the health budget that is spent on primary care. As Lord Darzi’s report said, the NHS is underfunded and too hospital-orientated. We need to invest earlier on to help everyone stay in good health.

On Tuesday I represented the Greens in the debate on House of Lords reform. I welcomed the government’s proposals to remove hereditary peers, and called for a fully-elected second chamber.

The previous week, I spent all Monday afternoon in the chamber, ‘bobbing’ to speak in the debate on the Darzi report on the NHS, but I wasn’t called. One Tuesday the same thing happened; I wanted to speak in the debate on farming, but wasn’t called despite hours of ‘bobbing’.

Let me take a moment to briefly explain ‘bobbing’. It’s the term used for when MPs get to their feet each time another MP stops speaking. It’s kind of like putting your hand up to speak, but you do it with your whole body. You try to ‘catch the eye’ of the Speaker. The Speaker alternates between calling a government-benches MP and an opposition-benches MP. You can put your name down to speak in advance by letting the Speaker’s Office know (which I always do) but if you’re from a small party like the Greens, you’ll generally be put near the bottom of the list. And if there are lots of people who want to speak, or lots of maiden speeches to be done that day, you may not get called at all.

The other way to get to speak is called ‘intervening’; it’s when an MP rises to their feet when another MP is speaking, and says ‘will the honourable member give way?’ The MP who already has the floor can say yes or no. If they give way, they will get an extra minute on their speaking time. Some MPs use this quite cynically; for example, they will accept interventions from members of their own party in order to get more speaking time overall. And some MPs intervene multiple times on other MPs. In the debate on House of Lords reform, this drove me slightly up the wall; some of us waited hours to get called to speak, while other MPs intervened multiple times and then were called to speak ahead of us, in some cases speaking for up to 20 minutes! And in the whole debate, which lasted many hours, there was only one intervention by a woman and many, many dozens by men.

So, as you can perhaps tell, I am a little frustrated by how the Commons operates. And don’t even get me started on how Committee seats are allocated! Maybe I’ll write about that in the next update... I’m constructively channelling my observations on House of Commons reform into a list of issues to raise with Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House, with whom I’ll be meeting shortly.

Looking ahead to this week, I was speaking in the Employment Rights Bill debate on Monday, because the Department for Business and Trade is one of the departments I’m shadowing. FYI, here’s the full list of departments I’m shadowing:

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
Defence (MoD)
Education (DfE)
Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCLG)
Business and Trade (DBT)
Joint lead on Health and Social Care (DHSC: I’m leading on social care, and Adrian on health)
Joint lead on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
plus constitutional reform (Cabinet Office).

My 3 other Green MP colleagues have similarly wide portfolios!

Also today I’ll be presenting my ‘Presentation Bill’, the Water (Agricultural Pollution) Bill. I’ve put this forward to highlight the fact that the government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill focuses solely on the water companies, and doesn’t take account of the fact that agricultural water pollution is an equally important issue. Unfortunately I wasn’t successful in the Private Members’ Bill ballot, nor in the Ten Minute Rule Bill ballot, so my Bill won’t get any parliamentary debate time I’m afraid.

However I am a co-sponsor of Max Wilkinson’s ‘Sunshine Bill’, which is all about making it compulsory to put solar panels on the roof of every newbuild house. As you know, I’ve been campaigning on this for some time! Max came out 3^rd in the Private Members Bill Ballot so there’s a reasonable chance that this Bill may actually go somewhere.

As you’ll no doubt be aware, Kim Leadbeater came out top in the Private Members Bill ballot, and is bringing forward a bill on assisted dying. We’re now awaiting the exact details of the Bill. As a long-time supporter of assisted dying, I am very likely to support it. Many constituents have been contacting me to share their views on this issue, which of course I welcome. The first debate and vote will be on Friday 29^th November.

In the constituency

Starting top left, moving clockwise, finishing in the centre, these photos show: Eardisland Craft and Produce Fair; Kingsland Apple Day; Big Apple Harvesttime; Ledbury Listens creative work and young people; soil health and seaweed fertiliser; Kingsland Apple Day.

It’s been an apple-themed fortnight, that’s for sure! Herefordshire is literally rolling in apples at the moment, and I’ve enjoyed taking part in various apple-themed events for the past three weekends, including Kingsland Apple Day, the Big Apple Harvesttime festival in Much Marcle, the Herefordshire AppleFest ‘Apple Banquet’ in Hereford, and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Apple Day at Queenswood. I also managed to spend a few hours helping out with the apple harvest on the farm where I live, which was lovely!

I attended a wonderful youth-run event, ‘Ledbury Listening’, which reported back on research with 636 young people on what they wanted in Ledbury. It was brilliantly presented by a team of young people, together with drama and poetry contributions, and I hope I can support the implementation of some of the recommendations!

I’ve also been reaching out to the farming community. Just this past weekend, I’ve visited two farms in the constituency to discuss soil health, water pollution and more; and I’m very grateful to Louise Manning and family for hosting me and a dozen Young Farmers for a very enjoyable evening of discussion on all things farming-related.

One of my key roles as the MP is to bring concerns from the constituency into Parliament – whether that’s about flooding, train service failures, support for SEND, farming or any number of other issues – through asking questions, writing to Ministers, and raising points in debates. I still have lots to learn about how to use Parliamentary procedure to push things forward, but I hope and believe I’m getting the hang of it!

In the media

I spoke to BBC Midlands Today last week about the flooding in North Herefordshire, and also to Greatest Hits radio. I was also interviewed for the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme about my decision to give away the majority of my salary. I also took part in Iain Dale’s Cross Question programme on LBC on Wednesday evening, discussing everything from China’s military moves around Taiwan to assisted dying.

Looking forward

This week I’ll be signing the papers to establish a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water Pollution. I’m pleased to have initiated this personally, after I realised that the existing all-party group on water had Water UK (the water companies’ trade body) as its secretariat, meaning that it was hardly an independent group! The new APPG on Water Pollution will be supported by a couple of NGOs who have a long track record campaigning for clean water, including River Action. River Action is also organising the March for Clean Water in London on Sunday 3^rd November – check out the details here and do come along if you can!

And finally…

A couple of quick asks from me:

If you know someone else who might like to know what I’m up to on your behalf from week to week, please send them this email and encourage them to subscribe here.
Please follow me on social media for daily updates: Facebook; Instagram; X.
Please encourage local good causes to apply to my Constituency Fund; details here.

Thank you and until the next time!

All the best,

Ellie

Late September 2024

First of all, many apologies for the long hiatus between my last update and this one. I’m finding that if I don’t write an update once a week, there’s so much to report that the task becomes ever bigger and more daunting! So here goes with a quick (ish) summary of the last 5 weeks, and I will try to get back into a more regular rhythm going forward.

In Parliament

I’m back on the train to London as I write, after three weeks of ‘conference recess’ which has been another great opportunity to spend lots of time in the constituency. The parliamentary timetable is quite odd – we returned to Westminster on 2nd September, but then stopped again on 12th September for the big party conferences.

Those two Parliamentary weeks in early September were busy as usual. I spoke 11 times in just 8 days of debates (!), on a very wide range of topics including:

rural bus services (challenging the Minister to reverse the inequality between rural and urban funding);
the Winter Fuel Allowance (speaking out against the government’s harsh cuts);
arms sales to Israel (challenging the Foreign Secretary to apply the principles of international law much more consistently);
FE funding (highlighting the inequality in funding for FE versus sixth form teacher salaries).

I also led my first Westminster Hall debate, on environmental building standards. I pressed the Minister to urgently bring forward (and strengthen) the Future Home Standard, to include embodied as well as operational carbon in building standards, and to ensure that all new homes have solar panels on the roofs and swift bricks as standard practice.

I’m trying to post short clips from all my Parliamentary contributions on my social media channels, and I’m hoping to get a page set up on the website soon to track it all. In the meantime you can follow my contributions via TheyWorkForYou.com.

Starting top left, moving clockwise, finishing in the centre, these photos show: H.Art in Leominster; Herefordshire Mencap; Wigmore Primary School; Kington Show; Leinthall Quarry; Ledbury Community Pharmacy Day; Our News Our Views.

Constituency visits

I’ve been on loads of local visits in recent weeks, including: Wigmore School, where I met with secondary and primary students; Wharton Court River Lugg works open day; H.Art in Leominster; Kington Show; the Battle of Britain memorial service in Hereford; Grange Court; meeting the Soil Association by the Wye re their ‘Stop Killing Our Rivers’ petition; a great participant-led meeting with Herefordshire Mencap and Our News Our Views; Ledbury Pharmacy; Leominster in Bloom plant and craft fair; Westfield School fete; Ledbury Methodist Church Place of Welcome and English conversation class for Afghan refugees; Citizens Advice Bureau Herefordshire; HVOSS; Avara; Whitwick Manor; Westfield School (during the week this time, to see the school in action); Leominster in Bloom’s ‘Shed Opening’; Leinthall Quarry; singing with the Military Wives Choir in Credenhill (just delightful: I got to sing while holding the most wonderfully good-natured baby!); meeting the Environment Agency re water quality; visiting the Age UK Ledbury Shed; Connexus site visit at the full Pitcher in Ledbury; Upper Sapey crossroads meeting re road safety; Weobley High School and Primary School, including helping to cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening of their new biomass boiler; the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford; watching the very moving film One Life, about Nicholas Winton’s work helping Jewish refugees escape from Czechoslovakia, with Nicholas’s son in law who lives in the constituency; a helpful session with the Leominster Jobcentre staff to learn about how my casework team can most effectively help constituents with benefits issues; Nigel Fraser of Herefordshire General Practice; a very useful meeting with 3 other Wye catchment MPs, convened by Friends of the River Wye and Save the Wye in Hay; Leintwardine First Saturday; Kingsland Apple Day; and Eardisland Craft and Produce Fair. Phew! I also had the delight of sharing a stage with Jenny Jones for an evening of conversation about how Parliament really works, organised by Hellens Sustainability Café. And I spent an afternoon walking around Leominster a couple of weekends back, introducing myself to all the shopkeepers and giving them my contact details. I hope to do the same in the other market towns soon.

Surgeries

I’ve continued with weekly surgeries, rotating around the 4 market towns of Ledbury, Leominster, Bromyard and Kington. I’ve also asked my team to look into whether we can hold surgeries in some of the larger villages too. Surgery dates are posted on my website, and appointments can be booked by sending an email. At every surgery I’m accompanied by one of my caseworkers, and I am also incredibly grateful to the wonderful volunteers who help out as informal ‘receptionists’, making constituents welcome. (If you can spare some time on an occasional Friday morning from 0900-1230, and would like to help out in this way, please do let me know!)

At each surgery we’re able to see 9 people face to face – but every week there are many, many, many more who contact us and who we can help via email or telephone.

My new office & staff team

My new office manager Gill has started work and I’ve got two permanent caseworkers (Ella and Alice) as well as two temporary ones (Mark and Karl) who are doing an amazing job of helping constituents. I’m so grateful to them all! Our new office in Leominster is taking shape, and it’s great to have a base. Frustratingly, we still haven’t been able to get BT to install a phone line, but they’ve promised it’s coming soon!

Green Party conference

It seems a long while back now, but the Green Party’s conference was held in Manchester in early September and went really well. We had a ‘meet the MPs’ session and I chaired a panel discussion on nature-friendly farming and participated in a panel on electoral reform.

In the media

I’ve been on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Channel 4 News, and the BBC’s Politics Midlands panel programme, plus various appearances on LBC, Times Radio and BBC Hereford and Worcester.

And finally…

…dear readers, I’d like to ask for your help with two things!

First, I’m really keen to encourage new people to consider getting actively involved in politics. Women and young people are still very under-represented in politics, so I am especially keen to encourage them to step forward! This isn’t a party political thing: I simply want to encourage new voices in politics and help support the next generation of local councillors and potential MPs. I’m planning to organise some informal dinners for people who might potentially consider getting involved in politics some day, and who’d like to hear what it really involves. So if this is you, or could be someone you know, please express interest by clicking here for more info.

And last but not least: I’m setting up a small informal Constituency Fund to help put a bit extra back into the local community. Some years ago I took the ‘Giving What We Can’ pledge to give away a significant proportion of my income, and I’m continuing this as an MP. I’m keeping £2k per month of my salary to live on (equivalent to national average wage) and giving the rest away. I’m splitting this giving equally between the Green Party (to support the next generation of Green campaigners), GiveDirectly (which gives cash transfers directly to families living in poverty in East Africa) and my new Constituency Fund, which aims to support local projects that make life better by tackling inequality through care and creativity. You can find details about the Constituency Fund, including how to apply, on my website here. Please do share this info with local projects that you think might wish to apply.

Right, that’s enough for now I think! I’m going to aim to get back to writing short weekly updates going forward. If you made it this far, well done and thank you 😊.

As always, please let me know if there’s anything in particular that you’d like me to cover in future updates.

Thanks and all the best,

Ellie

You received this email because you signed up to Ellie’s mailing list on her website, or gave us your address at an event.

Early September 2024

Dear {{ FirstName | default: 'Friend' }}

This week I've been back in Westminster, for the start of the new Parliamentary ‘Autumn term', so I thought I’d give you an update on what I did in the constituency during August!

Setting up my office

I’ve found a good location for my constituency office – in Leominster opposite the Library – a nice central, accessible location. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be opening the office and getting a permanent telephone number set up. I’m looking forward to hosting an ‘office-warming’ soon!

Staff recruitment

I’ve said before that teamwork is essential, and that’s certainly true for running an MP’s office! So I’ve interviewed candidates for roles both in the constituency and in Parliament. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to appoint great people. They’ll be taking up their new roles over the coming weeks.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to my temporary staff team members who’ve worked so hard to help me during the transition period!

Casework

So far I’ve received many hundreds of individual requests for help – many of which are very complex – plus thousands more emails from constituents about policy issues. I’ve been doing my very best to respond to everyone, though inevitably there have been some slight delays while I get my office and staff team up and running. I’m determined to get back to everyone as soon as humanly possible! Casework covers everything: universal credit, housing, safeguarding, police matters, visas, road safety, potholes, planning, and lots lots more. It’s fascinating, challenging, and sometimes heartbreaking.

Lots of residents have written to me about the chancellor’s decision on Winter Fuel Allowance. I share their concerns and have written to Rachel Reeves asking her to reconsider. Other issues I’ve taken up on behalf of residents include writing to the Justice Secretary about disproportionate sentencing of peaceful climate protestors, and to the Transport Secretary to lobby for step-free access to both platforms at Ledbury Station.

Surgeries

I’m running regular 3-hour constituency advice surgeries on Friday mornings, circulating between the market towns in North Herefordshire: Leominster, Ledbury, Bromyard and Kington. My aim is to hold a surgery in each location every month. Anyone wanting to book a surgery appointment can email my office on ellie.chowns.mp@parliament.uk, or call 07862 343389 (my temporary office number).

Media

Things have been quieter on the media front in August compared with July. I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions on Friday 30 August, broadcast from the beautiful National Botanic Gardens of Wales, near Camarthen. I’ve also done a few press and radio interviews: with the Hereford Times and with Politics Home, and with BBC Hereford and Worcester (an hour live on 20 Aug) and with LBC on 27 Aug.

Visits

The main thing I did in August was make the most of having a month in North Herefordshire and go to as many local events, meetings and visits as possible! It was great to have this time, as it’s going to be much more challenging when Parliament is sitting, when I’ll need to be in London Mon-Thurs each week.

I’m keen on transparency, so I’ll be setting up a system on my website for reporting on all my visits and meetings. For now, here’s a list of the people I’ve met and places I’ve been to in August:

St Michael’s Hospice, Ledbury Health Partnership, Tuston Farm, Westons in Much Marcle, Leominster Allotment Association, the Herefordshire Construction Industry Lobby Group, Ledbury Swimming Pool’s fiftieth birthday celebration, Ledbury Fire Station Open Day, Brampton Bryan Scarecrow Sunday, Bartestree and Lugwardine Village Fete, Hereford Hiroshima Day commemoration, Hereford Reuse and Recycling Organisation, Marches Family Network, an NFU meeting with about 100 farmers, Leominster Old Priory, Hereford Ludlow and North Shropshire College, Bromyard Glass, Save the Wye, Services for Independent Living’s tea party, a bike tour of Leominster with a local resident, Hereford Transport Alliance, Pedicargo, The Courtyard, the Eveson Trust, Kingsland Fun Day, West Mercia Women's Aid & West Midlands Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre & Herefordshire Women’s Equality Group, Haygrove, Dr Louise Manning re food systems, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Oak Tree Farm Nature Reserve official opening near Bodenham, Herefordshire Armed Forces Covenant, and Gabe Cook the Ciderologist. Phew!

Caption: Ellie discovering more about cider at Westons, ready for action at Ledbury fire station open day, admiring Leominster allotments, with West Mercia Women's Aid, meeting the team at Pedicargo and enjoying her visit to Bromyard Glass.

You can see more about many of these visits on my Facebook and Instagram.

I’m keen to visit as many people and places as possible, so if you know of a business, charity, community group or event that would like to invite me to something, please encourage them to email me: ellie.chowns.mp@parliament.uk

And finally – a little bit of time off

I know it’s important to pace yourself in this job, so I took a week off to go to the Alps with my family. It was wonderful to be in the mountains!

En route we made a very special visit to Amberieu, to visit the family who rescued my grandad Pat when he was shot down in WW2 – hiding him in their bakery and helping him escape over the Pyrenees. Eighty years later, my family is still in touch with the family who rescued him, and they're pictured below. It’s very moving to think how brave they were; without them, I wouldn’t be here today.

This week…

So: back to Parliament, and it’s a very busy week! I proposed an amendment to the Budget Responsibility Bill, which was considered by a Committee of the Full House yesterday, so I was mostly in the chamber. This week I’ve also got meetings with various housing associations and train companies, so I will be raising with them the issues that constituents have raised with me. I hope to get back into doing weekly email updates from now on, so will keep you posted! And if you know anyone else who’d like to receive these updates, please encourage them to sign up here.

With very best wishes,

Ellie

Late July 2024

Dear {{ FirstName | default: 'Friend' }}

Thank you so much for all the lovely messages I’ve been receiving in recent weeks. I appreciate every one of them!

Here’s a quick update on what I’ve been up to in the last fortnight.

King’s Speech

I queued up from 0630 on the morning of the King’s Speech in order to book a seat in the House of Commons by putting down a ‘prayer card’ when the Chamber opened at 0800. (This archaic, time-wasting practice, necessitated by having a House of Commons that is far too small, is one of the things I would like to change about Parliament!) When the Commons were summoned to the Lords to hear the King’s Speech I was pleased to be able to get a good view from one side. There were quite a few positive actions mentioned in the speech, but some notable omissions (such as no mention of social care at all) and it was very short on detail.

My maiden speech

I made my maiden speech during the second day of debate on the King’s Speech. As is traditional, I extolled the virtues of my beautiful constituency (very easy to do!) and paid tribute to my predecessor. I also spoke about the themes of my campaign: renewing our economy, repairing our NHS, and restoring our rivers. You can view my maiden speech here: https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/24461621.herefordshires-new-mp-ellie-chowns-gives-maiden-speech-parliament/

Hitting the ground running

I’ve been working hard to learn as much as possible about how Parliament works so that I can use the procedures to raise the issues that matter to you. Together with my fellow Green MPs, I tabled the first Early Day Motion of the new Parliament, on water pollution and public ownership of water utilities. EDMs are a bit like Parliamentary petitions; they don’t have any formal power, but they can draw attention to issues.

Our group of Green MPs also tabled the first Amendment to the King’s Speech, drawing attention to things it had not mentioned such as social care and home insulation. Unfortunately our amendment was not selected by the Speaker to be debated or voted on.

I’ve learned the conventions of speaking in the House, such as how to ask “will the honourable member give way?”, and have thus been able to ask questions directly of Ministers in debates on Foreign Affairs and on Energy Security.

I’ve tabled my first set of written Parliamentary questions, on issues including building standards, social care, and the condition of the river Wye.

I’ve also requested an Adjournment debate on the condition of the river Wye. This would give me a chance to ask the relevant Minister directly for the action needed. I hope to get a slot in September. I’ve also written to all of the other MPs in the Wye catchment, to suggest that we meet and work together.

I’ve also joined several All Party Parliamentary Groups. I’m very keen to work on a cross-party basis as much as possible.

Modernisation of the House of Commons

I was pleased to be called to speak in this debate on 25 July. I spoke from the heart about my observations, as a newly-elected MP, of how the Commons operates and how it could be improved. The speech seems to have struck a chord with the public - it’s already been viewed online over a million times!

Heritage and tradition are important of course. But we also need to make sure that MPs can work efficiently. Spending 15 minutes queueing to participate in a single vote is clearly unproductive. In my speech I called for electronic voting, time-limited speeches, and renewing the Chamber so that every MP can have a seat.

Connecting with campaigners

I’ve met with NGOs including River Action, Amnesty International, and the Campaign against Trophy Hunting. I also took part in petition hand-ins at 10 Downing Street with both the Clean Air campaign and with Zero Hour in support of the Climate & Nature Bill.

Media coverage

I was interviewed live on BBC One immediately after the King’s Speech, and on BBC Midlands Today after the first PMQs of the new Parliament. I’ve also been interviewed on BBC Hereford and Worcester, LBC, Times Radio and Greatest Hits Radio, and I took part in Iain Dale’s Cross Question panel show on LBC.

I’ve been interviewed by print journalists from the Farmers Guardian, the National, and the i newspaper. I also recorded a podcast with the Guardian, and have met informally with journalists from the BBC and Channel 4 to discuss potential news stories in North Herefordshire.

Setting up my constituency office

I’ve been working hard to establish my constituency office as quickly as possible. I have a wonderful team of temporary staff helping me to deal with casework.

As you can probably imagine, with more than half the MPs being new, there are a lot of demands on Parliament’s systems, which means it’s taking a little while to get my new staff set up on Parliamentary emails. In the meantime, I have been using my campaign email address ellie@elliechowns.org.uk to deal with casework. You can also email me on ellie.chowns.mp@parliament.uk.

We are hoping to sign a lease for an office in Leominster very soon, which will enable us to set up an office phone number. Urgent enquiries can be sent to ‭07862 343389‬ for now.

My plans for August

Parliament rises for the summer recess today, so I will be working in the constituency throughout August (and taking a few days’ holiday, too!).

I’ve already got a busy schedule of constituency visits planned. I am always happy to hear of more opportunities to visit events, groups and businesses! Please send any invitations to ellie.chowns.mp@parliament.uk.

Casework and Surgeries

I’m holding constituency surgeries every Friday from 10am to 1pm, in a range of venues across the constituency: focusing on Kington, Leominster, Bromyard and Ledbury so far. To book an appointment, please email me details of the issue you’d like to raise.

Tell me what you want to hear

Please let me know what you’d like to see in these updates. Do you want more explanation of Parliamentary processes? More info about constituency visits? More details on my policy priorities? Email to let me know.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your interest. If you know someone else who would like to keep in touch with my work, please forward this email to them - they can click on the link below to subscribe.

With thanks and best wishes,

Ellie

Early July 2024

Dear {{ FirstName | default: 'Friend' }}

Welcome to my very first email update as the new Green MP for North Herefordshire! Thank you so much for your interest in what I’m doing. I’m aiming for weekly email updates - they might not always be beautifully formatted but I think the important thing is to keep people informed about what I’ve been up to! If you know anyone else in North Herefordshire who’d like to hear about my work, please do pass this on to them and encourage them to sign up for future updates via this link: https://elliechowns.org.uk/updates/ - thank you!

I’m also planning to record short videos from Parliament explaining what’s going on; you can see the first of these on my social media channels already. And I’ll be posting regularly on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram about what I’m up to, so please do follow me on those channels if you’re not already doing so:

https://twitter.com/EllieChowns

https://www.facebook.com/EllieChowns

https://www.instagram.com/elliechowns/

This update will be a bit different as there’s just so much to cover! So please excuse that, and just skip over any of the bits you’re not interested in. So here we go with a whirlwind tour of my first week as an MP!

The first few days:

After the election result was announced early Friday morning, I was delighted to be joined by supporters for a celebratory photo and numerous hugs! After a couple of hours of much-needed sleep the rest of the day was occupied mainly with media interviews (details below). In the evening I attended a regular community Open Mic event, and enjoyed celebrating with friends.

On Saturday I visited our four market towns: Ledbury, Bromyard, Leominster and Kington. It was simply lovely to meet so many voters and supporters. A Channel 4 film crew accompanied me in Leominster. I managed to watch a little bit of the football in the early evening, before ending the day with another interview.

First thing on Sunday I travelled up to Birmingham to record the BBC Sunday Politics show live, and then went to the Ledbury Celebration on the way home - a lovely event with music, poetry, food and more. That afternoon I had a bit of quiet time to empty the bins and do some laundry, though when interviewed again on 5 Live at 9.30pm I still hadn’t started packing.

Throughout the weekend I was blown away by the number of people who greeted me with delight in the street and came over to shake my hand or give me a hug! The atmosphere of hope and joyful positivity has just been wonderful - thank you all so much!

In Parliament

On Monday morning I was up at 0530 for ITV to film my journey to Westminster - cue a bit of panic about tidying the house! Another camera team were waiting for me on arrival at Paddington and followed me on the tube to Westminster.

I met up with my younger son Ronan (who’d been in London visiting friends) to enter Parliament for the first time as an MP. Inside I was met by a ‘buddy’ whose role was to chaperone me for the first day - super helpful when trying to find your way around a place as maze-like as the Palace of Westminster! There are many thousands of staff in Parliament. Everyone has been super friendly, and it’s been lovely to find a Herefordshire connection with several people already!

It’s wonderful to be part of our Green Group of 4 MPs. Meeting up on Monday morning for our first group photocall was great fun. We’re all different and I think we complement each other really well. I can’t wait to see how much we can do together in the Commons!

The building itself is of course completely awe-inspiring. The height of the ceilings! The quantity of gold leaf! The vast number of paintings and statues of old men! The extraordinary costumes and rituals! The ridiculously too-small Chamber! Much of it is aesthetically beautiful and of course an important part of our heritage; and at the same time I can't help but imagine improvements, especially the problem of there not being enough seats for all the MPs. It’s clearly going to be a bit of a bunfight every time we all want to sit together.

Indeed, for the first official piece of Parliamentary business - the election of the Speaker on Tuesday afternoon - I got there 45 minutes early to find there were no places remaining on the main benches. I found seats for our group of 4 Greens on some other benches, facing the Speaker’s chair - but it turns out that MPs can only watch (not speak) from those benches (why?!) So Adrian Ramsay, our co-leader, had to negotiate himself a space from the Lib Dems who had occupied all the side-facing benches. Sigh.

The other official Chamber business this week was swearing-in, which our group of four Greens did on Wednesday. We managed to navigate the process well, so didn’t have to wait long. As I left I heard that the queue of MPs was by then 2.5 hours long! So there’s clearly going to be a LOT of queuing, musical chairs and other not terribly productive activity. Hmm!

The proper business of the House starts next week, with the King’s Speech on Wednesday. After that there’ll be a number of days of debate on the King’s Speech, then I expect the new government will bring forward as much legislation as they can before recess starts. We’ve been told that Parliament will be sitting on Fridays in July to maximise the amount of business we can get through, so I plan to spend as much time as possible in the Chamber over the next few weeks, learning the ropes. I’ve already placed my request to do my Maiden Speech with the Speaker’s Office, so I’m hopeful that I’ll get a slot sometime during the debate on the King’s Speech. Now I just have to write it, and try not to shake with nerves when I speak for the first time in the Chamber!

The Speaker himself has been very friendly and welcoming. He invited our Green group to have coffee with him in his chambers on Tuesday morning; and on Wednesday night he hosted a reception for all the new MPs.

Aside from the Speaker’s election and the Swearing In, much of my time in Westminster this week has been focused on induction, including various training sessions and of course the inevitable wrestling with new IT. There’s no sign of a desk or an office, though I haven’t needed one as there’s been almost no time to sit down and I’m happy working in the Commons Library if there’s a free moment.

I’ve also been busy setting up my Parliamentary and Constituency offices. In this I am immensely helped by Cath, who was chief of staff to Caroline Lucas. I’ve got a fantastic team of temporary staff supporting me both in the constituency and in London, and we’ve already advertised for the permanent roles. If you know anyone who might be interested in working for me, please point them to the adverts here: https://greenparty.org.uk/get-involved/work-for-us/ - thank you!

I also need to find a permanent place to stay in London. I’m so lucky to have a wonderful cousin who’s kindly letting me stay with her while I find my feet. I’m going to need somewhere to rent long-term - ideally a small flat with its own front door, as close as possible to Westminster. I know this is a big ask! If you’ve got any suggestions, please let me know.

On Thursday night, after a very busy 4 days in Westminster, I took the train home and was met by my parents who took me home for a cup of tea and some House of Commons souvenir mint chocolates with my kids!

On Friday (yesterday) I held my first constituency surgery, in Bromyard. People came to see me about issues including health and care, support for veterans, education, and planning. I’m really keen to remain as accessible as possible for local people, and so I am hoping to run surgeries more or less every Friday morning, in a range of locations all around the county. Unfortunately because of the change to the Parliamentary timetable I won’t be able to do a surgery on the next couple of Fridays but after that I’ll aim to have a regular timetable. Surgery locations will be advertised on my website and my social media channels, and people can book an appointment by emailing my team on ellie@elliechowns.org.uk.

I’m also keen to keep on visiting as many local businesses, charities, schools, colleges, community groups and local events as possible. Please do let me know if there’s anything coming up that I should be aware of, or if you’d like to invite me on a visit. I’ll try to fit in as much as I possibly can. My plan generally is to spend Monday - Thursday working in Westminster, and Friday - Saturday out and about in the constituency.

As for this weekend, I’m going to catch up on sleep! We’ve also got a big celebration party planned tomorrow for everyone involved in the campaign, so that will be lovely opportunity to say thank you in person to the many hundreds of people who, working together, won this change. I’ve got several hundred thankyou cards to write, as well as a Maiden Speech of course! And there's a certain football game tomorrow evening!

I’ll sign off for now, and will be in touch again in about a week’s time. For now I’ll leave you with a round-up of all the media coverage we’ve had for North Herefordshire in the past week!

Thanks again and all the best,

Ellie

Media highlights:

Friday 5th: Radio 4 and 5 interview from the count, BBC Hereford & Worcester interview at the count, BBC Politics Midlands filming in Ledbury, 5 Live lunchtime show, Times Radio in the afternoon, LBC in the evening, interview with a Sunday Times journalist. Guardian coverage here and here.

Saturday 6th: Channel 4 crew filmed me in Leominster and interviewed voters; BBC News Channel interview in the evening.

Sunday 7th: BBC Politics Midlands live Sunday panel show (also this article); 5 Live in the evening

Monday 8th: ITV crew followed my journey to Westminster for my first day; multiple journalists recorded interviews at our ‘4 Green MPs’ photocall.

Tuesday 9th: BBC Hereford & Worcester interview, BBC Politics Midlands interview, BBC News Channel interview

Thursday 11th: Ledbury Reporter interview; ITV Central Lobby panel show. The Guardian published my op ed on PR.

Friday 12th: 5 Live interview; BBC R4 The World Tonight interview.

Dr Ellie Chowns

Ellie's updates on parliamentary and constituency work

December 2024

November 2024

October 2024

Late September 2024

Early September 2024

Late July 2024

Early July 2024

Dr Ellie Chowns

for North Herefordshire

About Ellie

The Green Party