PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 24 th FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin Constituency, joined staff at MHA Elmside Care home in Hitchin to celebrate care worker Barbara Ashton’s 10 years of service across MHA ran homes locally.   Since joining MHA, the UK’s largest charity run care provider, in 2016 Barbara has become a trusted and much‑loved member of the care team. Her compassion, professionalism, and steady presence

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 23 rd FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has launched a brand‑new February Street Art Competition, inviting young people across the constituency to showcase what they love most about their community. The competition calls on young designers, creators, and artists aged 13–18 to submit ideas for a new public mural in Hitchin Town. Entrants are encouraged to capture something meaningful, a land

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 20 th FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has urged Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to make use of new legal powers and funding to improve local bus services.   Writing to the council’s Chief Executive in a letter, Strathern called on HCC to utilise the new pilot powers and measures in the Bus Services Act to address local bus challenges.   Last year Strathern helped secur

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 17 th FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has welcomed news Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) are among the local authorities set to benefit from the Government’s groundbreaking national programme to write off 90% of historic Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) debt.   SEND demand has grown nationally in recent years, stretching council

Business leaders from across North Hertfordshire came together yesterday morning at Willmott Dixon’s Hitchin offices for a special National Apprenticeship Week Business Breakfast, hosted by Anna Morrison from Amazing Apprenticeships, Natalie Sidey from Willmott Dixon, and Hitchin MP Alistair Strathern. The event shone a spotlight on the vital role employers play in helping young people and adults build their skills through high‑quality apprenticeships.   The breakfast brought

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has written to Royal Mail demanding immediate action to address months of unreliable postal deliveries that have caused significant disruption for residents across Hitchin and the surrounding towns and villages.   In recent months, the MPs office has received a surge of emails from constituents reporting repeated delivery failures. These include missed hospital and GP appointments due to delayed NHS letters, disruption to time sensitive cor

Hitchin has launched its bid to be named the UK’s Town of Culture for 2028.   The bid is being led by Hitchin Creative and Visit Hitchin, focusing on the people and organisations that provide the rich variety of culture across the community.   For years, Hitchin has been known for its range of musicians, artists and designers living and working in homes, studios, places of worship and entertainment, many with international reputations.   “Hitchin’s bid for UK Town of Culture

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has welcomed the news that Labour will be funding clean power upgrades that cut energy bills for the NHS. The Government has today announced details of the nearly 200 NHS sites that will benefit from funding, jointly delivered with Great British Energy, with Hitchin’s Bedford Road Health Centre in line for funding. Today’s announcement builds on the work of Great British Energy’s solar for schools and hospitals programme and will mean less

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has welcomed news that the Government is investing an extra £370k in hospices serving his constituency after he campaigned to alleviate hospice funding pressures in Parliament last year. The Government is providing Keech Hospice Care in Luton an extra  £262,476 while Garden House Hospice in Hertfordshire will receive an additional £110,013. These funds are part of an extra £25m funding for hospices across the country announced by Health Min

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 6 th FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, celebrated the news that an additional peak time stopping train service from Hitchin would be returning after representations from his office.  Passengers travelling from Hitchin and surrounding stations will benefit from the reinstatement of the morning stopping service to London King’s Cross, following recent concerns raised about its removal durin

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 2 nd FEBRUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern, Labour MP for Hitchin, asked the Defence secretary today about high home insurance premiums faced by serving troops serving abroad.   Historically, thousands of our armed forces have faced premiums on their home insurance because of their extended time away from home. Home insurance increases the more a home is to be unoccupied over the course of a year. This means

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 30th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern MP has welcomed investment in Kelvin Grove Crisis House in Bedford, a new addition to the local area’s mental health support system, due to open in spring 2026.     This innovative service, run by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), will provide a safe, domestic, therapeutic alternative to hospital admission for adults experiencing acute mental health crisis.    B

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP THURSDAY 29 th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Last night, Alistair Strathern, the MP for Hitchin launched a new parliamentary group to focus on the challenges facing men and boys across the country.   The Labour Group for Men and Boys aims to bring together MPs and civil society groups working on a whole host of issues from men’s mental health to paternity leave. Supporting the launch were a wide range of groups from Movember, the

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 27th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed the Government’s announcement of the biggest change for leaseholders in a generation.   Strathern has been a regular campaigner on the many challenges facing leasehold home owners in his Hitchin constituency. One such story hit the headlines in 2024 when a 90-year-old resident, along with his neighbours, was hit by a 9000%

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDESDAY 21 st JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Following campaigning by MPs including Hitchin’s Alistair Strathern, the Government has set out further action to improve the relationship of children and young people with mobile phones and social media.   The government will bring forward a rapid three-month consultation on additional measures to keep children safe online. This will include consideration of options such as restrictin

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 19 th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, is urging Herts County Council to take action to address the unacceptable congestion throughout the town.   Several overlapping roadworks and utility projects, including several related to gas network upgrades by Cadent, have caused roads across Hitchin and nearby villages to come to a standstill over the last week. The long delays, and increased press

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 16th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, today welcomed the decision by X (formerly Twitter) to regulate more strictly its controversial Grok image‑generation tools, after raising the issue in Parliament and challenging Ofcom to act.   Strathern was the first MP to raise the issue directly with Minsters in Home Office Questions  once Parliament returned in January, and has be

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 14 th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Ahead of the Government's forthcoming proposed reforms to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in schools, Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has written to the Education Secretary to demand local families’ experiences are at their heart.    This follows the most recent round of SEND workshops ran by the MP, to allow local parents and educato

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 12 th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, will be leading a 4.5km walk and talk event in Hitchin on Friday 17 January, as part of a nationwide programme of events highlighting men’s mental health around Blue Monday.   The walk is being organised by the Labour Group for Men and Boys, with dozens of MPs across the country holding 4.5km walks, runs and cycling events to draw attention to the ch

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 7 th JANUARY 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alistair Strathern, Labour and Co‑operative MP for Hitchin, was pleased to welcome colleagues from the Co‑operative Party to the Red Lion pub  in Preston, Hertfordshire – to celebrate the UK’s first ever community‑owned pub.   The visit celebrated Preston’s remarkable achievement in coming together to save a much‑loved local asset over 40 years ago, and highlighted how communities can