PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 3rd JUNE 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, is calling for Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and Stevenage Borough Council to work in partnership with the Lister Hospital to bring forward solutions to ongoing parking pressures affecting both patients and staff at the site. He has launched a petition to generate momentum behind his campaign, with over 400 signatures already less than 48 hours after l

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 1st JUNE 2026 Alistair Strathern, the MP for Hitchin, has called on Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to urgently act to make the B656 at Little Almshoe safer. The small hamlet sits at a crossroads at the B656, between Luton and Hitchin. It has seen numerous serious accidents recently, with local residents highlighting 8 dangerous accidents already this year. Strathern has received serious concerns from constituents about

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 27th MAY 2026 Alistair Strathern, Member of Parliament for Hitchin, has called on the Education Secretary to listen directly to local families as the Government moves forward with major reforms to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. Over the past year, the Hitchin MP has held a series of consultation workshops with parents, carers, and education professionals across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, g

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 26th MAY 2026 Concerns are growing across local communities following Stagecoach’s announcement of significant timetable changes to the Number 9 bus service between Stevenage, Hitchin and Bedford, due to take effect at the end of May. The changes will see a reduction in service frequency, with these Number 9 buses serving places like Holwell, Arlesey and Shefford running once every two hours rather than one per hour. Hitch

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 20th MAY Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed the publishing of a Health Impact Assessment into the of Hitchin’s Industrial Centre. The Assessment was instigated following calls by Strathern and Hertfordshire County Councillor Ian Albert for more coordinated and robust action following a number of fires at recycling centres on the industrial estate. Issued jointly by Hertfordshire County Counc

PRESS RELEASE Alistair Strathern MP, Member of Parliament for Hitchin, enjoyed an early morning walk on Saturday with local men’s, men's walks walking groups and local mental health champions. The walk in Henlow was the second men’s health ‘walk and talk’ event Mr Strathern has organised this year to highlight the need for action on men’s mental health and provide an informal space for men locally to get out and chat with others locally. With the life expectancy between m

Alistair Strathern MP, Member of Parliament for Hitchin, welcomed news that the Langford Branch of Safron Health Partnership will be expanding GP appointments by 80% from June this year. Mr Strathern has been working closely with the local NHS leadership, Saffron Health, and local patients to push for expansion at the Langford practice since last year, after the growth of the village placed significant pressures on appointments at the partnership’s Langford branch. Afte

A brand‑new, state‑of‑the‑art Audiology Hub has officially been opened at Lister Hospital, marking a major step forward in improving hearing services for patients across the area. The facility, backed by over £1 million of Government investment, will significantly expand local capacity and bring world‑class audiology technology to the Lister. Alistair Strathern, Member of Parliament for Hitchin, attended the opening and welcomed the transformation the new hub represents. He s

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has met with local horse riders at The Holt Farm to hear first‑hand their concerns about dangerous driving, speeding and a lack of appropriate safety measures on rural roads across the area. Several riders shared their experiences of near‑misses and collisions involving fast‑moving vehicles, highlighting the urgent need for greater awareness and respect for the Highway Code. During the meeting, riders described a range of hazards the

PRESS RELEASE 30TH APRIL 2026 Alistair Strathern MP and residents of Great Wymondley and Little Wymondley have come together to raise urgent concerns about the growing volume of heavy‑vehicle traffic passing through their narrow village roads, presenting what they describe as an “untenable” and increasingly dangerous situation for families, school children and the wider community. At a community meeting this week, residents shared a petition of nearly 100 signatures with the

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 22nd APRIL 2026 Hitchin rail users will benefit from an extra PM peak service from London King’s Cross. From May 17th, the Great Northern 18:54 service from London King’s Cross to Cambridge will also call at Hitchin, providing extra capacity and a faster evening travel option for Hitchin commuters. The change is intended to better support passengers travelling home during the busy evening peak period, responding to demand

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 17th APRIL 2026 Hitchin’s MP, Alistair Strathern, has invited local residents to a public meeting to discuss health concerns of Hitchin Industrial Centre, following a series of fires. The meeting on a Health Impact Assessment into the industrial centre, will take place at 6.45pm on Friday 24 April 2026 at Holy Saviour Church, Hitchin, and will bring together Key local stakeholders. Between 2024 and 2025, there were six fires

From the petrol pump to the supermarket, to bills and Christmas time, the rising cost-of-living has been a phrase we not only see debated in Westminster but reminded to us in our day-to day lives all of the time. Wars and the pandemic have given us years of high inflation and difficult-to-stomach prices. It is no wonder that for five straight years, time and again, voters have told pollsters this is their number one issue. It could not be more pertinent at the moment. The US

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 14 th APRIL 2026 Alistair Strathern, Labour MP for the Hitchin constituency, convened MPs, ministers and leading campaigners on tackling the manosphere to discuss how the Government can do more to protect young men and boys growing up in Britain today. The event, “Tackling the Manosphere”, set amidst the Government’s consultation on social media reform, discussed how to not only make online spaces safer for boys and young me

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 10 th APRIL 2026 North Hertfordshire College has been awarded £750,000 in funding to support significant upgrades across its campuses, ensuring that students continue to learn in modern, safe and high‑quality environments. The investment forms part of a wider national programme to improve facilities at further education colleges across England. For North Hertfordshire College, the funding will support essential maintenance an

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP THURSDAY 9 th APRIL 2026 The second wave of the Government’s cost-of-living measures will come into force this week benefitting families, workers and pensioners in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The Government’s central domestic priority is easing the cost-of-living, putting the British people first with new policies aimed at getting money back into people’s pockets. Thanks to Labour’s decisions at the last Budget, the followin

31st March 2026 PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Last night, Alistair Strathern MP brought together local parents, psychologists, campaigners, and school staff for a community discussion on upcoming changes to social media restrictions for young people. The conversation follows growing international momentum, like recent action in Australia, to take stronger, evidence‑based steps to protect children online. Parents described feeling as though they had been “on a runawa

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 30 th MARCH 2026 Helping Herts Homeless, a homeless sanctuary, has paid tribute to its long‑serving Treasurer, Peter Warren, who has stepped down after an extraordinary 25 years of continuous service to the charity and its mission to support people experiencing homelessness across Hertfordshire. Peter first became involved in 1999, when the charity, then known as The North Herts Sanctuary, was seeking a new treasurer. Initial

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 25th MARCH 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has celebrated news Central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire will receive a substantial increase in high‑needs capital funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), following the latest national allocations issued by the Department for Education. Following Strathern’s campaigning on SEND in Beds and Herts, for the upcoming fina

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 24th MARCH 2026 Alistair Strathern, the MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed securing Shefford Lower School Government funding to expand its nursery as part of its Best Start programme. Thousands more parents across the country are set to benefit, including in Beds and Herts, as the government has announced an expansion of childcare to over 300 more schools from September. Shefford Lower is one of 331 schools acro