Karen Bradley

LAST week saw the State Opening of Parliament and for the first time in as long as any of us can remember, the Queen did not deliver the Queen’s Speech.

Since 2010, when I was first elected, I have been through many State Openings and it was really strange for myself and my colleagues not to see her there.

The Prince of Wales’s look at the Crown said everything and in her Jubilee year, it is a reminder to all of us just how long she has dedicated herself to public service and how inevitably at 96 she is having to limit her official engagements.

I welcome the 38 new Bills set out in the Queen’s Speech.

Putin’s attack on Ukraine and the battle against Covid have caused huge disruptions to the global economy and I look forward to debating these Bills in more detail.

On a local note, I was pleased to visit Leek Cricket Club recently.

I was given a tour of the club and grounds and spoke to chairman of the grounds committee, Malcolm Tweats about his ideas for a better, more economical use of water.

Mr Tweats had read about the Severn Trent Community Fund and wanted to discuss his idea to collect and store rain water for use on the pitch during dry weather.

He explained how rainwater from the clubhouse roof, the scoreboard and the groundsman’s rooves runs into purpose -built soakaways.

However, when there is no rain, they need to water the wicket and square to maintain the grass and make sure the wickets are safe to play on.

There are many teams using Leek Cricket Club and water is critical to having good, safe pitches for them to play on.

I will do all I can to be of assistance to hopefully help resolve this problem.