Iain Stewart MP column: 'Celebrating The Queen, helping Ukrainians in Milton Keynes and latest on new £150m Santander HQ coming to town'

Firstly, I want to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee on the 6th of February. The Queen has been an outstanding figurehead and role model for the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and I want to send my best wishes as she continues her reign. I look forward to the upcoming year as we celebrate Her Majesty’s wonderful achievement.

I also want to take this opportunity to voice my support for Ukraine and its people against the Russian’s invasion. It was a moving experience being in the Chamber and clapping the Ukrainian Ambassador. who was in the gallery. It was also a powerful, and historical, moment listening to Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, address the Houses of Commons. I wholeheartedly agree with the Prime Minister, Putin must fail. My team and I have also been assisting a number of Ukrainian's who live in Milton Keynes and have family still in Ukraine.

It has been another busy month of being active in the constituency and I want to update you with some of the things I have been doing in Milton Keynes.

I met with Santander UK CEO, Nathan Bostock, to see the latest progress on the business’ new headquarters in MK. Santander is currently building a new £150m state-of-the-art campus near the train station in Central Milton Keynes which will become their new UK headquarters. I was joined by CEO Nathan Bostock on the construction site to see how work was coming along and discuss Santander’s role within the Milton Keynes community. It was an amazing experience to walk around the new UK Headquarters of Santander and see the progress of the construction, as well as learning what each area of the building is going to become. The highlight of the tour was going to the top level and looking over the skyline, a view I am jealous of Santander's employees having.

Also, I visited the Milton Keynes YMCA which is located in Central Milton Keynes. I met with Simon and Lisa from the MK YMCA to hear about what they do and see the new facilities since its renovation. The MK YMCA offer a pathway for homeless youngsters to get into work and receive support, and I learned about the various stages along the route. On the campus, the MK YMCA has a cafe, nursery and meeting rooms, all of which offer opportunities for residents to gain experience and employment. Having a tour of the MK YMCA, I saw the facilities on offer for residents including a music room, communal areas and seeing the range of rooms available. I was pleased to hear about some of the success stories of residents getting into their dream jobs and residents responding well to support and services that are on offer.

Recently, I visited Careys' training facility in Bleak Hall. Careys have been in Milton Keynes for 40 years, contributing to the completion of over 100 projects across the city. In partnership with MK College, Careys are offering apprentices the opportunity to receive training in the construction industry and receive a qualification to recognise this. The training facilities at Bleak Hall provide apprentices a hands-on approach to learning the various aspects of construction in an inside and outside environment, and I was pleased to see some brilliant examples of what the apprentices have built. Also, I welcomed the news that the materials used for training are reusable, limiting waste and the impact on the environment.

As ever, if my office or I can be of any help, please do get in touch with us at [email protected] or on 01908 686830.