“This week has been a challenging one for commuters and a number of constituents have been in touch with me regarding their difficulties when attempting to travel by train since Tuesday. South Western Railway has been affected by what appears to be a ‘perfect storm’ of industrial action and signal failure, all of which led, on Wednesday, to advice not to travel. Clearly this situation cannot continue and I have written to the Transport Secretary to call for improvements.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to appear on Politics Live with Andrew Neil during Prime Minister’s Questions. Andrew is well known for being tough on MPs – as well he should be – however it is always a little nerve wracking before appearing on his programme. Following this, Radio 4 listeners may have heard me on World at One discussing the frankly absurd playground antics of some of my colleagues in their anonymous briefings to the press regarding the Prime Minister’s term in office. I was pleased, therefore, to see the vast majority of those at Wednesday evening’s 1922 committee applaud the PM – who is working very hard to get the best Brexit deal for the UK.

Next week I look forward to welcoming some local farmers for a tour of Parliament. Members tours are free and if you are interested in coming to visit the ‘mother of Parliaments’ please contact my office for details.”

Caroline Nokes MP