News - Mary Kelly Foy MP

The Internal Market Bill and the Good Friday Agreement

Yesterday Mary spoke in the Internal Market Bill debate, and highlighted the real threat that this Bill poses to the Good Friday Agreement. Mary spoke on the work that communities in Ireland have done to ensure a lasting peace, and that the Government should not be so complacent that this…

Mary challenges Education Secretary on universities

During the COVID-19 debate earlier today, Mary challenged the Education Secretary of the Government’s handling of the return of students to university towns and cities. Mary highlighted the failure of the Government to adequately plan for the return of schools, it’s failure to deal with the exam crisis, and asked…

Mary’s statement on the Overseas Operations Bill

I wanted to update my constituents and local Labour Party members regarding my decision to abstain on the Overseas Operations Bill on Wednesday night. Just to be clear, I do not support the Bill in its current form, and I am fundamentally opposed to any legislation that allows for human…

Government U-turn on childcare

On Friday 18 September, the Government introduced new restrictions in the North East to help combat the rise in the rate of COVID-19 infections, however this meant that despite people being able to continue going to work, they were no longer able to rely on grandparents for childcare. This left…

Mary’s statement on the Internal Market Bill

I have been contacted by a number of constituents regarding the Internal Market Bill and I am aware that it will be of concern to many people in the City of Durham. I am firmly opposed to this Bill for a number of reasons and I will be opposing it…

Mary visits University Hospital of North Durham

During the pandemic, Mary has been in regular contact with the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, however the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that so far, she has been unable to visit the hospital in person. On Thursday 20 August however, Mary was pleased to…

MP writes to Secretary of State on A Level fiasco

Last week, students across the country received their A Level grades and, despite Government promises that almost no students would suffer any downgrading as a result of being awarded grades through an algorithm, it became clear that a huge number achieved grades far below what they and their teachers expected.…

Mary writes to the Premier League

Following a significant amount of correspondence from constituents regarding the Premier League’s delay in making a decision over the recently abandoned purchase of Newcastle United, Mary has written to the Premier League to demand answers as to why the process took so long, and why communication with fans groups was…

MP speaks on the importance of music during pandemic

As each Parliamentary session comes to an end, MPs are allowed to speak in the Chamber on any subject they choose. Naturally, Mary chose to talk about her love of music and the importance of musicians and artists in our communities. For many people, music has been a lifeline that…

Mary delivers fruit and veg in Ludworth

On Saturday 18 July Mary once again joined the brilliant team at Ludworth Community Association as they continued their wonderful work supporting their community. This time, the team were delivering fruit and salad packages, and even though there was a little bit of rain, Mary still got the chance to…

Mary visits Poplar Tree Garden Centre

Mary recently had the opportunity to visit Poplar Tree Garden Centre and Brambles Coffee Shop following the reopening of garden centres across the UK. During her visit, Mary had the chance to catch up with Caroline Walker, Centre Manager, Paul Curry, Director and Frank Curry, the Managing Director of the…

Mary write to Chancellor on debt cancellation

Today Mary has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask that he raise the cancellation of the debt of the world’s poorest countries at this weekend’s meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers. As the whole world is considering how it can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital…

Mary speaks about child poverty in Finance Bill debate

Yesterday, Mary spoke in the Finance Bill debate about how the Government’s policies on employment, workers rights and welfare sanctions exacerbate child poverty. It seems that this Government change their minds on harmful policies only when it is confronted by huge public pressure to do so. Mary made that point…

MP writes to Health Secretary on testing data

Along with her County Durham Labour colleagues, yesterday Mary wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock to ask that national coronavirus testing data be shared locally. It is vital for public health that local authorities such as Durham County Council are given access to…

Mary writes to PM on issues of race and racism

Over the past few weeks, Mary has received a significant amount of correspondence from constituents who wished to share their views about race and racism in the UK, and abroad. In a wide-ranging letter, Mary has now contact the Prime Minister to highlight these issues, and share her constituents thoughts…

Mary writes to Government about coronavirus testing data

Along with her North East colleagues Kevan Jones and Grahame Morris, Mary recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the need for testing data to be shared with local authorities. Local outbreaks across the country have highlighted the important role that local authorities play…

New Elvet Bridge

Mary has been contacted by a number of businesses in Durham who are concerned about the impact of the New Elvet Bridge closure, especially coming so soon after the lockdown period. While these works need to be carried out to ensure the safety of the bridge for traffic, and the…

Response from No.10 Downing Street on Dominic Cummings

At the end of May, Mary wrote to the Prime Minister to raise her concerns about the trip that his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings took to Durham during the lockdown period. As you will recall, despite an instruction from the Government to stay at home, especially if you were displaying…

Black Lives Matter – Mary’s Statement

Over the last week I have watched in horror and sadness at the scenes unfolding in the USA. I have since been contacted by hundreds of constituents who share those emotions, those who want to know my views on the events of the last week, on the BlackLivesMatter protests and…

Mary writes to Equalities Minister

Dear Minister I am writing to you following my question in the House. You suggested that I write to you in order to receive a detailed response to my question, which asked if the Government would commit to the creation of a cross government, cross party strategy, led by the…

Mary backs call to stop exports to US

Following the murder of George Floyd at hands of a police officer in the United States of America, Mary has joined with a number of MPs to add her name to letter by Dawn Butler MP which calls on the Government to immediately suspend export licences of all riot related…