Credit: Jenny Rogers Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, is urging residents to get behind a new charity Christmas single released by local veterans' organisation The Muster Point. Based in Stevenage, The Muster Point is a veteran-led community group that provides peer support, regular meetups and practical assistance to members of the Armed Forces community across the surrounding area. This winter, the charity has joined forces with the Chicksands and Henlow Military Wives C

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has urged Hertfordshire County Council to use £5.6m in additional investment funding from the government to tackle ‘long overlooked’ priorities in Hitchin, including progressing a link road for the industrial estate at the north of the town and delivering eastern access at Hitchin Station. The government announced £5.6m in additional capital funding for Hertfordshire to drive growth and opportunities for the region next year. It follows re

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has celebrated the news that scores of high street businesses across his constituency will have their business rates scrapped as a result of today's Budget from the Labour Government, with many more seeing bills reduced or frozen. Alistair has been actively speaking up on the need to do more to support high street businesses across the towns and villages he represents, running weekly ‘Small Business Saturday shout outs’, pressing Minister

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, joined with campaigners from across the country to urge MPs to back his Private Members Bill to make Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory until the age of 18, closing what they describe as a dangerous gap in education. Young people aged 16 to 19 experience the highest rates of domestic abuse of any age group, yet under current legislation the need for education settings to provide RSE ends at 16. As a result, millions of teenage

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has welcomed the news that Lister Hospital in Stevenage will receive £2 million in new government funding to increase hospital bed capacity and help the NHS manage winter pressures. The investment will provide additional escalation, general, and acute beds. This will enable more patients attending Lister A&E to be admitted to appropriate hospital beds when demand is high, helping to reduce delays in emergency departments and ensure patients

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, joined the team behind The Secret Life of Dads podcast for a Pints & Ponytails session in Parliament. It was led by the podcast’s hosts, Mathew Carter and Lawrence Price. They taught MPs how to do ponytails, plaits and bunches, while explaining the benefits of the scheme. Pints & Ponytails is a supportive space for men to talk about mental health, fatherhood and parenting challenges. As Mathew and Lawrence explained, men often find it easie

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 6th OCTOBER 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Local Hitchin MP Alistair Strathern has welcomed confirmation that the Government will write off 90% of historic Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) deficits held by Hertfordshire and Central Bedfordshire councils, freeing up millions of pounds for frontline support for children and young people. The agreement follows months of engagement with ministers and officials to mak

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP THURSDAY 1st OCTOBER 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has written a letter to technology giants Apple and Google, signed by more than 100 parliamentarians, urging them to introduce stronger protections to prevent children from being groomed, exploited and blackmailed through the sharing of nude images. The letter to both companies CEOs sent by Strathern in collaboration with the NSPCC, calls for them to introduce comprehensiv

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, joined the Icknield Way Association this week to celebrate the historic local path through his constituency - one of Britain's oldest routes. Strathern met with Douglas Landman from the Icknield Way Association, joined by his dog Sunny, at the trail to learn more and share his support for the trail. He looks forward to working with local campaigners, wal

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP THURSDAY 24th SEPTEMBER 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed news that Garden House Hospice will receive £150,000 in transitional funding from the local Integrated Care Board (ICB), helping to support the hospice as it works towards a sustainable long-term future. Strathern has met with Garden House several times at their site and in Westminster, helping secure previous investment and support for the

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 16th SEPTEMBER 2026 Residents in Great Ashby have been given welcome news in the campaign to protect local bus services, after Arriva confirmed it has will be reinstating 30-minute SB7 services. The announcement follows a strong community campaign launched after Arriva revealed plans to reduce the SB7 service from every 30 minutes to only one per hour. In response, local MP Alistair Strathern, working with Great Ashby Cou

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2026 The experience of a local family repeatedly let down by the Family Court System were raised in Parliament today by Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin. The mother and daughter have been waiting for a non-molestation order since November 2025, in which time they endured eight ineffective court dates. On each of these occasions, the family had attended proceedings only to hear that due to process failings,

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, is urging Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to move swiftly to improve safety at some of Hitchin's busiest junctions, following several accidents in the last week. Strathern is calling for action to improve safety at the Charlton Road/A602 junction once and for all - a long-standing concern for local residents and road users. Just in the last week, the junction has seen

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP THURSDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2026 Alistair Strathern, Member of Parliament for Hitchin, joined parents, and campaigners in central London to call for urgent improvements to paternity leave. The rally, organised by The Dad Shift as part of its #ParentStrike campaign, brought together parents from across the country to highlight the challenges facing families and to push for reforms including better paid paternity leave and more flexible wor

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 17th AUGUST 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, and Great Ashby’s district councillors are urging Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to work with Arriva to prevent planned cuts to its SB7 bus service. Strathern, and Great Ashby councillors Laura Williams and Vijaiya Poopisnglsam, have written to Herts County Council to ask the council to intervene to prevent the half-hourly service moving to just one bus

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP FRIDAY 7th AUGUST 2026 Alistair Strathern, the MP for Hitchin, met with the local Sikh Games competitors representing Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to congratulate them on their impressive third-place finish in the football competition at the 2026 Sikh Games. The Sikh Games, held annually and bringing together people of all ages from across the UK for a celebration of sport, teamwork, and community spirit, saw strong participation t

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 5th AUGUST 2026 Over 50 MPs, convened by Alistair Strathern MP, are urging agencies to get a move on and approve a Government-backed scheme which would make air conditioning more affordable for households across the country. The Member of Parliament for Hitchin has coordinated an open letter signed by more than 50 MPs from across the UK, calling on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and the United Kingdom Accred

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP TUESDAY 4th AUGUST 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has welcomed a major government announcement that will allow thousands more young people to benefit from discounted rail travel, following representations he made to the Department for Transport calling for the change. The Government has confirmed that from 17 August 2026, 16-17 Saver Railcards will remain valid for a full year from the date of purchase, rather than expiri

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP WEDNESDAY 29th JULY 2026 Alistair Strathern MP has welcomed the withdrawal of plans that would have paved the way for weekend parking charges at Arlesey Station's Henlow-side car park, describing it as a significant victory for local residents. The application sought to remove a long-standing Section 106 planning obligation that guarantees free weekend parking at the car park. Following strong opposition from local residents, rail

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP MONDAY 27th JULY 2026 Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, visited BuzzWorks in Hitchin this week to meet their hardworking volunteers, learn more about their educational work, and highlight the role the charity plays in helping local communities discover the vital world of bees. BuzzWorks is a volunteer-run association offering hands-on learning at its Bee Discovery Centre on Old Hale Way, where families, schools, an