It was a fascinating week in Parliament as I witnessed my first King’s Speech on Tuesday following the prorogation ten days prior. As a result, the House was not sitting on Monday, but I was in London for a series of meetings with California state legislators about the housing crisis. It was a really interesting discussion and there are clearly lots of similarities between the problems we face here and the US.

The King’s Speech brought with it much pomp and circumstance, but it’s essentially the process by which the Government sets out its legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary year. We were summoned to hear the King in the House of Lords, as he set out what was a fairly paltry offering from the Tories. More experienced colleagues than I reckon that the business outlined in the speech could be completed by a serious administration in around a month, further evidence that this Government is in its dying days.

On Wednesday there was an urgent statement on the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It’s clear that the position on the ground is desperate – as it is in Gaza – and I have tabled a number of parliamentary questions on issues ranging from access to aid, to the holding of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. The business in the Chamber was the continued debate on the King’s Speech. Convention dictates that there are six full days of debate on the content of the speech and the Government’s agenda, not that Tory MPs are queueing up to speak in support.

I was also pleased on Wednesday to meet with the Co-Chair of LGBT Labour, Cllr Joe Dharampal-Hornby, to discuss the Government’s decision to back out of a ban on conversion therapy. I support a full ban on all forms of conversion therapy and am pleased that Labour is committed to a ban.

Thursday was a busy day in the Chamber, which began with an urgent question from Yvette Cooper on the operational independence of the police. This followed a series of disgraceful and inflammatory comments from the Home Secretary about the policing of protest marches. The Tory ministers attempting to defend Suella Braverman had no defence of her outrageous behaviour and it became clear her position was untenable.

In a week of appalling rhetoric from the Home Secretary, she also went public with her view that homelessness is a “lifestyle choice”, calling for tents to be taken from those living on the streets. I challenged the Leader of the House on this at Business Questions on Thursday, asking her to apologise for her colleague’s callous remarks. Unsurprisingly Mordaunt refused to do so, but I am relieved at least to see that such an inhumane proposal has not made it into the King’s Speech.

On Friday I was back in the constituency for a busy day of visits and meetings. It was particularly special to visit both Moss Park Primary and Egerton High School, to hear directly from their pupils. Last week was UK Parliament Week, so my Moss Park Primary visit included a Q&A sessionwith children about my role as a Member of Parliament. I also presented the new School Council members with their badges and gave them some tips on how to represent their classmates!

My visit to Egerton High School included a meeting with senior school leaders and the Chair of Governors to discuss a number of issues relating to school life. Following this I was shown round by four students who showcased all that was great about the school, and showed me some of their work. Egerton is doing brilliant work supporting our young people and it was a pleasure to visit.

The weekend was of course dominated by Remembrance events. Before I left Parliament on Thursday I had placed a poppy stake in New Palace Yard on behalf of the people of Stretford and Urmston, but the main event for me was Urmston’s Remembrance Parade. It was an honour to be present to remember the fallen with so many local residents, and I am grateful to council colleagues who represented me at the Stretford and Partington services happening at the same time.

I am always amazed by how many members of our community turn out to support these events year on year, and is just one of the many reasons that I am so proud to represent the people of Stretford and Urmston in Parliament.