Saturday 29th June was Armed Forces Day and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the 11,300 people working in our Armed Forces and crucial defence jobs in the West Midlands.
It was the eleventh Armed Forces Day, and it is an opportunity to say thank you to those around the world who are in the regular service, the reserves, the cadets and those who served in uniform, our brave veterans. It is a chance to recognise the great sacrifice they have made for their country – often spending long periods of time away from home.
It was certainly a busy week with the Somme commemoration in Belfast, honouring the memory of the fallen on the 103rd anniversary of the battle, at the dispatch box in Westminster for Northern Ireland Orals, back out to Northern Ireland and finally back home to Staffordshire Moorlands for meetings and to catch up on casework and some surgery appointments.
Last week also saw the announcement of the possible sale of Merlin Entertainments, which includes Alton Towers.
I immediately contacted the management at Alton Towers following the news that a Consortium comprised of Blackstone, KIRKBI (Merlin’s largest shareholder) and CPPIB had made an offer to buy Merlin Entertainments, to seek reassurance concerning local jobs and a commitment to Alton Towers.
The management at Alton Towers have reassured me that ‘the Consortium plans to keep open all existing Merlin locations in the UK and is not intending to dispose of any material part of the Merlin business. It has also indicated it does not envisage any material changes to employees or Management.’
Alton Towers is a fantastic tourist attraction here in Staffordshire Moorlands and I hope that the sale will create even more jobs and bring more tourists to the area.