My Personally Speaking Column in the Sentinel (25 September 2025) This month, I had the pleasure of visiting The Victoria – known to many as The Little Vic – to present Julie, Sarah, and their brilliant team with the award for Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Best Pub 2025. Over the summer, I held my Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Best Pub 2025 competition to celebrate the places that bring us together, support jobs, and play a vital role in our local economy and community life. Pubs are more

Today is World Parkinson’s Day – a chance to raise awareness of Parkinson’s, the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world, and to stand in solidarity with the 153,000 people across the UK who are living with it every day. Earlier this month, I joined Parkinson’s UK at a special event in Parliament. I had the privilege of hearing directly from people affected by Parkinson’s about the daily challenges they face – whether that’s waiting too long for specialist care, n