Last week, we welcomed Calum Miller MP, Member of Parliament for Bicester & Woodstock for a visit. He was drawn to us from news about our brilliant charity cycle ride this summer – we raised more than £5,000 for Emmaus Oxford, a charity providing a home and meaningful work for people who have experienced homelessness, helping them to find a way to move on with their lives.
Calum wanted to learn more about us and the ethos behind this charity event, which we were happy to explain. Our conversation ended up being very wide-ranging, including both national issues (the effects of the recent Budget on business and SMEs in particular, the educational needs of young people to help them become better contributors to the economy and the community) and local ones (public transport and traffic around Oxford, the need for food banks in a city like Oxford which is perceived to be wealthy)… and many more.
I found Calum to be very well informed, a great listener, intelligent, and very candid about the challenges he faces as an MP looking to achieve things for his constituency. He is also a local, which is helpful – he has spent most of his adult life in Oxfordshire and has lived with his family within the new Bicester and Woodstock constituency for the past 12 years.
Some of our team already know that he is a “lovely guy”, as they have been school parents together, and coach rugby at our Kidlington club alongside him. I look forward to being able to talk more with him in the future.
