As UK Parliament Week reaches its mid-point, today, I can officially share the exciting news that a very special visitor will be taking up residence in Newport during early July 2022.

Made up of 35,000 individual Lego bricks, Hope, the Lego Suffragette is 5’6” tall and will spend from 1^st to 11th July 2022 in the city.

To celebrate Hope’s stay, my team and i will be working with friends from around the constituency to host a series of events, from school visits to afternoon tea, craft and STEM activities and much more, with the aim of raising awareness of the history of the suffragettes, and Newport’s very own Statue For Lady Rhondda campaign.

I am really pleased that Hope will be here in Newport next summer, She’s very special and the work that’s gone into creating her is absolutely massive.  Her outfit alone is made up of around 14,000 bricks, with 12 different colours of brick used in total.

I am looking forward to watching Hope inspire stories and conversations about Newport’s own Suffragette history, and democracy overall.

“It is so exciting that we are going to have 11 days of Hope in Newport,” Julie Nicholas, the organiser behind the Statue for Lady Rhondda campaign said.

“I am so glad that lots of children will get the chance to meet Hope, whilst learning about the campaign for a permanent monument to our own Newport suffragette, Lady Rhondda.”

More information and a timetable of activities around Hope’s visit to Newport next summer will be released in the spring. Keep an eye on social media and local press for updates. We will be using the hashtag #helohope