A motion to celebrate the anniversary of a hit Dolly Parton song has been sponsored by the MP for Sheffield Hallam, Olivia Blake.
Parton’s ‘I will always love you’ is celebrating its 50th anniversary at Dollywood, and MP Olivia Blake has sponsored an early day motion (EDM) to recognise the occasion.
Ms Blake, who was one of the first six signatures on the EDM, said: “Dolly Parton is an icon. I know her music holds a special place in a lot of people’s hearts but the impact she has had goes beyond music, funding lifesaving Covid vaccines and helping inspire a whole generation of young people to love reading.
“I am proud to join MPs in marking this special anniversary.”
Dolly Parton has previously worked to make an impact in Yorkshire, as in 2007 she began to send books to 13,000 children in Rotherham as part of a wider reading initiative for children.
The Imagination Library was founded in 1995 to provide children with a book each month until their fifth birthday and has sent 604,963 books to UK children since its conception.
The project ended in Rotherham in 2019 due to the council withdrawing its financial support.
The early day motion was tabled by Jim Shannon, the Democratic Unionist Party MP for Strangford, who noted “the sentiment behind this song and what it means to so many.”
The motion went on to state the MP for Strangford’s wife was included in the many who it means something to.
The motion has since gained 38 MP’s signatures.
While the motion has been well recieved by some, not everyone has taken it in a positive way stating there are bigger issues in the UK that need attention.
