Blog Week Ending 20th August
Following a few meetings on Monday morning I had a very exciting day conducting tours of parliament followed by the Summer Reception at 10 Downing Street. I organised for our local business owners, councillors, parliamentarians and passionate Conservatives from our area to come together in one of the most famous addresses in the world to talk about Northumberland and all we have achieved since my election. Steven Barclay, Secretary of State for Health, gave an inspirational speech about the great things Northumberland has accomplished including the innovative modular hospital in Berwick which is being built in Cramlington by Merit. I want to personally thank everyone who attended and those who couldn’t make it but who always show strong support. I strongly believe that working together and building partnerships will give our county the brightest of futures.
The following day I took my family out for breakfast, it isn’t often we are away together, so I took the opportunity to have a good catch up and treat my grown up children to some pancakes! We then headed to Kings Cross station and made the journey home to get ready for a busy few days ahead.
On Wednesday I spent most of the morning zipping around Blyth Valley picking up tables, food and supplies for the Youth Festival taking place on Thursday. In the afternoon I visited the Blyth Wildlife Rescue, you may have seen articles recently about the charity sadly closing their doors to any new patients. Coral and John discussed their high veterinary bills, rises in general costs and a shortfall in donations, ultimately leading to them making their heart-breaking decision to close. We discussed funding options and I wanted to promote the crowdfunding page to anyone who can donate. The charity work with a whole range of animals from hedgehogs to swans, and they are all volunteers. Each year they admit over 2000 patients for rehabilitation including over 100 species of mammals and birds. They provide a service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year covering a wide area of the North East. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the patients and I will do my upmost to protect this charity and support them where I can. On the same day I was delighted to see progress on the road to halve inflation - a top priority for the Prime Minister. News broke that inflation has officially fallen down to 6.8% in two months. It’s inflation that eats into your savings and makes your money go less far and this Conservative government is taking measures to tackle it. It’s still early days, but we’re making progress to halve inflation; so let’s stick to the plan and get it done!
Thursday was the first ever Blyth Valley Youth Festival at Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project in Cramlington Village. After much planning and organising by all involved, the day was a huge success. From workshops by Tempest Martial Arts and a rodeo bull to live music and more - there was something for everyone! Most importantly, many young people walked away with smiles on their faces as well as useful advice and knowledge to unlock further access to training, skills and opportunity; helping to ensure young people across Blyth Valley have the tools they need to build themselves a bright future.
The next day I had a meeting with Collette Howe from Metro radio, we had a very positive conversation about working together to communicate what is going on in Blyth Valley and showcase the great projects we have in progress in the area. I then had a few constituency surgeries before travelling to Newsham to have an in depth tour of Newsham, Bebside, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park stations for the Northumberland Line. I met with the senior leadership team at Morgan Sindall to see the progress of the stations and even had the chance to stand on the platform of the Seaton Delaval site before it goes into position. It amazes me how intricate and challenging this project has been with constrictions and the innovative ways in which they have overcome these obstacles. I cannot talk about this project enough and how much of an impact it will have on our community. The journey from Ashington to Newcastle will take around 35minutes, not to mention the direct link for residents from Northumberland to have quicker access to the Metro line. The economic benefits of this project are staggering in reducing congestion and journey times, increase inward investment into to South East Northumberland, increase of property values, easier access to metropolitan areas and new jobs in construction using local people where possible. This almost £200million project is due for completion in Autumn 2024 and if you would like further details, I have a video of the tour coming soon to my website and social media pages.
As always, if you have any queries or if you would like to contact me, please email [email protected] or call 01670 338435.
