Mail Weekly Column: 5 February 2024
One of the best things about this strange job is its variety. One day I can find myself voting on a niche piece of legislation that will make a big difference – this week it was a statutory instrument that will mean that business rates for small businesses on our High Streets can be kept low. On another day, I will be out in the constituency, meeting a range of very diverse people, discussing just as wide a range of topics, or visiting interesting and inspiring places.
One such visit this week was with the NFU to Holme Bank Farm in Urswick to discuss issues stretching from water management to TB, and planning to sustaining rural communities. Later I popped in to Cowran Training, a farm in Pennington, to meet the Diss family to learn more about the amazing work they do helping hard to reach children and young adults gain important skills - both horticultural and social. Just as Barrow isn’t just BAE and submarines, it’s a reminder that neither are our green spaces just about growing food or walking (vital as all of those things are to our community). Scratch the surface of any part of our community and you find a richness and depth, buttressed by good people keeping it all afloat.
Earlier in the week at Westminster, much of my time was spent on work related to my role as Anti-Fraud Champion. This is in my blood, because it builds on my many years in counter-fraud before I entered parliament. This time I was discussing with big banks and other organisations, including those that help fraud victims, how we can use all the tools at our disposal to reduce fraud and protect people from it. Together we plan to launch something big soon to help do just this, so do watch this space for an announcement shortly.
I’ve also spent a good deal of time preparing for next week’s Team Barrow meeting. It will be our first held at Westminster and, with the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers, I look forward to welcoming delegations from the Council and BAE as we work together to cement our plans before the Budget in March. With such high-level membership, Team Barrow is about delivering the conditions to help the AUKUS project succeed, and ensuring that the wider community benefits from it in terms of investment strategy, improved housing, infrastructure and public services over the next decade and beyond.
With this in mind, I met with the Levelling Up Secretary, the Health Secretary and the Education Secretary to get the event properly lined up, and also caught up with interested partners such as BAE, Babcock, Rolls Royce and others to discuss AUKUS in all its aspects. Getting everything aligned isn’t easy but it will be a game changer for Furness so will continue to be my primary focus.
Finally, it was great this week to welcome to Parliament the new Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Alex Scott. Appointed in July following the retirement of Claire Hensman, Alex brings a real ambition to his role, which among other things aims to celebrate Cumbria, its unique history and culture, serve its communities, and contribute positively to its future. His emphasis on civil society is so important, and so it was great to have the opportunity to bring him together with Cumbria’s MPs so that we could share our thoughts and reflections on our constituencies with him.
