Mail Weekly Column: 2 January 2022

A very happy new year to you all!

I vaguely recall my column from this time last year mentioning just what a challenging 12 months it had been, and how we would all be glad that it had passed. For fear of repeating myself, I am optimistic about 2022, and mostly about the opportunity that we have now to get back to normalcy, and with the vaccine programme finally learn to live with this virus that has disrupted us all so much.

The Prime Minister, in his New Year message, suggested a resolution that we could all take up - one that is easier to stick to than a diary or losing weight (being a bit healthier is my personal resolution) - and that is to get jabbed and get boosted if you haven't already.

Vaccines and boosters are our shield against this virus, and as we're seeing with the Omicron variant, 90% of those who catch COVID and end up in ICU have not had their booster.

British science has led the way in helping us develop vaccines and treatments that have kept people safe and healthy, but that work is only as valuable as the tens of thousands of people in communities up and down the land who have tirelessly worked in hospitals, supporting vaccine drives, in care homes, at primary care, out in towns and villages leading resilience groups, and providing care to people at home. As we turn the page on 2021, I'd like to thank all of those people, and so many more, from teachers, to medical professionals, to those across Furness who have adopted neighbours and supported their communities when they have most needed it. I'm very glad to see Neil Fleming from the Ulverston Self Isolation Group receive a New Year Honour for doing exactly this.

Looking at the year ahead in politics, I want the government to be able to focus on the things that COVID has drawn so much attention away from - namely levelling up communities like ours.

We’ve made a good start with over £80million in new funding coming to Furness in the last couple of years which will be seen in all kinds of transformational projects such as the university campus in Barrow, the development of Marina Village, Borderlands funding coming to Dalton and Ulverston, an outdoor hub at Earnse Bay, and major road improvements at Cross-a-Moor, and at the Dove Ford bottleneck on the A595.

But I believe that our best days are ahead of us, and that there is more to come - delivering these projects, and making the case for more, will occupy me through 2022.

We also have to be realistic about the challenges that we will face. COVID won't have gone away and so we will have to remain cautious and rely on our vaccines to keep us safe as we return to normalcy. I'm also occupied by the challenges that our rural communities face, especially in farming, on delivering on the promise of AUKUS and what it means for the shipyard, and also building a lasting legacy in Ulverston following GSK's news from earlier this year.

So, much to do, but I am optimistic about what we can achieve in this new year. I wish you all a happy and prosperous one.