Mail Weekly Column: 8 April 2024
It has felt like I’ve been running while standing still over the last few weeks, especially in the build up to the PM’s visit to Barrow alongside the Chancellor, and the announcement of the £220million he’s made available to support our community.
With that over the line, it’s been a pleasure to come back to Furness for Easter Recess, spend some time with my family, and get out and about in the community without the weekly commute to Westminster getting in the way.
Despite the weather, we’ve had some quality time, and once again, I’ve been really impressed by the range of things on offer for children in the holidays - from the excellent children’s library now situated in the Coro, to the workshops held in the same building, through to some of the Government funded Holiday and Activity Programmes running across Furness, we’ve certainly not been short of things to do. And with a healthy supply of Thomas the Tank Engine books available at both Barrow and Ulverston libraries, my youngest is certainly happy.
I’ve also been back in my office and out and about across Furness meeting with people and local businesses and doing my best to support them. To that end I joined a training session at the Blue Light Hub to see at first-hand the frankly amazing work that First Responders do - voluntarily - across Furness. It was very enlightening to learn about the life-saving role that they play between the 999 phone call being made, and emergency services arriving on the scene. They are volunteers who do their own fundraising, and can drop everything at a moment’s notice to save a life, so full credit is due to them. If anyone is interested in learning more, do please get in touch.
I also dropped in to St Mary’s Hospice to discuss support for them. St Mary’s is an amazing place, offering care and comfort both for patients at the end of life, or living with any life-shortening illness or long-term condition and for their carers and families. I know that many of you already raise funds or make donations to them, but there is always more to be done to secure their long-term future.
On Friday I held a full surgery, seeing a good range of people on what seemed like every topic under the sun, ranging from local festivals, to family law issues, through to the outrageous decision to continue to charge for the collection of green bins for garden waste in Barrow (which I will continue to fight).
I had a kind welcome from the excellent Walney Bowling Club to discuss their experience of antisocial behaviour, and possible ways of improving matters. Then on Saturday my team and I hit the streets again, campaigning, holding more street surgeries, and delivering leaflets about the PM’s visit and why it matters. For me, it encapsulates the bright future we have here – not just in the shipyard, but right across Furness.
Finally, I am very glad that on Saturday workers from across Furness had their National Insurance contributions cut from 10% to 8%, as the Government makes progress on its long-term plan to end the double tax on work. Taken together with the tax cuts at the Autumn Statement, this will put £900 back in the pockets of the average worker earning £35,400. Not a bad way to end the working week.
