MP COLUMN: Great to spend more time with people in the constituency

This is not always easy to do as I spend most of my working week in Westminster.

Over the last few weeks, however, Parliament has been in recess and this has given me more time to spend in the constituency.

I have spent this time talking to people and listening to their views on everything from education to sports provision to how to support businesses and the latest current affairs including the Afghanistan situation.

This is my second summer as MP and has been very different from the first which saw me working to support the community during covid restrictions.

This year has seen activities and gatherings that were not possible last year and I have attended as many of these as I have been able to including church fairs, open days and village fun days. Please do let me know if your community group is holding an event and I will always attend if I am able.

Alongside attending community gatherings, I have been privileged to continue my programme of visits to workplaces and this week saw me at CVYP in Cramlington learning more about the work they do with young people and some of the ways they break down barriers and gain the trust of the young people they support.

I was also delighted to welcome a group of students from Bede Academy who I met outside my office to discuss my role and what I do to support Blyth Valley. These students will commence secondary education at Bede in September and I wish them every success for the future.

I also got the opportunity recently to work a shift with Northumbria Police and as well as learning more about their role and the issues they face I was able to relay to them areas of concern that residents have brought to my attention. This included a visit to Mill Lane in Seghill which has unfortunately been subject to a number of fly tipping incidents and to the A192 near East Hartford where 17 people were found to be speeding in the 20 minutes we were in attendance.

As summer draws to a close I will return to my work in Westminster furnished with the information and opinions that have been shared with me over recent weeks.

I can raise questions and participate in debates in the House of Commons on issues that I know are important to the people of Blyth Valley.

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to talk to me and want to assure you that I will continue to work to achieve the very best I can for everyone in Blyth Valley.