Political View: 'A year of change but plenty to look forward to'

But, before doing so, as we enter 2025 we are seeing very significant levels or rain, falling on already saturated ground, leading to widespread flooding across our area, through our towns and villages, and across our whole county, with devastating effects on those whose homes or businesses are affected, and everyone's thoughts are with them.

I write this in the hours immediately after that flooding occurred. While widespread flooding following such heavy rainfall sadly cannot be entirely prevented, I have already spoken to the Floods Minister about local impacts and what more can be done to reduce or manage the future risks, and have raised this in Parliament, and have been in touch with the Environment Agency, and Leicestershire County Council to discuss the immediate response, and what more can be done to help people affected, before we seek to understand the long-term causes and response needed to try to reduce future risk where that is possible.

I will continue to keep Melton Times readers updated.

Internationally in 2024 we saw a year of huge change, and here at home we saw a General Election being held, resulting in a change of Government with Labour winning victory.

It was a huge privilege to have been elected as Melton's MP in July in the General Election, in what was clearly a very challenging election nationally for my Party. Since then it has been an incredibly busy six months locally, and in Parliament. I have been focussed on the hugely important day-to-day casework, and the thousands of emails and letters from constituents on a vast range of issues that I have received as your local MP, and on attending community events across the constituency, but I've also been focussed on pushing forward with the key long-term priorities for our area that I set out when I stood for election.

On local transport issues, I have pressed the new Government to honour the pledge made by the previous Government to provide significant additional highways funding to Leicestershire County Council, which could be used to fund the southern leg of Melton's by-pass, just as I have already met with National Highways to press for improvements to the A52 near Bottesford.

And later this month I’m due to meet with local NHS bosses to highlight the urgent need for increased GP provision in the area, and to explore practical options for greater use to be made of Melton Hospital.

Policing and working with our Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner to tackle ASB and crime in the town centre and our rural communities remains hugely important, especially in light of the spate of business break-ins over Christmas in the town.

I have raised with them and the Council the need for a swift and effective response to tackle these crimes, and to provide longer term crime prevention support for businesses in the town.

Back in the summer I also pledged to stand up for our pensioners, and to back our farmers and rural communities, and regular readers of the Melton Times will be aware of my attendance at the rallies in London and Melton to support our farmers, and my opposition to the family farm tax and the removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance from so many pensioners, and my votes in Parliament against these cuts.

But it's also important to remember that these are long-term priorities where solutions won't be found overnight and, as with so many things in politics and in life, they require working in partnership and collaboration with a range of other organisations and individuals to deliver the right results for the town and villages. So I'm grateful to the huge number of local organisations and individuals, including across political dividing lines, that I've met and worked with locally in the past six months.

In trying to drive forward progress it is important that, however strongly held our views, we do so in a way that is respectful, civil, and courteous to others, even where we disagree, and that we remember working together we can achieve a lot more.

I look forward in 2025 to continuing to work collaboratively for the benefit of Melton and the villages, and to continued progress on delivering on local priorities.