MP’s monthly column: August 2024

Your priorities in the recent election, like mine - care and the NHS, the cost of living and stopping sewage from being pumped into our rivers – are the driving forces of my work now I’ve been fortunate enough to be elected as your MP.

So, of everything that’s happened in the past fortnight, the first meeting to go into my diary as MP, with the NHS Trust at Musgrove Park Hospital, couldn’t have been more important to me.

Two things stood out, the need for more and better mental health support based on the innovative work of the trust - reaching out to vulnerable people earlier than elsewhere in the country - and the shocking state of the maternity department.

Frankly, I was horrified to see buildings where staff are trying to care for pregnant mums and newborns in 30-degree heat, interrupted by rain falling through the roofs into buckets in the hallways.

The promise of a new hospital from the last government was never real but we have to ensure the new maternity department we need is delivered.

I’m pleased to report, therefore, that I have a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health coming up to focus his attention on improving our hospital buildings in Taunton.  

As your MP, I’m determined to focus on Taunton and Wellington, over and above the antics of Whitehall and Westminster.

Joining regular litter pickers, local councillors Hazel Prior-Sankey and Federica Smith-Roberts (pictured ) and many others at Blackbrook, I was quickly reminded that winkling rubbish out of hedges can be just as hard as getting a commitment out of a Government minister – let’s hope the promises aren’t as empty as the beer cans!

Loads of children picked more litter than the average adult and it was a pleasure to spend time with them.

I also learned about the awesome work of Safe Families for Children – local volunteers giving help to parents who really need it.

The recent heatwave in Somerset meant I couldn’t be happier to feel a cold wet sponge full in the face at Hatch Beauchamp School’s Summer Fair.

Village schools offer something very special with their smaller class sizes and peaceful surroundings. I’d urge any family in the area to apply for places while they still have them.

Thanking the amazing volunteer team from the election was a great chance to enjoy a glass of wine or two and spare a moment to remember those who always worked for this victory but were no longer with us.

Many readers will remember Alan Wedderkopp and Mary Applegate to name just two – toasting ‘absent friends’ always has poignancy in any family or community group.

It was also a pleasure to meet residents from all corners of the constituency at my first surgery. It really hit home that boastful promises to cut taxes and clamp down on the public sector is no way to solve the care crisis the country is facing.

And it was a busy two working weeks in Westminster too. While I’m delighted the Chancellor answered my challenge, shortly before my maiden speech in Parliament, telling me the Wellington Station project “will go ahead”, I’ve yet to get the same commitments from the Department for Transport who are still talking the language of cutbacks. Along with Richard Foord MP for the Cullompton station area, I’m seeking an urgent meeting on the project.

And on the spending announcement from the Chancellor, I think we were all surprised to hear just how big the overspend left behind by the last government was – a full £22billion.

It’s going to take time to strengthen the public finances and rebuild our economy to make that possible.

Getting sustainable growth going in Taunton and Wellington is a project I’m keen to get started on straight away.