The start of a new year is a chance to pause for a moment and think about where we are – and where we want to get to next.
Over the past year, I’ve spent time across North West Cambridgeshire – at coffee mornings, local events and visits around Southern Peterborough and our towns and villages – hearing residents talk about what’s affecting people’s lives day to day. The issues raised are rarely abstract. They’re about whether local services are keeping up, whether costs are manageable, and whether the systems we rely on feel fair.
For many households, things are still difficult. Pressures around the cost of living haven’t gone away, and concerns about housing, transport and public services come up again and again. That context matters when decisions are being made nationally.
That’s why our Labour Government has focussed on taking practical steps to ease those pressures this year. We’re cutting average energy bills, freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years, extending the fuel duty cut, and keeping the £3 bus fare cap in place. The National Living Wage is rising – giving millions of low-paid workers a pay increase, whilst pensioners will see their income grow through the triple lock. We are freezing prescription charges, expanding free breakfast clubs to more schools and ending the two child limit – lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty nationally, with over 3,000 children set to benefit in North West Cambridgeshire. These are deliberate choices, taken to support household budgets and help our communities feel more secure.
Looking ahead, the priority has to be steady, tangible progress on the things that matter locally. That means making sure councils have the funding needed to deliver services properly. It means backing young people with opportunities that genuinely help them move forward. And it means tackling long-standing frustrations – like unadopted roads or gaps in local provision – rather than accepting them as inevitable.
Since being elected, I’ve focused on raising those kinds of issues consistently, even when they don’t make headlines. Change often comes through persistence, and that’s especially true when it comes to getting fair outcomes for places like ours – that haven’t always been heard.
The year ahead won’t be about quick fixes. But it should be about doing things better: rebuilding confidence in public services, making systems work more smoothly, and ensuring that national decisions reflect the reality of life here.
I’m grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to come along to a coffee morning, share their experiences, or get in touch over the past year. Those conversations give me the real-world examples and stories I need to push for change in Westminster – so please keep them coming.
As we head into the new year, I want to wish you and your family all the very best. I’ll continue working to make sure North West Cambridgeshire gets the support we deserve – and that progress is felt in practical ways, close to home.