Getting on with the day job

Whilst it has been anything but a normal week in Westminster, it has been an entirely normal one for me as your MP. Whilst others are busying themselves on anything but the day job, I’m getting on with mine. Last week I held two surgeries, one online and one in Fairfield, helping local people with personal issues they are facing, as well as hosting a coffee morning in Simmondley.

These events are a fantastic way to meet residents and discuss local issues, but they also give people a chance to raise casework issues with my team and I.

Each week, hundreds of people contact my office seeking help. From housing problems to immigration cases, healthcare access to appealing fines, my office deals with all sorts of issues that are impacting people’s lives. Hearing from residents informs both the work I do in Parliament and my local campaigns.

My office has now completed over 31,000 individual cases since you elected me in July 2024. No other newly-elected MP that I’ve spoken to has hit this milestone faster, and as far as I am aware, no previous High Peak MP has done as many in such a short time.

I have an incredible team working with me, all of them local people. They know and care about our towns and villages and I think that shows in what we have achieved.

Thinking of some of our recent real wins – in Glossop, a couple had had their car number plate cloned over a year ago and were being pursued by a London council for several false Penalty Charge Notices. Thanks to my office’s intervention, the charges were cancelled and after months of sleepless nights the matter was finally put to bed.

We’ve also secured positive outcomes in visa cases in Buxton, New Mills and Chapel. Where my office can help, we will.

I don’t just help residents, but also local businesses and community groups too. Recently, when Dove Holes primary school’s boiler broke, I intervened and wrote to Derbyshire County Council demanding that a replacement was treated as an absolute priority.  I was delighted when the replacement was secured. Following a further visit, my office also helped to restore the mobile library to stop at the school once again.

I take on the biggest local issues. Whether this has been fighting to keep health services in Buxton, tackling parking problems in Hope Valley or fighting Reform’s plans to close Glossop Tip, I am always standing up for our community. For example, only on Saturday I was out in Glossop town centre handing out leaflets and encouraging residents to sign my petition, register their vehicles and complete the DCC consultation to help get Reform to bin their rubbish plans to close Glossop Tip.

This is the bread and butter of my job, and serving as your Member of Parliament is the honour of my life.

My office is always here to help, so please do get in touch. Contact me at [email protected] or on 01298 918189.