Two years of change, two years of delivery

On 4th July, it was two years since you elected me to serve as your Member of Parliament. It remains the greatest privilege of my life, and I am incredibly grateful for the trust you placed in me.

Over the past two years, my small team and I have worked every day to make a difference for local people. We’ve now handled more than 38,000 pieces of casework, helping residents with everything from housing and benefits to NHS treatment, immigration and disputes with utility companies. We’ve held more than 90 advice surgeries, coffee mornings and community events, including my Careers, Skills and Jobs Fair, which returns for its fourth event this September. I continue to knock on doors almost every week because I believe the best way to represent High Peak is to listen.

I’ve also fought hard on the issues that matter most locally. I have secured delays to proposed changes to health services in Buxton and continue campaigning for a Health Hub in Buxton. I’ve worked alongside East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward on the ambitious Mini-Switzerland project to improve transport links, opposed Reform’s rubbish plans to close the Glossop Household Waste Recycling Centre, campaigned to protect Snake Pass and led calls for stronger action to prevent devastating wildfires in High Peak.

Alongside that local work, I have also been proud to support a Labour government that is beginning to deliver the change people voted for.

More than 6,000 private renters in High Peak will benefit from the Renters’ Rights Act, ending Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and giving tenants greater security. I helped steer through Parliament the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation – strengthening sick pay, ending exploitative zero-hours contracts and banning fire and rehire. The National Living Wage has increased, helping millions of working people across the country.

Families are benefiting too. Labour has lifted around half a million children out of poverty by extending free school meals and ending the two-child benefit cap. Free breakfast clubs are also being rolled out in primary schools, and this summer families will benefit from free bus travel for under-16s alongside lower taxes on attractions through the Great British Summer Savings initiative.

We’re also rebuilding our NHS. Waiting lists have fallen by almost half a million from their peak, millions more appointments have been delivered, and we are investing in staff, diagnostics and primary care to make sure patients receive treatment faster.

There are encouraging signs that the economy is beginning to recover too. Inflation has fallen significantly from the highs families experienced in recent years, giving people greater confidence that the cost-of-living pressures are beginning to ease.

Of course, I know there is still much more to do. Too many families continue to feel under pressure, and nobody expects the challenges built up over many years to disappear overnight. But after two years, we are beginning to see real progress. Whether it’s improving workers’ rights, rebuilding our NHS, supporting families, protecting valued local services or investing in High Peak’s future, we’re moving in the right direction.

High Peak is on the right track. There is still work ahead, but I am optimistic about what we can achieve together. Thank you once again for giving me the opportunity to serve as your MP. It is a responsibility I never take for granted, and I remain determined to keep fighting for High Peak and delivering the change our communities deserve for many years to come.