Fighting for High Peak’s fair share

I think I might be getting a bit of a reputation in Westminster. In a question in Parliament to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, last week, he agreed to meet with me because, as he said, I would “hound him relentlessly” if he didn’t. To be fair, he is absolutely right. I would have done. And every other Minister for that matter if it means I can get a better deal for High Peak.

I don’t mind if I make Ministers exasperated or if they get sick of hearing me talk about High Peak because that’s what you’ve sent me down to Westminster to do. After a year of being your MP, it is starting to get its rewards.

In that question to the Health Secretary, I asked him about the proposals for a Health Hub in Buxton. The new 10-year NHS plan aims to move routine care away from hospitals and into communities. Given we don’t have an acute hospital in High Peak and many residents really struggle to get to hospital appointments, particularly on public transport, a new purpose-built Health Hub in Buxton would achieve exactly this. The last Government broke their promise by scrapping plans for a new Health Hub in Buxton. But I’m not going to give up that easily and will be meeting with the Health Secretary to make the case.

Another project I have been campaigning hard on is to protect thousands of jobs in our quarries and connected businesses. I am proud this week that the Government has announced it will be investing £28.6 million pounds from the National Wealth Fund to support the Peak Cluster carbon capture scheme. This scheme will protect the future of our cement and lime industry, secure further investment and tackle a huge source of carbon emissions.

Having had many conversations with Education Ministers, I was delighted that three primary schools in High Peak were settled to be amongst the first free breakfast clubs in the country. These breakfast clubs will have transformative impacts on the lives of children across High Peak and I look forward to them being rolled out to other schools in our area.

It’s not just in Westminster that my hounding is working. I’m delighted that the Mayors of East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester have agreed to attend a Peak Partnership summit to focus in on cross-border issues that affect us in High Peak, including Snake Pass, the Hope Valley Line, access to healthcare and education.

This is real progress but it is only the start. I won’t stop hounding until High Peak has got its fair share.