After eight disastrous years running Derbyshire County Council it was no surprise that voters across Derbyshire threw the Conservatives out of County Hall last Thursday. Having taken the council to the brink of bankruptcy, given us the worst roads with the most potholes in England, so badly let down children with SEND and their families and closed our care homes and day care centres, it is no wonder that the Conservatives went from holding 45 seats to just 12.
It is obviously disappointing that voters turned to Reform rather than Labour. I am under no illusion that it was also a tough night for Labour in Derbyshire and across the country. People are desperate to see the Government in Westminster deliver the change they voted for last July. Sadly, there is no magic wand to make things better overnight – if there was, I am sure the Conservatives would have thought to use it at some point over the last 14 years.
We have started to deliver in some areas but not fast enough. NHS waiting lists have fallen every month for the last six months, the first free breakfast clubs for primary school children in New Mills, Bamford and Peak Forest have started and interest rates are coming down, which will ultimately lead to lower mortgages for people across High Peak. But for too long living standards have not been improving and until people start to feel better off and able to do more with their money each month, the frustration will continue to grow. That is the challenge we must face head on.
That challenge has not been made easier by the Trump White House imposing tariffs and causing chaos in markets around the world. Nigel Farage is Trump’s biggest fanboy, and he wants to bring Trump’s policies and approach to the UK. That includes ceasing to publicly fund the NHS – no doubt moving to an American style insurance healthcare system. Like in America, where Trump has the lowest poll ratings after one hundred days of any President, Farage’s plans would have a devastating impact on our economy and public services.
As the Conservatives collapse into a rump, there is a good chance that the next election will be a straight choice between Labour and a Trump inspired Reform Party. That is why this Government must go further and faster to put more money in people’s pockets and save the NHS by bringing down waiting lists.
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Watching my father disappear into Alzheimer’s is something my family will never forget. It is a story that, sadly, will feel painfully familiar to so many families across High Peak.
People often say that with Alzheimer’s and dementia you lose the person twice. First, as the illness slowly robs them of the person they once were, and then again when their body finally gives up after a long and cruel battle.
As heartbreaking as that is, it is often accompanied by another burden: the constant worry about how to provide the care they need, and how that care will be paid for.
For decades, social care has been the problem every politician acknowledges but no government has truly solved. Almost everyone agrees the system is broken. Yet whenever serious reform is proposed, the debate quickly descends into scare stories, political point-scoring and accusations of “death taxes”, leaving families exactly where they started.
That has to change.
Last week, Andy Burnham said he was prepared to spend political capital on fixing social care and to work with other political parties to build the consensus needed to make lasting reform possible.
I know this is deeply personal for Andy. His own father is living with Alzheimer’s. But long before that, as Health Secretary, he argued that social care should be valued alongside healthcare as an essential part of the system, not treated as an afterthought.
For too long, social care has been the forgotten partner of the NHS.
When we think about our health service, we rightly picture doctors, nurses and hospitals. But social care is every bit as vital. It helps older people remain independent, supports disabled adults to live fulfilling lives, gives families reassurance, and frees up hospital beds by helping people return home safely when they are ready.
When social care fails, the NHS feels the consequences. Hospital beds stay occupied, ambulance queues grow longer, families are left exhausted, and vulnerable people do not receive the support they deserve.
Years of underinvestment have left providers struggling to survive, care workers undervalued despite the extraordinary job they do, and families facing impossible choices at the most difficult moments of their lives.
Getting social care right is not simply about one public service. It is about making our entire health and care system work better.
Andy has instructed that the review of social care should report much sooner, with conclusions expected by this time next year. That gives us a real opportunity to have the honest, grown-up conversation the country has avoided for far too long.
As your MP, I will work with anyone - whatever their political party - who is serious about delivering the lasting reforms families deserve.
My father’s journey with Alzheimer’s will stay with me forever. It reinforced something I have always believed: every one of us deserves to grow old with dignity. Every family deserves the confidence that, when the time comes, good care will be there without fear, uncertainty or impossible financial decisions.
We’ve talked about fixing social care for long enough. It’s time we finally did it.
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