In High Peak, we are so lucky to be surrounded by such natural beauty but as we head into peak tourist season, we can’t let it be taken for granted. We should all count it as a privilege that we live in an area that people genuinely have on their bucket list. The tourism industry brings millions of pounds to our local economy and allows many businesses to not just survive but thrive.
As we do head towards the peak tourist season, we must be mindful of both the advantages but also the disadvantages that it brings. I’m sure many of you will have seen firsthand or on the news the out-of-control parking issues in the Hope Valley and the wildfires in the Goyt Valley and Holme Moss in recent weeks.
Safeguarding our local environment is one of my key priorities for our area. As such, I fully support the efforts by Labour-run High Peak Borough Council to reduce the risk of wildfires across High Peak. Wildfires pose a significant threat to habitats, biodiversity, and property. While not always caused deliberately, they are too often the result of carelessness—as we’ve seen in recent years. By banning the sale of items known to increase the risk of fire, the Council is making it clear that we cannot afford to take chances with something that could have devastating consequences.
Alongside supporting the Council, I have also written to all the major supermarkets to ask them to stop the sale of disposable barbeques around the Peak District. It only takes the actions of one careless person to cause untold damage to the beauty of High Peak.
I’m also continuing to do all I can to address the increasingly untenable parking situation in the Hope Valley, particularly around Mam Tor.
Lasting change will only come through a joined-up approach, which is why I’ve recently brought together key partners – Derbyshire County Council, High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire Police, the National Trust and Peak District National Park Authority – for a focused discussion on solutions ahead of the busy summer season.
Topics on the table included changes to traffic restrictions, increased enforcement and fines, and more meaningful public consultation. It’s clear that all options must be explored to reduce disruption for residents and visitors alike—and to better protect our precious local environment. You have my full commitment that I will keep pushing for decisive, collaborative action until this absurd situation comes to an end.
We want everyone to be able to enjoy the stunning beauty and natural environment of High Peak; but as its custodians, we must ensure it is done sustainably and safely so it can be enjoyed by generations to come. Â
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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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