Welcome to this week's newsletter.
This week I also got to take local charity champion Wendy Shaw to Number 10 for a reception. Wendy is a real inspiration, find out more about her story below.
I have carried on knocking on doors this week speaking to people about the local election next week. The Labour/Independent plan to start charging for green waste comes up again and again, as does the poor state of our roads. I think we deserve better! I'd encourage you to look into your local candidates and choose the person that will work hard for you locally-I know the Conservatives have some great candidates so I'd encourage you to consider giving them your vote.
We hit the target of recruiting 20,000 new police officers this week showing that governments can deliver on their promises! Now we have to focus on how to make the most of the extra officers locally.
We also voted again to pass new laws to help us tackle the small boats problem. I know this issue divides people but I believe unless we make it non-viable to cross via boat the problem will keep getting worse which is not fair on taxpayers or the refugees who aren't in a position to make the crossing. That is not fair, and safe and legal routes will not make any difference. I explain why I think that below.
You have probably heard or seen a lot of misinformation about sewage online and in the news. It came up in Parliament this week. Again, I voted for a sensible affordable plan to tackle the issue-an issue that no government took seriously before we did! I am glad we are and I am confident we will make good progress.
We have had a last minute withdrawal for PMQs tickets next week I organised for constituents-if you could and would like to attend let me know. We will reallocate them on a first come first served basis.
Have a great weekend.
Our Local Charity Champion
This week I got to invite a local charity champion to Number 10 for a reception. Wendy is an inspirational person who turned a tragedy in her life into something incredibly positive for others when she founded the Jon Shaw Foundation in memory of her son that was lost to epilepsy. Jon died from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Find out more about the charity here:
https://www.jonshawfoundation.org/about-us/
Wendy and everyone who supports the charity have made a huge impact on the lives of people suffering from epilepsy and their families and for those bereaved by epilepsy.
It is never easy to choose a single person to invite for an event like this, but Wendy is the embodiment of giving back to others and working to make things better for everyone.
The Government have announced that schools across England will receive £2 billion in extra funding in May, the highest real terms spending on schools in history to provide opportunity across the country and help grow the economy.
This means that our schools in Crewe and Nantwich will be receiving an extra £2,742,758 in funding to be able to invest in extra resources to create a better future for all of the young people throughout the area.
The Government’s goal is to provide top-notch education to enable young people, especially those facing difficulties or requiring additional assistance, to realise their full potential. The typical primary school will receive about £35,000 more, and the typical secondary school will receive around £200,000 more, with initial payments to be made by 10 May.
I recognise that some teachers want a bigger pay rise than is being offered by the government. I wish we could offer salary increases to public sector workers more easily but at the minute, we risk making inflation worse and destroying the value of any increase. People also often forget the other benefits like the level of pension payments and sick pay available. It isn't just about pay.
Cleaning Up Our Waters
This past week, I casted my vote in favour of calling the Government to establish a legally binding target for reducing sewage discharges, implement financial sanctions for sewage discharges and non-compliance with monitoring standards, and conduct an evaluation of the effects caused by sewage discharges.
The proposed measures will be implemented in a way that is affordable for taxpayers and will be accompanied by United Utilities' recent £900m investment in the North West to fulfil the Government's high standards. Disappointingly, the Labour party opposed the proposal and suggested an alternative measure that could have resulted in a three-fold increase in your water bills in the next ten years! We would all like to stop sewage overflows, but we have to do so in an affordable way.
There has been a lot of deliberate misinformation about this issue. No government has done more to tackle this problem. We know more about it now because this government introduced monitoring for the first time. As your MP I have met with United Utilities to push them on their plans locally and will continue to press them on making progress. I will keep everyone updated.
Newly released data reveals that the Police Officer Uplift initiative, which aimed to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, has led to the recruitment of almost 21,000 police officers in England and Wales.
It is great to hear we have delivered on one of the major election pledges. People want politicians to deliver what they say they will and we have on police numbers. We now have more police officers than ever before at 149,572.
I think we now have to really focus on where these police are deployed and what they are doing. I know people want to see more done about anti-social behaviour and they want to see a more visible presence in hot spots. There are also areas where residents are concerned about too little being done to tackle drug dealing. I will work with the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer to get our priorities locally tackled.
For anyone who wants to talk about police cuts in the past, remind them that when we came into government £1 in every £4 being spent was borrowed, that meant difficult decisions had to be taken. No government wants to make those kinds of decisions but sometimes it is the responsible thing to do.
Illegal Immigration Bill Passes
On Wednesday, the Illegal Immigration Bill passed its third reading, and it will now go to the Lords.
It is unjust for individuals who genuinely require asylum when our ability to assist them is exhausted by those who enter the country illegally from nations deemed safe. Therefore, the bill proposes a rigorous yet equitable strategy, where individuals who unlawfully enter the UK will be immediately detained and deported to a secure nation within a few weeks, without the possibility of lodging groundless or belated claims that obstruct deportation.
I’ve spent my entire working life in roles of public service of one form or another. I consider myself to be a compassionate person, I support this because I believe it is both fair and sensible and in keeping with being a compassionate person.
Why do I think that it is fair? The fairness of an asylum policy should not be based on your ability to make a journey to a foreign country. That is not fair. Those opposed to the policy say if there were safe and legal routes they wouldn’t need to.
If your test of an asylum policy's “humaneness” is whether a particular deserving individual could have made it here under the new policy, you are using a test no asylum policy could pass.
What the British public expect is that we take our fair share.
Even if you personally want the UK to take many more refugees than we do, we must remember this is taxpayers’ money. Compassion paid for by someone else is compassion that must be offered carefully because if it is not, you will find that resentment and hostility brew up, and this creates the exact unwelcoming environment you accuse others of wanting to fuel.
I am a Conservative because I believe we should act with our heads as well as our hearts. We should care less about how something looks and more about what he or she actually does. That is why I am supportive of this policy and why I am confident the majority of the British public will be too.
Crewe Post Office Update
After WHSmith closed down, I have been doing what I can to help us get another Post Office branch open in Crewe.
I have been in close contact with the Post Office and in their latest update they informed me that they're in the process of working with a potential new agent and anticipate being able to announce re-opening soon.
PMQs Tickets Available - May 3rd
2 tickets for Prime Minister’s Questions have become available at short notice for Wednesday, the 3rd of May. Please get in touch with my office ASAP if you want them at [email protected]
If you are not successful in getting them (these do tend to go very quickly, I’m afraid!), my team will still be able to suggest other ways you can visit Parliament, such as through a tour or getting tickets to other debates.
Traffic Report
Middlewich Road remains closed until 30 June 2023
Maxwell Street - Roadworks from 24.04.23 - 05.05.23, delays likely
Minshull New Road - Roadworks until 01.11.2023, delays likely