I hope you all had a lovely Christmas yesterday. This is a time of year when we truly reflect with our loved ones on the things, big or small, that provide a shining light in our lives. My family and I are spending Christmas here at home in Stoke-on-Trent and I am pleased to see my children making Christmas memories as I did whilst growing up in our fantastic city.
I want to particularly thank all who have put on festive events and Christmas services, many of which I have had the pleasure of visiting over the last few weeks. People across North Staffordshire are always very welcoming, and they are also incredibly generous. I have been blown away by the incredible generosity of those who have supporting Christmas gift appeals and done fundraising to support those in need.
At this time of the year, we all go through the usual tradition of Christmas shopping but there is unfortunately one thing that is not what it once was. Our high streets seem without the level of Christmas spirit they once had - the floods of excited shoppers supporting their local businesses and in turn, their local economy.
Although we see some incredible shining lights such as the amazing progress being made in Longton with new independent small businesses starting to fill empty spaces in the Exchange Shopping precinct and more events to draw people in, we do need to go further to help our high streets thrive again.
This is not just a local issue; across the country more efforts are needed. Many high streets up and down the country have been struggling for several years with the move to online, out of town and the pandemic. It is time we give them a helping hand to get back to the busy, beating hearts of our communities they once were.
For this reason, I have introduced a new Private Members Bill in Parliament with the aim of rejuvenating our high streets. My ‘High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill’ focuses on getting councils to assess the condition of our high streets and come up with action plans to help them improve. The Bill does not create new powers for local authorities but is about getting them to better use the powers they have, working with other stakeholders on our high streets, to focus on providing the focus our high streets need to improve.
I recently presented my Bill to Parliament for its First Reading and the Second Reading debate for the Bill will hopefully take place on the 26 January 2024. This will give MPs in the House of Commons the first opportunity to debate the main principles of the Bill. Following this, if successful, my Bill will then continue its process through the scrutiny stages of the House of Commons and House of Lords before hopefully receiving Royal Assent from the King. This is a real opportunity to finally help our high streets to turn a corner and I will be working extremely hard moving into 2024 to ensure my Bill becomes law.
Stoke-on-Trent is a city that was for many years left behind but I have been determined to see change, Our towns and high streets form a key part of this. My efforts have helped see our city securing record amounts of Government investment. A great example is the £56 million of Government levelling up funding with residents starting to see the physical results, including the redevelopment of The Crown Works (Tams) in Longton.
Looking forward into 2024, there are many things I will be putting a big focus on, but these are a few of the top priorities. I will be working to ensure that regeneration and levelling up projects are delivered. It is vital we see these improvements for residents to have better jobs and skills opportunities. We also want to see the new homes that are needed but these must be in the right places on brownfield sites and ensure we protect our precious greenbelt.
A huge announcement from the Prime Minister this year was the cancellation of Phase 2 of HS2. I was extremely pleased to see an out-of-control project, which did nothing for Staffordshire, cancelled. I will be ensuring the £36 billion saved will now be focused on the local road, bus, and rail improvements we need. We all want to see the potholes fixed, the congestion on the A50/A500 and M6 Junction 15 finally addressed, and local rail services restored through the reopening of Meir Station and the Stoke – Leek line.
We have also seen illegal channel crossings reduced by over a third in 2023. However, the numbers are still far too high, and residents are rightfully demanding further action. I will be doing whatever it takes to stop the boats. Moving into 2024, I will be working with both the Government and colleagues to see the most robust Rwanda Bill passed swiftly through Parliament to get flights off the ground and provide the deterrence we need.
I wish you all a continued Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I look forward to 2024 and will continue to serve my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire as a strong local voice in Parliament.
First Published in the Sentinel 26/12/23
