Local Elections
By the time this is published, Parliament will have started its new session and MPs will be in the middle of debating the Queen’s Speech. This is where the Queen outlines all the bills the Government has indicated it intends to bring before Parliament over the next year or so. I will provide a full update next week. However, at the time of writing, Parliament remains prorogued and the focus of most politicians is the local elections.
I am writing this column on the day that the polls have opened and everyone across Devon has the chance to decide who should represent them as their county councillor. These elections matter as our county councillors have responsibility for delivering vital local services and they decide how much council tax we should pay. I have been campaigning alongside some of the dedicated candidates the Conservative Party has fielded across Teignbridge and I hope they are elected by time this column is published. Alongside the results however, the other issue I am interested in will be the turnout. Local elections have attracted low turnouts in recent times and I sincerely hope this pattern is not repeated. The right to vote is an important one that was hard fought for. One of the key challenges all politicians face moving forward is engagement and I think key to this is accessibility and getting on with doing the job you are elected to do. If politicians listen to the concerns of their constituents and then act upon them then I believe turnout levels can be sustained and built upon.
In The Patch
Away from the campaign trail, the fact Parliament is not currently sitting has allowed me to get out and about in our communities. A key development locally for us will be the South Devon University Technical College, so I took the opportunity to speak with some of the key stakeholders involved in its development for a progress report. I am so pleased the Government is attributing such a priority to technical education and it really will enhance the choice local pupils have when the UTC is built. We are lucky to have Adele Dawson leading the charge on this and I stand ready to assist everyone involved in the project in any way I can.
I was also pleased to attend a meeting with Abbotskerswell Parish Council to discuss the Teignbridge Local Plan. The process of developing a local plan has been ongoing for some time now and the council has run extensive consultation exercises to ensure everyone has had the chance to have their say. It is vitally important a local plan is in place to provide guidance on what can be developed and I am pleased progress is being made towards the proposals being adopted and implemented. However, we must get our local plan right as it will run for twenty years and this is why I went along to the Parish Council to hear what they have to say.
As a Member of Parliament, I am delighted the Government has introduced legislation to simplify planning rules. I have long championed the importance of building more affordable housing, but this must be done with proper consideration for preserving our wonderful countryside. The Localism Act is also to be welcomed as this gives communities a real opportunity to express a view on how their localities should be developed.
On Friday, I attended an event organised by the Teign Housing Disability Forum designed to bring together representatives from a variety of service providers. The purpose of the event was to promote services available to reduce barriers by acting as a one-stop shop for people in the area. All those on the forum have disabilities themselves and the event was a chance for them to share knowledge and experiences. I was pleased to open the event and I left with much to take back to Ministers with respect to what the Government can do to better support those with disabilities that need or want assistance.
Finally, I was delighted to hold another of my new supermarket surgeries in Sainsbury’s off the Penn Inn roundabout. This is a new type of surgery I am holding where shoppers can approach me to discuss any issue of interest to them. No appointment is required and I and my team will always attempt to resolve any matter that is brought to me at a surgery. They have been interesting so far with many lively exchanges on policy and I look forward to holding more moving forward.
Surgeries and Getting Together
My next surgery will be in Newton Abbot (Courtenay Centre) at 9.30am on Friday 24th May. Please phone 01626 368277 to make an appointment or to discuss an issue that cannot wait until my next surgery.