This week I thought I would focus on some of the things I
said I would do during my campaign to be elected as your Member of Parliament,
looking back over the last year.
One of the things I campaigned on was that should I be
elected, I would represent your interests and be a strong voice for
Mid-Cornwall in Westminster. As I often said I count myself to be a Cornishman
first and a Conservative second.
It is clear that 6 Cornish Conservative MPs in a
Conservative Government gives us a huge opportunity to work within the
government to attract the investment we have lacked for so many years.
After many years of inaction by previous governments, soon
after the General Election last year, the then Prime Minister made
Cornwall the first rural area to be given greater devolved powers. This was
something many people in Cornwall had been calling for and something I was
delighted to be a part of delivering.
At the election some of the issues most often raised with me
by local people were public transport, economic growth and Health and Social
Care. The ‘Deal for Cornwall’ addresses some of these concerns by granting
Cornwall greater say over things such as local transport, skills and economic
development and the integration of health and social care services. This is not
about more power just for Cornwall Council but for Cornwall as a whole.
As I am part of the party of Government, it is natural that most
of the time I do agree with and vote to support Government motions, many of
which are policies that were in our manifesto that I was elected on. However,
when I think the Government has got it wrong, and proposes changes that I do
not believe will be in the best interests of the people of mid-Cornwall, I will
and have challenged them robustly to make the case for changes.
Earlier this year I was concerned, along with many of my
colleagues representing rural areas, that Government proposals on local
government funding would have widened the gap between already traditionally
under-funded rural areas such as Cornwall, and metropolitan areas. This was
unacceptable to me and I, along with all of my Cornish MP colleagues were very
keen to stress this to Ministers.
This is something I would have rebelled against the
Government over, and I was pleased that the Government listened and announced a
transitional grant of £3m additional funding to Cornwall Council along with a
commitment to a review with a vote next year. The Secretary of State also
announced the Government will carry out a comprehensive review of the costs of
delivering services, meaning that we will have the chance to definitively prove
that it is simply more difficult and therefore more expensive to deliver
similar services in rural areas compared to cities. This will give us the
chance to back up our arguments with hard evidence and pave the way for
establishing the fair system for Cornwall which we all deserve.
I am also pleased to have stood up against the Government
against proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefit in
this year’s Budget, as I was concerned at the impact these could have on some
of the most vulnerable people in our society at a time when in the same Budget much
was made of a tax cut to people earning a great deal more than the average wage
in Cornwall. I did not think this was fair or right and therefore I could not
support these changes and made it clear that I would not support a vote on
them. I was pleased the Government listened
to my concerns, along with several of my colleagues and decided to drop these
changes.
I also signalled my intent to rebel against proposed changes
to tax credits, which were subsequently dropped, and did rebel against proposed
changes to Sunday trading hours, which I felt would penalise small businesses,
in a vote which the Government lost. I will continue to put the interests of
the people of Mid-Cornwall first when it comes to my role as MP.
As always, my team and I are here to serve the whole
constituency and work hard to make a real difference to the lives of everyone needing
support. If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please
contact me on either 01726 829379 or office@stevedouble.org.uk.
Additionally, I hold regular, appointment only, advice surgeries across the
constituency. Dates of these can be found at: www.stevedouble.org.uk/events
