Last week at the Conservative Party Conference, the Prime Minister gave an excellent speech looking forward to the important work the Government needs to achieve moving forward.
The Prime Minister set out his plan to build a brighter future for our children and fundamentally change our country, focussing on better transport for everyone, building a world-class education system and creating a smokefree generation.
Firstly, I want to talk about the government’s new plans to deliver better transport for all by embarking on a full-scale national reinvestment in the infrastructure people use and want.
The government will be investing every pound that would have been spent on extending HS2, a total of £36 billion, on long-term transport improvements that will deliver better, faster journeys for more people across the country, including more funding for transport projects across the South West.
Living in a rural
constituency I know how important it is to create stronger public transport
networks and improve existing ones. I believe this will benefit all of us in St
Austell and Newquay by redirecting this funding into delivering more buses,
reopening railway stations and ensuring major funding for new and improved roads
to drive economic growth and provide jobs.
Some of the projects in the
South West that will benefit us include funding being set aside to complete
the South West Resilience Programme in full, making the vital route
between Exeter and Plymouth via Dawlish more resilient in the face of extreme
weather.
This vital artery connects communities, businesses and visitors across the South West with the rest of the UK and so it is essential that we improve the resilience of the route to ensure we are no longer cut off from the rest of the country every time there is a storm.
This rail investment is on top of the Mid Cornwall Metro project, which aims to create a coast-to-coast through-service connecting Newquay, Par, St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth allowing residents of those towns, as well those living along the route, to have a direct route to the main line and beyond. Improvements will be made to the county’s tracks and signalling system meaning more regular trains on those branch lines.
There is also funding for the opening of
railway lines between Cullompton and Wellington, and Tavistock to Plymouth as
well as £140 million to ensure the delivery of 12 road schemes across the South
West.
The A39 Camelford bypass has also been included as one of the schemes that will benefit from an uplift in government contribution and this increased funding will help to ensure the delivery of this scheme.
This is a new plan for transport
that will provide us with the transport network we really need in the long-term
and ensure better connectivity with the rest of the country.
The Prime Minister also set out the government’s plans to build a world-class education system with new qualifications, more teaching hours and a £600 million investment in teachers and standards, giving every child the best start in life.
It is important that we have an education system that will
set our children up for the opportunities of the future and ensure no one is
left behind. We must remember that a child starting school today will face a
very different labour market to what we know now. They should be able to
deliver the green skills, the life sciences advances, or the advanced
manufacturing that will help the country to prosper and need STEM skills, as
well as literacy.
Since 2010, the government has driven up standards in schools.
Education reforms have led to over 88% of schools being good or outstanding, up
from just 68% and school funding per pupil in 2024-25 will be the highest ever
by any government.
While the results speak for themselves - our 9 and 10
year-olds are now the best in the West at reading, ranking 4th out of 43
countries that assessed children of the same age, ahead of other major
developed economies like France, Germany and Spain – I and the government
acknowledge that our 16-19 year-olds spend less time in classrooms than their
international peers, and study a narrower set of subjects.
To address this, the Prime Minister has announced plans to create
a new qualification that places equal value on technical and academic knowledge
and skills by harnessing the best parts of both A levels and T levels. Under
this qualification, known as the Advanced British Standard, students will be
able to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, giving them a greater
degree of flexibility over their future career options.
It is important that every young person in Mid-Cornwall is
equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to reach their potential and I
believe this is a step in the right direction to achieving this.
Speaking of
our children, the Prime Minister also announced plans to create a ‘smokefree
generation’ to boost peoples’ health and ease pressure on the NHS.
I am regularly contacted by constituents who are concerned about the pressures facing our local NHS and asking what can be done to ease the demand. I share those concerns and so was pleased to see the government announce it will be tackling the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability, and death: smoking.
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of ill-health, causing 64,000 deaths a year in England and puts a huge burden on the NHS, also costing us £17 billion a year. And we also not forget that the vulnerable suffer most from smoking.
As a parent myself I know that no parent wants their child to smoke and so am pleased to see the government aiming to create the first smokefree generation, meaning children turning 14 this year or younger can never buy cigarettes.
We will also be supporting current smokers to quit by doubling the funding of local ‘stop smoking services’, cracking down on youth vaping, strengthening enforcement activity, through new funding and new powers to fine rogue retailers.
I also want to be clear that the government will not criminalise smoking and nor will anyone who can legally be sold cigarettes today be prevented from doing so in the future. However, if the government does not act now, nearly half a million more people will die from smoking by 2030.
Creating a smoke-free generation will be one of the most significant public health measures in a generation, saving thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS and the economy, as well as levelling up the UK by tackling one of the most important preventable drivers of inequality in health outcomes.
I welcome these measures and am looking forward to working the government as it makes these long-term decisions to ensure a better future for everyone in St Austell and Newquay.
Lastly, I want to say how shocked I was to hear about the attacks in Israel at the weekend and condemn these assaults against Israeli civilians. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is a longstanding and complex issue. I believe all parties need to work towards a lasting peace whereby Jews and Arabs, Israel, and Palestine, along with the other nations in the Middle East, can exist peaceably and respect each other.
Sadly, it often appears to be one step forward,
one step back. But we should not give up. We should continue to do all we can
to bring about lasting peace.
If I can be of assistance on any matter, my
office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance –
tel: 01726 829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk
