Making good on campaign promises

WHILE the general election may for many seem a while ago, this is my first column since June and so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank each of the other candidates who participated in the campaign in an positive and respectful way and to all those residents who put their faith in me to represent them for another term.

Since MPs returned to Westminster last month I have already been busy getting to work on the issues I promised to take action on over during the campaign.

Last week I asked the Health Secretary about increasing numbers of doctors and nurses at Stepping Hill hospital.

The hospital has been successful in recruiting an additional 93 more doctors and nearly 300 more nurses since 2010.

In order to continue investment in the supply of trained medics, the Government is embarking on the biggest expansion of medical training places in the history of the NHS.

This involves funding 1,500 additional medical school places every year - of which 500 start this September - and reforms that will enable universities to offer up to 10,000 additional nurse training places every year.

This week I will also be meeting the Secretary of State for Education to discuss making more funding available for local schools and ensure we deliver our manifesto commitment to see record levels of school funding with no local schools having its current funding cut.

Governing in the national interest will mean delivering a successful Brexit that works for the whole country, building on our economic record of more jobs, cutting the deficit and investing more in public services like the NHS.

It also means tackling the social issues we face in the country: issues like mental health, housing and improved technical education for young people.

These are some of the many the issues I will be working hard for over the years to come.