What a year!
This weekend marks 12 months since I was given the honour of being elected your Member of Parliament. There is no doubt, this has been an incredibly tough year for us all. The last 12 months have certainly not been what we expected.
The day I was elected, I got to work delivering on the promises we made throughout our election campaign. We passed the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement to get our EU exit started. On levelling up, we have the opportunity to receive up to £25 million of investment into Keighley town centre as part of the government’s commitment to the Towns Fund. This will be a great chance for us to improve the high street and Keighley’s offering, as well as boosting digital connectivity and focus on up-skilling and innovation. You can have your say on how that money could be spent!
We have already started recruiting the police officers in West Yorkshire who will help make our streets safer and I am working hard to ensure we get our fair share of increased visible policing here in the constituency.
I am fighting to ensure the Airedale Hospital receives the cash it needs to continue providing a world class service to you, when you need it. I would like to see a brand new hospital built on the Airedale site and I am already engaged in conversations lobbying for this.
Between Silsden and Steeton, I am determined to get a safe pedestrian crossing built over the busy dual carriageway. Conversations on this issue have been going on for far too long, and I am now working with the Department for Transport to secure the monies for construction.
This year, I have worked with my neighbouring MP Philip Davies to oppose permission being granted for the waste incinerator situated at Marley. This month, the Environment Agency ignored the views of residents and granted the incinerator an environmental permit. I am incredibly frustrated by this decision and I will explore the next steps to try an get the permission quashed.
Over the last year I have been proud to support this government for all it has done to get us through this pandemic. It has been incredibly challenging, but I do believe the range of financial support measures which the government have provided, have been a welcome lifeline for many individuals, families and businesses. I am of course conscious that we have been in local restrictions since July, following the first national lockdown. This has caused a huge strain on many, particularly those business sectors which are still not permitted to open. I therefore did not support the government when we recently voted on the new enhanced three Tier system as I did not believe the financial support provided to the hospitality sector was sufficient enough.
Just last week, light at the end of the tunnel has started to appear as the first vaccines have been administered to the general public, and I will working hard to ensure this gets rolled out as quickly as possible across our area.
Over the last 12 months, I have worked tirelessly to answer as many queries as possible from constituents, dealing with over 12,000 individual cases.
It’s been a busy first year, but my energy, enthusiasm and commitment for improving our area has never been stronger. I want to ensure that everyone is represented and supported, so please do contact me if I can be of any help.
Wishing you all the very best,
Robbie
