My priorities: Bypass and health service

13 May 2005

Rutland & Stamford Mercury Article

It is certainly a great privilege to be re-elected to Parliament – perhaps an even greater privilege than to be elected the first time. Apart from an immediate celebration with family, friends and supporters and writing a lot of thank you letters to campaigners, what do I now do about it?

The first thing is clearly to try to live up to my promises and not to let anyone think that I have taken their continued confidence for granted. We are not in government, so the question of making sure that my party fulfils its own manifesto commitments does not arise. The years ahead must be spent at Westminster trying to keep the Government up to the mark, and helping to prepare the Conservative Party to become a credible party of government again at the next election. Neither task is likely to be an easy one.

But much of the emphasis must be on local issues. Here my campaign commitments were straightforward – protecting the environment, defending Stamford hospital and our local medical services and relieving traffic congestion by building a new bridge in Stamford. Bourne’s traffic problems also concern me increasingly, but on these we will need to take stock when the South-West by-pass has been opened.

Are our medical services safe? I received some solid reassurances shortly before the election on our hospital. I shall be watching carefully over the 24 hour G.P. service which I was able to restore last year.

There are threats to our environment all the time. I have helped to fight off a number in Stamford over recent years, and I am currently supporting the struggle to save The Croft in Bourne. I do not believe that we need significant new development anywhere in our area, in towns or villages, especially not on green field sites. The infrastructure simply cannot support it.

My immediate agenda is to move forward on the Stamford by-pass.

I shall be arranging a meeting of the Working Group (Town Council, Civic Society, Chamber of Trade, Stamford Vision, By-pass Group and County and District Councils) over the next four weeks. Thereafter we shall have a public meeting. If we can concert a strategy, and there is some consensus on a route, I will make a new approach to the Government I hope jointly with the County Council.

Stamford has had just one bridge in its first thousand years of history. It is time for another. There can be no greater contribution that our generation can make to the future of the town.