Since Parliament broke for summer recess, I have had the privilege of spending more time in beautiful South East Cornwall, the place I call home and cherish deeply. It’s been wonderful to see some sunshine - I hope that everyone has had the opportunity to take advantage of the fantastic activities and locations our special corner of Cornwall has to offer during these summer months.

It has a been a busy week in the constituency. You may have heard me on BBC Radio Cornwall, to discuss what I’ve been up to and address the chronic housing crisis we are facing in Cornwall.

This is an issue that affects many in our community; we need more social and affordable homes for local people. I remain committed to working towards a solution that benefits residents, our economy, infrastructure, and environment.

It was good to meet with National Highways to discuss their essential maintenance work on the A38 near Notter Bridge and, crucially, to understand more about the potential impact on residents from planned improvements to the Saltash tunnel and lighting system on the Tamar Bridge. Saltash is already regularly affected by issues of congestion and so I understand the alarm from residents worried about the impact of this project. I will be pressing all those involved to ensure that any disruption is minimised and transport links within South East Cornwall are kept as fluid and safe as possible during these necessary works.

I also had the pleasure of visiting Lostwithiel train station to speak with Network Rail about the progress of the footbridge project there. The railway has long split Lostwithiel in two. Work on building a temporary footbridge is almost complete which will bring the town together and significantly reduce journey times, with planning underway for a permanent solution. If there any concerns or issues regarding the temporary footbridge, please let me know. I will raise these concerns with the Network Rail team.

Finally, I want to congratulate the many young people in our communities who recently received their exam results. This moment marks the culmination of years of hard work, and I hope that they are proud of their achievements. I am also very pleased to see that there are more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds going to university this year compared to 2023 and I look forward to building on this improvement. I am proud to be part of a government that is focused and committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. Our goal is to ensure that more people, regardless of the background they were born into, can access and achieve what they want in life. Education is a powerful tool for social mobility, and I will work tirelessly to improve this in South East Cornwall.

Please continue to send all correspondence to my parliamentary email: [email protected], response times may be longer than usual as I work to set up my new offices and systems, but I will respond as soon as possible.

Anna Gelderd

Labour MP for South East Cornwall