Recently I put on the Parliamentary record my condolences to the family and friends of my predecessor Colin Breed. Colin was a dedicated public servant who was a former Saltash councillor, Caradon councillor and Saltash mayor. He served the constituents of South East Cornwall well as its Member of Parliament from 1997 to when he stood down in 2010. He is fondly remembered and I thank him for his assistance when I became the MP following his retirement. I will remember him as a good natured person and will never forget the dance we had together at the Saltash Sailing Club Annual Dinner. Rest in peace Colin.

Last Friday I had one of my regular meetings with farmers organised by the NFU. I would like to thank the NFU for organising it and Mike Hambly for hosting the meeting at his farm. Firstly we met some of his cows and heard about the issues they are having with increased costs farms were facing. They were very clear that the increased costs were going up by more than any increase in prices. They also told me about the increased bureaucracy they faced. I took away a number of issues to raise with Ministers.

Last Thursday it was a pleasure to attend Torpoint Town Council’s annual meeting. I am pleased to report that Cllr Gary Davis has been re-elected as mayor and Cllr Kim Brownhill was elected as his new deputy mayor. I would like to wish the team the very best for the forthcoming year.

In Westminster Hall in Parliament I raised a number of fishing related issues at a debate called by my Cornish colleague MP Steve Double. One of the issues I raised was the closure of Plymouth Trawlers Agents following the retirement of David and Alison Pessell. I would like to thank David and Alison for their hard work over many years. I reiterated in my speech that “We must prepare ourselves for 2026. With the UK as an independent coastal state, the Minister can take decisions to free us from a fisheries management regime that has been hampered by the constraints of the CFP.” I continued that the Minister must agree that, “The time has come to ensure that access to our six and 12 mile limit is reserved solely for UK registered fishing vessels.”

In the main chamber in Parliament last Monday I asked what steps the government is taking to expand the support available through Jobcentres in South East Cornwall to ensure that the unemployed are ready to fit into the vacancies as they arise by looking at what local businesses need.

Like most weekends I was out knocking on doors last weekend – this time in St Neot. I picked up a number of issues and would like to thank local residents for speaking to me and my team. As always if you would like to contact me please email me directly at [email protected] or contact my office on 01579 344428.