One Year of Progress

One year ago today, Liberal Democrats won 72 seats to become the largest third party in Parliament in 100 years. Voters in South Cambridgeshire put their faith in me to be their local champion and I'm incredibly grateful. South Cambridgeshire is a wonderful place to live and work - with beautiful countryside, rivers and chalk streams and an economy driven by science and innovation that includes the largest biomedical research campus in Europe. It is a privilege to represent you and our area.

I’ve had to hit the ground running. Right from the start, I've focused on what you told me matters most: fixing our local health services, tackling the cost-of-living crisis and protecting our environment. I’m proud that we've already had some important wins. 
Alongside the hard work of many people, securing approval for the new Cambridge Cancer Hospital was a vitally important win for our area – but we have got to keep pushing to get spades in the ground. More hospitals alone won’t secure the future of the NHS, so I and the Liberal Democrats will continue to press government to fix social care to fix the NHS.

On the cost of living, I and the Liberal Democrats led the fight to reverse the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment. I am pleased that the government has listened and will reinstate the payment for those who need it most. But we will continue to press the government to reverse the rise in employer National Insurance Contributions which has hit our small businesses in South Cambridgeshire, and particularly social care providers, so hard.

On the dumping of sewage in our precious rivers and chalk streams, there is now a new law that finally means water company bosses are criminally responsible for sewage dumping - but I’m still pushing for Ofwat to be scrapped and for a new regulator with real teeth to be created. 
These successes are examples of what's possible when we work together and put our community first.

The new government’s plans for growth for our area – which will see significant new housing development, further growth of our world-leading life science and technology sectors, and substantial new transport infrastructure - demand strong local representation. I have been working with local councils and regional and national bodies to hold the government to account to ensure that planning is joined up so that the decisions made in the next few years benefit the people of South Cambridgeshire – while ensuring that Nature is protected. 
Helping constituents is a vital part of my work as an MP – and one of the most rewarding. Each week I and my small team receive hundreds of emails with requests for help or a response on issues constituents are passionate about, or from people writing about their own or family problems. We have now closed over 7,000 cases from more than 5,000 constituents.

And as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, I have led our party’s push for government to make solar panels a requirement for new homes, and I’m pleased that because of this work, this has now been written into law.

I have only just started; there is so much to do. I and the Liberal Democrats will keep fighting for Britain, to provide a genuine alternative – a compassionate and commonsense choice for everybody who wants to see real change for our country.