What has my MP done for me? is a cry often heard together with similar comments about councillors or any other politician for that matter. Although pretty cynical myself I have to say that the local and national politicians I’ve met are dedicated individuals who actually mean to do well by their constituents even if they don’t always succeed!
In the two years since Jamie Reed has been an MP he has asked 245 questions of ministers about issues both international and those that affect us much closer to home in Copeland. Egremont Today intends to bring you an occasional column with a taster of what our MP has been asking Ministers, statements he has made in Parliament or what he’s been involved in locally. If you want to read the detailed answers from Ministers either ask Jamie Reed’s office or go to www.theyworkforyou.com where there are links to Hansard, the official record of what happens in Parliament.
But we do expect our politicians to answer our every question and to act for us on a truly wide range of topics. Going back to my trawl over the last two years I see that our MP has been taxing ministers on all those sort of things that we feel strongly about. For example following the disastrous opening up of the ground and what could have been the loss of a couple of bungalows he sought to find out exactly what sort of compensation would be available for people affected by old mine workings. More recently he thanked the Prime Minister publicly for his support for nuclear energy and the importance this has not only for our efforts to reduce global warming but also for the families of the many thousands of people who work at Sellafield. He also put questions to ministers about the extent to which the UK government is funding education, health care and clean water in developing countries. This would be of particular interest to all those parents and children who have been involved in the ground breaking Copeland - Rungwe link which operates out of West Cumbria. Agriculture is integral to our part of the world and our MP has urged ministers to work with the NFU to mitigate the financial effects of the delay in the single payment scheme.
One of Jamie Reed’s speeches this year in Parliament was a very detailed analysis of what was necessary to maintain a decent standard of health provision in West Cumbria. He pointed out in his speech the need for consultant led maternity services and that an area like ours needs to have special provision made because of our unique geographical position. He pointed out the strength of feeling within the community and that NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) had made it clear that while midwife led units were cheaper consultant led units were more cost-effective. Well it seems that the powers that be have listened to us and our MP and our new hospital will have both an A&E department as well as a consultant led maternity unit. As you can see from the picture above Jamie Reed and his family have made good use of our current facility and we are glad to say mother and child are doing well.
We are deeply indebted to Mike McKenzie for the beautiful photo of Claire, Jamie and Joseph.