OPINION: My first 12 months as Your MP

Blake Stephenson MP speaking at a local farmers' roundtable he organised in Gravenhurst with Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore

placeholder image — Blake Stephenson MP speaking at a local farmers' roundtable he organised in Gravenhurst with Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore

Monthly Column by Blake Stephenson, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire

With trust in politicians at an all time low, my priority after being elected last year was to be an open, accessible, active local MP, working hard to re-build trust. And it has been an incredibly busy 12 months.

Working locally and in Westminster we have secured the brand-new Universal Studios theme park right here in Mid Beds, which, subject to planning, is expected to be a very welcome boost to local jobs and our economy.

But we also suffered from last September’s flooding which impacted many of our communities, and it has been a focus in Parliament to ensure we are better prepared in the future. I have secured House of Commons debates, raised it with Ministers and I have recently put forward my own Bill. I am acting on flooding, and I will not stop until we have some more common sense in the system.

Blake speaking at a Q&A with residents of Wixams Retirement Village

And my team and I have been working on so much more – planning, healthcare across Mid Beds (and particularly in Wixams), SEND provision, protecting our countryside and road safety, to name just a few.

I know how important it is to have a local, hard-working MP standing up for you. And I have been getting out across the constituency as much as possible, holding 55+ constituency surgeries, drop-in sessions, and public meetings, and visiting hundreds of local businesses, charities, and events. But I cannot do all this alone. My wonderful team based in the constituency has been working day-in, day-out, helping with your casework and policy queries. We have opened more than 5,500 cases and sent more than 17,000 emails. We always prioritise the most urgent cases, but everybody who writes in will get a response.

It has also been fantastic to welcome local work experience students into the constituency office and Westminster. I feel strongly that we need to do more to engage young people in our politics, and it has been brilliant to see how interested they have been in our democratic process.

There is so much more to talk about from my first year as your MP. If you want to stay updated, please head to my website blakestephenson.uk and sign up for my regular e-newsletter. You will also find details of my upcoming drop-in sessions, and you can email [email protected] to book a surgery appointment.