MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan column: 'Rishi Sunak will provide stability'

He has my full support in providing stability for the nation as we navigate these difficult economic times and in delivering on our manifesto pledges to enhance our energy security, deliver a strong economic plan and lower inflation.

I am pleased he is fully committed to the UK’s continued support for Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion.

We are in the lead-up to Remembrance events, with the Royal British Legion’s annual poppy campaign launching tomorrow. I want to reassure veterans and serving personnel that travel to attend events on Remembrance Sunday will be free, and for those attending events in London, travel will also be free on Saturday, November 12.

If you are serving personnel, you can travel for free if you are in uniform or if you show a current MOD90 Ministry of Defence-issued identity card. Veterans can show a form of documentation that identifies you as a veteran.

This includes a Ministry of Defence-issued Veterans ID, Veterans Railcard, or other form of identification, such as proof of pension.

Pushing for better broadband for our most rural communities has been one of my key focuses as an MP, and I was thrilled when north Northumberland was confirmed as one of the first beneficiaries of Project Gigabit – the government’s £5billion broadband investment plan, specifically focused on those areas that are more complicated and therefore more expensive to connect to fast broadband, meaning they have not been a priority for private investment.

This funding will ensure our smaller, more rural communities can also benefit from super-fast broadband and the benefits that brings.

The contract for the works was awarded this week to GoFibre, who will connect 3,750 properties across the Berwick and Wooler areas, with work commencing in the spring. If you believe you might be able to benefit from this important project, you can register your interest on GoFibre’s website.

Finally, I want to shine a light on the great work being done by Northumberland County Council’s School Improvement Team, who work with the 65 per cent of our schools that are local authority run. In 2017, 76 per cent of Northumberland schools were rated “outstanding” or “good” by Ofsted (the national average has stayed static at 86 per cent). In 2022 that figure is now 88 per cent, so a big thank you to the team and the hard work being done by our schools.

In my briefing on this last week, I was assured that the 19 schools which are not rated good or outstanding, are all working closely with the School Improvement Team and all of them have been judged by Ofsted as taking effective actions to improve.

My thanks to everyone working so hard to ensure the educational offer in Northumberland continues to be enhanced.