I am proud to have been a part of Boris Johnson’s campaign to be the next Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party. Following an excellent contest, which showcased the diverse array of talents that the Conservatives have to offer, our team was successful in making the case to support Boris. Our new Prime Minister has set out his early priorities for our nation and it heralds very good news for our own area.
Under the new Government we will see a better-connected Bristol and South Gloucestershire with major investments in road, rail, broadband, and 5G. This is vital to ensure that people are able to get to work, shop, and easily connect with loved ones, both physically and digitally. This will help support our West of England Metro Mayor deliver the Combined Authority vision for improving the area with strategic investment in key projects.
We will live in a more innovative local economy, as we use our new-found freedom outside of the EU to create major tax incentives for research, thus unleashing the phenomenal talent of our STEM sector. This will allow us to continue to make the fantastic leaps and bounds in high-value engineering and design, aerospace, defence, life sciences, and other STEM fields in which local businesses and universities excel.
Local health services will be improved with new money coming into frontline services as soon as possible and with the announcement from the Prime Minister that policy proposals for “drastically reducing waiting times for GP appointments” are being prepared. Improving local health services will also help to serve new housing developments as they are completed.
We will benefit from our share of the 20,000 new police officers promised as a priority to tackle crime. This is something my constituents frequently raise with me, particularly regarding concerns they have about anti-social behaviour and violent crime. A strong police force underpins the rule of law that gives us all the confidence and security to go about our daily lives.
Vitally, South Gloucestershire is set to benefit more than anywhere else from the Prime Minister’s vow to increase schools funding; promising to raise the minimum per-pupil funding to £4,000 for primary schools and £5,000 for secondary schools, representing a total boost of £4.6bn by 2022.
I was particularly struck by the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm for free ports and will be campaigning for a free port in our local area, to include our Enterprise Area at Avonmouth/Severnside. This would create jobs locally and will embody the spirit of the Global Britain we are now striving to be.
With all this on the horizon, there is great reason for optimism for the future under Boris Johnson.
