MP Lizzi Collinge invites Leader of the House to constituency
Over recess — when Parliament does not sit and MPs spend welcome time in their constituencies — I tried to get to as many different towns and villages as possible.
I also welcomed the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell MP, to Kirkby Lonsdale for a tour of the high street.
Squeezing all my visits into Fridays and Saturdays is quite a challenge so being able to get to more things during the week is welcome. I dropped into the regular coffee morning held at St Andrews church in Sedbergh, held every Wednesday morning.
It was wonderful to see so many people at this coffee morning, and the sense of community really shone through. As always, an issue that arose here was buses. This is something which I have been contacted about multiple times, and it is a discussion I will continue to have with the council.
When speaking to residents I have suggested that a bus users’ group be set up, where locals could advocate for a reliable and often bus service for the town. The Lancaster District Bus Users Group, of which I am a proud member, has been fantastic for my Lancashire constituents and it’d be great to see similar in Cumbria.
Following the coffee morning I travelled to Garsdale Head train station, to look at the accessibility issues. The steep and rocky path to access this platform is concerning, this is an issue I have raised with both the council and Network Rail but I am currently frustrated with the lack of progress.
However, the frustration over this situation was slightly countered by my awe of our constituency. Travelling over the coal road from Garsdale to Dent, with snowcapped hills, I was reminded that we do indeed have the most beautiful constituency in the country. Travelling the winding roads is an excellent way take a step back from the stresses of everyday life.
Last week I held a number of drop-in events, where people were invited to come along to have a chat about their local area, and any issues they wished to raise. Endmoor was first, in the cosy surroundings of The Club Inn, and second was a slightly livelier event in the Centre @ Halton. I run these events because they are a great community forum, allowing residents to meet with each other as well as with me and my team. I also managed a quick visit to Hornby’s regular coffee morning.
I also welcomed the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell MP, to Kirkby Lonsdale for a tour of the high street. Lucy was able to see just how the community had pulled together after the fire and are now looking forward to the future. It was my third visit to KL in a week, after speaking at the Illuminate Festival of Ideas and seeing Dr Adam Rutherford (a favourite of mine) speak at the same festival on genealogy.
My week ended at the fabulous Baylight Festival in Morecambe. It was amazing to see so many people visiting our town to see the impressive light and art displays.