There were more winners this month as Alverstoke Village Hardware Store picked up the Gosport Constituency Best Independent Shop Award 2024. I broke the news armed with a bottle of House of Commons fizz and also dropped by to see the three worthy runners-up (Finishing Touches Gift Shop in Lee, P&J’S Cash and Carry in Gosport High St, and Boutique by the Sea in Lee) to award them their certificates. 

This year my office received over 80 nominations and almost 1,300 votes, reminding us how many fantastic, well-supported businesses we have in our community.

The brilliant work of our local organisations was apparent in abundance throughout December. C2U on Gosport High St opened their very own Santa’s Grotto, and I was very lucky to meet Father Christmas and his wonderful gang of helpers. 

The Christmas Tree festival at St Mary’s Alverstoke was an absolute treat as ever. I always find that the carol service and tree lighting are a lovely way to kick off the festive feeling. 

St Luke’s church at Haslar was packed to the rafters for their festive carol service - it was heartwarming to see the central point of our much loved former hospital site full of life and song again.

Gosport Conservative Association Xmas lunch at Lee Golf Club was a sellout, with a very entertaining guest speaker, my former colleague and recent reality TV star, Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The generous owners of the Boathouse Café at Gosport Premier Marina, Monique and Alex, organised a fabulous Christmas lunch for veterans following the sudden sad closure of the FirstLight Trust, the cafe hub on the High St. It was a truly joyful celebration and I was happy to help out, alongside Cllr Lesley Meenaghan, and Santa himself!    

I was also glad to support a veterans’ charity, Combat Stress, at the Conservative Mental Health Group fundraiser. Gosport has the highest proportion of veterans in the country, and I will keep pushing the Labour Government to acknowledge the immense contribution of those who served our nation. It hasn’t been a great start, the Prime Minister having removed the dedicated Veterans Minister from the Cabinet.

Our veteran community is not the only one feeling let down by the Government. Farmers were back on the streets in Westminster this month protesting against Labour’s destructive Family Farm Tax.

WASPI women were dismayed to hear that the Government is not planning to implement recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, published earlier in the year. In the House of Commons Chamber, I told the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall MP, that the Government’s apologies are little comfort for the women who had believed Labour Party promises to deliver ‘fast and fair’ compensation. You can watch my contribution here.

I was also disappointed to see that the Labour Government rejected Baroness Owen’s Bill to ban the creation of sexually intimate deepfakes. Another broken promise, this important piece of legislation would establish a penalty for the growing issue of ‘deepfake porn’ - intimate image abuse which disproportionately targets women. You can read more about it here.

Our world leading creative industries are also concerned about the Government’s consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence that seems to lean towards prioritising the rights of foreign owned big tech companies, over protecting the rights of UK creators. As Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee I questioned the Prime Minister during the Liaison Committee hearing and was not convinced by his response. You can make your own mind up by watching our exchange here. If you are a creator, musician, journalist, filmmaker or author, I’d encourage you to participate in the consultation here.

My Select Committee has also launched a “Protecting Built Heritage” Inquiry, looking into the Government’s policies on historic buildings in communities like ours and how they can be preserved while harnessing their potential to drive economic growth and skills training. You can have a look at the details of the Inquiry and submit your ideas on how to manage UK heritage here.

I was lucky to be invited to visit the BFI Archive to find out more about how they collect, preserve and restore our British moving image heritage. 

I heard from experts in the UK’s screen heritage and archiving and they showed me examples of shows featuring my dad (predominantly in various silly costumes) across the years!

On local issues, I wrote to Gosport Borough Council to challenge their decision to remove the Older Person’s Champion role. Considering that a third of our residents are above the age of 55, I feel that this should be reconsidered. You can read my letter here.

I caught up with the Lloyds Banking Group team to discuss the forthcoming Halifax branch closure in Gosport. This worrying trend is driven by the substantial move towards online banking. I expressed concerns for those who struggle with the online world, the branch is running digital days in the run up to their closure to support constituents with the skills they need to make this transition. I did suggest that a parting donation to a local charity that supports residents with managing finances would be a suitable gesture! Many of their services will be available from the Post Office and there will be a pop-up service - I will share more details as soon as I have them.

I received an update on the work of our Special Police Constabulary from their Hampshire Lead, Russell Morrison. I was glad to hear more about the support that Special Constables provide to keep our area safe.

I contacted the Department of Health and Social Care to request improved access to weight management services for people across Gosport, Lee on the Solent, Stubbington, and Hill Head. You can have a look at what I said here.

I met with Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB bosses for an update on improvements to dentist and GP access and to push for more hospice funding. I also heard about the ICB’s winter plan for the region and raised constituents’ specific concerns. 

I also met the CEO of Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Trust to raise issues with CAMHS and Autism/ADHD assessment delays. They are now asking for your views on this very issue. The deadline to complete the survey is 31^st January and you can access it here.

For those of you who live in properties managed by FirstPort, please keep in mind that I am meeting with their Managing Director in January, and so would be grateful if you could please share your comments or concerns with me in advance. You can do that by writing to [email protected]

Highwood Group are consulting local residents on their proposed development at the Browndown site before submitting a planning application to the Gosport Borough Council. You can assess their proposals and take part in the consultation here.

February 2024

Another win - the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce was launched after a tireless campaign alongside constituent, Charlotte Fairall in memory of her daughter Sophie. The Labour Government have since paused this work, but we continue lobbying Ministers to get it back up and running to continue the work to meaningfully change how we detect, treat and care for children with cancer. 

April 2024

With a last-minute goal Pompey secured promotion to the Championship and I took the opportunity to congratulate them in Parliament when the Football Governance Bill kicked off. I also gave a shout out to Gosport Boro’ and Fleetlands FC who also had great seasons. 

It’s our teams, from top to bottom of the pyramid, across the country, that bring communities together and make English football the envy of the world. You can follow the progress of the Bill here.

May 2024

With music venues across the country closing at the rate of one a week, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, published our landmark Grassroots Music Venues report.  It has gone on to make waves across the sector and be picked up in other countries across the globe, but it was from one of our own brilliant venues, Quay West Studios that I unleashed the report.

We also celebrated Gosport Marine Festival and received £600,000 Arts Council investment to regenerate Carpenters Square at Priddy's Hard. Arts Council MD, Darren Henley visited Gosport to break the good news and made us a national priority place!
 

Oh, and we were all surprised with the announcement of a General Election!

June 2024

Wonderful D-Day commemoration events took place across the Constituency. With a memorable service in Hardway, Commemorative Event at Stokes Bay, and Daedalus D-Day 80 across the harbour in Portsmouth I was so proud to see how our community rallied around to pay our respects.

Meanwhile the Election continued and we were joined on the doorsteps by Home Secretary, James Cleverly, who was delighted to meet 93 year old former WPC Doreen - she showed him her truncheon!  

Among my first meetings back in Parliament was with Gosport’s real-life superheroes - PC Emma Davies, PC Tim Clarkson, Sgt David Gibbs, PC Nathan Fulton and PC Scott Thompson. They were representing Hampshire at the National Police Bravery Awards, for showing extreme selflessness when they tackled a wanted man with a handgun and two explosive devices.

August 2024

Every year the award-winning Gosport Summer Passport offers a jaw dropping range of free summer holiday activities for secondary school-age children - and this year was no different.  I visited Fort Brockhurst where 250 youngsters from the Gosport area were taking part in activities from conservation skills to Motiv8’s smoothie-making bike! I particularly enjoyed meeting Hoodie and Red, the dogs of Hants and IOW Fire Service, who were there demonstrating why they (and their noses!) were such important members of the crime fighting crew.

October 2024

More bad news as I spoke out against a disastrous Labour Budget that brought the highest tax hikes in history and is already impacting our economy. You can watch my speech in the Chamber here and a video with my thoughts on the Budget here.

Locally I invited Southern Water bosses to the constituency to visit the Carisbrooke Pond (the resulting work has now been completed) and to talk about the investment going on to prevent sewage discharges and the Peel Common pong! 

I would like to say a big thank you to all of you for your support and kind words throughout the year. 

A special thanks to my brilliant team Natasha, Glenn, Jeremy, Linden, Anastasiia, James and Molly. Together, we have answered many 1000s of emails, letters and phone calls and supported hundreds of people across Gosport, Lee on the Solent, Stubbington and Hill Head through the highs and lows of life in 2024.  

And we are all ready to go again in 2025!

So, we all wish you and your loved ones all the best for the year ahead and as always remind you that we stand ready to support and listen to any questions, thoughts or concerns you may have. Please do get in touch via [email protected]