Good evening john,

This week's update includes an update on the campaign to stop Lloyds Bank in Ponteland from closing, a boost in research funding for Motor Neurone Disease and my thoughts on the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

As ever, if you have an issue you would like to raise with me as your local Member of Parliament, please email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Please back the petition to stop Lloyds in Ponteland from closing

I was completely taken aback when I received news of Lloyds’s unilateral decision to close their Ponteland branch.

The horse has bolted! Lloyds is the last branch in the village, and I am extremely disappointed that they haven’t been able to come up with an alternative option that would safeguard access to cash and retain physical banking in the community.

Lloyds have said that customers can use the branch in Newburn, but residents have said this is over an hour away by public transport.

I have backed a petition set up by local Ponteland resident, Christine Caisley to stop the proposed closure of Lloyds in Ponteland. Please support Christine’s petition – we must save this branch!
Add your name to the petition by clicking here ([link removed])


** Prudhoe Remembrance
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On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent. On Armistice Day, as then, people in Prudhoe, and across the country, remembered them.

I was honoured to lay a wreath in Prudhoe to remember and honour the heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who have defended our country and our freedoms, including everyone in the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery at Albemarle.


** Welcome investment into Motor Neurone Disease research
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I am delighted that Motor Neurone Disease will receive a boost in research funding.

£50m will be made available specifically for research to help find a cure for the life-limiting condition as part of a £375 million investment into neurodegenerative diseases.
It is hoped this commitment will also improve understanding and treatment of diseases such as Pick’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment.

I am delighted the government has made this vital funding available following a brilliant campaign by multiple MND charities and sufferers such as Doddie Weir, and Rob Burrow.

We have all seen the devastating impact MND can have on people’s lives, and this funding will go a long way towards researching a cure for this awful disease.


** COP26 in Glasgow has been a success, but further global action is needed
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It’s hard to believe that 125 weeks ago, I signed Net Zero into law when the UK became the first G7 country to commit. If you told me then that by COP26 over 90% of countries would commit to Net Zero, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Net Zero means balancing out remaining greenhouse gas emissions with other actions. Some sectors are expected to still be releasing greenhouse gases in 2050. To offset them, emitters count on projects that cut emissions elsewhere or on using natural solutions or technology to stop emissions reaching the atmosphere.

COP26, the UN Climate Summit recently held in Glasgow, has undoubtedly been a success. The Glasgow Climate Pact included the first ever global commitment to limit coal use, increased financial help for developing countries and committed to emissions-cutting plans at COP27 to keep the 1.5C target agreed in the Paris Agreement.
However, there is much more that needs to be done.

Clearly, tangible progress has been made, but the highest emitters need to be held accountable for their actions. A US-China agreement to co-operate on climate issues showed the highest emitting countries are willing to come to the negotiating table and play their part.

I campaigned to oppose the Whittonstall and Halton Lea Gate open cast coal mines. I am also strongly opposed to the plans of a new open cast mine at Dewley Hill, near Heddon on the Wall, which in my view is a climate change disaster waiting to happen.

Nationally, as the government’s Pensions Minister, I guided the landmark Pension Schemes Act through Parliament in October 2020, ensuring that UK pension schemes take due account of climate change in their investment practices.

Northumberland is the greenest county of them all. A recent report showed our county has seen the largest drop in per-person carbon emissions between 2005 and 2019 in England – an 83% drop.

Northumberland was one of the first counties to declare a climate emergency, and the County Council has set out an ambitious target of hitting carbon neutrality by 2030. New green technologies are coming - whether its Egger transforming its operations in Hexham, or BritishVolt opening their gigafactory in Blyth.

Through the government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, the UK is taking firm action to reduce our carbon emissions. As President Joe Biden’s Climate Envoy, John Kerry said the ‘’starting pistol’’ has now been fired towards proper global action, and I will continue to support action to tackle climate change.

Guy Opperman MP

Member of Parliament for Tynedale and Ponteland

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