Newspaper column 25th December 2023 - Wishing you all a very happy Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and was able to spend some time with their loved ones to mark the festive period.

I was able to spend some time with my family over the last few days and it was also lovely to be able to be out and about around our constituency in the run up to Christmas taking part in festive community events. Well done to everyone involved in the organisation of these, as well as a big thank you again to everyone in the health and social care, emergency services and forces and hospitality sector who continued working through the Christmas break.

At this time of year, I like to look back at what’s happened over 2023, as well as look forward to the next year, so will spend the next two weeks of columns writing about that.

This year I have:

·       Worked with the Government to ensure another year of £50 rebate for all South West Water customers.

·       Worked with the Department of Health and NHS to see major refurbishment works completed at Falmouth Hospital.

·       Worked with the Government to provide £1.4million to support vulnerable people with drug and alcohol issues in Cornwall.

·       Welcomed the Prime Minister to Truro College to see the new site and celebrate the delivery of more than 8,030 new apprenticeships in Truro and Falmouth since 2010.

·       Worked with the Government to deliver £3million of funding for a new clean energy ferry between Falmouth and St Mawes.

·       Pushed the Government to include measures to stop the over-saturation of holiday lets and second homes into our communities in the Levelling Up Bill, which has now become law.

·       Welcomed the awarding of Government Shared Prosperity Funding of nearly £1million to assess opportunities for growth at Falmouth Docks.

·       Supported 9,700 households in Truro and Falmouth with three cost of living support payments to help them through difficult times.

·       Been part of the Government which has now hit its Manifesto commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers since 2019, meaning Devon and Cornwall Police now have more officers on the beat than ever before.

·       Worked with the Department of Health to confirm full funding for the new Women and Children’s Hospital in Truro.

·       Been part of the tremendous local bid and events that saw Falmouth host the National Armed Forces Day event for 2023.

·       Worked with the Government and local lithium firms to explore and encourage the re-emergence of mining as a viable option in Cornwall.

·       Spearheaded the plans for the Mid-Cornwall Metro, which will Falmouth and Penryn get a direct line and regular trains to the mainline and Newquay, backed with £50million of Government funding.

·       Welcomed an additional £111million from the Government to Cornwall for roads maintenance after the cancellation of part of the HS2 scheme.

·       And worked with the Department for Education to see £1.6million more money for schools in Truro and Falmouth.

This is just to name a few things that I have done over the past 12 months, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Conservative Government to deliver for Truro and Falmouth and Cornwall as we head into 2024.

As ever, my thanks go to my supportive staff who have worked with me to take action on and respond to the many thousands of pieces of correspondence I have received over the past year, helping residents and businesses with a myriad of issues, making a real difference to the people we serve.

As we head towards the New Year I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year with all the very best for a happy and healthy 2024.

My office is closed over the Christmas period from 22 December until 2 January, but my emails will be monitored, and urgent ones responded to so please do get in touch if you need to, via cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk or at 01872 229698 which will forward any messages onto my inbox.