You may have noticed a bit about Brexit this week – again.
Putting aside the political manoeuvrings from certain people, I can tell you the Prime Minister reaffirmed to us we will take back control of our borders – there will be no free movement once we leave the EU.
We will be outside the legal jurisdiction of the EU, and importantly, we will have the ability to make our own trade deals with countries around the world. We will also be outside the common agricultural and fisheries policies which will benefit our farmers and fishing industry.
We will stop paying vast sums of money to the EU.
It has been a whirlwind week and unfortunately the resignations of some cabinet members have overshadowed the hard work of the Prime Minister, who has my full support.
Back home, I met this week with Fylde's Chief Inspector Mark Morley to discuss various issues across the constituency.
I was delighted to hear we will see an increase in police officer numbers in Fylde; we will have two further police officers and a sergeant serving the patch in the near future. That doesn’t sound a lot but is a significant boost to policing numbers here.
Ch Insp Morley was clear – we live in a relatively low crime area albeit with some small pockets of issues that officers are tackling. The extra officers being drafted in will help.
I also attended the St Annes Carnival Day celebrations. There was a wonderful night of musical entertainment on the Friday which was the perfect precursor to the parade on Saturday. I think Ashton Gardens was busier than ever before.
In Parliament, I asked the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling MP, what steps he was taking to ensure the expansion of Heathrow Airport would bring benefits to the North and in particular, Blackpool Airport.
I recently met with the Heathrow Expansion team where we discussed the number of slots which have been ring-fenced at the airport post expansion for regional flights.
Those flights could be a huge boost to Blackpool and provide a solid basis for a new airport facility, and I have already had conversations with Rob Green who leads the Blackpool Airport enterprise zone about the matter.
I will continue to meet with Ministers and Key stakeholders to ensure that the people, businesses and infrastructure of Fylde reap the rewards of this huge investment.
I, like so many in Fylde, have been delighted to watch the progress of England at the World Cup over the past few weeks. Here’s hoping by the time you read this, we’re looking forward to watching England in the final.