Serving as your constituency MP is my favourite part of being a Parliamentarian and summer recess offers a welcome opportunity to dedicate more time to getting out and about in Fylde in a way that is simply not possible when a sitting Parliament sees MPs in Westminster for half the week.
There have been countless fantastic events in communities across Fylde over recent weeks and it has provided a great chance to speak with people face to face about key topics. Nevertheless, with Parliament now sitting again there are busy months ahead as the Government continues to work to address the issues that matter to people in Fylde; tackling inflation, cutting NHS wait times and clamping down on illegal migration.
I met with the Alzheimer’s Society in Parliament to mark Alzheimer’s Month, speaking with people living with Alzheimer’s, learning more about its prevalence and impact on communities like Fylde, and discussing the latest breakthroughs in research.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, and it is a disease that will touch the majority of people at some point, whether that be personally or through an older relative or friend, although around 10% of cases occur in those under the age of 65. It is a topic I am passionate about and I am determined to see better awareness of the disease, enabling better treatment, care and support in day-to-day life for those living with Alzheimer’s and their families.
As Fylde basks in the late September sunshine, I am hugely looking forward to this weekend’s Kite Festival on St Annes beach. This is an immensely popular annual event and serves as one of the last events of Fylde’s busy summer calendar. As usual we can expect to see large numbers of visitors descending on the town for a weekend of activities for those of all ages, creating a wonderful atmosphere and giving a real boost to our hospitality businesses as the summer season begins to wind down.
I am absolutely delighted that the Friends of St. Anne's Station have made the final shortlist for the BBC Radio Lancashire Community Award ahead of next week’s Make a Difference Awards. The group do a wonderful job of decorating local stations with flower arrangements, installing displays to mark local and national celebrations, recently commemorating the RNLI’s local efforts in one such display.
It is fansastic to have a good news story relating to our local railways, and the group’s efforts are a testament to the sense of local pride we have here in Fylde, with stations like St Annes-on-the-Sea often offering visitors their first impressions of Fylde.
This is a particularly timely nomination, with the station set to celebrate its 150th anniversary this autumn and I want to wish the team the very best of luck ahead of next weeks’ awards ceremony!