On Wednesday, the Prime Minister explained her vision of a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
She set out the clear case for the good that government can do while stating that political visions need to be accompanied by hard work and practical implementation. The referendum was not just a vote to leave the EU, it was something broader. It was about a deep, justified sense for many people that the world works well for a privileged few, but not for them.
The Government has done a lot over the past six years: reducing the deficit, getting more people into work than ever before, taking the lowest paid out of income tax, introducing a new National Living Wage, overseeing one and a half million more children in good or outstanding schools, and creating 3 million new apprenticeships. We should be proud of these achievements but it is clear that Theresa May wants the Government to do even more to look after people who work hard and those have worked hard.
In practice this includes continuing to invest in our NHS – building on the £10 billion extra investment over this Parliament, which is only possible because of the strong economic foundations we have built. We believe in public service. We believe in investing in and supporting the institutions that make our country great.
We also want to ensure that every child has the chance to go to a good, local school and that they are not held back by where they live or how much money their parents have. This issue in particular is one of the main reasons why I became an MP and I will champion this cause for as long as I am elected.
Of course we also need to protect those who cannot work. I was delighted to see that we will be ending the mandatory retesting of work capability for those with chronic health conditions that not only induces stress but does nothing at all to help.
Finally the issue of immigration continues to be one that dominates many of my discussions with residents. On the whole immigration is good for our economy and we welcome those who come here to work hard and contribute in taxes. However we do need to bring immigration under control. Leaving the EU gives us an opportunity to control the numbers of people coming here from Europe and the Government will be consulting over the next few months on steps to reduce non-EU migration too across work and student visa routes.
So regardless of how we feel about the outcome of the referendum, it presents a turning point in Britain’s history, and it is up to us all collectively to respond in a way that meets the challenge.
