By Huddersfield MP Harpreet Uppal
It’s been a busy few weeks in the constituency over the summer meeting with local businesses, charities and residents.
It’s been great to see regeneration projects such as Our Cultural Heart progressing and my team and I have also been supporting young people through my summer school and work experience opportunities.
I know residents have also been concerned about the level of roadworks, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour which I will continue to raise.
Representing my home town is the honour of my life and I will continue to do all I can to support our town to succeed.
In July, I was also honoured to be asked to serve in Andy Burnham’s Government as an Assistant Whip.
This means that I will play a part in supporting key legislation through Parliament, which will impact and improve the lives of residents living here in Huddersfield.
Having worked with Andy previously I was delighted to welcome him as the new Prime Minister and see his early commitments to eradicating rough sleeping, tackling the cost-of-living and reforming the social care system.
In addition, the creation of a new ‘No10 North’ in Manchester is a landmark development, bringing decision-makers closer to the communities they serve and demonstrating a real commitment to rebalancing power and economic growth across the country.
We are now back in Parliament and I have spent my first few days adjusting to my role.
I am no longer able to speak in Parliamentary debates. However, please be assured that I will continue to represent the issues raised to me by constituents in Parliament.
As an Assistant Whip I can form closer links with Ministers, Secretaries of State and other Government officials, and will be able to speak with them directly about the views of Huddersfield residents regularly.
Therefore, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself and my office about any concerns, questions, issues or ideas you may have.
Stepping back into a busy week in Parliament I felt a renewed sense of optimism.
Over the summer, the Prime Minister has toured the country, hearing from communities about the issues facing Britain today.
There are plenty of huge tasks for Andy Burnham and the Government to get stuck into, from the cost-of-living and the SEND system, to rising youth unemployment and getting the NHS back on its feet after years of Conservative neglect.
However, there are also a range of ‘everyday’ issues, which I hear from constituents on a regular basis, at my coffee mornings, supermarket surgeries and many of my local meetings, visits and door-knocking sessions.
There are some services in this country which just do not work as they should. Seemingly small failures that accumulate over time, making Britain feel broken and leaving many people feeling that the Government is no longer on their side.
In recent weeks, I have welcomed Andy Burnham’s commitment to tackling these daily gripes.
He has a real understanding of how these problems affect communities like ours, where persistent frustrations can undermine people’s confidence and quality of life.
By focusing on the issues that matter most to residents, he is showing a determination to make everyday life a little easier.
On fly-tipping, he has announced new powers to crack down on the criminals who are spoiling our local communities for everyone.
On the state of our high streets, he has brought forward new planning restrictions to make it harder to open a vape or betting shop, giving residents and councils more say, and closing loopholes that so-called ‘convenience stores’ are using to get around regulations.
On public transport, he has pledged to bring back the £2 bus-fare cap from January, extended usage of young people’s railcards and opened the Disabled Persons Bus Pass to be valid 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This is just the start and, of course, we must see progress on some of the wider issues too – but I am pleased with the direction of travel from the new Prime Minister and I am excited to be getting stuck in.
