Absolutely right that the Oxford to Cambridge Arc should be a pathfinder for #Smartrail: a new Oxford Cambridge rail link – with innovative signalling and integrated Bus and Bike links.

We want an Innovation Express. Not a new motorway across Oxfordshire.

That’s why I fully support Grant Shapps’ East West project to boost rail transport in the area with a recent £760m investment / transformational project.

Despite Covid-19, Norfolk and the Eastern region remains one of the most exciting areas of the UK in terms of science, technology and innovation.

That’s why I have long been one of the Norwich Research Park’s biggest advocates, supporting its various bids for investment and highlighting the great benefits it will have for our area. It will be at the forefront of the ‘Green Revolution’ and the source of incredible growth, prosperity and many of the jobs of tomorrow. Playing a key role in helping us all on the road to Net Zero, the NRP will transform the lives of us all for the better.

I was delighted therefore to meet with the Anglia Innovation Partnership (the Board that runs the NRP) today to catch up on their progress over the last year. Not only have they stepped up and played a big part in local testing in Norfolk, they have continued to make huge strides in science and innovation – which will help improve local farming and health.

I look forward to continuing the conversation with the NRP team to help ensure that the site goes from strength to strength and achieves its full potential – for the benefit of us all.

Before coming to Parliament, I spent 15 years in East Anglia helping to build, finance and manage fast-growth science and technology businesses around Cambridge and Norwich.

Fast modern rail is crucial to modern economies around the world. People are sitting in cars and trains going nowhere in an area that has a lot more to offer – and where we should be generating more of our own economic growth and prosperity.

As I know well because I was working there at the time, perhaps the most powerful thing that happened to unlock Cambridge’s own growth—described eloquently as the “Cambridge phenomenon”—was the improvement of fast rail links to London, and principally the two hourly non-stop service. It became known as the “VC Express” or the “Cambridge Flyer”, and it dramatically shortened not only travel times, but cultural perceptions of the distance between Cambridge and London. Investors in London started jumping on the train and popping up to Cambridge for a morning to meet and view interesting companies. That is not happening at the moment in Ipswich, Norwich and other areas, but it could – and absolutely should.

That is why, along with the 15 Conservative MPs for Norfolk and Suffolk, I have written to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, to renew the case for improved East-West rail links. We passionately believe that, by better connection, our Golden Triangle of Growth in the East can be at the forefront of the Green Revolution – unlocking jobs, skills and prosperity, and helping us on the way to Net Zero, which will make all of our lives better.

To see our letter to the Secretary of State, see below.

To see my article to the EDP please click here

Break is an innovative charity that provides hope and support for vulnerable and young people which is based in East Anglia.

That’s why I welcomed the opportunity to liaise with Rachel Cowdry, CEO of Break, and her team over recent months – to explore how I can help raise the profile of their pioneering work in Norfolk, and in Westminster.

The charity leads a number of exciting and worthwhile projects – including their ‘Coffee Break’ van, which gives care leavers/those soon to be leaving care the opportunity to get first-hand experience of work, and a chance to nurture their skills.

I shall be delighted to catch up with Break again on Friday and look forward to sharing more news in the coming months.

To find out more click: here

As we look to “Build Back Better” post Covid, it is clear that the fastest way to recover is through supporting our Small and Medium Size Businesses which are the energy of our local economy.

That is why I am happy to support Norfolk Chamber’s Norfolk Knowledge Hub, a knowledge and skills sharing digital platform where all businesses can access video, podcasts, and articles for free.

The Hub is also good for individuals who have found themselves out of work due to the pandemic, as the content is a vital resource for them to learn new skills and connect with businesses.

For more information : https://www.norfolkknowledgehub.co.uk/

The pandemic has been an economic catastrophe as well as a health crisis: the biggest recession and debt since the War and £260 billion of Covid relief to pay for.

The Chancellor is right to insist on public spending discipline to avoid interest rates rising. There is no magic money tree.

But our frontline carers and nurses have gone the extra mile. Rather than a blanket 1% for all NHS staff including the highest paid, I would hope the Pay Review body focus the same money on a bigger rise for the lowest paid on the frontline.

Covid has hit the lowest paid frontline healthcare and self-employed workers hardest.

That’s why I encouraged a pay-freeze for all MPs ahead of the new financial year, and I welcome the confirmation that a pay-freeze has been implemented.

To read more please click : here

When I founded the Norfolk Way as a not-for-profit organisation focussed on being a catalyst for positive, sustainable, and entrepreneurial growth in rural Norfolk back in 2007, a big part of that vision was transport.

Poor infrastructure and connectivity means that areas like Mid Norfolk – in fact much of rural and coastal East Anglia – only 50miles or so from Cambridge – feels cut off from the growth and prosperity being generated there, and even much closer to home in Norwich.

That is why I was delighted to chair a meeting with the MNR and local councillors to discuss various ways we can grow this wonderful “jewel” of a tourist asset that we have in Mid Norfolk to help boost local economic growth, tourism and small businesses post-Covid.

Rest assured, I will continue to do all I can to support the MNR and promote this vision of ‘Rural Renaissance’ for Mid Norfolk.

To learn more about the Norfolk Way, please visit the website: here

Everyone has the right to a good education, and a fundamental part of any child’s upbringing to improve life chances.

That’s why I was privileged to join in with Jessica Balado, Chair of Educate Norfolk, and headteachers from across East Anglia on their weekly meeting.

I am always struck by the tremendous spirit of the teachers; it was very interesting to hear their view on subjects close to my heart-and I look forward to working with them to raise various issues with Ministers and officials.

We’re building a new Freeport in Felixstowe and Harwich!

As the UK looks to embrace a greener, healthier Net Zero future, and ‘Build Back Better’ as we emerge from the Covid pandemic, East Anglia must seize the massive opportunities ahead in order to unlock its full potential.

That’s why I signed the joint letter to the Chancellor (with a number of other MPS from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex) calling for him to grant Freeport status to the Freeport East bid.

The new Freeport will create thousands more high-skills jobs for the East and promote us on the global stage as a centre of trade and innovation – bringing investment and prosperity, and giving confidence to Business in the region.

To learn more about the bid, and read the joint letter, please click here

Improving connectivity in our part of the world was one of my first pledges when I began campaigning to become the MP for Mid Norfolk back in 2007 – and we have seen hugely positive progress, with more to come.

However, the dualling of the North Tuddenham-Easton A47 stretch (which is part of the £300 million commitment for the first phase of A47 dualling/improvement works, as well as the Norwich Western Link, must be delivered correctly – so as to avoid shifting the awful rat-running problems affecting communities to the north-west of Norwich to those to the west and south-west of the city.

We must also do all we can to ensure that delivering these key pieces of infrastructure does not come at the cost of severing vital local access routes – upon which communities so often rely (whether that be to get to the nearby school or the community shop/pharmacy in the next village).

That’s why I was delighted to join a meeting between the South of the A47 Taskforce, a number of other local Parishes and Norfolk County Council’s Highways team – to receive an update on the traffic modelling works that have taken place, and begin the process of forecasting which mitigation methods need to be implemented.

The solution cannot help just one village. It must look at the entire area and work out what is best for everyone. And I pleased that NCC (and Highways England) appreciate that.

To learn more, please do look back over past webstories, as well as my Taskforce campaign page here